The inaugural Business China Awards Gala Dinner was held on 10 Jan 2011 at Shangri-La Hotel, Island Ballroom. Clinching the Business China Excellence Award was Tao Shing Pee, founder of Shing Kwan Group. China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park received the Business China Enterprise Award, and Stefanie Sun received the Business China Young Achiever Award.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was the Guest-of-Honour for the inaugural Business China Awards Gala Dinner. The event was held in conjunction with Business China’s 3rd anniversary celebrations.
In his welcome address to around 700 guests, Chairman of Business China Mr Chua Thian Poh summarised Business China’s achievements for the year 2010. Last year, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Singapore-China diplomatic relationship, Business China had taken bold steps to launch two symbolic events: FutureChina Global Forum and the Business China Awards. Mr Chua also expressed his gratitude to the organisations and individuals that had donated generously to Business China, and the partners for their enthusiasm and cooperation.
In his speech, Mr Chua commended on the effort put in by the organising committee and the judging panel, led by board directors Mr Alan Chan and Mr Lim Chee Onn respectively. To ensure that the credit went to the deserving recipients for the three award categories, the judging panel conducted several rounds of evaluation. He emphasized, “These inaugural recipients are not only leaders in their fields, but pioneers and emissaries that have brought China and Singapore closer. The achievements and contributions of these role models are significant and far-reaching. They have paved the way and are worthy of emulation.”
The highlight of the night was the announcement of award recipients by CEO of Business China, Mrs Josephine Teo, who also summarised the contributions made by the recipients. Business China Excellence Award recipient, Mr Tao Shing Pee had paved the way for closer economic cooperation between Singapore and China through his pioneering business ventures. He had invested in many cities, and developed the tallest hotel in the 1980s. As a dedicated philanthropist, he had funded the education of many scholars in China who will play a part in the country’s development. As for the Business China Enterprise Award, it was China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park that clinched the Award. Through this first and largest economic and technology cooperation project, Singapore had successfully transferred her public administration and economic management experience to China, elevating bilateral relations to an unprecedented level. Singapore’s music icon Stefanie Sun Yanzi’s stunning success had lifted the image of Singapore in Greater China. As Mercy Relief’s first Goodwill Ambassador, she had helped raise funds for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and showed that caring went beyond borders. She was a bilingual and bicultural role model for the young and certainly deserved the Business China Young Achiever Award.
The Awards were presented by Guest-of-Honour Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and among the recipients, the team from China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was exceptionally unique, comprising of representatives from China and Singapore. Representing China were Mr Ma Minglong, Secretary of Suzhou Industrial Park Party Working Committee and Mr Du Jianhua, Chairman of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Group Co. Ltd. They had made a trip from Suzhou just to attend the Awards Ceremony. The two Singapore representatives were Mr Peter Ong Boon Hwee, Head of Civil Service, Former Head of Singapore Software Project Office and Mr Cheng Wai Keung, Vice Chairman of Singapore-Suzhou Township Development Pte Ltd.
Delivering his acceptance speech in Mandarin, Mr Ma Minglong said that the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) had been the flagship project for Singapore-China bilateral relations. The success of SIP embodied the painstaking efforts and wisdom of both countries’ leaders and the people who had contributed to the development of SIP will always be remembered. Since its founding, SIP had risen to become one of the most competitive industrial parks in China. The priority now is to improve on the technology and training of human resources so as to increase SIP’s competitiveness and influence on the world economy.
Representative from Singapore, Mr Peter Ong Boon Hwee said, “’Software transfer’ is an unique feature that sets the SIP apart from the other collaborative projects we have internationally. For the past 17 years, Singapore has been sharing its public administration and economic management experience with the SIP. Today, the SIP has developed into one of the most competitive industrial parks in China, with an excellent work-live-play environment, efficient governance, and transparent regulations. Like myself, many public officers are proud to have been part of this project.”
As for Business China Young Achiever Award recipient Stefanie Sun, she thanked the people who had supported her continuously and also to Business China for recognising her effort. She said, “I will continue to be my very best at my craft, to give back to the society that has given me so much, and most importantly, to take stabs at life, just as I did 10 years ago.”
After the presentation of Awards, Stefanie Sun performed the popular song “Que, Sera, Sera”, much to the delight of the distinguished guests.
Earlier on, a Media Conference was held in the afternoon to answer queries from the media. Mr Lim Chee Onn, Chairman of Business China Awards Judging Panel explained the judging process to the media, “The award is given in recognition of the outstanding contributions the recipients have made in strengthening the relationship between China and Singapore. The judging panel exercised great care and rigour in assessing the nominations and the whole process was open and transparent not only amongst the Panel members but also between the Panel and the Business China Board of Directors. Apart from identifying individuals and organisations which have operated successfully in China, the recipients of the Business China Awards will serve as an inspiration for Singaporeans to be bilingual and bicultural. The recipients of the inaugural awards would have also played a pioneering role in building bilateral relations between the two countries. During the early days of this relationship it would have required great patience and perseverance and much creative efforts to yield successful results.”
OCBC was the joint presenter for the Awards. Mr Linus Goh, Global Head, Enterprise Banking and Financial Institutions, OCBC Bank said, “The overwhelming response to the inaugural Business China Awards underscores the strength and depth of both the economic and people-to-people ties between Singapore and China. These countries are also linked by the more than 10,000 Singaporeans who live, work and study in China and the many China-born residents in Singapore. We at OCBC Bank are honoured to be associated with this prestigious award which we believe will play a significant role in elevating Singapore-China ties in years to come.”
Supporting media for the Awards were Lianhe Zaobao and The Business Times.