REFSA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Advisor, Economics and Finance
Frederik has a 20-year career in financial services, with a specialisation in risk management and compliance. He is well-versed in financial services regulation, from capital and balance sheet management to financial crime compliance, and how banks' strategies need to adapt to this regulatory landscape. Further afield, he is fascinated by the interplay between policy-making and the real economy, as well as the social and political ramifications. Frederik writes a weekly newsletter focused on the intersection of economics, finance and technology, with a particular focus on privacy and tech regulation. He holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Antwerp and a Masters in Finance from London Business School.
Li Lian has over 20 years experience in the fields of economics, finance and entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and Malaysia. She combines a first-hand understanding of how business cycles, government policies and planning on the macro-level affect businesses and society on a micro level. Her work has involved research and macro-economic analysis of the economies of Greater China and South East Asia with implications for financial market and business investment decision-making. Her interests are in sustainable development and green growth at city, national and regional levels. She has a BSc Economics from London School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of Board of Trustees
YB Liew Chin Tong is the Chairman of REFSA since 2012, and currently serves as a board member of Penang Institute. He was the Executive Director of REFSA from 2007-2011. He was also the Executive Director of Penang Institute (previously Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, SERI) from 2009-2012, and was formerly a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.
He has published numerous books and prominent academic journals focusing on political and socio-economic issues of the nation.
He is the current Deputy Defence Minister of Malaysia, appointed on 17 July 2018 after being sworn in as a Senator. He was first elected Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera (2008-2013), and was subsequently the Member of Parliament for Kluang (2013-2018).
YB Liew graduated with a degree in Political Science and an honours degree in Asian Studies from the Australian National University, and holds an International Masters in Regional Integration from the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya.