Editor’s note: This year IR magazine held separate awards events for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and South East Asia.
Taking the lead
It comes as no surprise that one of China’s largest companies came out on top at the IR Magazine China Awards. Sinopec, a major player in China’s oil and gas sector, stole the show this year by claiming both the grand prix (large cap) for best overall IR and the award for best annual report and other corporate literature. Despite being majority-owned by the government, the company is making an effort to communicate to its outside stakeholders, receiving high praise from analysts and portfolio managers who took part in the Investor Perception Study, Asia 2005/2006. This survey asks the investment community to choose the best in IR in the region.
Sinopec’s corporate literature was praised for clarity and detail, and survey respondents stress the company’s overall accessibility. ‘It actively participates in IR activities such as corporate days and marketing trips,’ says one survey respondent. ‘It is more accessible than other companies: although other firms may have the same system, you can never actually get hold of them,’ comments another.
So what did Sinopec do to achieve such success? ‘To be honest, our team followed the same practices without significant difference from previous years,’ says Huang Wensheng, Sinopec’s deputy director and general board secretariat. ‘You may also hear this from our shareholders in the field.’
Huang stresses the long-term outlook of what is now the largest listed company in China. ‘IR is not one team or one day’s effort: it should be a long-term effort from the whole company,’ he says. ‘My firm set up its own IR rules based on our own scenario as well as legislation we have to follow, and both the company and IR team have put lots of effort into following the rules. We’ve found that it paid off really well.’
Hands down
Asia’s leading communications group is known for its winning ways and this year was no exception. Easily the biggest winner at the IR Magazine South East Asia Awards, SingTel garnered five awards including the grand prix for best overall IR in the large-cap category and the award for best IRO, which was picked up by Gavin Hurle.
SingTel’s secret? ‘You know, I really struggled to come up with an answer to what we did differently in 2005,’ comments Hurle, director of IR at the Singapore-based telecommunications giant. ‘The fact is that our IR program has been pretty stable and consistent since 2002. I just think it takes time to change investor perceptions.’
SingTel also starred at last year’s awards but Hurle says there have been challenges along the way. Investors were skeptical when, in late 2001, SingTel transformed from a Singapore-centric business to a regional group, acquiring Australian communications provider Optus and making multi-billion-dollar investments in India and Indonesia,
Hurle observes. ‘So in 2002, we significantly enhanced our IR efforts,’ he says. ‘It took some time to educate investors on our newly expanded business, build global relationships and get our processes in line with best practices.’
Well, not that much time, actually. In 2003 SingTel won best IR by a Singaporean company, and many awards followed – as did challenges, like Australian funds’ reluctance to invest outside their home market. So this year Hurle’s team marketed actively in Australia, with special events to help investors understand the company’s Asian businesses better. Now SingTel’s Australian shareholder base matches its Singapore institutional holdings. ‘We have a complicated business, but we try to keep our story simple,’ Hurle concludes.
Shining star
There weren’t many prizes left at the IR Magazine Hong Kong and Taiwan Awards after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) swept through the event. TSMC claimed an impressive six trophies in all, including the grand prix large-cap category award, and awards for best IRO and best IR by a CEO or chairman. Sa Sa International
won the grand prix for small and mid-cap companies, and its IRO Guy Look took third place in the best IRO category.
It was a revelation to Dr Elizabeth Sun, director of IR at TSMC, who recalls feeling very far from this level two years ago. ‘[We made] no substantial changes this year but we consistently made progress and it just finally paid off,’ she says.
The world’s first dedicated semiconductor foundry, TSMC controls nearly half the world’s market share. ‘I have a very large address book,’ concedes Sun, with a laugh. ‘But I also have a very small team – there are just five people in it. We complement each other in our skill sets and share very similar values, so we work well together and that’s a blessing. As team leader, I get the glory, but all team members contribute a lot and I’m very grateful to them.’
With more than 1,000 institutional investors worldwide, TSMC’s investor relations team handles up to 400 on-site investor meetings annually, as well as conference calls, large quarterly meetings, roadshows, conference events and at least two global non-deal roadshows. Webcasts and reports are all done in-house as well, and in two languages. ‘I’m so busy, I can’t even have a pet,’ says Sun, in mock complaint. ‘But it’s a joy to do it for TSMC.’
It helps that TSMC is a governance model for Taiwan. ‘My goal is for the relationship we build – whether with investors or analysts – to be a long-term, trusting one,’ she concludes.
Standing out
PetroChina also dazzled this year. The company snapped up the award for best IRO in the large-cap category at the IR Magazine China Awards. Two days later it picked up the prize for best IR in the Hong Kong market by a PRC company at the IR Magazine Hong Kong and Taiwan Awards.
Mao Zefeng, who received the coveted best IRO prize as head of PetroChina’s IR, attributes the firm’s success to investor satisfaction and team effort. ‘[This] market
recognition is the result of the collective efforts of the entire investor relations team,’ he says.
But perception study respondents praise Mao specifically. ‘He will clarify anything that’s unclear, and will always reply to you if you leave a message for him,’ says one respondent. ‘He is also willing to help novice analysts.’
‘Timely responses, effective communications and a transparent approach are the three pillars of PetroChina’s investor relations practice,’ comments Mao. ‘Our investor relations work will never be satisfactory without the satisfaction of our shareholders. As the leading oil industry player in China, PetroChina will continue to uphold the principles of maintaining sound corporate governance practices and commitment to our investors.’
Speeding along
Astra International, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates, picked up the award for best IR by an Indonesian company in the Singapore market at the IR Magazine South East Asia Awards. The company, which is majority-owned by Jardine Cycle & Carriage, part of the Jardine Matheson conglomerate, is the largest independent automotive group in South East Asia, working with BMW, Honda and Toyota to name but a few. It also has further interests in agribusiness, heavy equipment, financial services, IT and infrastructure.
Even though Jardine Cycle & Carriage holds just over 50 percent of Astra’s stock, Astra International is still one of Indonesia’s more liquid companies. And while some companies listed in Jakarta tend to close themselves off after their IPOs, Astra, which joined the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) in 1990, has been eager to keep open its lines of communication with investors.
‘We try to do our best, because IR is important to our management – it is one of the principles of good corporate governance,’ points out Astra’s corporate secretary Aminuddin, who also heads up corporate communications.
Aminuddin has overall responsibility for investor relations, too, although he is ably assisted by the head of IR, Richard Santosa. During the past year both men have been pretty busy, taking Astra International on the road and meeting investors and analysts in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, London and the US.
Corruption, unfortunately, is endemic in Indonesia, which was ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. And that makes Astra’s targeting of foreign investors something of a challenge. Santosa believes the best way to fight these negative perceptions of Indonesia is through openness – and Astra was highly commended on this count by one analyst who says: ‘We can get access to management quite readily, and the company is open
to answering our questions and queries.’
