KPC (brand value up 5% to US$4.1 billion) continues its reign as the most valuable Kuwaiti brand. The nation’s flagship petroleum company has achieved modest brand value growth in part due to its stature as a reliable supplier of petroleum products in the context of unstable global geopolitical conditions.
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s biggest brands to the test, and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. Kuwait’s top 10 most valuable and strongest brands in the sector industry are included in the annual Brand Finance Kuwait 10 2023 ranking.
KPC, like many other oil companies, is responding to the challenges posed by the global transition to low-carbon energy solutions. To address these challenges, KPC has taken several steps to improve sustainability. The Clean Fuels Project has been commissioned to produce low-sulfur fuels that meet Euro-5 standards and reduce carbon emissions. In addition, KPC is piloting a project to capture and inject CO2 from its operations into reservoirs, which both removes carbon from the atmosphere and frees up natural gas for other uses.
Kuwaiti banks Boubyan (brand value up 33% to US$255 million) and Kuwait Finance House (brand value up 31% to US$1.2 billion) are the fastest-growing Kuwaiti brands in the Kuwait 10 ranking this year.
The Boubyan brand is intensely focused on using technology developments to build its brand and business to government, corporate and consumer customers. It has launched several first-to-market innovations, including PayMe, which has become a popular service in Kuwait. Boubyan Bank also recently launched Nomo Bank, the first Islamic digital bank in Kuwait and the UK.
Kuwait Finance House’s brand value growth came in part due to the acquisition of Ahli United Bank in Bahrain, and increasingly being seen as a leader in the Islamic banking world. The Kuwait Finance House is now the largest listed company on the Boursa Kuwait stock exchange and is now also listed on the Bahrain stock exchange, giving it easier access to capital and making it more accessible to investors. Continuing to bolster its brand image, Kuwait Finance House is also becoming increasingly known for its community, relief and humanitarian initiatives both inside and outside of Kuwait.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 150,000 respondents in 38 countries and across 31 sectors.
Zain (brand value up 5% to US$2.5 billion) was found to have the strongest brand in the Kuwaiti ranking with its brand strength score of 77/100 and brand rating of AA+, maintaining its score from last year.
Zain added 3.5 million active subscribers this year, and now serve a total of 52 million customers, a 7% increase from the previous year. Zain has been particularly boosted in the business-to-business market with strong enterprise revenue growth and acquisition of extra cloud-related services such as BIOS Middle East.
Andrew Campbell, Managing Director, Middle East, Brand Finance commented:
“Zain’s performance is reflective of its strong brand, which it continues to leverage to consumers. Post-pandemic increased economic activity has had a positive effect on its brand attributes, complemented with their investments in both wired and wireless expansion and upgrades.”
Burgan Bank (brand value up 6% to US189 million) is the newest entrant in 10th on the back of strong performance in retail banking and growing client acquisitions. It is one of the largest conventional banks in the country with a strong presence in corporate banking. There is a key focus to strengthen the corporate banking segment while growing the Retail banking segment by embedding ESG across the business through digital transformation to deliver superior customer experience.