Meet the New China: China’s Top Brands

Data Source: Financial Times

The corporation was founded in 1984 and originally produced only household refrigerators. Today, it produces roughly 96 product lines and exports various household electrical appliances to more than 100 countries. With an electric billboard in Tokyo and the recent unveiling of its New York headquarters, Haier officials say they are determined to become a recognizable global brand. In the summer of 2005, Haier placed a $1.3 billion bid for Maytag Corporation. However, they withdrew their offer before the negotiations were finalized.

In the early 1980s, 11 computer scientists founded a computing company in a one-story bungalow in Beijing with the vision of bringing technology to the masses. Today, that dream is a reality. Lenovo, originally known as Legend, bought IBM’s personal computing division for $1.25 billion in May of 2005 and is now considered a leader in the global PC market.

The company, headquartered in Hong Kong, is one of two countrywide cellular phone companies set up by the Chinese government in 2000. The other one is China Unicom. China Mobile reported in August that it currently has approximately 60.8 million contract subscribers and 170 million prepaid users.

German settlers founded the Tsingtao Brewery in 1903 in Qingdao. Today, the beer is a best seller in China and is also widely popular throughout the world. In 1972, Tsingtao was introduced into the U.S. market and quickly became the top-selling Chinese beer. It accounts for more than 50% of all Chinese beer exports.

Formally known as Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, the company integrates asset management, banking, trusts, securities and annuity services into a financial holding group. Ping An is headquartered in Shenzhen.

Founded in 1912, Bank of China — not to be confused with the Central Bank of China — is the oldest and perhaps most influential bank in the country. Like virtually all Chinese banks, it has been plagued with nonperforming loans. The Bank of China, however, has been awarded “The Best Bank in China” nine times by “Euromoney” magazine. Goldman Sachs, UBS and Bank of China International will handle its upcoming multi-billion-dollar public stock offering.

China Train TV has more than 20,000 TVs displayed in more than 100 trains across the country. It plans to increase that number to 160 trains this year to cater to its roughly one billion annual commuters. It is also currently building its new headquarters in the new Central Business District of Beijing. Officials say the construction will be completed before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Although rising fuel prices are expected to negatively affect China’s largest state-owned commercial airline, officials recently announced they still plan to expand in the coming months. The airline, which has approximately 23,000 employees, is considering buying more medium-sized aircrafts to serve its regional and domestic routes.

The Chinese telecommunications networks solutions vendor is located in Zhejiang Province. Already a leader in China, the company plans to re-expand to the UK market in the coming months. The company left in 2003 after Cisco Systems Incorporated sued them for patent and copyright infringement.

Sohu.com is one of China’s top web portals. The company, which recently released its website in English, provides Internet access for millions throughout China. Its site provides news, e-mail, games, shopping and text messaging. Chinese Internet pioneer Dr. Charles Zhang established the company in 1996.