Validus, a Singapore-based one-stop small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing platform, has on Monday announced the appointment of Chong Khai Siang as group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Validus.
Validus said in a statement that the appointment is effective immediately, and Chong will be reporting to the firm’s group Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nikhilesh Goel.
According to the statement, Chong will oversee the finance and corporate development function and lead its business strategy across South East Asia.
It is noted that he is a financial services veteran with over two decades of leadership and expertise in business strategy, finance, treasury, and capital markets, specializing in SME, retail, and global financial markets across Asia.
Prior to joining Validus, he held senior leadership roles at Fullerton Financial Holdings and Standard Chartered.
During his tenure at Fullerton, he enhanced overall enterprise value and strengthened governance frameworks between boards and management teams.
“With Chong at the helm as the group Chief Financial Officer for Validus, we are strategically positioned to accelerate our financial strategies and drive growth across all markets through innovative methods,
“As we continue to address the $270 billion financing gap faced by SMEs in the region, Chong expertise will be pivotal in identifying opportunities and implementing robust financial solutions across Southeast Asia,” said Goel.
Founded in 2015 to address the unmet financing needs of SMEs, Validus is Southeast Asia’s leading SME growth financing platform, which provides lending solutions, aimed to become ASEAN’s first SME-focused, full-suite financial services provider.
Validus is headquartered in Singapore and is growing rapidly across its four markets – Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The firm uses data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to drive growth financing to the underserved SME sector via funds from individual and institutional investors.
It holds a Capital Markets Services License by the Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) and is also licensed by Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) in Indonesia and debenture crowdfunding license by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) in Thailand.
The firm recently crossed a significant milestone of SGD 5 billion ($3.7 billion) in SME loan disbursals across Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
The company is backed by strategic investors and venture capitals, including 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.