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Tag: awards

  • Winners Announced At The 10th Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia

    Winners Announced At The 10th Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia

    Honouring and recognising outstanding companies and individuals in the maritime industry, winners of the 10th Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia were announced on 23 June 2017 at the InterContinental Hong Kong.

    With close to 400 top maritime executives in attendance, Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year is widely acknowledged as one of the region’s most prestigious industry awards. Held annually to commemorate inspiring industry peers on their extraordinary efforts and contributions towards the maritime industry, a total of 15 awards were presented this year.

    Winners for the 12 competitive categories were chosen by an independent panel of senior industry figures whilst recipients for the other three special awards namely the Seatrade Young Person of the Year Award, the Seatrade Personality of the Year Award and the Seatrade Lifetime Achievement Award, were decided by the Seatrade Senior Editorial Board.

    Randy Chen, vice chairman, Wan Hai Lines, was awarded the Seatrade Personality of the Year and Edward Buttery, CEO, Taylor Maritime (HK) Ltd, was presented with the Seatrade Young Person of the Year. The last award of the night, Seatrade Lifetime Achievement of the Year was presented to His Excellency Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas, chairman, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. The award recognised the highly important role Ambassador Salinas has played in the development of the Philippines as the world’s leading supplier of seafarers to international shipping.

    The Technical Innovation and Deal of the Year Awards were the two most hotly contested categories. ICBC Financial Leasing Co. Ltd emerged as the winner for the Deal of the Year Award, having won the same for two running years in 2014 and 2015. Their significant groundbreaking deal outshone the rest of the finalists. The Technical Innovation award was presented to Mampaey Offshore Industries who has impressed the judges with its innovative auto docking solution that improved safety in this most difficult of maritime operations.

    “Success of the Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia over the past 10 years would not have been possible without the unwavering support from our participants, sponsors, judges and supporting partners, of which we are deeply grateful and humbled. Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia 2018 will return to Singapore to be held in conjunction with the Singapore Maritime Week 2018 and we look forward to seeing you there,” Chris Hayman, chairman, Seatrade commented.

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  • Sunway Putra Mall Wins Gold at Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards 2017

    Sunway Putra Mall Wins Gold at Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards 2017

    It was a celebratory affair when Sunway Putra Mall was named the gold award winner in the third edition of the Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards 2017 gala dinner and award presentation ceremony at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.

    The win saw the refurbished two-year old mall emerging as one of the only two winners in the shopping mall category after edging out competition from Suria KLCC, Starhill Gallery, Berjaya Times Square and Low Yat Plaza. It was the mall’s first attempt for the award

    Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Nazri bin Abdul Aziz presented the award to Sunway Putra Mall General Manager Ms Phang Sau Lian alongside with the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Hj Mhd Amin Nordin bin Abd Aziz in front of a-650 strong audience from the city’s various tourism industry players and related government agencies.

    The Mayor had earlier emphasised that the tourism industry’s contribution to the socio-economic growth and development of Kuala Lumpur was important as it generated revenue and employment opportunities. These awards were recognition towards tourism industry players for boosting the city’s image.

    “The gold award is meaningful to Sunway Putra Mall that despite being only two years in operation after the refurbishment, we are being recognized by the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur as the top two malls in promoting Kuala Lumpur. It is a big honour for Sunway,” said Phang.

    The Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards is a tri-annual programme which was first held in 2011. In its third edition, this year’s awards saw over 500 entries being received. Qualified entries went through a stringent selection by a panel of independent judges and public voting. The criteria for judging were based on the vision outlined in the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Master Plan 2015-2025.

    Phang attributed the win to Sunway’s high service standard and top management visionary leadership which placed emphasis on delivering beyond. “It’s always been the intentions of our Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Jeffrey Cheah, CEO HC Chan and COO Kevin Tan that for any Sunway projects, emphasis is given to progress not solely on profit but people and planet too. Hence, the relentless focus on going beyond,” she added.

    The winning of this award added another feather to the cap for the mall tourism offering excellence. Sunway Putra Mall had already been recognised by the Ministry of Tourism & Culture as a Malaysia Tourism Quality Assurance (MyTQA) certified mall that delivered outstanding service quality and tourism products.

    Among the unique initiatives included the hiring of well-trained ex-flight attendants as frontline staff, DBKL appointment of the mall’s customer service staff as DBKL brand ambassador to promote heritage walks in Kuala Lumpur, promoting at overseas tourism alongside Tourism Malaysia and many others.

    The mall among others also partnered with international movies for activation, staging popular artistes appearances and collaborating with Malaysian Airlines and Matta Fair to promote KL as a tourism destination.

    Apart from the above, to date Sunway Putra Mall had also picked up the MPIM Asia Awards 2015 (bronze award) for best refurbished building category and Malaysia Shopping Malls Association’s (PPK) Best Experiential Marketing Awards 2016 (gold award) for Category B (malls with 500,001 to 999,999 sq ft nett lettable area).

    The former award paid tribute to excellence and innovation in retail development in Asia Pacific region while the latter award recognized the best of marketing programmes that enhance shoppers’ shopping experience.

  • Lazada & Starmobile Reign Victorious at the iEMA 2016 Awards

    Lazada & Starmobile Reign Victorious at the iEMA 2016 Awards

    E-commerce heavyweight Lazada, smartphone brand Starmobile alongside 24 e-commerce merchants in Southeast Asia were honoured at the inaugural iPrice E-Commerce Merchant Awards (iEMA) 2016 at the eTail Asia Conference in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Voted and nominated by tens of thousands of consumers across Southeast Asia, the awards were organized by iPrice Group in partnership with eTail Asia, Trusted Company and UseInsider, with the aim to celebrate and honor the efforts of Southeast Asia’s top e-commerce merchants in the booming industry.

    With the assistance of Trusted Company, each vote was validated and allowed to be casted only once. The voting and nomination period began on 15th November 2016 and ended on 31st January 2017. All merchants in Southeast Asia were automatically enlisted and qualified for the voting session.

    Winners of the inaugural iEMA included Lazada, winning the Popularity Award for the Philippines and Starmobile won the Quality Award for the Philippines.

    “Thank you for your support and trust in making Lazada a customer-first company and one of SEA’s most loved e-commerce brands,” said Sydney Dondon, senior associate of affiliate marketing of Lazada Philippines.

    The Lazada Group was established in 2012 and operates Lazada, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia.

    When asked about their future plans, Sydney explained that shopping experience and empowering stakeholders were key. “We continuously improve the shopping experience by understanding what our customer needs, at every step of the shopping journey.  It’s really down to empowering our stakeholder. We’re adding features on the website and app so that our customers can make more informed purchases. We are beefing up our logistics capabilities to fulfil orders faster wherever they may be. We are also developing tools to make selling more efficient for our merchants,” said Sydney.

    Starmobile, a smartphone brand from the Philippines won the Quality Award for the Philippines. From its humble beginnings in 2011, it was no surprise that Starmobile took home the award for Quality considering them being known for being one of the most innovative smartphone brands locally and their strong fan base on social media.

    Finalists for the Quality Award were Benloi, an online sporting equipment company and Anson’s, an appliance and electronics store in the Philippines.

    The Absolute Winner of iEMA 2016 Awards

    Bukalapak, a C2C e-commerce platform was declared the overall winner of iEMA 2016, garnering the highest number of overall votes in Southeast Asia. The startup began their operations in their garage with the passion to create a marketplace that is reliable and trusted by consumers today. When asked what made them successful Evi Andarini, PR Manager of Bukalapak mentioned that they constantly find ways to be creative and innovative in meeting their customers’ needs.

    In addition to this, the iPrice Special Award for notable achievements in e-commerce was won by BloomThis, a Malaysian startup who utilized their website and social media pages to provide an unparalleled premium flower gifting service.

    The full list of winners:

    The Absolute Winner of iEMA 2016:

    • Bukalapak

    iPrice Special Award

    1. BloomThis (Winner)
    2. Althea (1st Runner Up)
    3. BMS Organics (2nd Runner Up)

    Quality Award                      – Country Winners

    • Malaysia : Livlola
    • Indonesia : Mazaya
    • Philippines : Starmobile
    • Singapore : Tech2Cool
    • Thailand : Advice
    • Vietnam : Alovendor

    Popularity Award              – Country Winners

    • Malaysia : Lazada
    • Indonesia : Bukalapak
    • Philippines : Lazada
    • Singapore : Tech2Cool
    • Thailand : Advice
    • Vietnam : Alovendor

    The Absolute Winner and iPrice Special Award of iEMA 2016 were presented a special trophy while other winners and finalists received a certificate and an e-badge for their e-commerce platforms. In addition to this, products from all winners and finalists of all categories will be given a special highlight on all iPrice websites across Southeast Asia.

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  • 70 companies honoured at Hong Kong Awards for Industries

    70 companies honoured at Hong Kong Awards for Industries

    Seventy companies were honoured today (December 13) at the 2016 Hong Kong Awards for Industries (HKAI) presentation ceremony, at which the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, officiated.

    The Grand Award winners were WowWee Group Limited (consumer product design), the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (equipment and machinery design), Sidefame Limited – Anteprima Wirebag (customer service), Gammon Construction Limited (innovation and creativity), Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (productivity and quality), Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited (technological achievement) and Sinomax Group Limited (upgrading and transformation).

    A total of 234 entries were received at the 2016 HKAI. The winners were decided by the final judging panels chaired by Professor Joseph Sung.

    The HKAI was launched in 2005 by merging the former Hong Kong Awards for Industry and the former Hong Kong Awards for Services, established in 1989 and 1997 respectively. The HKAI aims to recognise the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong enterprises in pursuit of high technology and high value-added activities, and to commend excellence in various aspects of their performance.

    The 2016 HKAI covered seven categories, namely the consumer product design category organised by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries; the equipment and machinery design category organised by the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong; the customer service category organised by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association; the innovation and creativity category organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; the productivity and quality category organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council; the technological achievement category organised by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and the upgrading and transformation category organised by the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council.

    The 2016 HKAI media partners were Hong Kong Economic Times and Metro Finance.

     

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  • AirAsia bags two honours at World Travel Awards in Maldives

    AirAsia bags two honours at World Travel Awards in Maldives

    AirAsia has been named the World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the fourth year in a row and its maiden title as the World’s Leading Inflight Service at the 23rd World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final held in Male, Maldives. Asia’s largest low-cost carrier beat contenders from five continents to secure the award, including Ryanair, easyJet, Jetstar Airways, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Norwegian, Kulula, Mango, fastjet, flydubai, Air Arabia, flynas and West Air.

    “What a thrill to win World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the fourth straight year. It’s a great honour to round out what has been a great year for AirAsia, not just financially but in terms of recognition from the industry,” Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said today. AirAsia also won the World’s Leading Inflight Service title for the first time ever, beating full-service carriers Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Qantas Airways, Lufthansa, American Airlines and Air Canada. The win builds on AirAsia’s success earlier this year when it secured Asia’s Leading Inflight Service award from WTA for the first time. “I’m also super proud of our first World’s Leading Inflight Service award.

    I’ve always said we have amazing crew and amazing inflight products, and we’ve proven it by beating not one, not two, not three, but eight full-service carriers for the prize,” he said in a statement. He said there are more to come for AirAsia as the airline is always working on more innovations, and not just for inflight. “Right now, we are exploring ways to make the airport experience better. One thing we’re looking at is fast-tracking guests who share their travel profile with immigration authorities. We expect to run the trial at selected airports in Asean in the not-too-distant future, so keep an eye out for it,” he said.

    The WTA serves to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, as chosen by thousands of travel professionals and high-end tourism consumers. Airlines are judged on customer satisfaction and service quality, overall business performance, product innovation, staff relations and development, corporate social responsibility and contribution to local community, commitment to sustainable policies and fulfillment of long-term corporate vision.

    AirAsia is Asia’s leading low-cost carrier, with an extensive network of more than 120 destinations in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. It is also the only airline to fly direct to all 10 Asean countries, including some 60 unique routes in the region. AirAsia was also named World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for the eighth year in a row at the 2016 Skytrax World Airline Awards in July.

  • ITU Telecom World Awards 2016 winners announced

    ITU Telecom World Awards 2016 winners announced

    ITU today announced the winners of its prestigious ITU Telecom World Awards, which recognize excellence and innovation in ICT solutions with social impact. The Awards were announced by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao at a buzzing ceremony in the presence of H.E. Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Air Chief Marshal Thares Punsri, Chairman NBTC and ITU elected officials at the close of ITU Telecom World 2016. 

    “It is tremendously exciting to see so many ideas, innovations and so much talent and creativity all in one place,” Zhao said. “I hope that winning our Award and having their innovative solutions recognized by global experts will help these talented innovators grow and scale up their businesses, contributing fresh ideas and vision to our digital economy. I wish them every success.” 

    “We are making education accessible to all children around the world,” said Alex Masika, head of business development at BRCK, the maker of rugged wireless and mobile wifi devices in Kenya and the winner of Telecom World 2016’s Global SME Award. “I am happy that the impact we are making has been recognized.”   

    Winners, who took turns pitching their innovations during the event, were selected by an expert jury. ITU Telecom World Awards were open to all exhibitors and sponsors at ITU Telecom World in Bangkok. The awards were presented in three different categories: 

    • The Global SME Award, recognising the most promising innovative solution from an SME.
    • Thematic Awards – open to SMEs and large corporations — for the most promising innovative solutions with social impact in eEducation, eHealth, eGovernment and disaster prevention/communications.
    • Host Country SME Award for the best solution chosen by Thailand.

     Recognition of Excellence Certificates were presented for the best innovative exhibitor within each National Pavilion.

    The ITU Telecom World 2016 Award winners and finalists are:

    • Global SME Award Winner: BRCK, Kenya, represented by Alex Masika 
    • Global SME Award Finalist: gnúbila (be|ys group), France, represented by David Manset
    • Global SME Award Finalist: ulalaLAB, Korea, represented by Sophia Park       
    • Thematic Award Winner eHealth: Neofect, Korea, represented by Kyuhee Lee
    • Thematic Award Winner eEducation: Academic Bridge, Rwanda, represented by Mariam M. Muganga
    • Thematic Award Winner eGovernment: Nile Center for Technology Research – E15 Project, Sudan, represented by Elwaleed Bashir Ahmed
    • Thematic Award Winner Disaster Recovery/Prevention: MasterCard, USA, represented by Umar Hashmi
    • Host Country Award Winner Finalist: ServisHero Co.,Ltd, Thailand, represented by Khun Noppol Toochinda
    • Host Country Award Winner Finalist: Anywhere 2 go Co.,Ltd.(Claim Di), Thailand      
    • Host Country Award Winner: PRO-toys Co., Ltd., Thailand, represented by Boonchai Wongbawornkiat

     

    Recognition of Excellence Certificates:

    • Bangabandhu Satellite Launching Project, Bangladesh, represented by H.E. Begum Tarana Halim, Minster for Posts & Telecommunications
    • 3D Factory Co.,Ltd., Korea, represented by Sang Hyun Park
    • Academic Bridge, Rwanda, represented by Mariam M. Muganga
    • BESTCOMP GROUP, Azerbaijan, represented by Najafova
    • Bisa, Ghana, represented by Dennis Addo
    • BRCK, Kenya, represented by Alex Masika
    • Fedironics Intelligent Metering Company, Nigeria, represented by Emmanuel Ifediora Ugochukwu
    • Ministry of Transport, Thailand
    • Protonics, Zimbabwe, represented by Chingore
    • NexTech, Japan, represented by Kento Takahashi
    • Potevio Company Limited, China, Luo Lin
    • Telecommunications Infrastructure Company, Iran, represented by Susan Ayerman 

    The ITU Telecom World Awards will continue to play an integral part at future ITU Telecom events, supporting innovative ICT solutions with social impact. For more information on ITU Telecom World 2016 click here.

    ITU Telecom World heads next to Busan, Republic of Korea, where it will take place from 25-28 September, 2017.

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  • AEON Your Cash awards Nissan March to lucky winner

    AEON Your Cash awards Nissan March to lucky winner

    Saranya Pipoppinyo (right), Vice President Marketing of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited, hands over keys to a Nissan March, valued at 451,000 baht, to Suthit Saisuwan from Sisaket, the lucky winner of the grand prize from the AEON Promotion Your Cash Car Lucky Draw campaign which had run from July 1 to September 30.

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  • OCBC Bank is first local bank to win top honours

    OCBC Bank is first local bank to win top honours

    OCBC Bank marked another milestone in its journey towards ever-greater performance and business excellence by earning the World Class Award – the highest award tier – at the 2016 Global Performance Excellence Awards (GPEA), under the “Large Service” organisation classification. The GPEA is administered by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO), an autonomous, scientific and technical organisation that brings together professional quality organisations from countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Singapore. For 16 years now, it has given out the Global Performance Excellence Awards – which are the only internationally-recognised honours for performance and business excellence.

    To be even considered for an Award, stringent criteria must be met. An organisation must start by being a winner at its own country’s national quality awards. Then, within two years, it must be recommended as a candidate for the GPEA by that country’s national quality award organising committee. OCBC Bank qualified by first being conferred the prestigious Singapore Quality Award by SPRING Singapore in 2014, following rigorous assessment of OCBC Bank’s consumer financial services business, and then by being recommended by SPRING Singapore for the GPEA.

    The organisations are reviewed by an international team of experienced examiners who assign scores and summarise the results of their assessment. The results and recommendations are then submitted to an international ‘Jury of Judges’ who make the final decision on which Award category each organisation wins.

    Mr Dennis Tan, Executive Vice President and Head of OCBC Bank’s Consumer Financial Services Singapore, said: “This award is an honour for all of us at OCBC, and is testament to our commitment to high standards of service quality. This is a key milestone in our journey towards organisational excellence. Since we embarked on our Business Excellence journey in 2001, we have tightened and enhanced our processes to deliver customer-centric, useful, fast, friendly and simple service to customers. This has earned us local recognition, with our 2014 Singapore Quality Award win, but we have not stopped there. We have continued to pursue even greater heights of business excellence – and this has culminated in our earning the Global Performance Excellence Award. While the team is very encouraged by this, achieving recognition is never a means in itself. We continue to consistently and relentlessly deliver quality products and services to meet our customers’ needs. Chasing excellence is a constant journey, never a destination.” 

    Mr Harnek Singh, President of the APQO, said: “Singapore has established itself as a leading financial centre. OCBC was amongst the first banks to win Singapore’s pinnacle award – the Singapore Quality Award – recently. This speaks volumes about the visionary leadership and well-entrenched, effective systems and processes that steer OCBC’s business excellence journey. With technology and innovation being increasingly a key competitive advantage, OCBC has successfully leveraged on technology and innovation as an enabler to offer innovative customer-centric offerings, cut costs, respond to changing customer expectations and create the agility needed to capitalise on opportunities in the market. OCBC has successfully offered a slew of award-winning, innovative products and services.” 

    OCBC Bank’s strengths in performance and business excellence are underscored by a focus on customer centricity and a competency in mining customer data through analytics to deliver intelligent customer experiences. OCBC was the first bank in Singapore to offer banking facilities at branches on Sundays, developed the ground-breaking OCBC 360 account (a deposit account that rewards customers with higher interest rates for banking more with OCBC Bank) and grew its youth segment – FRANK by OCBC – through intensive data analytics and research on how youths behave and desire to be engaged.

    OCBC Bank is also a leader in banking digitalisation. Over the past three years, it has introduced numerous first-to-market innovations in digital and mobile banking in Singapore to meet customers’ needs. Many of the bank’s customer touch points have been digitalised: Voice biometrics has replaced traditional identity verification when customers call its Contact Centre, the OCBC Open Account app now enables customers to apply for the popular OCBC 360 Account via their mobile phones or tablets without ever visiting a branch, and OCBC OneTouch uses fingerprint recognition to give customers quick and easy access through their mobile devices to their account balances and transactions. OCBC Bank has also launched a mobile application – OCBC One Wealth – that is a one-stop wealth management app providing customers with convenient access to market information, investment ideas, personalised alerts about their existing investments and even the ability to directly purchase unit trusts using their mobile devices.

    Mr Patrick Lim, Director of Business and Service Excellence at SPRING Singapore said, “OCBC Bank’s Consumer Financial Services Division was awarded the Singapore Quality Award in 2014 for having developed innovative new banking products and customised channel delivery, enabling it to be among the top banks in the highly competitive financial sector. Its recent GPEA win highlights the bank’s dedication to achieving business excellence. Recognition at GPEA proves the bank’s ability to demonstrate outstanding management capabilities while delivering superior performance and results.”

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  • 2017 APAC Effie Awards Call for Entries Announced

    2017 APAC Effie Awards Call for Entries Announced

    The Asia Pacific Effie Awards has announced the Call for Entries for the 2017 season. Recognized by agencies and marketers to be the most prestigious effectiveness awards in the region, APAC Effie, now in its fourth edition, continues to honour marketing communication campaigns that have achieved outstanding measurable results.

    The 2017 competition offers 42 categories, spotting several changes to stay relevant to the evolving marketing landscape in Asia Pacific. 3 new Specialty Categories are introduced – Branded Content, Programmatic, and Seasonal Marketing.

    In addition, the Positive Change Effie Awards, a multinational programme run in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, is now offered as part of the APAC Effie program under Environmental – Brands and Environmental – Non-Profit. In alignment with global practices, we have rebranded Goodworks – Brands as Social- Brands, and Goodworks – Non Profit as Social – Non-Profit under the Positive Change categories this year. Full list of categories and category definitions are available in the Entry Kit.

    “As one of the most coveted accolade in this region, the APAC Effie has become the “must-enter” award in the region’s competition calendar. This is where we can demonstrate our capabilities to deliver innovation, creative solutions and results for brands,” said Anthony Wong, the 2017 Awards Chairman. He added, “I am excited to see the cases and look forward to be inspired by outstanding work that represents the best of the region – and the world.”

    The 2017 Awards is now accepting entries through to December 2016 for all marketing communication efforts that have ran in Asia Pacific during the qualifying period. Winners will be announced at the Awards Gala in Singapore in April 2017.

    Visit www.apaceffie.com for more information on the competition.

  • Bank of Ayudhya Wins Global Business Outlook 2016 Awards

    Bank of Ayudhya Wins Global Business Outlook 2016 Awards

    Global Business Outlook (GBO), a business publication based out of London, has conferred the 2016 awards for ‘Best Commercial Bank’ and ‘Best Retail Bank’ in Thailand to Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri).

    Krungsri was established in 1945, and its ordinary shares were listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1977. The bank is currently the fifth largest in Thailand in terms of loans and deposits. Krungsri provides a comprehensive range of banking, consumer finance, investment, asset management, and other financial products and services to individual consumers, SMEs, and large corporations through 681 branches and over 28,000 service outlets nationwide. Also Krungsri Group is the largest card issuer in Thailand with 7.8 million credit cards, sales finance, and personal loan accounts in its portfolio.

    Noriaki Goto, Krungsri President and Chief Executive Officer, upon receiving the awards said: “Krungsri is honoured with the Best Retail Bank Thailand and the Best Commercial Bank Thailand for 2016 awards. They are testimony to the strength of both our retail and commercial banking businesses and the fruit of our people’s passion to deliver excellent financial products and services to our valued customers. We are proud that these efforts are recognised by such a large base of professional organizations. Driven by our customer centricity strategy, we anticipate customers’ demands and serve them through innovation and technology. Krungsri remains committed to investing for the future and delivering innovative financial products and services for both retail and corporate segments.”

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  • Franchising and Licensing Awards 2016, a testament to the growth in internationalisation

    Franchising and Licensing Awards 2016, a testament to the growth in internationalisation

    Singapore’s top achievers in the franchising and licensing industry were recognised at the annual Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) Awards 2016 held at the Marina Mandarin Ballroom last night.

    Currently in its 12th year, the FLA Awards continues to provide a formidable platform for successful franchise concepts and businesses to be showcased in the international arena. It also serves as a regional benchmark for franchise concepts aspiring to greater heights. The Awards, made up of both Competitive and Recognition Awards, comprises eight different categories that recognise and honour the various players in the industry – Franchisors, Licensors and Franchisees. 

    The 2016 Awards, which saw Sunflower Childcare clinching the title of ‘Overall Winner, Promising Franchisor of the Year’, had increased participation from the education sector. This reflects the continued growth of the education industry within the franchising and licensing scene. In line with the global trend of innovation, the Singapore-headquartered childcare group’s success can be attributed to its unique customisation model and record of constant innovation and development. Since starting its franchise business in 2005, Sunflower Childcare has opened 20 centres in total; 18 in Singapore and 2 in China.

    Sharon Lee, Director of Sunflower Childcare, said, “It is our first year participating in the awards and we are thrilled to have gotten the title of ‘Overall Winner, Promising Franchisor of the Year’. At Sunflower Childcare, we pride ourselves in the stringent process of acquiring franchisees and ensuring that they are well taken care of. We are looking to expand into international shores and FLA has been fundamental in enriching us with the relevant insights for expansion into our potential markets.”

    According to Donna Lee, Chair of FLA (Singapore), “The encouraging progress of our franchisors is a reflection of how companies can leverage on intangible assets like strong branding and innovative technology to penetrate new markets successfully. With the franchising and licensing landscape becoming increasingly diversified, it is key for companies to constantly innovate and expand into the global market in order to keep up with market trends and to remain competitive. FLA Singapore prides itself in equipping companies with the right toolset for internationalisation and we look forward to working with more businesses to help them successfully expand across markets and the region.”

    Earning the title of ‘Overall Winner, Franchisor of the Year’, veteran establishment 7-Eleven has constantly been at the forefront in the franchising and licensing playing field. Since opening its first franchised store in 1988, 7-Eleven has been offering entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to leverage on a renowned global platform to start a business. To date, it has a total of 207 franchised stores, forming 47% of its expanding network of 441 stores island-wide.

    David Goh, CEO of 7-Eleven, said, “Despite being in the franchising and licensing scene for more than three decades, we are continually learning and growing with the industry. Over the last few years, 7-Eleven has been constantly innovating and transforming its business model to be more relevant to its consumers and to add value to its franchisees. Our advice to franchisors looking to enter the industry would be to communicate with your franchisees, build a solid foundation of trust and constantly innovate your business model.”

    Traditional sectors like the Food & Beverage industry remained strong, with Thailand-established food service chain, The Pizza Company, being crowned ‘Overall Winner, International Franchisor of the Year’. Having adopted a master franchise model internationally, The Pizza Company has opened over 400 outlets in 9 countries in a span of 12 years.

    John Heinecke, Chief Operating Officer of Minor Food Group, said, “We are excited that The Pizza Company has been awarded ‘Overall Winner, International Franchisor of the Year’. This award showcases and recognises the systems that we have been building for the last 16 years to where it is today. With many of our brands operating in Singapore, we strongly believe in teaching our franchisees the art of learning to create wealth as we strive together towards success.”

    Donna Lee added, “FLA is proud to be able to bridge the gap between the global and local market with its strong government ties and prominent memberships in the World Franchise Council and Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation. Over the years, Singapore has been seen as a model test-bed and we are glad that we are able to assist international companies looking to penetrate the Singapore and Asian market.”

    The Awards were held in conjunction with FLAsia – an industry exhibition and conference, running from 13th to 15th October, showcasing both home-grown franchises and franchise opportunities from around the world. The exhibition this year saw participation from 17 countries, with international brands such as Swarovski, Delifrance, Gloria Jean’s Coffee and Coca Restaurant exhibiting. More information of the exhibition can be found on https://franchiselicenseasia.com/.

    Other Winners at the FLA Awards 2016 include Japan IPL Express, Mulberry Learning Centre, Anytime Fitness, Seoul Garden and Dancing Crab. The full winner list is attached separately and more information and images can be found on the FLA Awards website: https://www.flaawards.com/.

  • Siam Discovery bags two awards from Thailand Property Awards 2016

    Siam Discovery bags two awards from Thailand Property Awards 2016

    Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., the owner and operator of world-class developments such as Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery, and Paradise Park shopping centers, and joint-owner of megaproject ICONSIAM, reinforced its success after the relaunch of Siam Discovery – The Exploratorium in May, Thailand’s first hybrid-retail destination and lifestyle specialty store, by winning two prestigious awards in the real estate industry, namely “Best Retail Development” and “Best Commercial Development” from Thailand Property Awards 2016.

    Ms. Chadatip Chutrakul, Chief Executive Officer of Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., said, “We are extremely proud that Siam Discovery has won Best Retail Development and Best Commercial Development awards from Thailand Property Awards 2016. These accolades stand testament to Siam Piwat’s success as the Icon of Innovative Lifestyle and Thailand’s retail and real estate innovation leader, who is ready to continue offering experiences that are novel yet meet our customers’ needs.”

    “The awards reflect the success of the distinctive design and the ideas behind it by a team of world-renowned design experts such as the world’s leading designer Nendo (Oki Sato) and Urban Architect Co., Ltd., who came together and imbued the architecture of the refurbished Siam Discovery with elegance and uniqueness. Created under the never-before-seen concept of “Thailand’s first hybrid retail store,” Siam Discovery has broken every rule of Thailand’s retail industry to offer exciting experiences and creativity. This emanates from every single design detail, not only in the general ambience of Siam Discovery, but across its entire area of over 40,000 square meters, including its open space, transforming it into Thailand’s largest lifestyle specialty store. Even the product displays and stores of over 5,000 brands are decorated to match the personalities of each specific Lifestyle Lab on each floor to give our customers the freedom to browse for products that suit their stories and interests and make shopping both convenient and a fun exploration,” said Chadatip.

    Thailand Property Awards, was held for the 11th time with the aim to boost the stability and efficiency of Thailand’s real estate market and encourage real estate entrepreneurs wishing to participate in the event to continue to enhance their projects each year. The judging panel of Thailand Property Awards was composed of respected experts in different branches of the real estate industry, ranging from consultants and project managers to designers and architects, as well as Prof. Dr. Manop Bongsadad from the Housing Development Department, the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, who presided over the event as the honorary chairman.

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  • Golden Pin Design Award 2016 reveals Design Mark recipients

    Golden Pin Design Award 2016 reveals Design Mark recipients

    The Golden Pin Design Award–an annual award organized by the Taiwan Design Center that seeks to raise global awareness for design created for and within huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities–today reveals its Design Mark recipients for 2016.

    After gruelling Secondary Selection judging rounds held in China and Taiwan, a total of 457 entries from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and England, and Switzerland have received a Golden Pin Design Award 2016 Design Mark and are now in the running for a coveted Best Design trophy.

    Contemporary ideas of refined living dominated entries from Hong Kong. For TUVE, a boutique hotel located east of Victoria Park, Design Systems Ltd used natural and relatively common materials such as concrete, galvanized steel, brass, oak, and wired glass to create a surprisingly sophisticated yet relaxing space for visitors. When homegrown jewelry brand Chow Tai Fook wanted to reach out to a younger market, Noiseless Design Limited drew inspiration from the card game poker to create a visual aesthetic that plays into the new generation’s mix-and-match approach to fashion.

    Malaysian entries typically put a twist on what could be considered traditional huaren culture, such as in Dot Creative Design’s iPack, which added an element of play to the celebratory Chinese red envelope. Among entries from Macau was a plethora of thoughtfully designed posters for cultural events, including advertising by Untitled Lab for a tenth anniversary exhibition held by Centro De Estudos Permanentes Pos-Laboral and by Bilioteca Pública de Macau for the Macau Library Week 2016.

    Among entries from China were a proliferation of unusual or highly specialized smart products for living, including Yourpet Smart Bowl by inDare Design Strategy Limited, which allows pet-parents to regulate their fur baby’s food intake via their smartphones, and Intelligent Frying Pan by Hangzhou Hotdesign Co. Ltd, which uses an app and bluetooth technology to teach users how to cook better, faster, and smarter. Ancient ideas about nature also featured heavily as design inspiration among visual communication products from the country. About Trees, an aptly named Chinese font design by Hanqingtang Design, was influenced by the rings and trunks of trees, and Book of Freedom by independent designer Sihan Chou references a story from Chinese mythology that documents the struggle of a fish adapting to the life of a bird.

    It was clear that designers in Taiwan had thought carefully about the needs of those living in local or huaren communities: located in Taipei’s sublime Mandarin Oriental Hotel, restaurant Bencotto by Tony Chi & Associates embodies the best of contemporary huaren living; leading local homewares brand JIA Inc.’s Four Seasons Glass Set, designed by astute independent Taiwanese designer Pili Wu, portrays a glass bowl set as a Chinese ink painting for the table; new packaging for the nostalgically named soy sauce brand Grandpa Sauce incorporates traditional sisal rope to instil a sense of the past; and commuter bike Pick-Up Sliders adapts European practicality for life in bustling Taiwanese cities.

    Groundbreaking concepts both large and small in scale abounded in the Spatial Design category. HEX-SYS by China-based firm OPEN Architecture is a reconfigurable and reusable building system that attempts to address the problems created by the country’s decades-old building frenzy. The Kaohsiung Public Library, a joint project by the Kaohsiung City Government and Ricky Liu & Associates Architects + Planners, is a public building designed to economize on resources without sacrificing access to necessary public amenities or the beatification of the neighborhood in which the building sits. At the other end of the scale, Formo Design Studio in Taiwan combines a laundrette with a sleek coffee shop, ensuring laundry doers can wile away the hours in style and comfort; the facility is aptly named Travelled 9000 km.

    Overall, the 2016 entries into the Golden Pin Design Award received high praise from Secondary Selection judges. “You can really see the efforts of participants, as this year’s entries demonstrated an understanding of the importance of finding the balance between the market and huaren cultural values. In particular, spatial design entries have greatly improved, showing a balance between huaren culture elements and mainstream spatial aesthetics,” noted Shikuan Chen, Compal design director, educator, Icsid board member, and Jury Chair of the Secondary Selection judging round in Taipei.

    The Golden Pin Design Award–Taiwan’s longest-running and most prestigious design award–opened its doors to entries from and for huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities around the globe in 2014. This year sees a 27% growth in number of entries submitted into the Golden Pin Design Award: in 2015, the award received 2,360 entries compared with this year’s record-breaking 3,005 entries. Final Selection–the jury of which will be chaired by world-leading Japanese-Canadian designer Oki Sato, Chief Designer and founder of the famed Tokyo-based studio Nendo–will held in Taipei on September 28, with Best Design of the Year recipients announced on December 1 at a grand award ceremony, also held in Taiwan’s capital city.

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  • Indonesia Banking Award Winners Announced

    Indonesia Banking Award Winners Announced

    Tempo Media Group, in collaboration with the Indonesia Banking School, held the annual Indonesia Banking Award (IBA) to recognize Indonesian banks with the best performance in 2015.

    The IBA this year featured an award for the best bank in remuneration and a new award for a sharia business unit. Banks with the best performance in Indonesia were given awards in six categories, namely the most efficient bank, the most reliable bank, diversity of the board, the best bank in retail banking services, the best bank in productivity, and the best sharia business unit.

    The most reliable bank award in the national conventional bank category with a total asset of above Rp 100 trillion (US$7.6 billion) was given to Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Mandiri. For conventional banks with a total asset value of Rp 50 trillion (US$3.8 billion)-Rp 100 trillion, the award was given to OCBC NISP and Bank BTPN. In the sharia bank category, the award was granted to BRI Syariah, Syariah Bukopin and BNI Syariah.

    The best bank in productivity award for conventional banks went to Panin Bank, Bank Jasa Jakarta, KEB Bank Hana, and regional development banks (BPD), i.e. Bank Jatim, Bank Sulteng, and Bank BJB.

    The best sharia business unit award went to BPD commercial banks, namely Bank Kalbarl, BPD DIY, Bank NTB, and Bank Jambi. In the non-BPD category, the award was given to Maybank Indonesia, CIMB Niaga, OCBC NISP, and Bank BTN. In addition, the diversity of the board award went to Bank Mandiri, BNI, and BCA.

    The most efficient bank went to BPDs with a total asset value of above Rp30 trillion (US$2.3 billion), namely Bank Jateng, bank Jatim, and Bank BJB. The award for BPDs with a total asset value of Rp10 trillion (US$769 million)-Rp30 trillion went to Bank Kalbar, Bank SulSelBar, Bank Aceh, Bank Papua, and Bank BPD Bali. In the category of BPD with a total asset of below Rp 10 trillion, the award was won by BPD DIY, Bank Lampung, Bank Sulteng, Bank NTT, and Bank Sultra.

    Conventional banks with a total asset value of above Rp 100 trillion granted with the best bank in retail banking services award were Bank Mandiri, BCA, BNI, BRI and Danamon. For conventional banks with a total asset value of Rp 50 trillion-Rp 100 trillion, the award went to OCBC, NISP and Bank BTPN.

    Bank Jatim, Bank Jateng and Bank BJB bagged the Best Bank in Retail banking services award in the category of BPDs with a total asset value of above Rp 30 trillion. In the category of BPDs with a total asset value of Rp 10 trillion-Rp 30 trillion, the award went Bank Riau Kepri, Bank Nagari, and Bank Sulselbar. In the category of BPDs with a total asset value of below Rp 10 trillion, Bank Maluku, Bank NTB and Bank Sulteng had been awarded with the title.

    The IBA was held at Hotel JS Luwansa in Kuningan, Jakarta, on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. Attending the event was Financial Services Authority (OJK) deputy chairman Nelson Tampubolon, Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) executive director, Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Hendar Harahap, and Tempo Media Group president director Bambang Harimurti.

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  • Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 nominations now open

    Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 nominations now open

    Entrepreneur Now has launched the Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 at a kickoff event at the Work Loft in Silom. This is the second year for the award ceremony which aims to honour and support SMEs in Thailand. The awards are organised with more than 20 community partners including many local chambers of commerce.

    There are eight categories in this year’s awards:

    • Outstanding female entrepreneur
    • Eco-entrepreneur
    • Creative entrepreneur
    • Innovative entrepreneur
    • Social enterprise entrepreneur
    • Most entrepreneurial team
    • SME (50 employees to 100)
    • Best newcomer

    In order to apply, entrepreneurs need to submit an application by October 31st, including uploading a 3-minute video about their company. Nominated startups will attend a networking evening with the judges, a group of seven diverse representatives from local startups, corporates, universities and organisations.

    The awards are open to both Thai and foreign SMEs with under 100 employees, provided they have a registered company in Thailand.

    This year’s awards ceremony will be held on November 23rd and organiser Pacharee Pantoomano promised it will be “bigger and better” than last year, with over 10 million baht worth of prizes available.

    The criteria the judges will use to select Thailand’s best entrepreneur are “uniqueness, eco-sustainability, striking achievements, recognition and traction, overcoming challenges, value in Thailand and ASEAN, vision and personal growth”.

    Judge Jacky Cheng said it was exciting to “mentor real businesses, not just ideas”.

    Duanghamon Kaewphongsri won last year’s Oustanding female entrepreneur award with her startup, Annette I Tim Tuk Tuk, selling artisan ice cream from iconic tuk-tuks. K. Duanghamon announced they are about to open their new 800 sqm factory and create products for export.

    Another of last year’s winners, Jonas Becker from Thinkatorium encouraged as many entrepreneurs as possible to apply: “There’s nothing to lose. It’s a good way to reflect on your company, where you are and where you want to be”.

    Probably the most complex part of the application process for startups is preparing the three minute video. The judges encouraged startups to include facts and figures. Rather than try to cover everything, focus on the criteria which best apply to you. K. Pacharee noted that many startups reuse their video to represent themselves at future events. Entepreneur Now will prepare additional help for preparing the video component in the next few weeks.

    Startups have until October 31 to submit their application via the Entrepreneur Now website.