FX Markets Asia

Rana Bhattacharjee is the Director and Senior Client Advisor at Alpha Quest Pte. Ltd., a licensed fund management company, regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, providing wealth and portfolio management services to its clients.

Rana has an extensive experience of over 20 years in the wealth management industry and worked for Private Banks including Fortis, Standard Chartered Private Bank and CIC Banque Privee before setting up Alpha Quest with his partners. He focuses on allocation across all traditional and alternative asset classes to achieve the portfolio goals for his clients.

He is a CAIA, CFP, CMT and CFTe charterholder and has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

Frances joined OCBC Global Treasury in January 2021, responsible for interest rates research. She has over 20 years of experience as an economist, rates and FX strategist. Prior to OCBC, she was Head of Asia
Macro Strategy with Westpac, Head of Rates Strategy Asia ex Japan with Societe Generale , and Head of Asian Rates Strategy with Credit Agricole.

Frances was named as No.1 of Best for Overall Interest Rate Research Analyst in Asiamoney Fixed Income Poll 2012, 2013 and 2014; No.1 as Best Local Currency Analyst in FinanceAsia Fixed Income Research Poll 2012 and 2013; No.3 of Best for Overall FX Research Analyst in Asiamoney FX Poll 2012 and 2014; and No.1 as Best Analyst in FinanceAsia Fixed Income
Research Poll 2011.

She received her Master of Philosophy (Economics) and Bachelor of Social Science (Economics) degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also a CFA charterholder .

Nirman is in-charge of financial portfolio management at Abiman Asset Management, a single family office located in Singapore. His responsibilities include asset allocation, security selection and risk management. He invests into single bonds, equities and commodities in a multi-asset context. His work is influenced by factor based investing and systematic approach to asset allocation and risk management. Prior to Abiman, he worked at Taurus Family office, a multi-family office. At Taurus, he advised and managed portfolios for high net-worth families in a multi-asset context. He also successfully managed an Emerging market credit fund which ranked in top 1% globally in terms of performance, among emerging market credit funds. Prior to Taurus, Nirman worked for Citi wealth management, within the fixed income department, advising clients on their fixed income investments. Nirman has graduated from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Masters in Business) and University of Mumbai (Computer Sc. Engineering).

Cora Chiu is a managing director in HSBC private bank and works as North Asia Head of Foreign Exchange and commodities advisory. She leads a team of advisors to deliver foreign exchange and precious metals advices, hedging solutions and execution for UHNW clients and global family offices.

Cora started as treasury advisor from corporate bank. After that, she moved onto investment bank and private bank to cover FX clients. Before she joined HSBC, she headed the APAC FX advisory in Citi Private Bank and Hong Kong FX advisory in UBS AG Private Bank.

Cora holds a Master degree of Financial Engineering from the University of Hong Kong For Bachelor degree, she graduated from the Unversity of Texas at Austin with three majors: actuanal science, economics and Japanese. She s a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). She is also a certified private wealth professional (CPWP) certified by the PWMA. In her career, she is aspirated to build the FX desk by combing technology, AI and big data management for more precise advisory, enhance dealing efficiency and increase markets trading volume.

Kevin focuses on valuation anomalies and believes in detailed research and analysis and works with a group of like minded professionals within his investment ecosystem that lead up to investment decisions. Kevin was a volunteer with CFAS - UIRC, an advisor to CFA Institute China-India strategy team and was a Board Member of CFA Singapore and Secretary. Kevin has spoken for CFAI across the region (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, HCMC, Hanoi) and has conducted lectures in Beijing Normal University, Zhongshan University-Lingnan College, National University of Singapore, HKUSpace and the Wealth Management Institute. Kevin is also a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore - Commercial Affairs Department Panel of Experts on Securities Offenses and also serves as a senior advisor to GoDigitalediaGroup (a leading media company focused on intellectual property rights management. GDMG is transforming how music networks and brands, senior advisor to AlteredVerse (a Geo spatial spinoff building digital twins in the Metaverse), CIO to Smobler Labs (an Animoca and The Facebook investee company, focused on the Metaverse - builds, GameFi and Phygital), and founder of Being Human Capital.

Kevin brings with him more than 30 years of investment experience and was the Head of Greater China Property Research with Yuanta Securities (Hong Kong) with responsibilities ranging from research coverage and analysis, marketing, assisting in primary and secondary equity issues, PE and funds. Prior to Yuanta, Kevin was the SVP with Pacific Star Financial (a subsidiary of Pacific Star Group) and was engaged in fund creation, structuring, documentation, marketing, fund raising and investment. Kevin was also the Chief Operating Officer of CITIC Securities (formerly known as CITIC Frontier China Research), Managing Director of Matrix Venture Capital, Director of Matrix Venture Catalyst, Director of Kleinwort Benson Securities Asia, Head of Regional Property and Singapore Country research. Prior to his senior management appointments, Kevin was a regional special situations analyst with Barclays de Zoette Wedd, a quantitative analyst with BZW Australia (both part of Credit Suisse), Assistant Manager (FX) with Chase Manhattan Bank Singapore and a Japanese equity salesman with Nikko Merchant Bank Singapore.

Kevin graduated with an MBA from New York Stern School of Business/Australian Graduate School of Management in 1992 and a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil, Hon's) from the University of Melbourne in 1986. Kevin was awarded the Australian Post Graduate Scholarship Award and an AGSM scholarship and was conferred the Chartered Financial Analyst charter in 1992.

Based out of Singapore, Mitul Kotecha was a TD Securities Senior Emerging Markets Strategist with a wealth of experience. His career as a strategist and economist extends over 25 years and across offices in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Prior to joining TD Securities, Mitul held the position of Head of FX and Rates Strategy for Asia-Pacific at Barclays, and prior to that, served as Head of Global FX Strategy and Head of Asia Research at Credit Agricole CIB.

Mitul has developed strong client relationships across the region focusing on Asian macro strategy and global emerging markets. His coverage of financial products spans bonds, interest rates, equities, and foreign exchange. Mitul has been highly ranked in various FX research and forecasting polls including FX Week, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Asiamoney.

He is a frequent speaker at various economic and financial global conferences, is regularly consulted by the media for views on markets and economies, has given a TEDX talk, and authored the book “Chronology Of A Crisis.” Mitul has appeared on business channels such as CNBC and Bloomberg TV and is regularly quoted in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Associated Press, and Dow Jones.

Mitul holds a Masters of Science Degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Warwick and an Honours Degree in Economics.

Angelina is Senior Advisor to IMC Asia Pacific, a leading global market making and proprietary trading firm. She has previously held Senior Management and Directorate positions with international digital asset exchanges, HKEX, Cantor Fitzgerald, the SFC, and other global financial services companies. She is also the Managing Director of Stratford Finance Limited, a consulting company focused on dealing with regulatory and operational issues in the financial services and digital assets sectors and advises brokerages, fund managers, and technology providers.

Angelina is currently the Chair of The Women’s Foundation and serves on a number of Hong Kong Government appointed Boards and charities, including the New Business Committee of the Financial Services Development Council, Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute, the Ebenezer School for the Blind, the University of Wollongong and is an Honorary Adjunct Professor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Accounting and Finance. Angelina is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Her MBA is from Pepperdine University, LLB from HKU/Manchester Metropolitan University, and LLM from Harvard Law School.

Mr. Lui is the chief executive of Alpha Bright Asset Management Company Limited, an asset management advisory licensed corporation under Type 4 (Advising in Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) Regulated Activity licensure issued by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the daily management and investment strategies of the firm. He represented the firm as part of the Hong Kong delegation to showcase investment technology at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.

Hugo previously was employed at the Citigroup Global Headquarters. He performed analysis regarding stock shares, and Index option valuation, and managed Citibank's global technology transformation projects of the Equity Management system. Prior to joining Citi, Hugo worked in the CFO Office of the Dreyfus Mutual Funds that was part of the Global Asset Management Department at the Bank of New York Mellon Financial Corporation in New York. In addition, he worked for the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Wall Street office. Previously, he created a digital analysis portal for US investors in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and market analysis. He has experience in investment, investment technology and digital transformation for over 15 years.

In New York and in Hong Kong, entrepreneurs and young professionals alike came to him for investing advice. But he often couldn’t recommend the services he used because the minimums and fees were too high — especially for students. He saw a need to democratize access to sophisticated investment products. And he decided to do something about it. And so he realized software could make investing easier and better for more people. So he created the fintech investment platform ETFCOOL.com!

Hugo was educated in the United States. He attended the University of Chicago in Chicago USA and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Policy and Business Economics. Additionally, he completed his Master degree in International Economics at the University of Chicago. 

John Luk is Head of FX Linear & Emerging Markets Trading for Credit Agricole CIB Hong Kong. He is responsible for the banks’ EM Asia FX & Rates franchise and G10 FX franchise in Hong Kong.

Mr. Luk has spent the past 14 years trading Asia FX and Rates products in CACIB. Prior to this, he was an Asia FX trader in Standard Chartered Bank.

Mr. Luk holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from the University of Hong Kong and Masters of Science in Investment Management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Sanjay Mathur joined ANZ as the Chief Economist for South East Asia and India in 2017. Prior to joining, Sanjay was the Head of Economics Research (Asia ex-Japan) where he led research teams across economics, foreign exchange, rates and credit. Prior to this he held senior economic roles at Barclays and UBS.

Sanjay has an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and a Masters in Economics and Finance from the University of Rochester, New York

Carney leads the investment and portfolio management activities related to fintech, cryptocurrency ventures capital portfolio at FXHB Asset Management,. He has also played his part at the Wealth Management Institute (WMI), founded by Temasek & GIC to provides first-class educational sessions and consultation for family office that would like to venture into crypto-related investments/portfolios.

Prior to these roles, he held regional and leadership positions in banking, payments and fintech firms.

As a strong advocate for fintech and cryptocurrency since 2017, Carney played his part in the early community building for associations in Singapore. He was part of the subcommittee at (ACCESS) Association of Crypto Currency Enterprise and Startups Singapore, a member at (SFA) Singapore Fintech Association, and (BAS) Blockchain Association Singapore. Carney has join the evaluation panel for Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) FSTI Proof-of-Concept Grant in 2023, the scheme aims to provides funding support for the experimentation, development and dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services sector and also serve as an Industry Advisor for Alibaba Cloud – Singapore Innovation Accelerator.

Carney's insights on cryptocurrencies, Web 3.0, metaverse, NFTs and payments have been featured on several newswires and radio station such as Bloomberg, MoneyFM89.3, Coinlive and Forkast News. Apart from speaking at international events, Carney also volunteers as a guest/adjunct lecturer at local polytechnics & universities. He will be joining the adjunct faculty team at Singapore Management University (SMU) for their Academic Calendar 2023/2024.

Carney is on the advisory board for several cryptocurrency, blockchain and fintech projects, assisting their go-to market strategy.

Ashvin Murthy is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of AVM Capital. He launched the AVM Global Opportunity Fund in 2016, a macro investment strategy with an established track record of delivering consistent returns through the economic cycle. The fund received the accolade of Best Performing Macro fund in 2021 by the Hedge Fund Journal, and also came in top when they looked at returns over 2, 3 and 5 years.

Ashvin began his career in finance in the Fixed Income division at UBS. He was involved in trading complex derivatives across the Fixed Income spectrum, a journey that involved working in 4 different teams across Singapore, London and Zurich. He then moved to Hong Kong to lead the FX Options Team at Natixis. This breadth of experience in financial markets enabled Ashvin to develop a proprietary strategy that delivers robust and steady returns through different economic regimes.

Ashvin was awarded a scholarship by the Singapore Public Service Commission to study Engineering in France. He graduated with a Diplome d’Ingenieur (Master of Science in Engineering) from Ecole Centrale Paris and received the Bourse d’Excellence Eiffel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France. Ashvin then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Financial Engineering from Columbia University in 2003.

Eric SayWei Neo is a leader with heart full of passion and true to his calling but through it all, remained steadfast. With over 23 years of experience across Capital Markets, Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, FinTech, Family Office and VUCA environment, Eric has been a passionate business developer and technologist, inspired by new innovations. This vision has helped Eric to drive innovation and integration to build new longer term growth engines, and shaped more connected, efficient and effective operations. Through his beliefs in advocacy, servant leadership and stewardship, he was awarded Executive of the Year, Financial Services at SBR Management Excellence Awards 2020.

Eric has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to share this philosophy and mindset on a wider scale, thanks to his positions on various boards and committees, notably:

• Neo & Partners Global - FinTech certified company by Singapore FinTech Association;
• RF International Holdings - investment management company;
• RF Fund Management - Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) registered fund management company;
• Alta Exchange (former President) - MAS Capital Markets Services Licensee and Recognised Market Operator;
• Medway Investments - single-family office investment management company;
• Global Blockchain Business Council Ambassador of Singapore;
• iConnections Advisory Board;
• FX Markets Asia Advisory Board; and
• SAFRA National Service Association Investment Committee.

Eric contributes actively to the public domain. He is a member of various leadership networks, notably:

• Singapore Financial Leaders Network - initiative by MAS;
• Singapore Leaders Network - supported by Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB);
• Global-Asia Family Office Circle - supported by EDB and MAS; and
• Young Business Leaders Network - initiative by Singapore Business Federation.

Eric also serves in his continued National Service (NS) capacity with rank of Major as the ALT S3 at a Infantry Brigade in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). In recognition of his Command and Leadership, he was awarded SAF Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
Prior to becoming an Entrepreneur and an Intrapreneur, Eric was part of APAC Senior Leadership in BT Group, UOB Kay Hian, CMC Markets, RTS Realtime Systems and FlexTrade Systems.
Eric's commitment to lifelong learning is inspiring. Recently, he has earned a Doctor of Business Administration from European International University-Paris, completed the 6^th Asian Financial Leaders Programme by MAS, and graduated from Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College in the 20^th Command and Staff Course (NS).

Sim Yew Ng is the Head of Wealth and Investment Solutions and Portfolio Manager of Azimut Investment Management Singapore. He leads the wealth, investment solutions and business development functions. In his portfolio management role, he manages the Global Diversified Fund and discretionary/ advisory portfolios and insurance mandates for clients.

Gareth Nicholson joined Nomura in July 2021 as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management for International Wealth Management. He is based in Singapore.

Gareth works closely with Nomura’s Global Markets and Investment Banking businesses to expand the firm’s product offerings and spearhead a streamlined, solutions-driven coverage effort for high-net-worth clients, external asset managers and family offices. With a strong institutional investment background, he creates and manages DPM strategies for fixed income, equity and multi-asset portfolios, while providing risk management support.

Gareth has over 16 years of experience in financial markets. Prior to Nomura, he was Head of Fixed Income DPM at Bank of Singapore, where he was also a member of its investment committee. Before that, he was with Aberdeen Standard Investments for almost 10 years as a fixed income trader and an Asian credit portfolio manager. He began working in finance in 2004 as a derivatives specialist with Deutsche Asset Management after an early career as a mathematics teacher.

Gareth holds a BSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Johannesburg. He was born and raised in East London, South Africa.

Leo Tay is Managing Director and Head of FX, Rates, and Derivatives Trading in ING Bank NV, based in Singapore. He manages a diverse and inclusive trading team across Asia, and is also responsible for eTrading and digital asset initiatives. In a broader capacity he is the Lead of Sustainability FM Products, championing the integration of ESG principles into financial market offerings. Leo holds an MSc In Financial Mathematics from the Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern, Germany and BS/BA from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Christopher joined Nomura in 2022 as Global Head of eFX Trading, overseeing the trading, quant and technology teams behind Nomura’s electronic FX business, based in Singapore. He is helping to drive Nomura’s aggressive growth plans for the breadth of its electronic offering.

He has been working in the eFX space since its infancy in 2005, spending time in London and Singapore with industry leaders Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Citi. Prior to joining Nomura his focus had been on building electronic businesses in largely voice traded products like NDFs and restricted currencies.

Christopher holds a MA from the University of Cambridge, where he read mathematics.

Gordon Tsui is a seasoned bond fund manager with more than two decades of financial market experience. He previously led the fixed income team at Taikang Asset Management (Hong Kong) and managed the USD bond portfolio of Taikang Insurance Group Inc. Prior to this role, Gordon was Deputy Chief Investment Officer of Hang Seng Investment Management and Lead Fund Manager of Hang Seng RMB Bond Fund, which won the “Best in Class” award in 2014 for “RMB Bond” category in Hong Kong by Bloomberg Businessweek. Gordon obtained first class honours degree in Economics from the LSE on Sir Edward Youde Scholarship awarded by Hong Kong SAR Government. He stationed in New York as Representative of Hong Kong Monetary Authority between 2001 and 2004.