SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines (SIA) has moved up two spots to 29th place in Fortune magazine’s list of the most admired companies in the world.
The list, published on Jan 31, is based on a survey of 3,720 executives, directors and securities analysts who were asked to select the 10 companies they admired most.
Begun in 1997, the survey measured companies’ reputation based on nine attributes, including quality of management, innovation, people management and global competitiveness.
In 2023, the national carrier was ranked 31st. In 2022, it was ranked 32nd, and in 2021, it was placed 34th.
SIA is the only Singapore-based firm in the top 50 on the 2024 list. Another Singaporean company on the list is agribusiness group Wilmar International, in 310th place.
The national carrier is the second-highest-ranked Asian company in the top 50, which is dominated by companies from the United States. Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor is the top-ranked Asian company, in 25th place.
SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong said the ranking will motivate the airline to continue delivering a “world-class end-to-end travel experience” for its customers.
The third-highest-ranked Asian company is South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, in 45th place.
In the latest list, technology firm Apple is ranked first, holding on to the top spot for the 17th successive year.
Tech firm Microsoft claims the second spot for the first time since 2020, overtaking e-commerce giant Amazon, which has fallen from second to third place. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is in fourth place and JPMorgan Chase, a financial services firm, in fifth.
US carrier Delta Air Lines comes in at the 11th spot, being placed first among eight airlines on the list. SIA takes second spot in the airline industry, while United Airlines, another US carrier, is third.
Boosted by strong travel demand, the SIA Group booked a record $1.44 billion net profit for the half-year to end-September 2023, up 55 per cent from $927 million for the same period a year ago.
