Bao Viet Holdings, Hau Giang Pharmacy, FPT, HCM City Securities Corporation and Vinamilk are the top five winners of the Best Annual Report Awards and Best Corporate Governance Awards in the large cap (capitalisation) category in the Viet Nam Listed Company Awards (VLCA).

Five other listed companies in the large cap category in the Top 10 for Best Annual Report prize included the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Ca Mau Petroleum Fertiliser, Nova, Thanh Thanh Cong - Bien Hoa, and Sai Gon Securities Inc.

Organised jointly by the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE), the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) and Viet Nam Investment Review (VIR) magazine, and sponsored by Dragon Capital Group, the VLCA awards are an extension of the Viet Nam Annual Awards (ARA), an event that has accompanied the growth of Viet Nam’s stock market and listed companies for a decade.

Besides the annual reporting awards and sustainability reporting awards, this year’s contest also conducted an in-depth review of corporate governance standards at listed companies. The aim of the review was to encourage listed firms to adopt international standards of governance and promote sustainability.

A corporate governance set of standards developed by VLCA’s organising committee is based on the standards of the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with adjustments made to suit the local situation.

Judges took into account information published by companies between July 1 last year and April 30, such as their own website or policymakers’ websites.

An independent third-party judge was invited to evaluate the corporate governance section.

The preliminary results of the awards and corporate governance review were checked by global auditors Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, and PwC to ensure the highest level of transparency, impartiality and professionalism.

Another new aspect of the VLCA this year is that participating companies, wherever they are listed, were classified into three groups based on their market capitalisation (large cap, mid cap or small cap).

This classification creates opportunities for mid- and small-sized companies, encouraging them to take part in the awards.

There were awards in three categories: Annual Reports, Corporate Governance, and Sustainability Reporting.

In the Annual Reports category, 10 large-cap and medium-cap companies each and five small-cap companies were chosen for the awards. The Corporate Governance category had five each.

The Sustainability Reporting Awards were given with assistance from the International Finance Corporation and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Bao Viet Holdings won first prize and Vinamilk second prize. Three consolation prizes were given to Hau Giang Pharmacy (DHG), Pan and Traphaco based on completeness, reliability and presentation of reports for Sustainability Reporting Awards.

The awards ceremony was organised after four months of preparation.

Le Hai Tra, executive member of the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and head of the organising board, said: “Transparency and protection of investors’ legal rights are not only the targets of the legal system on securities and securities market, but also the effort under the name of the Viet Nam Listed Company Awards.”

The listed companies’ awareness of the importance of transparency has continued to improve since the first year of the awards, according to Tra.– VNS