Nominations for 2023 Enterprise 50 Awards

Singapore, 31 March 2023 - Nominations for the annual Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards are now open. Organised by The Business Times (BT) and KPMG in Singapore, the E50 Awards recognises 50 homegrown enterprises that display remarkable resilience amid mounting challenges. The 2023 E50 Awards is sponsored by OCBC Bank and supported by Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Exchange Group.

In its 29th year, the theme of this year’s E50 Awards is “Scaling New Heights, Conquering New Frontiers”. It pays homage to companies that have shown innovation and courage to succeed in an ever-changing environment.

A new Sustainability Special Recognition Award will be introduced this year to honour companies that have made strides towards the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) goals. This is especially important as ESG principles play an increasingly larger role in corporate strategy with businesses and consumers becoming more aware of their carbon footprint and social impact. More information on this new category is available in the Annex.

Ms Chen Hui Fen, Editor of BT, said: “Reaching new heights and exploring new opportunities require not only determination and courage, but also the willingness to adapt to change and embrace uncertainty. We hope that the E50 Awards will encourage more Singapore enterprises to lead the charge towards a more resilient, robust and sustainable economy.”

At the launch of the E50 Awards this morning, Mr Chiu Wu Hong, Partner and Head of Private Enterprise at KPMG in Singapore moderated a fireside chat which featured speakers Mr Sim Koon Lam, Executive Director of Mooreast Holdings Ltd, and Ms Iris Ng, Managing Director of Middle Market, Global Commercial Banking, OCBC Bank. The panellists shared their experiences on how they overcame business challenges, and their sustainability goals and initiatives for the future.

On the Awards, Mr Chiu said: “The 2023 Enterprise 50 Awards is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise Singapore’s top-performing homegrown enterprises. With the rise of protectionism and deglobalisation, businesses looking to make a mark must focus on two paramount elements: providing innovative solutions that improve efficiency and effectiveness for businesses and consumers; and fostering trust in an increasingly unstable business landscape. ESG has immense untapped potential, with those embracing innovative practices to streamline decarbonisation and social pathways finding themselves at a significant competitive advantage. Celebrating their success will help to raise their visibility within the industry, inspiring other enterprises towards new benchmarks of excellence.”

Entry submissions for the E50 Awards will close on Friday, 30 June 2023 at 5.00pm. Applicants can apply and find out more information about the Awards at  https://enterprise50.org/. They can also refer to the Annex for more information.

About OCBC Bank

OCBC Bank is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is now the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the world’s most highly rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC Bank is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.

OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.

About KPMG in Singapore

KPMG in Singapore is part of a global organization of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 143 countries and territories with more than 265,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

For more information, visit https://kpmg.com/sg.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpmg-singapore/

About The Business Times

Singapore's only financial daily, The Business Times (BT), is the authoritative guide on local, regional and international business markets. In addition to corporate news and commentary, BT covers the startup, wealth, property, lifestyle and SME scenes, and tells you what you need to know about Asean and the region. For more information, please visit https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebusinesstimes/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-business-times

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessTimes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/businesstimessg/

Telegram: https://t.me/BizTimes

About SPH Media

SPH Media is a leading media group, with operations in the publishing of newspapers, magazines, and books in both print and digital editions. It also owns and operates other businesses such as radio stations and outdoor media. The mission of SPH Media is to be the trusted source of news on Singapore and Asia, to represent the communities that make up Singapore, and to connect them to the world. The businesses are held by SPH Media Trust, a public company limited by guarantee. For more information on SPH Media, please visit www.sph.com.sg, and our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

About Enterprise Singapore

Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. The agency works with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise.

It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups, and builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards.

Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information.

About Singapore Business Federation

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) is the apex business chamber championing the interests of the Singapore business community in the areas of trade, investment and industrial relations. It represents 27,000 companies, as well as key local and foreign business chambers.

For more information, please visit: www.sbf.org.sg

About Singapore Exchange Group

Singapore Exchange Group is Asia's leading and trusted securities and derivatives market infrastructure, operating equity, fixed income, currency and commodity markets to the highest regulatory standards. It also operates a multi-asset sustainability platform, SGX FIRST or Future in Reshaping Sustainability Together (sgx.com/first).

SGX Group is committed to facilitating economic growth in a sustainable manner leveraging our roles as a key player in the ecosystem, a business, regulator and listed company. With climate action as a key priority, SGX Group aims to be a leading sustainable and transition financing and trading hub offering trusted, quality, end-to end products and solutions.

As Asia's most international, multi-asset exchange, SGX Group provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services, with about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore. We are the world's most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN. In foreign exchange, SGX Group is Asia's leading marketplace and most comprehensive service provider for global FX over-the-counter and futures participants. Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX Group is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities.

For more information, please visit www.sgx.com.

About the Enterprise 50 Awards 

The Enterprise 50 Awards was launched in 1995 to identify, support, recognise and reward enterprising privately-owned, local companies across all sectors. Since then, it has become a definitive list of the 50 most enterprising, privately-held local companies in Singapore. The E50 Awards is jointly organised by KPMG in Singapore and The Business Times, and sponsored by OCBC Bank. Supporters of the awards include Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Exchange. Every year, applicants of the E50 Awards are evaluated and ranked using both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Quantitative factors include financial performance indicators such as operating profit before tax, turnover and profit growth. The qualitative criteria include management and marketing strategies such as the applicants’ business models, innovations, management ideals, governance, market branding and overall potential. For more information, please visit www.enterprise50.org. 

About the Sustainability Special Recognition Award 2023

The Sustainability Special Recognition Award 2023 was introduced this year to recognise the larger role that Environment, Social, Governance (“ESG”) factors play in business strategy – both as a hedge against risk but also a way to clinch more opportunities in the green space. Being aware of climate issues encourages businesses to adopt practices and policies that will help shield them from external shocks, and at the same time, help them to gain investor confidence, earn customer loyalty, reduce operating costs in the long-run leading to better asset management and financial performance.

Criteria for award

The award will honour companies that have demonstrated commitment towards ESG goals, such as by:

• Working towards producing sustainable products and services.
• Being socially conscious in its operations and creating a positive impact on society, either within the organisation or on external parties.
• Adopt good practices on corporate governance.