Jiangsu Shagang Group replaced Huawei as the Chinese mainland's biggest privately-owned company by revenue despite weak prospects for the steel sector, according to a latest ranking yesterday.

Justin Lin, a former chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, said it is possible that by 2030 there will be as many as 130 Chinese firms in the world's top 500 enterprises.

Huawei and Suning Appliance Co Ltd were second and third in the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce's "Top 500 Chinese Mainland Private Enterprises" listing.

The combined revenue of the top 500 companies totaled 9.3 trillion yuan (US$1.5 trillion) up 33 percent from a year ago, the federation said.

The total profit of the firms rose 12.2 percent annually to 438.7 billion yuan.

At a press conference to release the list, Lin said he was confident of China's economy.

"By 2030, Chinese companies could make up of 120 or even 130 out of the world's top 500 enterprises," Lin said, according to a transcript of the speech posted on Sina.com.

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