Having started our business specialising in IPO investor relations (‘IR’) back in 2001, it demanded much hard work from us to learn the ropes which ranged from acquisition of investment community networks to the know-hows on event and media management for newly listed companies. Soon enough, our efforts paid off as we rose quickly to become one of the top four IR agencies by number of IPOs launched in 2004.

While we enjoyed the success of our work in the IPO IR space, we were consistently looking for ways to innovate and explore growth opportunities. As the Chinese saying goes, we strive to ‘雪中送炭’ (provide timely help) in addition to ‘锦上添花’ (gild the lily). Along our IR journey, we discovered a number of ‘end-valued’ companies which we were convicted by the management’s quality, track record and growth plans. In order to capture a larger target market, we re-structured Financial PR in 2005 to focus on identifying end-value companies. Implementing a systematic strategic IR methodology, we wielded ‘The Power to Influence’, which coincided with one of our living philosophies.

Like in any other businesses, keeping up with trends is vital to ensure continued growth. With a vision to becoming one of the top IR companies in Singapore, we decided to push beyond our comfort zone and expanded regionally. This coincided with the trend back in 2007 – 2008 where multiple listings in the region were common. As such, we ventured into Hong Kong in 2008, Taiwan in 2009 and the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) in 2011.

As we stretch our wings and grow regionally, we forged a strong partnership in 2011 with the then largest and only listed PR agency in PRC, BlueFocus Communication (300058.SZ), who today ranks number 19 on Helms report and is the largest marketing communication agency in Asia, with a market capitalization of RMB 25-30 billion.

Today, Financial PR as a group has a portfolio of over 130 listed company clients which spans across four stock exchanges; we also have a network of over 2000 institutional investors, 100 financial journalists and a team of 60 professionals.

Our journey has just begun! With the Hong Kong – China Connect launching this month, we position ourselves favourably at the forefront to play an influential role in driving awareness of A-Shares to the world and Hong Kong-listed companies to the PRC investors.

Kathy is the Founder and Managing Director of Financial PR Group