SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Liza Mohd Noor
Chief Executive Officer

Liza is the Chief Executive Officer of RAM Rating Services Berhad. She joined the organisation as one of its pioneer analysts in 1991. Liza has extensive experience in the ratings of corporate bonds and sukuk as well as bank ratings, and had served in several senior management positions before becoming RAM Ratings’ Chief Executive Officer.

During the 1997/98 regional economic crisis, Liza had been seconded to the Corporate Debt-Restructuring Committee (or CDRC) - a unit of Bank Negara Malaysia – where she had been principally involved in sector-wide restructuring schemes and the reorganisation of government- and state-owned enterprises. Earlier in her career, Liza had had stints with a merchant bank, where she had been mainly engaged in corporate-advisory work pertaining to Government privatisation schemes, and an accounting firm, where she had been chiefly involved in corporate receivership and liquidation work.

Liza holds a Bachelor of Economics, majoring in Accounting, from the University of Adelaide, Australia. She also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance from International Islamic University Malaysia.

Chong Kwee Siong
Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Chong is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of RAM Ratings. Since joining the company in 1994, he has undertaken numerous rating assignments covering issuers from a wide range of industries.

In 2000, Chong led the establishment of RAM Ratings’ Structured Finance Ratings Group and the development of rating methodologies for structured-finance and asset-backed transactions. He has also represented RAM Ratings as a member of the Asset Securitisation Consultative Committee, spearheaded by the Securities Commission of Malaysia. Chong has presented several papers in conferences and seminars, both locally and abroad, on topics related to credit ratings, securitisation and the Malaysian bond market. He has also acted as a domestic consultant on Malaysia for a project on the study of the ASEAN regional capital market.

Chong holds a First-Class Honours degree in civil engineering from the University of Surrey and an MBA from Bradford University in the United Kingdom (“UK”).  Prior to joining RAM Ratings, he had worked as a structural engineer in a multinational engineering consulting firm in the UK.

Foo Su Yin
General Manager
Financial Institution Ratings & Public Finance Ratings

Su Yin is the General Manager overseeing the Financial Institution Ratings & Public Finance Ratings departments. She has held several positions in the organisation since coming on board as an analyst in 1991. Her experience encompasses the credit ratings of myriad companies in assorted industries.

As a member of RAM Ratings’ senior management team, Su Yin’s role includes coordinating the recruitment and training of new analytical staff. She has also presented papers at conferences and seminars in Malaysia, on topics related to credit ratings and the Malaysian bond market.

Su Yin holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree from Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Denise Thean
General Manager
Corporate Ratings

Denise Thean is the General Manager of Corporate Ratings at RAM Rating Services Berhad. Denise’s current responsibilities include overseeing Consumer & Industrial Ratings and Real Estate & Construction Ratings.  She also undertakes the duty of developing rating methodologies & criteria for RAM 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
Head, Financial Institution Ratings

Promod leads the Financial Institution Ratings team. His exposure includes financial institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. He had also played a crucial role in building up RAM Ratings (Lanka) Limited (previously known as Lanka Rating Agency Limited) – RAM Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary in Sri Lanka.

Promod has delivered presentations at conferences and training events, including sessions for the Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Centre, and the South-east Asian Central Banks (or SEACEN) Research and Training Centre managed by Bank Negara Malaysia. Prior to joining RAM Ratings in 2000, he had been involved in credit, capital markets and corporate finance with a merchant bank. 

Promod holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the UK’s University of Warwick.

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.

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.

Hafiza Abdul Rashid
Head, Public Finance Ratings

Hafiza is the Head of Public Finance Ratings. She joined the organisation as an analyst in 1994. Hafiza had led various rating assignments covering diverse sectors, before being appointed to lead Public Finance Ratings. Prior to RAM Ratings, she had been a credit officer with a factoring company.

Hafiza holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA from the United States’ Western Illinois University.

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
Senior Manager
Financial Institution Ratings

Yin Ching is currently the Senior Manager 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, in 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.