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Only four German companies are among the world’s top 100 most valuable firms – half as many as the previous year, according to a study published this week.

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The study conducted by professional services provider Ernst & Young at the end of 2009 found that the German companies ranked among those with the best market value all fell below 60th place.

Overall this means that the country fell from second to sixth place. The US came in first place with 38 top-ranked companies, followed by China with 11, the UK with eight, France with seven and Japan with five.

“The recovery of the equity markets in other countries, above all developing countries, was stronger, so that most of the companies in the ranking slid,” Ernst&Young spokesperson Hendrik Hollweg told daily paper Die Welt.

The first German company to make the list was Munich-based technology giant Siemens at 61st place. Despite the global recession the company managed to improve by two spots from its 2008 ranking – increasing its market capitalisation by $16 billion to $84.1 billion.

Energy corporation Eon took 62nd place with $83.8 billion in market value. Meanwhile pharmaceutical company Bayer made it to 81st place and telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom ranked 88th.

But software company SAP, insurer Allianz and energy provider RWE, and carmaker Volkswagen all dropped off the list, the paper said.

In 2008, the Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen was Germany’s most valuable company, but the recession cut the company’s worth in half – bringing it to 155th place. But Hollweg said that German companies should regain higher positions on the list soon.

“Right now a lot is pointing to a quick recovery of the world market,” he said. “In particular the export-driven German companies will profit.”

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