Chinese Banks & Telecoms Brands Feature Prominently In List Of World’s 500 Most Valuable Brands

Feb. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- •   22 Chinese & Hong Kong brands included in Global 500

•   9 brands introduced into the Global 500

•   China Mobile maintains position as most valuable brand



China Mobile has maintained its status as the most valuable brand in China and Hong Kong after posting a 9% increase in the value of its brand, according to the BrandFinance® Global 500 brand index, an annual survey of the world’s 500 most valuable brands published this week by Brand Finance plc, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.

The telecoms company keeps top spot in China and Hong Kong but drops seven ranking places overall from 16 to 23 despite increasing its brand value to US$18,673 million. ICBC is ranked 2nd in China and Hong Kong (53rd overall) and China Construction Bank 3rd (54th overall) following brand value increases of 20% and 34% respectively.

Impressive performances have also been registered by China Telecom, which climbs from 129 to 114 on the back of a 35% increase in brand value; China Unicom and PetroChina, following 59% and 54% increases in brand value respectively. China Life Insurance saw the value of its brand rise by 120% to US$3,714 million, making it the 9th most valuable Chinese brand and resulting in its moving up 170 ranking places in the Global 500 from 391 to 221.

Overall there are 22 China and Hong Kong-based brands that make the Global 500 this year. Brands appearing for the first time include China United Network (124), Agricultural Bank of China (137), SAIC (225) and Jardines (229).

Elsewhere in the survey, retail giant Walmart, whose brand value increased 2% this year, retains top spot. Google has risen in the table the first to the second, whilst Coca-Cola enjoys a 4% increase in its brand value, extending its advantage over main rival Pepsi. Top ten status is also given to technology brands including IBM (4), Microsoft (5) and hp (9). GE and Toyota complete the top ten.

Suffering most were non-essential sectors like airlines and retail. Of the Top Five airline brands, only Singapore Airlines, which came out top in that sector, climbed the table. The biggest airline ‘fallers’ were Japan Airlines, American Airlines and British Airways, down 181, 169 and 117 places respectively.

In the retail sector, excepting Walmart, the picture is grim. The only other retailers to climb in the top ten retail brands were Walmart-owned ASDA, up from 107 to 80; H&M, which rose from 146 and 93 and Home Depot, which is up from 24 to 21 in the overall Global 500. McDonald’s remains the second most valuable retail brand, despite slipping from number 12 to number 17 in the Global 500.

Tesco, which has aspirations of international expansion itself, saw its brand value rise by a significantly higher rate than Walmart – up 26% to US$20,654 million, though its brand value remains only half that of its American rival.

Of the ‘new’ iconic brands, every businessman’s favourite accessory, Blackberry, appears in the Global 500 for the first time whilst Apple has climbed from number 27 to 19 with a 45% increase in its brand value. Santander, the Spanish banking group, rise from 41 to 12 due to their UK major banking acquisitions.


For further information contact:

Irene Kyme, Howard Robinson or Ursula Delaney
020 7360 7878
ikyme@teamspiritpr.com or hrobinson@teamspiritpr.com



About Brand Finance Global 500
Brand Finance first issued its global report into the relative equity of the 250 top global brands back in 2007.  In 2008, the study was extended to analyse the top 500 brands worldwide.  
The Global 500 report is published annually and incorporates data from all listed companies globally. Each brand is accorded a brand rating: a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitor set as well as a brand value: a summary measure of the financial strength of the brand.


About Brand Finance
Brand Finance plc, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy, advises strongly branded organisations on maximising their brand value through effective management of their brands and intangible assets.  Founded in 1996, Brand Finance has performed thousands of branded business, brand and intangible asset valuations worth trillions of dollars.

Its clients include international brand owners, tax authorities, Intellectual Property lawyers and investment banks. Its work is frequently peer-reviewed by the big four audit practices and its reports have been accepted by various regulatory bodies, including the UK Takeover Panel.

Brand Finance is headquartered in London and has a network of international offices in Amsterdam, Athens, Bangalore, Barcelona, Cape Town, Colombo, Dubai, Geneva, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Singapore, Toronto and Zagreb.