China now has one of the world's most valuable brands. Tech giant Tencent has joined the world's top 10 most valuable brands, while "the fearsome five" from the US occupy the first five positions, according to rankings released on Tuesday by BrandZ. 

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook, dubbed the 'Fearsome Five', took the top five positions, while other US tech brands such as YouTube, Netflix and Snapchat are placed at 65th, 92nd and 93rd respectively.

Of 21 brands from the APAC region which made it into BrandZ's Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2017 rankings, 13 are Chinese brands, with Tencent heading the pack. 

BrandZ said that the increased use of WeChat has helped to propel Tencent into the top 10 for the first time. Its brand value jumped 27 percent to 108 billion US dollars, lifting it from number 11 in 2016's rankings to eighth place this year.

The only other Chinese firm to have previously cracked the top 10 is China Mobile, but it hasn't appeared on the list since 2013.

Shenzhen-based Tencent specializes in popular online games, apps, instant messaging services, music, and mobile payments.

A WeChat Pay system is demonstrated at a canteen as part of Tencent office inside a Creativity Industry Zone in Guangzhou, China on May 9, 2017. /VCG Photo

Tencent boasts a market capitalization of 330 billion US dollars, making it in the list of the world’s top 10 companies by market capitalization, just behind energy group ExxonMobil, with its shares rising more than 40 percent this year.

With a combined brand value of 892 billion US dollars, the "fearsome five” account for a quarter of the total value of the top 100 companies, and more than half of the Top 100's brand value were contributed by tech-related brands.

The annual BrandZ ranking is based on measures of brand equity, with analysis of the financial and business performance of companies.