Twenty Bermuda-based companies have made a prestigious list put together by Forbes magazine ranking the top 2000 global companies.

Called ?the Forbes 2000?, the list was said by the magazine to be a comprehensive ranking of the world?s biggest companies ? measured by a composite of sales, profits, assets and market value. The list, which is to be published in the April 12 hard copy edition of the magazine, spans 51 countries and 27 industries.

First of the locally incorporated companies was Tyco International (placing at number 76) followed by ACE (194) and XL Capital (327).

Half of the Bermuda companies making the list (see separate table) were international insurers ? with ten of Bermuda?s leading reinsurance or insurance ventures making the list ? while the balance were made up, for the most part, by industrial conglomerates including two oil and gas companies, and consulting firm, Accenture.

There was also one Island bank making its way on to the list ? the Bank of Bermuda ? which placed 1,744, although the criteria used to rank the bank would have been financial figures prior to its $1.3 billion sale in February to multinational banking giant HSBC.

However, the bank?s new parent ? HSBC Group Plc.; the world?s second largest bank by market capitalisation ? itself made the top ten, placing just behind Bank of America at number seven. Rival bank Citigroup ? which is reported to be the largest global bank by market capitalisation ? got placed at the front of the pack earning the number one spot on Forbes? list.

Collectively, the companies on the Forbes 2000 account for the bulk of global business with aggregate sales hitting $19 trillion; profits (in a year) of $760 billion; assets of $68 trillion; market values of $24 trillion; and a total head count around the globe of some 64 million employees.

Forbes is reportedly the leading biweekly magazine. It has both a US and international edition, which was said to reach an audience of nearly five million readers.