emirates7 - The brand value of Samsung Group reached US$97.4 billion this year, a British consulting firm said Sunday, ranking eighth among major global technology companies, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The value of Samsung Group marked an 8.9% increase from the previous year's estimate of $89.4 billion, according to Brand Finance, a global brand valuation consultancy.

Samsung, whose ranking slipped one spot from a year earlier, remained the only South Korean brand in the top 10.

SK hynix Inc. ranked 28th, up one spot from the previous year.

LG Group fell eight places to 44th, while Coupang Inc., a US-listed e-commerce giant that generates more than 90% of its revenue in South Korea, ranked 49th, down one spot from a year earlier.

South Korea's leading search engine operator Naver Corp. ranked 95th, up five spots from a year earlier.

The United States accounted for 46 of the top 100 brands, followed by China and Japan with 25 and nine, respectively.

Apple Inc. ranked first with a brand value of $607.6 billion, followed by Microsoft Corp., Google LLC and Amazon.com Inc.