Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) chairman Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松) was presented the Illustrious Service Award by the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (亞太商工總會, CACCI) on Friday for his longstanding efforts to promote regional trade exchanges and global economic growth, the company said in a statement released yesterday.
Koo, who founded Taiwan’s third-largest financial service provider by assets, was the first businessman to win the honor from the organization since its establishment 45 years ago, the statement said.
Koo received the award from CACCI chairman Benedicto Yuijuico during a luncheon in Taipei, the venue for the non--governmental body’s 45th annual summit on Thursday and Friday, the statement said.
Photo provided courtesy of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co
CACCI, headquartered in Taipei, is a regional grouping of national chambers of commerce and industry, business associations and business enterprises in Asia and the Western Pacific.
With 29 primary members from 27 economic entities, the organization aims to serve as a forum for promoting the role of businessmen in the region, increasing regional business interactions and economic growth, the statement said.
Koo expressed pleasure at winning the honor, saying CACCI has helped facilitate global economic growth, create cross-border business opportunities and shape national policymaking since its creation in 1966, according to the statement.
The 78-year-old banker said he would continue to promote CACCI and economic development in the region and worldwide.
Koo was accompanied by Chinatrust Financial president Daniel Wu (吳一揆), Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託商銀) vice chairman Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) and other colleagues.
More than 30 corporate leaders from Japan, South Korea, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey and India gave a standing ovation when Koo was given the award during the ceremony, the statement said.
CACCI is a member of the Conference on NGOs, an association of NGOs with UN consultative status.
Koo served the two-year chairmanship at CACCI twice, in 1980 and 1986, during which he expanded the body’s membership to include Singapore, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Brunei, the statement said.
CACCI had Koo to thank for the organization’s increasing profile and influence on the world stage, the statement quoted Yuijuico as saying.
In October 1981, Koo spearheaded the birth of the Asian Bankers Association (ABA, 亞洲銀行協會) whose membership encompasses 100 lenders in 25 Asian countries.
Koo remains an ABA honorary chairman and committed to boosting cooperation among Asian banks, the statement said. Further, Koo introduced important reforms to make CACCI more productive in expediting trade flows and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Yuijuico added in the statement.
The Illustrious Service Award is one of many honors Koo has won over the past 40 years as a result of his continued attempts to elevate Taiwan’s international standing via non-governmental platforms, the statement said.
In May, Koo won this year’s distinguished alumnus award from Eisenhower Fellowships Inc for promoting international exchanges and world peace.
In February last year, he was presented a medal on economic excellence by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the statement said.
In 1998, Koo was made an ambassador at-large and two years earlier, he won a diplomatic honor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recognition of his contribution to enhance international exchanges.
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