Nominations are open for the 2023 DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards (HKBA), as the city’s oldest peer-judged honours look to recognise exemplary demonstrations of corporate excellence and leadership.
The awards, held uninterrupted since 1990, honour excellence in seven categories this year, covering the outstanding Businessperson, Executive, Enterprise, China Company, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), Start-up and those noted for enhancing their International brands. A discretionary Lifetime Achievement award may be bestowed to honour the worthy recipient, according to the awards secretariat.
Nominations, which end on September 22, can be submitted for free via the awards’ website, or by email to [email protected] in English. Eligibility requirements of the various award categories are available on the HKBA’s website.
“[The awards] honour individuals and businesses that represent Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial spirit” and “contribute towards sustainability, and corporate responsibility,” said DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau’s Senior Vice-President and Managing Director Ng Chee Choong, during the kick-off of the 2023 awards. “This [aligns with] DHL’s purpose of ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’, as we highlight the importance of ESG, and recognise those who contribute to Hong Kong business, and to the world at large.”
DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau’s Senior Vice-President and Managing Director Ng Chee Choong during the kick-off of the 2023 DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards in Admiralty on 19 July 2023. Photo: Jonathan Wong.
A unique feature of the awards is their peer adjudication, where winners of the previous year make up half of the judges during the current year.
Half of the 2023 judging panel will comprise the winners of 2022. They are The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited’s chairman Peter Wong Tung-shun (Lifetime Achievement award), Wheelock’s chairman Douglas Woo (Businessperson award), Standard Chartered Bank’s Hong Kong CEO Mary Huen (Executive award), Jebsen Group (Enterprise award), Pharmaron Beijing (International award), GoGoChart Technology Limited (SME award) and Yoov Internet Technology (Start-up award).
The Post’s CEO Catherine So during the kick-off of the 2023 DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards in Admiralty on 19 July 2023. Photo: Jonathan Wong.
“Our judges hold the pivotal role in the integrity and calibre of these prestigious awards,” said the Post’s CEO Catherine So, urging this year’s adjudicators to focus “beyond the immediate challenges [of the pandemic] and commend the efforts of organisations and individuals that contribute to Hong Kong’s revitalisation and its long-term success.”
“Let us spotlight businesses that go above and beyond to foster job creation, youth empowerment, and skills development,” she said. “In a day and age when we are seeing worsening social mobility, businesses that invest in upskilling and equipping individuals who would otherwise be left behind are especially worthy of recognition.”
The panel of judges is anchored by adjudicators from a number of business chambers, universities, and the representatives of DHL and the Post. The chairman of the judging panel is Professor Richard Wong Yue-chim, the University of Hong Kong’s provost, deputy vice-chancellor, chair of economics and the Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy.
Professor Dr. Richard Wong Yue-chim, the University of Hong Kong’s provost, deputy vice-chancellor, chair of economics and the Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy, during the kick-off of the 2023 DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards in Admiralty on 19 July 2023. Photo: Jonathan Wong.
Other judges include HSBC’s head of commercial banking for Hong Kong and Macau Frank Fang, The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive George Leung Siu-kay, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) deputy executive director Patrick Lau, Karen Yeung, the national president of the Junior Chamber International Hong Kong (JCI Hong Kong) and Janice Choi of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
DHL is represented by DHL’s Ng, while the Post is represented by Eugene Tang, the Post’s Managing Editor of Business & Projects.
Winners of the award will be announced on December 7 during a black-tie gala dinner. The annual award ceremonies changed into virtual presentations in 2019 and 2020 during the city’s street protests and under social-distancing rules during Hong Kong’s Covid-19 outbreak, but were restored in 2022 as the pandemic eased.
Judges of the 2023 DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards (Back row L to R): JCI Hong Kong’s Kenneth Yu, Jebsen’s Angela Wong, Standard Chartered’s Gabriel Kwan, GoGo Chart’s Daniel Lo, and HSBC’s Frank Fang, (middle row L to R) HK Chinese General Chamber of Commerce’s Janice Choi, Pharmaron Beijing’s Gilbert Li Shing-chung, HSBC’s Peter Wong Tung-shun, and Wheelock’s Paul Tsui, HKTDC’s Patrick Lau, and (front row L to R) SCMP’s Eugene Tang and Catherine So, DHL’s Ng Chee Choong, and HKU’s Richard Wong on 19 July 2023. Photo: Jonathan Wong
The Lifetime Achievement Award, handed out nine times in the awards’ 33-year history, is a discretionary honour given to recognise a corporate individual’s business and social contributions to Hong Kong over a sustained period of time.
Previous Lifetime Achievement award winners included Leun Thai Group Limited’s chairman Tan Siu-lin (2020), Fung Group’s chairman Victor Fung (2019), Lee Kum Kee’s group chairman Lee Man-tat (2018), Forward Winsome Industries Limited’s chairman L.T. Lam (2017), Crown Worldwide Group’s chairman James Thompson, and Li Ka-shing (2010), then chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited.
