HKIRA 8th IR Awards 2022 now open for nomination

Apr 12, 2022 18:08 JST

Source: Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA)

Recognition of best practices under the new normal

HONG KONG, Apr 12, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is pleased to announce that public nomination is now open for the HKIRA 8th IR Awards 2022 (the 'Awards'). This will be the eighth consecutive year of the Awards at which remarkable practices of good IR and corporate governance are recognized among Hong Kong listed companies.

Professor Louis Cheng, Dr. S H Ho Professor of Banking and Finance and the Director of Research Centre for ESG, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Chairman of the Judging Panel (left) and Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA (right).

Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA, said, "It has been another challenging year for business operators in most industries. IR professionals' role is increasingly important in keeping investors and the public abreast of the latest update of listed companies and their industries. Under the new normal, new forms of communication channels are supported by advanced technologies, to facilitate instant and transparent exchange of information. We are glad that the IR community was able to turn challenges into opportunities and we look forward to recognizing more listed companies with best practices at this year's Awards."

Last year, 167 award entries were received from listed companies, over 890 eligible voters and over 360 voting institutions participated in the voting, casting a total of more than 7,900 votes. 47 winners from various categories were recognized at the Awards. Among the winners, China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited (stock code: 00291), Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 00778), and Xtep International Holdings Limited (stock code: 01368) were awarded Overall Best IR Company by company size - Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap - respectively.

The HKIRA 8th IR Awards 2022 is once again honoured to have Professor Louis Cheng, Dr. S H Ho Professor of Banking and Finance and the Director of Research Centre for ESG at, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, as the Chairman of the Judging Panel. Being an advocate of IR best practice among Hong Kong listed companies, Professor Cheng has in recent years been researching on how ESG impacts investors' decisions. Observing its increasing importance, ESG-related awards have been added to the HKIRA IR Award categories since 2020. With ESG investing becoming increasingly mainstream in the professional investment community and ESG ratings often being used by investors, Professor Cheng has also been looking into the topic of score divergence (i.e. disagreement) among commercial ESG raters, and how such divergence affects or benefits investors.

Public nomination for the HKIRA 8th IR Awards 2022 is now open to Hong Kong-listed companies. Nominated individuals and companies will be placed on the online voting list upon confirmation of their participation. The investment community, including buy-side and sell-side analysts, and fund managers, are eligible to vote. Nominees with the highest votes (weighted) in each award category become the award winners. They then undergo a final assessment by the judging panel for the Most Progress in IR, the Overall Best IR Company Awards and the Grand ESG Award. Facilitating a fair and balanced evaluation, the judging panel comprises academics, representatives from professional associations and the investment community.

The HKIRA 8th IR Awards 2022 scheme has a total of 15 award categories honouring best IR practices of individuals and companies. Among these awards, 12 categories are open for nomination and voting, while the other 3 awards are selected by the judging panel. The award winners are to be announced at a ceremony to be held in Hong Kong in September 2022. For more information, please visit www.hkira.com/awards.

Strategic Public Relations Group is once again proud to be the Official Public Relations Partner and the Diamond Sponsor for the HKIRA IR Awards this year. Please find key dates relating to the Awards with its categories and criteria for selection listed in the Appendix.

About HKIRA
Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a non-profit professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate officers responsible for communication between corporate management and the investment community. HKIRA advocates the setting of international standards in IR education, advances the best IR practices and meets the professional development needs of those interested in pursuing the investor relations profession.

HKIRA is dedicated to advancing the practice of IR as well as the professional competency and status of its members. To date, HKIRA has over 1000 members most of whom are working for companies primarily listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. About 68% of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock companies are currently members of HKIRA. HKIRA's members are from a wide spectrum of professions including IR, finance, accounting, 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
The HKIRA Investor Relations Awards (the "IR Awards") is an annual campaign that aims to encourage, recognize and reward the excellence in investor relations practices by individuals and companies listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Since the launch in 2015, each year the Awards seeks out and highlights the incredible achievements of individuals and companies with high standards in investor relations through their role modelling to the investment community.

The Awards ceremony, consisting of a conference in the morning and presentation in the afternoon, is a spectacular gathering of IR specialists and industry professionals that applauds and publicizes the year's achievements in investor relations. For details of the Awards and online nominations, please visit http://www.hkira.com/awards.

Appendix
Key Dates
Nomination period: 12 April to 17 May
Online voting period: 23 May to 29 June
Judging Panel Meeting: July 2022
Award Presentation: September 2022

Award Categories
Award Categories / Recognition / Selection Method
Best IR Company / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best IR Team / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best ESG (E) / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best ESG (S) / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best ESG (G) / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best Investor Meeting / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best Investor Presentation Material / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best Annual Report / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best IR Company for an IPO* / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best IR by Chairman/CEO / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best IR by CFO / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Best IRO (Investor Relations Officer) / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting
Most Progress in IR / Demonstration of the most progress in IR in the above areas during 2021 / Selected by Judging Panel
Overall Best IR Company Awards / Outstanding and all-round excellence in the above areas / Selected by Judging Panel
Grand ESG Award / Overall excellence in all the three areas across ESG / Selected by Judging Panel

* Companies which were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2020 and 2021 are eligible to be nominated for this award.
Remarks: All awards will be further categorised by company market capitalisation into Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap, except Best IR Company for an IPO and Most Progress in IR Awards.

Judging Panel (Arranged in alphabetical order of last name)
Name Title Firms / Organizations
Professor Louis Cheng (Chairman of Judging Panel) / Dr. S H Ho Professor of Banking and Finance, Director of the Research Centre for ESG, Director of the Research Institute for Business / The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
Mrs Amy Donati / Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer / EDICO Holdings Limited
Ms Ashley Khoo, CFA, CPA / Past President and Board Director / CFA Society Hong Kong
Mr Andrew Look / Independent Non-Executive Director / CITIC Resources Holdings Limited
Ms Victoria Mio, CFA, FRM / Head of Equity Research, Asia Pacific / Fidelity International
Dr Maurice Ngai / General Committee and the Chairman of Membership Services of the Sub-Committees / Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies
Mr Wilfred Yiu / Managing Director and Co-Head of Markets / Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited

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