KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 31): Frontken Corp Bhd won the coveted The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) 2022 Company of the Year award, while Tan Sri Datuk Seri Lee Oi Hian, chairman of Batu Kawan Bhd and CEO of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) was named this year’s Outstanding CEO & Value Creator.

Caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz graced the gala dinner and awards ceremony, which was held in full-force again this year at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. In 2020, the gala dinner had to be postponed for the first time since its inception in 2010, as the country battled the Covid-19 pandemic and returned last December with the necessary health-related protocols in place as the country transitioned to the endemic phase.

A total of 54 corporate awards were given to 46 companies.

The Edge Media Group chairman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong said in his welcome address that he hopes the BRC awards will bring out the best in every Malaysian company and its management.

According to him, the awards are given based on genuine merit, wherein reason for the awards methodology and evaluation criteria are transparent, verifiable and independently audited.

“It is also the reason our awards are multi-dimensional, for returns to shareholders, profitability and return on equity, as pulling together a composite number will lose transparency,” Tong added. 

“As we evolve, I hope the BRC awards will also begin to factor in ‘sustainability’, not just environmental but also business sustainability, and address the challenges of ‘captive capitalism’ from ‘rent-seeking and non-competitive’ behaviours.

“After all, society has every right to expect that companies extracting limited resources have an obligation to society beyond profits for its shareholders,” he said. 

Tengku Zafrul, in his keynote address, said Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast was raised by the World Bank to 6.4% for 2022, compared to 5.5% previously, giving him hope that Malaysian businesses can weather the storm that may lie ahead.

He also echoed Tong’s aspirations for the BRC awards to factor in “sustainability”, especially creating a more sustainable and resilient economy by embracing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. 

He said the government has started many reformist and ESG-related initiatives and urged corporates to work hand-in-hand with the government on institutionalising ESG, which in turn will help stabilise the Malaysian market. 

Frontken’s chairman and CEO Nicholas Ng Wai Pin said the company is proud and privileged to be named Company of the Year, when he had only expected an award in a category within the technology sector. He dedicated the win to the wonderful efforts of the company’s management team.

Meanwhile, Batu Kawan and KLK’s Lee also expressed joy and appreciation at being recognised as the Outstanding CEO & Value Creator. He said he received the award on behalf of all his colleagues, the directors of the company he represented, and his supportive wife. 

“I am humbled by this award because this is only possible through the help of many, including the Almighty God. We have to remain consistent, continue our journey that is based on values,” Lee said. 

According to him, he and the company have benefitted from the values laid down by his father, Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng, who founded KLK. 

There were 178 The Edge BRC members this year, down from 186 last year but higher than 170 in 2018, 168 in 2019 and 161 in 2020.

This year’s 178 BRC members command a market cap of RM1.58 trillion or 88% of the combined market cap of all Bursa Malaysia-listed companies as at March 31, 2022. Last year’s 186 BRC members’ combined market cap was RM1.59 trillion or 90% of the combined market cap of all Bursa Malaysia-listed companies as at March 31, 2021.

The combined net profit of this year’s 178 BRC members of RM95.8 billion rebounded from a multiple-year low of only RM46 billion from 186 BRC members last year, largely due to sizable losses booked by members that were hit more severely by the pandemic.

Even so, BRC members continue to be major taxpayers, paying an estimated RM36 billion in taxes for FY2021, significantly higher than RM23 billion for FY2020 and RM28 billion for FY2019.

In its 13th instalment this year, the awards ceremony honouring Corporate Malaysia’s best performing and top responsible organisations, aims to spur Malaysian companies to be even better at what they do — not just financially but also as a corporate citizen.

Bursa Malaysia-listed companies with at least RM1 billion market capitalisation as at March 31 each year are added to the annual The Edge-BRC membership list automatically and are evaluated on growth in profit, returns to shareholders and corporate responsibility (CR) commitments, among others. The billion-ringgit cut-off serves as an aspirational target for dynamic smaller companies. Results are audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

OCBC Bank Malaysia, a key partner since the award’s inauguration in 2010, is the main sponsor for the thirteenth year this year. Also returning as a sponsor for the eighth year is Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, the award’s official car. Cartier by Cortina Watch Malaysia, which supported the awards in 2020, is officially a supporting sponsor for a second year this year.

“I thank our distinguished partners, OCBC Bank Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, for their steadfast support of the BRC, and Cartier by Cortina Watch Malaysia for lending its weight to celebrate Corporate Malaysia’s continued excellence. Corporate Malaysia’s most anticipated corporate awards ceremony and gala dinner would not be the prestigious annual gathering that it has become without their fervent support,” said Datuk Ho Kay Tat, The Edge Media Group publisher and CEO.

Congratulating this year’s winners, Datuk Ong Eng Bin, CEO of OCBC Bank Malaysia noted that they’ve strived to perform on all fronts, with several coming out stronger through digital innovation and sheer resilience.

“What we are seeing this year are stronger companies who have weathered the storm, and innovated and persevered to deliver excellence to their stakeholders and the community. Their relentless quest to outdo themselves is testament to the lasting value and forward-looking postures that OCBC Bank holds as central to our own value system. This has also been demonstrated in these companies’ commitment to sustainability and the ESG agenda.

“OCBC Bank’s association with this event for the 13th consecutive year underlines our own sustained commitment to what The Edge Billion Ringgit Club represents — celebrating Malaysia’s crème de la crème of the corporate world. Coincidentally, today is also OCBC Bank’s 90th anniversary since our founding as an entity exactly nine decades ago on Oct 31, 1932. It stands as a reminder to us and everyone out there that at the heart of sustainability is being ever present – as partner and friend to the community — for the long haul. With 90 years of giving to communities, OCBC Bank looks forward to enabling individuals, SMEs and businesses to build a more sustainable future,” Ong said.

Last year, ViTrox Corp Bhd was Company of the Year. Other past winners are Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Nestlé (M) Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd, Genting Bhd, QL Resources Bhd and Supermax Corp Bhd.

The Value Creator: Malaysia’s Outstanding CEO award was not given out in 2011, 2015 and 2020. Past winners of the award are Public Bank group chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, former CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, AMMB Holdings Bhd chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim, AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, former S P Setia Bhd president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, former Malayan Banking Bhd president and CEO Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, former Axiata Group Bhd president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, Sunway Group chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, former Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Westports Holdings Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri G Gnanalingam, Dialog Group Bhd executive chairman and co-founder Tan Sri Ngau Boon Keat, QL Resources Bhd executive chairman Chia Song Kun and former Maybank group president and CEO Tan Sri Abdul Farid Alias.

Details of The Edge BRC members and award winners will be published in a special supplement in the upcoming Nov 7 issue of The Edge Malaysia weekly.