Photo/NBD

May 10 (NBD) -- Since brand power showcases competitiveness and influence determines strength of words, brands embody life and soul that support a long-term development of an enterprise and also represent competitive force and international status of a nation.

Three years ago, in order to promote the creation of more world-renowned Chinese brands, "China Brand Day" was set up. Moreover, after one year of preparation, the Brand Value List of Chinese Listed Companies made its debut in late March of 2017, filling in the blanks of brand value research targeting Chinese listed companies.

Friday (May 10) afternoon witnesses the press conference for the 2019 Brand Value List of Chinese Listed Companies hosted by the China Business Research Center under School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University and National Business Daily (NBD),and supported by NBD Think Tank.

The lists unveiled are Top 100 Chinese Listed Companies by Brand Value, Top 50 Chinese Listed Companies by Brand Value Overseas, and Top 50 Chinese Upstart Companies by Brand Value.

"From changes in companies' positions on the Brand Value List, we can see the thriving growth of new economy, and also the trend that companies with slow advances would gradually lose ground," Wen Da, chairman and editor-in-chief of NBD said in his address at the press conference.   

Representatives with nearly 100 top-performing listed companies including Global 500 firms participated in the event.

3 years taken to create brand evaluation system for listing firms

On May 10, the third China Brand Day, hundreds of participants gathered together at Shunde Building of Tsinghua University, including brand value researchers and directors for brand building at listed companies, witnessing the release of the 2019 Brand Value List of Chinese Listed Companies, which is the third edition of the List. 

"What makes China a powerful economy? It is the emergence of a batch of great, top-class enterprises and highly reputable brands," said Chen Yubo, secretary of the party committee and deputy director of School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University.

Brands should be assessed from different respects, not limited to traditional marketing or management.

"The brand value we assess is the excess earnings brought now and in the future by a brand that is owned and legally used by a listed company," introduced Zhao Ping, director of the China Business Research Center at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, who led the study of the brand value lists.

11-trillion-yuan list raises threshold for candidates

This year, the brand value of the top 100 list totals 11.45 trillion yuan （1.7 trillion U.S. dollars）, surging 16 percent from 9.88 trillion yuan last year.  

Internet conglomerates Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group both with brand value of more than 1 trillion yuan remain the first and the second place on the list, respectively, becoming two of the first batch of "1 trillion yuan brand value club" members. The brand values of the two titans account for 18 percent of the total value for top 100 companies listed, and the gap between two giants in brand value narrows this year.

The brand value of Tencent Holdings is 1.03 trillion yuan, up 21.4 percent from 2018, while that of Alibaba stands at 1.01 trillion yuan, up 37.6 percent from 2018.

The Top 100 threshold is also rising: the 100th place holder this year is New China Life Insurance with brand value of 28.8 billion yuan, an increase of 5.2 billion yuan or 22 percent against that of the 100th place holder of last year.

Photo/NBD

Amid rising overall brand value, the competition for rankings has become increasingly fierce. According to Zhao Ping, five companies dropped out of the Top 100 List this year. In general, brand value of 37 companies increased, 13 companies remained unchanged and 45 companies decreased compared with last year.

Kweichow Moutai, for example, edged up 2 spots to the 8th place in the 2019 Top 100 with brand value of 281.8 billion yuan, up 37.2 percent from 2018. 

Among all companies on the list, those in the financial industry take the lead with brand value reaching 2.32 trillion yuan, accounting for 20 percent of the total value generated by the top 100 brands.

Following the financial industry are Internet and retail sectors, with brand value created by companies on the list from either of the sectors exceeding 1 trillion yuan.

The total brand value produced by companies on the list from the three segments constitutes most of that generated by the top 100 brands. 

Upstart List released for the first time, offering reference to newly-listed companies

The launch of the new regulations of the science and technology innovation board is changing the landscape of capital market, and the list of Top 50 Chinese Upstart Companies by Brand Value has thus been released for the time on the 2019 Brand Value list of Chinese Listed Companies.

"We hope, through researches on the upstarts, to sense the new development direction of the industries and comprehend the new trend of economic growth," remarked Wen Da. "Only by constant innovation can a company survive the fierce competition."

The total brand value of these well-known brands on the Top 50 Chinese Upstart Companies by Brand Value reaches 385.91 billion yuan, among which Xiaomi group ranks the top with its value upto 73.08 billion yuan. Besides this, the industry where the most companies are listed is the financial industry. 8 financial firms are on the list and the total brand value of these 8 firms is rated the third among all listed companies. In both education and entertainment industry, there sees respectively more than 4 companies on the list.

Entertainment industry achieves excellent performance with the total brand value ranking No.2, which is related to the fact that pan-entertainment companies' tendency to go public and many noted companies are listed on overseas bourses. On the list, Tencent Music and iQiyi are rated No.4 and No.5 respectively. Other well-known media and entertainment companies like Inke, Bilibili and FingerTago also make their way into the list.

20 percent of listed companies by overseas brand value are new entrants

Except for the major list of Top 100 Chinese Listed Companies by Brand Value, the Top 50 Chinese Listed Companies by Overseas Brand Value is also released in these three years.

There witnesses a growth in the overall overseas brand value of these Top 50 companies, with the figure reaching 1,083.4 billion yuan. It increased by 177.9 billion yuan or 20 percent over the previous year.

Alibaba Group tops the Top 50 Chinese Listed Companies by Overseas Brand Value with a value of 90.8 billion yuan, which is 29 billion yuan more than last year, up 47 percent. The brand value entry to the list increases by 2.5 billion, raising the notch 71 percent higher.

The list undergoes a bigger change than the overall Top 100 List, mounting nearly to a reshuffle. 10 new companies made it into this year's Overseas List, while 10 companies fell out.

35 companies in this year's Top 50 List saw their brand value increased, while 5 declined. Compared with the list of 2018, the rankings of 14 companies went up, 7 remained the same, while 19 slid downwards.

The difference of growth rate among industries is eye-catching. The brand value growth rate of the retail industry stands out with 81 percent, while the construction industry takes the last position with -32 percent.

Top 50 Chinese Listed Companies by Brand Value Overseas

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn