CNBC will air the Business Leaders Awards tonight at 7 pm. 

Held for the first time by CNBC Asia, TNT and aimed at rewarding excellence in the corporate aena, the one hour show will honour executives and industry leaders for contributions made in their respective spheres.

According to the channel, there were over one thousand nominees and the ten finalists were chosen by a panel headed by economist Lester Thurow. The show, sponsored by Citibank and Abaya, will be repeated at 10 pm. 

The panel has chosen ICICI CEO and MD K V Kamath as 'Asian Business Leader of the Year'. The finalists were chosen based on the roadmap they charted for their respective companies as well as their ability to manage diverse talent in a difficult job market. The theme of the awards, held at Singapore, was 'Reinventing Corporate Asia'. 

Kamath was one of four Indians among the 10 finalists for the awards. The others included Infosys head N R Narayana Murthy, Wipro chief Azim Premji and Satyam Computers' B Ramalinga Raju. The panel adjudged Mazda Motor Corporation president Mark Fields Corporate Citizen of the Year. The Innovator of the Year award has gone to Singapore headquartered Raffles International CEO Richard Helfer.

The prestigious CEOs' Choice Award has been bagged by Neptune Orient Lines' CEO Flemming Jacobs.