SPEAKERS

David S. Chong is a lawyer who graduated with an Honours Degree in law and completed the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) in London in 2005. After being called to the Bar of England and Wales as Barrister-at-law (as a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn), he returned to Malaysia and began his pupillage in Zaid Ibrahim & Co (ZICO Law), one of the largest regional law firms in Malaysia.

In 2008, he was called to the Malaysian Bar as an Advocate and Solicitor and began his legal practice in the Labuan-Singapore Corporate Commercial Department at ZICO Law, where he dealt with various international corporate commercial matters. Aside from legal practice, Chong gained diverse experiences in industry associations and government lobby groups for several industries.

In terms of real estate, he was previously with Malaysia Property Incorporated (MPI) as Senior Vice President (from 2012 to 2015), an initiative by the Government of Malaysia under the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia, that aims to promote Malaysia as an international investment destination. On behalf of the Government under MPI banner, David has worked extensively across the region to promote Malaysia to international real estate investors (including missions to Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia etc). He was also MPI’s Australian liaison person where he was based in State of Victoria, Australia in 2014.

In 2016, he joined the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (REHDA) Institute as General Manager. REHDA represents the interest of more than 1600 corporate developers in Malaysia, whereby as an advocacy and lobby group, the group constantly engages with stakeholders from the Federal and State Governments on industry issues and policies.

David joined Ann Joo Resources Berhad in 2018, a Malaysian main board public listed steel manufacturer, in the Group MD’s office as Head of Group Legal & Government Liaison Department. He was responsible for strengthening the group’s internal legal systems, providing legal services on matters such as debt recovery, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, machinery, and land issues. He also engaged with the Malaysian Iron and Steel Federation (MISIF), Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), and other authorities on government liaison matters.

In 2021, David re-joined the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (REHDA) Institute where he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO), in charge of the Institute.