Finance community bids for worthy causes (Amended)

IT was not only a night of glitz and glamour, but also one of good cheer, as Singapore's finance community gathered to clink champagne glasses for a worthy cause.

Held at Pan Pacific Singapore, the annual Singapore Asset Managers and Brokers Awards (Samba) charity dinner drew roughly 500 finance professionals who gathered to dine, network and pit their bidding skills against one another in several rounds of auctions.

The event, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, also involved table sponsors hailing from sell-side firms such as Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Deutsche; buy-side firms such as Target Asset, Aberdeen, Schroders and Apollo; as well as banks such as UOB and UBS.

Items on auction ranged from a wide variety of wines to beauty and vacation packages. Unique dining opportunities were also to be had, including a dinner for nine behind bars at Changi Prison and a four-person dine-in-the-dark experience at NOX.

Among the big-ticket items was a dinner with American businessman and former financier Michael Milken, which went for S$5,500.

Another star on the auction list, Asian Financial Statement Analysis: Detecting Financial Irregularities - co-authored by Tan Chin Hwee and Thomas R Robinson - was sold at a bid of S$8,888.

In addition to receiving the book, the bidder will also enjoy a one-on-one lunch tutorial session with Mr Tan, founding partner of investment firm Apollo Management.

The funds of more than S$500,000 raised will go to seven charities: Singapore's Yellow Ribbon Project, CARE and Caregivers Alliance; the Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia, the Lao Friends Hospital for Children in Laos; Manila's Les Oursins; and Friends International.

"The finance industry is a major participant in the growth story of Singapore over the past 50 years and it is timely that we are coming together as one with a common goal to raise money for the less fortunate in Singapore," said Mr Tan, who spearheaded the event as an organising committee member.

Riding on the trend of auctions, the dinner also saw awards such as Best Sales, Best Hedge Fund and Best Overall Bank given out in a light-hearted bidding process. All proceeds will be donated to the eight Samba charities.

Amendment: In an earlier version, the article stated that the organising committee of the Singapore Asset Managers and Brokers Awards (SAMBA) had raised more than S$220,000. The organisers have clarified that they raised more than S$500,000.