Emirates and Etisalat among most valuable companies

The brand values of STC, QNB, Emirates and Etisalat grew an average of 23 per cent year-on-year.

Saudi Telecom Company, the kingdom’s biggest telecoms operator, is the most valuable brand in the Middle East. Waseem Obaidi for The National

Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the kingdom’s biggest telecom operator, is the most valuable brand in the Middle East, and Emirates is the most valuable brand in the UAE, according to Brand Finance’s Global 500 report.

Etisalat is the only other UAE company to make the list, with Qatar National Bank also making the cut. Released yesterday, Global 500 ranks companies according to monetary value and the power of their brand.

“The brand value of the four companies from the region represented in our 2017 ranking grew on average by 23 per cent year on year, which reflects the scale of their achievements when it comes to driving brand awareness, recognition and advocacy,” said Andrew Campbell, the managing director of Brand Finance Middle East.

“We expect more brands from the Middle East to enter our Global 500 in time as oil prices readjust and companies from the region continue to expand into new geographic markets.”

STC’s brand value rose 11 per cent during last year to US$6.2 billion. Emirates’s brand value was $6.1bn, despite the oil price rout, a strong US dollar and global economic woes affecting travel appetite.

Etisalat, the bigger of the two telecom operators in the UAE, had its brand value increase by 45 per cent last year to $5.5bn, thanks to growing user numbers, innovation and a strong profit last year.

QNB, Qatar’s largest bank by assets, entered the survey for the first time with a brand value of $3.8bn. Its brand value rose by 56 per cent last year, due to its strong financial performance and international expansion.

Globally, Google unseated Apple as the world’s most valuable brand, with a brand value of $109.5bn, which rose 24 per cent last year from a year earlier. Google last held the position of the world’s most valuable brand in 2011.

Apple’s brand value dropped to $107.1bn from $145.9bn.

“Apple has struggled to maintain its technological advantage. New iterations of the iPhone have delivered diminishing returns and there are signs that the company has reached a saturation point for its brand,” Mr Campbell said.

“The Chinese market, where Apple has enjoyed a dominant market share, is becoming far more competitive with local players entering the market in a meaningful way.”

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