Top-50 Chinese brands see value rise

The top-50 Chinese brands posted a 13 percent rise in their brand value, with healthcare and food and dairy being the two fastest growing sectors, according to a latest study.

The total value of brands in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2014 report hit US$379.8 billion, market research firm Millward Brown said yesterday.

The study found that 45 Chinese state-owned enterprises comprised 71 percent of the domestic list's total value, while 55 market-driven brands made up 29 percent.

But the brand value of the market-driven brands in the top 50 rose 27 percent in the 2014 ranking, faster than the 9 percent growth by SOEs.

This suggests the market-driven brands have the greatest growth potential as China's market continues to develop, the report said.

The value of food and dairy brands rose because of global alliances and other initiatives to develop world-class food processing expertise and guarantee food supply safety, the report said.

Tencent, China's largest Internet company by market capitalization, almost doubled its value to US$54 billion and rose to No. 14 globally and No. 2 in China as the company tapped its popular smartphone application WeChat.

The global top-100 brands include 11 Chinese companies, the most from Asia, the report said.

The survey covered 2 million consumers and 10,000 brands in over 30 countries.