Sri Lanka improves on its brand value in 2014

• Ranks 58th out of 100 countries, better than 2013’s 65th position
• Sri Lanka is 3rd highest gainer in value

Sri Lanka has improved its ranking on The Brand Finance Nation Brands report, which was recently released, with a significant increase from last year. Sri Lanka has improved its ranking to 58th position on the Nation Brands Table from amongst 100 countries with a brand value of $ 61 billion. Last year, Sri Lanka was in the 65th position with a brand value of $ 45 billion. This increase is the third best performance from amongst the 100 countries, behind Qatar and Bangladesh with 37% growth. The report, which is available on the Brand Finance website (www.brandfinance.com), provides a comprehensive report on the world’s leading nation brands and presents an analysis of the impact that a country’s reputation and image has on stakeholders and investors. The analysis combines a wide range of economic, demographic, and political factors, and is based on in-depth research. The Brand Finance Nation Brands measures the value and strength of the nation brands of leading countries using a method based on the royalty relief mechanism that Brand Finance uses to value the world’s largest brands. Each nation brand has also been accorded a brand rating, which is a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of the brand, much like a credit rating. Sri Lanka’s brand rating is A+ which is not changed from that of the previous year. Brand USA dominates the list at the top of the value table, followed by China, Germany, UK and Japan. Country specific reports provide each nation brand with a measure of its brand strength and a valuation of its nation brand along with an underlying analysis of what is driving that value. Brand Finance CEO David Haigh commented: “A strong brand has become a defining feature of success in the current economic climate. Worldwide hyper competition for business, combined with an increasingly cluttered media environment, means that the clear message carried by a properly managed brand can provide the crucial leverage needed to thrive. Nations can adopt similar techniques to capitalise on the economic growth that comes with proper positioning of a nation brand. Brand Finance estimates that strong nation branding can add between 1% and 3% to GNP. In the current economic environment no sensible government can afford to ignore branding as an instrument of economic policy.” Brand Finance Lanka’s Managing Director Ruchi Gunewardene commented: “Whilst it is indeed good to note the continuing strong performance of Sri Lanka as a brand, it is critical that those stakeholders who are involved in influencing and moulding the brand understand how they should be actively managing it to create even more value in the future. Good governance is at the very heart of building the base of a nation’s reputation, and unless our Government can live by this, it is not something that should be embarked upon lightly.”