Malaysian and Thai companies mount challenge to Singapore’s stranglehold on top regional IR honors
CapitaLand is in the running for eight awards at the IR Magazine Awards ‒ South East Asia 2012. The annual awards honor the leading exponents of investor relations in the region and take place this year at Singapore Exchange on Thursday, December 6. To see the full short list, click here.
The Singaporean real estate developer is just ahead of a trio of Singaporean companies on seven short lists this year: DBS, StarHub and SingTel – the winner of five awards last year and the current number one ranked company in South East Asia. This year, however, the traditionally dominant Singaporean companies face stiffer competition from other countries in South East Asia.
The main challenge is being fronted by CIMB, the Malaysian bank, which features on six short lists this year – a massive achievement after its single short list in 2011 for best IR by a Malaysian company, which it went on to win. All five of the aforementioned companies will battle it out for the grand prix for large-cap companies, setting up the possibility of a non-Singaporean company winning the top prize for the first time.
AmBank Group of Malaysia and Minor International of Thailand both feature on the short list for the grand prix for mid or small-cap companies, alongside Keppel Land, Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Venture Corporation, all of Singapore. In fact, companies from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines stand a chance of winning 13 out of the 20 awards to be handed out at the event, compared with a possible five out of the 18 awards handed out last year.
Minor International is short-listed for three awards in total. The other companies appearing on three short lists are Keppel Corporation of Singapore and Public Bank of Malaysia. Once again, PLDT of the Philippines appears on two short lists this year, featuring on the best in sector short list for technologies & telecoms companies, as well as the short list for best IR by a Philippine company, which it won last year – for the third year in succession.
Some other returning names from 2011 include Astra International of Indonesia, AboitizPower of the Philippines and Neptune Orient Lines of Singapore. New companies making their debut on the short lists include Garuda Indonesia and XL Axiata of Indonesia, Media Prima of Malaysia and Universal Robina Corporation of the Philippines. Meanwhile, Olam International of Singapore returns to the awards after winning the best IPO award in 2005.
The IR Magazine Awards ‒ South East Asia are decided solely by an independent survey of investors and analysts, all of whom are located in the region. Just like in IR Magazine’s other awards in Europe and the Americas, investors and analysts are asked to vote for their favorite company in each awards category. This year, 436 respondents took part in the survey. The four or so companies with the most votes in each category make the short list and the company with the most votes wins the award.
Votes for the IR Magazine Awards ‒ South East Asia 2012 also determine the South East Asia Top 25 – IR Magazine’s rankings of the best IR companies in the region. The votes in each award category are added together and the company with the most votes is declared the number one ranked company in the region. The latest rankings will be revealed in the IR Magazine Investor Perception Study ‒ Asia 2012/2013, which will be published soon after the awards event.
