The list of Vietnam 's top 500 largest enterprises by revenue in 2011 (VNR 500) was released on Nov. 29 with the Top 30 reaching a turnover of more than 1 billion USD.

According to the list, which was compiled by the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company in collaboration with online newswire VietNamNet, the Top 50 enterprises also met the qualifications for the Forbes 2,000 (the world's 2,000 largest enterprises by revenue).

Roughly 18 percent of the enterprises listed on the VNR 500 last year did not place on this year's list while State-owned groups and corporations still accounted for 6 of the top 10 biggest enterprises in the country.

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) topped the list, followed by the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation and the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group.

Vietnam Report said that 41.6 percent of the enterprises listed on this year's VNR 500 were State-owned enterprises (SoEs), implying that SoEs still had a dominant place in the landscape. Private enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises accounted for 37.4 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Foreign invested enterprises were the most profitable with roughly 9 percent return on assets (ROA), much higher than the 2.7 and 2.5 percent enjoyed by SoEs and private enterprises. In comparison with last year's VNR 500, the ROA of SoEs decreased by nearly half.

Vietnam Report said the proportion of private enterprises listed on the VNR 500 had increased year after year, from 24 percent in 2008 to 37.4 percent this year.

The country's key industries remained strong despite economic difficulties, the report stated. Enterprises in the mineral-petroleum sector made up 15 percent of the VNR 500. Banking and finance, food and beverages, and telecommunications and power followed at 9.8, 8.2, 6 and 6.8 percent, respectively.

The highest proportion of enterprises listed on this year's VNR 500 are located in the country's two biggest cities of Hanoi (21.8 percent) and HCM City (25.8 percent).

Vietnam Report ranks enterprises according to independent criteria, such as "Top enterprises with the largest benefits", "Top enterprises with the largest total assets" and "Top enterprises with the largest number of employees".

The Vietnam Top 500 Largest Enterprises by Revenue Ranking Board, which follows the Fortune 500 model, is based on international standard research results from the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company with consultation of Vietnamese and international experts, particularly Professor John Quelch, vice president of Harvard Business School.

This was the fifth year the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company released its VNR 500./.