Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor ranked 17th and 61st in brand value for this year, as assessed by a global consulting firm.

Their ranking inched up two and four notches, respectively, from 19th and 65th from a year earlier, according to the top 100 list selected by Interbrand.

In its “Best Global Brands 2011,” Interbrand said Samsung Electronics’ brand value reached $23.4 billion (27.6 trillion won), up from $19.5 billion last year.

The chipmaker first made the prestigious Interbrand list in 2002, grabbing 34th with its corporate brand valued at just $8.3 billion.

Samsung Electronics said its past gains can be attributed to a rise in sales that topped 150 trillion won and operating profit that reached a record 17 trillion won last year.

It has bolstered its corporate image by making headway in smartphones, tablet PCs and maintaining its edge in the memory chip field, which it dominates.

Samsung has been active in sports marketing, by sponsoring international events such as the Olympics, and has engaged in various corporate social responsibility programs.

Interbrand also showed the brand value of Hyundai Motor climbed by 19 percent from a year before to surpass $6 billion. In the 2010 list, its value was rated at around $5 billion.

The company first made the Interbrand list in 2005 when its ranking stood at 84th.

Hyundai officials said solid sales gains led by popular new models helped improve its corporate image.

The company claimed that the latest findings are noteworthy because Hyundai’s brand value outstripped all of the other 11 automakers on the list.

Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Google and GE made up the top five and Apple saw its ranking jump from 17th to 8th.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)