Business China celebrates 10 years of bridging Singapore-China business and social exchanges, and 8 years of honouring outstanding individuals and enterprises for taking bilateral collaborations to greater heights
SINGAPORE, 14 July 2017 – A veteran Chinese civil servant, a visionary young leader, and a well-established fellowship were honoured in this year’s Business China Awards. This year, the Business China Awards (BCA) 2017 was jointly held in conjunction with the FutureChina Global Forum to commemorate Business China’s 10th Anniversary. The celebration was graced by Business China’s Patron, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong this evening at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.
The momentous occasion started off with a dialogue session with Prime Minister Lee sharing his personal insights with more than 700 partners and stakeholders of Business China, including past and current Board Advisers, Chairmen and Board Directors of Business China, as well as distinguished business leaders, senior executives and eminent community leaders from Singapore, China and across the world.
Prime Minister Lee also presented the Awards to the three recipients, and once again recognised all 21 past recipients for their distinguished involvement in strengthening Singapore-China relations. Into its eighth edition, the Awards organised by Business China and jointly presented by OCBC Bank, aims to honour outstanding individuals and enterprises for their contributions to Singapore-China relations as well as promoting
bilingualism and biculturalism in Singapore.
The joyous evening ended with a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate Business China’s 10th Anniversary.
The recipients of the Business China Awards 2017 are:
Business China Excellence Award
Dr Chen Deming
Standing Committee Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
President, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS)
Former Minister for Commerce, People’s Republic of China
In the early years of Singapore-China diplomatic relations, Dr Chen Deming played a major role in establishing the first connections between Singapore and China. Throughout his eminent political career, Dr Chen has been a consistent friend of Singapore, and expanded the sphere of collaboration between the two countries, regularly providing insights and exchanging views with Singapore’s political leaders. He played a pivotal role in Singapore and China’s first government-to-government project, Suzhou Industrial Park, and subsequently championed the Singapore-China Free Trade Agreement. He went on to position Singapore as a strategic hub that Chinese enterprises could leverage on in the process of internationalisation, further enhancing the business links between both countries. Dr Chen’s interest to see Sino-Singapore relations in good order and his contributions to it are rivalled by few.
Business China Enterprise Award
Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship
Since its inception in 2007, the Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship administered by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, has been committed to strengthening Singapore-China bilateral relations by bringing Lien fellows from both nations together through its high-level exchange programme to exchange insights and share knowledge. With a belief that academia generates positive change, the Fellowship empowers its fellows to formulate and present recommendations, on addressing policy and governance issues in China and Singapore. It also seeks to promote mutual understanding in both countries through forums, conferences and public lectures, where the fellows present findings and share expertise. The Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship’s efforts in facilitating academic and cultural exchanges between Singapore and China through the cultivation of people-to-people ties and its contributions to the betterment of both nations are most praiseworthy.
Business China Young Achiever Award
Lee Chee Koon
Chief Executive Officer, The Ascott Limited (Ascott)
Mr Lee Chee Koon joined CapitaLand in 2007 and was appointed Managing Director of Ascott China in 2009, before becoming Ascott’s CEO in 2013. Ascott’s serviced apartments in China have quadrupled from 5,000 in 2009 to 19,000 today. Mr Lee has been an innovative leader, injecting new vigour as he navigated partnerships and tried out novel ideas, often empowering his team to seize first-mover advantage to accelerate Ascott’s growth. This includes Ascott’s partnership with China’s leading new economy leaders and the launch of new concepts for millennials. With Mr Lee’s belief that one has to do good in order to do well, Ascott has driven many community projects benefitting underprivileged children in China. Mr Lee is open in sharing his knowledge with Singaporeans, and gains business insights from leaders of corporations and start-ups. Ascott’s significant contributions to China through his astute vision and exemplary leadership are inspiration to Singaporeans looking to venture into China.
Helmed by Mr Robin Hu, Head (Sustainability & Stewardship Group) of Temasek International and Board Director of Business China, the BCA 2017 Judging Panel comprising distinguished business leaders, respected academia and key media executives, went through a rigorous process to select the final recipients. Mr Robin Hu was also the moderator for the dialogue session with Prime Minister Lee.
Mr Robin Hu shared that, “This year’s illustrious award winner Dr. Chen Deming is longstanding and loyal friend of Singapore. For more than 20 years, in his capacity as Suzhou Mayor, Shaanxi Governor, Deputy Director of National Development and Reform Commission, and later Minister for Commerce, Dr. Chen remained a steadfast ally to growing Sino-Singapore relations to this day. Known for his mastery on international trade and geopolitics, business leaders from Singapore and China have benefited from his wise counsel. The judging panel is delighted that Dr. Chen has accepted this award.”
In his welcome speech, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Chairman of Business China, remarked that “This evening, I am most heartened to welcome our 16 past winners. They together with 2017 winners, serve as inspirations to our ever-growing and multi-faceted relations with China. Collectively, they show how deep and broad our friendship is with every segment of our societies.”
On Business China’s mission, Mr Lee commented that, “Our objective is to nurture a pool of bilingual and bicultural talents who serve as effective connectors between Singapore and China.”
Since the inaugural Business China Awards in 2010, it has received strong support from OCBC Bank as the Joint Presenter. Ms Elaine Lam, Head of Global Corporate Banking, OCBC Bank said: “The relationship between China and Singapore continues to be very important especially in view of the Belt and Road initiative where there are immense opportunities for cooperation as both countries draw upon each other’s strengths. It is imperative that we continue to work closely together to strengthen bilateral ties, promote cultural exchange and facilitate business flows. Tonight’s winners have been leaders in this regard and we hope that their successes will inspire more individuals and companies to follow in their footsteps.”
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For more information, please contact:
Goh Wan Xin (Ms)
Associate (Corporate Communications)
Business China
Email: wanxin@businesschina.org.sg
Tel: (65) 6213 0410
Eunice Ong (Ms)
Manager (Corporate Communications)
Business China
Email: eunice@businesschina.org.sg
Tel: (65) 6213 0413