Choo Koon Lip

Co-Founder

OFX Group

2014

Asia's Leading SMEs

Choo Koon Lip

Asia's Leading SMEs

2014

Co-Founder

OFX Group

ABOUT choo

“Some even perceived that I had no future. I’m glad that, in my own terms, I proved them wrong by being where I am today.”

“In my opinion, SMEs are no longer small companies as such. SMEs are now getting bigger and more structured. In fact, some SMEs are operationally more compliant and organised than listed companies. SMEs used to operate within the red dot, now the terrain has changed and the playground is expanding to regional and international levels. So, when you compare apples to apples, SMEs are exactly like listed companies, just that SMEs are privately owned,” commented Choo Koon Lip, CEO of OGL Private, a company within the OFX Group of Singapore, when asked how he would define an SME. The company is a Forex Consultancy and Investment Advisory.

One of the parent companies of OFX Private is Forex Asia Academy & Consultancy (FAAC) which was founded by Choo in 2008. OGL Private is a joint venture of FAAC and OFX Group (NZ) Ltd, registered in Singapore and New Zealand with branch offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Jiangyin, Wuxi, Dalian, Kunming, Chengdu amongst others.

With a combined experience in forex consultancy and investment advisory servicing stretchingmore than a dozen years, OGL Private was jointly founded by a team of adroit and accomplished traders from many parts of the world. It is a world-class name synonymous with successful asset management, dedicated to providing innovative and au courant services for all its clients.

“We see the future in China and our ASEAN nations. The booming riches in these regions are exploding at an unbelievable rate and we are situated in the best part of the world (and I’m talking about Singapore) where we are able to speak the two major languages (English and Mandarin) fluently to engage our clients and prospects,” Choo explained of the company’s client base.

Of being able to weather economic storms, Choo says: “In our business, we are deeply rooted in risk management. Nothing else is more important than this in our line. Be it storms and downturns, our fundamentals in risk management never change – we optimise our systems to stay afloat of the market and stay ahead in our industry.

“Our industry is heavily affected by even the slightest movement from the world economy. But our performance says otherwise; we have been delivering far higher return on investment than the industry average, year after year. This is what the market and the clients want from our industry – it’s easier said than done but, most importantly, we have done it consistently to the delight of our most valuable clients and associates.

“With over a dozen years of combined experience in developing the most profitable trading systems and risk management tools, we are already at the forefront in dealing with the most extreme market changes. We are very fortunate to have a strong team of accomplished managers and vast networks of industry alliances to adapt to the ever-changing market.”

The company enjoys a good reputation for being one of the leading players in its field of work. Over the next 10 years “we will leverage this goodwill to bring us higher and further; and we see ourselves in servicing more clients with offices in every ASEAN cities and 100 branches nationwide in the Greater China region,” Choo states of the company’s future.

The OFX GROUP Founder graduated from the National University of Singapore, majoring in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Technopreneurship. He started his first business and learnt about equities/index/forex/options trading during his varsity days, juggling between school and everything else.

“Three things that have been very important along the way: Firstly, time management: there is always ‘not enough time’ for everything. So we just need to weigh our priorities. Secondly, an eye for detail: this is something I garnered when studying mathematics. We can work on solving one math question for a whole day. So, when it comes to building a business and learning new things, this trait really pushed me further. Thirdly, ignoring cold eyes. We are in a society where everyone is on the paper chase. I was sidelined by my uni friends when they didn’t understand why I kept skipping lectures and tutorials. Some even perceived that I had no future. I’m glad that, in my own terms, I proved them wrong by being where I am today.”

In his business, Choo says the important factors are: “In Marketing, it’s Sincerity. In Operations, it’s Risk Management. In Branding the business, it’s definitely our Reputation.”

Who were Chao’s role models growing up? “I grew up loving movies. My role model is James Cameron, and this was so even before Titanic and Avatar were released. He’s the real master – you can see from the scope of his movies, the tiniest details he demands, the vision he had way ahead of our times. But when it comes to forex, it’s definitely the one who broke the English banks – George Soros. He’s truly legendary when you read about how he analyses the markets, the depth in understanding of the other side of the market that most of us don’t see. His philosophy is simply awesome and timeless.”

Our standard character question: Apart from doing well financially, what factors are important for a person to be considered ‘successful’? “I think ‘financially doing well’ needs to gel well with social acceptance and respect. There are stories of businessmen making it big through unscrupulous means. To me, ‘Successful’ is making it big and, most importantly, that people recognise the hard work and effort you put in.”

That having been said, Choo says that he is a boring person. “Apart from trading and flying around to meet my business associates, my major (or perhaps only) past times are watching movies and driving my Mini Cooper around for short road trips.”