The black tie event, held in Hong KongÆs Grand Hyatt hotel, recognised the firms and deals that defined 2006. The MC for the evening was CNBC anchor, Betty Liu, and the acceptance speeches on the night included that of ICBC President, Yang Kaisheng who was there to accept five awards û the most prominent being æDeal of the YearÆ for the Chinese bankÆs $21.9 billion IPO. Robert Morse, CitigroupÆs Asia boss, picked up the æBest BankÆ award, and Mark Machin, Goldman Sachs co-head of Asian investment banking, accepted GoldmanÆs award for æInvestment Bank of the YearÆ.
The after-dinner speaker was Raymond Lee, the entrepreneurial founder of Hong KongÆs new low-cost long-distance airline, Oasis. He told the audience of his optimism for the sector, and promised bankers a forthcoming IPO.
The evening also helped to raise money for Hong Kong charity, MotherÆs Choice. Its chairman, Ranjan Marwah, stirred the audience with the story of how the charity helped a local orphan to be adopted by a US family û long after he had given up hope û and then held an auction to raise funds. The first item to be auctioned was FinanceAsiaÆs annual charity tombstone bond. As with last year, Goldman Sachs again won this auction, with a bid of $70,000 - earning the right to become the bondÆs Global Coordinator. Other items auctioned included a Piaget watch, dinner for 10 in the private room of Hong KongÆs new Nobu restaurant (at the Intercontinental hotel), a two-day training course on the Maserati test track in Italy (with business class flights to Europe on Oasis), and a painting called æScarlet BabyÆ by Gianluca Miniaci. The total amount raised for MotherÆs Choice on the evening was $172,000, with the proceeds to be used to refurbish its Pregnant Teenager Resource and Counselling Centre in Kowloon.
Our Capital Markets Person of the Year Award was announced on the night. This yearÆs winner was û for the first time û an investment banker. That banker was GoldmanÆs Fred Hu, who was recognised for having a banner year û being both instrumental in Bank of ChinaÆs mega IPO as well as GoldmanÆs hugely profitable investment in ICBC. We felt no single individual better epitomised what had become a key theme for the regionÆs investment banks in 2006: the ability to execute both client deals as well as instigate principal investment for their firms.
And in what is fast becoming an annual ritual, Goldman Sachs once again romped home in the eveningÆs trivia quiz to win a case of champagne.
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