Chinese brands gain clout, but lack overseas profile

Top Chinese brands are now better at making their names known when competing against foreign peers but are still weak when it comes to differentiating themselves, a study by research agency Millward Brown shows.

It released its annual BrandZ ranking of the 100 most valuable mainland brands yesterday, with the list topped by China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunications provider, with a brand value of US$61.4 billion. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was second and internet company Tencent third.

"Over the past three to five years, Chinese companies' brand power has become stronger than ever," said Doreen Wang, the head of branding with Millward Brown. "They have made huge progress on how to use different channels to raise brand awareness and provide diverse and better products to consumers.

"However, the majority of mainland brands, compared to successful foreign companies like Apple or Coca-Cola, have not developed a sufficient sense of being different, which is key to influencing consumers' purchase decisions."

According to the ranking, the total value of the top 50 mainland brands has risen 13 per cent this year, to the equivalent of about 6 per cent of the mainland's gross domestic product.

State-owned enterprises still dominate the mainland brand rankings, but privately held companies are growing more strongly.

"State-owned enterprises derive much of their brand value from their financial performances rather the power of brand alone," Wang said. "Comparatively, the brands in lower positions in the ranking are more market-driven."

The rankings, based on interviews with nearly 300,000 mainland consumers and public financial data, include only listed mainland companies with positive earnings over the past year.

Despite increasing awareness domestically, the study shows Chinese brands are relatively unknown overseas. Only 6 per cent of US consumers and 14 per cent of British consumers polled in the study could recall at least one Chinese brand. By contrast, 29 per cent of people in Brazil and 27 per cent in Russia said they could recognise one or more Chinese brand.

Top mainland companies are also expanding their presence overseas. Ten firms in the ranking, including IT giant Lenovo, Air China and home appliance maker Hisense, have seen more than 15 per cent of their revenue come from overseas markets.