The most valuable companies in Latin American

Beyond associating large companies with US brands such as Apple or Amazon as well as organizations from other continents, Kantar, one of the world's leading research firms, has published a ranking of the 50 most valuable Latin American brands in the region by the beginning of 2020. In this ranking, the Brazilian industry stands out, since it is the country with the highest representation among the 50 with a total of 21 companies, second is Mexico, which has 14 brands, and the ranking is distributed only among 6 countries in the region, which are Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

According to Excelsior, the industry dedicated to Retail -massive sale of goods and services directly to the final consumer- has been the most valuable among all and reports a growth of 38% individually, while collectively all brands reported an increase in 2.6%. The introduction to the digital market has been fundamental in the growth of companies this year, mainly due to the availability of online payment systems, digital customer service and mobile platforms. On the other hand, 7 new brands were reported in the ranking, with the multinational MercadoLibre being the one that came in stronger to finish in 19th place.

As for the most valuable companies in each country present, they are:

Argentina

With only one company present in the ranking, because despite the fact that MercadoLibre started in this country, it is considered a multinational for its presence in 20 countries in the region. Therefore, Argentina is represented by YPF, a company dedicated to the oil industry that has been in crisis due to the fall in oil prices, to the point of paralyzing one of its refineries, according to Río Negro. This bad moment has caused YPF to have a negative growth of -21% in the ranking , which makes it the company with the greatest decrease among the 50. The value of YFC according to Kantar is $ 1,207 million.

Peru

The Peruvian economy has been growing in the last decade and the appearance of 3 companies in the ranking could reflect this. Cristal is the name of their most valuable company, this one is dedicated to the beer industry and currently has a value of 1,293 million dollars despite a drop of -10% compared to the previous ranking. The fall of Cristal has been the result of its price increase after the Government decreed an increase in the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) for beer, in addition to a trend towards "healthy consumption" according to the Peru-Retail review.

Colombia

The “coffee” country has a more “beer” presence in this case, since of the 3 brands it has on the list, two of them are dedicated to the beer industry with the exception of Bancolombia, which enters the financial sector. However, its most valuable company is the Águila beer brand, which has fallen in value by -10%, although it also occupies the 10th position, with a value of 3,522 million dollars.

Chile

The Chilean economy has been one of the strongest in the region in recent years, for some reason it is the third country with the most presence in the ranking adding 7 companies , among them the Falabella brand is the most valuable in the country, it is dedicated to retail trade and reflects a value of 5,186 million dollars after a slight drop of -3% but remaining in the top 10 occupying the seventh position

Mexico

The North American country is recognized for having large and valuable companies within its territory, in the ranking it has 14 brands present and the popular Corona is the most valuable among all. Iconic for its appearance in cinema with the Fast and Furious saga, this beer brand experienced a fall that lowered it from the first position in the last list. Currently it presented a value of $ 7,529 million and ranks 3rd amongst the best-valued Latino brands.

Also read: What are the best Latin American companies to work for?

Brazil

The greatest economic strength in the region demonstrates its power with 21 companies present and with the two most valuable brands in the ranking, both are dedicated to the financial sector but the one that has the most value is Banco Bradesco, which also contrary to most brands increased its value by 35% reaching 8,468 million dollars, Bradesco is considered the second largest private bank in Brazil and its growth has been mainly driven by its insurance and service improvement division according to EFE.