.png?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=53058492_2)
Taimur Baig
Chief Economist, Managing Director
DBS Bank Ltd
Taimur Baig, Ph.D, heads global economics as well as macro strategy for interest rate, credit, and currency at DBS Group Research. He also advises the bank on risk management and investment strategy.
Prior to joining DBS, Dr. Baig was a Principal Economist at the Economic Policy Group, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Earlier, he spent nine years at Deutsche Bank’s Singapore office, where his last position was Managing Director and Chief Economist, Asia.
During 1999-2007, he was based in Washington, DC, at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund, where his last position was Senior Economist.
Dr. Baig has published extensively for both specialists and a general audience, on areas including monetary policy, digital currency, financial technology, climate change, demographics, frontier markets, fiscal policy efficacy, and financial market contagion. He is the host of “Kopi Time,” a widely followed podcast series on markets and economies.
Dr. Baig sits as a council member for the Asian Financial Think Tank, Economic Society of Singapore, and Women’s World Banking.
Dr. Baig holds a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He attended London School of Economics and Wabash College for his B.A. in Economics.
.png?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=c0f3287d_4)
Geoff Howie
Market Strategist
SGX Group
Mr. Howie is the Singapore Exchange’s Market Strategist, with close to 25 years of experience in financial markets and economics. He has a strong background in global macroeconomics and a reputation for expeditiously identifying key market drivers and their impact across major asset classes.
He is the creator and author of the SGX My Gateway Report which highlights local market highlights and developments, serving investors since 2012. The report is one of the most read and regarded in the Singapore financial markets, with one of the largest subscriber bases.
Mr. Howie has led numerous content campaigns for SGX and is a leading market communicator to the investing public. He pens the weekly Inside Insights column in the Business Times, in addition to speaking with Money FM 89.3 every Friday for the Market View Roundup. Mr. Howie was also named a LinkedIn Power Profile in 2018.
Prior to his role at SGX, Mr. Howie held lead Broking and Market Strategist roles across the Asia Pacific offices of the world’s largest Futures and Options broker. He complemented his dealer profile with the provision of frequent market outlooks, educational events and media engagements. He has also served as the Treasury Adviser to the Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party in Queensland Parliament.
Mr Howie has received a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Queensland, with his thesis achieving the highest grade for first-mover policy research on the opening of Shanghai’s economy in the early 1990s. Mr. Howie’s other notable merits include receiving two Hong Kong Securities Institute Outstanding Achievers awards for the 2005 year.
Mr. Howie is also the previous Vice President and Treasurer of the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) and is a University of Queensland Alumni Ambassador for the Faculty of Business, Economics & Law.
.png?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=678d5b7_2)
Wong Kar Ling
Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Head of Strategy and Global Operations
The Ascott Limited
Kar Ling is the Managing Director, Southeast Asia (SEA) and Head of Strategy and Global Operations at The Ascott Limited (Ascott). She is responsible for the performance and growth of Ascott’s portfolio in the SEA region, as well as the strategic planning and investments for Ascott globally. In addition, Kar Ling also provides leadership to digital innovation and explore new business opportunities and partnerships at Ascott.
Kar Ling has over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, corporate finance, financial management and operations. Prior to joining Ascott, Kar Ling was with Sheares Healthcare Group as the Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She was responsible for the finance function and played an active role in the investments and asset management for the Group’s portfolio companies. Before that, Kar Ling was the Senior Vice President, Finance - Asia Pacific excluding China for Marriott International and CFO – Asia Pacific for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In her roles with Starwood and Marriott, Kar Ling led the group’s finance function, overseeing strategic planning, reporting, compliance, tax, financial IT systems and operations for over 300 properties in more than 20 countries.
