Inside ASEAN – Malaysia (Episode 1)
Policy flexibility and stability through effective sovereign institutions
What are the key trends that will shape Malaysia’s recovery and growth prospects?
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Monday, 29 March | 15:00 MYT
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15:00
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15:05
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15:10
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16:00
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Wendy Cheong is a senior management and strategy professional with over 22 years of experience in leading and transforming international business operations.
She is currently Managing Director-Regional Head of Asia Pacific for Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), based in Hong Kong. In this role, Wendy develops and leads Moody’s growth strategy in both developed and emerging markets in the region. Wendy is the senior representative for Moody’s in Asia Pacific and is responsible for managing regional operations, overseeing policy and regulatory outreach, coordinating Moody’s global initiatives, and providing oversight of affiliates, joint ventures and MIS domestic market strategies in the region.
Wendy joined Moody's in 2010 as an Assistant Director at Content Strategy in Moody’s Analytics, and has since held senior positions in strategy and management roles across business lines in Hong Kong and New York to build strategic vision, drive business growth and enhance market impact. She has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Moody’s Investors Service; Representative Director for MIS in Hong Kong, while also serving as Senior Vice President – Head of APAC Strategy & Business Management; and Director and Senior Product Strategist at Moody’s Analytics. Wendy sits as a Director on the boards of a majority of Moody’s Asia entities and affiliates in the region.
Wendy is a member of Moody’s Global Diversity Council and founded the Moody’s Women’s Employee Resource Group in Asia Pacific. She held leadership roles in several external women in finance organizations, including 100 Women in Finance and the Women in Finance Association of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA). She is currently a member of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a leading network of over 600 organizations across 34 countries that mobilizes capital for impact investing.
Before joining Moody’s, Wendy held senior strategy, sales and marketing positions at Prudential PLC, as well as at Singapore Telecoms in Hong Kong and Singapore.
She holds a BA in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.
Christian Fang is an Assistant Vice President–Analyst with Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group.
Based in Singapore, Christian serves as Lead Analyst for a portfolio of sovereigns in Asia Pacific and Eurasia, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Solomon Islands.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Christian was a Lead Portfolio Manager for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the country’s central bank), where he was responsible for the investment of Singapore’s foreign reserves in European fixed income, global investment grade credit, and global developed equity markets.
Christian’s time with the central bank included a two-and-a-half-year stint in London as its sole in-house investment representative. Christian also worked in monetary policy operations and macro-prudential policy research, and was involved in the negotiation of Singapore’s renminbi swap line with China, as well as banking system-wide stress tests.
Christian holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from The University of Chicago and a Master in Finance from Princeton University.
Christian de Guzman is a Senior Vice President with Moody’s Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group. Based in Singapore, he covers a portfolio of sovereigns and multilateral development banks in Asia Pacific, including Japan, India and a number of Southeast Asian credits, while also managing the team responsible for sub-sovereign ratings in Asia ex-China.
Christian joined Moody’s in 2009, after working as a Senior Economist for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, covering ASEAN economies. He has also held various positions with the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, and Procter & Gamble in Singapore.
Christian was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in Economics and Political Science at the University of Georgia and received his M.A. in International Economics and Southeast Asian Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Firdaos joined MARC as Head of Economic Research on November 2, 2020, with over 15 years of experience in economic development. In MARC, he is responsible for economic, sovereign and sub-sovereign rating as well as fixed-income macroeconomic research output.
In the early years of his career, Firdaos worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers Malaysia and RHB Bank Berhad. From 2005-2010, Firdaos served with the Malaysian government as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer under the purview of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), where he worked on policies concerning bilateral and regional trade relations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and industrial development. He also served in the Minister's Office as the Senior Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister of MITI from 2008 to 2010.
Prior to joining MARC, Firdaos served with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia from January 2011 to October 2020 where he moved up the ranks from Senior Analyst in Economics to the Director of Economics, Trade and Regional Integration, having assumed the latter post in April 2017. During his time with ISIS, he also served as a short-term external consultant to the World Bank and was a former EXCO member of the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association.
Firdaos holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance degree from Lancaster University, UK. He also completed his Master of Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science as a 2019/2020 Chevening scholar. He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia and Business Foundation Programme from St. Andrew's College in Cambridge, UK.
Steven G. Cochrane, PhD, is Chief APAC Economist with Moody’s Analytics. He leads the Asia economic analysis and forecasting activities of the Moody’s Analytics research team, as well as the continual expansion of the company’s international, national and subnational forecast models. In addition, Steve directs consulting projects for clients to help them understand the effect of regional economic developments on their business under baseline forecasts and alternative scenarios. Steve’s expertise lies in providing clear insights into an area’s or region’s strengths, weaknesses and comparative advantages, relative to macro or global economic trends.
A highly-regarded speaker, Dr. Cochrane has provided economic insights at hundreds of engagements over the past 20 years and has been featured on CNBC, CNA, Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Radio, and the PBS News Hour. Through his research and presentations, Steve dissects how various components of the macro and regional economies shape patterns of growth. His extensive expertise on U.S. and global economic issues makes also him a popular speaker at client conferences and executive briefings.
Steve holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Penn Institute for Urban Research Scholar. He also holds a master's degree from the University of Colorado at Denver and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Cochrane is based out of Moody’s Analytics Singapore office.
Christian Fang is an Assistant Vice President–Analyst with Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group.
Based in Singapore, Christian serves as Lead Analyst for a portfolio of sovereigns in Asia Pacific and Eurasia, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Solomon Islands.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Christian was a Lead Portfolio Manager for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the country’s central bank), where he was responsible for the investment of Singapore’s foreign reserves in European fixed income, global investment grade credit, and global developed equity markets.
Christian’s time with the central bank included a two-and-a-half-year stint in London as its sole in-house investment representative. Christian also worked in monetary policy operations and macro-prudential policy research, and was involved in the negotiation of Singapore’s renminbi swap line with China, as well as banking system-wide stress tests.
Christian holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from The University of Chicago and a Master in Finance from Princeton University.
Wendy Cheong is a senior management and strategy professional with over 22 years of experience in leading and transforming international business operations.
She is currently Managing Director-Regional Head of Asia Pacific for Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), based in Hong Kong. In this role, Wendy develops and leads Moody’s growth strategy in both developed and emerging markets in the region. Wendy is the senior representative for Moody’s in Asia Pacific and is responsible for managing regional operations, overseeing policy and regulatory outreach, coordinating Moody’s global initiatives, and providing oversight of affiliates, joint ventures and MIS domestic market strategies in the region.
Wendy joined Moody's in 2010 as an Assistant Director at Content Strategy in Moody’s Analytics, and has since held senior positions in strategy and management roles across business lines in Hong Kong and New York to build strategic vision, drive business growth and enhance market impact. She has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Moody’s Investors Service; Representative Director for MIS in Hong Kong, while also serving as Senior Vice President – Head of APAC Strategy & Business Management; and Director and Senior Product Strategist at Moody’s Analytics. Wendy sits as a Director on the boards of a majority of Moody’s Asia entities and affiliates in the region.
Wendy is a member of Moody’s Global Diversity Council and founded the Moody’s Women’s Employee Resource Group in Asia Pacific. She held leadership roles in several external women in finance organizations, including 100 Women in Finance and the Women in Finance Association of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA). She is currently a member of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a leading network of over 600 organizations across 34 countries that mobilizes capital for impact investing.
Before joining Moody’s, Wendy held senior strategy, sales and marketing positions at Prudential PLC, as well as at Singapore Telecoms in Hong Kong and Singapore.
She holds a BA in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.
Christian de Guzman is a Senior Vice President with Moody’s Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group. Based in Singapore, he covers a portfolio of sovereigns and multilateral development banks in Asia Pacific, including Japan, India and a number of Southeast Asian credits, while also managing the team responsible for sub-sovereign ratings in Asia ex-China.
Christian joined Moody’s in 2009, after working as a Senior Economist for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, covering ASEAN economies. He has also held various positions with the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, and Procter & Gamble in Singapore.
Christian was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in Economics and Political Science at the University of Georgia and received his M.A. in International Economics and Southeast Asian Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Firdaos joined MARC as Head of Economic Research on November 2, 2020, with over 15 years of experience in economic development. In MARC, he is responsible for economic, sovereign and sub-sovereign rating as well as fixed-income macroeconomic research output.
In the early years of his career, Firdaos worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers Malaysia and RHB Bank Berhad. From 2005-2010, Firdaos served with the Malaysian government as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer under the purview of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), where he worked on policies concerning bilateral and regional trade relations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and industrial development. He also served in the Minister's Office as the Senior Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister of MITI from 2008 to 2010.
Prior to joining MARC, Firdaos served with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia from January 2011 to October 2020 where he moved up the ranks from Senior Analyst in Economics to the Director of Economics, Trade and Regional Integration, having assumed the latter post in April 2017. During his time with ISIS, he also served as a short-term external consultant to the World Bank and was a former EXCO member of the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association.
Firdaos holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance degree from Lancaster University, UK. He also completed his Master of Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science as a 2019/2020 Chevening scholar. He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia and Business Foundation Programme from St. Andrew's College in Cambridge, UK.
Steven G. Cochrane, PhD, is Chief APAC Economist with Moody’s Analytics. He leads the Asia economic analysis and forecasting activities of the Moody’s Analytics research team, as well as the continual expansion of the company’s international, national and subnational forecast models. In addition, Steve directs consulting projects for clients to help them understand the effect of regional economic developments on their business under baseline forecasts and alternative scenarios. Steve’s expertise lies in providing clear insights into an area’s or region’s strengths, weaknesses and comparative advantages, relative to macro or global economic trends.
A highly-regarded speaker, Dr. Cochrane has provided economic insights at hundreds of engagements over the past 20 years and has been featured on CNBC, CNA, Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Radio, and the PBS News Hour. Through his research and presentations, Steve dissects how various components of the macro and regional economies shape patterns of growth. His extensive expertise on U.S. and global economic issues makes also him a popular speaker at client conferences and executive briefings.
Steve holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Penn Institute for Urban Research Scholar. He also holds a master's degree from the University of Colorado at Denver and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Cochrane is based out of Moody’s Analytics Singapore office.
Christian Fang is an Assistant Vice President–Analyst with Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group.
Based in Singapore, Christian serves as Lead Analyst for a portfolio of sovereigns in Asia Pacific and Eurasia, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Solomon Islands.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Christian was a Lead Portfolio Manager for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the country’s central bank), where he was responsible for the investment of Singapore’s foreign reserves in European fixed income, global investment grade credit, and global developed equity markets.
Christian’s time with the central bank included a two-and-a-half-year stint in London as its sole in-house investment representative. Christian also worked in monetary policy operations and macro-prudential policy research, and was involved in the negotiation of Singapore’s renminbi swap line with China, as well as banking system-wide stress tests.
Christian holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from The University of Chicago and a Master in Finance from Princeton University.