Chang said that companies in small countries could still create big brands as long as they were innovative, such as Nokia Corp. in Finland. He expected Taiwan's brands to shine in the international market and join the top 10 global brands through the combined efforts of the government and the private sector. Since 2006, the Executive Yuan has invested around US$48.5 million in assisting domestic enterprises in terms of talent and capital, with the goal of building at least five brands worth US$1 billion by 2012, he stated.
According to the report released in the forum, Taiwan's top brand is Asustek Computer Inc., with a brand value of US$1.19 billion this year, rising by 13 percent over 2006. Being the world's largest motherboard manufacturer and a major contract supplier of notebooks and personal computers, Asustek launched its first branded low-cost laptop named "Eee PC" in October. Trend Micro Inc., ranking as the nation's second most valuable brand at US$1.14 billion with a 3-percent rise from last year, is the world's third-largest producer of anti-virus software. Following Trend Micro is computer firm Acer Inc., which has US$1.06 billion in brand value, a 25-percent increase from 2006.
To qualify for the list, companies had to have brands registered for at least three years with the Intellectual Property Office under the Cabinet-level Ministry of Economic Affairs, according to an Oct. 23 report by the Chinese-language Commercial Times. In addition, the enterprises' branded products had to make up more than 20 percent of their annual profits. Brand values were calculated according to a formula devised by Interbrand Corp., a consulting firm, the report stated. Interbrand took into account the companies' revenues, profit margins and added value of their products.
Most of the famous enterprises are from the technology sector. They generally started with business models based on original equipment manufacturing and original design manufacturing, later focusing on marketing products under their own labels. "Only through creating their own brand names can our businesses increase the competitiveness of their products and make inroads into global markets," Chang said.
Write to Allen Hsu at allenhsu@mail.gio.gov.tw