BOC, People’s Bank and Dialog helm annual league of brands

The publisher of leading business magazine LMD, Media Services announced yesterday that its special edition the Brands Annual has been released to supermarkets and bookstores across the island.

The all-encompassing annual special issue centers around the top 200 brands in this country, compiled by Brand Finance.

Heading the most valuable listed-company brands this year are the two state-banking giants, Bank Of Ceylon (BOC) and People’s Bank with brand values of Rs. 15.2 billion and Rs 14 billion respectively.

They are followed by leading mobile-phone operator Dialog, and three more banks NSB, Commercial Bank and HNB.

In its foreword to the 190-plus page journal, LMD says: “The local brands landscape continues to be dominated by the giants of banking. And not for the first time, they are led by two state-owned entities. A sign of the times perhaps is the fact that the brand values of both BOC and People’s Bank declined this year.

“In contrast however, the two torchbearers of Sri Lanka’s telecommunications industry enjoyed brand-value growth because the tel-co price war of old has abated and the regulatory environment improved.”

The Brands Annual also contains profiles of many of the top-ranking brands, including interviews with the guardians of leading unlisted brands.

And Brand Finance’s top 100 global brands led by heavyweights Apple and Google are also listed in the publication, together with commentaries on the importance of brands in the business landscape of today and branding in general.