SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Foo Su Yin
Chief Executive Officer Designate
Su Yin is the Acting Chief Executive Officer of RAM Ratings. She joined RAM as one of its pioneer analysts in 1991. Since coming on board, Su Yin has been a member of the company’s senior management line-up for several years now.
Su Yin has extensive experience in credit rating; she has overseen the operations of various rating departments ranging from Industrial Products, Financial Institutions and Public Finance Ratings. Over the years, she has also served and chaired the Internal Rating Committee which deliberates and assigns the ratings recommended to the Rating Committee.
Her other exposures include the setting up of RAM Ratings (Lanka) Ltd as well as the reorganisation of the RAM Group in 2007 under the then Strategic Investment and Resources Development Department. She has also led the recruitment and training of new analysts to ensure sustainable talent management since 2000.
Su Yin holds an Honours degree in Economics from Universiti Utara Malaysia.
Awang Za’aba Awang Mahmud
Chief Compliance Officer
Za’aba is the Chief Compliance Officer of RAM Ratings Berhad. He joined Rating Agency Malaysia Berhad in May 1995 as an analyst, and was involved in rating companies with diverse backgrounds, including transportation, road privatisation, conglomerates, hospitality, trading and services, and manufacturing.
In 1998, Za’aba was seconded to Bank Negara Malaysia to assist in the coordination and mediation of debt-restructuring efforts and to provide technical know-how and solutions to complete the restructuring of large distressed companies. Between December 1998 and March 2001, he was involved in restructuring a number of companies with a few billion ringgit of debts; these encompassed road privatisation, public transportation, telecommunications, construction, and township and property development.
After his stint with the Central Bank, Za’aba had returned to RAM to oversee the setting up and initial operations of RAM-DP Information Services Sdn Bhd (“RAM-DP”), a joint-venture company between RAM and DP Information Network Ltd. Having completed his task at RAM-DP, Za’aba had then been appointed the Head of Strategic & Business Advisory at RAM Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAM Holdings Berhad.
Za’aba holds an MBA from Ohio University, and a Diploma in Actuarial Science from Institut Teknologi MARA.
Denise Thean
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Denise Thean is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at RAM Ratings. During her career with RAM, Denise has held leadership roles in several analytical practices including corporate and project finance ratings.
From 2008-2009, Denise was seconded to Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”, the Central Bank of Malaysia) as advisor to assist BNM in establishing its corporate surveillance unit and enhancing its surveillance of the corporate sector and the credit market. As one of the pioneer batch of analysts at RAM Ratings, Denise has had wide exposure to rating companies in a variety of industries. Prior to joining RAM in 1991, Denise was attached to an international accounting firm.
Denise received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) of the Australian Society of CPAs and a Chartered Accountant of Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).
Promod Dass
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Designate
Promod Dass is the Acting Deputy CEO of RAM Ratings. Promod has acquired 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, out of which 11 years have been with RAM Ratings. Since joining RAM Ratings in 2000, Promod has built a strong track record as a leading bank credit analyst in the industry. His exposure as a team leader and as a credit analyst includes the coverage of financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan and the Middle-East.
He has led the Financial Institution Ratings team since October 2006. Promod has also played the role of RAM Ratings’ banking sector analytical voice at conferences, external training events and to the media. Within the organisation, Promod has a played a pivotal role in pioneering new areas and projects while still contributing as a rating specialist. In 2003, he was sent to Colombo, Sri Lanka to set-up RAM Ratings (Lanka) Limited (previously known as Lanka Rating Agency Limited) operations from scratch. To date he continues to serve RAM Ratings (Lanka) Limited as a rating committee member.
Promod began his career in financial services in 1995 with Malaysian International Merchant Bankers Berhad (MIMB) where he was exposed to various credit, capital markets and corporate finance assignments. While still at MIMB, he found his calling as an analyst, when he was selected for a short secondment stint at BZW Capital (M) Sdn Bhd, an equity research house in Kuala Lumpur that was then part of the Barclays banking group.
Promod holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the UK’s University of Warwick in 1995.
Siew Suet Ming
Head, Structured Finance Ratings
Currently Head of Structured Finance Ratings, Suet Ming joined RAM in 1999 and was with the Industrial Products and Services Ratings Group for 2 years. She was seconded to RAM Consultancy Services from 2001 to 2005, to assist in various projects related to risk management and bond-market development.
A member of the Structured Finance team since 2002, Suet Ming has helped develop various methodologies for the rating of asset-backed securities. She is also the architect of RAM Ratings’ annual default studies and has authored credit research papers. She has extensive experience in evaluating credit ratings across diverse industries, including corporates under restructuring.
Suet Ming holds a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance, as well as a Masters in International Economics, Banking and Finance from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Julie Ng
Head, Data & Analytics
Prior to heading the Data & Analytics department, Julie had served RAM in various capacities. She started in 1994 as an analyst covering corporate and financial institutions, before being seconded to the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee, Bank Negara Malaysia in 1998 to assist the debt work-out of distressed corporations during the Asian Financial Crisis. Thereafter in 2000, she joined RAM Consultancy Services to head the risk management division to offer advisory and risk solutions to clients. Her main areas of expertise include corporate and financial analysis, risk strategy and framework, credit risk modeling and validation, Basel II compliance, training and project management. She has also consulted on several projects and studies in credit rating, bond market development and SME financing for multilateral agencies. Prior to RAM, Julie was a credit officer at a commercial bank.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Economics from Universiti Utara Malaysia and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Esther Lai
Head, Public Finance Ratings
Esther joined the organisation in 1998; she currently leads RAM Ratings’ Public Finance Ratings team. During her tenure at RAM Ratings, she has gained considerable experience in the rating of corporates; she headed the Infrastructure and Utilities Ratings team for 6 years. Esther has also had a stint overseeing the RAM Group’s investments in domestic rating agencies in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan. In addition, she has played a role in guiding the strategic direction of RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd, the credit-information bureau owned by RAM Holdings Berhad and DP Information Network Pte Ltd, Singapore’s leading credit and rating bureau.
Prior to RAM Ratings, she had been involved in credit work at a financial institution and also auditing work with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Esther holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Adelaide.
Kevin Lim
Head, Consumer & Industrial Ratings
Kevin is the Head of Consumer & Industrial Ratings – following the merger of the former Consumer Products & Services Ratings and Industrial Products & Services Ratings. He leads rating assignments that encompass sectors such as manufacturing, retail, food and beverages, transportation, and oil and gas.
During his tenure at RAM Ratings, Kevin has had stints in Industrial Products & Services Ratings, Consumer Products & Services Ratings, and also Real Estate & Construction Ratings. He has considerable experience in evaluating corporates in diverse industries, including structured-finance deals.
Kevin also spearheads RAM Ratings’ Technical Committee, which deals with accounting-related matters. In addition, he has written commentaries that include Guide to RAM's Analytical Adjustments to Financial Statements.
Apart from credit rating, Kevin has 2 years’ audit experience with Ernst & Young – which he had joined after graduating from Australia’s RMIT University with a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy). Kevin is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Financial Planner.
Shahina Azura Halip
Head, Real Estate & Construction Ratings
Shahina is the Head of Real Estate and Construction Ratings. Besides her specialisation in real estate, construction and plantations, she has undertaken numerous rating assignments covering issuers from a vast array of industries, including financial institutions and manufacturing. Shahina has more than 12 years’ experience in credit rating and has presented papers at conferences in Malaysia, on topics related to credit ratings and the Malaysian bond market. Prior to joining RAM Ratings, she had been a credit officer with a local financial institution, covering small-scale industries.
Shahina holds a Bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in Business Administration, majoring in Economics, from the University of Miami, Florida.
Zakariya Othman
Head, Islamic Finance Ratings
Zakariya is head of the Islamic Ratings at RAM Ratings. He reviews all the Islamic structures and provides guidance on Islamic finance to the other analytical staff. He also represents RAM Ratings at external meetings with regard to Islamic structures.
Zakariya is an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young International, before moving on to other areas such as investment and financial reporting. His interest in Islamic finance had been kindled when he was appointed to represent the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (“MIA”) at the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (or AAOIFI), which is based in Bahrain. He had also been a member of the MIA’s Working Group Committee on Accounting for Islamic Finance, involved in the development of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board’s accounting standards for Islamic financial institutions.
Zakariya has written several articles on Islamic finance in local and international magazines. He has also conducted several workshops on Shariah audit from the accounting perspective. To enhance his knowledge in Islamic finance, he is working towards a Masters in Islamic Finance at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance; he currently holds an MPhil in Communications.
Chong Van Nee
Head, Infrastructure & Utilities Ratings
Van Nee joined the organisation in 2002, and is currently the Head of Infrastructure and Utilities Ratings. Her experience mainly covers project-finance transactions of concession-based entities, as well as corporate issuers from the power, water, tolled-road, telecommunication and port sectors. Prior to specialising in infrastructure and utilities, she had undertaken various rating assignments entailing issuers from an extensive range of industries under the former Consumer Products & Services Ratings division.
Earlier in her career, Van Nee had had a short stint with an accounting firm, where she had been primarily involved in corporate receivership and liquidation work.
Van Nee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting and Finance) from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Wong Yin Ching
Head, Financial Institution Ratings
Yin Ching is currently the Head of the Financial Institution Ratings department. Apart from having evaluated the credit ratings of local financial institutions, she has also led several foreign credit-rating assignments, particularly in South Korea. Apart from financial institutions, Yin Ching is also experienced in the ratings of project-financed bonds. In addition, she is actively involved in the rating work of RAM Ratings (Lanka) Limited.
Prior to RAM Ratings, Yin Ching had been engaged in audit-related assignments with PricewaterhouseCoopers; she had also been an equity analyst at a local stockbroking firm, besides a 1-year stint with a management consulting firm in the United States.
Yin Ching holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Joyce Chen
Editor
Joyce is the chief editor of RAM Ratings. Although most of her assignments are related to RAM Ratings’ publications, she also works on write-ups from the rest of the RAM Group. Before coming on board, she had been a senior compliance officer with the Market Supervision Group of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia). She also has experience from the stockbroking industry, having worked as an investment analyst and in back-room operations earlier in her career.
At RAM, Joyce had spearheaded the formation of the central editing unit upon joining the organisation in 2001. Apart from her editing responsibilities, Joyce has written a special RAMFocus paper on the Malaysian bond market as well as speeches and presentation papers for RAM’s top management. In addition, she had overseen the production of RAM’s signature monthly Bond Newsletter from 2003 to 2007, and had headed the Group Publications unit.
Joyce graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Adelaide, Australia.
Chin Jo Sie
Head, Client Relationship Management
Jo Sie is RAM Ratings’ Head of Client Relationship Management. She spearheads business-development and marketing efforts, apart from managing relationships with clients.
Prior to joining RAM Ratings, Jo Sie had worked at several international insurance companies after a 10-year stint in Singapore. Besides heading a department, she had also been involved in business and product development as well as operations and process improvements. In addition, she had taken part in a major project to set up a shared-services hub in Malaysia.
Jo Sie holds a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Banking and Finance, from Australia’s Monash University, and a Master in Financial Management from the Australian National University.
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