Two hundred top companies will be recognised in the seventh annual Vietnam Golden Star Awards in a ceremony in Hanoi next week, Vietnam Young Business Association vice chairman and general secretary Nguyen Manh Cuong announced in a press conference in Hanoi on Aug. 26.

Over 1,000 enterprises from a wide range of sectors, including IT, real estate, securities, engineering, tourism, and banking and finance, were considered for awards this year, and 250 were chosen to enter the final round of the competition, Cuong said.

The top finalists would be classified as Top 10, Top 100 or Top 200
enterprises, with the Top 10 in the last competition including Agribank, Saigon Jewelry Co, Kinh Bac Urban Development Co, Viet Tien Garment Co and Truong Hai Automotive Co.

The firms were chosen based on such criteria as revenue growth and
profitability, transparency, number of employees, risk management capacity and contribution to the State budget and society, Cuong noted.

The top firms this past year earned a combined 453 trillion VND (25.5 billion USD), posted a total export value of 1.8 billion USD, and contributed 34 trillion VND (1.9 billion USD) to the State budget, he said.

At this year’s awards ceremony, the association would launch a club for thetop enterprises with the aim of creating a forum for firms to shareexperiences and seek cooperative opportunities, Cuong said, adding that club members would also be invited to participate in national trade promotion programmes and access credit support.

The Vietnam Golden Star Trade Fair 2009, with 300 stalls featuring theproducts and services of the top firms, would also open this weekend at the Hanoi Friendship Cultural Palace./.