Defining the key companies and sectors in the Scottish economy is a problematic enterprise. An influential 2004 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) report identified four sectors: banking, oil and gas, electricity and transport, as the biggest 'wealth creating' industries for Scotland. However, just because a company is registered or is head quartered in Scotland, it doesn't mean to say that it is actively contributing to the Scottish economy. In many cases, it is actually sucking wealth out to parent companies and shareholders elsewhere. As we will see, the only allegiance 'Scottish' companies have is to the international financial system.

Also rather than generating the wealth themselves, the biggest companies in many of these sectors have growth through mergers and acquisitions and through the privatisation of public services.

Banking is particularly significant with the RBS report showing RBS and HBoS as far and away the biggest individual 'wealth creators'. The phenomenal growth of these two companies in recent years has been the result of a prodigious spree of acquisitions involving Bank of Scotland merging with UK building society, Halifax, and the RBS hostile takeover of NatWest Bank and others including Ulster Bank and Irelands' First Active Plc (see section of Finance).

In the top 15 companies the four electricity companies and two transport companies take their place due to the privatisation of the public sector. These companies are essentially making easy money from assets developed by the public sector, securing direct or indirect subsidies from government or acquiring semi-monopolistic market niches.

Apart from Stagecoach and the Wood Group, which are partly owned by Scottish families, the great bulk of the operating profit from these 15 companies will be distributed to parent companies and shareholders outside Scotland and for the most part be subjected to the short-termism of the London Stock Exchange. Six of the seven oil companies listed are direct subsidiaries of non-Scottish parents. Even the Scottish registered companies have many employees based outside Scotland; the two Scottish banks alone employ nearly 100,000 people outside Scotland. The two banks, whilst clearly significant for Edinburgh, have also in recent years, mainly invested abroad.

Other major sectors for the Scottish economy include the construction industry, chemicals and life sciences and tourism.

Royal Bank of Scotland's top 15 companies in Scotland

RBS - finance
HBoS - finance
ScottishPower - electricity
Total - oil and gas
BP - oil and gas
Scottish and Newcastle - beverages
First Group - transport
British Energy - electricity
Stagecoach - transport
Scottish and Southern Electricity - electricity
Britoil - oil and gas
Talisman Energy - oil and gas
ConocoPhillips - oil and gas
John Wood - oil and gas
Texaco - oil and gas

The decline of heavy and traditional industries such as shipbuilding and fishing were closely linked to Scottish pride and identity. Whisky produciotn, although still one of Scotland's biggest exports, is increasingly controlled by transnational drinks corporations such as Diageo and Scottish and Newcastle. Other industries such as coal and jute, are long gone.

Between 1998 and 2002, over 100,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing and while Scotland was for a while considered a hub for call centres, companies are increasingly offshoring to India. To counteract the loss of traditional industries, Scottish officials have sought to replace them with high tech industries. The so-called Silicon Glen across the central belt of Scotland. For more info on the massive government investment in and subsequent collapse of the microprocessor industry, see section on 'Hi-Tech'.

There are many other major multinational corporations with subsidiaries, offices, factories, significant shareholdings or interests in Scotland but not registered in Scotland which we've also included in this brief and cursory glance at Scotland Plc.

Apologies if we have left out the company that is your particular bugbear. See the Corporate Watch DIY Guide for ideas on how to research companies yourself.