Samantha Chiew, assistant editor at The Edge Singapore, has been named “Journalist of the Year — Investment” in the English category at the State Street Institutional Press Awards Asia Pacific 2023.
The award, now in its eighth edition, recognises outstanding news reporting on regional institutional finance. State Street Corp is one of the largest financial services firms in the world with some US$3.5 trillion ($4.7 trillion) in assets under management as of end-2022.
Chiew’s winning article from May — “Living out of the box” — is a deep dive into the co-living industry at large, focusing on the booming sector in Singapore.
“Thank you, State Street, for recognising my work and efforts. It is an honour to receive this award. I want to thank my editors and my team for their unwavering support,” says Chiew.
Meanwhile, assistant editors Jovi Ho and Khairani Afifi Noordin were “highly commended” in the ESG (environmental, social and governance) and Alternatives categories.
Ho’s cover story from June — “Can sustainable aviation fuel take flight before the net-zero runway ends?” — examined the costs and benefits of adopting green jet fuel in Singapore and beyond.
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Meanwhile, Khairani’s cover story from July — “Positive outlook for late-stage deals in Southeast Asia in 2024 and beyond” — explored the challenges in building Southeast Asian unicorns.
“Thank you to our editors Chan Chao Peh and Goola Warden, as well as our CEO Bernard Tong, for leading the team behind our print weekly. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our colleagues,” say Ho and Khairani. The two shared a win at the SGX Orb Awards in September for their joint cover story on the launch of digital banks GXS and Trust Bank in 2022.
Tong, publisher and CEO of The Edge Singapore and EdgeProp Singapore, says: “We are proud to have been recognised by State Street, a significant milestone as it represents our first win in this particular award. Our unwavering focus on critical global issues with local impact and practical implications underscores our commitment to a distinct brand of journalism. Congratulations to all the winners.”
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According to State Street, the winning articles were chosen based on their style, content, accuracy and timeliness and were judged by an independent panel of seven industry professionals led by William Mellor, former senior writer and Asia correspondent for Bloomberg News.
“The sheer volume of entries and their outstanding quality testify to the enduring enthusiasm for these press awards and the recognition they represent for journalists in the region,” says Mellor. “For the judges, picking winners from such a talented field was challenging and stimulating.”
The winners were announced at a luncheon in Central, Hong Kong, on Nov 28. This year’s awards featured seven English and four Chinese language categories, as well as Best Newcomer and Best Editorial Comment. Each category recognised one winner and two “highly commended” runners-up.
All but two of the top award winners are based in Hong Kong. Aside from Chiew, Malaysia-based Goh Thean Eu, senior writer at Asia Asset Management, was named Journalist of the Year in the Pensions category. Lim Hui Jie, former senior writer at The Edge Singapore, was also highly commended in the Investment (English) category, which Chiew won.
The marquee award for Outstanding Contribution to Institutional Journalism was presented to Tim Burroughs, editor of the Hong Kong-based Asian Venture Capital Journal.
“Congratulations to the award winners and the highly commended journalists for their quality and professional work over this year,” says Mostapha Tahiri, State Street’s CEO of Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa. “We are pleased to host this special event again, which we launched in 2012 to recognise the journalists’ contribution to illuminating the latest developments in the financial world for both the investment community and public readers.”
