Two years ago, Roe Seann Chong became executive director of Deutsche Bank’s investment banking arm in Malaysia, making her the youngest woman to head an investment bank in the country.

Malaysian business is a leader in the region’s slow shift toward gender equality; it has the most gender-diverse corporate boards in Asia, with women accounting for 28% of directors at large companies. Chong, 31, shared her views on deal trends and gender in the workplace with Elffie Chew of Bloomberg.

How did you get into investment banking?

It’s something that I knew I wanted to explore at a young age as members of my family are also in the financial services sector.

Even though I did my degree in math, I knew that I wanted to go into banking. So I did multiple internships to figure out which part of banking I wanted to go into.

What are the biggest investment banking trends in Malaysia and in Asia more broadly?

In Malaysia, we’re not as quick to explore and engage in more cross-border transactions.

Deal flows in Malaysia are not as aggressive as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, partly because its economy itself is smaller than most of these countries.

There are more deal flows in the telecommunications sector. Malaysia has one of the highest mobile penetration and mobile usage per capita.

So that’s important, and with 5G coming in, it’s also going to be one of the key drivers. We are seeing a lot more interest in data centres, too.

ESG (environmental, social and governance) and sustainability is definitely another key focus. It’s not just us reaching out and pitching to clients, but they are the ones that are coming to us, asking what can be done.

Everyone is working to achieve a target. It’s not just about issuing certain amount of green debt or increasing renewable energy generation, the companies are focused on how ESG helps their business to be sustainable in the long run.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a young female investment bank head?

I don’t specifically look at gender as an issue, as I was brought up in an environment where there is a lot of focus on establishing that women can be and do anything they strive to.

I think having that in the back of one’s mind could also make it a self-imposed ceiling or mental block.

However, I think women do have different communication styles as compared to men, and sometimes, you will feel that you are not being heard and you need to repeat your points a couple of times.

I feel that our culture in Deutsche Bank doesn’t allow gender or age to be a hurdle as long as you are delivering, working well in a team and are passionate, they are the key factors to success.

How has the relatively high proportion of women leaders in Malaysian investment banking affected you?

Having that precedent in the industry helps. Clients and companies are more used to dealing with women and during my time in Deutsche Bank, there have always been women leaders that I look up to and are a source of inspiration.

Knowing that opportunities are there is also one of the reasons I’ve built my career in Malaysia.