Business awards to ‘soar’ with better times ahead

Representatives of SOBA 2022’s official trade promotion partner and main sponsors gathering at Menara Star, Petaling Jaya.— Photos: GLENN GUAN, FAIHAN GHANI and AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

It WAS like boarding a business class flight as attendees at The Star Outstanding Business Awards 2022 launch ascended the stairs to Cybertorium at Level 2, Menara Star in Petaling Jaya.

The guests consisted of representatives from official trade promotion partner Matrade as well as main sponsors Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC), PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd.

In its 13th consecutive year, the theme of SOBA 2022 is “SOAR”, which represents “Sustain, Optimise, Accelerate and Resilience”.

The SOBA theme this time reflects how businesses are expected to soar to greater heights as the country transitions to the endemic stage and industries return to their pre-Covid-19 output levels.

The event launch, which was conceptualised to resemble boarding an aeroplane, was attended by Star Media Group chief executive officer Alex Yeow and chief business officer Lydia Wang.

Wang announced that this year’s central, overarching theme would focus on sustaining the upward trajectory that many local enterprises were on.

“With every challenge that presents itself comes the opportunity to overcome them and discover new ways of doing things,” she said.

Wang also introduced new SOBA categories, including Best in E-retail to pay tribute to SMEs that have successfully embraced digitalisation, Best Halal Product or Service as well as Elite Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

“To help participants familiarise themselves with the submission process, we’re also introducing virtual SOBA clinics so that participants will be able to present their best submission possible,” Wang added.

Besides being an awards programme, SOBA aims to foster a community of high-calibre leaders who are willing to share their expertise through a number of exciting initiatives

One such initiative is the SOBA Biz Club, which presents an avenue for business leaders to connect more meaningfully, build stronger strategic partnerships, and create an ecosystem of shared prosperity.

Also coming soon are SOBA Labs, which will present high-level discussions and seminars on various business topics.

SOBA is open to locally incorporated enterprises that are not part of a multinational or listed company, with foreign equity not exceeding 50%.

Subsidiaries of listed companies are eligible to participate.

Deadline for entries is Nov 11.

There will be two tiers of awards based on company turnover – “Up to RM25mil turnover” and “RM25mil and above turnover”.

Shortlisted finalists will be invited to present their submission to the panel of judges.

SOBA 2022 is organised by Star Media Group with CGC, PKT Logistics Group and RHB as main sponsors and Matrade as official trade promotion partner.

Supported by Bursa Malaysia, it is audited by BDO, with 988 and Suria as official media partners.

To participate in SOBA 2022 or for more information, call SMG Events at 017-231 1789 or visit www.soba.com.my.