On July 13, Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) launched the fifth edition of its annual SGX Orb Awards, which recognises excellence in financial journalism. For this year’s special category, content producers are invited to share their stories on how collaboration, partnerships and an ecosystem mindset is driving success in Asian markets and shaping Singapore’s role as an international financial centre.
The special category this year — which differs year to year — is “collaborate to compete”. SGX Group’s managing director and head of marketing and communications Teo Ai June says that collaboration has always been the driving force at the group to build a “trusted ecosystem” alongside partners, clients and colleagues globally.
World financial markets are rapidly evolving as new and emerging technology brings both disruption and opportunity across multiple asset classes. Market participants are increasingly finding value in working together — often with the new entrants — to build scale, expand their global reach and raise their service offering.
“Mutual success matters in an increasingly complex world, and Singapore can play an important role to facilitate this as an international financial hub. We look forward to hearing from content producers as they share their stories on this theme,” she adds.
‘Collaborative advantage’
This theme also mirrors the one at the recent 51st St Gallen Symposium — namely “collaborative advantage”. The event, of which SGX is a partner, was held on May 4 and 5 in St Gallen, Switzerland. The Singapore bourse plays an important role in financing the symposium, as well as in advising the students and ensuring the initiative’s continuity.
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For the symposium organisers, collaborative advantage is the benefit achieved when individuals, organisations, or societies attain more than they would have independently, by working effectively with others. As sociologist Richard Sennett notes: “Cooperation oils the machinery of getting things done, and sharing with others can make up for what we may individually lack.”
Still, addressing shared challenges is increasingly difficult: With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting markets globally, several organisations and institutions were forced to put their differences aside and come together for the greater good of the industry and market.
But in the long run, cooperation is one way for individuals and institutions with conflicting interests, diverse values and distinct histories to work together while upholding one’s own convictions and commitments.
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It will be a daunting task, but teamwork can equally require to forego short-term self-interests to realise long-term but shared gains. While collaborations does entail a certain degree of trust and vulnerability, parties have to be aware that the partnership may come at the expense of efficiency, autonomy and control. It will ultimately come down to communication and finding common ground to make things work.
Category breakdown
The St Gallen Symposium has recognised the importance of collaborating — as has SGX — as it looks to find original and published work that fits into the theme of “collaborative advantage”. The work submitted under this special category should highlight how the businesses work together with competitors or other parties to build scale.
The other mainstay awards include Story of the Year, The Hidden Gem, The Visual Treat and GoTo.com. The Story of the Year category will award the article that best offers insights into investing in the securities or derivatives markets. The judges will take into consideration the new innovations, transformation and evolution within industries that not just disrupt the space, but create opportunities for retail and institutional investors.
Meanwhile, The Hidden Gem category honours the best feature or analysis of an under-covered stock listed on SGX — either Mainboard or Catalist — seeking for a fresh angle that investors or analysts may have missed.
The Visual Treat will celebrate all things creative and experiential. For example, it awards the most creative way to deliver a compelling story, thus offering viewers an experience to remember. Some examples of mediums of storytelling under this category include television, video, podcast or even illustrations that probe deep into the workings of a financial or commodity asset class.
Finally, the GoTo.com award aims to recognise the best digital platform that provides financial education content that empowers investors to make decisions with their money. SGX is now accepting nominations until Aug 22, after which a judging period will shortlist the submissions. The public voting period for these entries will start from Sept 20 to 27. SGX will announce the winners at a media appreciation night on Oct 4.
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Launched in 2018, the SGX Orb Awards welcomes published work from print and broadcast media, online news sites backed by publishing or editorial companies, bloggers or investment websites. This year’s judging panel is made up of Schroders head of Asia Pacific Susan Soh, operating partner and vice chairman (Asia) of Temasek International Robin Hu and Wong Su-Yen, chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Directors.
The Edge Singapore has participated in the awards since 2018, and the publication has also consistently produced at least one winner annually.
Last year, The Edge Singapore won three awards for its Story of the Year, The Hidden Gem and Special Category entries. The Edge Singapore’s participation in this year’s St Gallen Symposium was also sponsored by SGX.
Photo: Singapore Exchange
