Enterprises of excellence honoured at ABA 2020

The awards ceremony aimed to elevate solidarity in the business community

This year’s ceremony was deemed a particularly special one as businesses have not only been attempting to maintain development but also have been making significant contributions to the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event (ABA 2020) was the official awards ceremony of ASEAN, and has been organised annually by the bloc’s Business Advisory Council (BAC) since 2007. The ABA brings meaningful recognition for ASEAN business as they show solidarity and great ability to weather the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, while also contributing to the governments of ASEAN countries to gradually overcome the situation.

Vietnam hosted the ceremony for the second time, with the first taking place in 2010. BRG Group chair Nguyen Thi Nga, who is a member of ASEAN BAC Vietnam had the honour of chairing the awards on both occasions. With her understanding of the ASEAN business community, Nga personifies great values and has spread the strength of the business community in the face of the influence of COVID-19.

“In 2020, ASEAN businesses and entrepreneurs have been the frontline fighters. The business community has helped the regional economy reduce damage during the pandemic, while ensuring jobs for employees and business growth,” Nga said at the event. “At the same time, they have made a great contribution to the prevention and control of epidemics in each country through many different valuable resources. And with this dedication, society needs to have special honours for businesses, and this is what ABA 2020 aimed to achieve.”

To emphasise the role of businesses that received ABA awards this year, Nga called them the pride of the ASEAN Economic Community. “They deserve the greatest honour from this year’s award. However, they also have a great responsibility as a representative of the community to continue demonstrating the bravery of business development and spread the outstanding value of the ASEAN Business Awards to all,” she added.

To find the 58 businesses that were deemed deserving enough for an award, ABA 2020 welcomed the participation of strategic partner Deloitte Vietnam, and collaborations with prestigious organisations such as the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). The Judging Council featured representatives from all 10 ASEAN member countries as well as other partners such as GIZ from Germany and ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Council. With this, an awards scoring system of fairness and transparency was secured.

Also speaking at the event, Ha Thu Thanh, chair of audit and tax giants Deloitte Vietnam said, “Deloitte has been accompanying ABA 2020 as a strategic partner, working closely with the Organising Committee including the VCCI and BRG Group, standing side-by-side with applicants, and strictly coordinating with the judges to reach the key objectives of constantly improving the quality and enhancing ABA’s reputation as a truly worthy awards event. Deloitte also ensured transparency and followed an objective assessment to select the most deserving enterprises and entrepreneurs within ASEAN countries.”

This year’s ABA ceremony was held in the form of a combination of live and online conferences, so that businesses unable to attend due to pandemic restrictions could still watch and interact. Vidjongtius Vidjongtius, executive chairman of Indonesian healthcare and nutrition firm Kalbe Farma TBK said via video link, “It’s an honour for us to accept this prestigious award. It is dedicated to our employees, our customers, and all stakeholders. This award will encourage us to strive better and improve our services for society.”

ABA 2020 is part of wider efforts to show that the ASEAN business community is demonstrating solidarity and growing an outstanding stature in development of the ASEAN community as a whole. With Vietnam taking on the role of chair of the bloc this year, the success of ABA 2020 has helped contribute to elevating the position of Vietnam while inspiring and sharing the important values of ASEAN as the economy hopefully enters a post-pandemic period.