The 2010 ASEAN Business Awards (ABA) were officially launched in Hanoi on April 7 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

At a press briefing held the same day, Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the VCCI, which chairs the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, said the award aims to honour businesses that have made outstanding contributions to promoting the economy and prosperity in the region.

According to ABA President Nguyen Thi Nga, the ABA jury comprises leading businesses, economists and scholars from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Twenty-four businesses are expected to enter the final round with eight to receive the “Most-Admired ASEAN Business” award.

The winners, along with those that made the final round, will be honoured at a dinner gala to be held at the end of the ASEAN Investment and Business Summit. The summit is scheduled to take place in Hanoi on October 28-29.

The ABA was held for the first time in Singapore in 2007.

So far, four Vietnamese businesses have received ABA consolation prizes, including the Hoa Tho Paper Company, the Asian Development Bank, the Saigon Paper Corporation and the Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue city./.