Award partner: Euroland IR
Award presented by Jenny Huang, managing director, Asia & Pacific, Euroland IR
Acceptance speech from Boswell Cheung, chief financial officer and company secretary, Far East Consortium International
Partner interview with Jenny Huang, managing director, Asia & Pacific, Euroland IR
How would you characterise the year 2020 from an IR perspective?
2020 has been a challenging year from an IR perspective due to the fraught business environment.
This was driven by a variety of factors, including the economic slowdown, US-Sino tension, and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have resulted in calls for additional efforts to retain investor confidence through transparency and disclosure.
The group has put continuous efforts into developing its IR programme in order to ensure that investors are aware of the group’s resiliency, due in large part to its core strategies and the opportunities it has seized, allowing it to remain competitive and profitable during these difficult times.
The health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19 have caused the company to shift its events from physical to virtual venues, which has presented new challenges as it deviates from traditional practices.
The group has been able to adapt to this new and challenging environment quite quickly given that the use of online and social media has always been a key proponent of the group’s IR strategy.
The group revamped its website in 2019 in order to provide adequate access to IR materials, and provided additional channels such as WeChat for investors to stay connected with the group.
What have been some of the unique challenges facing Hong Kong’s real estate sector? How much has the landscape changed because of Covid?
We see that the demand in the Hong Kong property market continues to be strong, supported in part by low interest rates.
As mortgage rates in Hong Kong have remained low, most owners have adequate capital which helps to maintain a stable property market.
All these factors will support ongoing development of the Hong Kong property market, which is why we remain optimistic about its long-term well-being.
How have you changed your IR programme in order to communicate better during this tricky year?
In order to address health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19, we have shifted our IR events from physical venues to virtual ones in order to maintain the IR programme and protect the safety of the company’s stakeholders.
Despite disruptions caused by COVID-19, we have managed to maintain an IR programme allowing investors to stay up to date with the company’s developments and to keep in touch with the company’s senior executives via virtual conferences, investor presentations, investor meetings, etc.
Has your IR website become a more important portal for the markets in 2020?
Yes. All corporate presentation materials and press releases can be found on our corporate website to allow investors to view the Group’s updates immediately. The group website was revamped in 2019, with the new site giving investors better access to the group’s IR materials.
What are some of the features that attract the best feedback from investors?
The newly revamped website has attracted extremely positive feedback from investors as it provides a good platform for them to access information related to the company. The new website has a more intuitive layout which improves the user experience, along with enriched content for investors to stay informed about the group’s business and performance.
Do you think it is important for IR to communicate using a variety of different media platforms? What is the strategy behind your approach to multimedia?
Making use of a variety of different media platforms is important in today’s investment community, especially during the COVID pandemic.
For instance, WeChat has redefined the culture of IMs (instant messaging) and has taken it to a whole new level. Today, you can text anyone across the globe as long as you have an internet connection, giving us an efficient way to answer questions from investors and media.
Along with WeChat, we also use the Weibo platform for various communications
Is social media an important platform for FEC's IR?
Yes. Social media is a powerful communications medium and allows immediate communication, with widespread influence over cities as well as remote areas, giving key communication mediums such as WeChat, a huge demand in Mainland China.
Far East Consortium’s digital annual report has always attracted a lot of praise from the investment community - what was the ethos behind its content and design this year?
We believe that in-depth reporting allows us to showcase our company’s core values, as well as establishing and strengthening our brand identity.
Last year, Far East Consortium won four IR Magazine awards. Why do you think the investment community appreciates the company’s communications, and what are you most proud of about it?
We are proud to have been recognised with the nominations at the IR Magazine Awards – Greater China 2020 and to be awarded the Best IR website. This is the recognition of our efforts in investor relations, disclosure and transparency by the global investment community. We wish to express our sincere thanks to the entire investment community for their recognition and continuous support.
Contributed by Euroland IR – a global online IR service provider
An efficient online IR strategy will help your company to reach your targeted investor audience with your equity story to create a fair valuation of your company. Transparency will build trust with your investors.
The IR website, mobile IR apps, online annual reports and webcasts are all important channels for best practice IR communication.
Best practice IR tools Your IR website should be equipped with professional tools to show the tailor-made information that matters to your investors, such as share monitor, investment calculator, interactive financial data analysis, interactive dividend return analysis, factsheet, shareholder data, analyst rating and consensus estimates, and so on. These tools should be cross-platform and simultaneously synced between your IR website, social media platform and mobile platform – and they have to be easily accessible.
Information disclosure
Using the regulatory announcements automatic update tool will increase accuracy, save time and provide features for social media sharing and keyword searches. The online annual report will make your company information easier to market and understand. Your corporate governance, ESG reports and performance should also be presented to your investors in an interactive and professional way.
Interactive communication tools
The IR website, mobile platform and multimedia should be places where your investors can have interactive communication through tools such as the subscription center, IR calendar, meeting request, share alert, SMS alert and webcasts, as well as an IR app with multi-language support and WeChat IR platform.
Euroland combines our market-leading technical expertise with our more than 30 years’ experience in IR and our global presence to strive to be a long-term trusted partner for listed companies worldwide.