The Breakfast Grille

Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad CEO Matt Harris discusses: - Areas under property-casualty and general business; - Details of Malaysia business - premiums - other metrics; - Number of agents / brokers; - Number of policyholders; - The "science" of policy pricing; - Rankings update: market share, overall; - Ratio of consumer - commercial lines; - Claims ratios - comparison with industry; - New bu...

HE Jorge Alberto Lozoya, Ambassador of Mexico, hopes to attract more Malaysian investments in to Mexico. Construction, infrastructure and luxury tourism are high potential areas. He also tells how the government is fighting the drug cartels and combating corruption. In the past five years, the drug war has claimed more than 30,000 lives including 80 journalists. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Declan MacFadden, President of Symrise Asia Pacific, talks about popular trends in fragrances and flavourings, and new growth areas. Symrise is based in Germany and is among the four largest flavourmakers in the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst discusses: - Efforts to further penetrate public sector-business in Malaysia;   - Expanding the product offering away from Operating Systems towards more Middleware, Virtualisation and Cloud; - Distribution challenges; - Global expansion; - Countries that drive this growth; - Customers - proposition for financials; - Overview of the US economy; - Implications of a E...

Mechai Viravaidya, founder of Population and Community Development Association and the Mechai Bamboo School, discusses the challenges and effective strategies in reducing poverty in Thailand. His bamboo school has gained significant attention from Temasek Foundation and the Gates Foundation for its progressive curriculum.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Rogers, investor and former hedge fund manager, believes that the next global recession will be worse than in 2008 because the Fed and Eurozone is running out of bullets to deal with the recession. He says he may buy more of the Rogers commodities index. Malaysian stocks are on his radar but he will buy more when he is convinced that reforms are rolled out. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

OCBC Bank Malaysia Director & CEO Jeffrey Chew discusses: - OCBC Malaysia proposition; - Great Eastern - relationship with OCBC Malaysia; - OCBC Al-Amin business - Islamic banking outlook and prospects; - Branches - openings - competition; - CAR ratios - loans growth - targets; - Risk management - individuals exposure - variable rate loans; - Rates outlook; - Bad loans ratios - Growth targets;...

Glomac Bhd Group Managing Director and CEO, Datuk Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, discusses: - Market positioning - ongoing projects; - Project rollout details in current fiscal year; - Existing projects: takeup rates; - Reports of cooling sales - feedback; - Status update of (delayed) Lakeside Puchong project; - Status update for Kelana Jaya commercial development and DU apartment project; - Statu...

Charles Ireland, Managing Director of Guinness Anchor Bhd discusses: - Outlook for earnings; - Slowing economy and consumption outlook; - Mitigating factors, catalysts - Rugby World Cup, Olympic games and Euro 2012 ; - Weakening USD, currency fluctuations, impact; - Branding - A&P; - Market share; - Black market - East Malaysia; - Government clampdown on smuggled beer; - Volume, percentage con...

Teoh Su Yin, Head of Research for Malaysian and Asean at Deutsche Bank, expects Malaysia to slow down (GDP forecast 4.6% in 2011, 4.2% in 2012) due to softer external conditions, but it could be buffered by domestic demand. On the markets, she says Malaysia should be credited for outperforming other Asian markets in difficult years and while Indonesia has overtaken Malaysia in terms of size and gr...

Jean Cassegrain, CEO of Longchamp, talks about plans to grow the independent French luxury brand in emerging markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wong Siew Yap, Managing Director of Industrial gas firm MOX-Linde discusses: - Importance of industrial gases to industry; - Product spread; - Industries supplied to; - Life post-delisting - extent of German management influence; - Proportion of production allocated to export component; - Client industries of fastest growth; - How business plays into global mega-trends of Energy / Environment and...

Thomas Jalong, President of JOAS, talks about the problems faced by the indigenous communities in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellcall Holdings Bhd Executive Director Alex Chew discusses: - Business outline - products - target sectors; - Clients: weighting - spread - over-reliance; - CAGR - demand growth; - Geography of clients; - Utilisation rates; - Volatility of rubber and raw material costs; - Outlook natural and synthetic rubber prices; - How mitigate high rubber prices; - Raising prices - quantum of increases - out...

Japan Ambassador to Malaysia, His Excellency Shigeru Nakamura, discusses: - Japan and Malaysia economic and bilateral ties; - Malaysia's proposition to Japan and vice-versa; - Details of ongoing Japanese investment into Malaysia; - March earthquake - tsunami - rebuilding - issues; - Nuclear - issues; - Relocation of Japanese production abroad and to SEA - issues; - Japan's economic problems - issu...

Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei discusses: - Its early beginnings and and foray into the low-cost airline space; - Its full transition and re-fleeting into a full no-frills airline in 2005; - Views of full-service and whether its unpopularity is a portent of things to come; - Intense competition in the low-cost space; - How the DNA of a low-cost carrier and a full-cost carrier differs; - His view...

Asia Media Group CEO and Founder Datuk Ricky Wong, discusses: - His business model; - The type of content that is being played; - What ads are being sold and who the advertisers are; - Types of other revenue generators; - Life as a Plc, - Concerns that AMedia might be perceived as a speculative stock; - Concerns over its hefty private placement; - His view that growth will outperform any dilution...

Eric G. Melin, Executive Vice President and Asia Pacific President, Nalco Company, discusses: - The challenge for Asian businesses of using less water for industrialisation; - The threats to consistent and reliable water supply for the average industrial user: population growth, industrialisation, agriculture and possibly climate change; - Asia's levels of concern in regards to cleaning and recycl...

Vale Manufacturing Malaysia Director Marcelo Figueiredo discusses: - The reason for choosing Malaysia to build its distribution centre, jetty and shared services hub; - Why Perak and not Selangor - PTP in Johor - Port Klang - even Singapore or Hong Kong; - Impact for Perak: sope and size of plans, investment value; - Repercussions in terms of jobs - skills transfer - contracts; - Stage of completi...

Sanjit Bunker Roy, founder of Barefoot College, tells how the college empowers communities in need in rural villages in India through its solar panel project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BFM Merdeka Series: Deva Kunjari Sambanthan, daughter of Tun Sambanthan. Kunjari discusses: - Memories of her father, such as his bedtime stories of a Lion King and his humility; - That Malaysia's first leaders based the principles of freedom on (racial) solidarity; - Memories of the Government's ban in the 1950s on the lion dance and racial tension; - The unequal standing of Indians at the time;...

Tan Siok Choo talks about the values her grandfather, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and her father, Tun Tan Siew Sin, stood for, and the relevance of MCA and concerns about religious extremism. "Tan Siok Choo, Granddaughter of Tun Tan Cheng Lock gives us her merdeka message." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tunku Munawirah Putra talks about her grandfather Tunku Abdul Rahman and the values he stood for, and about reverting to English medium schools, and giving schools a choice to teach Math and Science in English. Tunku Muna is honarary secretary of PAGE (Parent Action Group for Education). "Tunku Munawirah Putra, Granddaughter of Tunku Abdul Rahman tells us what was her grandfathers vision for the c...

CSF Group of Companies President and CEO Adrian Yong discusses: - Staff - HQ - storage space - company USPs; - Customer concerns: Power and Security; - Malaysia opportunities; - Bumiputra ownership; - Malaysia market share; - Doubling data centre capacity; - Indonesia and Vietnam expansion; - Expansion strategy; - Underserved Malaysian market; - Drivers; - Challenges - downturn - rates compression...

 Siow Der Ming, Head of Franchise Division and Head of International Branding at Poh Kong Holdings Bhd, discusses: - Gold prices and business in Poh Kong's shops; - Branch opening roadmap; - Breakdown of business between gold jewellery - diamonds - gemstones; - Cost per store opening; - Growth by franchise; - Staffing as a challenge; - Theft as a challenge; - Outlook for gold prices; - Whethe...