Surviving and prospering in troubled times

Award for companies with market capitalisation of S$1 billion or more as at Dec 31, 2020

"Great crises test our resolve, but they also provide opportunities for reinvention and strengthening bonds. Our focus on building a sustainable ecosystem that will emerge stronger from Covid-19 while pursuing our ambition to be a global real estate company has guided CapitaLand to do well, do right and do good throughout the pandemic."

Lee Chee Koon, group CEO, CapitaLand Investment

"Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, DBS remained focused on introducing relief and support measures for our staff, our customers and the community. We remain firmly committed to protecting lives and livelihoods, helping customers leverage new opportunities, and embracing a new way of working so that we can emerge from the pandemic stronger together."

Peter Seah, chairman, DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank

''Core to UOB's DNA is to think long term and to generate responsible growth for the benefit of our stakeholders. Our strong balance sheet, robust risk management and common purpose provide the stable foundation from which we support our customers, colleagues and the communities through the ups and downs of economic cycles.''

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO, United Overseas Bank

''Ascendas Reit's resilience stems from its sustainable business underpinned by our diversification strategy. Focusing on developed markets and robust asset classes, we capitalised on the strengthening digitalisation and e-commerce trends and grew our assets under management to S$16 billion. More importantly, our employees responded readily to the challenges and seized opportunities to enhance unitholder value.''

William Tay, CEO, manager of Ascendas Reit

"OCBC has an invaluable franchise steadily built over many decades of good relationships with customers, financial soundness and strong values of integrity and reliability. The dedication of the OCBC team, as well as the support of our customers and shareholders, gives me the confidence that OCBC will not only survive but also thrive in this era."

Helen Wong, group CEO, OCBC Bank

"SATS took swift action at the start of the pandemic to right-size our cost structure and conserve cash, safeguarding capabilities and jobs for our people. We accelerated our strategy to pursue new businesses in non-travel industries and harnessed digitalisation to enhance operational excellence."

Alex Hungate, president and CEO, SATS

''We focused on building resilience, backed by our strong fundamental and diverse business portfolio, coupled with cost savings and productivity initiatives to emerge stronger. We weathered the pandemic successfully mainly because of a highly committed workforce, as well as the trust and support of our customers and partners.''

Vincent Chong, group president and CEO, ST Engineering

''NetLink activated its business continuity plan at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing the organisation to respond swiftly to the changes in working arrangements, without any disruption to its operations. We also put in place arrangements to enhance the availability of contractors' manpower resources to support our operations.''

Tong Yew Heng, CEO, NetLink NBN Trust

''Covid-19 has taught us how to adapt better in a business environment with increasing unpredictability. We had to view issues afresh - from corporate strategy and execution, supply chain and delivery, to staff safety and hygiene. Ultimately, the journey towards resilience has no finish line.''

Liam Wee Sin, group chief executive, UOL Group

''We are fortunate to be in the agri and food business. Producing quality products across many locations in the major markets that we are in helped as we had the best supply chain during lockdowns. Consumers are also demanding healthier products as they realise the best resistance against viruses is a healthy body.''

Kuok Khoon Hong, chairman and CEO, Wilmar International

Award for companies with market capitalisation of S$300 million to less than S$1 billion as at Dec 31, 2020

''Our business strategy focuses on generating sustainable cash flows from niche businesses that can maintain a competitive edge in international markets, holistically considering ESG (factors) and creating sustainable socio-economic value. This has contributed to our longevity and resilience to weather the many crises that the world has faced in the past 200 years.''

Wong Fong Fui, chairman and group CEO, Boustead Singapore

''We draw on our financial strength to remain resilient and make sure that our business risks are managed well during these unprecedented times. We also used this opportunity to improve with automation and digitalising our businesses and to shift gears towards green energy solutions and sustainable building materials.''

Stephen Ho, CEO, Hong Leong Asia

''At iFAST Corp, we have always focused on keeping our stakeholders' interest at heart. Driven by our mission to help investors invest profitably and leveraging the Fintech innovation resources we have been developing for years, we have been able to remain strong and agile in helping our employees, clients and business partners through challenging times.''

Lim Chung Chun, chairman and CEO, iFAST Corporation

''Good governance is an invaluable methodology for aligning the way our people make decisions and take actions. When practiced relentlessly by everyone from the shop floor to the boardroom, the results go beyond financial performance to include innovation, adaptability and resilience which are essential in a fast-changing world.''

Chris Borch, CEO, Micro-Mechanics (Holdings)

''For Sasseur Reit, this award carries great significance. When faced with unprecedented challenges brought about by the pandemic, we remained steadfast and kept our focus on prioritising the health and safety of employees, customers and tenants, while continuing to optimise the Reit's operating and financial performance for our stakeholders.''

Cecilia Tan, CEO, manager of Sasseur Reit

''During the pandemic, we focused on the safety of commuters and staff, and quickly made adjustments to the way we delivered our transport services. We put in place good hygiene practices in the hope that these would increase the level of confidence that our commuters had in us. We also accelerated our digitalisation journey for improved efficiency, as we continue to lay the foundation for our future.''

Cheng Siak Kian, CEO, SBS Transit

''Resilience is an outcome of strong fundamentals. It is built during good times and tested in crises. If one is healthy, one stays resilient in times of illness. Our resilience is underpinned by fundamentals like a close working relationship between board and management, robust risk management and constant staff engagement.''

David Chan Mun Wai, managing director, United Overseas Insurance

Award for companies with market capitalisation of less than S$300 million as at Dec 31, 2020

''Our focus in creating long-term value for stakeholders was key in navigating the challenges of the pandemic. Through decisive leadership, we continued investments in digital innovation and technology to lead transformation from within, and accelerated the set-up of our full-fledged private real estate trust to strengthen our integrated capabilities.''

Wong Yu Wei, executive deputy chairman, Boustead Projects

''We are honoured our efforts have been recognised. When the pandemic struck, InnoTek swiftly reviewed the situation and took decisive action. We implemented strict health measures, deepened our relationship with customers, entered the electric vehicles and medical devices sectors, and expanded geographically, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.''

Lou Yiliang, CEO, InnoTek

''Despite the challenging circumstances, we remained resilient in overcoming these obstacles by embracing technology, human capital and innovation. Such instances include accelerating digitalisation efforts, boosting efficiency through automation, and offering meaningful real estate solutions that respond to the emerging needs of businesses and individuals in the new normal.''

Kelvin Lim, executive chairman and group managing director, LHN Group

''PropNex put in place robust mechanisms to ensure that corporate governance principles are embedded in our corporate culture for fair and ethical decision-making. It builds on our sustainable businesses and enables us to create long-term value more effectively. This award inspires us to continue to do even better for our clients, employees, salespersons and stakeholders.''

Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, executive chairman and CEO, PropNex

''The pandemic has taught us to stay true to who we are while embracing the fast-changing conditions. At Sing Investments & Finance, our time-proven culture of integrity, transparency, robust internal controls, and sound risk management practices have set the foundation for us to stay resilient and continue to thrive.''

Lee Sze Leong, managing director, Sing Investments & Finance

''We adapted and reminded ourselves of our vision to be the leading healthcare service provider delivering holistic health and wellness services catering to the modern family. The management took the opportunity to work even closer with our board of directors to support the evolving needs of our medical clinics, stay resilient and strengthen both Singapore O&G's competitive edge and growth opportunities for business sustainability.''

Eric Choo, CEO, Singapore O&G

''The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated our business transformation and our ESG practices have enabled us to be resilient by pre-empting and addressing the impact of emerging trends and issues. To this end, we have been diversifying into other consumer offerings, augmenting our enterprise businesses and upskilling our people.''

Vincent Lim, president and CEO, TeleChoice International

''When the Covid-19 crisis hit, we quickly realised that transparent and frequent communication with staff, portfolio companies and shareholders to keep channels open and to avoid feelings of isolation and being cut off was the best strategy in dealing with the subsequent challenges that we faced as an organisation.''

Steve Rhodes, chairman and CEO, The Trendlines Group

''ValueMax focused on protecting our employees, keeping a tight watch on cash-flow and managing the risks to our business. We used data-analytics and scenario analysis to make in-depth examination of possible outcomes, helping us to identify potential risks. ValueMax also accelerated digitalisation of service for customers and communication with employees.''

Yeah Lee Ching, executive director, ValueMax Group