SINGAPORE: Mediacorp bagged two prizes at the SIAS 20th Investors’ Choice Awards on Thursday (Sep 26), both in the Financial Journalist Award category.
The category aims to encourage financial journalists to uplift their reporting standards and provide information that is beneficial to the investing community, according to the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) or SIAS.
Journalist Tang See Kit from CNA Digital News was presented with the Special Award in this category, which recognises those who deliver groundbreaking, insightful and easy-to-understand news with proper context and background.
SIAS lauded Ms Tang’s “wide and detailed coverage” of the Hyflux saga – which has seen the homegrown water treatment firm go from mighty to near rock bottom.
Hyflux has been under a court-supervised restructuring process since May 2018. It has been granted five moratorium extensions in the past year and continues to be on the hunt for a rescue investor to meet billions in liabilities.
READ: Our coverage of the Hyflux saga
“Through your columns, you have guided the retail investors well on the issues arising from the saga.
“You kept an eye on the progress of the event, kept up to date with the latest developments and provided investors with the fastest and most accurate timely news,” said SIAS founder, president and CEO David Gerald.
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat (left) and CNA digital journalist Tang See Kit pose for a photo at the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
“You interviewed experts and scholars to analyst the latest developments of the events and helped investors to understand how these events affected them,” Mr David Gerald added.
SIAS also highlighted Ms Tang’s “extraordinary” coverage of macro-economic, financial and market trends, venturing deep into non-traditional areas such as e-payments, Fintech and blockchain.
Ms Tang said business reporting required not only the delivery of “quick and accurate” news, but also making sure that the stories “break up complex financial jargon and numbers into information that can be easily understood”.
“In the case of Hyflux, the company’s development is closely watched by the tens of thousands of retail investors. It is important for us to not just report on the latest developments but also to break it down into what it means for these investors,” she said.
“I am grateful and honoured to be recognised, but the coverage of Hyflux at CNA is a team work. I thank my editors and colleagues for stepping in when they can, and I am thankful to all the retail investors and analysts who took up my interviews,” Ms Tang added.
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat (centre) poses for a photo with CNA’s Money Mind crew (from left to right) Janice Tan, Sathish Omnathan, Dawn Tan, Jonathan David Peeris, Frederick Lim and Chubby Jayaram Singh. (Photo: Rauf Khan)
Meanwhile, CNA current affairs programme Money Mind won an Investor Education Award within the same category, for its feature stories on corporate governance, financial planning and investor education.
“The selection committee commended Money Mind for consistently producing content that gave retail investors a clearer understanding of economic, business and investment trends,” said Mr Frederick Lim, a senior editor at Current Affairs.
The Investor Education Award is handed out to journalists and programmes that focus on education and the impact on the investing community while displaying sound knowledge of investment principles.
“Money Mind is one of Mediacorp’s longest-running programmes, having been on air since the 1990s, and we strive to be a personal finance guide and companion to investors that will enable them to make better informed decisions,” said Mr Lim.
“Investor education features is a key focus for us and especially gratifying because we know it has a direct impact in helping investors make better decisions.”
The SIAS awards ceremony was attended by about 1,000 guests comprising corporate leaders, senior management of the securities and finance industry, regulatory bodies, investors and academia.
Other winners on Thursday included Starhub in the Most Transparent Company Award category for Communications and Singapore Press Holdings for the Singapore Governance Corporate Award category for Diversity.
