HONG KONG, July 14 Asia Pulse - The number of mainland Chinese companies listed in Fortune's "Global 500" has jumped to 15 from only three last year, while the United States still leads with 189 companies, according to the July 26 issue of Fortune. U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart tops the "Global 500" list for the third consecutive year, followed by British Petroleum, which out-ranked U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil for the first time. Rounding out the top ten are Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, General Motors, Ford Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota Motor, General Electric, and Total.

The newcomers from mainland China include the national power company State Grid, ranked 46th; Shanghai Baosteel, in 372nd place; Hutchison Whampoa (SEHK:0013), ranked 407th; and Shanghai Automotive, ranked 461th.