HONG KONG, Apr 7, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is pleased to announce that public nomination is now open for the HKIRA 7th IR Awards 2021 (the 'Awards'). In its seventh consecutive year, HKIRA looks forward to recognizing the efforts of more Hong Kong-listed companies to encourage excellence and best practices in investor relations.

Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of HKIRA, said, "2020 was a challenging year for many sectors, especially for IR teams when needing to communicate with the investment community during the COVID outbreak. Crisis communication is an important function for IR professionals. We would like to once again recognize the efforts of senior management and IROs for their continuous efforts in upholding the best corporate governance and transparency during these difficult times, and we certainly are looking forward to a better year ahead."

Dr Chan continued, "Asset managers and analysts expect companies to provide critical information about its financial and business status in an efficient manner during the COVID-19 outbreak. More importantly, forward-looking perspectives should be provided to stakeholders so that better valuations can be achieved. Voters of the award will put all these issues under their consideration when they choose their winners, making the IR Award more meaningful for the year of 2020."

Last year, the Awards enjoyed widespread support from the investment community with 168 entries from listed companies received. In addition, over 670 eligible voters and over 310 voting institutions cast a total of more than 9800 votes for 43 award winners in different categories. The volume of polling testifies to the wide recognition of the IR Awards and appreciation of their role among listed companies and within the investment community. Among the winners, Xiaomi Corporation (stock code: 1810), Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust (stock code: 778)and Sa Sa International Holdings Limited (stock code: 178)were awarded Overall Best IR Company by company size - Large Cap, Mid Cap, and Small Cap - respectively.

The HKIRA 7th IR Awards 2021 are once again honoured to have Professor Louis Cheng, Dr. S H Ho Professor of Banking and Finance, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, as the Chairman of the Judging Panel. In 2018, a research paper entitled "Relative Valuation Effects of Local and International Analysts' Voting: The Case of Investor Relations Awards" using the proprietary data from the online voting for the HKIRA IR Awards. Based on the final voting data consisting of 418 nominated firms with total valid votes of 18,172 during a three-year period, Professor Cheng has found a positive effect on the stock valuation of awarded firms when the announcements of IR awards are released. Trading volume has significantly increased for the awarded firms. Moreover, the level of transparency suggests that the nominated but not awarded firms show significant improvement in transparency when comparing pre- and post-event periods.

Public nomination for the HKIRA 7th IR Awards 2021 is now open to Hong Kong-listed companies. Nominated individuals and companies will be placed on the online voting list upon confirmation of their participation. The investment community, including buy-side and sell-side analysts, and fund managers, are eligible to vote. Nominees with the highest votes (weighted) in each award category become the award winners. They then undergo a final assessment by the judging panel for the Most Progress in IR, the Overall Best IR Company Awards and the Grand ESG Award. Facilitating a fair and balanced evaluation, the judging panel comprises academics, representatives from professional associations and the investment community.

The HKIRA 7th IR Awards 2021 scheme has a total of 15 award categories honouring best IR practices of individuals and companies. Among these awards, 12 categories are open for nomination and voting, while the other 3 awards are selected by the judging panel. The award winners are to be announced at a ceremony to be held in Hong Kong in August/September 2021. For more information, please visit www.hkira.com/awards.

Strategic Public Relations Group is once again proud to be the Official Public Relations Partner and the Diamond Sponsor for the HKIRA IR Awards this year. Please find key dates relating to the Awards with its categories and criteria for selection listed in the Appendix.

About HKIRAHong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a non-profit professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate officers responsible for communication between corporate management and the investment community. HKIRA advocates the setting of international standards in IR education, advances the best IR practices and meets the professional development needs of those interested in pursuing the investor relations profession.

HKIRA is dedicated to advancing the practice of IR as well as the professional competency and status of its members. To date, HKIRA has over 1000 members most of whom are working for companies primarily listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. About 60% of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock companies are currently members of HKIRA. HKIRA's members are from a wide spectrum of professions including IR, finance, accounting, company secretarial to corporate investment and hold positions at different corporate levels, including top executives responsible for IR and management of listed companies. For more information about HKIRA details, please visit our website http://www.hkira.com.

About the IR AwardsThe HKIRA Investor Relations Awards (the "IR Awards") is an annual campaign that aims to encourage, recognize and reward the excellence in investor relations practices by individuals and companies listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Since the launch in 2015, each year the Awards seeks out and highlights the incredible achievements of individuals and companies with high standards in investor relations through their role modelling to the investment community.

The Awards ceremony, consisting of a conference in the morning and presentation in the afternoon, is a spectacular gathering of IR specialists and industry professionals that applauds and publicizes the year's achievements in investor relations. For details of the Awards and online nominations, please visit http://www.hkira.com/awards.

Media enquiries:Strategic Public Relations GroupCindy Lung Tel:+852 2864 4867 Email: cindy.lung@sprg.com.hkRachel Ko Tel: +852 2114 2370 Email: rachel.ko@sprg.com.hkRachel Lau Tel: +852 2864 4824 Email: rachel.lau@sprg.com.hkWebsite: www.sprg.asia

Hong Kong Investor Relations AssociationBowie Chan Tel: +852 2117 1846 Email: irawards@hkira.comWebsite: www.hkira.com

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