China Mobile has leaped ahead of household names such as
Marlboro and Wal-Mart to rank fifth in an influential annual
ranking of the world's top brands.
The brand of the world's biggest wireless operator is now valued
at more than US$41 billion - an increase of 5 percent from last
year.
At the end of the first quarter, China Mobile's subscribers
topped 316 million - more than the population of the US.
Three Chinese banks also made the top 100 list, with the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China coming in 33rd, Bank of
China 38th and China Construction Bank 61st.
Internet search engine Google topped the list, with a brand
value of US$66.4 billion.?
The Financial Times called Google "an outstanding example" of
how to develop a brand of enormous value both to customers and
shareholders.
The Internet domain name google.com was registered by founders
Sergey Brin and Larry Page in September 1997.
US conglomerate General Electric came in second at $61.9
billion, followed by Microsoft at almost $55 billion.
Soft drinks giant Coca Cola was fourth with a brand value of
$44.1 billion, far more than its rival Pepsi, at $11.8 billion,
which was ranked 48th.
The brand ranking was compiled by market researcher Millward
Brown and the findings published in cooperation with the Financial
Times.
It is based on the brand's earnings, the brand's contribution to
the parent business and the brand's future prospects.
Key factors in building brand recognition this year ranged from
corporate responsibility to serving customers in emerging markets
like China, Brazil and India, according to the study.
The rankings were based on publicly available financial data
along with primary research, including interviews with a million
consumers worldwide, Millward Brown said.
For Google, which ranked seventh a year ago, the jump to the top
underscores how quickly the search engine has become an everyday
name.
(China Daily April 26, 2007)