TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media
OutReach – 8 October 2019 – Twelve
outstanding Taiwanese entrepreneurs and organisations were honored at the
recently concluded Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2019 or APEA, led by
Far Eastern Group’s Chairman and CEO, Douglas Tong Hsu and Hiwin Technologies
Corp.’s Global Chairman and CEO, Dr. Eric Y.T. Chuo at Shangri-La’s Far East
Plaza, Taipei.
An initiative by
Enterprise Asia, the leading non-governmental organization for entrepreneurship
in Asia, APEA is the largest regional recognition program, with over 3,000
nominations received each year, and less than one tenth of that receiving the
awards in all 14 markets. With the theme of ‘Promoting Inclusive Economic
Development Through Sustainable Entrepreneurship’, over 300 attendees were
present at the by-invitation only event, comprising of industry leaders and
dignitaries.
Leading the list of
winners was Mr. Douglas Tong Hsu, Far Eastern Group’s Chairman and CEO who
received the award under Special Achievement Award.
About Mr. Douglas Tong Hsu
Mr. Hsu began his
professional career at Citibank, NY, before returning to Taiwan and joining the
Far Eastern Group in 1971. In 1979, he
was appointed President of FETL (later renamed Far Eastern New Century), and
was later appointed to Chairman of the Group.
Mr. Hsu holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Notre Dame,
Indiana, and pursued post-graduate economics at Columbia University. Mr. Hsu
also holds an honorary doctorate of management from National Chiao Tung
University, Taiwan awarded in 2002.
In 2016, Mr. Hsu
was bestowed with the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by the
President for his contributions to Taiwan. He was also listed as one of the
Outstanding Corporate Sustainability Professionals in 2018 by Taiwan Corporate
Sustainability Awards. He was named in Taiwan’s Top 50 Best Performing CEOs by
Harvard Business Review in 2016 and 2018.
From the Group’s
founding motto of “Sincerity, Diligence, Thrift and Prudence,” Mr. Hsu added
one vital principle of “Innovation”. According to him, “Scientific and
technological innovation creates business opportunities, as well as global
competition. As world consumption patterns and competitors are changing, so we
must persist in innovation and development to sustain our existence.”
With a passion for
high-tech products, Mr. Hsu is watchful of new developments in the high-tech
industry. Far EasTone Telecommunications, for example, has in the current
high-tech climate now grown into the Group’s largest platform for innovation.
“We have not taken the easy road. We have persisted in a very comprehensive
system in operations, but without innovation and the ability to overcome
challenges, Far Eastern Group would not have reached its current scale,”
While each business
unit is administered individually, a rapidly changing and increasingly
digitized environment is demanding more connectivity between the group’s
constituent parts. “Each business needs to be aligned with the group’s overall
corporate governance requirements,” he says. “The companies we own can no
longer operate as stand-alone entities. The situation is going to get even more
complicated and challenging with the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and the Internet of Things (IoT).”
The business
climate is ever-changing. “We may not have all the answers to what the future
has in store, but one thing I am certain will not change is that the Group will
adhere to its core values” Mr. Hsu shares. The Group will adapt to new trends
and keep abreast of the latest challenges, thus creating new momentum for
growth and making the Group a paradigm of a premier global enterprise.
About Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards
Launched in 2007,
the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards is the region’s most prestigious
awards for outstanding entrepreneurship, continuous innovation and sustainable
leadership. The Award provides a platform for companies and governments to
recognize entrepreneurial excellence, hence spurring greater innovation, fair
business practices and growth in entrepreneurship. As a regional award, it
groups together leading entrepreneurs as a powerful voice for entrepreneurship
and serves as a by-invitation only networking powerhouse. The program has grown
to encompass 14 countries and markets all over Asia. For further information,
visit www.apea.asia.
