Three internationally known Asian companies have been named as the most
trusted enterprises in their own countries after Microsoft, which
receives the title of the most trusted global company.
The rankings are given by the Edelman Trust Barometer 2006 to Toyota, of Japan, Haier, in China, and Samsung, the Korean group.
Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations consultancy,
named the most trusted companies after gathering the views of nearly
2000 opinion leaders. It asked which institutions, companies and
information sources they trust and what determines that trust and
credibility. The company announced its findings at the Davos World
Economic Forum in January.
Although European opinion leaders are found to have little trust in US
companies, non-US brands appear generally trusted worldwide as much as
in their source countries. Sony, for example, returns a 74 per cent
score in Japan and 79 per cent in the US. The exception is Japanese
brands in China.
Financial companies fare better in Asia and the US than in Europe.
Newspapers, reports the barometer, are the first trusted medium of choice in Japan and Korea.
Trust in institutions overall are highest in China, Brazil and the US, and lowest in Germany and France.
