Sinopec Group is the first Chinese company to enter the Fortune Global 500 Top Three. The list has a record 100 Chinese companies, including 91 companies based on China’s mainland, five in Taiwan, and four in Hong Kong. The number of Chinese companies rose by five from last year. The number of U.S. companies fell to 128 from 132, the magazine said. Beijing-based Sinopec Group, with 2013 revenue at USD457.2 billion, moved up a rank to replace Exxon Mobil as the world’s third largest company. Sinopec was followed by Beijing-based China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) that also beat Exxon Mobil with a USD432 billion revenue last year. Walmart replaced Royal Dutch Shell as No 1. The combined sales of all 500 largest companies reached USD31 trillion last year, up 2.5% from 2012, while their combined profit surged 27% to USD1.96 trillion. But companies on China’s mainland and Hong Kong underperformed in terms of profitability as the average profit of the 95 firms was USD3.22 billion, USD700 million short of the world’s average and slightly more than half of the U.S. average. The 128 U.S. firms on the list generated 40% of the total profit in 2013, the Shanghai Daily reports.

Energy demand growth in China fell below the 10-year average, BP said in its annual global energy report. China, the world’s largest energy consumer, accounted for 22.4% of global energy consumption and 49% of the net growth in the world in 2013. China’s energy use rose a mere 4.7%, falling below the average annual growth rate of 8.6% over the past decade. Last year, coal accounted for 67% of China’s overall energy pie. The demand for oil, the second-largest fuel in China, also hit its lowest point since 1991, accounting for 17.8% of the country’s energy consumption, BP said. Over the past decade, natural gas has doubled its share of total energy consumption to 5.1%, and the share of non-fossil fuels increased by more than 50% to 9.6%.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will simplify the review process for major asset restructuring programs and take-overs of listed companies. Listed companies will no longer need CSRC approval for major asset restructuring programs, except in the case of backdoor listings. Such listings involve acquisitions of companies that already trade on stock exchanges by enterprises that don’t qualify for listings on their own. If a listed company plans to acquire assets by using its own shares, it will still need CSRC approval. The regulator also said that listed companies no longer need to provide profit forecasts when they acquire assets. The requirements for backdoor listings are the same as those for initial public offerings, and no listings by purchasing shell companies will be allowed on the ChiNext board, China’s Nasdaq-style market. Separately, the CSRC announced that it will no longer review take-over bids of listed companies, a move that it said will lower the acquisition cost for bidders. The CSRC also announced rules establishing a shelf registration system for public mutual fund issues. Effective August 8, fund firms need only register with the regulator to issue new products. The CSRC said it will complete all registration processes for products within 20 days after the required documents are submitted, the China Daily reports.

Demand for high-end residential property continues to be robust in Beijing, with prices still high. From April to June, in the high-end Beijing residential market, the average price increased by 9.5% quarter-on-quarter to CNY56,307 per square meter, according to a report by property service provider DTZ. Transaction volume reached 204,482.2 sq m, an increase of 2.7% from the same period last year. High-end residential property is defined as projects where the sales price is above CNY45,000 per sq m for apartments and more than CNY30,000 per sq m for villas. “The growth in the sector can be attributed to the slight relaxation of government restrictions on pre-sale permits,” said Zhao Yan, Director of Research for North China at DTZ. On the demand side, high-quality, stable value and scarcity, and expectations of price appreciation prompted more buyers, including those scaling up, to make purchases. In terms of market segments, villa transaction volumes saw a sharp increase of 41.4% to 89,098.2 sq m from the same period in 2013. The average price increased by 18.6% to CNY53,119 per sq m. According to Zhao, high land and construction costs will bolster high-end residential property prices. Property developer Poly Real Estate Group recently got the green light for sales of its high-end housing project Haide Park, indicating that Beijing is easing its home purchase restrictions. In Beijing’s high-end leasing market, the average rent increased by 0.8% to CNY175.9 per sq m per month, the China Daily reports.

Chinese dairy company Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group was ranked tenth among the world’s largest dairy companies by revenue, according to Rabobank. It was the first time Shanghai-listed Yili entered the top 10, and it was also the highest-ever ranking attained by an Asian dairy enterprise in the annual study. The company, based in the Inner Mongolian capital of Hohhot, posted revenue of USD7.6 billion last year to jump from 12th place in the previous ranking. Domestic rival China Mengniu Dairy climbed one place to rank No 14 as the Hong Kong-traded firm recorded USD7 billion in revenue last year. Swiss dairy group Nestlé remained at the head of the industry table, with revenue of USD28.3 billion. Rabobank Analyst Tim Hunt said Yili’s ascent into the top 10 was a landmark for Asia’s dairy industry.