(Yicai Global) Jan. 19 -- Tencent Holdings was China’s most valuable private company last year, topping a list compiled by Hurun Research Institute for the second year in a row, despite a 22 percent drop in the internet giant’s stock price.

Tencent had a market value of CNY3.9 trillion (USD613.9 billion), according to the Hurun China 500 Most Valuable Private Companies 2021 list released today. Chip-making titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation made the list for the first time, ranking second at CNY3.7 trillion.

The value of Alibaba Group Holding halved to CNY2.5 trillion, pushing the e-commerce giant down into third place. The other companies making up the top 10 were, in order, ByteDance, Contemporary Amperex Technology, Meituan, Huawei Technologies, Ant Group, JD.Com, and Ping An Insurance Group.

“Which companies are up and which are down tells the story of the changes in the economy,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at Hurun Report. “Energy, chemical, and healthcare industries rose rapidly, while traditional medicine and pharmaceutical retail, real estate, and education led the list of companies that dropped off.”

The healthcare sector had the most businesses on the list for the second consecutive year, followed by energy and chemical companies. Those in media and entertainment, retail, healthcare, and semiconductors had the highest market values.

The biggest gainers since the Covid-19 outbreak were mainly energy-related and car companies such as CATL, Ganfeng Lithium, BYD, and Xpeng.

The value of 370 firms increased, while that of 135 decreased, and nine were unchanged from the year before. ByteDance, CATL, and Meituan gained the most in 2021, while Alibaba, Tencent, and Ping An Insurance lost the most.

Some 180 companies fell off the list, including edtech New Oriental Education Group and debt-ridden property developer China Evergrande Group.

The Hurun list ranked China’s top 500 private firms by market value as of Nov. 19, 2021.

Editor: Futura Costaglione