DBS Bank, NTUC Income, American International Assurance (AIA), SingTel, Shell and BreadTalk have emerged as the most reputable companies in Singapore, according to a survey on corporate reputation released yesterday.

The survey findings were based on the views of 800 Singaporeans aged 18 to 55, who took part in the face-to-face poll conducted in June and July by public-relations firm Reputation Management Associates and Singapore Polytechnic.

Respondents were asked for their opinion of corporations in five categories - retail banking, general insurance, life insurance, mobile phone, petroleum, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

They had to assess the companies based on factors which included the ability to create wealth and value for shareholders, the ability to meet employees' needs, customer relations, and community-outreach efforts.

'The survey results also indicate that during this period of financial turmoil, the public expects companies to exercise greater transparency, have more dialogues with and engage them,' said Mr John Lim, chief executive officer of Reputation Management Associates.

The survey is held every 18 months, with the last one conducted between October and November 2006.

This year, DBS Bank beat Citibank to become the most reputable retail bank in Singapore.

'DBS Bank has put in a lot of effort to reach out to the public, taking efforts to revitalise the POSBank brand, and I believe this resonated well with survey respondents,' said Mr Lim.

DBS Bank is working on the relaunch of POSBank that is expected to take place soon.

In the category of life insurance, AIA beat NTUC Income to take the top spot, while Great Eastern Life Assurance maintained its second placing from the last survey.

Mr Kenneth Juneau, AIA's executive vice-president and senior regional life executive, told my paper that he believes the win is due to the firm's efforts in the past years to ensure AIA's ability to honour its commitments.

'Moving forward, we will work even harder to ensure our customers' needs are met and their financial goals are realised,' he added.

For the category of general insurance, NTUC Income maintained its top position from the last survey.

The homegrown insurer took this as an endorsement by its customers as well as a reflection of the company's consistent procedures and speed in claims management and settlement.

'We believe we were able to deliver on our customers' expectations of prudent investment management, as well as excellent customer service and active communication during periods of economic uncertainty,' an NTUC Income spokesman told my paper.

The survey found that 69 per cent of respondents formed their opinions of general insurers from their experience as customers of the firms.

They rated good customer service as well as having products with competitive rates as the most important factors for a general insurer to be considered as having a good reputation.

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