Top domestic brands gaining global recognition for quality

China is fast emerging as brand leader in a wide variety of sectors and many of the leading domestic companies are gaining global recognition for quality, according to a new report from Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy.

In its latest 2018 China 300 league table, the consultancy ranked the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, also known as ICBC, and China Construction Bank, with brand values of $59.2 billion and $56.8 billion respectively, as the most valuable brands in the global banking sector.

Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei are leading the charge, however, as technology is poised to overtake banking as the ranking's most valuable sector.

The fastest-growing Chinese brands come from the auto and spirits sectors with BYD up 211 percent and Wuliangye up 161 percent.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: "This year has seen strong growth amongst the big Chinese brands.

"The unique modern history of the Chinese economy has produced huge, national brands on the domestic front. In the coming years, Chinese brands have an opportunity to use this strong domestic foundation as a platform for global expansion."

In the past, many Western brands expanded into China, but Haigh said he expects to see many Chinese brands expand to the West in the future.

While banking remains the most valuable sector, accounting for 24.7 percent of the ranking's total brand value over the last year, the robust growth of the technology sector suggests it is likely to overtake banking. Tech's overall share of the value of the 300 brands listed has increased from 20.7 percent to 24.4 percent.

Haigh said Alibaba, which is also the world's fastest growing big retail brand in percentage terms, shows no sign of slowing as it plans to invest $15.2 billion toward its global logistics chain expansion.

China Mobile, the fourth most valuable Chinese brand－up 14 percent to $53.2 billion－is the most valuable telecoms brand in Asia. China Mobile boasts the world's most extensive mobile network and the world's largest mobile phone customer base.