Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading maker of smartphones and chips, said Thursday that its global brand value has exceeded US$60 billion this year, citing an annual survey of brand management firm Interbrand.

Samsung remained the sixth most-valuable global brand this year with a value of $61.1 billion, up 2 percent from last year’s $59.9 billion, according to Interbrand’s latest top 100 best global brands list.

Samsung’s brand value first surpassed $50 billion in 2016. The tech giant said its brand value has more than tripled for the past 10 years.

Samsung added Interbrand acknowledged the company’s growth potential based on future innovation technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, and its efforts to deliver product innovations, such as the Galaxy Fold smartphone and Bespoke refrigerator.

Apple was the No. 1 in Interbrand’s global brand rankings, followed by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Coca-Cola.

YONHAP