To be eligible for consideration, a company must fulfill the following criteria:
- Home-grown, privately-owned enterprise incorporated under Singapore's Companies Act (1994 Revised Edition)
- Can either be a parent company or a subsidiary as defined in Section 5 of the Companies Act
- Not listed* on any stock exchange at the time of application
- Be at least 30 percent owned by Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents
- Have more than 50 percent of its gross turnover contributed by businesses other than franchisee operations for the three preceding years from 2007 to 2009
- Possess audited financial records for three complete years of operation as a private limited company in Singapore as at 31 December 2009
Other Criteria
- Partnerships and Government Linked Companies (GLCs) are not eligible for consideration in the E50 awards list.
- All subsidiaries of listed parent companies will not be eligible
- If an unlisted parent company participates, all subsidiaries will not be eligible
- If an unlisted parent company chooses not to participate, then all unlisted subsidiaries are eligible for consideration.
Participants are evaluated on quantitative and qualitative criteria. Quantitative criteria considered include key performance indicators such as operating profit before tax, turnover, profit growth and return on equity. Qualitative criteria include business model, productivity, and innovation, management ideals and the standard of corporate governance.
* The organisers reserve the right to exclude nominations from companies who become public listed on or before 30 June 2010. All participating companies are requested to notify the organisers in the event that the company has successfully applied for a public listing and expects such a listing prior to the publication of the 2010 Enterprise 50 list in the fourth quarter of 2010.