BLPL Singapore Pte Ltd, a home-grown logistics company emerged first in the 2016 Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards. In second and third place respectively are consumer Internet platform provider Garena Online Pte Ltd and UEMS Pte Ltd, an integrated facilities management company. Linnhoff Technologies Pte Ltd, a manufacturer of asphalt mixing plants, won the ‘Enterprise 50 Special Recognition Award – Internationalisation’. This is the first time that this award is given out.

Gracing this year’s E50 Awards Presentation and Gala dinner at the Resorts World Convention Centre as Guest of Honour is Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr Chan, who is the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on the Future Economy, presented the awards to this year’s winners.

Themed ‘Building future-ready enterprises’, this year’s E50 winners were lauded for their ability to stay ahead of the curve. They showed their mettle by adapting their business strategies and operations to changing market conditions, even as tech-fuelled disruptions happen more frequently.

Mr Chiu Wu Hong, Head of Enterprise at KPMG in Singapore said: “Though different in their own way, our 50 enterprises share common traits such as adaptability to market changes, along with a commitment and loyalty to customers. They are also venturing into niche markets and leveraging on technology to enable innovation. Most importantly, these companies focus on their people and people-related processes to drive productivity improvement, skills upgrading and growth. They think about the future and its accompanying challenges – and are not consumed by short-term pressures.”

Concurring with Mr Chiu, Mr Alvin Tay, Editor of The Business Times who is the co-organiser of the Awards said: “In spite of the slowdown in the global economy, this year’s E50 award recipients have demonstrated that having the right business fundamentals is essential for them to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. They have embraced innovation and technology in R&D, marketing and human capital development to adapt and respond to an increasingly discerning customer base, both locally and overseas.

Through our coverage of local businesses, we have seen the emergence of a new generation of business leaders who possess the acumen and experience to take the companies to the next phase of growth. The Business Times congratulates all the E50 awards recipients for their stellar achievements.”

 

Inaugural award category winner

Launched this year, the ‘Enterprise 50 Special Recognition Award – Internationalisation’ recognises excellence in a company’s overseas growth and expansion strategy.

Set up in Singapore in the late 1980s, Linnhoff started off by marketing its asphalt mixing plant in Asia, specifically in Southeast Asia. The company relies on the capability and network of overseas distributors and agents to tap into different sectors in each country, utilising market data to continuously grow and innovate. By expanding its business beyond the shores of Singapore, Linnhoff is able to maintain and improve its revenues.

Mr Chiu commented: “Given our small domestic market, internationalisation should be a key strategy for any homegrown company looking to build scale and access new markets and customers. In addition, enterprises should also take advantage of market opportunities presented through collaborations with large organisations in Singapore, including the government. This will allow our enterprises to build capabilities and a track record that can serve as a basis for future growth.”

 

Identifying industry’s best

This year also sees a record number of six companies receiving the 5-Year Award. The companies are: first place winner BLPL Singapore Pte Ltd, CAD-IT Consultants (Asia) Pte Ltd, Linnhoff Technologies Pte Ltd, Indoguna Singapore Pte Ltd, Wiselink Technology Pte Ltd and ITCAN Pte Ltd. The Award is given to companies who have been on the E50 list for five years.

Underscoring the sectors’ productivity growth rates this year, there were more E50 companies from export-oriented sectors such as engineering (14 percent) and manufacturing (20 percent). The judges were impressed by their ability to continuously review their strategies, business and operating models to meet customers’ needs. These include cultivating a culture of getting feedback from customers, embracing new ideas within or outside their industry and keeping an eye on the latest technology.

This year's E50 applicants were evaluated and ranked using both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Quantitative factors included financial performance indicators such as operating profit before tax, turnover and profit growth.

The qualitative criteria included management and marketing strategies such as the applicants' business model and their innovations, management ideals and governance, market branding and overall potential.

The E50 Awards is jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore. OCBC returns as the sponsor for the eleventh year. Supporters of the awards include the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Singapore Business Federation, SPRING Singapore and Singapore Exchange (SGX). It is the first time that SGX is supporting the E50 Awards.

Mr Linus Goh, Head of Global Commercial Banking, OCBC Bank said: “OCBC is proud to return as the main sponsor for the E50 Awards for the 11th year running. This year’s winners, half of whom are repeat E50 winners, demonstrate the resilience and agility of our local enterprises as they successfully navigate the challenges of a weakening global economy to future-proof their businesses. I’m confident that our winners will continue to do well and we look forward to partnering and supporting them in their growth journey ahead.”

Mr Satvinder Singh, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, IE Singapore, “For the first time this year, a new sub-award, Internationalisation Award, will be awarded to Linnhoff Technologies. The award recognises a company’s internationalisation journey, in hopes of inspiring others. Linnhoff Technologies has demonstrated how Singapore companies can adopt technology from abroad and develop innovative solutions to break into new markets. IE Singapore will continue to champion internationalisation ambitions of able and willing companies and bring back value to Singapore.”

Mr Ho Meng Kit, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Business Federation (SBF), said, “SBF applauds the E50 recipients from diverse industries that exemplify future-readiness. The Singapore business community can draw much inspiration from the winners on how to be adaptable and viable in the current lacklustre global economy.

The new category “Enterprise 50 Special Recognition Award – Internationalisation” is an encouraging endorsement for internationalisation efforts. We continue to urge our businesses to venture overseas to overcome the constraints of operating in Singapore. SBF, as the apex business chamber, will continue to help businesses innovate, scale up and internationalise.”

Mr Chew Sutat, SGX Head of Equities and Fixed Income said: “Congratulations to this year’s E50 award winners. Since its inauguration 20 years ago, nearly a quarter of past award recipients went on to become listed companies on SGX. We welcome recent listings of past E50 award recipients such as Jumbo, Katrina, IPS Securex and Wong Fong Engineering. We are proud of our home-grown companies and supportive of their aspirations to continue expanding.”

Mr Ted Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore, said, “SPRING would like to congratulate this year’s Enterprise 50 Award winners for their entrepreneurial spirit and continued efforts to drive productivity and innovation; develop quality products and services, and sustained growth within their business sectors. Many of the winners were award recipients in previous years. This shows that our local companies have not rested on their laurels, but instead, have built on their successes to achieve greater heights. SPRING will continue to support our home-grown enterprises in achieving their dreams.”