More than 100 Swiss companies saw their turnover push through the SFr1 billion level in 1999. A total of 114 firms are now in the billion-franc league, according to the Top 2000 study carried out by Swiss business newspaper, HandelsZeitung.

The newspaper said more than two thirds of Switzerland's 1,000 biggest companies saw an overall improvement in sales. Of those, 10 saw profits of more than a billion francs, and 21 recorded a negative result.

The report said the most spectacular performance was recorded by the telecommunications sector. Also doing well are businesses specialising in consultancy, logistics and computers.

Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, remained on top, with the strongest performance in terms of sales. It was followed by Credit Suisse and Zurich Cantonal Bank.

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