The Edge Singapore picked up two recognitions at the State Street Institutional Press Awards Asia Pacific 2025, with a win in the data and artificial intelligence (AI) category and a commendation for sustainable investing coverage.
Recognising reporting on institutional finance across the region, this latest edition of the awards drew about 250 submissions across categories, up from 200 entries the previous year.
Nurdianah Md Nur was named “Journalist of the Year – Data, Technology & Artificial Intelligence” for English-language news, marking a category win for The Edge Singapore.
Her October 2025 feature, "Why data will make or break the promise of AI agents in financial services," examined a question financial institutions rarely confront directly: whether their data foundations are fit for AI at scale. Drawing on examples from banks and regulators across Asia Pacific, the piece showed how fragmented systems, weak governance and poor interoperability are constraining AI deployment in compliance, risk and onboarding. It argued that data quality, not model sophistication, will determine which institutions pull ahead.
Separately, Samantha Chiew was highly commended in the "Journalist of the Year – Sustainable Investments and Stewardship" category, continuing a strong showing for The Edge Singapore in that space.
The recognition was for her November 2025 feature, “The trillion-dollar business of wealth,” which examined UBS’s post-Credit Suisse integration and its expansion past US$1 trillion in Asia Pacific wealth assets.
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The result marks a solid follow-up to last year's edition, where The Edge Singapore picked up two awards. Its cover story on the wave of delistings from the Singapore Exchange won the "Investor Services" category, while associate editor Jovi Ho was runner-up in "Sustainable Investments and Stewardship" for his piece on the evolution of impact investing in Singapore.
The awards were judged by an independent panel of seven industry professionals, including Raymond Li, professor of practice and head of department of journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University; Dr. King Au, executive director of the Financial Services Development Council; Lawrence Au, founder and chief executive of The LaunchPad.Biz; Allen Cheng, founder and chief adviser of Advise Insight; Jame DiBiasio, author and media entrepreneur; and Alison Tudor, former journalist and multimedia editor. William Mellor, a former senior writer and Asia correspondent for Bloomberg News, chaired the panel.
"This year's entries raised the bar once again and demonstrated outstanding ability. The diversity and calibre of the journalism submitted made our task as judges both deeply rewarding and considerably challenging. We reviewed work that tackled complex topics and provided clear, valuable insights. These awards emphasise the vital role that high-quality journalism plays in keeping the financial community well informed and engaged,” says Mellor.
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His remarks were echoed by Stefan Gmuer, State Street's head of Asia Pacific, who points to the broader role journalism continues to play in shaping market understanding. "We are thrilled to celebrate this year's honorees and highly commended journalists for their commitment and excellence in covering pivotal financial issues shaping today's markets. It is a privilege to acknowledge the essential work journalists do in advancing knowledge and sparking important dialogue throughout the global investment community and beyond."
The State Street Institutional Press Awards were introduced in Asia Pacific in 2012 as an extension of the long-running programme in London. Winners are assessed on style, accuracy, content and timeliness, with entries judged by an independent panel of editors, academics and industry practitioners.
Read the award-winning stories in full:
