Press Release: British Business Awards 2009 Concludes with Six Winners Announced Beijing, November 4th 2009 The 2nd annual British Business Awards (www.britishbusinessawards.cn) concluded last night with an Awards Dinner to announce the six winners for 2009. The Patron of the Awards, the British Ambassador to China, Sir William Ehrman KCMG, along with Dr Sun Yongfu, Director General, European Department at the Ministry of Commerce, presided over a gathering of over 300 guests including the 30 Awards finalists in a gala dinner at the Chaoyang Westin Hotel in Beijing. This year’s Awards featured six categories, with five candidates competing for each: * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Alumnus of the Year Award, sponsored by the British Council, is Professor Li Shirong. o Professor Li Shirong has a Ph.D in construction economics and management from the University of Reading, and now is the Deputy Director General of the Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission. o Professor Li also has the distinction of being the first woman in 175 years to be elected President of the Chartered Institute of Building (www.ciob.org.uk) also serving as the organisation’s first President hailing from outside the UK and Ireland. * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Innovative Product/Service of the Year Award, sponsored by the British Chamber of Commerce in China, is BBC World Service for BBC Learning English China. o The Award was given in recognition of the service’s impact on enhancing cross-cultural understanding between the UK and China through the partnerships forged with innovative Chinese companies - including 22 Chinese websites - to help reach an audience of millions who are using the service every day to improve their English skills. www.bbcukchina.com * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Green Award, sponsored by BP, is HSBC. o The Award was given in recognition of HSBC’s commitment to making sustainability a key requirement in their lending rules in China, serving as an excellent case study for regulators in the banking industry and an example to other banks in the country. o The Award judges also commended HSBC for the degree of staff involvement in their in-house green agenda. www.hsbc.com.cn * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Most Promising Business of the Year Award, sponsored by the China-Britain Business Council, is Ecotek. o The company had already won a prestigious award on British television’s Dragon Den programme for its simple yet effective product that cuts 100% of the so-called “standby power” on all the electronics devices we use every day. www.theadvancegroup.co.uk * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Right Partner Award, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is Queen Mary University, for its partnership with the Beijing University of Posts & Telecommunications (BUPT). o Queen Mary, University of London, is offering a joint degree program with BUPT which already has an enrolment of 2,000 students. www.qmul.ac.uk * The winner of the British Business Awards 2009 Company of the Year, sponsored by UK Trade and Investment, is Benoy. o Benoy is an international firm of Architects, Masterplanners, Interior and Graphic Designers which today has over half of its 350 total employees based in China. Benoy has excelled through its demonstrated ability both to invest in its staff and local community and also to win competitive projects in China in a range of influential projects such as high-rises, airports, sports stadiums and transport that have propelled the company’s export contracts in other regions across the world www.benoy.com HM Ambassador to China, Sir William Ehrman, commented: "Building on last year's successful launch, I am delighted that this year's Awards have seen an increase in the number of applications and perhaps even more importantly a wider spectrum of industries and activities entering the competition.” Chairman of the British Business Awards 2009, Duncan Clark, commented: "While only six secured a trophy last night, I would like to congratulate all of the excellent finalists and thank all those who have entered the Awards. Entering the British Business Awards provides participants an opportunity to reflect on their achievements to date, and map out their plans for the future. I hope all that entered the Awards have benefited from the experience. It has been a great privilege for me to be involved as Chairman this year, and to see the Awards become a truly national event which is now firmly inscribed in the calendar of British businesses and UK-educated Chinese alumni in China”. At the conclusion of the Awards dinner the British Chamber of Commerce in Beijing handed over stewardship of the British Business Awards to the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which will host the next Awards in September 2010 during Shanghai World Expo. HM Consul General to Shanghai, Carma Elliot, commented: "The Consulate General in Shanghai is delighted to see that the British Business Awards will be held next year in Shanghai, amidst the enthusiam and excitement generated by Shanghai World Expo”. Joanna Fielding, Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, commented: "The British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai appreciated greatly the opportunity to support and attend the Awards ceremony last night in Beijing, and we are looking forward eagerly to hosting the British Business Awards in September 2010 as part of the UK day at Shanghai World Expo.” About the British Business Awards The British Business Awards are organised by the British Chamber of Commerce in China with the support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), British Council, China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Her Majesty's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Sir William Ehrman, is Patron of the Awards. Now in its second successful year, the British Business Awards recognise and reward individuals and organisations who champion British business in China as well as Chinese alumni of UK universities who are contributing to furthering Sino-British business relations. More details at www.britishbusinessawards.cn | 
