The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) announced that eight Thai listed firms have recently won 11 from 30 investor relations (IR) awards for ASEAN countries in 2017 granted by IR Magazine, marking the top award-winning country in the region for the second year in a row. This reflects Thai listed companies’ capabilities in investor relations (IR) recognized by institutional investors level.

SET President Kesara Manchusree said that the IR Magazine has been granting awards to listed companies in honor of their IR excellence. The awards, held in Singapore, are based on IR Magazine’s opinion survey among ASEAN institutional investors from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The awards are also presented in other regions including Europe and the US.

“This year, eight Thai listed firms have been granted 11 of the 30 awards, the most number of award-winning listed companies in ASEAN region. This is considered a result of Thai listed companies’ high potential and professionalism in investor relations practices, and communication with investors in a quality manner that meets international standards. There were three listed companies receiving two awards, consisting of Berli Jucker pcl, PTT Global Chemical pcl and Thai Oil pcl. Best in sector awards were in the limelight as seven Thai listed companies won top in each sector from the total 11,” Kesara added.

Investor relations has played an important role in adding value and creating trust to the organizations in the aspects of communicating correct and transparent information, while listening to opinions of investors and related persons to help enhance relationship between the organizations and investors. SET has continuously supported and enhanced listed companies to strengthen their investor relations. Throughout 2017, SET has provided them with knowledge about IR future trend and direction and has also provided the IR Benchmarking to be a guideline for development, in addition to the three regular tasks: 1) IR training covering 1,400 participants over the past five years; 2) one-on-one advisory services joined by 88 firms since 2011; and 3) "Opportunity Day" activities, a forum for listed firms to meet with investors on a quarterly basis.

In 2017, eight Thai listed companies won 11 of the 30 investor relations awards. The list of the winners is as follows:

• Advance Info Services pcl (ADVANC) receiving Best in sector: Telecommunication Services
• Bangkok Dusit Medical Services pcl (BDMS) wining Best in Sector: Healthcare
• Berli Jucker pcl (BJC) receiving two awards: Best in Country: Thailand and Best in Sector: Industrials
• Minor International pcl (MINT) receiving Best in Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• PTT Exploration and Production pcl (PTTEP) receiving Best Use of Multimedia for IR
• PTT Global Chemical pcl (PTTGC) wining two awards: Most Progress in IR and Best in Sector: Materials
• Thai Oil pcl (TOP) wining two awards: Best Corporate Governance and Best in Sector: Energy
• Thai Union Group pcl (TU) receiving Best in Sector: Consumer Staples

Award criteria were based on opinion survey among institutional investors in various aspects, covering corporate governance practices, quality of financial reports, investors' meetings, and sustainable practices among others.

For more information, please visit www.irmagazine.com.