BEIJING -- Internet giant Tencent topped the list of 500 most valuable private Chinese companies in 2021, according to a new ranking released by a Shanghai-based research institute.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), China's leading automotive lithium-ion battery maker, made it to the top 10 for the first time in the list compiled by Hurun Research Institute.

The research institute ranked the companies on the basis of their market capitalization or valuation.

The total value of the companies on the list came in at 66 trillion yuan ($10.4 trillion).

Among the 500 companies on the list, 56 percent are B2B businesses and 77 percent of them provide physical products.

Healthcare firms grabbed the most spots on the list, while energy businesses came in the second.