HONG KONG, Feb 4, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is pleased to announce that public nomination is now open for the 6th HKIRA IR Awards 2020 (the Awards). In their sixth consecutive year, through the Awards, HKIRA looks forward to recognizing the efforts of more Hong Kong-listed companies to encourage excellence and best practices in investor relations.

Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA, said, "Building on the success over the past five years, we are thrilled that the HKIRA IR Awards are entering their sixth year. I would like to express our gratitude to our partners, including, but not limited to, member IROs, advisors, regulators, sponsors as well as all the participants and voters during the past five years, for their long-term support and contribution. We are glad to see the remarkable improvement in the overall standards of investor relations in Hong Kong in recent years, and we certainly look forward to another amazing year ahead".

Dr Chan continued, "To honour outstanding performance across a broader range of IR aspects, this year, we have added three new award categories for nomination and voting, namely 'Best ESG (E)', 'Best ESG (S)' and 'Best ESG (G)', to recognise collective excellence of listed companies in environmental, social and governance efforts respectively. The 'Grand ESG Award' is also a new accolade added this year. The winner of the 'Grand ESG Award' will be selected by the judging panel to honour companies' overall performance in the above three areas of ESG. In view of the increasingly significant role that ESG plays in listed companies at a strategic and operational level, we believe exceptional ESG practices should be properly recognised, thus we have introduced this award".

Last year, the Awards enjoyed widespread support from the investment community with 161 entries from listed companies received. In addition, over 700 eligible voters and over 330 voting institutions cast a total of more than 599 votes for 46 award winners in different categories. The volume of polling testifies to the wide recognition of the IR Awards and appreciation of their role among listed companies and within the investment community. Among the winners, Link Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 823), Champion Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 2778) and Far East Consortium International Limited (stock code: 35) were awarded Overall Best IR Company by company size - Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap - respectively.

The 6th HKIRA IR Awards 2020 are once again honoured to have Professor Louis Cheng, Director of the Center for Economic Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as the Chairman of the Judging Panel. In 2018, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has produced a research paper entitled "Relative Valuation Effects of Local and International Analysts' Voting: The Case of Investor Relations Awards" using the proprietary data from the online voting for the HKIRA IR Awards. Based on the final voting data consisting of 418 nominated firms with total valid votes of 18,172 during the three-year period, Professor Cheng has found a positive effect on the stock valuation of awarded firms when the announcements of IR awards are released. Trading volume has significantly increased for the awarded firms. Moreover, the level of transparency suggests that the nominated but not awarded firms show significant improvement in transparency when comparing pre- and post-event periods.

Public nomination for the 6th HKIRA IR Awards 2020 is now open to Hong Kong-listed companies. Nominated individuals and companies will be placed on the online voting list upon confirmation of their participation. The investment community, including buy-side and sell-side analysts and fund managers, are eligible to vote. Nominees with the highest votes (weighted) in each award category become the award winners. They then undergo a final assessment by the judging panel for the Most Progress in IR, the Overall Best IR Company Awards and the Grand ESG Award. Facilitating a fair and balanced evaluation, the judging panel comprises academics, representatives from professional associations and the investment community.

The 6th HKIRA IR Awards 2020 scheme has a total of 15 award categories honouring best IR practices of individuals and companies. Among these awards, 12 categories are open for nomination and voting, while the other 3 awards are selected by the judging panel. The award winners are to be announced at a ceremony to be held in Hong Kong in May/June 2020. For more information, please visit www.hkira.com/awards.

Strategic Public Relations Group is once again proud to be the Official Public Relations Partner and the Diamond Sponsor for the HKIRAIR Awards this year. Please find key dates relating to the Awards with its categories and criteria for selection listed in the Appendix.

About HKIRAFounded in 2008 with over 900 members mostly working for companies primarily listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a professional association in investor relations (IR), comprising IR practitioners and corporate officers, who are responsible for communications between corporate management and the investment community. HKIRA is dedicated to advocating the setting of international standards in IR education, advancing the best IR practices and catering for the professional development needs of those who are interested in pursuing a professional career in IR. HKIRA's members are from a wide spectrum of professions including IR, finance, accounting and company secretarial to corporate investment and hold positions at different corporate levels, including top executives responsible for IR and management of listed companies. For more information about HKIRA details, please visit our website http://www.hkira.com

About the IR AwardsSince debuting in 2015, the annual campaign of the HKIRA Investor Relations Awards has been encouraging, recognising and rewarding excellence in local investor relations practices by individuals and companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through the presentation of the IR Awards.

The Awards ceremony, consisting of a conference in the morning and a presentation programme in the afternoon, is a significant gathering of IR specialists and industry professionals that applauds and publicises the year's most outstanding achievements in the dynamic IR field in Hong Kong. For details of the Awards and online nominations, please visit http://www.hkira.com/awards.

Media enquiries:Strategic Public Relations GroupCindy Lung Tel:+852 2864 4867 Email: cindy.lung@sprg.com.hkAngela Wong Tel: +852 2114 4953 Email: angel.wong@sprg.com.hkRachel Ko Tel: +852 2114 2370 Email: rachel.ko@sprg.com.hkWebsite: www.sprg.asia

Hong Kong Investor Relations AssociationKiki Lee Tel: +852 2117 1846 Email: irawards@hkira.comWebsite: www.hkira.com

AppendixKey Dates(Subject to final changes.)Nomination period: 31 January - 2 March 2020Online voting period: 9 March - 15 April 2020Judging Panel Meeting: Mid April 2020Award Conference cum Presentation Luncheon: May/June2020

Award CategoriesAward Categories Recognition Selection MethodBest IR Company / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest IR Team / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest ESG (E)* / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest ESG (S)* / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest ESG (G)* / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest Investor Meeting / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest Investor Presentation Material / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest Annual Report / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online voting Best IR Company for an IPO** / Company's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest IR by Chairman/CEO / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest IR by CFO / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingBest IRO (Investor Relations Officer) / Individual's Achievements / Open for nomination and online votingMost Progress in IR / Demonstration of the most progress in IR in the above areas during 2019 / Selected by Judging PanelOverall Best IR Company Awards / Outstanding and all-round excellence in the above areas / Selected by Judging PanelGrand ESG Award / Overall excellence in all the three areas across ESG / Selected by Judging Panel

* New Awards** Companies which were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019 are eligible to be nominated for this award.Remarks: All awards will be further categorised by company market capitalisation into Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap, except Best IR Company for an IPO, Most Progress in IR Awards and Grand ESG Award.

Judging Panel (Arranged in alphabetical order of last name)Name Title Firms / OrganizationsProfessor Louis Cheng (Chairman of Judging Panel) / Director / Centre for Economic Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityMrs Amy Donati / Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer / EDICO Holdings LimitedMs Ashley Khoo, CFA, CPA / Immediate Past President / The Hong Kong Society of Financial AnalystsMr Bruno Lee / Chairman / Hong Kong Investment Funds AssociationMr Andrew Look / Independent Non-Executive Director / CITIC Resources Holdings LimitedMs Victoria Mio, CFA, CPA (US), FRM / Co-Head Asia Pacific Equities and CIO China / Robeco Hong Kong LimitedMs Helen Zee / Vice Chairman / The Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies

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