Singapore's Most Admired Financial Institution
Great Eastern was conferred the "Most Admired Financial Institution" Award by the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS). This award was given at the SIAS 10th Anniversary & Investors' Choice Awards on 7 October 2009.
On 31 July 2009, Great Eastern made a goodwill offer to redeem 600 million GreatLink Choice (GLC) units from its policyholders at their original purchase price of $1.00 each, net of payouts. This offer addressed the growing concerns among policyholders over the potential collapse of these products as a result of the global financial crisis.
SIAS recognises that Great Eastern is a company that practises good corporate responsibility and really cares for its customers. Great Eastern has set a good example for Singapore’s financial community. The Award is a testimony of our 101-year legacy and commitment to always act in the best interest of all our stakeholders.
The Asian Banker’s Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2009 Great Eastern and OCBC Bank won the award for "Excellence in Bancassurance" at The Asian Banker's Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2009.
Over 120 banks and financial institutions from 22 countries across the Asia Pacific, Gulf and Central Asian regions were evaluated as part of the Excellence in Retail Financial Services programme. The prestigious awards programme is administered by The Asian Banker, a financial services research and publication company, and refereed by prominent global bankers, consultants and academics. It recognises the region's best retail bankers for their efforts in bringing superior products and services to their customers.
In the bancassurance business, OCBC Bank and Great Eastern have outperformed regional rivals not only in terms of growth in premiums and policies sold, but have achieved one of the highest revenue growth rates with over 50% in 2008 over the previous year.
By building upon our strong and exclusive partnership with OCBC Bank, we command the lion's share of Singapore's bancassurance business since 2001. In 2008, we remained the undisputed leader with 46% market share.
BrandLaureate Awards 2008/ 2009 Great Eastern has won the BrandLaureate Corporate Branding Award 2008/2009 for Best Brands in Life Insurance. This marks the second time we have clinched the BrandLaureate Award - we were conferred the Heritage Award 2007/2008 for Best Brands in Life Assurance. Organised by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation, the awards honour brands that have stood the test of time, maintained their distinction and quality, stayed relevant through innovation and are iconic brands in their own right.
Singapore
1000
Great Eastern Holdings Ltd came in 34th in the Singapore 1000 ranking for 2009 in terms of sales turnover, and 52nd in terms of net profit. In terms of market
capitalisation, we were ranked 12th.
The Singapore 1000 Awards are conferred to corporations that have attained the highest achievements in the quantitative management of their companies. It
ranks both publicly listed and private limited companies, and includes all subsidiary companies. Hence, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd and Overseas
Assurance Corporation Ltd have also been ranked as separate entities in the Singapore 1000.
Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd ranked 73rd and 90th in terms of sales turnover and net profit respectively, while Overseas Assurance Corporation Ltd
ranked 197th and 292nd in terms of sales turnover and net profit respectively.
The Singapore 1000 is ranked and published by DP Information Group, co-produced by Ernst & Young, as well as supported by IE Singapore, SPRING Singapore and
The Business Times. It is an essential guide to the annual audited financial performance (for the period ending between 1 June 2007 and 31 May 2008) of
Singapore’s most successful corporations.
Singapore
International 100 Ranking 2008 For the fourth year running, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd is one of the top-ranked companies in the Singapore International 100 Ranking. This ranking identifies and celebrates Singapore's top 100 companies ranked by highest overseas revenue. With $3.3 billion in overseas turnover, we are in the 13th position in the overall ranking and in 3rd position in the Southeast Asia market ranking.
This is the fourth annual ranking organised by IE Singapore with DP Information as the Ranking Organisation.
This prestigious recognition places Great Eastern among the top Singapore companies that have made internationalisation and international businesses an integral part of their corporate strategy.
Corporate
Transparency Index
In the first issue of the Business Times Corporate Transparency
Index (BT-CTI) for 2007 published in The Business Times
on 18 Apr 2007, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd scored a total
of 69 points, up two points from 67 in the last ranking. This
score puts us at 55th position out of 475 companies. This
latest round of scoring involved companies with financial
year-ends between 31 Jul and 31 Dec 2006.
The BT-CTI is conducted in collaboration with the Corporate
Governance & Financial Reporting Centre of the NUS Business
School and the ACCA Singapore.
The CTI rates Singapore-listed companies on the quality of
their financial disclosures and the way they are presented.
It reviews, analyses and scores year-end financial reports
filed with the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and associated documents,
such as press releases, corporate fact sheets and presentations,
against a scorecard which is split into two sections: “content”
and “context”. The main source of information
is that which is released via SGXNet and found on corporate
websites. The “content” section assesses the quality
and quantity of financial information provided, with a maximum
score of 60. The “context” section scores the
effectiveness of how the “content” is communicated
to the market, with a maximum score of 40. Great Eastern scored
43 for “content” and 26 for “context”.
Singapore
Brand Award 2006 Great Eastern is Singapore's 7th Most Valuable Brand
in the Singapore Brand Award 2006! Our brand value has increased
by 14%, up from $609 million in 2005 to $693 million in 2006.
This marks the fifth time we have clinched the Singapore Brand
Award since its inception in 2002.
Organised by IE Singapore, in partnership with Interbrand,
an international brand consultancy, this award recognises
successful Singapore-based companies with the highest brand
value.
Once again, this achievement is made possible only through
the combined effort and partnership between our staff, life
planners, valued customers, business associates and shareholders.
We will continue to build upon our Great Eastern brand and
work towards our vision of becoming the leading financial
service provider in Asia, recognised for our excellence.
Total
Shareholder Return
Great Eastern has a track record of generating sustainable
long-term returns for its shareholders.
2006
In a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) ranking of 584 companies
listed on the Singapore Exchange as at 31 Dec 2005 undertaken
by global consulting firm, LEK Consulting, published in The
Business Times on 15 May 2006, Great Eastern maintained a
good performance. We were ranked No. 18 with a five-year TSR
of 24.1% and No. 16 with a 10-year TSR of 9.8% among companies
with a market capitalisation exceeding $1 billion. TSR is
the annualised total return to shareholders from maintaining
their investment in a stock over a given period. Investors
receive returns in a number of ways, including share price
appreciation, dividends, simple capital transactions such
as share restructuring. The TSR is a single, composite measure
to assess these factors in combination.
2005
In a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) ranking of all 515 companies
listed on the Singapore Exchange as at 31 Dec 2004 undertaken
by global consulting group, LEK Consulting, published in The
Business Times on 29 April 2005, Great Eastern Holdings ranked
No.7 with a five-year TSR of 25.4 % and No. 9 with a 10-year
TSR of 10.3% among companies with a market capitalisation
exceeding S$1 billion.
LEK Consulting calculated the TSR, which
included share price gains, monthly re-invested dividends
and share adjustments over specific time frames. TSR is used
to give a clearer picture of a company’s returns by
using a single, composite measure that takes all these into
account. The results are then annualised to represent an average
compounded return over the respective periods.
2004 In the ranking conducted by global strategy consulting
group LEK Consulting, we ranked No. 5 with a five-year Total
Shareholder Return (TSR) of 20.4% and No. 8 with a ten-year
TSR of 9.5%, among 54 companies with a market capitalisation
above S$1 billion as at June 2004. The comparative returns
for the ST Index are a negative 3.2% return over five years
and a 0.1% return over ten years.
2003 The Business Times reported that out of 275 listed
companies on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Great Eastern ranked
No. 8 in terms of the total absolute value created for shareholders
in six years from January 1998 to December 2003. With the
share price increasing from $2.53 on 2 Jan 1998 to $10.80
on 17 Dec 2003, the Company has created a total value of $3,260.5
million, after adjusting for any additional rights or share
placements, and including total capital distributions and
dividends paid. We also ranked No. 2 in terms of compounded
annual return among top companies with a market capitalisation
above $2 billion.
2002 In 2002, Great Eastern ranked No. 1 in the three-year
category and No. 2 in the five-year category, with Total Shareholder
Returns (TSR) of 24.3% and 23.4% respectively in the Shareholder
Value Scorecard. This ranking was jointly produced by The
Business Times and global strategy consulting group LEK Consulting
for 400 large companies with a market capitalisation of more
than S$1 billion. Overall, the average TSR for the 400 stocks
in the Singapore market was a negative 6% over a three-year
period and 4.1% over five years.
Reader's
Digest SuperBrands Great Eastern has been voted by consumers as a Gold
SuperBrand (Insurance Category) in both Singapore and Malaysia,
in the Reader's Digest SuperBrands 2005 survey.
Now into its 7th year, the Reader's Digest Asia SuperBrand
Survey compiled 6,000 responses across six key markets in
Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and
Thailand for 42 categories of products ranging from the kitchen
to the office, from the gas station to the luxury hotel.
Gold Superbrand status is awarded to brands whose performance
rated significantly above others in their category. We achieved
the highest ratings from consumers based on quality, value,
trustworthiness, strong image and our understanding of consumer
needs.
Superbrand
Singapore
Great Eastern has been named a "Superbrand" once
again in the second edition of "Superbrands Singapore"
for 2004/2005. We have met all the criteria of being an established
Company that commands Market Dominance, Goodwill, Customer
Loyalty and Overall Market Acceptance - the hallmarks of a
great brand. Based on these criteria, we were also named the
"Leading Local Brand" among all 89 brands in the
running. Our "Superbrands Singapore" book comes
with a customised cover for Great Eastern. It is produced
by Superbrands, a company that has an established record of
selecting "Superbrands" in 40 countries over the
past decade.
Great
Eastern and OCBC rank top in Corporate Governance Disclosures! Great Eastern Holdings and its parent company OCBC
Bank are both in the top five positions (unranked) in a comparison
of corporate governance disclosures of all 45 companies on
the ST Index.
This study was jointly conducted in 2004 by Standard and Poor's
and the Corporate Governance & Financial Reporting Centre
at the National University of Singapore.
Using information in annual reports, companies are assessed
in respect of their disclosures regarding corporate governance
structures, processes and practices such as independence of
the board, disclosure of director's details, CEO-Chairman
separation, frequency of and attendance at board meetings,
major board committees, remuneration and audit matters and
communication with shareholders.
While companies in Singapore generally have done well compared
to other companies in Asia, the top five companies stand head
and shoulders above the rest.
Great
Eastern among Corporate Giants in Forbes 2000 List
In 2004, Great Eastern was one of 16 Singapore companies to
make it to the Forbes 2000 list, ranking 964 in the list.
The Forbes 2000 is the latest comprehensive ranking of the
world's 2000 largest corporate giants, based on a composite
of sales, profits, assets and market value. The list spans
51 countries and 27 industries.
Great
Eastern is once again a winner in the 2004 SIAS Investor’s
Choice Awards! Great Eastern received the merit award for the
second year in the Singapore Corporate Governance Award
(Mainboard Category) in a ceremony on 24 September 2004.
We are one of eight merit award winners among all the Mainboard
listed companies.
The first of its kind in Asia, this award is organised by
the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS).
Companies are first assessed on their corporate governance
practices as disclosed in their annual reports, based on
a checklist developed from the Singapore Code of Corporate
Governance. Following that, additional points are given
to companies that go beyond the Code and adopt best international
practices.
Sustained
Value Creator
Great Eastern Holdings has been identified by a leading international
business consultancy, Bain & Co, as one of five Singapore
firms that are sustained value creators” in 2002. These
five firms have all met tough criteria to join a select international
club of companies that are achieving “sustainable and
profitable growth”. First, their revenues grew at more
than 5 per cent annually from 1994 to 2001. Next, returns
for equity holders were in excess of their cost of equity
over the same period. These firms focus intensely on their
core businesses and have established leadership positions
in them.
Great
Eastern Life's operational departments viz. Customer Service,
Claims and New Business Underwriting, have all been re-certified
ISO 9001 compliant in September 2007.
This certification is further testament to our emphasis on business
excellence and quality service. With much greater staff awareness
of the importance of good work systems and practices for continuous
productivity improvements, our policyholders and business
partners can be assured of quality customer service and greater
customer satisfaction.
Singapore
Service Class
Great Eastern was once again awarded the Singapore Service Class (for another 3 years) by SPRING Singapore in 2007, in recognition of our corporate customer service excellence. The award acknowledges companies which have put in place systems and processes that:
consistently delights customers delivers unparelleled customer experiences creates business value through customer service
We were the first insurance company to have attained this prestigious recognition in 2004.
Best
Call Centre Manager / Best Call Centre Professional Great Eastern is proud to be the only call centre
in the insurance industry to win the prestigious Best Call
Centre Manager and Best Call Centre Professional awards at
the 4th Singapore Annual Call Centre Awards ceremony in Nov
2004! We won the bronze award in both categories for call
centres under 50 seats. Nearly 200 call centres in Singapore
competed for the various award categories.
Organised by the Call Centre Council of Singapore (CCCS),
the Singapore Annual Call Centre Awards are "the highest
industry accolades for the call centre industry in Singapore....(It)
acknowledges the important contribution of Call Centres to
the Singapore economy and recognises the best call centres
and individuals who are pushing the performance envelope",
said Sam Haggag, Chairman of CCCS.
Best
Call Centre Great Eastern won the coveted Best Call Centre (below
50 seats) in the 2nd Annual Call Centre Award 2002, organised
by the Call Centre Council of Singapore. The Council is an
educational platform, a think-tank and a progressive establishment
geared towards bringing the call centre and customer-centred
industry to greater heights.
We are the first insurance company in Singapore to win this
Award. It has enhanced Great Eastern's international image
and has positioned us as an emerging Asian business that can
contribute to globalising our business knowledge.
Singapore
Quality Class Great Eastern has held the Singapore Quality
Class title since 1999 in recognition of its status as a
world-class organisation that is able to achieve sustainable
high performance in productivity and quality.
Special Event Platinum Award for Community projects
15-Year
Outstanding Special Events Award and Special Events Platinum
Award for community projects As a responsible corporate citizen, Great
Eastern’s staff and life planners pro-actively organise
community events, contributing towards the care of the under-privileged
young and elderly.
Great Eastern’s ChildrenCare project raises funds for
a children's charity and GoldenCare project raises funds for
an elderly home. All these charities come under the umbrella
of the Community Chest.
Our two Community Projects have raised more than $9 million
for Community Chest. Great Eastern has received the “Special
Events Platinum Award” from Community Chest for 17 consecutive
years.
Great Eastern’s dedication and long-term commitment
towards organising ChildrenCare and GoldenCare projects have
also won us the “15-Year Outstanding Special Events
Award” in November 2008.
Financial
Insights Innovation Award 2007 Great Eastern has won the award for “Innovation
in Operational Process” in the Financial Insights
Innovation Award (FIIA) 2007. The award was given for
our Electronic Mobile Advisory Solutions (E-MAS), our
electronic point-of-sale system.
Great Eastern is one of only 10 financial institutions
in the Asia Pacific region to receive this prestigious
award. Held in conjunction with the 2007 FinTech Asia
Congress, an annual strategic gathering of practitioners
from financial institutions across Asia Pacific, the FIIA
recognises these companies for effectively using technology
to transform, enhance and grow their business. We were
chosen from a strong field of over 60 financial institutions,
both banks and non banks.
Since its implementation, E-MAS has greatly enhanced the
competitiveness and professionalism of our sales force
by improving operational efficiency and customer service
standards. The system is also key to growing our brand
name and strengthening our market leader position, thereby
delivering long-term value and growth both locally and
regionally.
CIO
Honours List 2006 Great Eastern has earned a place in the elite CIO
100 Honours List 2006 with its Lifeisgreat 3G portal. This
marks the fourth time that we have been recognised as one
of the top 100 companies across Asia, including ASEAN, North
Asia, India and Australasia, which have used IT effectively
to enhance their organisation’s worth and to deliver
strategic change.
Our Lifeisgreat 3G portal is a full-fledged mobile Internet
portal which provides important services, such as access to
policy information for life planners and policyholder. Users
can now use their Internet-enabled mobile phones to access
Great Eastern’s corporate portal and e-Services.
This prestigious award is a further testament of Great Eastern's
commitment to bring about a unique customer experience and
deliver greater value to our stakeholders with the use of
proven cutting-edge technologies to enhance and support our
business.
ZDNet
Asia Smart50 2006 Awards Great Eastern is one of the top 50 companies out
of more than 150 companies across Asia (Brunei, China, Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) to win the ZDNet Asia Smart50
2006 Award. This award, given in May 2006, recognises these
companies for implementing IT to drive business efficiency,
innovation, and create greater customer value.
ZDNet Asia also handed out special awards in seven special
categories, including the Financial Services category. Only
one technology project is awarded under each special category.
Great Eastern’s Electronic Mobile Advisory Solutions
(E-MAS), our electronic point-of-sale system, garnered the
Financial Services Technology Project of the Year Award.
E-MAS is a key strategic project that aims to create a complete
customer experience. It creates operational efficiencies
and increases the competitiveness of our sales force.
A team of distinguished judges from the region, comprising
senior consultants and practitioners from internationally-renowned
organisations, was assembled to judge the awards.
Great Eastern will continue to bring about unique customer
experience and deliver greater value to our stakeholders
by leveraging on IT to enhance and support our business.
Intelligent
Enterprise Asia Award Great Eastern has won the Intelligent Enterprise
Asia (IEA) Award for the fourth year running from 2001!
We are a winner in the last of the IEA Award series in 2004.
The IEA Award 2004/2005 assesses the region's 20 best IT
projects across 10 performance indicators covering aspects
on management support and involvement, clearly drawn business
objectives, and the right tech solutions and execution plans.
We won this year's award for our Distribution Channel Management
System (DCMS) project, which was commissioned in Jan 2004.
DCMS provides a flexible and adaptable open architecture
that allows us to undertake multi-currency and multi-channel
operations in different markets, giving us a competitive
edge as we prepare for expansion and growth in the region.
The award attracted close to 50 entries from the Asia Pacific
region and judging was conducted by a panel of four from
international consulting firms, KPMG, Frost & Sullivan,
Meta Group and Atos Origin.
This award was previously known as the Intelligent20 Award.
Great Eastern won this award in the past three years for
its lifeisgreat portal, which boasts facilities that allow
policyholders to get in touch with life planners via SMS
and for life planners to perform critical sales functions
via a suite of wireless services through their mobile phones.
HRM
Awards 2008
Great Eastern was conferred the “Honorary Award for 100
Years of Leading Employment Practices” at the HRM Awards
2008. This award recognises Great Eastern as a leading employer
with 100 years of good employment practices.
Singapore
HR Awards
Great Eastern won the Leading HR Practice in Strategic HR
and Performance Management Award and the Leading HR Executive
Award given by the Singapore Human Resources Institute on
3 June 2005.
The awards recognise organisations that place importance on
Human Capital as a key business outcome. They also recognise
organisations and individuals who are leaders of the pack.
These awards also provide benchmarks for others to strive
towards. We were chosen from a pool of over 80 nominations.
These 2 awards are a testament to the strategic role that
Human Capital plays in Great Eastern and they also demonstrate
that our Human Capital practices are well-recognised in the
industry.
LOMA's
Excellence in Education Award Great Eastern has been awarded LOMA's Excellence
in Education Award 2003.
This prestigious award was given to only 79 out of more than
1,200 LOMA member companies worldwide that have achieved true
excellence through their outstanding professional development
and participation in LOMA education and training programmes.
This award was achieved through our active participation in
LOMA exam enrolments and high passing rate.
NTUC
May Day Award
Great Eastern was awarded the Plaque of Commendation by the
National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) at the May Day 2003 Award
Ceremony for good HR practices. This makes Great Eastern the
first insurer in more than 10 years to receive this award.
The award recognises our efforts in working closely with the
Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union (SIEU) to ensure
that there is transparency and fairness in all our labour
policies. We have also been an ardent sponsor of the NTUC
Education and Training Fund and participated in many of their
charity events.
People
Developer Standard
We were awarded the People Developer Standard in 2001, which is the
quality standard for human resource development in Singapore.
It gives recognition to organisations that bring out the best
in people for better business results. The standard includes
systematic processes to review people practices, develop staff
and improve training effectiveness.
SPH
Ad Award
Great Eastern’s Life Planning Campaign was awarded the
SPH Advertisement Award for the month of May 2003. More than
50 companies vied for the title but the creativity and innovation
of our ads, tactical media placement and market impact placed
Great Eastern well ahead of competition.
According to SPH, “The Life Planning ads created positive
impact in the industry and left an indelible impression. The
ads were most noticeable for their distinct and refreshing
approach – advocating the management of one’s
life priorities – retirement, investment, protection
and education.”
