Most of us would be surprised to know that the Tata brand is more valuable than such well-known global brands like Nissan, Boeing, LG, Hyundai, Panasonic, Starbucks, Nestle, BBC and even MTV. But it actually is, according to the list of top-250 global brands published by consulting firm Brand Finance.

Tata, is not only the best-known Indian brand, it is the only Indian entry in the list. The brand is ranked 103 among the global-250 and is valued at a phenomenal $7.39 billion or nearly Rs 33,000 crore. More significantly, it is the third most valuable brand in Asia (excluding Japan) after Samsung and China Mobile.

The Tata brand value is nearly 18 per cent of the total enterprise value of the Tata group.

Tata is also the third most valuable brand globally in the 'miscellaneous manufacturer' category, behind General Electric and Siemens. Brands classified under this category are used in a range of products, unlike more focussed and product-specific brands.

Brand Finance calculated the brand value using discounted estimated future royalties from the brands at an appropriate discount rate to arrive at a net present value. The future royalties are estimated for a five-year period with reference to factors like market growth, competition, historic sales and growth assumptions. In cases where the corporate brand owned a portfolio of product brands, like Tata, the valuation incorporated a review of how prominently the corporate brand is used to endorse each product and how important it was in influencing customer perceptions.

The global list is dominated by brands from the US, Europe and Japan. There are 112 US brands and 92 European brands in the list. In terms of individual sectors, financial services dominate with 30 entries having a combined brand value of $327 billion. 20 retail brands and 19 automobile brands have found their place in the list. Toyota is the most valuable auto brand, beating the luxury brands Mercedes Benz and BMW to second and third places respectively.

Global Top-10
Rank	Company	Brand Value In $ billion
1	Coca Cola	43.15
2	Microsoft	37.07
3	Citigroup	35.15
4	Wal-Mart	34.90
5	IBM	34.07
6	HSBC	33.50
7	General Electric	31.85
8	Bank of America	31.43
9	Hewlett Packard	29.45
10	Marlboro	26.99

Brand Finance is an independent consultancy headquartered in the UK, focussed on the management and valuation of brands and branded businesses.