Source: @Economic Observer Weibo. How many resources a company can mobilize determines how big it can become; where those resources ultimately flow determines whether scale can truly be converted into value. Total assets are an unavoidable entry point for observing a company's ability to mobilize resources, but they are not the end point. Currently, the 2026 "Respected" Enterprise Selection and Collection, hosted by Economic Observer, is underway. According to statistics from the Economic Observer "China Listed Company Comprehensive Value Assessment System," between 2023 and 2025, a total of 2,149 A-share companies achieved three consecutive years of total asset growth, covering 31 industry categories. Who is expanding? Where are the assets flowing? These are two keys to observing a company's long-term value. From the perspective of industry distribution, the machinery equipment industry had 263 companies, ranking first with 12.2%; the electronics industry had 247 companies, accounting for 11.5%; the basic chemicals industry had 187 companies, accounting for 8.7%; the automotive industry had 174 companies, accounting for 8.1%; and the power equipment and pharmaceutical/biotech industries each had 167 companies, accounting for 7.8% each. These six industries together accounted for 1,205 companies, or about 56.1%. Industries such as computers, non-ferrous metals, utilities, light manufacturing, and telecommunications also had many companies achieving consecutive total asset growth. This shows that among the group of A-share companies with consecutive total asset growth, manufacturing and the real economy are the main force in terms of numbers. Asset expansion is not only occurring in the financial sector; a large number of manufacturing enterprises are still accumulating operating resources such as capital, technology, and channels to expand their business boundaries and build strength for future R&D investment, industrial upgrading, and market expansion. In contrast to the numerical advantage of manufacturing enterprises, financial enterprises are not prominent in number. Banks and non-bank financial institutions together totaled 89 companies, accounting for only 4.1% of the 2,149 companies. However, leveraging their inherent advantages in capital intermediation and asset expansion, financial enterprises occupy a dominant position in the top 100 total assets ranking. Top 100 Total Assets at 405 Trillion Yuan. The 2025 A-share Top 100 Total Assets Ranking (see chart below) shows that the top 100 companies had total assets of approximately 405.71 trillion yuan, with an entry threshold of 230.907 billion yuan and an average total asset of approximately 4.06 trillion yuan; the top ten companies had total assets of approximately 268.68 trillion yuan, accounting for 66.2% of the top 100's total assets; the top fifty companies together accounted for approximately 383.07 trillion yuan, or about 94.4%, indicating a high degree of concentration at the top in terms of asset scale. From an industry perspective, among the top 100 total assets, there were 40 banks and 20 non-bank financial enterprises, with the two types of financial institutions together accounting for 60 companies, or 60% of the top 100 by number, and their combined assets accounting for 91.5% of the top 100's total assets. The building decoration industry had 9 companies, the utilities industry had 8, the petroleum and petrochemicals industry had 4, and the electronics industry had 3. From a regional perspective, Beijing had 32 companies in the top 100, Shanghai had 13, Guangdong had 12, Jiangsu had 7, Fujian and Shandong each had 6, and Zhejiang had 5. These seven regions together accounted for 81 companies, highlighting the characteristics of "central state-owned enterprise headquarters, financial centers, and coastal economic powerhouse provinces." These data show that asset scale is both a reflection of resource mobilization capability and highly concentrated in finance and a small number of top enterprises. But scale itself does not automatically equal value; what matters is where these assets are invested. Top 10 Breakdown. Among the top ten companies by total assets, six are large state-owned banks, three are joint-stock banks, and Ping An is the only non-bank financial institution, presenting a top-tier pattern of "state-owned major banks stabilizing the foundation, joint-stock banks developing distinctive features, and comprehensive finance expanding boundaries." TOP1 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (53.48 trillion yuan). In 2025, ICBC's total assets reached 53.48 trillion yuan, continuing to rank first. ICBC's core advantages come from its massive customer base, service network covering both domestic and overseas markets, and comprehensive financial supply capabilities. As an important "ballast stone" of China's financial system, ICBC undertakes functions such as supporting major project construction, serving advanced manufacturing, ensuring capital needs along industrial chains, and maintaining financial stability. For ICBC, an asset scale exceeding 50 trillion yuan means greater resource allocation capability, but also higher risk management requirements. TOP2 Agricultural Bank of China (48.78 trillion yuan). Agricultural Bank of China's total assets reached 48.78 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking second. ABC's resource advantages are mainly reflected in county-level and rural markets. Relying on an extensive grassroots branch network and customer base, ABC has long served food security, rural industries, agricultural infrastructure construction, and county-level inclusive finance. Its rapid asset growth reflects not only the continued expansion of financial supply by large state-owned banks but also the long-term financial demand brought by rural revitalization and integrated urban-rural development. TOP3 China Construction Bank (45.63 trillion yuan). China Construction Bank's total assets reached 45.63 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking third. From traditional infrastructure construction and housing finance to urban renewal, advanced manufacturing, and strategic emerging industries, CCB's business structure has always been closely related to national construction needs. Against the backdrop of changes in the real estate development model and the transformation of residents' housing needs, CCB continues to support rigid and improvement-oriented housing demand on the one hand, while accelerating its extension into technology finance, green finance, and industrial finance on the other, rebalancing the relationship between scale expansion, asset returns, and risk management. TOP4 Bank of China (38.36 trillion yuan). Bank of China's total assets reached 38.36 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking fourth. Globalization and cross-border finance are Bank of China's most distinctive features. Relying on its domestic and overseas institutional network, Bank of China has formed long-term accumulated expertise in areas such as cross-border settlement, trade financing, foreign exchange services, and global cash management. Facing global industrial chain adjustments and rising demand for corporate internationalization, Bank of China's role is not only to provide funds but also to help enterprises manage exchange rate, settlement, financing, and compliance risks, connecting Chinese enterprises with global markets. TOP5 Postal Savings Bank of China (18.68 trillion yuan). Postal Savings Bank of China's total assets reached 18.68 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking fifth. Relying on a service network covering both urban and rural areas, PSBC has differentiated advantages in county-level finance, small and micro finance, consumer finance, and agriculture-related finance. Its customers are widely distributed, and its grassroots reach is strong, enabling it to cover regions and groups that traditional financial services relatively underserve. In recent years, PSBC has continued to advance digital transformation, combining online service capabilities with its offline network to improve the efficiency of serving small, dispersed financial needs. TOP6 Bank of Communications (15.55 trillion yuan). Bank of Communications' total assets reached 15.55 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking sixth. Bank of Communications has diverse financial business resources including banking, leasing, funds, and insurance, and has a strong foundation in comprehensive finance and cross-border services. As the needs of real economy enterprises extend from single financing to settlement, supply chains, risk management, and globalization services, Bank of Communications continues to strengthen coordination among different business segments, enhancing its adaptability in serving the real economy through more refined asset allocation and risk management. TOP7 Ping An Insurance (13.90 trillion yuan). Ping An's total assets reached 13.90 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking seventh and making it the only non-bank financial institution among the top ten. Ping An has formed a comprehensive financial structure with coordinated development of insurance, banking, and investment businesses, and continues to advance its "comprehensive finance + healthcare and elderly care" strategy. With demographic changes and upgrading of residents' protection needs, competition among insurance companies is shifting from single product sales to health management, elderly care services, and long-term wealth management. Ping An's asset growth reflects the expansion of the comprehensive financial model and also imposes higher requirements on its cross-business coordination and risk management capabilities. TOP8 China Merchants Bank (13.07 trillion yuan). China Merchants Bank's total assets reached 13.07 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking eighth. Retail finance, wealth management, and digital services are CMB's long-established core advantages. Unlike business models that mainly rely on scale expansion, CMB places greater emphasis on comprehensive customer management, capital efficiency, and risk pricing. As residents' wealth management needs change and banks' net interest margins come under pressure, CMB is transforming from a "retail bank" to a "value bank," exploring a new balance among customer value, asset quality, and long-term returns. TOP9 Industrial Bank (11.09 trillion yuan). Industrial Bank's total assets reached 11.09 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking ninth. Industrial Bank was an early mover in green finance and has gradually extended its business scope to technology finance, energy transition, and low-carbon transformation of traditional industries. Green projects often have long investment cycles and large funding needs, requiring banks to possess industry identification, risk assessment, and comprehensive service capabilities. Industrial Bank has formed differentiated advantages through specialized operations, reflecting the path of joint-stock banks seeking growth space in segmented fields. TOP10 China CITIC Bank (10.13 trillion yuan). China CITIC Bank's total assets reached 10.13 trillion yuan in 2025, crossing the 10 trillion yuan threshold for the first time and ranking tenth. China CITIC Bank has a strong collaborative foundation in corporate finance, supply chain finance, cross-border finance, and wealth management. Serving upstream and downstream small and medium-sized enterprises around core enterprises helps financial resources flow along industrial chains and alleviates financing difficulties for some enterprises. As its asset scale enters a new stage, China CITIC Bank needs to further transform its industrial synergy advantages into service capabilities in technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, and digital finance. Consecutive total asset growth is only one entry point for observing a company's soundness. Whether assets can be used effectively and converted into the ability to serve customers, support employees, drive industrial chains, and promote real economic development is the key to judging a company's long-term value. Companies truly worthy of long-term respect should uphold risk bottom lines while expanding scale, safeguard fairness and trust while pursuing efficiency, respect human value while applying technology, and make their own growth a force that drives industrial progress and social development. We look forward to discovering and documenting more corporate practices that adhere to long-termism and continuously create real value, so that upward corporate strength and good business choices reinforce each other, and companies, employees, customers, partners, and society move toward shared prosperity through symbiosis.
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