Enterprise Explores

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...

Malaysia wants to become the regional launchpad for franchise expansion across Southeast Asia. But turning that ambition into reality requires policy, financing, cross-border collaboration, and the right people. Tune in to find out: What the ASEAN Franchise Gateway is trying to achieve, and why the region needs it now. What a successful franchise ecosystem could mean for Malaysian SMEs, investment...

Malaysia's statutory debt is sitting at 64% of GDP, dangerously close to the legal limit of 65%. The fiscal deficit target of 3.5% looks increasingly hard to meet. How does Malaysia get its fiscal house in order, and what happens if it doesn't? We discuss: What is the impact of missing the country’s fiscal deficit target by a significant margin?  Is it possible to reduce the national debt to...

Think your business is fully digitalised just because you have a working internet connection and a payment QR code taped to your counter? Think again. A massive gap separates basic connectivity from true digitalisation. Many Malaysian businesses are currently stuck in a "computerisation trap", digitising front-facing payments while leaving critical backend operations, data analysis, and security c...

In the first half of 2026, Malaysia's SME sentiment index fell to a historic low of 45.1 points, only the second time it has ever dropped below 50. Datuk William Ng, President of SAMENTA, says SMEs are currently battling a margin and cash flow crisis, and recovery will take many months. We discuss: SME Bank’s SME sentiment index at its lowest point in H1 2026. Why recovery will take many months, a...

Malaysia's exports surged 45.3% in May, and RHB has nearly doubled its full-year export growth forecast to 15.3%. But with US tariff threats and geopolitical risks still in play, can this momentum hold? One economist makes the case for cautious optimism. We Discuss: Why RHB nearly doubled its full-year Malaysia export forecast and what's behind the surge in re-exports The outlook for petroleum exp...

For businesses big and small, cash is the ultimate expansion bottleneck. Because funding major growth strictly from daily operations takes too much time, alternative financing is a necessity. But get your financial foundations wrong, and things get ugly fast. So, how do you design a capital strategy that actually matches your needs and cash flow rhythm? In this episode of Enterprise Explores, Fang...

Many entrepreneurs comfort themselves with the belief that their personal houses, bank balances, and family savings sit safely behind a corporate shield of limited liability. In reality, between mandatory personal guarantees, statutory director obligations, and professional negligence exposures, that shield is far thinner than most assume, so how do business owners legally insulate their personal...

What happens when an AI-enabled machine learns the skills you spent years building, and then takes your job? Stan Singh, Chairman of ASOCIO, a federation of ICT associations representing 25 economies across Asia-Pacific, calls this "competency theft. " We discuss: Laws that can be mandated to address AI systems and machines taking your job Why these laws need to be consistent across the region Why...

While many workers across the Asia-Pacific are using generative AI tools weekly, a massive execution gap remains. Stepping in to push AI literacy is AVPN. Through its $35 million USD AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, it's supporting initiatives to help workers and small businesses learn "how to AI." Young Park, Director of the AI Opportunity Fund Project at AVPN, joins BFM’s Enterprise Explores t...

Malaysia has spent 50 years assembling and testing chips designed elsewhere. SkyeChip, a homegrown listed semiconductor IP design company, could be a sign that Malaysia is finally moving up the semiconductor value chain.  Analyst Chloe Mak breaks down the innovation behind SkyeChip's business model, its growth factors, and the tailwinds behind Malaysia's semiconductor ambitions. See omnystudi...

There is a huge gap between a dual-income corporate couple scraping by in the Klang Valley and ultra-high-net-worth households, yet policymakers stubbornly lump them together. This structural blind spot came to a head when surging fuel subsidies heavily burdened government coffers, and the political solution seemed simple: strip subsidies from the T20. Dr. Melati Nungsari of the Asia School of Bus...

What happens to the human mind when artificial intelligence starts doing the thinking for us? Neuroscientist Aster Wei, Founder and Managing Director of neuro learning institute Otti, joins us to explore one of the most pressing questions of our time - not whether AI makes us more productive, but whether it's quietly making us less capable. Aster shares what brain research is revealing about outso...

Half the world's top CEOs say their jobs depend on getting AI right. What separates the leaders pulling ahead from those quietly falling behind? IBM Malaysia's Dickson Woo joins us to discuss IBM's 2026 CEO Study and what it means for businesses here in Malaysia. Discussion Points: The Delegation Trap: Over-relying on AI for decisions threatens leadership quality, and humans must always make the f...

Instead of tweaking tax rates, why not simplify? While LHDN's recent record-breaking tax revenue for 2025 is a win for public finances, it inevitably raises critical questions about national fiscal strategy. Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG Malaysia, and Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Center for Market Education, joins Enterprise Explores to dissect the state of Malay...

The 2026 World Cup is officially here, but for Malaysian food and beverage operators, the celebration comes with an operational headache: awkward kickoff times scheduled for 3:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., and 9:00 a.m. local time. Compounding the problem, this commercial milestone arrives just as the sector battles a brutal stretch of rising operating costs, war-induced inflation, talent shortages, and shr...

Insider trading seems straightforward, but it isn't. From overheard phone calls to presidential social media posts, the boundaries of what counts as illegal trading on non-public information are often misunderstood. Tune in to learn more about: Drawing the Line: What separates a perfectly legal share sale from insider trading, and why the moment of disclosure is everything. The Clever Crook: How i...

Small businesses may look organised on the surface. But behind the scenes, messy bookkeeping habits quietly accumulate, and the damage is often felt when it's too late. We discuss: The Hidden Cost: Why messy bookkeeping habits quietly accumulate into a liability only to surface at the worst possible moment.  Why AI is Not The Answer: The three things every business must get right before reach...

ASEAN economies are still growing, but cracks are forming. Inflation is rising, stagflation is possible, and intra-regional trade has barely budged in 30 years. What happens if the Middle East conflict drags on? And what will it finally take to boost intra-ASEAN trade? We discuss: Growth Outlook: Why AMRO is sticking to 4% growth even as energy prices climb and supply chains fray — and what could...