Students betting on sustainability at the SMU-Next Gen ESG Investing Cup 2022
11 Jun 2022
Champion Team GameStock (from left) Grace Ang (NTU), Lee Cheng Jia (NTU), and Ang Jing Zhe (NUS)
SMU-Next Gen ESG Investing Cup is the first stock pitch competition Grace Ang participated in. She had no clue what ESG means till she joined the Next Gen ESG Investing Program, a highly selective programme targeting university students in Singapore. With the knowledge acquired during the programme, Grace formed Team GameStock with fellow programme members, Ang Jing Zhe and Lee Cheng Jia.
Together, Team GameStock won the finals and walked back with US$2,500 to invest in their pitched company. The team is made up of 3 students, Grace Ang from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Lee Cheng Jia from NTU, and Ang Jing Zhe from National University of Singapore (NUS). They pitched on GDS Holdings Ltd, a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China. While considering the financial aspect of the company, the team thoughtfully considered the material ESG issues of the company by creating their own ESG scorecard and coming up with their own engagement strategy.
The fight was made tougher when the 1stRunner Up, Team Everything which consists of Pearline Pang from NUS, Sidhaarth Venkataraman from NTU and Teo Jia Yi from NTU coincidentally pitched on the same company as the champion team. Pearline Pang also emerged as the Best Analyst. The 2ndRunner Up, Team ORA Capital, Soktonh Oudom, Russell Rex King and Amelia Lee Jing Ping, all are students from Singapore Management University (SMU), pitched on BYD Company, a Chinese conglomerate manufacturing company.
SMU-Next Gen ESG Investing Cup is jointly organized by Next Gen Investors Endowment and SMU EYE Investment Club. Sponsors who made this event possible include main event sponsor, Tiger Brokers, as well as joints sponsors from Arisaig Partners, Star Magnolia Capital, and Yunqi Partners.
61 teams comprising of 2-3 Singapore university undergraduates/postgraduates signed up for this year’s SMU-Next Gen ESG Investing Cup. Of which, 8 teams’ submission were shortlisted for the semi-finals. The 8 semi-finalists had individual mentors, from the investment industry assigned to them to help them refine their pitch. The semi-finals was held on 4thJun 2022 virtually where we had 3 judges who shortlisted the 4 finalist team. The finals was witnessed by investors all around Singapore and was held live at SMU.
Group photo of finalist and judges of SMU-Next Gen ESG Investing Cup
The top 3 teams are awarded US$2,500, US$1,500, and US$1,000 to invest in their winning idea. The best analyst is also granted a final round Summer 2023 internship interview with Arisaig Partners, a boutique investment firm based in Singapore.
Our esteemed judges comprised of Mr Thiam Choon Eng, CEO from Tiger Brokers, Mr Gordon Yeo, Co-CEO and Partner at Arisaig Partners, Mr Kenneth Ho, Head of ESG at SeaTown Holdings and Mr Matt Dearth, Founder of TRQ Advisors and SMU Adjunct Professor. Teams were judged on three main components - content, creativity and presentation flair.
Lastly, we will end off beautifully with a quote from Mr Gordon Yeo, one of our judges: “Mentoring the next generation to invest with a multi stakeholder lens must be our legacy - and today, we have taken a small step in that direction.”
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