Newly Introduced Award: Sustainability Excellence Awards Recognises Listed Companies with Notable Sustainable Development Practices
HONG KONG, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of CHKLC and recognise listed companies demonstrating outstanding efforts in promoting corporate governance excellence in Hong Kong, the CHKLC 10thAnniversary Celebration and 2012 Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards Gala Dinner is held today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with great attendance and success.
Established since 2002, CHKLC has been contributing to the betterment of Hong Kong's listing environment. By advocating a high standard of corporate governance, strengthening dialogues between listed companies in Hong Kong, functioning as an effective communication channel between listed companies and regulatory bodies and sharing knowledge about directorship and company management with its members, the Chamber plays an integral part in nurturing an ideal capital raising platform in the city.
The Chamber is honoured to have Mr. John C. Tsang GBM, JP, Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government; Mr. Wang Bing-xin, Director General of Economic Affairs Department, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; Professor K. C. Chan GBS, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, HKSAR Governmentas its Guests of Honour, and Mr. Chow Chung Kong, Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited as the Keynote Speaker of the dinner which marks a milestone for the Chamber. "In the past 10 years, we have witnessed the ups and downs of the Hong Kong stock market, seen the many challenges and opportunities that came our way. But one thing has remained unchanged, and that is our wish for a strong and healthy stock market," said Dr. K. S. Lo, Chairman of CHKLC.
Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards was initiated by the Chamber and jointly organised by The Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy of The Hong Kong Baptist University. "A well-governed market is not one that has the most stringent rules and regulations but one that has the most deep-rooted culture of trust, accountability and ethics. And this is what the Awards are about," said Dr. Lo.
"Today, the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards has become, dare I say, the most credible and authoritative awards programme in corporate governance in our market," said Dr. Lo. "Through the Awards and other efforts we collaborate with our partners, the Chamber has made solid contribution to reinforcing the corporate governance culture in Hong Kong," Dr. Lo concluded.
"The fact that general standards of corporate governance have been steadily improving over the years is the result of multi-dimensional forces at play. The most significant of these forces has no doubt been the increasing awareness among listed companies, their directors, management and the investing community of the benefits of and thus, the need for better corporate governance. The other significant force has been the effort put in by Governmental and Non-Governmental bodies in promoting higher standards of corporate governance," said Dr. Anthony Neoh, Chairman of the Judging Panel.
Winners of the 2012 Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards are announced tonight at the prize presentation ceremony. Winning companies have clearly defined their objectives on corporate governance, regularly evaluated their practices and implementation progress on corporate governance, and hence are highly commended for improvements and attaining excellent standards of corporate governance under strict operating and regulatory environment.
The Awards Organising Committee also created a new award category this year - the Sustainability Excellence Awards. Winning companies successfully demonstrated their long-term vision in company management and operation to achieve sustainable social and environmental values.
Ten companies are recognised this year, including seven companies as winners and three companies receiving Honourable Mentions. For Corporate Governance Excellence Awards, winning companies in the category of Main Board Companies - Hang Seng Index Constituent Companies are: BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited and Li & Fung Limited. COSCO International Holdings Limited receives an Honourable Mention in the category of Main Board Companies - Hang Seng Composite Index Constituent Companies. Transport International Holdings Limited is the winner in the category of Other Main Board and GEM Board Companies where an Honourable Mention in this category goes to Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust.
For Sustainability Excellence Awards, winning companies are China Mobile Limited, The Link Real Estate Investment Trust and MTR Corporation Limited, whereas Vitasoy International Holdings Limited gets an Honourable Mention.
About the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies
Incorporated in September 2002, CHKLC is a non-profit organisation serving listed companies in Hong Kong. The Chamber strives to promote sound corporate governance, function as an effective communication channel between listed companies and regulatory authorities, strengthen the commercial linkage and foster co-operation among listed companies from Hong Kong and China and uphold Hong Kong's position as an international trade, commercial and financial centre. Since 2007, the Chamber organises the annual Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards jointly with the Hong Kong Baptist University to advocate best practices of corporate governance and recognise excellence, and in 2008 and 2009 organised the Listed Companies Conference to provide a forum of discussion of stock market issues on a regular basis. This event was held in Shanghai in 2012.
About the Centre for Corporate Governance & Financial Policy of Hong Kong Baptist University
The Centre aspires to be a Centre of Excellence on corporate governance in the region. It promotes quality policy and academic research on corporate governance and related financial policy issues covering Hong Kong, China and the Asia-Pacific economies, with the aim to improve the quality of corporate governance practices. Additionally, the Centre provides professional executive education activities to disseminate knowledge and advance the highest ideals of responsible business leadership. Through consultancy projects, the Centre also assists organisations to design, improve and assess their corporate governance systems and structures.
Notes to Editors:
About the 2012 Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards
The Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards are conferred annually since 2007 by the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies and the Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy, Hong Kong Baptist University and are designed to promote and award excellence in corporate governance (CG) of listed companies in Hong Kong. The Awards Programme provides recognition and prestige for listed companies in achieving outstanding commitment to shareholder rights, compliance, integrity, fairness, responsibility, accountability, transparency, board independence and leadership, and corporate social responsibility.
There are 3 award categories, namely the Main Board Companies - Hang Seng Index Constituent Companies; Main Board Companies - Hang Seng Composite Index Constituent Companies and Other Main Board & GEM Board Companies. In addition to other special prizes/ honourable mentions, an overall winner may be selected from amongst the winners.
Starting from 2012, the Awards Programme is expanded to include sustainability performance by the creation of the Sustainability Excellence Awards, which give recognition and prestige for listed companies in achieving outstanding commitment to the well-being of the society and their employees, protection of the environment and charitable endeavours.
This year, the judging panel includes: Dr. Anthony Neoh, Former Chairman of SFC and Former Chief Advisor to the China Securities Regulatory Commission; Professor Stephen Cheung, Dean of School of Business and Professor (Chair) of Finance at the Hong Kong Baptist University; Mr. Alec Tsui, Chairman of WAG Worldsec Corporate Finance Limited and Former Chief Executive Officer of Stock Exchange of Hong Kong; Dr. Au King Lun, Chief Executive Officer of BOCHK Asset Management Limited and Former Chairman of Hong Kong Investment Funds Association; Mr. Philip Tsai, Partner of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Immediate Past President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Mr. Cheung Yuk Tong, Co-Head of Mergers and Acquisitions of Baker & McKenzie of Hong Kong and China and Mr. Albert Ng, China Chairman and Greater China Managing Partner of Ernst & Young.
2012 Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards is sponsored by BoardVantage as Silver Sponsor. BDO Limited, Boardroom Corporate Services (HK) Limited and Diligent APAC Board Services Pte Limited as Bronze Sponsors. In addition, Hong Kong Economic Times is Sole Chinese Media Sponsor; Metro Finance is Exclusive Radio Partner; Quam IR, irasia.com and Today IR are Online Media Partners; finance.qq.com and t.qq.com are Exclusive Mainland Online Media Partners and Wealth World Channel is Mainland Television Partner.
