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2010 Enterprise 50 Awards: Poised for growth

Singapore, 3 November 2010 -- Singapore's 50 most enterprising companies for 2010 were announced at the Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner this evening. Leading the awards’ list in 2010 for a second year is Samwoh Corporation Pte Ltd, a company in the building and construction industry. In second and third place respectively are Kenyon Pte Ltd and Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd.
 
Officiating at the E50 Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner at the Resorts World Convention Centre was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua who presented the awards to this year’s top 10 E50 companies. The remaining 40 companies on the list received their awards and announcement of the winners’ specific rankings earlier in the day from Mr Magnus Bocker, CEO of the Singapore Exchange, at a separate ceremony.
 
Mr Tham Sai Choy, Managing Partner of KPMG in Singapore said: “KPMG is proud to be the co-organisers for the E50 Awards for a third year and we congratulate this year’s award winners. In the face of an economically uncertain year, they have beaten their own path to success by focusing on productivity and innovation. Some have spread also their wings overseas through mergers or acquisitions.” 
 
He added: “What they share in common are traits such as clear and strong organisational structures. This gives them the ability to respond effectively to short-term challenges. They are poised for growth, and embody the spirit of entrepreneurship. They are an inspiration to us all.”
 
According to SPRING Singapore, the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector makes up 99 percent of Singapore’s total enterprises, contribute to half of the total value added in our economy and employs 60 percent of Singapore’s workforce.
 
Mr Alvin Tay, Editor of The Business Times, said: "This year’s E50 recipients have demonstrated management foresight and business acumen to achieve leading positions in their respective industries. Their successes have come about through improving productivity and creating innovations, which are key cornerstones for building new capabilities and strengthening their competitiveness. The Business Times, together with co-organiser KPMG and the other event partners, congratulate all the winners. We will continue to grow Enterprise 50 to champion excellence in the business fraternity.”
 
Enhanced criteria on productivity and innovation
 
In the light of the recovering economy, this year’s judging criteria was enhanced with a stronger focus on innovation and productivity.
 
The quantitative factors taken into consideration this year include financial performance indicators such as operating profit before tax, return on equity, turnover and profit growth.
 
Qualitative considerations include management and marketing strategies, such as the applicant’s business model and innovations, management ideals and governance, market branding and overall potential. This year, the judges also looked at the company’s commitment to improving productivity and an applicant’s processes of encouraging innovation.
 
Mr Tham added: “The quantitative and qualitative criteria in this year’s judging are good indicators of a company’s ability to develop a sustainable business. As enterprises start to focus on growth, those with a strong emphasis on encouraging innovation and increasing productivity are better poised for growth. This has allowed them to cut through the clutter of an increasingly complex business environment, and position themselves for growth in a recovering economy.”
 
Identifying some of the Industry’s best
 
The judges were particularly impressed this year with the strong showing among enterprises despite the economic uncertainty. This pays tribute to the resilience of Singapore’s enterprises and how many have embraced innovation in positioning themselves for growth.
 
This year’s list comprises organisations from industries such as business services, information technology, engineering services, logistics, real estate and construction, wholesale, distribution and retail, as well as manufacturing. The largest proportion of industries represented were manufacturing (28 percent) and wholesale, distribution and retail (20 percent).
 
The judging panel comprised senior management representatives from KPMG in Singapore, The Business  Times, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), SPRING Singapore and OCBC bank is the sponsor. 
 
Mr Linus Goh, Global Head of Enterprise Banking and Financial Institutions, OCBC Bank said: "This year's E50 winners have once again showcased the best of entrepreneurship in Singapore. Overcoming the challenges of a weak global economy, the winners have sustained their business momentum through constant innovation and a strong focus on productivity. OCBC is proud to return as main sponsor for E50 Awards for the fifth year and we celebrate the success of this year's E50 winners."
 
RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer of IDA said: “A number of this year’s E50 winners have demonstrated how infocomm technology can become a key business enabler through their adoption of ICT to raise productivity, increase competitiveness and expand their market reach. Indeed, it is encouraging to see that more SMEs are leveraging on ICT to bring their business to greater heights.”
 
Mr Chong Lit Cheong, CEO, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said: “2010 has been a good year for Singapore. More than a quarter of E50 winners generated at least half of their gross turnover from overseas sales. This is an encouraging sign. Nonetheless, Singapore enterprises must remain innovative and keep updated with the latest market trends and technologies. IE Singapore will continue to provide support for Singapore-based companies to enter and grow in overseas markets.”
 
Mr Victor Tay, Chief Operating Officer, Singapore Business Federation said: “As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation is heartened by the number of new winners amongst the top 50 companies. Different from last year, we have seen companies from diversified sectors ranging from Entertainment, Waste Management, Transportation Services, Construction to Energy. Even though 2009 was a year plagued with financial crisis, we have seen many more nimbler businesses turning in stellar performance showcasing the maturity and resilience of our Singapore SMEs.” 
 
SPRING Singapore Chief Executive Mr Png Cheong Boon applauded the resilience of local enterprises: "Our SMEs have emerged stronger from the economic crisis and prepared themselves well for the next phase of growth. They are building internal competencies by attracting talent, training staff and investing in technology innovation. The E50 brand has definitely gained more prominence, having reached out to a wider group of SMEs. I am encouraged that the companies participating in the E50 Awards this year are showing a commitment to improving productivity and adopting innovation to create a competitive edge." 
 
In addition to the E50 Awards, one winner was also honoured with the E50 Special Award. The recipient this year was Xin Ming Hua Pte Ltd. The E50 special awards are for companies that have been on the E50 list for five consecutive years.
 
 
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Yeo Siew Chi
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Tel: +65 6319 1586 / 9749 5105
 
Jeremy Kong
Assistant Manager
Marketing & Communications
KPMG in Singapore
Tel: +65 6507 1541 / 8118 9962
 
Kelvin Lee
Associate Director
Marketing & Communications
KPMG in Singapore
Tel: +65 6507 1534 / 8118 9400
 
 
Note to editors:
About the Enterprise 50 Awards
The Enterprise 50 Awards, now in its 16th year, was created in 1995 to identify, support, recognise and reward enterprising privately-owned, local companies across all sectors. It has become a definitive list of the fifty most enterprising, privately-held local companies in Singapore. 
 
It is jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, and sponsored by OCBC Bank. Supporters of the awards are the Singapore Business Federation, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, International Enterprise Singapore and SPRING Singapore.
 
For more information, please visit www.enterprise50.org.
 
 
About The Business Times
The Business Times (BT), a member of the Singapore Press Holdings group, is South-east Asia's leading business daily. It is Singapore’s only financial daily and provides a complete guide on the local, regional and international business scene.
 
BT brings to its readers each day a comprehensive and concise package of corporate, financial, economic and political news, analysis and commentary. BT also carries features and the latest lifestyle trends in food, entertainment, shopping, arts, health, travel and design. In June 1995, BT became the first English-language newspaper in Asia to go on the World Wide Web. Since January 2000, BT Online started to be available from 4am Singapore time (GMT +0800) and to offer news updates throughout the day.
 
 
 
About KPMG in Singapore
KPMG in Singapore is part of a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. The independent member firms of the KPMG network operate in 146 countries and have more than 140,000 professionals worldwide. 
 
Our professionals can help growing enterprises cut through the complexity in doing business across a broad range of business issues facing them in their growth, performance, governance, and compliance objectives. These include audit, tax, business planning, and advice on fundraising, acquisitions, process improvements, and risk management. KPMG’s website is located at kpmg.com.sg.
 
About OCBC Bank
OCBC Bank, established in 1912, is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. It is among the world's highest rated banks, with a long term credit rating of Aa1 from Moody's. OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of specialist financial services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.
 
OCBC Bank’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has a network of more than 500 branches and representative offices in 15 countries and territories, including 400 branches and offices in Indonesia operated by its subsidiary, Bank OCBC NISP. 
 
OCBC Bank's insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the largest insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia by assets, and its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the largest private sector asset management companies in Southeast Asia.
 
For more information, please visit www.ocbc.com
 
 
About the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global infocomm hub. It works closely with various stakeholders across sectors like education, healthcare, finance, transport, logistics, interactive and digital media, hospitality and retail to leverage infocomm for its economic and social development. The initiative, Infocomm@SME Programme offers Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) a series of initiatives and resources in speeding up their infocomm transformation. This is
part of the nation’s iN2015 masterplan to develop Singapore into an intelligent nation, global city powered by infocomm.
 
For more information, please visit www.ida.gov.sg
 
 
About International Enterprise Singapore
International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economic wing. Our mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. With a global network in over 30 locations and our 3C framework of assistance – Connections, Competency, Capital, we offer services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets. At the same time, we work to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies.
 
For more information, please visit www.iesingapore.com
 
 
About SPRING Singapore
SPRING Singapore is the enterprise development agency for growing innovative companies and fostering a competitive SME sector. We work with partners to help enterprises in financing, capabilities and management development, technology and innovation, and access to markets. As the national standards and accreditation body, SPRING also develops and promotes internationally-recognised standards and quality assurance to enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade.
 
For more information, please visit www.spring.gov.sg
 
About Singapore Business Federation (新加坡工商联合总会)
As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) champions the interests of the business community in Singapore, in trade, investment and industrial relations. Nationally, SBF acts as the bridge between the government and businesses in Singapore to create a conducive business environment. Internationally, SBF represents the business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora for the purpose of trade expansion and business networking.
 
For more information, please visit www.sbf.org.sg