SINGAPORE- Media OutReach - 30July 2020 - Despite buoyant stock markets around the world, the COVID-19 crisishas spelled doom for many mid-cap firms that are unable to raise cash. Intothis void steps Lam Ching Ching, CEO of Charismatic Capital, an investment firmfocused on listed companies valued at under $1 billion. Charismatic has beenable to secure impressive ROI injecting funds into cash-strapped firms acrossAsia.

Lam is Founder and Chief Investment Officer ofCharismatic Capital, the investment manager to Charismatic Debt Equity Fund, a directlender to shareholdersof listed companies secured against their listedshares. The banking veteran boasts over two decades of a banking career with Citibank,Credit Industrial et Commercial, EFG and UBS. She climbed the corporate ladderto advise high net-worth clients on investments and credit, managing over USD1bnworth of assets.

Quality stocks selection

Lam started Charismatic Capital in 2015 when shenoticed that listed companies with market capitalization below USD1b wereunderserved by banks. Banks had lost their lending appetite after the 2008global financial crisis and to date, mainly focused on large and establishedcorporations.

Concurrently, the ultra-low interest rate environmentpost-2008 made it difficult for investors to find attractive high yield-generatingassets. With the Covid-19 pandemic, banks have become even more selective ofborrowers.

Charismatic Capital thus provides stock loans toshareholders who pledge their shares as collateral. In return, its investorsare compensated with attractive double-digit yields. Empowered by financial technology,it created a user-friendly online portal to streamline and accelerate theprocessing, allowing loan cases to be swiftly assessed and closely tracked.Investors can also access to its investments and their performance via theportal.

Tapping on her networks and expertise, Lam establisheda diversified portfolio of stock loans with over collateralization of stocks. Shecredits her years in banking for giving her a sharp eye in selecting quality stocksand doing in-depth credit assessment, resulting in two stellar years with a double-digitnet return as expected, and zero rate of default by borrowers.

The future of Asian finance

In countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore, Lamforesees higher growth ahead over the next decade. Lam credits this positiveoutlook on the countries' high domestic savings rates, good infrastructure, andstable political situations.

"Even with Hong Kong's unstable political outlook, manyUS-listed companies with Chinese ownership have returned to dual list in HongKong, suggesting Hong Kong will continue to remain a leading financial hub,"She notes. This increase in variety of stocks to lend against bodes well forCharismatic Capital, as Hong Kong is their biggest market at 50%.

To aspiring women in the banking industry, the motherof four graduate children and the avid ballet dancer says, "The sky is thelimit. Go all out to establish a successful banking career without compromisingon building a family concurrently," emphasizing the importance of beingfinancially independent.