London-headquartered brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance has released its latest list of the 20 most valuable domestic brands in Uzbekistan.

Leading the pack is Uztelecom, with a brand valuation of $241mn. It is followed by Sanoat Qurilish Bank (SQB) and Trastbank, valued at $122mn and $95mn, respectively.

Uzum, an e-commerce and fintech startup that lately became Uzbekistan’s first unicorn, made the list with a valuation of $39mn.

Other prominent firms in the top 20 include Aloqa Bank at $43mn, NBU (National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan) at $36mn, Anor Bank at $16mn, Farg’onaazot at $7mn and Kafil Sug’urta and Uzagrosugurta at $6mn each.

Timurmalik Elmuradov, a business communications specialist, was none too impressed with the Brand Finance ranking when he spoke to Daryo. He said that the consultancy’s usual practice is to publish detailed documents with comments and explanations for brand evaluations, but no such documents were sent out with the evaluation of the Uzbek brands.

Elmuradov added: ”Given all this, I wouldn't recommend taking this list too seriously. Someday Brand Finance will definitely make a full-fledged and reasoned rating of brands in Uzbekistan, but for now, this is how it is.”

International PR expert Natalia Ikonnikova told The Times of Central Asia that in 2024 “[amid] the endless streams of generated content, brands that retain a human face will stand out. This trend is not [in its] first year, but in Uzbekistan it is still gaining popularity.”

The ranking was based on data from Uzbekistan’s Agency for Innovative Development, which aims to foster the country's standings in the Global Innovation Index.

Brand Finance determines brand value using the "Royalty Relief" methodology, incorporating criteria like hypothetical licensing costs, revenue forecasts related to the brand and royalty payments for brand use.