R.I.L. makes it to world's 100 most respected cos list

New York, Sep 6 (PTI) Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Industries has made it to the annual list of world's
100 most respected companies compiled by the Wall Street
Journal, topped by U.S.-based healthcare products major
Johnson & Johnson (J.&J.).

Ranked 83rd, R.I.L. is the only Indian company on the
list, although there are three more companies led by persons
of Indian origin -- PepsiCo, ArcelorMittal and Citigroup.

J.&J. is followed by F.M.C.G. giant Procter & Gamble,
Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor, legendary investor Warren
Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway and technology giant Apple in
the top five positions.

While Berkshire has slipped from its first position last
year, J.&J. has moved up from its second place in 2007 list.
Toyota has retained its third place, while Apple and P.&G.
have improved on their previous year rankings.

Besides, Google (6th), Wal-Mart (7th), Coca-Cola (8th),
PepsiCo (9th) and Nestle (10th) also figure among the top-
ranked companies.

As part of the fourth annual survey, Wall Street Journal
asked money managers to indicate the degree to which they
respect or don't the 100 largest publicly traded companies, as
measured by total market value.

According to the survey, 74 percent respondents said
they 'highly respect' J.&J., 23 percent said they 'respect',
3 percent said 'respect somewhat' but none said they 'don't
respect' the company — making it top-ranked company.

About R.I.L., 4 percent considered the company as highly
respected, 17 percent said they 'respect' it, 46 percent
responded saying they 'respect somewhat', while 11 percent
said they 'don't respect' the firm. MORE PTI RAM