The Breakfast Grille

A Masters in Business Administration or MBA was once seen as the golden ticket to advancement in the corporate world. However with changing attitudes towards higher education and the financial squeeze of a global recession looming overhead, do MBAs still make economic sense? Prof. Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD makes a case for continuing business education and how the famed institution shapes the ne...

In conjunction with International Women Day, we speak to one of the most powerful women in the government of the day, law minister Datuk Sri Azalina on her agenda and priorities in the government. She takes the hot seat to share her thoughts on her reform agenda, automatic citizenship for children born from Malaysian mothers overseas and other key issues. Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/yba...

Women make up 35% of the workforce in the Malaysian tech space, but are they equally empowered as their male counterparts to take on leadership roles? What kind of policies would encourage women's participation in the digital economy? Ahead of International Women's Day on 8 March, we discuss the reality and recommendations with our panel of guests. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

400%! That is how much the share price of TT Vision rallied by post its IPO on 18 January 2023. The stock has since given up some gains but is still up 264% from its IPO price of RM0.34 giving it a market capitalisation of RM590m. TT is involved in the manufacturing of machine vision equipment. We will speak to its CEO Goon Koon Yin on what has been driving the sharp share price gains and has it b...

At any given point in time, more than 210 million people in over 60 countries are wearing a Bata shoe. How did a Czech brand founded in 1894 end up in so many countries and still made us all think it is locally made? Vaibhav Manrao is Bata Malaysia's Managing Director and he shares his insights into how the shoemaker took the Covid-19 pandemic impact in its stride and its plans to power through. S...

Paramount Corporation Berhad is a property developer with established townships in Klang Valley, Kedah and Penang. It also ventured into co-working space, owns a hotel in Kuala Lumpur as well as a fine dining restaurant Dewakan, which was recently awarded a Michelin Star. On the education side, the divestment has paved the way for a 12 sen special dividend or a one-off yield of more than 10%. YTD,...

Prime Minister Dato' Sri Anwar Ibrahim returned to the role he held two decades ago and tabled the largest budget in history this month with a RM388 billion price tag. Described by some as cautious and safe, does the budget pave the way for a return to the black for the country's financial accounts? Treasury Secretary General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican discusses the thought process that went into...

The United Kingdom is ranked 8th in the 2022 Monocle soft power survey no thanks to its strong currency of language and culture. Helped by the British Council which is known for its educational and cultural programs. However with a cut in spending, does this diminish their strategic goals and what plans do they have for the Malaysia after operating here for 75 years. We pose these questions to Sco...

Finance Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled his maiden budget last week, three months after taking office. How well are the principles of Malaysia MADANI reflected in the country's fiscal plan? We assess the retabled Budget 2023 and what it says about the government's policy direction with our panel of experts Dr. Tricia Yeoh, CEO of IDEAS & Soh Lian Seng, Head of Tax from KPMG. See omnys...

For past few decades, we have been seeing the rise of the role of middlemen and as they hold tremendously strong market power, economists have attributed the rising cost of living to their platform. Kathryn Judge, Author of Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source shares with us how the middleman economy impact the way we buy and sell and how we can fight back...

In the lead up to the 100 days mark of the unity government, we sit down with Syerleena Abdul Rashid, MP for Bukit Bendera and Lee Chean Chung, MP for Petaling Jaya to discuss the challenges of the political landscape today. We also talk about their plans in government, accountability measures and working with former archenemies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LH Plus, one of the oldest plastics companies faced rising costs and supply chain constraints during the pandemic. We check in with Callum Chen, CEO of LH Plus Sdn Bhd as to their growth plans, is a listing on the cards and the importance of succession planning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retail spending is back with a vengeance, at least for now. This is evident in the traffic jam in the mall car parks, packed eateries and the long queues at even the Louis Vuitton outlet. However, is this sustainable especially in the face of slowing GDP growth this year and higher inflationary pressures. Competition is also heating up with new malls such as 118 Mall and TRX Mall. We speak to Dato...

Kimlun Corporation Berhad is a contractor which has a niche in private sector projects but has been winning sizeable jobs in Sarawak. The differentiating factor with other contractors is its precast division where it had close to 60% market share for MRT 2. Earnings delivery has been improving but the share performance over the past year has been flat. Will it be a big beneficiary of MRT 3 when it...

Tragedy struck Türkiye early last week as a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Türkiye which has seen over 35,000 deaths so far. It is one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the Levant and the deadliest earthquake worldwide since the 2010 Haiti earthquake and was felt as far as Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Black Sea.  Estimated to have c...

Feeling sick but don't want to visit a Doctor physically or want to schedule an appointment but can't get through the busy lines? Doctor Anywhere is a tech-enabled, omni-channel healthcare service provider in Asia, on a mission to make healthcare simple, accessible, and efficient for everyone. Since its launch in 2017, it has grown exponentially to serve more than 1.5 million users across Southeas...

Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut is the world's biggest chocolate producer making supplying 1,000 tonnes of chocolate a day to companies like Nestlé, Hershey's, Leonidas and Neuhaus. But chocolate's raw material is cocoa which is mainly sourced from countries like Côte d'Ivoire and Mali - places not well-known for their human rights record. Robert Kotuszewski, Managing Director of Barry Callebaut...

Karex Bhd, the world's largest condom maker suffered 2 years of consecutive losses but the worst appears to be over. We speak to Goh Miah Kiat, CEO of Karex as to what will be driving growth, was diversifying into gloves a mistake and whether is it too late to buy the shares after the recent rally? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conjunction with World Radio Day, the founder of this station, BFM 89.9, Malek Ali shares with us how radio will survive the age of disruption for traditional media, Malaysia’s media landscape with the changing of governments and the editorial independence of the station. And how does a station like this make money?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Noraishah Mydin Abdul Aziz gained public prominence when she was fielded as the Pakatan Harapan candidate for Putrajaya in GE15, representing the disabled community. But the neurobiologist has been long known in scientific and medical circles through her work with the Malaysian Neural Tube Defects support group. To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, we sp...

The Schaeffler Group started more than seven decades ago in Germany and is now a leading global automotive and industrial supplier. But the success of the industry hinges a great deal on the automotive market and the semiconductor industry. Both are expected to face more headwinds this year. Its presence in Malaysia dates back to 1995 where it caters more to the industrial division which supplies...

As inflation pressure rises and economic activity slows, Malaysian banks will likely see weaker loans growth in 2023. Newly appointed CEO of Alliance Bank, Kellee Kam comes on the Breakfast Grille to share his strategies on how the bank plans to contend with the headwinds in the coming quarters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World Bank has forecast economic growth of 4% for Malaysia in 2023. Decent projections at first glance but what can be gleamed from their Economic Monitor Report? What are some of the policy recommendations that they have for this unity government to resolve our long standing economic issues? Dr Apurva Sanghi, World Bank’s lead economist for Malaysia answers those questions and more. See omnystudi...

The Boba craze might have died but Loob Holding, parent of Tea Live and Bask Bear Coffee has grown exponentially despite the pandemic. We ask their CEO and founder, Bryan Loo how was this achieved, maintaining brand relevance and is going public still on the cards? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trinidad Group began as a cigar distributor and retailer in 2002. Over the past two decades, the company expanded into hotel and F&B management as well as hospitality consulting. How are they positioning themselves amid the broad recovery in travel and tourism this year? We speak to Group President and CEO Dato’ Indera Naresh Mohan on their business strategy and expansion plans. See omnystudio...