Tech giants brand value on the up

Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma delivers a speech at an investor conference at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, June 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Fifty-five Chinese companies made to the list of the world's 500 most valuable brands this year, with the technology sector soaring in value.

Three tech powerhouses－Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd－were in the top 50 and realized double-digit growth in their brand value, according to a study conducted by United Kingdom-based consulting firm Brand Finance.

Brand Finance CEO David Haigh said: "Chinese tech brands are even more embedded in the daily lives of their users than Western brands are, while the diversity of services offered by brands such as WeChat maximizes the commercial potential of their brands."

Alibaba reached a peak brand value of $34.8 billion, up 94 percent year-on-year, making it the world's 23rd most valuable brand and China's most valuable internet company brand.

Huawei and Tencent also grew impressively in brand value, rising 27.8 percent and 123 percent, respectively.

In terms of financial brands, the study showed that Chinese banks' brand value growth has been rapidly outpacing that of European and North American competitors.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, now ranks 10th, ousting US bank Wells Fargo as the most valuable bank in the world.

The consulting firm attributed the industry's growth to "vast population, organic expansion, foreign M& A activity and positive relationships with Chinese consumers".

Likewise, Ping An Insurance held sway as the world's most valuable insurance brand, increasing 11 percent in value to $6.2 billion.

This year Google overtook Apple as the most valuable brand across all industries, with a value of $109 billion.