With some 80 per cent of businesses in China being family owned, it may not be surprising to hear that UK-headquartered wealth manager Coutts is bringing its “Prize for Family Business” to Asia.

The awards event, debuting in Hong Kong this year, aims to recognise the best managed family businesses in the nation-state. Hong Kong is the chosen destination for the inaugural Asia event because of the “concentration and success of family business here”, making it a “natural place to start,” according to Ignatius K. K. (Iggy) Chong, chairman of Coutts Institute, Asia.

The Coutts prize will be awarded to those who have displayed “outstanding achievement and exemplary practice” in the categories of: Family governance; trans-generational entrepreneurship; family wealth management; leadership succession; ownership succession;  and family philanthropy, Coutts said in a statement. 

Opportunities

When asked by this publication why high-status families should enter such an award, considering they are often highly discreet in their actions, Chong said that he hopes they will overcome their “initial shyness”, and see this recognition as an opportunity to gain new business and also instil more confidence in their existing client relationships.

Additionally, unlike the UK awards, the Asia initiative will not publically reveal names of nominees to maintain their anonymity.

As an example of opportunities that recognition from Coutts could bring to family businesses, Chong spoke of a previous winner of the UK award in the £5-25 million (around $7.45 – 37.23 million) turnover category. “Brian Rebbettes Mcim, chairman of BCMS Corporate Limited, said that a Chinese organisation saw from their website that they won the award and it helped to convince them that they are a good company to work with. As a result of this, BCMS opened an office in Beijing later in the same year,” the bank said.

Selection process

The bank intends to target entrants through press, trade associations, accountancy and law firms, consciously avoiding direct recruitment to steer clear of influencing the judging panel, which the firm is not part of. The independent evaluation committee in turn consists of eleven consultants, educators and advisors in the field of family business.

All nominees will be interviewed by the Center for Family Business and Advisory Services, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Tanoto Center for Asian Family Business and Entrepreneurship Studies, or the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, before the full independent evaluation committee meet and decide on one or more Coutts prizes. Coutts will host the evaluation committee meeting, but will not vote.

To qualify for nomination for the prize, businesses must:

·         manage their main business from Hong Kong;

·         be wholly or mainly carrying on trading activity;

·         have a turnover in excess of $50 million; and

·         have been profitable over the last three years

Winners

The winners, in addition to receiving a trophy, can choose to produce a unique case study of their family business, or have a philanthropic grant of HK$50,000 (approximately $6450) matched by Coutts, to support a local community organisation of their choice.

“In addition to recognising the finest family business in Hong Kong through the presentation of this award, we hope to highlight and share the triumphs and the challenges these family businesses face as best practice,” Chong concluded.

Nominations for the prize are now open until the end of April, and winners will be announced at end of June 2013. Data gathered throughout the process will be used anonymously in Coutts reports, seminars or research to identify best practices and trends in family businesses, the bank said.