Four telecommunications companies operating out of GCC countries have been named among the world’s 500 most valuable brands, according to the BrandFinance Global 500 brand index.

The region’s most valuable brand is Bahrain-based Zain, which climbs 14 places to 312 on this year’s rankings, on the back of a 39 per cent increase in the value of its brand to $2,889 million. This also places it 34th in the list of most valuable telecoms brands worldwide, a list headed by Vodafone, AT&T and Verizon.

New to the Global 500 this year is UAE-based Etisalat at 351 (41 in the telco table) with a brand value of $2,607 million. There’s not such good news for STC from Saudi Arabia and Qtel from Qatar, which fall in the Global 500 from 313 to 393 and 312 to 400 respectively despite a 13 per cent and 11 per cent increase in the values of their respective brand.

Elsewhere in the survey, retail giant Walmart, whose brand value increased 2 per cent this year, retains top spot. Google has risen in the table from number five to number two, whilst Coca-Cola enjoys a 4 per cent increase in its brand value, extending its advantage over main rival Pepsi. Top ten status is also given to technology brands including IBM (4), Microsoft (5) and hp (9). GE and Toyota complete the top ten.

Of the ‘new’ iconic brands, every businessman’s favourite accessory, Blackberry, appears in the Global 500 for the first time whilst Apple has climbed from number 27 to 19 with a 45 per cent increase in its brand value.-TradeArabia News Service