Standard Chartered yesterday honoured 12 companies for their performance in external trade and felicitated three winners of the most recent national export trophy for their contribution to the country's export growth.

Introduced last year, the Standard Chartered Bangladesh Trade Awards celebrates the bank's relationship with clients who have been key enablers in its commitment to support growth of trade and commerce in the country.

Ha-Meem Group, Youngone Corporation, Epic Group, Square Group and Pacific Jeans took home awards in the textile and garment segment.

The other winners are: City Group, Meghna Group of Industries, TK Group, PHP Family, United Group, Unilever Bangladesh and Uttara Group of Industries.

Noman Group, Akij Group and Pran Group, all of whom won gold in the national export trophy, were felicitated.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi handed over the awards to the winners at a gala event attended by more than 300 business leaders at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden hotel.

“The awards are recognition of the businesses' contribution to the country's economic development,” he said, while assuring the business community that the government was working to improve the country's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index.

He went on to acknowledge the British lender's role in the country's development.

“Standard Chartered remains one of Bangladesh's biggest partners in progress,” Munshi added.

The bank has been in the country for 114 years and it is connecting Bangladesh with the rest of the world, said Lisa Robins, global head of transaction banking at SCB.

“This is an initiative through which we celebrate the achievements of our clients in our nation's journey of prosperity,” said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh.

It recognises the success of Bangladesh's entrepreneurs, who, through their toil and ingenuity, have helped Bangladesh become an important node of the global value chain, he added.

Facilitating international trade for its partners has been its historical strength for it issued the very first external Letter of Credit in independent Bangladesh in 1972, SCB said.

The bank is directly handling 8 percent of the country's trade, it added.

The evening was brought to a close with a performance from Tagore singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya.