The Breakfast Grille

Crescent Rating is a ratings company for Halal friendly travel services, and complementing that, is the HalalTrip.com site that helps Muslim travellers plan and book their trips. Fazal Bahardeen, founder & CEO of Crescent Rating and HalalTrip discusses the potential of the halal tourism market, and the business of rating Muslim-friendly hotels and services. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Established in 1992, IJN or the National Heart Institute occupies a peculiar spot in the local healthcare space to target the affluent whilst remaining committed to provide affordable healthcare as a partly-government owned institution. Datuk Dr Mohd Azhari shares if this business model makes sense and of his own experience as a surgeon.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eric Yong, the executive director of Crest Builder, is back on the Breakfast Grille. He talks about Crest's tie-ups with Prasarana and gives an update of its project portfolio. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite having had a long history in Malaysia, regulatory restrictions stop OCBC from unfettered expansion. Its branch network is for instance one-tenth that of Maybank. The recent mega-merger attempt raises further questions on whether size is a competitive factor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prasarana Malaysia is the asset owner and operator of the two LRT networks, the KL Monorail, and the bus services of RapidKL, RapidPenang and RapidKuantan. Its newly-appointed managing director, Azmi Abdul Aziz, gives an update on Prasarana's ongoing projects, including the Ampang & Kelana Jaya LRT Line Extension, the LRT 3 Line, and the Bus Rapid Transit project in Sunway. See omnystudio.com/...

The Sabah Forestry Department has implemented many stringent conditions to raise sustainable planting in Sabah's timber sector This has made the last few years very challenging for timber players like Priceworth. Through Priceworth, we get insights into how timber companies operate in this very controversial industry and whether environmental standards are high enough. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Getty Goh, the co-founder and CEO of CoAssets, talks about how the crowdfunding platform will give the man in the street access to real-estate deals -- previously only available to high-net-worth investors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cultural landmark, Kayu Nasi Kandar started from modest beginnings in SS2, PJ to become now what is Malaysia's most well-known food & mamak store chain. Burukan Mohamed shares the beginnings of his business, importance of management & control and why he prefers keeping it in the family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Launched in 2014, CompareAsiaGroup is a financial comparison platform to help consumers make more informed choices about the type of financial products to purchase. Its latest funding round saw the group raise over US$40 million led by Goldman Sachs to finance its expansion. Gerald Eder charts the path ahead for the group and objectivity challenges.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

From humble beginnings in an estate in Negeri Sembilan, self-made Malaysian-born billionaire Maha Sinnathamby is now ranked by Forbes as the 40th richest man in Australia. A real life rags-to-riches story.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having an orderbook to supply kitchenware to property developers like UEM Sunrise makes earnings defensive in the short term. In the longer term however there would be delayed reactions to the vagaries of the property sector. Their presence in direct retail will mitigate this to an extent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Formerly known as Extol MSC Bhd,, AppAsia Bhd is pinning its hopes on its mobile content and app development strategy to turn-around the company. Wong Ngai Peow shares his restructuring plans and its venture into new developed markets in the US & UK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tariq Alrifai has been involved in Islamic finance for over 18 years, and was previously the Global Director of Islamic Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. But in 2008, Tariq was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis. As a professional working in the field, he was shocked at what happened, not because it could happen, but because he couldn’t see the signs of it coming.  He spent the n...

Lampe Berger Paris products in Malaysia faced controversy after the multilevel-marketing company DCHL misrepresented the brand. Dato' Julie Lim, the Managing Director of Jubilant Prestige Sdn Bhd, has now taken over exclusive distribution of Lampe Berger products. She shares how she had to repair the reputation of the products locally and why she chose to switch from the MLM model to direct r...

"Too often well thought out decisions are made only to de diluted and ultimately forgotten as time passes and inaction prevails,” said the president of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a forward to a submision on the 11th Malaysia Plan. Today the Najib Administration will announce the 11th Malaysia Plan. Will it be marked more by continuity than discontinu...

BT is taking big steps to grow its business in Southeast Asia, with the group now serving more than 6,500 large corporate and public sector customers. Totton shares the challenges and opportunities of managing BT's global services and network infrastructure base in this fast-growing region. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The high growth in travel and high mobile roaming costs create the ripe conditions for a business which is exactly what Flexiroam is exploiting. Is such a business model a complement or a threat to existing telcos? And can the business achieve scale economies on globally? We find out from Jef Ong, CEO of Flexiroam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Operating the world's largest sovereign wealth fund with a fund-size of over $900-billion is more than a matter of governance, but also sound investment principles like diversification and sustainability. In two days, Norway will also celebrates its National Day which commemorates the signing of its constitution over 200 years ago. H.E. Hans Ola Urstad joins us to share the festivities of the...

Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit, the CEO of Sarawak Energy (SEB), addresses allegations of corruption by international NGOs and what SEB has done to improve its image. He also gives us an update on the company's power projects and makes his argument as to why he believes hydropower is the most sustainable renewable energy.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yelp is now in Malaysia! Miriam Warren, Vice President of New Markets at the crowd-sourced business directory talks about what it takes to enter a new market, the competitor with other review sites, and the potential she sees in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having overcome the no-resource challenge to become one of the world's most dynamic economies, Singapore is now facing the challenges of an ageing and somewhat dissatisfied public. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Little, the Director of Development for crowdfunding platform Kiva, shares how they've leveraged the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, to help alleviate poverty. She also addresses the critics of microcredit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Jones, CEO, MCIS Insurance, discusses life after selling the general insurance business, dynamics of foreign-local partnerships, life insurance drivers, national industry catalysts and challenges, the investment outlook and financial targets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morten Frost Hansen, Technical Director, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), discusses his new six-year stint to rejuvenate national badminton, his KPIs and the challenges inherent. He also discusses Denmark's abilities on the global sporting stage and what it takes to succeed as a world-class athlete. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

N Gopal Kishnam, Secretary General, Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) discusses its desires for a higher minimum wage, the introduction of a Cost of Living Allowance, and recognition by employers of Unions under Convention 87 of the International Labour Organisation. He also talks about MAS' jobs cull, financial sector consolidation, and workers' rights in general, relating especially to crim...