How are intangible assets valued?

SINGAPORE (Oct 12): Moving deeper into the digital age, companies that produce experiences or provide services such as robo-advisory and mobile payments — the so-called disruptors — are part of everyday life. But what are these companies and how should they be valued?

In August, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corp, drew attention to the importance of intangible assets, after reading the book Capitalism without Capital, the Rise of the Intangible Economy by Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake.

The authors note that major developed economies and their corporates are investing more in intangible assets — such as design, branding, R&D and software — than in tangible assets, such as machinery, buildings and computers. Think Facebook and Google parent Alphabet.

---

Related Stories

• Katy Perry's US$225 million payday began in 1908
• Intangible aspirations
• New framework to disclose and communicate value of intangible assets launched

---