Two UAE brands - Emirates and Etisalat - clinched the top spot in most valuable GCC portfolio brand study conducted by Brand Finance on the sidelines of a key forum organised by London Business Forum Middle East in Dubai.

Peter Fisk, presenter of the ‘Genius Marketing’ international forum, announced the winners at a function held in Dubai Knowledge Village Conference Centre on Tuesday.

Dubai carrier Emirates clinched the first spot with a portfolio brand value of $3.622 billion followed by UAE's leading telecom operator Etisalat with $3.390 billion and Qtel from Qatar with $2.949 billion value.

Hany Mwafy, CEO of London Business Forum Middle East (LBFME), organisers of forum, said the event attracted more than 180 participants, including chief executive officers, vice presidents, directors and marketing professionals.

Mwafy said the second international forum will be held on May 31, at Dubai Knowledge Village Conference Centre, presented by renowned Guardian columnist Guy Browning.

Browning, who has counselled and entertained Guardian readers in his column, ‘Office Politics’, and whose highly humorous books include Double Your Salary, Bonk Your Boss, Go Home Early and the intriguingly entitled Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade, will interact with business professionals to give them insights about international best practices on using innovation in business.

“The second forum is expected to see even larger participation from the business community of the UAE and neighbouring countries, including Bahrain, Oman and Saudi,” he added.

Commenting on Dubai as a brand, Peter Fisk, who spent many years working with the likes of British Airways and Coca Cola, Marks & Spencer and Microsoft, Virgin and Vodafone, said: 'The concept of genius brands is applicable to Dubai as this city thinks outside the box.'

'It has achieved a lot as tourism and leisure destination and now it is time to position itself as an ideas’ hub of the region, just as Singapore has done in another region. Dubai realised that the world is changing and has embraced this change. The city is inspired by its leaders who have vision to lead it to new levels of growth on global stage,' said Frisk.

Fisk, who is described by Business Strategy Review as one of the best new business thinkers today, said he was delighted to present the region’s debut forum of (LBFME) in Dubai.-TradeArabia News Service