Winners
of the Singapore Business Awards
Hyflux's Olivia Lum is first Businesswoman of the
Year
SINGAPORE,
30 March 2005 - Breaking new ground, a woman enterpreneur has
won the top Singapore Business Award (SBA), the organisers The Business
Times and DHL announced today.
Ms
Olivia Lum, 44, Group CEO and President of Hyflux Ltd, one of Asia's
leading water and fluid treatment companies, is the Businesswoman
of the Year, the first in the SBA's 20-year history.
The
former laboratory chemist, who sold her condominium and car to start
Hyflux in 1989, is the driving force behind the company's rapid
growth and business expansion, especially since its listing four
years ago. The
company, which started as a three-person outfit and now employs
600 staff, has a market capitalisation of over $900 million today.
Hyflux was named the Enterprise of the Year in the 2004 Singapore
Business Awards.
Citation:
"For
her outstanding drive, vision and entrepreneurial achievement in
building Hyflux Ltd into one of Asia's most dynamic and innovative
water and fluid treatment companies with its own brand of menbrance
technology."
Outstanding Chief Executive of the Year is Mr Jackson Tai,
54, Vice Chairman and CEO of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank. Jackson,
whose family left Guangzhou in the 1940s to settle in New York's
Chinatown, took on
various odd jobs as a young lad, including washing dishes and waiting
on tables at Chinese restaurants, and later a drummer in a rock
band, to supplement his family's income.
Mr
Tai, who joined DBS Bank in 1999 after he retired from J.P. Morgan,
steered DBS through the tumultuous changes and turned it into the
largest bank in Singapore, which posted record earnings of $2.02
billion in 2004.
Citation:
"For
his exemplary leadership in steering DBS to become one of Asia's
most dynamic financial services groups."
The
Enterprise Award goes to Petra Foods Ltd, which manfactures
and sells branded chocolate confectionery products to over 30 countries.
Established in 1984 by the Chuang family, it is the world's fourth
largest cocoa
ingredients manfacturer. Mr John Chuang, CEO of Petra Foods, has
been instrumental in the company's phenomenal growth. Petra Foods
was listed on the SGX mainboard in November 2004.
Citation:
"For
its enterprise and far-sightedness in transforming itself into one
of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of cocoa ingredients,
with factories in six countries and customers in over 30 countries."
The
winners will receive their awards from President S.R. Nathan, at
a black-tie dinner this evening (30 March) at the Ritz Carlton,
Millenia Singapore.
The
annual Singapore Business Awards, which honour outstanding achievers
in the Singapore's business community, is jointly organised by The
Business Times, a business daily published by Singapore Press Holdings,
and DHL, the world's leading express and logistics company.
The
winners are chosen by a panel of judges drawn from industry, academic
and official agencies.
Mr
Scott Price, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express Asia Pacific,
said: "This prestigious award, which has come to represent
the pinnacle of success and the gold standard in business, was first
conceptualised by the
Business Times and DHL 20 years ago, to fulfill our responsibilities
as good corporate citizens and to illustrate the depth of talent
that exists here in Singapore by highlighting the successes of the
nominees.
"Today,
we seek to recognise the outstanding achievements of a group of
individuals who have etched a deep impression on Singapore business
in 2004. While hailing from very diverse backgrounds, these extraordinary
individuals share between them common traits of leadership, foresight
and entrepreneurial spirit.”
Mr
Alvin Tay, Chairman of the SBA organising committee and Editor of
The Business Times, commenting on this year's winners, said: "I
am especially happy to note that for the first time in 20 years,
a woman has won the top
Singapore Business Award. Our congratulations to Olivia Lum. Her
sheer grit and ability to seize opportunities won the judges over.
She is a good role model for all up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
"In
Outstanding CEO of the Year Jackson Tai, we have yet another good
example of a foreign talent who has done great work in Singapore,
and especially at DBS. And in John Chuang's Petra Foods, Singapore
has a cocoa
processing company that ranks fourth in the world - certainly no
mean feat."
Details
of the winners and their profiles are given in attached.
Issued
by The Singapore Business Awards Organising Committee
The Business Times and DHL Express
For
more information, please contact:
Christine
Ang
The Business Times
DID: 6319 5119
Fax: 6319 8292
Email: anglcc@sph.com.sg
Vickie
Tay/Cami Cheong
DHL Express Singapore
Tel: 6880 6212/6880 6210
Fax: 6288 6855
Email: vickie.tay@dhl.com
camillien.cheong@dhl.com
About
The Business Times
The Business Times, a member of the Singapore Press Holdings
group, was launched in October 1976 when Singapore was growing rapidly
as a regional financial and business centre. Now firmly established
as Southeast Asia's leading business daily and a paper with an opinion,
it brings to its readers exclusive ground-breaking reports, trend-spotting
news and incisive analyses and commentaries on the corporate, financial,
economic and political fronts.
About
DHL
With annual revenues of over 24 billion in 2004, DHL is the
global market leader of the international express and logistics
industry, specialising in providing innovative and customised solutions
from a single source.
DHL
offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport
and logistics solutions, combined with worldwide coverage and an
in-depth understanding of local markets. DHL's international network
links more than
220 countries and territories worldwide. Over 170,000 employees
are dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed
customers' expectations.
DHL
is 100% owned by Deutsche Post World Net
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