The Breakfast Grille

Reach Energy would be the fourth SPAC or Special-Purpose Acquisition Company to be listed and the biggest in terms of funds raised. They aim to quickly put their money to use by  buying mature oilfields or what they call "brownfields" w hich big oil firms may find no longer viable to hold on to.  Expansion plans further out would see funds allocated to exploration and production assets....

The 80% of the world's population that don't have access to banking services effectively cuts them off the economic system in a big way. Performing simple transactions like topping up pre-paid phones and making online purchases pose grave inconveniences. Numoni aims to serve this highly important social function and make money from it at the same time. However, the constantly changing online space...

Cher Ng, founder and managing director of TREC comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the development of what he hopes to be the new lifestyle hub in town. TREC is a lifestyle and entertainment area that will sit directly opposite the future Tun Razak Exchange. Cher talks about how TREC aspires to be Malaysia's Clark Quay, the challenges he expects to face and how he plans to make it the talk...

Ashwin Rajgopal, managing director of L'Oreal Malaysia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the business of beauty. L'Oreal is one of the most recognised brand names in the world with portfolio of products that covers every spectrum from consumer to high end, to professional salons. L'Oreal Malaysia has 18 brands under its umbrella and Ashwin talks about growing despite intense competition...

Paolo Grassi, managing director of Bata Malaysia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the changing the strategy of the well-known shoe maker. Probably best known as being the staple of every school-going child's wardrobe, Bata currently holds 12% of the market, and sells 9 million pairs of shoes annually worth more than US$100 million. He talks about changing people's view of Bata, of the p...

In this 2014 interview, Eversendai Corporation Berhad Executive Chairman Tan Sri AK Nathan discusses the company's current order book and bids, revenue targets, transition into power plant construction and diversification into oil and gas. He also discusses his growth plans via th M&A route, Eversendai's share valuations and the options he is weighing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Apart from Malaysia, IHH is also doing well in Turkey despite the political turmoil of the past year. IHH's focus on the greater emerging markets area like Brunei, Vietnam, UAE and Macedonia allows it to tap into high growth of these countries while maintaining a tried-and-tested template of running hospitals.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the oil & gas related pipe-coating business is still the mainstay of Wah Seong, substantial resources are also being deployed to and vested in plantations and associate companies. The exposure of revenue to global sources is also a double-edged sword since this removes leverage to the robust local oil & gas sector. We discuss impact of these factors on long term share price performan...

Chief Executive Officer, Mohd Farid Nawawi joins us on the Breakfast Grille to explain if there is still space in the property market for a mid-tier player fresh from its delisting. He also sheds light on its plans in Penang as well as balancing its resources to unlock value for its landbank. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Sill, Country Executive, Royal Bank of Scotland Malaysia, offers a business update since the sale of its regional investment banking businesses to CIMB in 2012, discusses its "back to basics" business model, debt capital market issues and pipeline, its exit from the Ringgit sukuk market, its size in Malaysia (two branches, 100 people), the impact on business of the Scottish referendum on in...

Law King Hui, managing director of Sasbadi Holdings Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the company's upcoming listing on the Main Board and the direction of the company going forward. The company aimed to raise some RM25 million from the exercise in order to grow its business. Law talks about the future of print, its plans to diversify and what they are doing to future proof their bus...

Through AirAsia BIG, AirAsia is effectively giving budget travellers a redemption programme that doubles up as a prepayment mechanism. The C$17m acquisition of a small stake in AirAsia BIG by Aimia, a Canadian global leader in loyalty management, notionally values AirAsiaBIG at over RM1b. We explore trends in the loyalty progamme industry as well as how AirAsia balances the low-cost philosophy wit...

James Yap, director of Rayford Migration comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the business of migration, Rayford Migration, as its name suggests is in the business of helping people cross borders. A fully fledged migration service based in Malaysia for over 10 years. They provide migration services to Australia, NZ, the US, Canada. We ask him about trends, whether applications spike after g...

Leong Seng Keat, Chief Executive Officer of Nam Cheong Ltd, talks about its business model in offshore support vessels (OSV), the outlook for orders, global supply and demand drivers, Petronas' capex program, the interplay between deep- and shallow water OSV demands, its orderbook, vessel charter business, its cashflow and cash position and market liquidity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Zulkarnin Bin Ariffin, Group Managing Director of Seacera Group Berhad, discusses its tile industry market share, its competition, cheap Chinese imports and their impact on their financials. He also discusses plans to reduce dependence on the tile business and exit its plastics packaging business to enter construction, property development and trading of building materials. He also discu...

Behind every major news and every personal update is the ubiquity of Twitter. At 2% market share of social media views since its inception, we explore how relevant Twitter is in the face of not only Facebook but also emerging forms of social media like Instagram, Pinterest and the like. New forms of technology like wearables will also have bearings on how this 140-character medium that captures th...

A trained lawyer and career diplomat, the Thai Ambassador explains, as he has done many times with representatives of other governments, the “necessity of military intervention”.  He casts the junta that first announced martial law, only to declare two days later that they had failed to reconcile the opposing forces and so needed to stage a coup. The Ambassador explains the roadma...

Today we have with us on the Breakfast Grille, Tan Sri Datuk Eddy Chen Lok Loi, the managing director of MKH Bhd. MKH, formerly known as Metro Kajang, is a well known property developer, comprising townships that range from Kajang, Semenyih to Bangsar, Damansara. To date MKH has undertaken mixed development projects with a value exceeding 4 billion. We ask him about upcoming developments, challeng...

Boh Boon Chiang, the COO of Khind Holdings Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the current business environment ahead of the GST hike next year. Best known for its range of home appliances, Boh talks about controlling its costs and new markets it intends to tap. He also elaborates on investing in people and capex for the year ahead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brand synonymous with luxury and the pinnacle of opulence, Regional Director Asia Pacific , Paul Harris explains why the 110 year-old brand is still a credible force in the industry not to be taken lightly.  He also sheds light on the market catalysts  for the luxury carmaker in the the face of much uncertainty and unrest in the region.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Despite the existence of giants like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, there are enough nuances within the Asean market which iBuy wants to assail.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Collaborations with prestigious medical educational institutions like Johns Hopkins University and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is one small step in addressing the country's dire healthcare needs. Professor Dato’ Dr. Sothi Rachagan also discusses the perennial issue of funding a social cause. The University also plans to grow other relevant courses like International Trade a...

The Health Minister takes on questions ranging from the “bloated” Cabinet, the ability of his party to represent ethnic Indians, as well as concerns about the privatization of health care services, the over-supply of doctors and nurses, links with private health-care colleges and the private sector- public divide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary Brown, the deputy CEO of 7-11 Malaysia Holdings Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the business of convenience. The company recently completed its IPO where it raised RM731.8 million for the expansion of its stores and services. He talks about intense competition from not only its peers, but from the likes of hypermarkets and petrol stations. He talks about not only growing the n...

Simon Davies, VP for Asia, Salesforce.com, discusses its anti-Oracle-like business model as a Software as a Service (SAAS) model, cloud computing, its Marc Benioff-inspired company culture, revenue targets, 'New Industries Strategy', (relatively) low Asia penetration and its '1+1+1' philanthropic efforts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.