HONG KONG, Feb 21, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is pleased to announce that public nomination is now open for the HKIRA 10th IR Awards 2024 (the 'Awards'). This will be the tenth consecutive year of the Awards at which best IR and corporate governance practices are recognized among Hong Kong listed companies.

Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA, said, "This is the 10th year of the IR Awards launched since 2015. The IR professionals is facing with a high inflation, high interest rate and volatile geopolitical environment, which is a challenging year for financial markets around the world. During such times is when effective communication between companies and its stakeholders becomes increasingly important. Rising concerns over ESG, health and wellness issues have also been changing the ways in which investors value listed companies. We look forward to recognizing IR professionals that have been dedicating immense efforts in adapting to these changes and excelling in such challenging environment at this year's IR Awards."

Last year, 126 award entries were received from listed companies, over 740 eligible voters and over 290 voting institutions participated in the voting. 41 winners from various categories were recognized at the Awards. Among the winners, China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited (stock code: 00291) and Xtep International Holdings Limited (stock code: 01368) were awarded Overall Best IR Company by company size - Large Cap and Mid Cap - respectively. The Judging Panel concurred to withhold the Overall Best IR Company Award for Small Cap last year, and looked forward to ongoing efforts in the adoption of IR best practices by Small Cap listed companies in Hong Kong.

The HKIRA 10th IR Awards 2024 is once again honoured to have Professor Louis Cheng, Dr. S H Ho Professor of Banking and Finance and the Director of Research Centre for ESG at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, as the Chairman of the Judging Panel. Being an advocate and a researcher of best practice of IR, Professor Cheng has in recent years been promoting the idea of integrating ESG into investors' decisions. ESG-related awards have been added to the HKIRA IR Award categories since 2020. In addition, Professor Cheng has been working with HKIRA to continuously fine-tune the award criteria and categories to better recognise the latest development of IR activities and strategies in Hong Kong and Asia.

Public nomination for the HKIRA 10th IR Awards 2024 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 will be shortlisted and then undergo a final assessment by the judging panel. Finally, the Most Progress in IR, IR Committed Company, Overall Best IR Company and Grand ESG Awards will be selected by the judging panel. Facilitating a fair and balanced evaluation, the judging panel comprises academics, representatives from professional associations and the investment community.

The HKIRA 10th IR Awards 2024 scheme has a total of 16 award categories honouring best IR practices of individuals and companies. Among these awards, 12 categories are open for nomination and voting, while the other 4 awards are selected by the judging panel. The award winners are to be announced at a ceremony to be held in Hong Kong in June/July 2024. 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 HKIRA IR Awards this year. Please find key dates relating to the Awards with its categories and criteria for selection listed in the Appendix.

About HKIRA

Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a non-profit professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate officers responsible for communication between corporate management and the investment community. HKIRA advocates the setting of international standards in IR education, advances the best IR practices and meets the professional development needs of those interested in pursuing the investor relations profession.

HKIRA is dedicated to advancing the practice of IR as well as the professional competency and status of its members. To date, HKIRA has over 1,300 members most of whom are working for companies primarily listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. About 68 of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock companies are currently members of HKIRA. HKIRA's members are from a wide spectrum of professions including IR, finance, accounting, 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 Awards

The HKIRA Investor Relations Awards (the "IR Awards") is an annual campaign that aims to encourage, recognize and reward the excellence in investor relations practices by individuals and companies listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Since the launch in 2015, each year the Awards seeks out and highlights the incredible achievements of individuals and companies with high standards in investor relations through their role modelling to the investment community.

The Awards ceremony, consisting of a conference in the morning and presentation in the afternoon, is a spectacular gathering of IR specialists and industry professionals that applauds and publicizes the year's achievements in investor relations. For details of the Awards and online nominations, please visit http://www.hkira.com/awards.

Media enquiries:

Strategic Public Relations Group

Cindy Lung  Tel: +852 2864 4867  Email: cindy.lung@sprg.com.hk

Holly Szeto  Tel: +852 2864 4859  Email: holly.szeto@sprg.com.hk

Michelle Shiu  Tel: +852 2864 4861  Email: michelle.shiu@sprg.com.hk

Website: www.sprg.asia

Hong Kong Investor Relations Association

Scarlet Cheng  Tel: +852 2117 1846  Email: irawards@hkira.com

Website: www.hkira.com

Appendix

Key Dates

Nomination period: 21 February to 26 March 2024

Online voting period: 8 April - 15 May 2024

Judging Panel Meeting: Second half of May 2024

Award Presentation: June /July 2024

Award Categories

* Companies which were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2022 and 2023 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 and IR Committed Company Awards.

Judging Panel (Arranged in alphabetical order of last name)

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