INTERVIEW
Charis : All of our real estate deals to date are successfully closed within a month from origination to distribution . Our success lies in our ability to originate , structure and distribute institutionalquality real estate investment deals , from the start to the end of the whole investment value chain . This capability is unique due to the synergistic partnership with ARA and a technologyenabled robust crowdfunding platform that offers every investor financial empowerment .
Given ARA ’ s global presence in 28 countries , we will be able to access real estate products globally . Further , ARA has the local expertise and teams that will manage the assets professionally , so investors are assured that from start to end , the deal is institutionally-managed on their behalf .
Q
Can you talk about your technology and how crucial is getting the right type of tech for your kind of business ?
Charis : Financial services is rapidly evolving with advances in technology and shifting customer expectations . That is why we always believe that technology has to support the business . The technology underpinning the business has to be purposeful . Customers are expecting frictionless , omni-channel and personalised experiences . As such , a smooth onboarding process is critical .
From our lenders ’ perspective , we leverage on technology to make it very easy for our members to be onboarded , top up their e-wallets and to make an investment . Our investment process is seamless with an easy 3-click process to make an investment . Our youngest investor is 18 years old while our oldest investor is 82 years old . Similarly , our investor profile is highly diversified from retail investors all the way to UHNWI and family offices . Technology enables democratisation of investments where all can participate in any given offering .
Q
How did you curate your algorithm ?
Charis : We have a credit algorithm that is tried and tested over time with thousands of borrowers who came through our platform . When it comes to evaluating the credit risk of a particular loan financing , we consider two main factors . One is the company ’ s ability to pay , which can be gleaned from its latest financial records , cashflows , competitive positioning and payment track record .
The second is its willingness to pay . For this , we examine aspects such as a the strength of the promoter ’ s personal guarantee , the promoter ’ s background and his or her behavioral attributes .
How do you do due diligence on your investors and borrowers ?
We perform credit checks on companies by pulling third-party information . These are independent authoritative reports . We also meet with our borrowers as part of the due diligence we do for our investors .
Q
What are your views on Proptech ?
Charis : Proptech is still in a relatively nascent stage . It is quite common to find their application within the physical asset management domain . As some would describe , a building as a supercomputer with a roof . Today , technology is focused on collecting vital measurements of the building to ensure optimal maintenance and management .
Charis Liau
Increasingly user experience is being collected , which will provide a better understanding of the delicate relationship between the occupier and the building , something that was not possible before . With the advent of 5G , we can expect more of such information and data to transpire from the physical asset realm .
There is increasingly more Proptech focusing on new emerging areas investors should consider , i . e . through harnessing and integrating the intelligence of big social data with traditional economic and real estate information .
What that is still lagging is the understanding of a building ’ s performance with its investment returns . The integration of these two compelling sets of information is something worth watching out for .
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