Under The Radar

It has been slightly more than six months since our interview with Tapestry, or the fashion group behind Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman.  A lot has happened since then. Perhaps the most important development of all is Tapestry’s US$8.5 billion acquisition of its competitor Capri Holdings in August.  Capri, as we know, owns the brands Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors.  Tapestry says the...

Do you know that Singapore actually builds electric motorbikes? Yes you’ve heard it right.  While such bikes are not on the roads of Singapore, they are exported to other Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia.  Our guest for today is one of these electric motorbike manufacturers. Founded in 2019, Ion Mobility is a Singapore-based startup that aims to tap the growing appetite for electric vehic...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into one of the oldest bakeries in Singapore.  Make a guess – you might have just passed by one of their outlets today!  Back in 1926, Polar Puffs and Cakes, or the then Polar Cafe opened its first outlet on 51 High Street, where it was known for its Curry Puffs, ice-cream and chilled beverages.  The cafe was more notably the go-to place for politician...

It is probably time that you’re thinking about dinner on a Friday afternoon, and on that note – how about a warm hearty bowl of noodles to kickstart your weekend? Our guest for today is one of the largest manufacturers of fresh noodles in Singapore.  Founded in 1996 as a noodle supplier, Leong Guan has since opened its own noodle manufacturing factory in 2006 and currently provides not only noodle...

Pencils are a much needed tool as we get through our work day, and today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a pencil manufacturer that has been around for over 250 (262) years! Bingo if you’ve guessed Faber Castell. Founded all the way back in 1761, Faber- Castell is one of the oldest industrial companies in the world, and has been owned by the same family for – get this – nine generatio...

The accounting and professional services industry is back in focus today.  Founded in 1904, our guest is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or ACCA. This is a global body for professional accountants with over 200,000 fully qualified members and 500,000 students worldwide.   While widely known as an association or educational body, ACCA essentially operates like a business with a t...

Laptops, computers and phones – they are among the items that have shrunk in size over time as consumers demand items that are smaller, more portable and perhaps cheaper.  But besides our daily consumer goods, did you know that even satellites are getting smaller too?  Not only are satellites getting smaller, they also need to fly closer to the Earth to collect better quality data to power industr...

Can you imagine that the Moon may support a population of 1,000 with over 10,000 people visiting each year by 2040?  How about having the moon support industries such as construction, energy, steel procurement, communications, transportation, and even tourism and medicine? It may seem a little out of reach at this point in time, but that is the belief of our guest for today ispace.  Founded in 201...

This conversation is set to pique your interest if you’re a grocery shopper or a foodie. On that note, have you ever read the back of a food label packaging and wonder what exactly is this ingredient called the chicken extract that is packed with umami flavour?  Or have you opened a bag of barbecue flavoured chips and wonder what’s behind that rich and smoky flavour?  Or perhaps – what are milk pr...

The adoption of digital solutions within the construction industry is at the heart of our conversation today.  Founded in 2014, our guest Novade develops cloud and mobile applications for construction companies to use in work sites. The applications streamline work processes such as quality control, safety inspections and workforce management and reduce the paperwork needed in construction project...

Acquiring talent in the fast growing consumer market of ASEAN – that’s what we are going to talk about in this segment today.  With over 5,100 branches across 60 countries around the world, our guest is leading workforce solutions company Adecco.  The Switzerland-based firm provides a comprehensive range of workforce solutions and consulting services which includes junior to mid-level talent acqui...

You might have used Fitbit in your daily exercise routines. But did you know factory machines use an equivalent of Fitbit too? In fact, we’re going to talk to a company that offers “Fitbit-for-machines” services using the Internet of Things. In layman terms, the firm offers a scalable digital factory system comprising of hardware equipment that tracks the steps or output, the heart rate or the tem...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a private equity real estate firm that connects real estate to capital markets.  Founded in 2016, Q Investment Partners or QIP is a Singapore-based PE real estate firm that raises funds from institutional investors to buy, develop and sell buildings to generate investment returns. The firm currently manages and executes around US$400 million of in...

Do you remember the time when you had to scan a QR code to check into malls and to dine in at restaurants?  Well, today we’re going to talk to the company behind the Tracetogether token that has been a huge part of our lives during the pandemic.  Incorporated all the way back in 1999, TraceTogerther maker iWOW is an Internet of Things solutions provider.  Its name stands for Inspiring the World of...

This is a conversation that you would love if you’re into Asian-dramas or variety shows – think the likes of your Running Man, Descendants of the Sun and so on.  Our guest for today is Viu, which is a leading pan-regional over-the-top video streaming service operated by billionaire Richard Li’s PCCW.  The firm distributes Asian contents in different genres in local language subtitles, as well as p...

Today we’re going to talk about the people behind the flats and apartments we live in – the people building our homes that is.  Construction firms, as we know, have been hit by supply chain disruptions and a manpower crunch during the pandemic.  While things are looking up as work resumes and supply chain bottlenecks ease, industry players continue to face challenges such as working with pre-pande...

From wheat, sugar, cashew, to cotton and even rice. Today we’re going to take you through a company that specialises in the physical buying and selling of such agri-commodities.  Incorporated in 1990, Agrocorp International is a leading integrated agri-commodities and food solutions provider, with a strong presence in emerging markets like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India.  It also secured...

The insurance industry is in focus today. Chartered in Canada back in 1865, Sun Life is a financial services organisation with over 118,000 advisors and offices in 27 markets. It has also been present in Asia since the 1890s.  The firm has a reputation for serving high net worth insurance markets and has CAD 1.33 trillion in assets under management as at the end of last year. Sun Life now sees str...

What comes to mind when you think of delivering newborn babies? Well, the baby comes out, and the umbilical cord is clamped, cut and discarded. As we know today, cord blood is a very good source of blood stem cells and can be used in transplants to treat blood disorders and cancers.  So instead of throwing the umbilical cord away just like that, more parents are requesting to harvest cord blood fr...

It’s all about digital assets today. Founded on Swiss and Singaporean heritage in 2017, our guest is Singtel-backed startup Sygnum, which touts itself as “the world’s first regulated digital asset bank”.  The company was awarded with its Swiss banking and securities dealer license in 2019 by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority or FINMA.  While the firm is not licensed as a bank here i...

Purpose built workers and student accommodation – that’s what we’re going to talk about on the segment today.  Headquartered in Singapore, our guest Centurion Corporation owns, develops and manages quality specialised accommodation assets.  This includes Purpose Built Worker Accommodation in Singapore and Malaysia, and Purpose Built Student Accommodation across Australia, South Korea, the UK and t...

It is all about art toys and figurines for today. Founded in 2010, our guest POP MART is a culture and entertainment company.  The firm creates art toys and collectible pieces sold through its network of retail stores or vending machines.  POP MART made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020 with a market capitalisation of US$12.5 billion at the end of its first trading day. Aside from...

You might have heard of computer coding. But have you heard of low code?  If you haven’t, low code refers to a process of developing software that minimises the lines of computer codes that developers need to write manually. It might be a little hard to visualise, but think of low coding as the pre-fabrication of apartments. Computer codes are packaged into drag and drop icons just like individual...

It’s all about music and concerts today. With a legacy that spans over 200 years, Warner Music Group, brings together songwriters, artists and entrepreneurs that are moving entertainment culture across the world.  The firm has a recorded music division that operates in over 70 countries via a network of affiliate and licensees.  It includes a number of renowned labels including 300 Entertainment a...

It’s that time of the year again where we see and hear fighter jets soar in the skies in celebration of National Day.  But if you want to be a Top Gun fighter in Singapore without leaving the ground – a trip to a retail flight simulator centre may be one of your better bets.  Our guest for today is WingsAcademy.sg, which prides itself as Singapore’s latest retail flight simulator centre offering s...