12 Indian firms in Forbes Asia Fab 50 list

China may be the world's factory but Indian companies, led by software giants TCS and Infosys, continue to outshine and dominate the annual ranking of big-cap, profitable companies in Asia.

A total of 12 Indian companies made it to the third annual Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 List followed by Taiwan with 10 and China with seven, Forbes Asia said in a press release today.

The 12 Indian companies on the Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list are: Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharti Airtel, Grasim Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Satyam Computer Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Wipro.

Most of the Indian firms on the list, however, did not have to leave home to find success, the release noted.

With a relatively young population of 1.1 billion, India has its own huge market. Companies such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel are growing fast by reaching out to the country's rural customers, not to Western markets. Others, such as Grasim, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance, are shoring up the country's infrastructure at a furious pace.

(Reporting by Anil K Joseph from Dalian, China)