Peter Wong Tung-shun, the non-executive Asia-Pacific chairman of Hong Kong’s largest bank, HSBC, was recognised by the city’s longest-running business awards for a banking career that spanned four decades.

Wong, who turned 72 last month, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards, the highest honour in an annual celebration of exceptional corporate achievements.

The awards, jointly organised by DHL and the Post since 1990, is unique in getting previous winners to adjudicate on the eligibility of the current year’s contenders. The Lifetime Achievement Award is a discretionary honour that is only bestowed when worthy candidates are available.

“The Hong Kong Business Awards not only measure commercial success, but also the commitment to make the world a better place to live in,” said Ng Chee Choong, the senior vice-president and managing director of DHL Express Hong Kong & Macau, during a gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai.

“The winners have innovated and elevated their business against the headwinds, but more importantly they kept their social responsibility close to their hearts, in the same way we in DHL live our purpose of ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’.”

The awards, which have run uninterrupted for three decades, suspended its annual gala presentation dinners in 2019 and 2020 during Hong Kong’s anti-government protests and the city’s Covid-19 pandemic, but resumed in-person gatherings when controls were eased.

Acknowledging Hong Kong’s economic slump, the awards shifted the weight of their adjudication criteria towards corporate governance and social responsibility, taking pains to honour entrepreneurs and companies that gave back to society and took care of their employees.

“We recognise and celebrate the vital contributions of Hong Kong’s distinguished companies and business individuals, [because] the decisions that business leaders make today can make a far reaching impact in the long-term,” said Catherine So, the chief executive of South China Morning Post. “So we hope that these awards will inspire businesses to continue creating value for the local community as well as for themselves, because this will lend crucial momentum to the economic rebound.”

Douglas Woo, the chairman and managing director of Wheelock and Company Limited, was the Business Person of the Year. Mary Huen, chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, won the Executive award. She was represented at the awards by Teddy Wong, the bank’s chief strategy delivery officer for the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The Jebsen Group, the century-old conglomerate that brought Porsche and Blue Girl beer to Hong Kong, represented by its chairman Hans Michael Jebsen, received the Enterprise Award.

“I’ve witnessed 11 crises in my 40-year banking career. Today, all the crises of the past have come together to form the perfect storm,” said Wong, who represents Hong Kong as one of the city’s 124 delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

“Many young people are troubled by the current situation. My message to the business community of today is to please guide the young people to lead them [through this crisis] because they are the future.”

Pharmaron Beijing, which provides research and manufacturing, medical tools and clinical research for discovering, developing and producing small-molecule drugs, cell and gene therapy, received the International award.

The China Company award, a category created to honour mainland China-based companies listed in Hong Kong, was withheld this year due to the lack of eligible contenders, said Professor Richard Wong Yue-chim of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the chairman of the awards’ panel of judges.

Previous winners of the award included Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group last year, Tencent Holdings in 2019, and Xiaomi in 2018.

GoGoChart Technology Limited, which provides marketing solutions optimised for the smartphone, was the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) of the year. This category covers companies that employ fewer than 100 staff, with less than HK$100 million in either assets or turnover.

Yoov Internet Technology (HK) Limited, which provides digital corporate management systems (CMS) for everything from human resources to emails in the hospitality, property, restaurants and health industries, was the Start-up of the year.