It reads like a modern day fairytale: a foreign construction worker turned boss has won a top entrepreneurship prize.

The chairman of Sunhuan Construction, Mr Sun Lai Fong,58, was named the overall winner in the 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Award on Wednesday night.

He won the award co-organised by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) and the Rotary Club of Singapore.

Such entrepreneurs are key in the local economy, as SMEs make up 99 per cent of the 170,000 enterprises here and employ 70 per cent of the workforce.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who spoke at the awards ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, lauded the achievements of Mr Sun and other winners

Mr Sun also won an info-communications technology award for implementing a customised information management system in his company.

Joining him as the night's other big winner was digital media agency Comwerks chief executive Neeraj Sundarajoo, 32.

He was named the overall winner in the inaugural Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award category and also walked away with a title that recognised his social contributions.