Samsung ranks eighth among world's top brands

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. ranked eighth among the world's top 100 brands this year, rising one notch from the previous year, a report showed Monday. Samsung's brand value jumped to US$39.6 billion this year, up 20 percent from $32.9 billion a year earlier, according to the annual report compiled by global branding consultancy Interbrand. Samsung joined the ranks of the world's top 20 brands in 2009 and the top 10 last year. Hyundai Motor Co. was the other South Korean company to make the rankings at 43rd place. The country's top automaker climbed 10 spots, with its brand value rising 20 percent to $9 billion, marking one of the highest on-year increases among automakers. Its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. saw its brand value rise 15 percent to reach $4.7 billion, the report showed. Meanwhile, Apple Inc., the iPhone maker, ranked first among the world's top 100 brands this year with its brand value reaching $98.3 billion. Google Inc. ranked second with $93.3 billion, while Coca-Cola was relegated to the third spot with its brand value estimated at $79.2 billion. Other U.S. brands, such as Microsoft Corp. and McDonald's Corp. were also included in the world's top 10 brands, the report showed.