Enterprise Explores

Malaysia has seen franchise brands expand fast, open dozens of outlets and collapse just as quickly. Azizam Ramli of Pernas, the government agency tasked with developing Malaysia's franchise industry, discusses franchises that scale sustainably from those that don't, and what aspiring franchisors and franchisees need to understand first. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRB's Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme for stamp duty ends at the end of this year. This is the time to stamp your eligible documents without penalties. KPMG's Soh Lian Seng explains what qualifies for this programme, what taxpayers need to do, common misconceptions, and ends with how the business community can contribute towards building a robust stamp duty framework that caters to toda...

Malaysian consumers are still spending, but they're becoming far more deliberate about where their money goes. Milieu's 2026 Consumer Study reveals a shift towards more intentional spending, and Cindy Pang joins us to discuss what these changing behaviours mean for businesses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia's Gig Workers Act came into force in April. We look at the Act from three angles: the policy design with Dr Lee Hwok-Aun of ISEAS, the platform's perspective with GoGet's Francesca Chia, and the lived experience of gig worker Akladima Nashan Nugraha Mohd Nasir (Dima) to ask whether this is genuinely a good deal for Malaysia's gig workers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Microsoft's newest Work Trend Index finds that a small group of "Frontier Professionals" are pulling far ahead in what they can do with AI. But the report also finds that organisational culture, not individual skill, is the biggest factor in whether AI actually pays off. Microsoft's Vera Siertsema joins us to unpack who's really getting value from AI, and how companies can implement this technolog...

As demand for AI grows, so does Malaysia's data centre boom, particularly in Johor, along with questions about energy, water, land, and impact on local communities. Asher Ling unpacks what responsible data centre infrastructure actually looks like, and how it impacts local businesses and communities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most AI governance conversations focus on making AI systems safe, transparent, and accountable. But what happens when AI starts shaping how people think and decide? Kamales Lardi joins us to unpack Cognitive Governance, the idea that safeguarding human judgement may matter just as much as governing the technology itself.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia's e-Invoicing rollout has been underway for nearly two years, and the government has just introduced a Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP), allowing businesses to correct e-Invoice errors without penalties until the end of 2027, alongside accelerated capital allowances for qualifying investments. Thenesh Kannaa joins us to discuss what businesses, especially SMEs, should be doin...

The Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia have proposed a major overhaul of the LEAP Market, Malaysia's platform for MSMEs and mid-tier companies to raise capital. LEAP Market 2.0 would open the market to retail investors for the first time, simplify listing disclosures, and create a smoother path from equity crowdfunding to the ACE Market. Eng Cha Lun and Arthur Cheng of BDO Malaysia looks at...

Malaysia posted back-to-back quarters of stronger-than-expected growth, 5.4% in Q1 and an advance estimate of 5.8% in Q2. Woon Khai Jhek joins us to unpack whether this changes RAM's outlook for the year, and what a prolonged Hormuz disruption could still mean for inflation, interest rates, and economic growth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insolvency is usually deemed business failure, but restructuring is about the opposite: giving viable businesses a way to reorganise, protect value, and recover. Kumar Jai joins us to unpack when a struggling business should seek help, how restructuring can protect jobs while giving companies a genuine second chance, and how the new Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2026 changes the game for creditors a...

Organisational resilience isn't just financial strength or a continuity plan; it's whether employees trust their leaders and feel safe to speak up. Emellia Shariff explores why psychological safety is as critical to resilience as any business strategy, and how to create a workplace where people feel psychologically safe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After studying expert entrepreneurs, Professor Saras Sarasvathy found they weren't better at predicting the future; they simply made decisions differently. In a world shaped by AI, geopolitical shocks, and fast-changing consumer behaviour, we explore what a different mindset can teach entrepreneurs, business leaders, and anyone making decisions when the future cannot be predicted.  We discuss...

Malaysia's creative industry has never lacked talent; the bigger question has always been how to turn that talent into sustainable businesses. Zainol Haqim Zainol Rashid tells us what's working, what's still holding creative entrepreneurs back, and what it will take for Malaysian creative brands to go global. We discuss: The "orange economy," and where the biggest opportunities and challenges lie...

Companies are investing more than ever in workplace policies and employee well-being, but according to the 2026 Malaysia People@Work Index Report by O-Psych, the overall employee experience score is stuck at 62%, unchanged from last year, despite real  improvements in workplace risks and conditions. We dig into where the disconnect lies, and what businesses may be missing beneath the numbers....

Stan Singh from ASOCIO explains why AI governance can no longer be an afterthought. AI ethics can be seen as the compass, while AI governance is the traffic rules, and right now, most organisations are driving without either. Here's what you can do to govern AI if it's being used in your organisation. We discuss: What AI governance actually means in practice Who should be accountable when AI makes...

With 10 million workers in the services sector, Malaysia could be more exposed to widespread unemployment than most realise, with up to 320,000 jobs at risk, rising to 680,000 under deeper automation scenarios. Dr Thomas Lim Kok-Tiong, author of "Augmentation or Elimination: The Potential Impact of AI on the Malaysian Economy," a paper published by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, discusses the poss...

The digital economy is booming, but KRI warns MSME digitalisation is “broad but shallow.” We explore why many micro- and small businesses digitise only their customer-facing functions while core operations remain manual, the practical costs of shallow digitalisation, and why micro-enterprises, about 71% of MSMEs, struggle to improve their digital maturity.  See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

UNICEF's "Family-Friendly Workplaces" toolkit makes the case that flexible work, childcare support, and parental leave aren't just an HR policy, they're a win for employees, a win for business, and a win for the wider economy, backed by data from businesses across Asia and Africa. We unpack what the numbers say, and what it actually takes for a business, especially an SME, to put this into practic...

Banks are the heart of an economy, when they struggle, everyone feels it. Southeast Asian banks head into the second half of 2026 with solid capital and liquidity buffers on paper, but the lingering fallout from the Iran war and a fragile peace deal are testing these its resilience.  We discuss: Why banking sector health is a leading indicator for the wider economy How Indonesia's rupiah weak...

Deloitte's 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report argues that human capital is the real competitive advantage as organisations transform with AI. This extends to how AI is used within the organisation, the guardrails that need to be in place, how AI can support employee satisfaction and hiring, and how far any of this can go without trust. We discuss:  Nearly 60% of workers are already using...

Large consulting firms are increasingly using AI, raising important questions for the companies that hire them. Are firms disclosing when AI has contributed to a report? How do consultants add value in an AI-enabled environment? As companies build their own internal AI capabilities, what will the future role of external consultants be, and how should business owners evaluate and select them? See o...

Rohit Ramesh, from Boston Consulting Group, tells us how AI is reshaping the entire hotel business, from how properties are designed and built to how rooms are priced, staff are deployed, and guest experiences are delivered.  We discuss:  How hotels are moving past digital tools at the front desk toward faster operations, leaner costs and more personalised service.  How automation c...

What does the world, including Malaysians, feel about AI? A recent Ipsos survey of more than 23,000 people across the globe found that confidence in AI is rising, especially across Asia, but enthusiasm does not always translate into trust. We discuss: How Malaysians feel about AI's impact on their jobs, daily lives and productivity, and where confidence starts to thin out. Why Asian markets consis...

For decades, Southeast Asian conglomerates pulled off a rare financial miracle: they consistently outpaced single-focus, pure-play firms. But that golden era is long over. Today, pure-plays win across every performance bracket, leaving massive family empires facing a brutal reality check. A vast divide has opened up across the region, with top-tier giants pulling in an impressive 20% annualised re...