The Breakfast Grille

With trade blocs like TPPA and the Asean Common Market being much talked about, competitiveness and trade issues will come to the fore. Where does MICCI stand on globalisation and how do they balance domestic interests with that of multinationals which comprise the bulk of their general committee members? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The year has seen one of the most impressive economic figures for Malaysia where we have seen the economy grew  beating market expectations. But do these figures mean anything to the man on the street? In conjunction with Malaysia Day, we speak with Dr. Shankaran Nambiar to shed light on how far the company has come since independence and where it is headed. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Established in 1957, INSEAD has been widely considered as one of the top business schools. Apart from its main campuses in France, it has also established presence in Asia, including Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Professor Mihov shares how education is evolving with other online education providers in the sphere as well as the relevance of an MBA in the current job market. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Combining children's education into theme park elements is a unique and challenging proposition. We look into Kidzania's business model to gather insight into their strong revenue growth. Whether they are over-representing consumerism and capitalism in the educational process at the expense of other realities like environmental and societal costs is also explored. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

In this 2014 interview, Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO, Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre, discusses leadership in the context of the ongoing RHB-CIMB-MBSB merger and MAS' MH370 tragedy. He also discusses the twin notions of Big Not Necessarily Being Better, the Trust Deficit and what he calls Asia's cancer where Asian countries top the Hofstede Power Distance Index. He ends with an update on ICLIF's...

In this 2014 interview, David Ho, Chairman and Managing Director of the pharmaceuticals firm Hovid Berhad, discusses global M&A fever in Big Pharma, offers an update on its latest quarterly earnings, its product mix, ongoing industry drivers and challenges and the importance of its ongoing R&D efforts such as its Tocotrienol drug. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georg Fischer, the CEO of Tesco Malaysia, comes on the Breakfast Grille to give his insight on the highly competitive hypermarket space and how the company intends to reinvigorate itself. To recap, the company first came into the country in 2001 as a result of a strategic alliance with Sime Darby Bhd. We ask him about his strategies, Tesco's move into home deliveries, and how it is making the best...

Petronas's major capital expenditure running into the hundreds of billions is expected to bring joy to oil and gas players like Icon. We assess the issue of whether the country's perceived protectionist cabotage policy is anti-competitive and gets in the way of local companies' regional ambitions. Ekuinas's major stake also throws up interesting possibilities for Icon's future direction. See omnys...

NESTA which stands for the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts in the UK occupies a unique space within the ecosystem as a charity organisation that invests in new start-ups; pioneering new products and forms of technology. Dr. Benjamin Reid, who is Principal Researcher of NESTA, joins us to share how an innovation charity functions, especially when commercial returns are not it...

TalentCorp is tasked to manage the country's talent base which is needed to achieve economic transformation. However, the poor perception coming from the country's often right-wing political tack and the failure of top students to get university spots puts TalentCorp in an uneasy line of fire that appears to hamper their work. It is also a question of whether TalentCorp, which focuses on short to...

Sreedhar Subramaniam, director of the ABN Media Group and CEO of Asian Broadcasting Network, comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about how the group's network has expanded since being established in 2011. ABN describes itself as Malaysia's first digital cable TV network provider, and current reports put its subscriber base at around 30,000. However, as competition gets more intense, he explains...

In this August 2014 interview Zainal Amanshah, the CEO of InvestKL updates listeners on his investee targets in Kuala Lumpur, time taken to convert, investee pushbacks, ecosystem and macroeconomic drivers, internal and external challenges. He also discusses issues like state water disruptions, MAS tragedies, corruption, liveability, inflationary pressures, tax rates, talent crunch, ease and costs...

The entry into a integrated logistical solutions will bode well for GDEX. E-commerce features prominently as the shift from offline to online purchases will continue to support demand for transportation solutions. The linkages with SingPos and Alibaba raise some possibility for catalysts in future.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The field of financial advisory is a contentious one. How do you take investment advice from somebody whose income comes from selling investment products based on commission? Taurus seeks to move away from the conflicted commission-based business models to one with a fixed fee-based advisory. This market is expected to be a big one given the strong growth of Asian wealth. See omnystudio.com/listen...

After having come through a decisive election victory, India is now being watched even more closely than before by investors, business people and governments on how policies will pan out. ASEAN and India have a lot to offer each other but challenges abound, in particular India's bureaucracy which hampers investments. ASEAN itself also has a lot of self-searching to see how it will harness the pote...

We ask Shields to defend her economic report stating that Malaysia is a more risky prospect than Indonesia. This also led Bloomberg's William Pasek to insinuate whether Malaysia is Asia's weakest link, which Shields responds to as well. On the whole, Shield asserts that Malaysia is doing relatively OK although there are dangers in the horizon if things continue the way they are. See omnystudi...

Theme parks have emerged as a policy tool to energise tourism and the local economy, which is music to the ears of a solutions provider like Sanderson. The relocation of Sanderson from Australia to Malaysia is also testament to the growth and strategic aspects of the Asia Pacific region. Can the Emerging Markets sustain a profitable business model? We talk about these issues as well as take a deta...

Datuk Francis Lee Kok Chuan, CEO of Berjaya Foods Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about its recent move to wholly-own Berjaya Starbucks and how it plans to build on that going forward. Berjaya Foods, which is part of the Berjaya Group, is best known for its three main brands namely Kenny Rogers Roasters, Jollibean and Starbucks. As at the end of its 2014 FY, the company recorded 23.6% in...

Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim, President of the Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce and former CEO of Johor Corp, discusses his clashes with Johor state's Royal family, its politicians (and Chief Minister), issues of political and royal 'interference', New Britain Palm Oil and KPJ Healthcare. He also discusses his "Business Jihad" principles.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Hershey's has seen strong growth in China over the years and the investment into Malaysia will be a launchpad into the greater Asia Pacific region.  However, Asia Pacific is still relatively small compared to revenues that are coming out of North America. What is the potential of Asia matching the Americas especially in the face of rising health awareness of the evils of sugar? See omnystudio...

The business of matching free content with ads shouldn't be underestimated. It is a win-win situation that sells traffic to advertisers while allowing writers and bloggers to earn a respectable income. Nuffnang had a first-mover advantage when it carved a business model out of advertising on blogs, expanded to social media like Facebook and Twitter and now has a dominant market share. We talk abou...

It can safely be said that despite the crucial importance of it, awareness of financial planning is still low in Malaysia. We explore FPAM's value proposition to the wider population. The widespread conflict that exists in commission-based financial products distribution is one of the many areas of concern. We also find out how FPAM incorporates financial planning goals within existing regulatory...

The wonders of nanotechnology have been much touted. Apart from the commercial aspects, there could also be positive effects on the county's knowledge base and intellectual property as well as advances in healthcare, education and talent. However, given its risky nature, the government's lead in triggering commercial startups will have to be compared to measurable benefits for the nation.  Se...

Christopher Ong, Managing Director of Malaysia and Brunei at DHL Express (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., discusses operating metrics, business drivers, challenges, growth outlook and financials. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private healthcare has come a long way. The government in partnership with the private sector has managed to reduce the ratio of doctors to patients in Malaysia from 1:800 in the past to 1:600 now. However, it is still undeniable that healthcare needs are still crucial in Malaysia despite these improvements. We explore how the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia maintains standards and re...