China's four largest banks - Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd and Bank of China Ltd - were nation's most profitable listed companies in 2017, according to a report released by Warton Economic Institute (WEI) on Thursday.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China generated profit of 364.6 billion yuan ($53.31 billion), China Construction Bank Corp of 299.8 billion yuan, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd of 239.5 billion yuan and Bank of China recorded profit of 222.9 billion yuan, said the report.

The nation's top 500 companies reported a combined profit of 4 trillion yuan in 2017, presenting a three-year growth record of 15.6 percent, according to WEI, a Shanghai-based researching organization focused on macro economy, regional economy and enterprises analysis.

The profit of the top companies accounted for nearly 90 percent of all profit generated by all companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and their revenue totaling 29.3 trillion yuan, taking up 35.42 percent of China's total GDP of 82.7 trillion yuan.

A majority of 360 listed enterprises were located in East China, 74 in Central China and 66 in West.

Beijing had 77 top profitable companies, followed by Guangdong with 71 and Shanghai with 52, said Shen Hanyao, president of WEI.

This is the 18th year in row that WEI published the list of China's most profitable listed companies.