The Breakfast Grille

Ian Angell CEO for Tamarind Energy comes on the Breakfast Grille to answer the question as to who Tamarind is. Tamarind Energy came into the spotlight when it formed a US800 million partnership Blackstone Energy partners to focus on oil and gas exploration in South East Asia. Private equity firm Blackstone needs no introduction so we ask Tamarind about the partnership, what are the conditions atta...

With pharmaceuticals playing such a big role in healthcare, innovation is a key focus for Novartis. But how are the high R&D costs paid for given that a lot of these disease-curing drugs are too expensive for the poor? We also discuss the controversial pharma clauses in the TPPA as well as the ethics of drug marketing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ecuador lies almost half way around the world, and is the 11th largest trading partner that Malaysia has in Latin America. Its turn towards Southeast Asia is part of it re-orientation away from its traditional markets and political partners of the United States of America and Europe. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty or ALBA-TCP by its Spani...

In his blog, former New Straits Times chief recently called on the Prime Minister to speak plainly about the country’s economy. It was the latest in a series of trenchant criticisms of the PM Najib Razak’s performance and style. Claiming that Najib’s “presidential” style has put him at odds with traditionalists in the party who value a consultative approach. For Kadir...

The international NGO known for its infamous sting operations to expose corruption and human rights abuses kept Malaysians engrossed with its revealing footage of the state of corruption in Sarawak. Established in 1993, the NGO has since grown in size from its early environmental causes and is now tackling wider issues within the global financial system to end corporate anonymity and use of shell...

Tan Sir Megat Najmuddin, joins us on the Breakfast Grille in his capacity as President of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance. Established in March 1998, MICG is a neutral non-profit body with a mandate to raise the awareness and practice of good corporate governance in Malaysia. Today is World Anti-Corruption Day so we ask Tan Sri about the state of corporate governance in Malaysia as...

The crowdfunding platform democratises funding access for good business ideas that may not fulfil IPO size or profitability requirements. Malaysia's Security Commission is taking the lead in this area. The wisdom of the crowds also turns the concept of a good business idea on its head as lines between profitability and desirability are blurred as seen in the tens of thousands of dollars that were...

Since taking the mantel of the country’s oldest public university, this ENT specialist has had the unenviable task to managing negative perceptions resulting from several controversies: the removal of UM’s Center of Democracy and Elections, the prosecution of student activists called the UM8, the sedition charge against law professor Azmi Sharom and its refusal to participate in the Ti...

Tan Kay Yen, CEO of Green Packet Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about life after the divestment of its telecommunications arm P1 to Telekom Malaysia. He talks about what is next for the company, its working relationship with P1 and what is their growth strategy going forward. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raj Lorenz, group CEO of GHL Systems Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the future direction of the company in the transaction payment acquisition segment. He talks about moving away from the the traditional hardware payment business and into the realm of services, as well as the challenges that the company may face. He also gives a snapshot of GHL's operations in Philippines and Thai...

Loh Kok Chen, managing director of Tek Seng Holdings Bhd comes on to talk about the company's future direction as it branches into the new business of photovoltaic (PV) products. Tek Seng has been involved in the manufacturing and trading of polyvinyl chloride products for more than 30 years, so we ask Loh about why the company decided to foray into the PV, how the company hopes to grow the busine...

DIBS, RPGT, LTV... These are just some some of the alphabet soup of measures that have been unleashed on the property sector over the last two years. Property developers are feeling the pain of lower volumes and REHDA feels that some measures are too drastic. We look at how this view fits into the need to manage housing affordability and banking system prudence. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

The low-cost and no-frills revolution has permeated a great part of society. A revamp of the healthcare provision model not only reduces costs for patients but is ethically urgent. Columbia Asia's model however goes against conventional thinking in scale economies and we find out how they do this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alexandra Boakes Tracy, Non-Executive Chairman of the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASRIA), discusses her epiphany moment, the role of Asria and the definition of socially responsible investing. She also talks about ROIs and adoption, among other challenges such as policy (un)certainty, the potential for abuse, the relative lack of disclosure and universal repor...

Dr Wong Jun Shyan, CEO of International Specialist Eye Centre (ISEC), discusses his SGX listing, use of listing proceeds and growth plans, pipeline of qualified specialist ophthalmologists, industry drivers, medicine and equipment costs, regional growth and regulatory hurdles, the Singapore market and its single-client dependency. He also talks about CAGR and margin expectations, amongst others. S...

Tan Sri Mohd Munir Majid, joins us on the Breakfast Grille in his capacity as chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Malaysia. The ASEAN Business advisory council Malaysia, or Asean BAC, was set up with the purpose of providing private sector feedback and guidance to boost ASEAN's aims of economic integration. Next year is a pivotal year for Malaysia as it becomes the chair for ASEAN, but...

Coursera occupies a unique space in the education sector with its online education platform enabling students worldwide to sign up for its online courses all for free. With its partnerships with top-universities, Coursera is breaking new ground of how we learn and earn a degree. Richard C. Levin shares his plans to expand its user base and if the days of attending local varsities are numbered. See...

The coup which gripped Thailand earlier this year has had a limited impact on Minor International. Occupancy in their very high end hotels suffered but Minor is optimistic in Thailand bouncing back. Mass market staples offered by their quick service restaurants like Burger King and Swenson's were not affected by the coup. Over the longer term Minor hopes to be a conduit for Thailand's rising afflu...

The digital economy is said to be the great equaliser. Companies like iMoney serve as a go-between that raises awareness for the public looking for the best deals offered by financial institutions. We look at how the expected critical analysis in financial literacy sits well with the profit-maximising motives of banks. We also talk about iMoney's regionalisation plans and the related look into fun...

“Calling a spade, a spade,” says Nur Jazlan Mohamed when we asked him how he deals with criticism from his fellow party members on issues such as the Causeway toll hike and the Eastern Dispersal Link. As chairperson of the bi-partisan parliamentary body that is tasked with scrutinizing the Auditor-General’s report, he’s had to manage rising public expectations for thoroughn...

On the Breakfast Grille is Yaw Chun Soon, executive director of Talam Transform Bhd.  Formerly a prominent property developer, backed by well-known businessman Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye, Talam found itself laden with debt and dogged with a reputation for poor quality housing in the years following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.  The company has spent the better part of the past decade parin...

Dr Arun Kumar, director of Manipal Group Malaysia, comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the group's plans to expand into the private healthcare sector. The group has already acquired a 70 bed hospital in Klang with an eye on more. India-based Manipal is already a well known name, with global alumni that includes the current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. However, both the education and privat...

Amit Sevak, CEO, INTI Education Group and also CEO of Laureate Malaysia, discusses Inti's performance, the country's education sector and answers brickbats about Laureate. He also discusses in detail the private-public conundrum and the role of business in education. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emmanuel Nivet, CEO of AXA Affin General Insurance, discusses the JV's performance, challenges on agency workforce and upskilling (among sales distribution system and workforce issues) and rankings. He also talks about the challenges of competing for the under-insured SME sector as well as the deregulating motor and fire sectors, which form the majority of Malaysia's insurance industry. In turn, h...

Raza Amin, managing director of DNV-GL oil and gas Malaysia comes on the Breakfast Grille. Although not a familiar name to those outside oil and gas, DNV -GL's business is technical assurance and advisory services, in particular related to the maritime, oil and gas, business assurance and energy industries. With national oil company Petronas spending RM300 billion in capital expansion over the nex...