Under The Radar

Today we’re going to talk about a company whose products and services are used by over 1.4 million customers and over a billion users in more than180 countries.  Make a guess – how does eSignature company DocuSign sound? Founded in 2003, DocuSign is a pioneer of electronic signatures and helps businesses automate how they prepare, sign, act on and manage agreements. Put simply, it is a tech firm t...

The market for hard-to-find fashion and electronics is heating up with Gen Z and millennials consumers increasingly valuing self-expression and individuality.  And one way for consumers to purchase these rare items is through the secondary market and in particular through e-commerce platforms.   But in a situation where the supply is limited and demand is high, how do consumers determine what is a...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a pizza company that grew from a food truck from South Korea to a so-called ‘baby unicorn’ by South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups.  Founded in 2016, GOPIZZA is an AI powered single serve pizza brand that was known for the incorporation of technology in its operations.  For one thing, it developed a parbaked dough recipe and an oven called...

Satellite technology has brought about a number of benefits for people on the ground, such as improved weather forecasting and communications.  In particular, a type of satellite called the Synthetic Aperture Radar or SAR satellites, can monitor ground activity 24/7 and penetrate rain, smoke and cloud cover, allowing governments to monitor weather conditions such as tropical storms and wildfires. ...

Investing in next-generation infrastructure for the future – that’s what we’re going to talk about today.  Named after the tallest tree in Singapore, Seraya Partners is a Singapore headquartered private equity firm that focuses on mid-market Asia infrastructure.  The firm invests in areas such as digital infrastructure and the energy transition, and aims to address what it describes as “the region...

It is all about the bowl of noodles we eat as we speak to one of the leading restaurant groups in Hong Kong today.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Tam Jai International, the company behind the TamJai Yunnan Mixian, Tam Jai SamGor Mixian and Japanese udon brand Marugame Seimen.  Listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited since October 2021, Tam Jai International has rapidly expanded its global reac...

Today we’re going to speak to a wholly owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group that focuses specifically on travel arrangements. Launched in 2016, Fliggy is an online marketplace that helps users in and out of China to book for flights, accommodation, train tickets, group travel essentials and attraction tickets.  The firm said it leverages Alibaba Group’s product and technical development abilities to...

This conversation is set to get you itching to go on your next holiday. Make a guess as to who our guest is for today.  Drumrolls – we’re talking to the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Scoot, or the airline that merged with Tigerair Singapore about seven years ago.  Since taking to the skies in 2012, Scoot has carried over 82 million passengers and has a fleet of over 50 aircrafts, comp...

What is the one common factor between an astronaut on the international space station, billionaire Elon Musk, and South Korean actor Song Joong Ki? The answer might make you go ‘What, Seriously?’ Now, are you ready for the answer? Well, the answer is that all three of them eat Kopiko candies at some point in their lives.  If you’re a K-drama lover, you might have noticed Kopiko candies appear out...

You might have heard of Jotun paint or the Jif dishwashing liquid (they are known as Cif in Singapore and carried by Unilever, but that is a story for another day), but did you know who is the player behind these brands? What about a Norwegian conglomerate called Orkla ASA?  Founded in 1654, Orkla is a leading industrial investment company focusing on brands and consumer oriented companies. Just t...

We’re setting our sights on the commodity sector today as we speak to a Singapore-headquartered international commodity trading house. Founded in 2007 as a company facilitating trade flows from Africa to Asia, Valency International has since established a sizable global presence with offices and operations in 22 countries and a workforce of over 2,600 people.  The firm’s global footprint now exten...

Today we’re going to talk about a medical issue that up to 60 per cent of children will have by the age of six.  And that is a condition called Otitis Media, also known as OME or ‘Glue Ear’. According to HealthHub SG, glue ear refers to the collection of fluid in the middle ear which frequently occurs after an upper respiratory tract infection.  While the issue resolves by itself in most cases, th...

Today we’re going to deep dive into an all-time favourite – S-Reits that is!  Our guest is the Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management, the manager of Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management or Lendlease Reit. Listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2019, Lendlease Reit was established with the principal investment strategy of investing in a diversified portfolio of stabilised income produci...

We have slightly more than three weeks until Chinese New Year and that means it is also time to indulge in snacks like your pineapple tarts and even bakkwa or barbecued meat! We’re bringing up Bak Kwa because our guest for today is barbecued pork jerky maker Bee Cheng Hiang.  Just to take you down memory lane, the firm started in Singapore in 1933, where an enterprising street hawker peddled the s...

It’s all about storing your computer data safely and securely through the use of hardware solutions.  You might recall storing data in hard disk drives in the past which often has slow reading and writing speeds.   Fast forward to today, super-fast SSDs or Solid State Drive that use NAND-based flash memory to store data are more commonly used, as they are said to be more reliable and efficient tha...

We’re going to talk all about the disposable gloves that gained prominence over the pandemic today.  Founded in 1989, our guest is Thailand's largest gloves producer Sri Trang Gloves Thailand.  The firm makes a wide range of natural latex and nitrile examination gloves as well as general-purpose disposable gloves that cater to a wide variety of uses such as healthcare and medical, food processing...

Today we’re going to talk about the company that distributes your Toyota and Suzuki cars!  While known as an automotive distributor, our guest Inchcape was started in 1847 when two merchants from Scotland formed a general merchanting partnership.  By the next few decades, the firm became one of the early adopters of the internal combustion engine transport revolution, as well as one of the first i...

Do you record all the credit cards you own in an Excel sheet just to make sure that you maximise your rewards? Or do you have a friend that does that?  Well, our guest for today HeyMax AI hopes to save you from all that work by automatically picking the best card for you to maximise your rewards.  It also provides what it calls Max Miles on top of credit card rewards whenever users shop online usi...

It’s a little of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory situation for us today as we speak to the world’s leading manufacturer of chocolate, mints and fruity confections.  You might have guessed it – we’re speaking to Mars Wrigley, the firm behind world-famous brands including M&M’s®, Snickers®, Twix®, Skittles.  With a presence in over 180 countries, and nearly 1,000 of its snacks consumed every...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a mainboard-listed tourism company that bought over the troubled Singapore Flyer back in 2014.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Straco Corporation. Listed on the SGX, Straco Corporation is a local developer and operator of aquatic related facilities and tourism related assets.  Aside from the Singapore Flyer, the firm’s other main operating assets include...

It’s already Friday and what better way to end the afternoon than with a good cup of coffee or Kopi. Speaking of coffee, you might have seen quite a number of new coffee chains sprouting in sunny Singapore, including several chains who have made their names in other parts of the world such as Indonesia and China.  And we’re going to speak to one such entrant today. Founded in 2017, Kopi Kenangan i...

Today we’re going to talk about helping patients with their rehabilitation through exoskeletons and even humanoid robots. Founded in 2015, our guest for today Fourier Intelligence aims to redefine rehabilitation robotics solutions by integrating inter-connectable intelligent robotics technology with creativity.  So far, the firm provides over 30 products and 200 solutions that can assist patients...

Today we’re going to talk about an item that about half of the world’s population might need to wear by 2050.  You might have the answer already – that is glasses. According to a 2017 article by the World Economic Forum, half of the global population could be shortsighted by the middle of the century, an increase of over a third on 2017 figures.  And that presents business opportunities for our gu...

We’re going to kickstart the year by bringing you an inside look into the final company that was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2023.  If you’ve guessed Winking Studios - you’re right! Established in 2003, Winking Studios is a game-art outsourcing studio majority owned by Acer Gaming.  Game art outsourcing, for context, involves the creation and development of digital art assets such as game...

How does a SPAC merger work exactly and how does a special purpose acquisition company’s management choose a target firm to acquire, and eventually exit?  These are the questions we seek to address in today’s session with our guest from RF Acquisition.  Listed on the US NASDAQ in March 2022, RF Acquisition is a SPAC or a blank cheque company which uses proceeds from its initial public offering to...