(Yicai) Oct. 14 -- Chinese e-commerce giants JD.Com and Alibaba (China) and oil refiner Hengli Group were the country's highest-grossing private enterprises last year, according to a new ranking.

JD.Com topped the list for the third straight year with revenue of CNY1.08 trillion (USD152.8 billion) in 2023, according to a list of the top 500 Chinese private firms compiled by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce released on Oct. 12.

Alibaba ranked second with revenue of CNY927.5 billion (USD131.2 billion), while Hengli was third with CNY811.7 billion. Huawei Investment & Holding ended fourth with an income of CNY704.2 billion.

The total revenue of the top 500 private companies rose 5.2 percent to CNY41.91 trillion (USD5.92 trillion) last year from the year before, while their total assets jumped 7.6 percent to CNY49.85 trillion, the report showed.

Some 392 companies saw their revenue increase. The net profit after tax rose at 268 firms, with the total figure climbing 3 percent to CNY1.69 trillion.

Manufacturing companies accounted for two-thirds of the top 500, with their revenue jumping 8.3 percent to CNY27.53 trillion. Private enterprises are accelerating their digital and green transformations, with over 60 percent implementing digital transformation strategies and 84 percent advancing green and low-carbon transitions.

The top 500 private enterprises actively integrated into the global market, with exports rising 7.5 percent to USD297.2 billion last year from the previous one. The number of firms engaged in overseas investment climbed 9.6 percent to 206, with companies in the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry having a relatively high number of investment projects abroad.

The firms' total research and development expenditure reached CNY1.05 trillion, having 1.02 million related personnel. Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, and Alibaba ranked in the top three by R&D spending.

Regarding social responsibility, the top 500 private enterprises paid CNY1.29 trillion in taxes last year, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. The total number of employees was 10.66 million.

Editor: Martin Kadiev