NEW YORK, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- MZ Consult NY (www.mz-ir.com), a leading global investor relations and financial communications firm, announces that the final registration deadline is today November 28, 2008 for the 11th annual edition of the IR Global Rankings and Awards ("IRGR"). Do not miss your chance to join!

Approximately 150 companies from 32 countries have already registered for this year's edition, which is a very positive and expressive number especially due to current market conditions. The 2008 IRGR had 160 companies registered. We are also very excited with the presence of approximately 40 "first-timers" such as Abertis, Royal Bank of Canada, Bancolombia, CCR, Microsoft, China Railway Group, Sonae, Walgreen, Intel, HSBC, Dufry South America, Sparebank, Assurant and Akzo Nobel, to just name a few.

The IR Global Rankings annual survey is a unique opportunity to rate and compare investor relations programs and corporate governance standards. This survey is coordinated by MZ and it is supported by KPMG, Arnold & Porter, The Bank of New York Mellon, Corporate Asia Network, Bloomberg, NYSE Euronext, Demarest, Mattos FIlho and Barbosa Mussnich.

We strongly believe that implementing best practices and fair disclosure procedures when communicating with the capital markets help companies in both earning and maintaining investor confidence. Solid and credible communication with the investment community should be one of the key priorities for investor relations and corporate governance professionals, once value creation (stock prices) and risk perception can be managed. You can now compare [Company] to other leading global companies and, if you wish, keep your final results confidential.

The evaluation process has already started and the deadline period will not be extended any further. Therefore, don't miss the chance to have your Investor Relations program evaluated for the 2009 ranking. Registrants will receive a comprehensive report with improvement opportunities, benchmarks, IR trends and companies can discuss the results and findings with the evaluation specialists and receive live in-depth feedback and consultancy on IR Websites, Corporate Governance Practices and Financial Disclosure Procedures.

TO REGISTER, please visit the website www.irglobalrankings.com, or type IRGR < GO > into your Bloomberg terminal.

More than 150 companies from over 32 countries have already registered for the 2009 IR Global Rankings, among them (in alphabetical order): Abertis (MADRID: ABE); adidas (XETRA: ADS.DE); Aegon (NYSE: AEG); AkzoNobel (Euronext: AKZA); ALL - America Latina Logistica (BOVESPA: ALLL11); Alltop Technology (TWSE: 3526); AmBev (NYSE: ABV); Amil Participacoes (BOVESPA: AMIL3); AMP (ASX: AMP); AMS Homecare (TSX: AHCK); Arcadis (EURONEXT: ARCAD); Assurant (NYSE: AIZ); ASUR (NYSE: ASR); Banco Bradesco (NYSE: BBD); Banco Nossa Caixa (BOVESPA: BNCA3); Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB); Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); Bayer (XETRA: BAY); BBVA (Madrid: BBVA); Bematech (BOVESPA: BEMA3); Brasil Telecom (NYSE: BTM); Braskem (BOVESPA: BRKM5); Cameco (NYSE: CCJ); CCR (BOVESPA: CCRO3); China Agri-Industries Holdings (HKSE: 606); China Railway (HKSE: 390); China Telecom (NYSE: CHA); Chunghwa Telecom (TSE: 2412); Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO); Coelce - Cia Energetica do Ceara (BOVESPA: COCE5); Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL); Copel (BOVESPA: CPLE6); COSCO International Holdings (HKG: 517); Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS); Crucell (Euronext: CRXL); CSN - Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE: SID); Danske Bank (OMX: DANSKE); DSM (Euronext: DSM); Dufry South America (BOVESPA: DUFB11); E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC); Embraer (NYSE: ERJ); Endesa Chile (NYSE: EOC); Energisa (BOVESPA: ENGI); Enersis (NYSE: ENI-US); Far Eastern Textile (TWSE: 1402); FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX); Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS); Galp Energia (EURONEXT: GALP PL); Gazprom Neft (RTS: SIBN); General Electric Company (NYSE: GE); Gerdau (NYSE: GGB); Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL); Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE: GOL); GVT (BOVESPA: GVTT3); Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE: HAE); Homex (OTC: DHMXF.PK); HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L); HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498); Hysan Development Company (HKSE: HYSNY.PK); IC RUSS- INVEST (RTS: RUSIG); Indra (Madrid: IDR); Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); JBS (BOVESPA: JBSS3); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ); Kotak Mahindra Bank (BSE: 500247); Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE); Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM); M. Dias Branco (BOVESPA: MDIA3); Marfrig (BOVESPA: MRFG3); Masisa (NYSE: MYS); Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT); Natural Beauty Bio-Technology (HKSE: 157); Net Servicos (BOVESPA: NETC4); Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM); Nexen (NYSE: NXY); Norsk Hydro (OSLO: NHY); Novartis (VIRT-X: NOVN.VX ); Oi (NYSE: TNE); Orascom Telecom (CASE: ORTE); Ossur (OMX: OSSR); Pampa Energia (BCBA: PAMP); Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR); PDG Realty (BOVESPA: PDGR3); PEMEX (NONE: NONE); Perdigao (NYSE: PDA); Petrobras (BOVESPA: PETR3); Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (NYSE: PHI); Positivo Informatica (BOVESPA: POSI3); PotashCorp (NYSE: POT); Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG); ProFarma (BOVESPA: PFRM3); PT Excelcomindo Pratama (JAK: EXCL); PT Indosat (NYSE: IIT); PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (NYSE: TLK); QIAGEN (NASDAQ: QGEN); Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM); Redecard (BOVESPA: RDCD3); RepsolYPF (MADRID: REP); Rodobens Negocios Imobiliarios (BOVESPA: RDNI3); Royal Ahold (Euronext: AH); Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY); Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.B); Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHIA); RusHydro (RTS: HYDR); RWE (XETRA: RWE); Ryder (NYSE: R); Santander (NYSE: STD); Sao Paulo Alpargatas (BOVESPA: ALPA4); SAPPI (NYSE: SPP); Satipel (Bovespa: SATI3); Satyam (NYSE: SAY); Shin Kong Financial Holding (TWSE: 2888); Shinsei Bank (TSE: 8303); Sonae (EURONEXT: SON PL); Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN); SpareBank (OSLO: MING); Sul America (BOVESPA: SULA11); Sulzer (SWX: SUN); Suzano Papel e Celulose (BOVESPA: SUZB5); Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC); Syngenta International (NYSE: SYT); Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM); TAM (NYSE: TAM); TD Bank Financial (NYSE: TD); Tecnisa (BOVESPA: TCSA3); Tegma Gestao Logistica (BOVESPA: TGMA3); Telecom Argentina (NYSE: TEO); Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI); Telekom Austria (VIE: TKA.VI); Telkom (NYSE: TKG); Terna (Bovespa: TRNA11); Total (NYSE: TOT); Totvs (BOVESPA: TOTS3); Tractebel Energia (BOVESPA: TBLE3); Turk Telekomunikasyon (ISE: TTKOM); Tyco International (NYSE: TYC); Ultrapar (NYSE: UGP); Unibanco (NYSE: UBB); URS (NYSE: URS); VimpelCom (NYSE: VIP); Votorantim Celulose e Papel (NYSE: VCP); WABCO (NYSE: WBC); Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG); Wendy's/Arby's (NYSE: WEN); Wipro (NYSE: WIT); Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM); Zurich Financial Services (SWX: ZURN);

Conference Call Replay: If you missed the conference call that discussed the news and procedures of this new edition, held on October 1, please access the link: http://webcast.mzdp.com.br/publico.aspx?codplataforma=197. You can also request your free copy of the 2008 magazine at www.irglobalrankings.com.

TOP 5 REASONS TO SIGN UP FOR the 2009 IR GLOBAL RANKINGS

1) BENCHMARKING - Get acquainted with the best IR programs around the world, learn how you can improve your practices and see how you are positioned in relation to regional and industry peers;

2) UNIQUE RANKING SYSTEM - Based on extensive proprietary research of public companies and investors (technical review) and supported by input from independent audit and legal experts;

3) TRANSPARENCY - Ranking criteria are widely publicized and all the results are evaluated by a technical committee comprised of independent professionals;

4) FEEDBACK - Registrants receive a personalized report with feedback based on a technical evaluation, which is later individually discussed in a call with the IRGR team;

5) RECOGNITION - Best-ranked companies will be awarded (IR ceremonies will be held in four locations worldwide in early 2009) and they will be featured on the IRGR page on Bloomberg terminals and will receive wide publicity.

Top Companies from the 2008 IR Global Rankings include: ABB (NYSE: ABB); adidas (XETRA: ADS.DE); Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (NYSE: ASX); Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM); Air France-KLM (NYSE: AKH); Allergan (NYSE: AGN); America Latina Logistica (Bovespa: ALLL11); Aracruz (NYSE: ARA); Arcadis (Amsterdam: ARCAD.AS); ASUR (NYSE: ASR); Australia and New Zealand Banking (NYSE: ANZBY.PK); Banco ABC (Bovespa: ABCB4); Banco BPI (XETRA: BPI.DE); Banco Bradesco (NYSE: BBD); Banco do Brasil (Bovespa: BBAS3); Banco Espirito Santo (Bloomberg: BESNN PL); Banco Itau (NYSE: ITU); Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); Bayer (XETRA: BAY.DE); BBVA (NYSE: BBV); BlueScope Steel (XETRA:BH5.DE); BNP Paribas (Paris: BNP.PA); Bombardier (XETRA: BBDB.DE); Brasil Ecodiesel (Bovespa: ECOD3); Brasil Telecom (NYSE: BRP); Braskem (NYSE: BAK); BRE Bank (Bloomberg: BRE PW); Bursa Malaysia (OTC: BSAMF.PK); Camargo Correa Desenvolvimento (CCDI) (Bovespa:CCIM3); Cameco (NYSE: CCJ); Cemig (NYSE: CIG); CGI Group (NYSE: GIB); China Telecom (NYSE: CHA); Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO); Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL); Coloplast (CPH: COLO-B); Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (NYSE: CBD); Compania de Minas Buenaventura (NYSE: BVN); Controladora Comercial Mexicana (OTC: CDCUF.PK); Copel (Bovespa: TCPLE6.SA) Copel (NYSE: ELP); CPFL Energia (NYSE: CPL); Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS); CSN (NYSE: SID); CyberLinkCorp (Taiwan:5203.TW); Cyrela (Bovespa: CYRE3); Daimler (NYSE: DAI); Danske Bank (XETRA: DSN.DE); Datasul (Bovespa: DSUL3); Deutsche Post World Net (XETRA: DPW.DE); Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT); E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC); Enersis (NYSE: ENI); Erste Bank (EUX: EBO.EX); Estacio Participacoes (Bovespa: ESTC3); Euro Disney (Paris: EUROD.PA); EVN (OTC: EVNVY.PK); Exxaro Resources (OTC: EXXAY.PK); FedEx (NYSE: FDX); Gafisa (NYSE: GFA); Genentech (NYSE: DNA); General Electric (NYSE: GE); Global Payments (NYSE: GPN); Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL); GOL (NYSE: GOL); Grasim Industries (XETRA: GRS.DE); Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo (MXK: GMDB); Hochtief (XETRA: HOT.DE); Homex (OTC: DHMXF.PK); IC Russ-Invest (NYSE: RUSIG); ICA (NYSE: ICA);ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN); iGATE Global Solutions (NYSE: IGS.NS); IJM (OTC: IJMCF.PK); Indra (XETRA: IDA.DE); Infinity Bio-Energy; Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY); Japan Airlines (TYO: 9205); JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU); JHSF (Bovespa: JHSF3); Kellogg (NYSE: K); Kesko (OTC: KKOYF.PK); Kotak Mahindra Bank (BSE: 600247.BO); Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM); Lupatech (Bovespa: LUPA3); M. Dias Branco (Bovespa: MDIA3); Marfrig (Bovespa: MRFG3); Masisa (NYSE: MYSZYPK); Mexichem (Mexico: MEXCHEM.MX); MTR Corporation (HKSE: 0066); Natura Cosmeticos (Bovespa: NATU3); Natural Beauty Bio-Technology (HKG: 0157); Nedbank Group (XETRA: NCO.DE); Net Servicos (NASDAQ: NETC); Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM); Nexen (NYSE: NXY); Nike (NYSE: NKE); Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHYDY.PK); Novartis (NYSE: NVS); OHL Brasil (Bovespa: OHLB3); Partner Communications (NASDAQ: PTNR); PDG Realty (Bovespa: PDGR3); Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU); Pengrowth (NYSE: PGH); Perdigao (NYSE: PDA); Petrobras (NYSE: PBR); Positivo Informatica (Bovespa: POSI3); PotashCorp (NYSE: POT); Powerchip Semiconductor (Taiwan:5346.TWO); Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG); Profarma (Bovespa: PFRM3); PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (NYSE: TLK); QIAGEN (NasdaqGS: QGEN); Rossi Residencial (Bovespa: RSID3); Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG); Ryder System (NYSE: R); Sappi (NYSE: SPP); Satipel (Bovespa: SATI3); Satyam (NYSE: SAY); Shinsei Bank (XETRA: LCJ.DE); SLC Agricola (Bovespa: SLCE3); SMIC (HKSE: 0981); Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN); Statoil (NYSE: STO); TAM (NYSE:TAM); Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM); TAV Airports (ISE: TAVHL); Tecnisa (Bovespa: TCSA3); Telecom Argentina (NYSE: TEO); Telekom Austria (Viena: TKA.VI); Telekomunikacja Polska (WSE: TPSA); Telkom (NYSE: TKG); Terna Participacoes (Bovespa: TRNA11); TIM Participacoes (NYSE: TSU); Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding (XETRA: TYG.DE); Total (NYSE: TOT); Totvs (Bovespa: TOTS3); TPI Triunfo (Bovespa: TPIS3.SA); Tractebel (Bovespa: TBLE3); Turk Economy Bank (ISE: TEBNK.IS); Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL); Ultrapar (NYSE: UGP); Unibanco (NYSE: UBB); URS Corporation (NYSE: URS);VCP (NYSE: VCP);VimpelCom (NYSE: VIP); Vivendi (XETRA: VVU.DE); Vivo (NYSE: VIV); Wachovia (NYSE: WB); Wipro (NYSE: WIT); Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and Zurich Financial Services (XETRA: ZFIN.DE)

To learn more about the 2009 IRGR or to download the 2008 IRGR magazine with winners and best practices, please visit www.irglobalrankings.com/ or type IRGR < GO > into your Bloomberg Terminal.

For further information, please contact: IRGR Team, Email: irgr@mz-ir.com, phone: +1 (212) 813-2975

About IR Global Rankings: Solid communication with the investment community is a key priority for investor relations and corporate governance professionals, once value creation (stock prices) and risk perception can be managed. The implementation of best practices in communicating with the capital markets and fair disclosure procedures do help companies in earning and maintaining investor confidence. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards Survey is the most comprehensive auditing and ranking system for IR websites, corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures - a great opportunity to benchmark IR efforts vis-à-vis peers and industry leaders. Based on extensive proprietary research of publicly held companies and investors, and supported by input from independent audit, corporate governance and legal experts, MZ's methodology is highly detailed, transparent and fully accessible to all participants. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards Survey has grown each year since its inception in 1999.

SOURCE MZ Consult NY LLC