AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world, today announced the release of its inaugural Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking. This unique global compendium of the top public- and private-sector owners of infrastructure is based on the value of their cumulative infrastructure investments (measured by reported net tangible fixed assets). Data sources for the Bentley Infrastructure 500 included published financial statements and third-party research. The rankings, which Bentley will update annually, make it possible to readily compare investment levels across types of infrastructure, regions of the world, and public and private organizations. The full list is available for download at www.bentley.com/500. Readers are authorized and encouraged to use it for any purpose with attribution.

Bentley Systems has compiled the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking to help global constituents appreciate and explore the magnitude of investment in infrastructure and the potential to continually increase the return on that investment. The infrastructure value represented is over U.S.$13,000,000,000,000 (or $13 trillion), which, to provide perspective, is close to the U.S. annual GDP and equal to the combined annual GDPs of China, Japan, and Germany. Bentley itself is committed to enhancing ROIs through leveraging information modeling by way of integrated projects to create more intelligent infrastructure on behalf of owner organizations. Bentley already serves more than 75 percent of the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners and 92 of the top 100 owners, and has increased this focus through its AssetWise initiative for asset lifecycle information management.

Commenting on the release of the Bentley Infrastructure 500, CEO Greg Bentley said, “We anticipate a diverse, global audience for our new Top Owners ranking since all of us are infrastructure constituents and depend on infrastructure owners – and their stewardship of their infrastructure investments – to help sustain our society, environment, and economies. However, the many of us who participate in creating value for these owners as part of their supply chains will find the Bentley Infrastructure 500 rankings of particular interest and value in helping to gain insight and glean new opportunities. Equally important, the rankings and measurements provide a frame of reference to help all of us appreciate just how massive investments in infrastructure are, and the degree to which enabling better returns on these investments is leveraged.”

An analysis of the Bentley Infrastructure 500 substantiates the global nature of top-level investment in infrastructure, with 46 countries represented in the rankings. The top five countries, in terms of the infrastructure value of the Top Owners headquartered in each, are:

1. United States – 166 Top Owners, $4,241.1 billion

2. Japan – 58 Top Owners, $1,349.2 billion

3. China – 29 Top Owners, $869.6 billion

4. France – 22 Top Owners, $747.2 billion

5. United Kingdom – 23 Top Owners, $617.8 billion

Further analysis of the Top Owners shows the extensive involvement of the private sector in infrastructure investments, with 359 of the Bentley Infrastructure 500 being private-sector organizations. The total value of their infrastructure is more than $9 trillion.

The top 10 owners in the Bentley Infrastructure 500 and the value of their respective infrastructure are:

1. United States Government, $282.7 billion

2. Electricite de France SA – EDF, $186.4 billion

3. Gazprom (Russia), $161.8 billion

4. PetroChina Company Limited, $155.9 billion

5. Exxon Mobil Corporation, $139.1 billion

6. Petrobras (Brazil), $132.2 billion

7. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, $129.1 billion

8. United States Department of the Army, $122.1 billion

9. Enel Spa (Italy), $113.9 billion

10. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (Japan), $107.8 billion

Readers of the ranking will also learn that the largest:

• commercial facilities owner is #13, Wal-Mart Stores, at $102.3 billion;
• state government infrastructure owner is #14, California, at $102.2 billion;
• rail owner is #15, Ferrovie Dello Stato, at $101.6 billion;
• manufacturing owner is #31, Toyota Motor, at $71.9 billion;
• mineral resources owner is #36, Vale, at $66.1 billion;
• infrastructure owner in India is #81, Reliance Industries, at $38.1 billion;
• private infrastructure investor is #89, Ferrovial, at $35.9 billion;
• bank owner is #128, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, at $25.3 billion;
• private water infrastructure owner is #322, Kemble Water Holdings, at $14.3 billion.

Other notable Top Owners are:

• #88, Government of Hong Kong, at $36.2 billion;
• #183, University of California, at $21.2 billion;
• #232, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, at $18.3 billion;
• #258, Walt Disney Company, at $17.5 billion;
• #404, Hospital Corporation of America, at $11.5 billion;
• #468, City of Helsinki, at $10.2 billion

“As the global economy improves and government investments in this area increase, the time to advance our infrastructure is now,” said Michael Valocchi, Energy & Utilities Industry Leader for IBM Global Business Services. “IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative is showing that doing more with what we have and adding intelligence to all elements of our infrastructure can enable better economic decisions and environmental outcomes. I congratulate Bentley on this fine new tool for the entire infrastructure community.”

Norbert Young, former leader of McGraw-Hill Construction and currently managing director of Duck Cove Associates consulting firm and a member of the Bentley Infrastructure Ambassadors Council, said, “Up to now, there wasn’t a ranking counterpart, to McGraw-Hill’s highly regarded ENR Top Lists of design and construction firms, compiling global infrastructure owners based on their cumulative net investment. With the release of the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners, AECO professionals and their many constituents can now refer to this well-researched ranking. For the year and a half of hard work that went into its development, I salute the Bentley team!”

To learn more about the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking and to download a copy, visit www.bentley.com/500. Those wishing to provide new or updated information about their organizations for consideration in the 2011 edition of the Bentley Infrastructure 500 can visit www.bentley.com/500interest.

About Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure

The world’s leading infrastructure professionals have gathered this week at Be Inspired, Bentley’s premier thought leadership and networking event in Amsterdam, Netherlands. They will share the best practices behind the successful realization of their current projects and explore new ways to respond to the challenges driving today’s business. Also in attendance are more than 60 journalists from around the world.

This intimate, invitation-only event features presentations by the Be Inspired Awards finalists, as well as executive roundtables focusing on critical issues in business, technology, and practice facing infrastructure professionals around the world. It culminates with an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding and innovative project achievements in infrastructure design, construction, and operations selected from 55 finalists in 21 countries by an independent panel of judges. In total, 320 nominations from 249 organizations in 45 countries were submitted in this year’s awards program. The winners of this year’s Be Inspired Awards will be announced this evening during a special ceremony.

This annual event provides a unique forum for senior-level executives to learn about the innovations driving the development and operations of the world’s top infrastructure projects. It also enables them to engage industry leaders in interactive discussions on topics of utmost importance to the business of sustaining infrastructure. For additional information about the Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure event, visit www.bentley.com/BeInspired.

About Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Founded in 1984, Bentley has nearly 3,000 colleagues in more than 45 countries, $500 million in annual revenues, and, since 1999, has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

For additional information about Bentley, visit www.bentley.com. To view Bentley’s May 2010 Annual Report, visit www.bentley.com/annualreport. To subscribe to an RSS feed of Bentley press releases and news alerts, visit www.bentley.com/rss/news. To view a searchable collection of innovative infrastructure projects from the annual Be Inspired Awards, visit www.bentley.com/yearininfrastructure. For information about Be Communities, a professional networking site that enables members of the infrastructure community to connect, communicate, and learn from each other, visit http://communities.bentley.com.

Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, Bentley Infrastructure 500, and Be are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.