Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited ( "Chow Tai Fook" or the "Company"; collectively with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 1929), the largest jeweller listed in Hong Kong and one of the world's top few by market capitalisation with 86 years' heritage, is pleased to announce that both Managing Director Kent Wong and Finance Director cum Company Secretary Hamilton Cheng garner coveted accolades at the award presentation ceremony of Directors Of The Year Awards 2015 on 8 December organised by The Hong Kong Institute of Directors (HKIoD) in recognition of their outstanding leadership and contribution in practicing and promoting good corporate governance in the company. They have exceled themselves by winning 2 out of the only 3 awards in the "Individual Director" category.
Highly rated by the judging panel of the Awards as a strategic leader and an outstanding practitioner of corporate governance responsible for building a corporate culture that empowers employees to follow internal procedures for proper checks and balances and timely disclosure, Managing Director Kent Wong attributed the honour to the Board and the staff of the Group.
Kent Wong said, "Chow Tai Fook, having 86 years' of heritage, is very young as a listed company. It is indeed a significant testimony to our dedication to corporate governance excellence with the full support of the Board of Directors. Behind every innovative step we take to conduct our business, we stand firm in upholding our core value of "Sincerity • Eternity" that echoes the importance of disclosure in corporate governance and the ultimate business sustainability for the long-term benefits to our shareholders and other stakeholders. I am most grateful to HKIoD for endorsing Chow Tai Fook's relentless efforts in corporate governance and encouraging us to move forward."
Hamilton Cheng, Finance Director cum Company Secretary is named an exemplary executive director with strategic thinking who plays a vital role in transforming a conventional family-owned company into a corporate with overseas presence run by systematic management engaging scientific analyses and performance indicators, and improving the Group's risk management and internal controls, according to the judges.
"We firmly believe that good governance is critical to achieving continuous business development while meeting obligations towards shareholders and other stakeholders. We take pride in being able to institute a sound governance framework and introduce good practices that embrace transparency, accountability and integrity. Our goal is to develop a path that addresses the uniqueness of such companies in the practice of good corporate governance in tandem with the pursuit of sustainable value-creation for shareholders and other stakeholders," Hamilton Cheng remarked.
The Directors Of The Year Awards, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, aims at recognising outstanding boards and directors, publicising the significance of good corporate governance and promoting good corporate governance and director professionalism. Effectiveness in strategic corporate business functions, contribution to board effectiveness, contribution towards managing change, risk and succession, leadership and other attributes and qualities, including continuing professional development for directors, and business ethics, etc. are among the judging criteria for the "Individual Director" category of the Awards.
Directors Of The Year Awards is organised by HKIoD, which is committed to be an authoritative advocate, influential promoter and dynamic facilitator of excellence in director practices, and coorganised by Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of HKSAR Government, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.