Questão 864264

PETROBRAS is the world’s eighth most respected company

PETROBRAS has skyrocketed to the 8^th place among the world’s most respected corporations, up from the 83^rd position. The ranking was announced by the Reputation Institute (RI), a private advisory and research company headquartered in New York with representation in upwards of 20 countries.

The survey, carried out for the tenth year in a row, lists the world’s 600 biggest companies. The Reputation Institute created a research model to measure the perceptions of esteem, trust, respect, and admiration consumers have of companies. RI interviewed upwards of 60,000 people, from January to February 2007, in 29 countries. In the survey it announced in May, 2007, RI highlights PETROBRAS’ leap to 82.19 points in 2007, up from 73.99 in 2006, the biggest surge registered among the top 8. The company rose 75 positions to rank ahead of companies of the likes of Michelin, UPS, the Swatch Group, Honda, and Kraft Foods. PETROBRAS also leads the pack among energy companies. The segment’s runner-up was Russian Gazprom-neft, which was rated 28^th.

The same international rating singles PETROBRAS out as the Brazilian leader. Twenty Brazilian companies participated in the survey, four of which rated among the top 50 led by PETROBRAS. In the 2006 survey, no Brazilian companies appeared amid the world’s 50 most respected corporations.

Internet: <www.petrobras.com.br> (adapted).

Based on the text above, judge the following items.

Besides PETROBRAS, three other Brazilian companies also made significant progress in relation to the 2006 survey.