The Breakfast Grille

Ir. Abdul Kadir Mohd Din, CEO of Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK), talks about the dynamics of his business, which entails providing sewerage services to over 18 million users in Malaysia, with the exception of Kelantan, Sabah, Sarawak and Johor Bahru City Council operational areas. He discusses default rates (which are quite high!), amounts owing, reasons for non payment, plans to recover out...

Gregory Wade, Managing Director of Research In Motion (RIM) SEA, talks about how Blackberry passed the tipping point to hit the broad market, and won its stranglehold on the corporate customer. He also discusses the RIM business model, competition, innovation, the importance of strategy and its path to global success. he also lays down an outlook for the future. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Mohammad Azlan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Big Tree Outdoor Sdn Bhd, talks about the business of outdoor advertising and how it works. He also discusses its exclusive advertising concessions, market share, opportunities for growth and sites, outlook for adex, as well as the darker side of outdoor advertising" billboard monopoly deals and corruption at local authority level. See omnystudio...

Matti Lievonen, the President and CEO of Neste Oil, tells us the prospect of the biodiesel industry given that many producers are operating under-capacity and are loss making. Neste is producting at full capacity due to demand for its renewable diesel which is said to deliver better performance than traditional biodiesel. While some environmentalists are against the use of palm oil, Neste&nbs...

Allan Soo, Managing Director of CB Richard Ellis (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, discusses the recent drastic increase in property prices in the Klang Valley, the disparity in prices between Malaysia and other Asian markets like Hong Kong and Singapore, whether there is a asset bubble in the property sector, the issue of capital drain, his outlook for the sector in the medium and longer term. See omnystudio.c...

Dato' Nelson Kwok, the Founder of Nelson's Corn in the Cup, talks about the origins of the company, his plans for the future and his aim to list the firm. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Privasia Technology Bhd MD & founder Puvanesan Subenthiran talks about how he grew the company by acquisitions, how he funded it in the early years, how he identified the companies before purchasing, provides an outlook for the SI business as well as for ICT services and the outsourcing industry. He also talks about winning jobs under the national broadband plan. and proivides an outlook for g...

Gerry Khouri, Co-Founder of Bufori Motor Car Company (M) Sdn Bhd, talks about the origins and gestation of the company, his early -- and lossmaking association with Vinod Sekhar, the business in its curent incarnation, new models, costs, its famous owners, development budget, financial crisis, and the biggest challenges for the company. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Eng, the Research Director at OSK Securities, discusses energy security in Malaysia: how power from the Bakun will instead be channelled to East Malaysian projects instead of to the Peninsula, and the effects of that on the national power reserve margin. He also talks about the government's willingness to reduce the gas subsidies, which if continued, will hamper the supply of gas to power pr...

Penny Wong, Executive Director of metal fabricator Seremban Engineering Bhd, talks of the company's origins, how it came to be bought by listed light maker Sucess Transformer Bhd, the strategy it employed to go from a small player to a hundred-million-ringgit revenue company, how it secured its main clients, how most of its business is export oriented, and that most of its customers are operating...

Zang Toi, the Malaysian international fashion designer based in New York, tells us what it takes to be successful in the unforgiving business of fashion and his expansion plans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loke Kah Meng, CEO of Axa Affin Life Insurance, talks about the strategies to double premiums and get into the big insurance boys' league.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Cheah, Managing Director of SAS Malaysia, talks about how its mothership, SAS Institute Inc. is the "most important software company folks have never heard of", discusses the company ethos, the Malaysian experience and whether he replicates the culture here, the perks in Malaysia and whether local employees have taken unfair advantage of the perks. He also discusses the next Big Thing: predi...

Chi Oi Meng, Executive Chairperson of Hing Yiap Group, explains why the group focuses on active, sporty and casual wear segment, why the group recorded lower sales in 2009 compared to competitiors, the use of the Diesel name and the rationale for diversifying into an unrelated business (Theobrama Chocolate Lounge) though it is targeting the same mass market. Fashion brandnames under Hing Yiap Grou...

David Ng, Country Manager of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei, tells how the logistics company managed the volcano ash crisis in Europe, and the Malaysian business performance.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Schwartz, author of 'The Future of Finance', talks about the evolution of the private equity industry in Asia, how it is different from the US or Europe, how it can transform the current shareholder–driven corporate governance model, who funds PE nowadays, exit strategies, risk appetite, trade sales how PE can play a role in rebuilding the financial system, the pan-Asia, India and South...

Daniel Ruoss, Managing Director of Envision and a consultant and advisor on solar energy solutions, gives some insights into the solar energy industry in Malaysia. Salient points are: 1. Global demand for solar energy is estimated to be worth RM150 billion and Malaysia is poised to become a major player. In 2009, Malaysia's market share is 7% (fifth largest producer). It has the potential to go up...

Fermin Fautsch, South East Asia CEO of FTSE-listed Logica Plc, talks about the size and scale of the Malaysian market, working with global clients government procurement in Malaysia, discusses global issues facing Logica's business model, perceptions of being a low-margin, cyclical and crowded industry, financials such as revenue growth, main service sectors, profit margins and group contribution,...

Patrick Wee, Founder and CEO of True Group, talks about the ownership structure of the True Group, when, how and why he started, how he differentiates effectively, talks about the market value of the health and fitness industry, who his competition is, market share and target growth. He also talks about his market research, what percentage of the firm Dubai Investment Corp owns, his financial perf...

Chow Yuen Liong, the Managing Director of Tomypak Bhd, addresses concernas that it is too reliant on the food packaging industry, discusses his main clients , whether he has plans to expand away from mainly food industry clients. He also discusses growth plans and order pipeline. He also discusses raw material prices, oil prices, whether he hedges costs, as well as its news metallisation technolog...

Eugene Goh, CEO of MTouche Technology Bhd talks about the challenges of doing business in China, where global businesses are moving towards. He also provides some insights into the current trends of the mobile solutions industry and discusses on what could the future have in store not only for MTouche, but for the industry as a whole. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ba U Shan-Ting, the COO of Dommal Food Services, tells us what's cooking at Domino's Pizza. The most popular product line is still the Aloha Chicken because it's a safe choice especially for families with children. And unlike Americans, Malaysians do not usually mix their toppings. Sales in 2009 for Domino's pizza business in Malaysia was RM75 million, exceeding the target of RM50 millio...

Tan Sri Amirsham A Aziz, Chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) and former CEO of Maybank, on the new economic model (NEM). Salient points addressed by Tan Sri Amirsham: 1. The government is not obliged to adopt all of NEAC's recommendations on the NEM but based on coversations with the Prime Minister, Tan Sri believes he is commited in pushing for refor...

Tjark Auerbach shares the story of Avira, which grew from being a humble anti-virus shareware distributed on magazines into one of the world's biggest and most well-known anti-virus solutions. With over 130 million customers worldwide, Avira commands a respectable position and is known for up-to-the-minute software security solutions. He also talks about the Auerbach Foundation which he had set up...

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