The firm, which provides data-driven financial solutions for small and medium-sized firms , has announced several key senior appointments to its senior leadership team to support its growth in Southeast Asia.
Finaxar has announced a trio of senior banking and finance industry executives to its leadership as it eyes regional growth and aims to be a major fintech player in the region, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.
Banking industry veteran Rakesh Bhatia joins as chair of the executive commitee, a role in which he will be overseeing Finaxar’s strategic and business execution. Bhatia brings almost 30 years of banking experience with HSBC across Asia, U.K. and the Middle East, most notably as global head of trade finance and CEO of Indonesia, prior to helming an independent private bank in India.
Leading the development of Finaxar's risk strategies and overseeing the implementation of risk policies is Sonford Yuen, who joins the firm as group chief risk officer and country head, Hong Kong. He brings nearly two decades of banking experience with banks such as DBS and HSBC in Hong Kong.
The firm's new country head, Malaysia, Mohd Ridzwan Nordin, joins from Monk’s Hill Ventures, where he was a Venture Partner. He was previously a vice president at Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, where he focused on the fund’s Innovation and Technology portfolio.
Strong Backing
Founded in 2016, Finaxar is backed by Monk's Hill Ventures, 500 Startups and Cathay Ventures. In 2019, it partnered Cathay Financial Holdings and Indovina Bank to improve access to SME financing in Vietnam, in its first overseas market venture beyond Singapore.
One of its solutions is a credit line that enables business payments through an integrated platform that aligns with businesses’ cash flows to provide rapid liquidity to SMEs.
