A new list of the world’s most valuable brands is out, and China has claimed two of the top spots for the first time.
Alibaba has joined the top 10, alongside Chinese tech group Tencent, as well as stalwarts such as Google and Apple.
Ranked at No. 9., Jack Ma’s Alibaba has seen its brand value nearly double to $113 billion as the e-commerce company has expanded further into fields such as mobile payments and cloud computing.
Shenzhen-based Tencent broke into the annual BrandZ top 10 ranking in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength over the past year. It now holds fifth place — behind Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft but above Facebook — with a brand value of $179 billion, up 65 percent compared to last year.
Tencent specializes in online games, apps, instant messaging services and online payments. It boasts a market capitalization of $490 billion, making it worth more than America’s most valuable bank, JPMorgan Chase.
I – Word Understanding
Stalwarts – constant / remains for a period of time
II – Have Your Say
Here’s the list of the top 10. What do you think land them at the top?
1. Google
2. Apple
3. Amazon
4. Microsoft
5. Tencent
6. Facebook
7. Visa
8. McDonald’s
9. Alibaba
10. AT&T
