Last Friday at the Four Seasons Hotel, the first-ever RBS Coutts/Financial Times Women in Asia Awards 2009 honoured three women who made their mark in their respective fields: Elaine Young, CEO and co-founder of Shama serviced apartments took home the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Christine Loh, CEO and co-founder of Civic Exchange took home the Woman Who Makes a Difference Award and Claire Hsu-Vuchot, executive director and co-founder of Asia Art Archive took the Rising Star Award. "This is really a great honour," says Hsu-Vuchot. "There are major cultural developments on the horizon for Hong Kong and the Asia Art Archive is set to play a a vital role."

Young, Loh and Hsu-Vuchot were selected from a highly comeptitive shortlist of finalists and were selected for their achievemens in business, public and non-profit spheres. Young says, "I owe much of my success to the electric and energetic business environment of Hong Kong."

Public nomations opened in June, and the final selection was made by a distinguished judging panel that included the Hon. Anson Chan, former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong SAR, Michelle Guthrie, consultant from Providence Equity Asia, Alain Li, regional chief executive of Richemont, Asia Pacific, Allan Zeman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings, Esther Heer, head of private banking, north Asia for RBS Coutts and David Pilling, Asia editor of the Financial Times.

"Hong Kong has as many social entrepreneurs as business entrepeneurs," says Loh. "If these two groups got together to do good, we could change many things from air pollution to cancer prevention to legal education and more. I am most honoured to receive this award."

Next year's Women in Asia Awards will be held in Singapore.