About the IAPP

Grace Chong, Of Counsel, Simmons & Simmons JWS

GLEG, CIPP/A/E, CIPM, FIP

Grace has over a decade of experience in advising financial institutions and corporates on regulatory and fintech matters in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Singapore and Hong Kong. She has broad experience of advising on various regulatory topics, including in relation to licensing and conduct of business requirements, product structuring, cross-border marketing, derivatives reporting, and senior management accountability.

A former in-house counsel at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, she regularly interacts with key regulators, is closely involved in regional regulatory reform initiatives and has led discussions with regulators on behalf of the financial services industry. She also brings a strategic outlook from an in-house perspective having worked as counsel in the Global Internal Investigations Group in the Hong Kong headquarters of a global financial institution.

Grace is a strong advocate for digital innovation, investments and critical infrastructural transformation. She leads the firm’s regulatory fintech initiatives in Asia in relation to licensing and payments services regulations, digital assets, robo-advice, virtual banking, and outsourcing. As part of her regulatory and ICT coverage across various banking, asset management, payments and fintech sectors, Grace advises clients in Asia on various aspects of Singapore, Hong Kong and EU data privacy and cybersecurity law, including in the context of cross-border fintech and regulatory projects, and regulatory investigations. She has also spearheaded multi-jurisdictional projects relating to privacy compliance, data transfers, data retention and cybersecurity readiness.