China Mobile has leaped ahead of household names such as Marlboro and Wal-Mart to rank fifth in an influential annual ranking of the world's top brands.

The brand of the world's biggest wireless operator is now valued at more than US$41 billion - an increase of 5 percent from last year.

At the end of the first quarter, China Mobile's subscribers topped 316 million - more than the population of the US.

Three Chinese banks also made the top 100 list, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China coming in 33rd, Bank of China 38th and China Construction Bank 61st.

Internet search engine Google topped the list, with a brand value of US$66.4 billion. 

The Financial Times called Google "an outstanding example" of how to develop a brand of enormous value both to customers and shareholders.

The Internet domain name google.com was registered by founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in September 1997.

US conglomerate General Electric came in second at $61.9 billion, followed by Microsoft at almost $55 billion.

Soft drinks giant Coca Cola was fourth with a brand value of $44.1 billion, far more than its rival Pepsi, at $11.8 billion, which was ranked 48th.

The brand ranking was compiled by market researcher Millward Brown and the findings published in cooperation with the Financial Times.

It is based on the brand's earnings, the brand's contribution to the parent business and the brand's future prospects.

Key factors in building brand recognition this year ranged from corporate responsibility to serving customers in emerging markets like China, Brazil and India, according to the study.

The rankings were based on publicly available financial data along with primary research, including interviews with a million consumers worldwide, Millward Brown said.

For Google, which ranked seventh a year ago, the jump to the top underscores how quickly the search engine has become an everyday name.

(China Daily April 26, 2007)