Despite the economic slowdown in China, brand valuations and consumer spending are rising in the country, and that’s why we decided to check out which are the most valuable brands in China. According to the data collected by brands data firm BrandZ, China’s 100 most valuable brands grew by 13% to $525.6 billion in 2016. For the first time in history, brand valuations of market-driven companies owned by private entrepreneurs took the lead, a clear sign that China’s economy is headed for a market-based transformation. Consumer spending in China in 2016 surged by 9.6% in 2016, as online retail continues to grow. Top three positions in the Forbes Global 2000 list of 2016 are occupied by Chinese companies, while there are a total of 172 Chinese companies in the list, more than any other regional player, including Japan, India, and South Korea.
In this article we will take a look at 10 most valuable brands in China
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10. Tencent Holdings Limited
Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited is one of the most valuable brands not only in China, but in Asia, with a total brand value of $82 billion, according to brand equity database of BrandZ. Tencent’s products and services include famous instant messaging app Tencent QQ, one of the largest web portals, QQ.com, and WeChat, which has over 100 million users outside China. Tencent Holdings also has a 15% stake in the Chinese B2C retailer platform, JD.com. Tencent’s founder Pony Ma is the richest man in the country, having a total worth of over $13 billion.
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9. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), the second biggest ecommerce platform in the world, has a brand value of $47.60 billion, as of the end of 2016, while its market capitalization stands at $242.04 billion. The company, which went public in the US in 2014, recently added $7.5 billion to its market value after beating analyst forecasts for its quarterly results and also raised its full-year sales guidance.
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8. China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL)
China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) is one of the 10 most valuable brands in China, with a brand value of $57.16 billion. China Mobile’s market cap is about $241 billion. The state-owned telecommunication and multimedia services company is the world’s largest mobile phone operator in terms of subscribers, with about 835 million subscribers.
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7. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
The Beijing-based Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), founded in 1984, has a total market valuation of $198 billion, while its brand value as of the end of 2016 is $34.27 billion. The state-owned ICBC is the largest bank in the world by total assets and by market cap. Its total assets have a net value of $3.616 trillion.
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6. Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a China-based search engine giant, with a whopping 70% market share in the country. Baidu remains the undisputed leader in search because of Google’s inability to penetrate the market due to entry bans. Baidu’s market value stands at $66.1 billion. The company offers various other services including Baidu Music, Baidu Maps, Baidu Tieba and Baidu Wallet.
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5. China Construction Bank Corporation
China Construction Bank Corporation is the sixth largest company in the world, with 13,629 domestic branches. It ranked 5th on our list of most valuable brands in China. The bank is one of the “Big Four” banks in China. It was founded in 1954, and also has branches all over the world including NYC, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Seoul, Singapore, and Sydney. Its brand value decreased by 6% to $19.27 billion in 2016.
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4. Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies is a famous China-based telecom equipment and phone maker whose devices are getting rapidly popular in Europe, South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. The company expects to become one of the top five smartphone companies in the world by the end of 2017. The company’s brand has a value of over $18 billion.
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3. Agricultural Bank of China
At the third spot on our list of most valuable brands in China we have the Agricultural Bank of China that was founded in 1951, and now has a market capitalization of $152.7 billion. The bank went public in 2010. It boasts 320 million retail customers, 2.7 million corporate clients, and has around 24,000 branches. The Beijing-based bank is the third largest lender by assets.
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2. Ping An
The Shenzhen, China-based insurance and financial services company Ping An, whose name means “safe and well”, was founded in 1988. It now has a total market cap of $90 billion. Ping An is one of the top 50 companies in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The second largest insurer in China deals in four key business areas: finance, medicine, auto and housing.
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1. China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:LFC)
The first place on our list of most valuable brands in China goes ti the China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:LFC) that is the biggest life insurer in China. The company, which is 70% state-owned, has a brand value of $15.50 billion. China Life is, however, going through a major restructuring and is facing tough times as many new competitors enter the market due to the liberalization introduced by the Chinese government. The company recently warned that it expects its fiscal 2016 net profit to fall by a whopping 40%-50%.
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