THREE Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) students have won first place in the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) Riga Finance Challenge 2021.
Calling themselves the “Golden Trio”, UTAR Business and Finance Faculty’s Bachelor of Finance students Ong Seong Lik and Lau Hou Chun along with Bachelor of Economics student How Chao Xun won €700 (RM3, 481) in cash prizes.
They beat 92 other teams from 31 countries in the international competition held through Google Meet from May 25 to June 12.
The teams were challenged to complete a range of tasks on corporate finance, financial reporting and analysis, valuation, investment banking and portfolio management.
Lau said they did not expect to win the competition.
“We did not expect to win any prizes and participated with just the aim of gaining experience.
“But we gave our best and our teamwork was excellent, ” he said, adding that they were excited over the win.
How said the experience from a different competition he took part in earlier had helped in winning the Riga Finance Challenge.
“I participated in a competition called CFA Institute Research Challenge, where the UTAR team was led by lecturer Lim Chong Heng.
“He taught me a lot on valuation and financial modelling, which, to me, played a crucial role in securing this win in the competition, ” he said.
“Through my degree studies, I also gained better analytical skills and knowledge on real-life business and finance cases, which also helped me in the Q&A session during the competition, ” he added.
The aim of the competition was for students to test themselves against an international benchmark.
It consisted of two preliminary rounds and the grand finals, where a presentation was done for a panel of judges.
The joint organisers were SSE Riga iFund, SSE Riga Student Association, Capitalia and Financial Modelling World Cup.
