Lord Wei attends Cathay Pacific China Business Awards 2014
The winners of Cathay Pacific China Business Awards 2014 are three British companies that have built strong and sustainable businesses in China and Hong Kong. The awards which were made in association with HSBC, were given to UK-based firms Haskoll, Sondrel and Arup.
The Continued Commitment prize, for companies that have demonstrated long-term and large-scale investment in China, was awarded to the architecture and design firm Haskoll. Haskoll China has worked on projects in more than 42 cities reflecting China’s recent unparalleled urban development in speed and scale.
The Rising Star Award, for businesses that have set up in the China region in the past five years, went to Sondrel, a Berkshire-based engineering company that advises the semiconductor industry. Almost 60pc of Sondrel’s staff are now based in China, including engineering and support staff. Its growth has been such that the company has had to hire more staff in the UK to support the China business. They have also by set up a partnership with the University of Nottingham’s campus in Ningbo, creating a centre of excellence for Chinese engineers.
The Social Responsibility Award was given to Arup, an engineering, design and planning firm, for its work with numerous charitable organisations in the region. These commitments are carried out alongside its main business, which has 800 employees in mainland China and 2,300 in Hong Kong.
The awards were presented in a ceremony at London’s Mandarin Oriental hotel in May, in front of an audience of senior British and Chinese figures including Mr Angus Barclay, general manager of Cathay Pacific in Europe, James Emmett, HSBC’s global head of trade and receivables finance, and Lord Wei of Shoreditch.
The judges were hugely impressed with the quality of entries and it is hoped the Awards scheme will inspire other businesses in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to follow in the winners’ footsteps.