The Financial Times was recognised with an award for excellence in opinion writing at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Editorial Excellence Awards in Hong Kong tonight.

Patti Waldmeir was selected by the judges for a collection of her notebook columns in the FT, and was praised for her “refreshing attitude, humour and original choice of topics”.

Financial Times Asia editor David Pilling said: “Patti’s columns are always a joy to read: witty, irreverent and insightful. When the world is so overloaded with data, we can often learn most from a keen observation. Patti rarely fails to provide just that.”

The judges said: “She combines the highest standards of writing and research with the courage to flout conventional choices in news values and subject matter.”

The FT also received an honourable mention in the excellence in feature writing category for FTChinese.com’s ‘Lunch with the FT: Chen Xiaolu’ by Lifen Zhang.

The SOPA awards, designed to encourage editorial vitality throughout Asia, recognise journalistic excellence across a number of platforms and cover range of categories that reflect the region’s diverse geo-political environment and vibrant editorial scene.

More information on the SOPA Awards and the full list of 2014 winners can be found at http://www.sopawards.com/

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About the Financial Times:

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 665,000 (Deloitte assured, Q1, 2014).Mobileis an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving 60 per cent of subscriber consumption, 45 per cent of total traffic and 20 per cent of new digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 37 of the world’s top 50 business schools.

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