South Korea\u2019s Samsung Group has shrugged off business and political scandals to be ranked Asia\u2019s most valuable brand in the latest global survey by Brand Finance. But the leader of the innovation race may still be Japan, which rules the roost in patenting new inventions, according to a separate study.
U. S. technology powerhouses Google, Apple, Amazon, AT&T, and Microsoft took the top five places in the \u201c Global 500 2017 ,\u201d the 2017 survey of the world\u2019s most valuable brands by London-based consultancy Brand Finance.
However, Samsung gained a place from last year\u2019s survey to rank sixth with an estimated brand value of $66.2 billion, up 13 percent from 2016. This came despite the disastrous recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and a corruption scandal linked to the Korean president. The South Korean conglomerate still expects profit growth in 2017 despite its recent woes, with record earnings from its memory chip business helping its shares hit a series of record highs in January.
No other South Korean companies placed in the top 50, although conglomerate Hyundai Group ranked 60th\u00a0with an estimated brand value of $19.9 billion, while rival SK Group placed 62nd\u00a0with $19.3 billion in value.
China\u2019s largest bank, ICBC, ranked as Asia\u2019s second-most valuable brand and the world\u2019s most valuable banking brand, taking the 10th\u00a0spot with an estimated brand value of $47.8 billion. It was followed by telecommunications firm China Mobile in 11th\u00a0place with an estimated value of $46.7 billion, while China Construction Bank ranked 14th\u00a0with an estimated brand value of $41.3 billion.
Other Chinese companies to make the top 50 comprised e-commerce giant Alibaba (ranked 23rd\u00a0with $34.8 billion); Bank of China (29th\u00a0with $31.2 billion); oil and gas companies Sinopec (32nd\u00a0with $29.5 billion) and PetroChina (33rd\u00a0with $29 billion); Agricultural Bank of China (34th\u00a0with $28.5 billion); and telecommunications firms Huawei (40th\u00a0with $25.2 billion) and Tencent (47th\u00a0with $22.2 billion).
According to Brand Finance, Chinese banks\u2019 brand value growth has been rapidly outpacing European and North American competitors.
\u201cThe nation\u2019s vast population, organic expansion, foreign M&A [merger and acquisition] activity and positive relationships with Chinese consumers are a few common attributes Chinese banks share which serve to explain the immense growth of this industry. Not only has China\u2019s ICBC claimed the title as the most powerful banking brand, it also dethrones Wells Fargo as the most valuable financial brand in the world,\u201d the report said.
Japanese companies were also represented in the top 50, led by 12th-ranked automaker Toyota with an estimated brand value of $46.2 billion and 15th-placed telecommunications firm NTT with $40.5 billion in estimated value. Conglomerate Mitsubishi Group also made the top 50, ranked 35th\u00a0with $27.9 billion in estimated brand value, while automaker Nissan placed 42nd\u00a0with $24.7 billion.
However, no Asian brands were included among the world\u2019s top 10 \u201cmost powerful brands,\u201d which was led by Lego, Google, and Nike.
Google\u2019s success in displacing Apple as the world\u2019s most valuable brand with an estimated brand value of $109 billion compared to Apple\u2019s $107 billion was attributed to growing competitive pressures facing Apple in China, along with its apparent complacency.
\u201cApple has struggled to maintain its technological advantage, with new iterations of the iPhone delivering diminishing returns, while the Chinese market is now crowded with local competitors,\u201d Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh said.
\u201cApple has been living on borrowed time for several years by exploiting its accumulated brand equity. This underlines one of the many benefits of a strong brand, but Apple has finally taken it too far.\u201d
Haigh also pointed to a link between strong brands and stock market performance, highlighting the importance of such rankings for investors.
\u201cIt was found that investing in the most highly branded companies would lead to a return almost double that of the average for the [U. S. benchmark] S&P 500 as a whole,\u201d he said.
According to Brand Finance, its annual survey evaluates corporate brands globally based on factors including marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation, along with the proportion of revenue generated by each firm\u2019s brand.
Japanese companies may trail their competitors in brand value, but the nation remains a clear leader in Asia in innovation, according to research by Clarivate Analytics. Clarivate\u2019s 2016 \u201c Top 100 Global Innovators \u201d report found that Japan ranked as Asia\u2019s leading innovation hub, accounting for 34 of the top 100 most innovative organizations and second only to the United States\u2019 39.
While down from the 40 listed in the previous year\u2019s survey, Japanese firms represented ranged from automakers Honda, Nissan, and Toyota to household goods firms Sony and Yaskawa Electric, manufacturers Daikin Industries and Kobe Steel, and hardware makers Kyocera and NEC.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea had three representatives, comprising household goods maker LG Electronics, energy firm LSIS, and electronics maker Samsung Electronics, while China and Taiwan had one firm each: telecommunications firm Huawei and hardware maker MediaTek, respectively.
\u201cMainland China makes a reappearance this year with Huawei again making the list following its debut appearance in 2014. Huawei showed significantly improved performance in globalization, which accords with its strategy to develop a \u2018global response to global needs,\u2019\u201d the report said.
Among industries, hardware and electronics makers accounted for 29 percent, followed by manufacturing and medical (15 percent), automotive (9 percent), chemicals and cosmetics (9 percent), and pharmaceuticals (7 percent).
According to Clarivate, the key factors for successful innovators are significant investment in patent development along with ongoing investment in research and development (R&D) and a diverse and adaptable range of technology.
The top 100 firms listed spent more than $227 billion on R&D and generated more than $4 trillion in revenue in 2015 \u2013 \u201ca clear example of activity that drives economic well-being and competitive advantage.\u201d
\u201cAs evidenced by the huge R&D outlay made by the companies represented in the Top 100 Global Innovators list, the commitment to keep the fires of innovation burning brightly does not come cheaply. In the case of the 39 companies who have now been on our list for six straight years, this fact is made all the more poignant by the fact that our study was launched in 2011, when much of the world was still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, and many companies were loath to make the kinds of investments needed to keep their underlying IP infrastructures running at full capacity,\u201d the report said.
Clarivate\u2019s survey ranks patent and citation data by volume, success, globalization and influence, including all organizations with 100 or more patented new innovations from the past five years in its analysis.
For Asia overall, the latest brand value and innovation rankings suggest the region\u2019s innovative strength has continued to pick up speed, even while regional and global economic growth has softened. Converting the region\u2019s innovations into brand value would appear to be the next challenge however, if Asia is to topple the U. S. tech titans from the top of the global leaderboard.<\/p>\n