global top ten

Global top ten 2001

citation far eastern economic review 27 dec 2001

REVIEW 200/TOP 10 MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

Global Top Ten

This year's survey confirms the world best companies in their pre-eminent positions

By Jonathan Finer/HONG KONG

Issue cover-dated December 27, 2001 - January 3, 2002

1 MICROSOFT
Neither declining profits nor the United States Justice Department could knock the computing titan off course for its seventh consecutive No. 1 finish. Microsoft settled its case with the U.S. government on November 6, and put an end to years of litigation. Or did it? Only nine of the 18 states that were suing the alleged monopoly signed on, leaving the remaining nine free to pursue further legal action. But neither Microsoft nor our readers seem particularly concerned. The standard-bearer continues to be ranked No. 1 in financial soundness and as a company others try to emulate. With a market capitalization of some $370 billion, it's easy to see why.

2 GENERAL ELECTRIC
The retirement of legendary Chairman Jack Welch has not slowed General Electric down one bit, at least according to our readers. In fact, in the year that the man who oversaw $400 billion in growth since he took over the company in 1981 decided to ride off into the sunset, GE's management was actually rated higher than ever--climbing past Microsoft to No. 1. New Chairman Jeffrey Immelt has big shoes to fill, but in the eyes of our readers, he is on the right track. GE also finished No. 2 in the category of companies others try to emulate.

3 NOKIA
In a down year for telecommunications companies, our readers made the Finnish phone maker the No. 1 innovator and No. 3 producer of high-quality products, such as the Nokia 5510, which combines an MP3 player, phone and radio into one 155-gram unit. The company that nearly reached the top of the REVIEW 200 in just its third year in the survey is continuing the push towards third-generation mobile-phone technology. Once hailed as a sure-fire future windfall for telecommunications companies, third-generation service has proven slower and costlier to develop than was initially hoped.

4 McDONALD'S
Though it's the largest restaurant franchise in the world, our readers recognize that the fast-food icon's pre-fab fare leaves something to be desired. In fact, McDonald's No. 41 ranking in the quality department is the lowest of any company in our top 10--in any category. But it's hard to argue with success--defined, in this case, by 28,000 restaurants in 121 countries--which is reflected in McDonald's high rankings in management vision and financial soundness. Somewhat surprising, however, is that the company that has been serving almost identical burgers for decades was rated this year's third-most innovative company. This may be tied to special efforts to incorporate local preferences into its menu, like the Japanese "Shogun burger," a Teryaki patty with a fried egg on top.

5 IBM
The ultimate blue chipper has proven that its reliability extends from stock listings to the REVIEW 200 where it has finished in the top 10 in every year of the survey. It's a little-known fact that the personal-computer king actually earns 60% of its revenues and 75% of its profits from software and services. However, IBM plans to stick to its roots and continue to invest heavily in producing PCs and business computers. Either way, our readers are happy with the results, as Big Blue landed the No. 4 spot in high-quality products and services, second only to Nokia among companies in the top 10 overall.

6 COCA-COLA
Rivalled only by Nike's "swoosh" and McDonald's golden arches for global-brand recognizability, the red-and-white Coca-Cola logo is ubiquitous on billboards around the world. While the "cola wars" with Pepsi in the 1980s were remarkably one-sided, Coke and its main soft-drink rival are preparing to do battle over a new line of "enhanced" bottled waters, chock full of vitamins and minerals. Oddly, Coca-Cola, ranked No. 6 by our readers as a company others try to emulate, is the one following suit. Pepsi will introduce its super water first, and Coke is rushing to get its own version to the market.

7 VISA INTERNATIONAL
As their advertisements tell you, Visa is everywhere you want to be, including in the top 10 of the REVIEW 200. Unfortunately for Visa, this year it also found itself in court. Major retailers like Wal-Mart and Sears Roebuck are suing Visa and rival MasterCard--which together account for 75% of the $1.3 trillion U.S. credit-card market--for forcing the chain stores to accept their debit cards, which charge retailers higher processing fees. Visa was the jack-of-all-trades in this years' survey, with no ranking lower than No. 22 in any of the categories. But it was also the only company that did not rank in the top 10 in any category, aside from its overall score.

8 INTEL
It's not the biggest chip maker in the world, but it's the recognized market leader. So innovative has the company been in building smaller and faster chips that the very notion that chip makers must continue to break size and speed records to survive has become known as Moore's Law, after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore. Surprising then, that our readers ranked the company just No. 12 in the innovation category, well behind its rankings for the quality of its product (No. 6) and the long-term vision of its management (No. 5).

9 WALT DISNEY
Though this massive conglomerate is about more than just theme parks, its presence in the region will blossom with the opening of a Hong Kong tourist magnet in late 2005 or early 2006 at a cost of $3.6 billion. Fortunately for Disney, 90% of the cost will be borne by the Hong Kong government. Sounds like a sweet deal, but the SAR is counting on the park to funnel in tourist dollars for years to come. Disney's highest score in this year's survey came for its visionary management, which has spawned a diverse range of entertainment ventures.

10 NESTLE
Nestle made the biggest jump of any of the companies in this year's top 10, up from No. 18 a year ago. Well known for its extensive list of food subsidiaries, including its legendary chocolate, Nestle is hoping to gobble up profits from an unlikely segment of the consumables market: pet food. With its proposed $10.3 billion purchase of the Ralston-Purina group, Nestle would hold 58% of the U.S. catfood market and 38% of the dogfood market. Presumably this is not what our readers are referring to when they rate the quality of its product No. 10.