Tencent is 8th most valuable global brand in top 100

Chinese internet portal Tencent has entered the top 10 ranking of the world's 100 most valuable brands, according to an annual rich list.

The 2017 Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands was released on Tuesday by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

Tech giants Google, Apple, Microsoft Corp, Amazon and Facebook Inc took the top five places on the list.

Tencent was ranked eighth, and was one of 21 brands from the Asia-Pacific region to make the list.

Other Chinese brands on the list are Alibaba (14), China Mobile (17), the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (28), Baidu (39), Huawei (49), China Construction Bank (54), Ping An (61), Moutai (64), Agricultural Bank of China (72), China Life (78), Sinopec (85) and Bank of China (94).

The report examines both consumer-facing and business-facing brands across 14 product categories, with an analysis of five geographic regions and additional details about brands and consumer attitudes in China, India, Russia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

The United States dominates the rankings with 54 brands, which accounts for 71 percent of the list's market value. But more Chinese brands are moving up.

When the annual report was first released 12 years ago, only one Chinese brand - State-owned telecommunications company China Mobile - ranked in the BrandZ Global Top 100.

Since then, the number of Chinese brands in the Top 100 has grown, and the value of Chinese brands has surged 937 percent, representing 11 percent of the list's value.

Tencent, with a rise in brand value of 27 percent to $108.3 billion, climbed three places to enter the top 10. Tencent has almost 890 million monthly active users on its social media apps, including WeChat.

Tencent also benefited from its online gaming business and payment-related and cloud services, according to the report.

Chinese brands on the list mainly come from sectors dominated by State-owned enterprises: beverages - including the major liquor brand Moutai, banks, insurance, oil and gas, and telecom providers such as China Mobile.

The Top 100 brands increased in value by 8 percent year-on-year and are now worth $3.64 trillion, according to the report.

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook combined account for 25 percent of the value of the Top 100. Amazon achieved the highest dollar-value growth of all brands in the Top 100, increasing by $40.3 billion, or 41 percent, to $139.3 billion.

Adidas was the fastest riser by percentage growth, up 58 percent, or $8.3 billion, followed by Moutai, which increased by $17 billion, or 48 percent.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com