Chinese wool producer Hengyuanxiang Group signed a contract on Tuesday to become an official partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Under the agreement, the company will sponsor the Chinese Olympic Committee from 2013 until 2016. It will also provide clothes for the committee. In return, the company will be granted use of the Olympic Committee's symbol and intellectual property during the same period.

According to the committee's website, there are eight official partners - Hengyuanxiang, Anta (China) Co Ltd, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp, BMW, Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd, Inner Mongolia's Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, Sina Corp and Hilton Honors.

In terms of people's awareness of sponsors and partners of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Yili (with 33%) occupied a leading position with brand awareness higher than other Chinese domestic brands. It is closely followed by Tsingtao Beer (29%), Sina (26%), Anta (25%), Mengniu (24%) and Hengyuanxiang (20%), according to the "overall sponsorship recognition" in an Ipsos survey, a Paris based market research company.

For the image or brand of a corporation, the real core competitiveness lies in its products and services. In order to establish a 100-year old enterprise and international brand, it also requires the formation of good corporate culture and long-term customer penetration, said the survey.

liwoke@chinadaily.com.cn