It was a night to remember. After months of planning and much anticipation, the BMCC Business Excellence Awards 2022 concluded with a spectacular Awards Gala Night. This year’s awards gala was more meaningful as the awards returned after a two-year hiatus to celebrate and recognise companies that have succeeded amid unprecedented times.

Over 430 guests attended from all strides with government officials, heads of companies, industry leaders and business professionals gracing the event dedicated to celebrating the success of UK – Malaysia businesses and partnerships

Pictured L-R: Andrew Diamond (CEO of AssetData.io), Jonathan Pan (VP & GM, Malaysia of GSK Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd), Andrew Sill (MD & Country Head of Commercial Banking of HSBC Malaysia), Jennifer Lopez (CEO of BMCC), Tan Sri Dato' Seri Jeffrey Cheah AO (Founder and Chairman of Sunway Group), Richard Graham (UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Malaysia), YB Dato' Sri Dr. Adham Bin Baba (Minister, Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation), Abrar A. Anwar (Chairman of BMCC, MD & CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia), Charles Hay (British High Commissioner to Malaysia), Dr Nagulendran A/L Kangayatkarasu (Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation), Dr Sanjeev (Country President of AstraZeneca Sdn Bhd), Sivasuriyamoorthy Sundara Raja (Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Investment Development Authority)

YB Dato’ Sri Dr Adham Baba, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MosTI), Malaysia and Richard Graham, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Malaysia graced the evening as the Guests of Honour. 

Amidst exciting performances and lucky draws, guests were served a fabulous three-course meal exquisitely prepared by the chefs from the soon to be opened Gordan Ramsay Bar & Grill, Sunway Resort in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the guests were also surprised by a special video message by the famous Chef Gordon Ramsey himself before the dinner was served.

Amidst exciting performances and lucky draws, guests were served a fabulous three-course meal exquisitely prepared by the chefs from the soon to be opened Gordan Ramsay Bar & Grill, Sunway Resort in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the guests were also surprised by a special video message by the famous Chef Gordon Ramsey himself before the dinner was served.

The pinnacle of the night came at the announcement of the winner of the UK-Malaysia Business of the Year, where the coveted title was claimed by Owen Mumford Malaysia. Incorporated in 2014 as the 1st manufacturing hub outside of the UK and as a regional HQ for the Asia Pacific, Owen Mumford Malaysia has seen consistent growth over the past few years, with the expansion of their investments over the last couple of years.

Owen Mumford Malaysia is the first medical device company certified with B Corp certification in recognition of corporate responsibility. Being a B Corp organisation carries much responsibility, not least the commitment to continual assessment of progress in the sustainable agenda and have anchored all the efforts to a single goal – a pledge to achieve net-zero by 2045.

AstraZeneca Malaysia, out-rivalled strong competition to claim the UK-Malaysia Partnership of the Year award. Astra Zeneca’s win is in recognition of their partnership with Sunway University to establish the Health Innovation Hub in 2021. The partnership has opened doors for more collaborations with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation as well as the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation to help Malaysia’s strategic thrust towards making healthcare more accessible and affordable through digital healthcare.

Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia won the Diversity and Inclusion Award, a highly competitive award category with a total of 11 nominations received. The judges deliberated hard and long over the submissions for this category and were glad to see more and more companies putting diversity, equity and inclusivity on their business agenda. Standard Chartered Bank Berhad’s overall submission demonstrating outstanding commitment to fostering the spirit of diversity and inclusion in the workplace through effective strategies and initiatives gave them a slight edge over the others.

Technology and Innovation Award went to Arup Jururunding Sdn Bhd, for their use of disruptive innovative technologies to increase efficiency and integration of Virtual Reality into their engagement with stakeholders creating the differentiating factor to secure this award.

Two new award categories made their first appearance this year – UK Malaysia Education Institutional Partnership and Outstanding ESG.

Lancaster University was named the winner of the inaugural UK-Malaysia Education Institutional Partnership. The award was introduced to recognise UK higher or further education institution that has partnered with Malaysian organisations to deliver significant impact in the last 5 years. Lancaster University bagged this award for their partnership with Sunway University in establishing the Future Cities Research Institute as well as for their multidimensional partnerships in creating jobs and encouraging knowledge transfer, which benefits both Malaysia and the UK over a longer-term.

The Outstanding ESG Award was won by Sime Darby Property. The award is aimed to recognise the achievements of a company that has demonstrated outstanding achievements in adopting ESG practices, and ultimately contributing significantly towards the environment and communities, as well as advocating for these initiatives within their industry, supply chains, and clients. Sime Darby Property stood out with their clear sustainability framework, commitments as well as more importantly, for being strong advocate and their active external participation in championing the sustainability agenda.

In his welcome remarks, Abrar A. Anwar, BMCC Chairman, and CEO and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Malaysia commented:

“Much has changed in the business world since the last awards, which makes this edition all the more significant and timely — for the British and Malaysian brands we are honouring tonight are truly dynamic winners in every sense of the word; companies that have made great stories across the industry and scale, despite challenging times.

“As we move into the recovery phase, these brands will certainly have a bigger role to play in promoting Malaysia as a priority destination for global investors, where even in the throes of the pandemic, opportunities never ceased for businesses that were quick to adapt and innovate,”

Pictured L-R: Sivasurimoorthy Sundra Raya (Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)), H.E. Charles Hay MVO (British High Commissioner to Malaysia), Datin Seri Sunita Rajakumar (Founder of Climate Governance Malaysia)

Congratulations to all the winners that were selected amid stiff competition. Not only did we see an increase in the number of nominations, but many of the submissions also demonstrated agility and innovation in their business strategy. The BMCC thanks our panel of independent judges comprising His Excellency Charles Hay, The British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Mr. Sivasuriyamoorthy Sundara Raja, Deputy CEO of MIDA and Datin Seri Sunita Rajakumar, Chairperson & Director, Climate Governance, Malaysia as well as the Judging Panel Advisory Board from the University of Nottingham Malaysia, who that momentous task of selecting the award winners.

To all our nominees, we commend your strengths and are proud to showcase your achievements as a reflection of the continuous strengthening of UK-Malaysia business relations. We also applaud all our nominees for stepping up to showcase their successes and we look forward to seeing your progresses next year.

Finally, the BMCC thanks all our Sponsors, Partners, Exhibitors, and guests for making it the memorable and spectacular night it was.

The BMCC Business Excellence Awards will return in 2023.

HSBC Bank Malaysia is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. We serve more than 47 million customers through four global businesses: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets. Our network covers 71 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, North America and Latin America. With around 6,000 offices worldwide, we aim to be where the growth is, connecting customers to opportunities, enabling businesses to thrive and economies to prosper, and ultimately helping people to fulfil their hopes and realise their ambitions.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose to improve the quality of human life through vaccines, speciality and general medicines that are founded on research and development. Backed by its 300-year legacy of helping transform the health, lives, and future of millions of people around the world, today, GSK operates in more than 150 countries including major research and development centres in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Belgium, and China. GSK Malaysia started its ­first operations in October 1958 and has been operating in Malaysia for over 63 years.

BP Business Service Centre Asia Sdn Bhd

“From International Oil Company to Integrated Energy Company, bp commits to net-zero by 2050, with a purpose to reimagine energy for people and the planet.”

bp’s presence in Malaysia spans a history of more than half a century. Our strong presence in Malaysia spreads across a diversified business framework which includes global business services, innovation and engineering, and bp Castrol operations. With a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees across the country, the diverse team supports operations of more than 60 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Australasia, Angola, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom. bp’s total investments in Malaysia including partner shares amount to over USD2.5 billion, making us one of the largest British investors in the country.

British Council Malaysia

The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We call this cultural relation. We build trust and understanding for the UK to create a safer and more prosperous world. In terms of our reach and impact, we are the world’s leading cultural relations organisation. Cultural relations are a component of international relations, which focuses on developing people-to-people links and complements government-to-people and government-to-government contact. We use English, Arts, Education and Society – the best of the UK’s great cultural assets – to bring people together and attract partners to work with the UK. The British Council has over 7,000 staff working in 191 offices in 110 countries and territories.

Eco World International Berhad

Eco World International Berhad (EcoWorld International) is a public company listed on Bursa Malaysia. Its core business involves property development outside Malaysia. It has 18 existing and upcoming projects in the United Kingdom and Australia with a total gross development value of GBP4.7 billion and AUD0.7 billion respectively. EcoWorld International’s entry into the UK began with the EcoWorld-Ballymore joint-venture that is currently developing three prime waterside residential projects in London. In 2018, EcoWorld London was launched giving EcoWorld an immediate presence in the highly resilient UK mid-mainstream market and the fast-growing Build-to-Rent sub-sector. The Company has two active projects in Australia, namely West Village in Sydney’s second central business district of Parramatta and Yarra One in Melbourne’s charming South Yarra neighbourhood.

Sime Darby Property

Sime Darby Property is Malaysia’s pioneering and multi-award-winning property developer with 50 years of success. The Company has built over 100,000 homes in 25 townships and developments. Beyond Property Development, Sime Darby Property has a presence across other real estate segments, such as Investment & Asset Management and Leisure, including the ownership of the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. Sime Darby Property is part of a consortium of Malaysian companies in the iconic Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in Central London, United Kingdom.

With roots from the City of London spanning hundreds of years, London Tea Exchange offers one of the widest selection of single estate premium tea’s from across the globe. Our unique tea collections are sourced directly from over forty different countries and includes some of the rarest teas in the world, many of which are exclusive to London Tea Exchange. Our aim is to create luxury tea rooms across the globe with unrivalled attention to detail with a traditional and vibrant environment where high quality premium teas can be found and where clients can receive the ultimate hospitality experience. The feel will be one of luxury, perfect for purchasing corporate gifts, yet also offer a variety for friends and family.