SOBA 2012

Foreword

It has been three years since The Star embarked on this wonderful journey to create a business award that targets non-listed companies and SMEs.

The Star, since its inception, has always been at the forefront in supporting the development of Malaysian companies, particularly through our print business sections, StarBiz and Star BizWeek. With SOBA and now, the newly introduced MetroBiz section, our efforts have quadrupled and we can proudly say that we are able to recognise companies in a bigger way for their outstanding achievement.

The success of SOBA 2010 and SOBA 2011 has been evident, and with the growing response, Malaysian companies are continuing to strive for excellence and to meet global standards and expectations. This also assures me that SOBA has made a significant impact on the local business community.

Organising a business awards of this scale has been a fulfilling, yet humbling experience for The Star as it gives us a glimpse of how much companies are willing to invest to make their businesses stand out within a red ocean environment. It gives us a good indication of the direction in which we should steer our awards to make it more prestigious, distinguished and credible.

In our efforts to achieve this, we have refreshed the awards to call it now ‘The Star Business Awards 2012, also known as SOBA’ with the tagline ‘Honouring The Best In Malaysian Business’. Some of the category names have also been revised to portray the feel of current times and trends, and ultimately epitomise the achievement by companies in the respective categories.

Our judging process will be, as always, rigorous and stringent to ensure that the quality of SOBA is maintained. We expect to award three winners (platinum, gold and silver) per category for the Top-Of-The-Class Awards comprising Best Use of ICT, Best Marketing Strategy, Best Brand, Best in CSR, Best Green Initiative, Best Employer, Best Innovation and Best Global Market. And then there are the three Outstanding Achievement Awards consisting of Rising Star, Entrepreneur of the Year and Malaysian Business of the Year with one regal winner each.

We encourage all new, up-and-coming and also established companies to participate in SOBA to benchmark themselves against the rest and to be recognised. It is a wonderful learning opportunity, and very rewarding too, if these companies emerge winners. SOBA will inspire them to soar like eagles and conquer new frontiers. SOBA winners can rest assured that they have reached the peak of success.

This is an excellent platform for all of you to gauge your strengths and abilities, and put them to the test. I wish you the best of luck and hope that one day, all of you will have the chance to become distinguished and much sought-after Malaysian companies and entrepreneurs.

About SOBA

The Star Business Awards (SOBA) are The Star’s awards recognising up-and-coming enterprises and their contributions to the Malaysian economy. In line with the Government’s commitment to develop homegrown enterprises, The Star Business Awards (SOBA) seek to inspire and encourage local businesses to promote Malaysia and showcase its products and services to the world.

To encourage businesses to soar beyond the usual boundaries, awards will be presented to local enterprises for excelling in areas that span across sectors.This means not only looking at businesses that do well with their bottom lines, but that are at the forefront in anticipating the future needs not only of the company, but also of the economic sector in which they operate. An enterprise that knows how to adjust its operational procedures to meet environmental concerns, and in the process grow its profits, will stand out.

Particular attention will be given to local businesses that export their products or services, as they help to promote Malaysia as a global centre of commercial excellence. It is envisaged that the The Star Business Awards (SOBA) winners are looking towards listing on the Malaysian stock exchange in the not too distant future.

Objective

The Star Business Awards (SOBA) are established to promote excellence and stimulate positive competition, showcasing the achievements attained by outstanding businesses with the following key objectives:

• To recognise the role and contributions of outstanding businesses towards the nation and the economy;
• To encourage local enterprises to continue developing and elevating their businesses;
• To motivate and inspire home-grown businesses to aim for excellence in their products and services;
• To celebrate and highlight the achievements of local enterprises that have contributed to the growth of the community; and
• To inspire and encourage local businesses to promote Malaysia and showcase its products and services to the world.