KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): "Entrepreneurship is tough business." Such sentiment encapsulates Public Bank Bhd founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow's philosophy as he led the growth of the financial services provider, which he started in 1966.

“But to get to where we are, to be recognised as a committed employer to the well-being and talent development of our employees, one needs to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the staff in mind in every decision you make.

“Every day, when our staff come to work, they live by our corporate values and code of ethics as they know how much I believe in core values like integrity, hard work, commitment and a sense of professionalism,” Teh said in a Public Bank statement today in conjunction with him receiving the Vietnam Banking Trade Union's Promoting “Excellence at Work” Award on Tuesday (Sept 22).

Dedicating the award to the committed staff of Public Bank, Teh said: “Nothing stops them from doing what is best for our stakeholders. They are the unsung heroes who have stood the test of time with me, weathering financial storms and economic turmoil, to come out unscathed while creating milestones that are enviable to many.”

According to the statement, the award presentation ceremony was held at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

"The recognition award which was presented to him (Teh) on Sept 22, 2020, comes with a Crystal Trophy and a token sum of Vietnamese Dong (VND) 750,000 (about RM150) as a reward in accordance with the prevailing regulations of the Vietnam Banking Trade Union," Public Bank said.

On Bursa Malaysia today, Public Bank's share price fell four sen or 0.26% to RM15.60 at 11:41am with the broader global stock market.

At RM15.60, Public Bank has a market capitalisation of about RM60.79 billion.

Globally, Reuters reported that Asian shares fell on Thursday following a slump on Wall Street overnight, as a series of warnings from US Federal Reserve officials underscored investor worries over the resilience of the economic recovery.