Midea Group has been named as China and the world's most valuable home appliance company. A report by Hurun Research, which tracks the world's largest appliance manufacturers, showed Midea had a market valuation of 510 billion yuan ($75.63 billion) - nearly four times larger than Japan's Panasonic Corp.

According to the report, Midea increased its market valuation by 3.6 times over the past five years. The increase was attributed to its recent performance and an increase in demand for its products. As of the end of 2019, Midea reported operating revenues of more than 278.2 billion yuan.

In Hurun Research's China Top 10 Most Valuable Electrical Appliance Companies 2020 list, Gree Electric Appliances came second place with a market valuation of 321 billion yuan, Haier Smart Home third with 186 billion yuan and JS Global Lifestyle with 42 billion yuan.

Companies that had sold their appliances businesses, such as TCL, were excluded from the list. Companies on the list cover segments such as air conditioners, washing machines, kitchen appliances, vacuum cleaners and other household devices.

Hurun Research's chairperson Rupert Hoogewerf said the country's appliance industry had mostly overtaken its overseas rivals owing to the rapid adoption of technologies such as big data, the internet of things and 5G networking.

Hoogewerf said that the top three companies accounted for about 80% of market value. Manufacturers have taken advantage of the increase in the popularity of e-commerce and online marketing.

The research said China's home appliance market, which is estimated to be worth more than 900 billion yuan, had seen more than 40% of sales coming from online channels. E-commerce companies such as Tmall and JD.com have made it possible for appliance manufacturers to tap into more of the market.