Last 20 years their number has increased many times

A considerable part of the assets (about 40 per cent of the total cost) of a hundred largest

International companies is based on the territories of foreign states. The main part of TNCs is

Concentrated in the US, countries of the European Union, and Japan. TNCs account for about

Per cent of industrial production in the world, and half the international trade. Their volume

of production exceeds $1 trillion annually. Seventy three million people are employed in

TNCs.

What companies do we refer to TNCs? The United Nations experts referred to TNCs the companies

Which have their branches in not fewer than six countries and an annual turnover exceeding

$100 million. Lately, an additional indicator — the percentage value of the production sales outside

The national boundaries — has been introduced. By this indicator the Swiss firm Nestle (98 per

Cent) is one of the world leaders.

According to the UN methodology, the structure of the assets is a typical characteristic of the

TNC. The largest foreign assets among TNCs (except the financial sector) belong to the British-

Dutch concern Royal Dutch Shell and four American corporations. These are Ford, General Motors,

Exon, and IBM. Among the giants are also the German BMW and the Swiss-Swedish ABB.