The quartet from Singapore Management University (SMU) were quick.

Even before questions were fully read out, they were hammering at the buzzer and providing answers which were spot on.

In the end, they beat three other teams to win the inaugural SPH Foundation Singapore Universities Business Quiz.

The event was held yesterday at the SPH News Centre auditorium.

The other participants were from Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Management.

'We worked really hard to prepare over the past few weeks,' said Team SMU's leader, Mr Hong Dijun. The other members were Mr Quek Shu Wei, Mr Benjamin Oh and Mr Tan Chia Hong.

They walked away with $6,000 worth of money and prizes.

The teams were tested on their general knowledge, and their ability to identify famous people and work out mathematical calculations.

In the audience were Mr Alan Chan, chief executive officer of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), and Mr Patrick Daniel, the editor-in-chief of SPH's English and Malay Newspapers Division.

The contest was presented by the SPH Foundation, organised by The Business Times and managed by SPH MediaBoxOffice, SPH's outdoor media advertising subsidiary.