DUBAI – The UAE has 15 brands out of the top 50 brands in MENA in 2013, with a brand value touching US$ 14.48 billion according to a recent study published by Brand Finance, the world’s largest independent intangible assets and brand valuation consultancy, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
According to the study, the value of the UAE brands constitutes 37 percent of the total value of US$ 39.33 billion of the top 50 MENA brands.
Emirates (brand value of US$ 4.1 billion) leads the list, followed by Etisalat (brand value of US$ 3.4 billion). Leading the airlines and telecoms industries in the MENA region, the UAE also dominated the MENA real estate sector with Emaar Properties (brand value of US$ 468 million) and the commercial services sector with DP World (brand value of US$ 681 million).
29 brands out of the 50 are from UAE and KSA, constituting 70% of the total brands’ value in The Middle East; a clear indication of the dominance of the two business power-houses of the Middle East. KSA comes second with a marginal difference, with a total of 14 brands compared to UAE’s 15 brands, but KSA recorded the highest ever growth of 11% in total brand value.
Hany Mwafy, Managing Director, Brand Finance Middle East said: “With offices in more than 22 countries, Brand Finance publishes tables of the most valuable brands at both the global and regional level, providing crucial insights to brand managers and broader business community. Being the one and only brand valuation study to target the MENA region, the Brand Finance MENA 50 serves as a benchmark of the Middle East’s top brands.” According to the study, Etisalat is the most valuable telecom brand in the Middle East, followed by STC. Etisalat’s Saudi brand Mobily had the highest growth at 55%.
The GCC has some of the wealthiest investors and sovereign wealth funds in the world. GCC has been investing in highly branded US and EU businesses. Shell, Barclays, AMEX, Citi, Harrods, Sainsbury’s, Paris St German and Manchester City are just some of the global brands at the receiving end of GCC investor interest.” The Brand Finance study was published in the MENA region in collaboration with Virtue PR ‘&’ Marketing Communications.
Source: Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP), AGIP Bulletin June 2013
http://www.agip.com
