Singapore, 8 November 2021
Singapore businesses and leaders recognised for contributions towards bilateral relations at the 10th edition of the Business China Awards
SINGAPORE, 8 NOVEMBER 2021 – Business China, a non-profit organisation that aims to strengthen ties between Singapore and China, today recognised two individuals and one enterprise for their significant contributions to Singapore- China relations at the Business China Awards (BCA) 10th Anniversary Commemorative and Presentation Ceremony 2021.
The 10th edition of the Business China Awards took place at The Ritz-Carlton Singapore, with Guest-of-Honour Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, gracing the occasion and presenting the Awards. In previous years, the Business China Awards has honoured many awardees for their contributions to the deepening of bilateral relations between Singapore and China, as well as their excellence in their areas of business, all while continuing to pave the way for future bilateral collaborations and opportunities.
This year’s Business China Awards saw both the Excellence and Youth Awards received by women who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields and to strengthening Singapore-China relations.
Marking its 10th edition, the Awards also expanded its judging criteria to recognise awardees’ social contributions that have helped uplift communities in Singapore or China, in addition to their individual business achievements.
Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Chairman of Business China said, “The Business China Awards recognise individuals and organisations for their sterling contributions to the growing ties between Singapore and China. Since its inception in 2010, we have had outstanding award winners drawn from a wide range of sectors and background. Some are from large corporations, others from academia. Some are professionals, and others are led by their passion to do good in the philanthropic sector. The common trait amongst them was their whole-hearted commitment and dedication to excellence in their pursuits, and making
concrete and profound contributions to the growing relations between Singapore and China. Going forward, I am confident that BCA winners will continue to emerge from creative and inspiring work, worthy of emulation and celebration. This year’s winners, together with many others we have yet to uncover, herald a constantly evolving and progressive partnership between Singapore and China”.
STRENGTHENING SINGAPORE-CHINA BILATERAL RELATIONS THROUGH BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AND SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
With their significant contributions towards the fostering of bilateral relations, awardees have played crucial roles in driving future cooperation between Singapore and China, across various industries. These contributions are not limited to just business and commercial success, but also how these activities have had a positive social impact on communities in Singapore and China.
Chairman of the judging panel Mr Robin Hu, Head (International Policy and Governance) of Temasek International and Board Director of Business China, said, “Despite the dampening effect of pandemic in the past two years, the judging panel believe it was more important now than ever, to give recognition to those who have made defining contributions to Singapore- China bilateral relations. A new criterion of touching communities was added to signify the importance of how responsible businesses and philanthropy can play pivotal roles to strengthen our bilateral relations.
Particularly with rising anti-globalisation sentiments and geopolitically-induced supply chain disruptions, it is critical that ASEAN-China cooperation remains robust to ensure businesses can thrive healthily in what is the world’s fastest growing region. In deciding this year’s award winners, the judging panel thus gave due consideration to these criteria.”
The recipients of the 10th edition of the Business China Awards are:
Business China Excellence Award:
Mrs Jennifer Yeo
Executive Chairman and Founder, VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer &
VIVA China Children’s Cancer Foundation Limited
Mrs Jennifer Yeo founded VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer (VIVA) in 2006, as a thanksgiving for the healing of her son from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). VIVA’s mission is to save the lives of children with cancer through medical treatment, research, and education of doctors and nurses. With the ambitious aim of raising the cure rate of childhood cancer in mainland China and Hong Kong, Mrs Yeo set up VIVA China Children’s Cancer Foundation Limited (VIVA China) in 2014.
Under her stewardship, VIVA China collaborated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in USA to support the world’s largest study in ALL research, with more than 10,000 patients from 25 hospitals in China and Hong Kong. VIVA, VIVA China, St. Jude and several medical institutions in Singapore and China signed a six party MOU to leverage Singapore and Shanghai as centres of excellence for research, clinical care and treatment of children with cancer. VIVA also organised the annual St. Jude-VIVA Forum on Paediatric Oncology in Singapore since 2007. The Business China Excellence Award accolade is given to Mrs Yeo as an affirmation of her noble mission and vision to save young lives and raise awareness about children’s cancers, which at the same time made significant social impact in China, thereby strengthening Singapore and China relations.
Business China Enterprise Award:
China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City
The China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (“CSGKC”) is a state-level bilateral collaboration project between China and Singapore, located in the geometrical centre of Guangzhou, as well as in the northern part of Huangpu District, with a total planned area of 232 square kilometres. With its strategic position as ” a new high ground of knowledge-based innovation, a free hub for international talents, a source of innovation for the Greater Bay Area, and a demonstration zone for open cooperation”, CSGKC strives to become an
important engine of high-quality development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area.
Over the past decade of development and construction, CSGKC has seen the completion of the Southern Start-Up Area (SUA), while the construction of the integrated business parks is processing steadily in phases. Since its establishment in 2010, the total number of registered market entities has reached 23,500, with a registered capital of 440 billion yuan, and 42 key bilateral cooperation projects have been signed. Fixed-asset investment of the Knowledge City surpassed the 58.3 billion yuan mark in 2020 and exceeded
261.4 billion yuan in aggregate terms. The Business China Enterprise Award is awarded to CSGKC to mark the project’s remarkable progress achieved since inception, and for making exceptional strides in shaping the future of Singapore-China collaboration.
Business China Young Achiever Award:
Ms Jessica Tan Sin Yin
Group Executive Director & Co-CEO, Ping An Group
Ms Jessica Tan began her career with Ping An Group in 2013, and rose through the ranks to assume the position of Co-CEO in 2018. Ms Tan takes charge of the Group’s technology business and helps to power the company’s growth into a global financial service mammoth with over 223 million retail customers and 627 million Internet users (as of June 30, 2021). Some of her brainchild projects in the financial service sector includes OneConnect, a fintech company that provides digital solutions to banks and non-banking financial institutions across south-east Asia and China.
Apart from FinTech, Ms Tan also ventured into the HealthTech sector. Its Ping An Good Doctor, a China’s leading online healthcare service platform offering online medical consultations, garnered over a billion hits during the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. In all, she has strived to leverage Ping An’s technology solutions to enhance FinTech, HealthTech development in Singapore and China, and to foster collaboration in both countries. Her efforts have helped banks and insurance firms adopt digital solutions, as well as enabled the general public to access online medical consultations. Ms Tan’s drive in creating impact and value in businesses between the two countries earned her the Business China Young Achiever Award.
DPM Heng, along with other panellists, Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Chairman, Business China, and Ms Helen Wong, Group Chief Executive Officer, OCBC. participated in a panel discussion titled “Opportunities Amidst Uncertainties: The Road Ahead”. Together, the panellists discussed new business opportunities and partnerships that will boost economic growth and recovery in both Singapore and China, particularly in the areas of fintech, digital payments and green financing. DPM Heng emphasised that businesses need to build on international collaboration, forge closer ties with regional businesses, and focus on innovation to capture new growth opportunities.
Since the inaugural Business China Awards in 2010, OCBC Bank has provided strong support as the Joint Presenter. Ms Elaine Lam, Head, Global Corporate Banking, OCBC Bank, said, “As intra-Asia flows increase, close cooperation between Singapore, as ASEAN’s financial hub, and China, which is the world’s second largest economy, is essential – especially with the many changes that characterise the ‘never normal’ landscape. More resilient supply chains and the urgency of the sustainability agenda for instance, require deep collaboration and strong bilateral ties. It is against this backdrop that the contributions of this year’s Business China Awards recipients are especially invaluable. We are proud to support platforms such as the Business China Awards that honour the important work done by these outstanding individuals and enterprises. It is particularly meaningful to us, not only because Singapore and China are key markets, but also because they are an integral part of our heritage.”
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