Behind the Curve

Somebody has to say it — the websites of Asia's major companies are creaky, cluttered, and confusing. Assessing the corporate portals of 75 of the world's largest companies by market capitalization, London consultancy Bowen Craggs gave China Mobile a grade of just 94 out of a maximum of 280 points, making it one of the lowest-scoring companies, along with Russia's Sberbank. David Bowen, senior consultant and co-founder, describes the two sites as looking like "they come from the earliest days of the Web."

The websites are assessed on ease of navigation, how well they communicate their message, and how effectively they serve customers, investors, journalists, and the corporate social responsibility lobby. The highest-ranking Asia Pacific companies are Australia's BHP Billiton ("nice design and excellent responsibility material; otherwise average"), and Japan's Canon ("revamped website is best of the Japanese, though let down by weak media service") and Toyota ("clean look and good responsibility messages; otherwise mediocre").