With a brand value of $14.5 billion, the, Indian bank ICICI entered the BrandZ Top 100 this year at Number 45. This is the list of the 100 most valuable brands as estimated by ad measurement firm Millward Brown.
Established in 1955 as The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, the company started a bank after India liberalized its economy and is today more highly valued by the stock market than the much bigger State Bank of India. It pioneered ATMs in India and extended working hours to cover evenings and weekends in order to provide wide access to banking and to help flatten the society’s hierarchical structure. The bank now operates almost 5,000 ATMs in India and is present in 18 countries, where it mostly serves the Indian diaspora. I interviewed its former CEO, Mr. MV Kamath for my book, Doing Business in 21st Century India. Today ICICI is headed by a dynamic woman, Chanda Kochar.
Outside of the Top 100, in the technology category is a second
Indian brand, also new to the Brand z list this year. Infosys, India’s most valuable technology brand, with a brand value of $6.4 billion, is a
strong contender to enter the Top 100 ranking soon according to Millward Brown.
I think the Millward study is flawed. The Tata brands, Tata Motors, Tata Tea, Tata Salt, are likely more highly valued than ICICI, for example. My own former employer Larsen & Toubro, and the software services company Wipro are just as highly valued in my view. I would also rank Airtel, India largest mobile carrier as way up there and ahead of ICICI.
