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HYBE Becomes the First K-pop Company to Win at the Adam Smith Awards Asia, Taking the Judges' Choice Overall Winner

HYBE said on Nov. 13 (KST) that it won the Overall Winner prize in the Judges' Choice category at the 2026 Adam Smith Awards Asia in Singapore, the first time a K-pop entertainment company has won at the treasury management awards.

By 2FC NEWSROOM · Published

HYBE treasury team members and J.P. Morgan representatives holding trophies on stage at the Adam Smith Awards Asia 2026 in Singapore
Image: HYBE (via Seoul Economic Daily)

HYBE has picked up an award far from the music charts. The company said on Nov. 13 (KST) that it won the Overall Winner prize in the Judges' Choice category at the 2026 Adam Smith Awards Asia, held in Singapore on Nov. 10 local time. Yonhap reported it is the first time a Korean K-pop entertainment company has won at the awards.

Now in its 13th year, the Adam Smith Awards Asia is organized by Treasury Today Group, a media group specializing in corporate treasury and finance, and recognizes real treasury management projects carried out by companies in Asia-Pacific. The Judges' Choice prize is given at the judges' discretion to cases that stand out for originality and innovation. Seoul Economic Daily reported that this year's awards drew 345 entries from 21 countries.

The judges pointed to the system HYBE built to manage funds spread across its overseas bases in one structure. Since listing on the KOSPI in 2020, HYBE has expanded to Japan, the U.S., Latin America, China and India, and its treasury team worked with J.P. Morgan to bring the funds held in each country under integrated tracking and management.

"It was important to strengthen our global treasury capabilities alongside our expansion into multiple countries," HYBE said, according to Yonhap, adding that it will keep upgrading its finance and treasury base to support its artists' global activities in line with its 'multi-home, multi-genre' strategy.

Confirmed

  • HYBE said on Nov. 13 (KST) that it received the top prize (Overall Winner) in the Judges' Choice category at the '2026 Adam Smith Awards Asia', held in Singapore on Nov. 10 local time (Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily).
  • It is the first time a Korean K-pop entertainment company has won at the awards (Yonhap).
  • The judges highlighted HYBE's system for centrally managing funds spread across its global bases, built with J.P. Morgan, calling it an impressive case of successfully integrating treasury functions (Yonhap).

Reported by other outlets

  • The awards, in their 13th year, are run by treasury and finance media group Treasury Today Group; this year drew 345 entries from 21 countries, and HYBE was the only Overall Winner in the Judges' Choice category (Seoul Economic Daily).
  • HYBE's system automated previously manual data collection so the company can quickly track and allocate funds across regions and respond to each country's financial regulations (Seoul Economic Daily).

Sources

Conflicts of interest: None.

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