Opening Remarks
Bhargav Dasgupta, Vice President of Market Solutions, ADB
Bhargav Dasgupta is the Vice-President (Market Solutions) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He assumed the position on 4 December 2023.
Mr. Dasgupta is responsible for the Private Sector Operations Department and Office of Markets Development and Public-Private Partnerships. These departments deliver market solutions to catalyze Asia and the Pacific’s private sector development.
Mr. Dasgupta is a financial industry leader with over 35 years of experience across a range of economies, including in Asia and the Pacific. He was Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd., the largest private sector general insurance company in India. He led ICICI’s successful initial public offering, making it the first listed general insurance company in India.
In his earlier years at ICICI Bank, Mr. Dasgupta held various leadership positions in project finance, corporate banking and treasury, e-commerce, international banking, and insurance. He was instrumental in ICICI's globalization and insurance business growth. As Senior General Manager and Head of the International Business Group and the Global Markets Group, Mr. Dasgupta was responsible for the company's clients in international markets, including correspondent banks and all international lending. He also led the establishment of international operations in 14 countries through branches, subsidiaries, or representative offices.
Mr. Dasgupta holds a post graduate diploma in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India. He obtained his bachelor of engineering (mechanical) degree from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India.
Keynote Address: Bridging Financial Technology, Trust, and Regulation
Serey Chea, Governor, National Bank of Cambodia
Serey Chea is the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia. She is passionate about financial inclusion and women's economic empowerment. Achievements under her leadership include the establishment of Credit Bureau Cambodia in 2012 that propelled Cambodia’s Ease of Access to Finance to number 7 worldwide in 2017 by the World Bank, the introduction of Bakong, a national backbone payment system using DLT allowing interoperability amongst all financial service providers making financial services more accessible and affordable, and the introduction of financial literacy into the general education program. Serey holds a PhD in economics and was internationally recognized as a Level A- Central Bank Governor by Global Finance in 2024 and 2025 for her leadership.
Special Address
Sopnendu Mohanty, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Global finance & Technology Network
Sopnendu Mohanty is the Co-Founder and Group CEO of the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), a global advisory and investment firm. At GFTN, he leads innovative strategies that drive development and transformation in the financial sector through four operating arms: Forums, Advisory, Platform, and Capital.
He served the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as its first Chief Fintech Officer for nearly a decade, establishing Singapore on the global map as a leading center for innovation in the financial sector and a dynamic hub for fintech development. He continues to advise MAS on technology and innovation.
He currently serves on several boards, including the board of A*STAR, Singapore’s leading public sector agency dedicated to advancing scientific discovery and technological innovation. Before his leadership role in the public sector, he spent nearly two decades at Citigroup. He is credited with developing many public goods, including the notable PayNow, Singapore’s digital public infrastructure for payments. He conceptualized the globally well-known Singapore Fintech Festival and its global network of forums; today, the GFTN forum is the world’s largest convenor of tech, policymakers, and the financial sector community. Mr. Mohanty has co-authored several patented works in digital finance and received numerous industry accolades. He advises governments and various institutions on policies and implementation strategies for innovation, infrastructure, and ecosystem development in the financial sector.
Panel: Future of Financial Technology: Opportunities and Challenges
Mohd Sani Mohd Ismail, Director, ADB
Sani is the Director for the Finance Sector Office covering South Asia and Central & West Asia regions. In his role, he leads the ADB finance teams to deliver finance sector programs with emphasis on sustainable capital market (including green and blue bonds), financial stability and banking reforms, as well as MSMEs access to finance.
He was previously outposted to Indonesia for 6 years. In his earlier role, he led ADB’s regional capital market integration program for ASEAN countries, financial sector programs and the COVID Active Response programs in Indonesia. The landmark initiative of ADB’s support for ASEAN capital market integration is the partnership with the ASEAN Capital Market Forum in developing the ASEAN Green Bond Standards, ASEAN taxonomy and the ASEAN corporate governance scorecard. Sani also led ADB’s assistance program to support Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan to implement prudential standards in Islamic finance. Before joining ADB in 2009, Sani worked in various roles in the Market Development department of Securities Commission Malaysia for 7 years.
Sani is originally from Penang, Malaysia and graduated with a law degree from the International Islamic University of Malaysia and LLM master’s degree in Durham University, UK where he specialized in international trade law, including corporate governance and financial regulations. He also completed the Cambridge Fintech and Regulatory Innovation and Financial Technology executive education at the Cambridge Judge Business School.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Global finance & Technology Network
See above.
Francis Edralin Lim, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippines
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Atty. Francis Edralin Lim as the new chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin announced during a Malacañang briefing on Tuesday.
Lim will take over from incumbent SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, whose seven-year term will expire on June 6.
As the new SEC head, Lim’s “leadership is expected to strengthen investor confidence and further promote transparency, innovation, and inclusive growth in the Philippine financial sector,” said Bersamin. Bersamin acknowledged Lim as a distinguished member of the legal and financial communities who has an extensive background in corporate and securities law.
Lim served as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) from 2004 to 2010 and is a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), a leading law firm in the country.
Lim is also a former trustee and president of the Shareholders Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL).
“He (Lim) has contributed significantly to investor protection and market transparency through both his professional work and his academic involvement,” said Bersamin.
“He brings to this office decades of experience in corporate law, governance, and capital market regulation,” Bersamin added.
The SEC is the national regulatory agency tasked with supervising the corporate sector, capital market participants, and securities and investment instruments market, as well as protecting the interests of the investing public.
Lim will take over from incumbent SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, whose seven-year term will expire on June 6.
As the new SEC head, Lim’s “leadership is expected to strengthen investor confidence and further promote transparency, innovation, and inclusive growth in the Philippine financial sector,” said Bersamin. Bersamin acknowledged Lim as a distinguished member of the legal and financial communities who has an extensive background in corporate and securities law.
Lim served as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) from 2004 to 2010 and is a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), a leading law firm in the country.
Lim is also a former trustee and president of the Shareholders Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL).
“He (Lim) has contributed significantly to investor protection and market transparency through both his professional work and his academic involvement,” said Bersamin.
“He brings to this office decades of experience in corporate law, governance, and capital market regulation,” Bersamin added.
The SEC is the national regulatory agency tasked with supervising the corporate sector, capital market participants, and securities and investment instruments market, as well as protecting the interests of the investing public.
Benedicte Nolens, Head of Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Bénédicte Nolens is Head of the BIS Innovation Hub in Hong Kong, where she leads initiatives on fintech, regulation, and central bank innovation. She previously held leadership positions at SC Ventures, Circle, and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and began her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. Recognized as a thought leader in financial innovation, she has shaped policy and market frameworks around blockchain, digital assets, and sustainable finance, driving collaboration between regulators and industry a global scale.
Nathaniel Clarke, Co-Founder and CEO, GoTyme Bank and Co-Founder of Tyme Group
Nate Clarke is a founding member of Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme, where he dedicated the last ten years to designing, building, and operating digital banks in emerging markets. Now, Nate is looking to make high-quality banking accessible to all filipinos as President and CEO of GoTyme Bank, a joint venture between the Gokongwei group and Tyme.
Nate’s experience spans general management, product, and strategy to include leading the rollout of Tyme’s digital proposition in Indonesia, growing the MTN Mobile Money in South Africa to a customer base of 4 million, and most recently heading product and strategy for Tyme in the creation of Africa’s fastest growing bank.
Before Tyme, Nate spent six years in Deloitte Consulting US’s Strategy & Operations practice, where he fostered a passion for financial inclusion while on a project in Tanzania. Nate holds a BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from James Madison University.
Jost Wagner, Conference Lead Facilitator
Jost Wagner is the Managing Director of The Change Initiative, a facilitation company located in Bangkok and the Chief Navigator of the Asia-Pacific Futures Network In the last 20 years he has advised and facilitated more than 600 workshops and conferences worldwide for organizations such as the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, The German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the World Bank, USAID, but also various governments, NGOs and the private sector onsite and remotely. He is a Certified Professional Facilitator - Master by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and a full member of the Association of Professional Futurists.
Currently he is also the Chief Navigator aka Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Futures Network – Asia’s largest informal network of futurists in the region.
Prior to working as a facilitator and futurist, he worked for the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in New Delhi and the German Embassy in Bangkok.
Currently he is also the Chief Navigator aka Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Futures Network – Asia’s largest informal network of futurists in the region.
Prior to working as a facilitator and futurist, he worked for the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in New Delhi and the German Embassy in Bangkok.