Philips valued at $10b, most in NL

According to Interbrand, the brand name of electronics group Philips is for the first time worth more than $10 billion (more than 7.9 billion euro). Philips is the first Dutch company to cross that border. On Thursday the British brand consultancy published its annual top one hundred most valuable companies. The value of Philips increased by 5 percent and is the highest Dutch listing in 42nd place. "With the global launch of its new brand identity and brand strategy Philips has a stronger foundation for consistency, relevance and authenticity of the brand for years to come" says director Patrick Stal of Interbrand Amsterdam. The Dutch-British Shell (6.3 billion dollars) has risen to 65th place this year from last years number 73. The brand became 14 percent more valuable. Beer manufacturer Heineken ($4.2 billion) fell three places to number 95. Philips, Shell and Heineken are the only Dutch companies on the list. The all-American to six of the list remains unchanged. Apple is in first place with a value of 118.9 billion dollar. Google got second place with a value of 107.4 billion dollars. Apple and Google are the first brands to reach a value over 100 billion dollars. Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and General electric form the rest of the top six. Facebook is the biggest riser. The social network site rose from 52 to 29. The brand became 86 percent more expensive in a year.