Vinamilk named Vietnam’s most valuable brand Dairy giant Vinamilk has been named the most valuable brand in Vietnam for the second year in a row by Forbes Vietnam.   A Vinamilk employee points at a milk silo inside a dairy factory in Vietnam. Tuoi Tre Forbes Vietnam and Viet Capital Securities Company on Monday announced their list of the 40 most valuable brands in Vietnam, which were collectively valued at over US$5.4 billion, an increase of 20 percent on last year. Vinamilk, officially known as Vietnam Dairy Products, topped the magazine’s list with an estimated value of more than $1.71 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year. This is the second consecutive year the dairy producer has sat atop the table, with its 2016 brand value estimated at over $1.52 billion. Vinamilk was valued more than twice the amount of runner-up Viettel. The military-owned telecom group was worth $849.6 million, while property conglomerate Vingroup was third at $299.3 million. An Giang Province-based agricultural manufacturer and service supplier Loc Troi Group closed the list with $13.1 million in estimated value. Loc Troi joined a group of first-timers to be featured on the Forbes Vietnam list alongside Quang Ngai Sugar JSC, fuel dealer Petrolimex and travel company Saigontourist. Companies operating in the fields of consumer goods, finance and banking dominated the list with 19 names, including prominent financial institutions such as Vietcombank, Vietinbank, BIDV, Bao Viet Holdings, MB Bank, VP Bank and Sacombank. Three quarters of the 40 firms are listed on the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stock exchanges. The contribution of a company’s brand to its business performance played a large role in the evaluation of its total value, with the most valuable brands being those that recorded high revenue and earnings in the industries they were leading, according to Forbes Vietnam. The magazine, in coordination with Viet Capital Securities Company, evaluated the firms’ pre-tax earnings, loan interest rates and intangible assets. The total brand valuation is calculated on each company’s share price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio versus the market’s average P/E ratio for listed companies. For unlisted companies, Forbes Vietnam compared a firm’s scale and scope to others in the same industry to calculate its value. Vinamilk currently operates 13 dairy factories and ten cow farms across Vietnam, along with facilities in the U.S., Cambodia, New Zealand and a subsidiary in Poland. Their products are exported to 43 countries. Last month, the company was the only Vietnamese representative to land a spot on the latest Nikkei Asian Review’s Asia300, an exclusive list of the most powerful and valuable listed companies in the region, rubbing shoulders with such giants as Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings. TUOI TRE NEWS