Extel today announced the results of their 16th Asia (ex-Japan/ANZ) Executive Team survey, revealing Asia’s leading CEOs, CFOs, Investor Relations Officers, Investor Relations programs, ESG and company board attributes that best uphold corporate governance standards and facilitate investment into their company. 195 companies (up from 126 in 2025) attained a published position in the categories listed above to become an Honored company, and 55 of those companies were granted the coveted Most Honored Company recognition.

To earn the designation of Most Honored Company a company must achieve a weighted score of 15 or more points across the six categories in the combined, buy-side and sell-side rankings, wherein each first-place position is worth three points; second place, two; and third place, one. 

A total of 5,581 investors, portfolio managers and analysts from 1,249 voter firms participated in this survey, nominating a total of 2,520 companies (up from 1,668 in 2025) and 2,728 (2,367 in 2025) individuals across 23 sectors (five more have been added in 2026 to better differentiate sectors). This included 4,743 buy-side professionals from 1,090 buy-side companies, with an estimated $2 trillion in Asia (ex-Japan) equities, and 838 sell-side analysts from 159 companies.

You can view the full results (including country-specific breakdowns) here and we have an editorial piece featuring comment from Zayong Koo, Chief IR Officer, Hyundai Motor Company and Saurav Mitra, Director (Finance) & CFO, Petronet LNG Ltd.

Emerging trends identified

1.    Increasing Performance Divergence: The 2026 results reveal a significant "differentiation gap," with fewer companies achieving "All-Star" status (1st ranked across all six performance categories). This shift highlights the effectiveness of our enhanced methodology in pinpointing specific operational strengths and weaknesses, moving away from a "generalist" perception to a more granular assessment of leadership and IR.

2.    IR as a Strategic Shield: An intriguing trend in the 2026 data shows that over 60% of top-ranked IROs represent companies where the CEO and CFO did not achieve a top ranking. This suggests that elite IR teams are successfully acting as a strategic buffer - managing complex investor expectations and high-level technical discussions independently, thereby allowing their C-suite to remain focused on core operational management.

3.    Surging Engagement in Smaller Markets & Sectors: The 2026 survey marks a turning point in investor attention. While core sectors remain stable, voter volume has almost doubled in the Telecommunications, Autos, and Insurance industries. Geographically, this is mirrored by a significant spike in participation for Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the Philippines. For the first time, the "participation gap" between Mainland China and smaller Asian markets is closing, creating a more competitive landscape for our Asia results.