"I am honoured to receive this prestigious award and would like to share this honour with my colleagues, who firmly uphold Shui On's corporate values. We believe that good corporate governance is essential to the company's long-term development and growth," Mr Lo said. "To ensure shareholders' interests are promoted and well guarded, SOCAM is run by a professional management team and has appointed to the Board independent non-executive directors who have a strong reputation and integrity in addition to their professional knowledge and expertise."

According to Mr Lo, his main role as the chairman is to create an environment wherein the executives and independent directors can actively and freely give their opinions and build consensus in decision making where practicable. SOCAM has established a sound board structure with five committees on audit, remuneration, strategy, finance and management.

Shui On's corporate values are clearly stated in its Corporate Mission Statement, which emphasises attractive returns to shareholders, quality products and services to customers, career development for employees, a merit-based management philosophy and a set of shared beliefs in integrity and excellence.

In the past two years, SOCAM has made great strides in its strategic transformation from a Hong Kong-focused company into a Mainland-oriented enterprise in order to maintain long-term, sustainable growth. The company has acquired at cost the development rights of Rui Hong Xin Cheng - a large-scale quality residential project in Shanghai previously developed by Mr Lo's privately held company - which enables SOCAM to quickly establish a substantial and significant foothold in the booming Shanghai property market. It is also building a sizeable cement manufacturing business in Chongqing and Guizhou to meet growing local demand for high-grade cement.

The Directors of the Year Awards, launched by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors in 2001, aim at recognizing outstanding directors, publicising the importance of good corporate governance and promoting professionalism among directors. The Directors of the Year Awards 2002 event is co-organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the HKSAR Government, the Securities and Futures Commission, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. Ten awardees representing six categories have been selected for this year's award.

The Shui On Group was founded in 1971 by Mr Vincent H.S. Lo. Through the years he has built Shui On from a small construction company into a diversified group engaged in property development, construction and construction materials with interests in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and North America.

Shui On Construction and Materials Limited (SOCAM), a member of the Shui On Group, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1997. The group also has a non-listed property arm with investments in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou and New York.