Malaysian brands can make 'world's best' list

MALAYSIAN brands have the potential to be among Interbrand's Best Global Brands as more brands from Asia make it to the list.

Interbrand, one of the world's leading brand consultant, compiles
valuable brands which are country specific as well as on a global level.

"Over the next five years, there could be more companies in the top 100
list coming from this part of the world," said Interbrand Singapore
director of client services Jonathan Bernstein.

Asian brands on
the list now are mostly from Japan and South Korea. They include Toyota,
Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, and most recently, HTC from Taiwan.

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Bernstein was not able to say when a Malaysian brand would make into
the list which is now dominated by US brands like Coca-Cola, IBM,
Microsoft and Google.

He was speaking at a press conference yesterday on the upcoming Malaysia's Most Valuable Brands (MMVB).

The selection process of the top 30 companies and their total value is now on-going.

The event, in its fourth edition, is organised by the Association of
Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As), in partnership with Media
Prima Bhd and supported by Matrade.

This is the first time Media Prima, which includes the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) group, is teaming up with 4As for MMVB.

"We are the only complete media platform in the region. Basically, it
shows the strength of how this (partnership) will benefit the industry,"
NSTP chief executive officer Mohammad Azlan Abdullah said.

He
added that there will be activities and promotions for the event which
will take-off with the CEO breakfast at the NSTP headquarters.

There will be coverage on television, radio and outdoor billboards.

The breakfast forum, to be attended by some 150 CEOs, chief marketing
officers and chief financial officers will be held on July 6.

In
deriving the MMVB list, Bernstein explained that 100 listed companies
will be selected in the initial stage before being narrowed down to the
final top 30, with the highest brand value.

Apart from being
listed on Bursa Malaysia to qualify, the origins of the brand must be
Malaysian or if it is a foreign brand, it must have been listed for at
least 10 years.

The companies' financial forecast, role of the
brand and brand strength will be taken into account in deriving the
brand value.

Companies must provide among others, their brands' projection to deliver earnings in three to five years.

It is not unusual to see some names repeated in the list over the years. They include Maybank, AirAsia, YTL, Celcom and Maxis.

Meanwhile, Tony Savarimuthu, president of 4As Malaysia said that in
2007, Malaysia's top 30 brands were worth RM57 billion, RM62 billion in
2008 and RM54 billion in 2009.

The MMVB gala night is scheduled on October 2012.