Hard work well rewarded
SOBA looks forward to supporting more SMEs to excel and be resilient in the face of challenges.
IF there is one thing that the winners of The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2016 have shown, it is that persistence and hard work do pay off.
The two big winners at SOBA 2016, Maxvue Vision Sdn Bhd and Mega Fortris (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, have indeed demonstrated such qualities.
Star Media Group Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai congratulated the winners at the award ceremony on January 17 and reiterated SOBA’s support for outstanding achievements by small businesses.
“The establishment of SOBA in 2010 was to promote business excellence and stimulate positive competition whilst showcasing the achievements attained by outstanding businesses.
“The strategy continued to focus on the development of high performing and resilient SMEs by capacity building, to recognise the role and contributions of outstanding businesses towards the nation and the economy, to encourage local enterprises to continue developing and elevating their businesses and to celebrate and highlight the achievements of local enterprises that have contributed to the growth of the country,” said Wong.
“In striving towards long-term competitiveness, an aptitude for hard work, prudent business practices, agility to adapt to changing conditions, perseverance and entrepreneurial skills and the ability for reinvention are qualities that will enable SMEs to ride through the near-term challenges and allow them to grow and enhance their contribution to our economy,” he added.
Wong hoped SOBA will continue to encourage homegrown business owners to soar beyond the usual boundaries, and inspire and encourage local businesses to use their inherent flexibility and agility to create new products and reorient their businesses for the global arena.
Maxvue, which deals with branded cosmetic contact lenses, took home the Malaysian Business of the Year award for the up to RM25mil revenue category while Mega Fortris, a security seals manufacturer, won that coveted title in the above RM25mil category.
“We are here today because of 12 years of hard work and right now, it feels like all our hard work has paid off,” says Maxvue chief executive officer Selvam Kanniah of the company’s win. Maxvue also took home the Platinum award for Best Brand and Best Global Market as well as Gold award for Best in Marketing.
Mega Fortris group chief executive officer Adrian Ng, likewise, notes his team’s efforts in building the company over the last 20 years. Mega Fortris also won the Gold award in the Best Innovation and Best Global Market categories as well as Silver in Best Brand, while Ng won the Male Entrepreneur of the Year in the above RM25mil category.
Other Outstanding Achievement winners in the up to RM25mil category were Acestar Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Natalie Sit (Female Entrepreneur of the Year) and Sunship (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Low Pooi Choon (Male Entrepreneur of the Year).
In the above RM25mil revenue category, MK Wedding Sdn Bhd founder and group manageing director Datuk Calvin Khiu won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
ExcelVite Sdn Bhd took home the Rising Star award.
SOBA, which honours up-and-coming local, non-listed companies and SMEs, is open to all local enterprises that are not part of a multinational or listed group, and incorporated in Malaysia with foreign equity not exceeding 50%.
For SOBA 2016, the awards were sub-divided into two broad categories — one for enterprises with a turnover of more than RM25mil and the other for those that have generated less than RM25mil per annum — to recognise the achievements of upcoming small businesses as well as more established SMEs.
SOBA has seven “Top-Of-TheClass” awards, namely, Best in Marketing, Best Brand, Best in CSR, Best Green Initiative, Best Employer, Best Innovation and Best Global Market, as well as three “Outstanding Achievement” awards, which are Rising Star, Entrepreneur of the Year (Male/ Female/Young) and Malaysian Business of the Year.
SOBA 2016 is organised by Star Media Group with AmBank as its main sponsor. The awards is co-sponsored by BMW Malaysia, Credit Guarantee Corp and Matrade with Connexion Conference and Event Centre as the official venue sponsor.
It is endorsed by the Secretariat for the Advancement of Malaysian Entrepreneurs, supported by Bursa Malaysia and audited by BDO with 988 and Suria FM as the official radio stations.
For more information on SOBA 2016, call The Star Events Business Unit at 03-7967 1388 ext 1432 (Jasmine)/ 1657 (Victor) or visit www.soba.com.my.