Singapore – SME financing platform Validus has recently named Chong Khai Siang as its new group chief financial officer. This appointment will enable Chong to oversee the finance and corporate development functions of the company and spearhead its business strategy across Southeast Asia.
For this position, Chong brings more than two decades of leadership and expertise in business strategy, finance, treasury, and capital markets, which specialise in SME, retail, and global financial markets across Asia.
Before joining the company, he served in senior leadership roles at Fullerton Financial Holdings and Standard Chartered. While at Fullerton, Chong was able to enhance their overall enterprise value and strengthen governance frameworks between boards and management teams.
Talking about the appointment, Nikhilesh Goel, co-founder and group CEO at Validus, said, “With Khai Siang at the helm as the group CFO for Validus, we are strategically positioned to accelerate our financial strategies and drive growth across all markets through innovative methods.”
“I am delighted to welcome Khai Siang to Validus. As we continue to address the US$270b financing gap faced by SMEs in the region, his expertise will be pivotal in identifying opportunities and implementing robust financial solutions across Southeast Asia,” added Goel.
Recently, the company has reached S$5b in SME loan disbursals across Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.
This is backed by a range of strategic investors and VCs, which include Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Vertex Growth, FMO, 01Fintech, NongHyup Financial Group, Norinchukin Bank, Aizawa Asset Management, Lotte F&L, AddVentures by SCG, VinaCapital Ventures, SEA Frontier Fund, K3 Ventures, and Openspace Ventures.
