IBF Awards

Biography

Chen Chen is the Managing Director, Group Head, Structured Trade & Commodity Finance (“STCF”) and joined UOB since 2005. As a seasoned banker of 25 years, she helms a strong business team to manage a robust commodity asset portfolio for UOB in Singapore as head office, Hong Kong and China, covering the global trade financing in Energy, Metals & Agriculture, facilitating flows spanning across US, Europe and across ASEAN, Hong Kong and China.

Leveraging on her entrenched market knowledge, business networks and strong client relationships, she built the UOB global commodity portfolio to the current size today. Chen Chen’s vision of putting UOB as a Bank of Choice in a commodity market historically occupied by foreign banks has transformed UOB into a preferred bank for commodity financing. Today, with her strong leadership, commercial knowledge and commitment, UOB is an important and strategic banking partner to global and regional commodity clients spanning across luminary global commodity players, national oil companies, producers, steel mills, refineries across the globe. These players are now strategically part of UOB’s commodity financing eco-system. Other than trade financing facilities, she has vast experience in leading high-profile M&A transactions, borrowing base facilities, inventory financing for these clients.

Given her deep commitment in the banking sector and good understanding of the intricacies in commodity trade finance, she has also played various key roles in providing her expertise to Singapore’s strategic and important industry’s initiatives.  Some of the key initiatives which Chen Chen had represented UOB includes ABS Code of Best Practices for Commodity Financing, which was successfully launched on 30 Nov 2020. Chen Chen continues to support the development of the trade finance sector in Singapore. At present, she plays an active role in representing UOB, on the business work-stream as co-lead, to drive in the building of a Digital Trade Finance Registry. Chen Chen is also an active contributor to various industry roundtable discussions such as Energy Price Cap Policy, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on e-trade documents, sustainability in trade finance, capital treatment of trade asset and Enterprise Singapore’s Trade Finance forums. These contributions are critical to the trade finance hub for Singapore and its role in the global market going forward.

Chen Chen is well versed in risk management and she had been a member of UOB Group Anti-Money Laundering Committee. Chen Chen graduated from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore with a BA (HONS) in Financial Analysis. She has also completed UOB’s Leadership Academy executive leadership with Singapore Management University (SMU) and has also graduated in the Asian Financial Leaders Program in 2023.