Speaking at the awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on December 7, Professor Ying commented, “When we started out we saw financial companies doing very well and winning the major prizes. However, the other companies did not sit back on their laurels and allow the financial companies to continue to dominate. “Now we are seeing companies from all sectors of the economy competing aggressively for the different categories of awards. In a few moments you will see for yourselves as the presentation of awards unfolds.”
The JSE Best Practices Awards Competition is in its 12th year. Professor Ying said in his address that the intention is to recognise listed companies and brokerages who have demonstrated exceptional performance for 2015.
The largest prizes were given to JMMB Group Ltd in the form of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Chairman Award for the Overall Winner in the Member Dealers Category; Honey Bun (1982) Ltd for the JSE’s Junior Market Best Practices Award Overall Winner; and National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd for the JSE’s Main Market Best Practices Award Overall Winner.
The list of JSE awards has evolved from five to 33. Professor Ying stated, “In response to changes and expectations locally and internationally, we have added over the years the PSOJ/JSE Award for Corporate Governance and the Member Dealers Awards which we have broken down into four categories. Last year we renamed the overall winner in this area to the Chairman’s Award.
He explained that, “The fundamental aim of this renaming was to lift the profile of this award to reflect the growing importance of corporate governance in the sustainable development and success of businesses. We also saw the need to reward our Junior Market companies for their performance in all the different categories. The result of these changes is that tonight we will be giving out 33 awards to different companies.”
Professor Ying, noting that winners are not separated in most instances by many points from those that did not win a prize, said entrants should be “heartened by the fact that if you continue to improve, it will be just a matter of time before you will be in the winners’ enclosure”. He encouraged companies to “continue to innovate and improve your products and services, and above all customer satisfaction. This will not only allow you to win a Best Practices Award, but will ensure the longevity of your company as well as its ability to be internationally competitive in the global marketplace.”
He appealed to CEOs and company secretaries that have not yet entered for these awards to do so, noting, “You owe it to the company and to the shareholders to ensure that your company is represented in all the categories of the Best Practices Awards Competition.”
Article courtesy of Jamaica Observer – Business dated Sunday, December 11, 2016
