Hong Kong Investor Relations Association Announces Winners of 5th IR Awards 2019

May 30, 2019 20:30 JST

Source: Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA)

Link REIT is Awarded Overall Best IR Company Award (Large Cap)

HONG KONG, May 30, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong Investor Relations Association ("HKIRA") has today announced the winners of the 5th Investor Relations Awards 2019 (the "IR Awards" or the "Awards").

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the Awards has been recognising and honouring investor relations ("IR") excellence and best practices among Hong Kong-listed companies and IR professionals. Over 310 guests from the IR industry and investment community as well as representatives of listed companies gathered at today's IR Awards Conference and Awards Presentation Luncheon to congratulate the winners for their dedication and outstanding IR efforts. HKIRA is particularly honored to have Mr. Joseph Chan, JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services & The Treasury of The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, as the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the Awards Presentation Luncheon.

Dr. Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA, said, "We are pleased to see that a growing number of Hong Kong listed companies regard investor relations as an important part of their corporate strategy. We would like to thank our long-term partners, advisors, as well as regulators for contributing to the overall enhancement in investor relations standards in Hong Kong over the past five years."

The increasing importance of investor relations and the growing prominence of the Awards can be seen by the enthusiastic response to this year's event, which attracted a total of 161 entries from listed companies. Just like previous years, the award winners were first nominated by the public and then selected by eligible voters from buy-side and sell-side investors via online polling. With over 700 voters taking part, the strong figure clearly shows that the Awards are wholeheartedly supported by the investment community. Through their efforts, a total of 46 listed companies have been awarded this year.

Indicative of the commitment of HKIRA to recognize IR excellence in all its different aspects, it has added the "Best IR Team" award this year, which specifically applauds the group effort of listed companies in achieving their IR objectives and promoting excellence. HKIRA firmly believes that exceptional IR practice, whether individual or team effort, deserves acknowledgement.

Of all the award categories, "Overall Best IR Company" is the most prestigious since the judging panel makes their selection from the winners of all the different award categories - honouring companies that have demonstrated exemplary and all-round excellence in investor relations. This year, the winners of the Overall Best IR Company by company size - Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap - are Link Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 823); Champion Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 2778); and Far East Consortium International Limited (stock code: 35) respectively.

Dr. Eva Chan, said, "We are overwhelmed by the enthusiastic poll responses this year, which clearly reflected the increasing importance of best IR practices amongst Hong Kong listed companies, the investment community and fellow industry professionals. We are extremely pleased to witness a significant growth of the scale and standards of the local IR profession, and to see a more widespread implementation of IR best practices as a critical element of corporate governance amongst Hong Kong listed companies."

She added, "As we all know, IR is much more than a means to an end, it is a culture that listed companies seek to nurture. To make IR a long-term strategy among listed companies requires more than the professional acumen of an IRO, genuine support from senior management is also essential. Mindful of this, HKIRA now offers tailored corporate training programs and workshops conducted by veterans who have extensive working experience with listed companies, hence are able to cater for the specific needs of the Board, senior management and IR personnel. Our corporate training programs are carefully designed to expertly equip participants with up-to-date knowledge and practical skills so that listed companies can incorporate the IR strategy into the corporate strategy. We believe this can help uphold Hong Kong's status as one of the world's most preferred international financial centres and capital markets in the long term."

Winners of the 5th IR Awards include the following companies (arranged in sequence of stock code):

Stock Code / Company
0002 CLP Holdings Limited
0005 HSBC Holdings plc
0014 Hysan Development Company Limited
0016 Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited
0017 New World Development Company Limited
0035 Far East Consortium International Limited
0101 Hang Lung Properties Limited
0135 Kunlun Energy Company Limited
0163 Emperor International Holdings Limited
0178 Sa Sa International Holdings Limited
0268 Kingdee International Software Group Company Limited
0291 China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited
0354 Chinasoft International Limited
0388 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
0435 Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust
0486 United Company RUSAL Plc
0494 Li & Fung Limited
0551 Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited
0636 Kerry Logistics Network Limited
0683 Kerry Properties Limited
0688 China Overseas Land & Investment Limited
0700 Tencent Holdings Limited
0778 Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust
0788 China Tower Corporation Limited
0823 Link Real Estate Investment Trust
0839 China Education Group Holdings Limited
0868 Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited
0887 Emperor Watch & Jewellery Limited
0968 Xinyi Solar Holdings Limited
1200 Midland Holdings Limited
1361 361 Degrees International Limited
1368 Xtep International Holdings Limited
1381 Canvest Environmental Protection Group Company Limited
1486 C Cheng Holdings Limited
1810 Xiaomi Corporation
1811 CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd.
1828 Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited
2020 ANTA Sports Products Limited
2199 Regina Miracle International (Holdings) Limited
2313 Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited
2331 Li Ning Company Limited
2343 Pacific Basin Shipping Limited
2382 Sunny Optical Technology (Group) Company Limited
2778 Champion Real Estate Investment Trust
2877 China Shineway Pharmaceutical Group Limited
6068 Wisdom Education International Holdings Company Limited

For the complete list of winners, please visit http://hkira.com/awards/winners.php.

Strategic Public Relations Group is once again proud to be the Official Public Relations Partner and Diamond Sponsor of HKIRA IR Awards 2019.

Judging Panel
- Professor Louis Cheng (Chairman of the Judging Panel)
Professor of Finance, School of Accounting & Finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Mrs. Amy Donati
Chief Executive Officer, EDICO Holdings Limited
- Ms. Ashley Khoo
Immediate Past President, The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts
- Mr. Andrew Look
Chief Investment Officer, China Hong Kong Link Asset Management Limited
- Ms. Victoria Mio
Chief Investment Officer China, Fund Manager, Robeco Chinese Equities
Co-Head, Robeco Asia Pacific Equities
- Mr. Marcus Sultzer
International Managing Director, EQS Group AG
- Mr. Andrew Weir
Senior Partner, KPMG Hong Kong
Vice Chairman, KPMG China
Global Chairman of Real Estate and Construction, KPMG
- Ms. Helen Zee
General Committee Member, The Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies

About HKIRA
Founded in 2008 with over 800 members mostly working for companies primarily listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a non-profit professional association in Investor Relations (IR), comprised of IR practitioners and corporate officer, who are responsible for communications between corporate management and investment community. HKIRA is dedicated to advocating the setting of international standards in IR education, advancing the best IR practices and catering to the professional development needs of those who are interested in pursuing a professional career in IR. HKIRA's members are from a wide spectrum of professions including IR, finance, accounting and company secretarial to corporate investment and hold positions at different corporate levels, including top executives responsible for IR and management of listed companies. For more information about HKIRA details, please visit our website http://www.hkira.com .

About the IR Awards
Inaugurated in 2015, the Investor Relations Awards (IR Awards) celebrates excellence in the local IR industry through the annual presentation of awards to the many diverse professionals that make up the dynamic IR and finance industries in Hong Kong. HKIRA aims to initiate the IR Awards as the industry benchmark for high standard of excellence in IR by individuals and companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

The Awards ceremony is a spectacular gathering of IR specialists and industry professionals that applauds and publicises the year's IR achievements. For details of the Awards and online nomination, please visit www.hkira.com/awards.

Media enquiries:
Strategic Public Relations Group
Cindy Lung Tel: +852 2864 4867 Email: cindy.lung@sprg.com.hk
Jessica Siu Tel: +852 2114 2820 Email: jessica.siu@sprg.com.hk
Christina Cheuk Tel: +852 2114 4979 Email: christina.cheuk@sprg.com.hk
Website: www.sprg.asia

Hong Kong Investor Relations Association
Kiki Lee Tel: +852 3106 0639 Email: irawards@hkira.com
Website: www.hkira.com

Source: Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA)
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News