2010 IR Global Rankings - Conclusion of the 12th Edition

NEW YORK, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- MZ Consult NY (www.mz-ir.com ), a leading global investor relations and financial communications firm, announces the conclusion of the 12th Edition of the IR Global Rankings. The 2010 IRGR, supported by KPMG, Arnold & Porter, The Bank of New York Mellon, Corporate Asia Network, NEVIR and Sodali, is a unique and independent external review of any company's communication process with the capital markets.

On April 8, 2010, the curtains came down on the 12th Edition of the IR Global Rankings, in which a record 503 companies from 35 countries participated.

All the companies that registered for the Rankings had the opportunity to take part in the workshop at one of the five awards ceremonies held in Amsterdam, Taipei, Beijing, New York and Sao Paulo, in which we showcased the trends and benchmarks of the best IR practices from around the world. For more information, including presentations and pictures of the events, please click here.

The feedback reports containing notes and suggestions for improvement have already been delivered and we are now conducting conference calls in which Companies can discuss their performance and appraisal in greater detail, besides providing suggestions and interacting with the IRGR team.

Following are the winners of this edition:

• Asia & Pacific

Best IR Website: Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY); Capcom (FSE: CPK.F); Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT); ANZ (ASX: ANZ); Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL); China Telecom (NYSE: CHA); China Communications Services Corporation (HKSE: 0552); Industrial and Commercial Bank of China  (HKSE: 1398);  WSP Holdings Ltd (NYSE: WH); China Foods Limited (HKSE: 0056); Shin Kong Financial Holding (TWSE: 2888); HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498); Taiwan Mobile Co. (TWSE: 3045); Hua Nan Financial Holdings (TWSE: 2880); Chinatrust Financial Holding Company (TWSE: 2891); Fubon Financial Holding (TWSE: 2881) and Natural Beauty Bio-Technology  (HKSE: 0157);  

Best OnLine Annual Report: Bursa Malaysia Berhad (MYX: BJURSA MK) and China Telecom (NYSE: CHA).

Best Financial Disclosure Procedures: Taiwan Mobile Co. (TWSE: 3045); Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT); Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY) and China Telecom (NYSE: CHA).

Best Corporate Governance: Bursa Malaysia Berhad (MYX: BJURSA MK); Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY); Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (HKSE: 2343); China Agri-Industries (HKSE: 0606) and Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL).

Best IR Program (Investors' Choice): China Railway Group Limited (HKSE: 0390) and Taiwan Mobile Co. (TWSE: 3045).

Best IR Officer (Investors' Choice): China Railway Group Limited (HKSE: 0390) IRO: YU Tengqun and Taiwan Mobile Co. (TWSE: 3045) IRO: Rosie Yu.

• Europe

Best IR Website: Danske Bank (OMX: DDANSKE.CO); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); Bayer (XETRA: BAYN GY);  ThyssenKrupp (FSE: TKA); METRO (FSE: MEO); RWE (ETR: RWE); Neste Oil (OTC: NTOIF.PK); Credit Suisse (SWX: CSGN); Aegon (EURONEXT: AGN.AS) and Arcadis (EURONEXT: ARCAD).

Best OnLine Annual Report: Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); Aegon (EURONEXT: AGN.AS); Telkom (JSE: TKG) and EVN (NYSE: EVN).

Best Financial Disclosure Procedures: EDP - Energias de Portugal (PSI: EDP.PL); Telefonica O2 Czech Republic (PSE: SPTT.PR); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); GazpromNeft (MSE: SIBN); Turkcell (NYSE: TKC) and Crucell (NASDAQ: CRXL).

Best Corporate Governance: Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSA); Novartis (VIRT-X: NOVN.VX); Telefonica O2 Czech Republic (PSE: SPTT.PR);  Grupo Santander (IBEX 35: SAN);  Aegon (EURONEXT: AGN.AS);  BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE) and EDP - Energias de Portugal (PSI: EDP.PL).

Best IR Program (Investors' Choice): Turk Telecom (ISE: TTKOM).

Best IR Officer (Investors' Choice): Turk Telecom (ISE: TTKOM) - Abdullah Orkun Kaya.

• Latin America

Best IR Website: Homex (OTC: DHMXF.PK); ALL – America Latina Logistica (BMF&BOVESPA: ALLL1); GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE: GOL); Net Servicos (BMF&BOVESPA: NETC4); Marfrig (BMF&BOVESPA: MRFG3) and Cielo (BMF&BOVESPA: VNET3).

Best OnLine Annual Report: Sul America (BMF&BOVESPA: SULA11) and Amil Participacoes (BMF&BOVESPA: AMIL3).

Best Financial Disclosure Procedures: Petrobras (NYSE: PBR);  Energisa S.A. (BMF&BOVESPA: ENGI);  Fibria (BMF&BOVESPA: VCPA3); Pemex; Amil Participacoes (BMF&BOVESPA: AMIL3); Copasa (BMF&BOVESPA: CSMG3); Marfrig (BMF&BOVESPA: MRFG3); AmBev (NYSE: ABV) and TOTVS (BMF&BOVESPA: TOTS3).  

Best Corporate Governance: Eternit (BMF&BOVESPA: ETER3); BRF Brasil Foods (BMF&BOVESPA: PRGA3); TOTVS (BMF&BOVESPA: TOTS3); GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE: GOL) and ALL – America Latina Logistica (BMF&BOVESPA: ALLL1).

Best IR Program (Investors' Choice): Marisa (BMF&BOVESPA: MARI3).

Best IR Officer (Investors' Choice): Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) IRO: Theodore Helms and Triunfo Participacoes  (BMF&BOVESPA: TPIS3) IRO: Ana Carvalho.

• North America

Best IR Website: PotashCorp (NYSE: POT); General Electric Company (NYSE: GE); Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT); Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ); Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO); Del Monte Foods Company (NYSE: DLM); Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).  

Best OnLine Annual Report: Nexen (NYSE: NXY); Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG); Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).

Best Financial Disclosure Procedures: URS Corporation (NYSE: URS); Del Monte Foods Company (NYSE: DLM); American Water Works Company (NYSE: AWK); Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN); Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO); FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS).

Best Corporate Governance: Nexen (NYSE: NXY); Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO); Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE); FedEx (NYSE: FDX); Intel (NASDAQ: INTC);  Wendy's / Arby's (NYSE: WEN) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK).

Best IR Program (Investors' Choice): Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK).

Best IR Officer (Investors' Choice): Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) - Jeffrey L. Mobley.

The 2010 IR Global Rankings Benchmark Study, a report containing the trends and suggestions for improving your IR program based on all the data analyzed during this IRGR edition, will be available shortly.

If you are an IRGR participant and/or client of MZ and need more information about the Study, please e-mail [email protected] to take advantage of the special terms we have for your company.

IRGR thanks the companies' IR teams for their participation and congratulates them for their achievements and constant efforts at improvement. Preparations are already on for the 2011 edition. For more information, visit www.irglobalrankings.com or e-mail us [email protected].

About IR Global Rankings: Solid communication with the investment community is a key priority for investor relations and corporate governance professionals, once value creation (stock prices) and risk perception can be managed. The implementation of best practices in communicating with the capital markets and fair disclosure procedures do help companies in earning and maintaining investor confidence. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards survey is the most comprehensive auditing and ranking system for IR websites, corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures - a great opportunity to benchmark IR efforts vis-a-vis peers and industry leaders. Based on extensive proprietary research of publicly held companies and investors, and supported by input from independent audit, corporate governance and legal experts, MZ's methodology is highly detailed, transparent and fully accessible to all participants. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards has grown each year since 1999.

SOURCE MZ Consult NY LLC