10 most transparent companies in the world

Transparency International, a watchdog, studied publicly available information about the world's 105 biggest listed companies as a measure of their commitment to anti-corruption, according to The Economist.

It looked at public declarations to stay within the law, the degree to which companies disclose their organisational structure and the amount of information they release on a country-by-country basis, it says.

Let's have a look at 10 most transparent companies in the world.

Source: The Economist

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Statoil

Transparency index: 8.3 out of 10

Global rank: 1

Statoil is a Norwegian oil and gas company, formed by the 2007 merger of Statoil with the oil and gas division of Norsk Hydro.

The Government of Norway is the largest shareholder in Statoil with 67 per cent of the shares. The ownership interest is managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

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Rio Tinto

Transparency index: 7.2 out of 10

Global rank: 2

Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational metals and mining corporation with headquarters in London and a management office in Melbourne, Australia.

The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain from the Spanish government.

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BHP Billiton

Transparency index: 7.2 out of 10

Global rank: 3

BHP Billiton is an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom.

It is the world's largest mining company measured by 2011 revenues and as of February 2011 was the world's third-largest company measured by market capitalisation.

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ArcelorMittal

Transparency index: 6.9 out of 10

Global rank: 4

ArcelorMittal is a global steel company headquartered in Avenue de la Liberte, Luxembourg. It is the largest steel producing company in the world and is the market leader in steel for use in automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging.

It holds sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and operates extensive distribution networks.

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BG Group

Transparency index: 6.7 out of 10

Global rank: 5

BG Group is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. It has operations in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and produces around 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

It has a major liquefied natural gas business and is the largest supplier of LNG to the United States.

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HSBC

Transparency index: 6.7 out of 10

Global rank: 6

HSBC Holdings is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

As of 2011, it was the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.

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BASF

Transparency index: 6.7 out of 10

Global rank: 7

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

The group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, Americas and Africa.

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France Telecom

Transparency index: 6.6 out of 10

Global rank: 8

France Telecom is a French multinational telecommunications corporation in France, the largest in Europe and second-largest in the world.

It currently employs about 180,000 people (half outside France) and has 192.7 million customers worldwide (2010). In 2010 the group had revenue of 45.5 billion euros.

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BP

Transparency index: 6.6 out of 10

Global rank: 9

BP is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by 2011 revenues and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".

It is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has renewable energy activities in biofuels and wind power.

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Allianz

Transparency index: 6.6 out of 10

Global rank: 10

Allianz is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core business and focus is insurance.

As of 2010, it was the world's 12th-largest financial services group and 23rd-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.