Petrochemical major, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has been ranked as the most valuable brand in Kuwait in 2022 by the leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance in its latest report.

With its brand valued for the first time at $4 billion, KPC has also been ranked as the ninth most valuable brand across the broader Middle East region.

Every year, Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports. The world’s top 150 most valuable and strongest telecoms brands are included in a dedicated national ranking – the Brand Finance Kuwait 10 2022, while the Middle East’s top 150 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the Brand Finance Middle East 150 report.

KPC maintained a valuable brand through the pandemic, despite the significant reduction in oil demand during the second half of 2020 and much of 2021. Prior to the pandemic, KPC had long-term plans to increase production from around 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 4.75 mbpd by 2040. Revised targets of 4 mbpd by 2040 will ensure that the company continues to operate a very strong brand in the global oil market.

KPC’s brand architecture is hybrid in nature while its peers in the region and internationally have moved to a branded house approach to build a strong global brand to appeal to their unique set of stakeholders as key enablers of the global transition to renewable energy in the medium to long term while delivering optimal value to their shareholders.

The other KPC owned brands that feature in the analysis are; KOC (3rd), KNPC (6th), KUFPEC (7th), Q8, KGOC, KPPC, Kafco, PIC, KOTC, KARO. As part of KPC’s long standing strategy to exploit the most value for its hydrocarbon resources it is building the largest refinery in the Middle East (Al Zour refinery) to be managed by KIPIC and has built a leading European petroleum refining and marketing brand in Europe, Q8.

KPC also owns the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) brand, whose brand value stands at $1.9 billion. KOC has been seeking to manage production expansion in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, and has been recognised within Kuwait for its responsible approach to recovering from Covid-19.

Andrew Campbell, Managing Director Brand Finance Middle East, commented: “Covid-19 caused a significant drop in global oil prices, and current global events are causing a significant rise in global oil prices. KPC and KOC will need to carefully manage relationships with suppliers and customers to ensure that their brand is able to overcome the big changes in supply and demand dynamics when many economies are seeking to reduce oil consumption.”

ZAIN COMES SECOND

Just ahead of KOC, Zain (brand value up 8 per cent to $2.4 billion) was the fastest-growing brand amongst the Kuwait top 10 most valuable brands. Zain continues to consolidate its presence in its current markets. It’s Brand Value and Strength is based on its strong position in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain and Sudan while it continues to challenge STC and Mobily in Saudi Arabia. Zain is executing its strategy to be asset light and focus on incremental growth drivers such as the Tamam Fintech arm.

NBK REMAINS STRONGEST

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. Certified by ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.

According to these criteria, NBK (brand value down 12 per cent to $1.2 billion) is Kuwait’s strongest brand with a brand strength score of 78.2. While NBK did lose some brand value through the pandemic, it still remains the most valuable Kuwaiti bank brand, ahead of Kuwait Finance House and substantially smaller brands Gulf Bank and Boubyan.

“NBK’s brand strength is driven by product innovation and providing a reliable and trusted banking service. It delivers on customer needs across all sectors of the economy as it defends its leadership position in Kuwait and seeks to diversify operations internationally,” Campbell added.