IR Magazine Forum & Awards
Greater China

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Virtual event: Live and available on replay

About the forum & awards

For the past three decades, IR Magazine has honored excellence in investor relations around the world. For 2021, we will continue to recognize and help further IR best practice in a virtual setting. We expect to attract over over 150 senior IR professionals – this internationally renowned event looked at the very best the IR community had to offer through our forum and awards.

THE FORUM

The event kicks off with a forum where investors, analysts and heads of IR from small, mid and large cap companies come together to discuss key issues relating to investor relations, corporate governance, shareholder needs and the role of senior management in IR.

Using the latest cutting edge technology available, our virtual event platform closely replicates being there in person with the chance to interact with speakers and have one-to-one networking in-between panel talks. A far cry from a traditional webinar format, the event features live chat with attendees as you watch sessions together and access to resource libraries to help publicly listed companies better respond to investor and analyst expectations. The forum sessions will be followed by our awards ceremony.

THE AWARDS

We present two types of awards categories – researched and nominated – both celebrating the success of those individuals and companies that are leading the way in IR in Greater China. For our researched categories, companies do not submit nominations. Instead, hundreds of analysts and investors cast their votes and give their opinions on which companies do the best IR in the region.

In our nominated categories, companies have the opportunity to submit a written entry, free of charge, for aspects of IR that complement our researched categories. The nomination form will be open for entries in May. In the meantime, you can register your interest to nominate by clicking here. More information about both types of categories can be found below.

AN INTERACTIVE, VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE

Due to current restrictions, the event will take place as a virtual experience using our bespoke, cutting-edge technology.

Our virtual event platform closely replicates attending in-person by facilitating interaction with speakers, one-to-one networking with fellow IR professionals, and group roundtable discussions. Going virtual helps you connect with a wider network from the comfort of your desk.

Forum: Agenda

The 2021 agenda will be announced shortly.

In the meantime, you can view what was discussed in 2020 below or by clicking here.

08:45 AM
Virtual platform opens and networking begins
09:00 AM
Welcome to the forum and awards

Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine
09:05 AM
Big picture trends: What is the future of capital markets and investor sentiment going into 2021?

A short and sharp economic briefing will set the scene for the day’s discussions. In this session, we look at the upcoming challenges and opportunities for publicly listed companies in Greater China going into 2021. We look at the impact of the pandemic on investor sentiment, fund flows, the global economy, and how it affects your investor outreach. Take stock of where we are right now, where we could be heading and what it means for investor relations.

Michelle Lam, economist, SGCIB
09:30 AM
ESG best practices: Taking an integrated approach to investor expectations in the current climate

What is the impact of Covid-19 on ESG? As investors increasingly integrate ESG into decision making, it is crucial for IROs to understand what the investment community want to hear, what they don’t and how to prepare senior management to deliver short, value-adding, comprehensive responses to ESG-related demands in 2021. Identify the gaps between what investors are looking for and what your company is communicating – and strengthen your ESG communications.

Philippe Healey, VP & head of corporate advisory, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Hendrik Rosenthal, director of group sustainability, CLP Group
Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine
10:15 AM
Networking break
10:30 AM
Targeting in a virtual world: How to better connect with investors during a pandemic?

Discuss how IR teams can better access new pools of investment in a new normal. We will explore how the pandemic has changed the investor outreach landscape – what special IR activities are being organized during the pandemic, how to adapt your IR campaign, guidance and marketing strategies to engage investors and communicate long-term value, how to run virtual meetings effectively and much more.

Jenny Huang, managing director, Asia and Pacific, Euroland IR
Shirley Kwok, head of investor relations, ENN Energy
Florence Lip, senior director of investor relations, Yum China
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine
11:15 AM
Q&A with the buy side: How are investor and analyst expectations evolving in 2021?

As the pandemic settles in, capital markets become more global, ESG focused and active money continues to flow into passive funds, we ask portfolio managers and analysts how these trends impact them, and how that changes their expectations of investor relations teams. We’ll discuss what investors want to see in terms of virtual engagement, ESG reporting, short and long-term business impact of Covid-19, virtual meeting do’s and don’ts and direct corporate access requests vs. sell-side analysts.
Simon Weston, senior fund manager, AXA Investment Managers
Gabriel Wilson-Otto, head of stewardship, Asia Pacific, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
12:00 PM
The evolving role of IR during a pandemic: What are the latest trends and best practices?

In this session, award-winning heads of IR will discuss key aspects of an IRO’s role and how it has evolved in the last 12 months. We discuss strategies to maintain investor confidence, how to demonstrate the value of IR, how to measure and benchmark IR performance, how to prioritize senior management’s time with investor meetings, how to manage IR budgets, make the most of the digital tools available and so on.

Ming Chan, director of corporate communications and IR, Sa Sa International
Timothy Ross, head of investor relations, BOC Aviation
Vincent Tse, general manager of IR, China Resources Beer
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
12:45 PM
Networking break
13:00 PM
IR Magazine Greater China Awards ceremony
14:30 PM
Event concludes

Forum: Previous speakers

To inquire about speaking at the forum, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4818

Ming Chan
Director of corporate communications and IR
Sa Sa International
Philippe Healey
Vice president and head of corporate advisory
Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Philippe Healey is the H+K Greater China head of Corporate Advisory & Strategic Communications. He is currently responsible for devising and implementing strategies for clients across the Corporate Advisory department portfolio.

Philippe has extensive crisis and government & public affairs experience and knowledge managing complex bilateral and multilateral issues as well as advising companies on operating in China and globally. Some of the companies he has advised include, JD.com, Finnair, Red Bull, Coca-Cola, NCR, CES.

In addition to his client work, Philippe facilitates training seminars designed to help senior managers and communications teams better understand the risks and opportunities presented by today’s increasingly complex and digitally-driven communications landscape. He has been invited to present to senior management teams and Boards of Directors.

Prior to joining H+K, Philippe was a Senior Project Manager at a China based European consultancy for 5 years. During this time Philippe implemented and lead a number of European Commission funded projects.
Jenny Huang
Managing director, Asia and Pacific
Euroland IR

Jenny graduated with Master degree in Business Administration from Gothenburg University, Sweden. She joined the Swedish Trade Council in 1997 and engaged in different scales of commercial projects and government cooperation between China and Sweden. In 1999, she founded the company Datacom in Sweden and Beijing and launched Ericsson’s two-way mobile data system and GPRS modules to Chinese telecom operators and enterprises. She was well recognized as an earlier pioneer in introducing two-way telecommunications in Greater China.

Since she joined Euroland in year 2011 in Dubai, she has been further developed Euroland’s presence in China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia & Pacific and she has been keen to introduce the Best Practice IR solutions using innovative technologies.
Shirley Kwok
Head of investor relations
ENN Energy

Shirley has over 13 years’ experience in investor relations and corporate communications in energy, biotech and financial sectors. During her career, Shirley’s responsibilities have included ESG strategy, media relations, crisis management and financial analysis.

She currently serves as the Head of Investor Relations for ENN Energy, a leading large-cap clean energy distributor in China, which received several IR awards and top rankings in Institutional Investor’s survey. Prior to her career in investor relations, Shirley served as corporate communications specialist in a financial institution in Hong Kong. She has a BBA from HKUST.
Michelle Lam
Economist
SGCIB

Michelle covers China and Taiwan and is based in Hong Kong. She started her career at BNP Paribas London where she worked with a team of European economists and helped analyse European macroeconomic issues. Before joining SG, she was a Senior Economist at TS Lombard, an independent research company, and where she focused on a number of Asian economies including China and Taiwan. Michelle holds an M. Phil. in Economics from Cambridge University.
Florence Lip
Senior director of investor relations
Yum China

Florence Lip is the Senior Director of Investor Relations for Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987). Florence joined the Company in March 2015. Prior to that, she was with AS Watson Group and McKinsey & Company. Florence holds an MBA from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor degree from Northwestern University.

Yum China operates over 10,000 restaurants in mainland China, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Little Sheep. The Company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hendrik Rosenthal
Director of group sustainability
CLP Group

Hendrik Rosenthal is Director – Group Sustainability of the CLP Group and is responsible for the Group’s sustainability-related strategy, reporting and communications. He supports the senior management in sustainability and climate change-related risk management and advises on sustainability matters of the Group’s power business in the Asia-Pacific region.

With 20 years of experience in environmental management across the public, private and NGO sectors, Hendrik previously led research and consulting projects in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He began his career in natural resource management and environmental policy, through various positions at Canadian government agencies in environment and development. After moving to Hong Kong in 2008, Hendrik promoted sustainability practices via private sector projects and through policy engagement for industry associations. Prior to joining CLP, he was a senior manager of applied sustainability in Singapore working for a multinational company.
Timothy Ross
Head of investor relations
BOC Aviation
Vincent Tse
General manager of IR
China Resources Beer
Simon Weston
Senior fund manager
AXA investment managers

Simon Weston is a Senior Fund Manager working for AXA Investment Managers based in Hong Kong. He has over 25 years’ experience working as an investment manager and buy-side analyst covering the Asian equity markets.

Simon started his career in London, working for Hill Samuel Asset Managers and then Old Mutual Asset Managers. In 2007 he moved to Singapore to join CLSA, where he was Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Semeru CLSA Capital Partners, an investment management unit of the group. In 2015 he joined AXA Investment Managers.

Simon has considerable interest in the field of investor relations, and has spoken at many events on the subject, including those organised by the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Investor Relations magazine, and NIRI.

Simon has an MA from the University of Cambridge in the UK, is an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals (UK equivalent of the CFA) and holds the Certificate in Investor Relations from the UK Investor Relations Society.
Gabriel Wilson-Otto
Head of stewardship, Asia Pacific
BNP Paribas Asset Management

Gabriel Wilson-Otto joined BNP Paribas Asset Management in 2019 as Head of Stewardship, Asia Pacific. In this role, Gabriel represents and lead BNPP AM’s stewardship activities in Asia Pacific, including researching key corporate governance issues, undertaking direct and collaborative corporate engagement, and working with policymakers on key issues relating to sustainable finance and investment. BNPP AM has assets under management of EUR 421 billion and close to 900 staff in Asia Pacific located across 10 markets.

Gabriel joined from Goldman Sachs, Asia, where he was Executive Director, Head of GS SUSTAIN Asia. During his 12 years at Goldman Sachs, he was responsible for leading a team to identify long term investment opportunities in high quality companies, author research reports on key ESG issues, evaluate the performance of companies under a proprietary ESG scoring framework and focused on improving the performance of major corporations in the region by incorporating ESG factors into fundamental company valuations.

Gabriel holds a double Bachelor’s degree from The University of Melbourne, majoring in Commerce (Finance and Economics) and Information Systems and is a CFA charterholder.

View our awards best practice guide for insights from our past winners and partnersAccess the guide

Awards by research

Our awards-by-research nominees are determined by the input of hundreds of analysts and portfolio managers, who give their opinions on which companies provide them with the best IR service in the Greater China region. Every year we invite any publicly listed company to submit their list of buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers, so that they have the opportunity to vote via our survey.

Please click on the tabs below to view the research timeline. If you have any questions on this process or wish to access our data sharing agreement, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. For any further queries about the research, please contact [email protected].

Please note that categories are subject to change based on the final research results. Some categories may be split by market cap size.

View the entire list of 2020 nominees and winners

Researched categories
How the winners are chosen

Best overall investor relations

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program.

Best investor relations officer

This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart.

Best in region: China

Best in region: Hong Kong

Best in region: Taiwan

Best in sector: communications

Best in sector: consumer discretionary

Best in sector: consumer staples

Best in sector: energy

Best in sector: financials (including real estate)

Best in sector: healthcare

Best in sector: industrials

Best in sector: materials

Best in sector: technology

Best in sector: utilities

Our awards by research are different from most others and also from our awards by nomination: for our awards by research, companies do not submit nominations. The winners are identified by in-depth research and any publicly traded company is eligible to be considered. This survey is the only one of its kind to go directly to the investment community, canvassing the opinions of the people who matter to you most.

May-July: Online survey
IR Magazine has been building investment community databases over the past 30 years. As part of the updating process, listed companies are contacted every year for details of the professionals who currently cover their stock. IR Magazine then conducts an electronic survey of buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. Each survey respondent is asked to nominate and rank up to five companies in a host of different research categories, from best IRO to best reporting.

September-October: Results analysis & short lists announced
Analysis of the results begins once the survey stage of the research is complete. Points are allocated to each company depending on how frequently it is nominated. The companies with the highest point scores in each individual awards category make the short list for that award. The top company will go on to win the award. Best-in-region awards are determined by the highest aggregate scores across all research categories.

The IR Magazine awards team receives the results and contacts all short-listed companies to give them the good news. The short lists are then published to the entire IR community a month before the event.

December: Winners announced
This year’s winners will be announced at our virtual awards ceremony, attended by the leading lights of the Asian investor relations community.

January: Report published
After the event the Investor Perception Study – Asia report will be made available to professional subscribers to IR Magazine. This report will profile the top ranked companies and reveal information on how they conduct their IR activities and why investors voted for them.

For more information around the investor survey, please contact [email protected]

What our virtual attendees say

"We had a wonderful experience. Never thought a virtual conference and award ceremony could be that fruitful and exciting. It is definitely one of the best conferences in 2020.
"

Pax Global Technology

"Congratulations on the successful event! We thought the forum and awards ceremony were very well organized and smooth. "

Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings)

"Congratulations on your successful and wonderful virtual conference held yesterday. It was all smooth with good insights. We are impressed and look forward to joining your event again in 2021."

China Unicom

"The event has been professionally organized and your moderators are exceptional!"

Euroland IR

"We all thought it went fantastically well; great content/speakers, fantastic chair and smooth logistics. It was a very impressive bunch of IR folks to gather in one room."

Andrews Partnership

"A wonderful event to networking with the best. I love panel sessions with fresh topics and professional insights. Great work for the IR Magazine team."

BizLink Holding

"Topics relevant and well-organized"

Yum China

"The event was very informative and helpful."

Lite-on Technology

Awards by nomination

For our awards-by-nomination categories, individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.

The nomination form will be open for entries in May. In the meantime, you can register your interest to nominate by clicking here.

Please note that categories are subject to change based on the final number of submissions received. Some categories may be split by market cap size.

View the entire list of 2020 nominees and winners

Nominated categories
How the winners are chosen

Best annual report

Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementarity between different reports.

Best crisis management

Have you recently dealt with an unexpected event threatening your company's business or reputation? Tell us about your ‘crisis ready’ plan, the strategy you implemented when the storm hit, and how the IR team’s actions successfully protected or restored shareholder value.

Best ESG materiality reporting

Investors are increasingly looking to determine the material ESG risks and opportunities for companies. But the range of data and inconsistency of reporting can make it difficult to get a full picture. This award recognizes the achievement of companies that produce clear investor-facing communications about ESG issues that are material to their business.

Best investor event

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome.

Best IR during a corporate transaction

How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Let us know the details. We’ll be looking at the IR team’s involvement in crafting/releasing the messaging for the financial markets and how it organized outreach and dialogue to gain approval from key shareholders.

Best IR website

The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access.

Best use of multimedia for IR

Are you a tech-savvy IRO always looking out for cutting-edge technological solutions for IR? Describe the innovative ways you have incorporated video, audio, infographics or webcasts into your IR program. Judges will be looking for evidence of heightened investor and analyst engagement via these channels.

Rising star

This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 5 years.

The awards-by-nomination categories differ from our traditional researched awards, as individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.

The judging process consists of three simple phases:

Phase one: Once the entry deadline has passed, the IR Magazine editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the short list

Phase two: The short-listed entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each short-listed entry and select their top two picks per category

Phase three: The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award

The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.

Who attends our virtual events

The majority of our attendees are heads of IR from across Greater China who are being recognized for their fantastic contribution to IR. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic IR role within his or her company.

Below is a sample of our past attendees:

Job title	Company	Job title	Company
Associate director of IR	Budweiser APAC	Investor relations manager	China Tianlun Gas
AVP – corporate finance and strategy	PAX Global Technology	Investor relations manager	Delta Electronics
CEO	Artemis Associates	Investor relations manager	Kerry Logistics Network
Deputy general manager of Hong Kong office/general manager of capital markets and corporate communications	Sinic Holdings (Group)	Investor relations manager	Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group
Director of corporate communications and IR	Sa Sa International	Investor relations manager	VPower Group
Director of group sustainability	CLP Group	IR director	China Medical System
Director of investor relations	China Telecom	IR director	ENN Energy
Director of investor relations and corporate communications	Xtep International Holdings	IR director	Topsports International Holdings
Director, investor relations	China Unicom	IRO	BizLink Holding
General manager, investor relations	Pacific Basin Shipping	IRO	China Resources Cement Holdings
Global head of sustainability research	BNP Paribas Asset Management	Manager, investor relations and corporate communications	Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group
Group managing director, capital markets and investor relations	ESR Funds Management	Managing director, head of investor relations	NagaCorp
Head of corporate finance and investor relations	China Aoyuan Group	Senior director of investor relations	Suncity Group Holdings
Head of investor relations	Anton Oilfield Services Group	Senior director of investor relations	Yum China
Head of investor relations	BOC Aviation	Senior director of sustainability and communications	Kerry Properties
Head of investor relations	China Life Insurance Company	Senior IR & PR manager of IR department	China Resources Beer
Head of investor relations	Zhenro Properties Group	Senior IR manager	Nissin Foods Company
Investor relations and corporate finance executive	Far East Consortium International	Senior manager of capital markets & investor relations	CIFI Holdings (Group)
Investor relations director	Jiumaojiu International Holdings	Senior manager, group investor relations	ESR Cayman
Investor relations manager	China Reinsurance (Group) Company	VP of investor relations	Lenovo Group

Request full past attendee list

Become a partner

Why partner with us?

The IR Magazine Forum & Awards – Greater China brings together some of the most influential people in the IR community.

The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when they are exploring how they can improve their IR practice. Through our unrivalled knowledge of the subject matter and commitment to in-depth agenda research, our events are guaranteed to attract a qualified audience.

The unique buzz we create at our virtual forums – a far cry from a webinar – makes them multi-faceted and highly interactive with great engagement in particular from heads of IR. This allows our partners to have meaningful conversations with corporates who are deciding which parts of their IR program to invest in, which service providers to engage and consultants to retain. By partnering with us on an event, you can generate leads, showcase your thought leadership and position yourselves as the partner of choice to the IR community.

Not forgetting the unique buzz we create at our virtual awards, becoming a partner will enable you to:

Reach thousands of industry leaders through our multi-channel marketing campaign
Raise your organization’s profile with unrivalled brand exposure
Align yourself with those who excel in the industry
Put your brand in the spotlight and benefit from months of targeted, high profile publicity across multiple channels pre- and post-event.

We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience at the IR Magazine Forum & Awards – Greater China. Get in touch with Ross Ingram or call on +44 78265 38072.

In the last 12 months, IR Magazine’s virtual events have attracted the highest, most diverse and senior attendees and experts in investor relations

Inquire about partnership

Partners

Book your place

The super early bird rate expires on November 12, 2021.

After this date the price will increase to the early bird rate of US$95. The standard price booking price is US$145.

If you have any questions, please contact Chloë Rutter at [email protected] or +44 20 3002 0396.

Attendee rate

US$145

US$45

Book your place

Contact us

For partnership inquiries

Ross Ingram

+44 78 2653 8072
For agenda inquiries

Anna Phillips

+44 20 8004 4818
For awards inquiries

Lauren Wilson

+44 20 8004 5339
For all other inquiries

Chloë Rutter

+44 20 3002 0396

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IR Media Group Ltd, the owner of IR Magazine, Corporate Secretary and IRspace, respect the privacy of every person who visits, registers with or subscribes to our websites and online publications, and is committed to ensuring a safe online experience. This privacy statement applies to all IR Media Group’s websites as listed under the heading ‘Sites’ and outlines the information IR Media Group may collect and how we may use that information. It also explains what we do with information about you when you register to attend one of our events.