Almost 400 companies are competing for the first InterTrade Ireland awards, which will be presented in Belfast on Thursday.

The awards, which take place in the city's Waterfront Hall, will be given to companies that have shown best practice in North-South trade and that are deemed to have maximised the opportunity to achieve business success by trading in both parts of the island.

Organised in conjunction with IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council, the winners will receive specially designed bronze sculptures designed by Jasper McKinney.

Mr Liam Nellis, chief executive of the cross-Border body InterTrade Ireland established under the Belfast Agreement, was delighted such a wide range of businesses from all parts of the island had entered the competition.

"We have an impressive line-up of judges from a range of sectors and we deliberated long and hard over who the worthy winners are," he said.

The InterTrade Ireland awards are a central part of the organisation's mission to "lead the development of the island economy through distinctive knowledge-based interventions that will provide significant returns in the areas of cross-Border trade and development", he added.

Categories include best small business Northern Ireland, best all island joint venture, and best community business North and South.