KUALA LUMPUR: The list of 100 most popular companies eyed for jobs by Malaysian graduates was revealed yesterday.

The list was drawn up based on an extensive survey of graduates.

GTI Specialist Publishers announced the list of Malaysia's 100 Leading Graduate Employers 2008 and intends to publish a book on its findings in March.

The top seven spots were filled by foreign companies in Malaysia.

The Graduate Employer of the Year was presented to Shell Malaysia.

Intel was first runner-up and Schlumberger (whose operations include oil and gas industry) second runner-up.

The rest were Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG and HSBC Bank.

Only the eight and ninth spots were Malaysian-based companies -- Public Bank and CIMB Group.

The largest integrated media investment group in the country, Media Prima, secured 12th spot.

The most popular print media company among the 100 was Karangkraf (ranked 46), The New Straits Times Press (53), followed by the Utusan Malaysia Group (71) and The Star (84).

GTI also presented the doctorjob Students Choice Awards to Taylor's University College.

Sunway University College and Help University College won the other two awards for the first and second runners-up spots.

Recognition was also given to the most popular employers in four sectors: banking and investment (HSBC Bank), engineering (Shell Malaysia), finance and professional services (PricewaterhouseCoopers), and information and communication technology (Intel).

GTI Group international managing director and founder Adrian Wood said the seven-month survey was conducted among 15,000 Malaysian final-year university students in Malaysia, Britain and Australia.

"We want to recognise the strength of employer brands on campus and help employers find the right graduates for their organisations. It will also allow them to benchmark themselves among each other."