NGO Enterprise Asia picks Prince Group in Cambodia for Social Empowerment award; Organizer receives more than 500 entries
[Phnom Penh, 17 September, 2021] – Prince Holding Group (“Prince Group”), one of Cambodia’s largest and fastest growing conglomerates, has been recognized for responsible entrepreneurship at the 2021 Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA). Prince Group was commended for its high-impact work during the COVID-19 epidemic in Cambodia. Being the fifth award received by Prince Group this year, regional and international judging panels have highlighted the company as a leading Asian business championing sustainable development in Cambodia and across the ASEAN region.
Established in 2011, AREA seeks to identify examples of leadership and enterprise in the practice of social responsibility and sustainable development. It has worked to create a community of like-minded peers so that the best businesses in Asia learn from one another. It aims to promote corporate activity in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is an honor for Prince Group to join the community.
Prince Group was recognized under the Social Empowerment category for a multi-sector response that saw it carry out rapid and coordinated activity involving a partnership of business units, governmental departments and non-governmental organizations. Previously, Prince Group was also recognized for its COVID-19 corporate response in the Stevie Awards Asia Pacific while Neak Oknha Chen Zhi, Chairman of Prince Group, won Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2021 International Business Awards.
Over the past year, the Group has launched the Chen Zhi Scholarship program for 400 Cambodian university students alongside the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS), contributed US$1 million in aid to civil society organizations better placed to make an impact in rural areas, donated US$6 million to the Cambodian government’s anti-pandemic efforts including the purchase of 1 million COVID-19 vaccines, and organized several rounds of COVID-19 vaccinations to ensure 3,500+ employees were fully vaccinated. Focusing on Cambodia’s post-pandemic recovery, the Group began work on Ream City, an 834-hectare coastal development project with a masterplan by Singapore’s Surbana Jurong, aiming to transform Sihanoukville with a sustainable ecosystem of tourism, commercial and residential activity with the potential to house up to 130,000 residents.
“Prince Group, leveraging the work of Prince Foundation, has consistently worked to ensure our commercial and philanthropic operations work in tandem to make a difference to our employees, residents in Cambodia and the environment,” said Neak Oknha Chen Zhi, Chairman of Prince Group. “We will continue to work hard to raise Cambodia’s profile internationally and learn from our peers across the region as we look to rebuild to deliver a sustainable and resilient future.”
Over the years, Prince Group has invested more than US$2 billion in local projects and the conglomerate will continue to affirm its long-term commitment to Cambodia in various ways on a continuous basis.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA)
The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards programme recognises and honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership and Responsible Business Leadership. For more information, visit:
https://enterpriseasia.org/area/.
