For 35 years, the Singapore Business Awards (SBA) has been recognising companies and business leaders that have played significant roles in the development of the country. Jointly organised by The Business Times and DHL Express Singapore, this year’s SBA dinner was held at the Singapore Press Holdings Auditorium, with Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance, Mr. Heng Swee Keat presenting awards.

Entrepreneur Forrest Li was named the Businessman of the Year 2019 / 2020. Li is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Sea – which subsidiaries include game publisher Garena, e-commerce platform Shopee, and Airpay. Under Li’s guidance, the company grew from what started out as just Garena into an NYSE-listed global consumer internet company. 

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Shared Li in his acceptance speech, “There are many reasons why I am excited to see the tech ecosystem growing so well in Singapore. One reason is my deep belief that technology has an incredible potential to improve people’s lives. This is why our three businesses – Garena, Shopee and SeaMoney – are all built around empowering consumers and SMEs, by connecting them to the opportunities the digital world presents.”

He continues, “I remain confident in the huge potential of the digital economy. I hope that Sea’s continued growth will do Singapore proud, and more than that, put Singapore on the global map for technology innovation, and build a pathway for other local companies to follow.”

Other awardees include Seah Kian Peng, group CEO of NTUC Enterprise and NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd, who was named Outstanding Chief Executive Officer of the Year 2019 / 2020 for provifing “outstanding leadership and dedication towards the Enterprises’ social objectives”.

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Meanwhile, Jessica Tan Sin Yin, Group Co-CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China was named Outstanding Overseas Executive of the Year 2019 / 2020 for leading the company in its tech-focused endeavours in retail financial services.

Finally, this year’s Enterprise Award went to AEM Holdings , a semiconductor and electronics test solutions provider that has successfully positioned itself to capitalise on emerging, global trends. 

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