The Breakfast Grille

Khairy Jamaluddin is in the political challenge of his life with a seven cornered fight in Sungai Buloh. He has made known of his ambitions to be Prime Minister of Malaysia. We ask him why he deserves that role, is reform within UMNO possible and his political future if he loses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While all airlines were badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, for Qatar Airways the global shutdown came on top of a blockade imposed by neighbouring countries on Qatar since 2017. With the blockade now lifted and pandemic recovery in full swing, is clear skies ahead for Qatar Airways, especially with the tailwind of the FIFA World Cup this month? We discuss the outlook for Qatar Airways wit...

Many have heard of Adobe because of their best-in-class photo-editing app, Photoshop. That's just one of many software suites of Adobe which has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception. One of Adobe's most impressive moves was the transition from a licensed software company to a completely cloud-based company. How did this happen and what's the next growth phase for Adobe? We will be speakin...

Selangor has many attractions to draw tourists - both natural and manmade - and many locals are discovering them especially in the years before international travel resumed. How has the state helped its travel, tourism and hospitality players survive the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and what is it doing now to revitalise this sector? Azrul Shah Mohamad, the CEO of Tourism Selangor, talks about bala...

The payment method for Malaysians has transformed dramatically in the last few years and payments remain the largest fintech segment in the industry. But with margins compressing, no thanks to a very competitive landscape, what does this mean for one of the earliest players - GHL? We ask their Group CEO, Sean Hesh these questions and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As one of Malaysia's oldest and largest foreign banks, is OCBC ready for the structural shift in the banking landscape with intensifying competition? We put its CEO, Dato’ Ong Eng Bin in the hot seat to ask this question whilst asking if they would consider inorganic growth via an acquisition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia and the United States have had 65 years of relations ever since over independence in 1957. Despite the changing global geopolitical environment, the US remains one of our third-largest trading partners, after China and Singapore. But with the growing influence of China and uncertainty in Europe, leading to a volatile macroeconomic environment, how will bilateral relations between the US a...

Since its founding over a decade ago, Wise has expanded to become a global transaction platform moving £9 billion monthly. Its CEO and cofounder Kristo Käärmann takes the hot seat to discuss how the company has grown and the future of Wise, especially in Asia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia is the sole party based on ideology, specifically socialism - but ideology doesn’t insulate one from cut-throat Malaysian politics. After the Pakatan Harapan and PSM electoral pact fell through at the eleventh hour, PSM decided to stand on its own ticket in GE15. Can the most principled party in the country make headway with mainstream voters? We speak to Arveent Kathirchel...

Kawan Engineering has been in the business of making and designing heat exchangers and boilers for more than 25 years. It counts companies like Petronas, Sime Darby, Tenaga as well as France's Alstom and Halliburton from the US amongst its clients. Today, it is venturing into the waste-to-energy business mindful of increasing demand for more climate-friendly solutions. Lim Thou Lai, its Managing D...

After Malaysia was unceremoniously downgraded by FAA, questions were raised about our safety standard. We speak to Datuk Captain Chester Voo Chee Soon, CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), about how challenging it was to restore our status after 3 years. We also asked if the MAVCOM and CAAM merger is still pending. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It started out in 1923 in Penang as a trading business called Diethelm & Co from Switzerland, today it is a Bursa-listed market expansion services firms dealing in consumer goods and healthcare amongst others. How has DKSH Holdings Malaysia navigated all the economic challenges and how will it continue to grow? Stephen Ferraby, its chairman, talks about how everything from ensuring Famous Amos...

Scicom (MSC) Bhd has evolved from being just a call centre provider to now an end-to-end service provider in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). The market globally is projected to grow by a CAGR of 9% from 2022 to 2030. Chong Tjen San will ask its CEO, Dato’ Sri Leo Ariyanayakam whether Scicom can capitalise on this trend and why its stock is not so loved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad is one of Malaysia’s largest freight and forwarding industry with a presence in the region. Most of its revenue comes from Malaysia and they have also seen significant growth from the US, and Australia is their second largest revenue contributor. In today’s episode of the Breakfast Grille, Philip See will be asking its group managing director, Chew Chong Keat, a...

Betamek Berhad is listing on Bursa Malaysia's ACE Market on Oct 26th 2022, after 33 years in the business, mostly supplying car audio systems to Perodua vehicles for 28 of those years. Its managing director, Mirzan Mahathir, talks about plans to diversify and take advantage of increasing use of electronics in vehicles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CTOS Digital Berhad had one of the best debuts on Bursa Malaysia in 2021. It has since been on an acquisition drive including a controversial majority stake in RAM. Few-months old Group CEO, Erick Hamburger Barraza shares with us their next stage of growth, and whether financial performance does justify the expensive valuations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s 15th General Election will be held on Nov 19th, 2022, and political parties are ramping up their preparations. DAP Youth Chief and Pakatan Harapan Youth Chairman, Dr Kelvin Yii, shares his insights into how the coalition plans to face the upcoming national polls after striking out four times in state elections for Sabah, Johor, Malacca and Sarawak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Aerodyne Group is a Malaysian drone-based enterprise solutions provider that has a presence in 35 countries and also plans to raise USD100-200 million to grow to the next stage. We speak to Kamarul A Muhamed, Founder of Aerodyne Group, about what is that next stage of growth and of course, the monetisation plans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the largest software companies in the world has taken the strategic decision to bet heavily on the cloud. Will it pay off? We ask SAP's Southeast Asian president Verena Siow for her views and also if worries of an economic policy will see a slowdown in IT spend. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the US Federal Reserve embarks on an unprecedented monetary policy tightening cycle, the US dollar has also strengthened in relation to most currencies. What's the impact of the global dollar cycle on emerging market economies? We discuss the implications and policy tools that governments have to mitigate the fallout with Maurice Obstfeld, Professor of Economics at the University of California....

Prominent legal activist Art Harun created uproar when he took up the post of Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat under the Perikatan Nasional government, with many questioning his independence. We discuss his term in the Speaker's Office, his approach to decision-making in Parliament and views on how the august house should be reformed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former student activist Adam Adli was elected this year as the PKR Youth Chief, beating a more experienced rival for the top post. What does he bring to the table and why is the youth wing against bringing MUDA into the fold? We discuss this and more with Adam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sunview Group Bhd is a renewable energy player slated to be listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on Oct 17, with targets to raise 34 million ringgit via the listing exercise. CEO Ong Hang Ping shares with us the purpose of the IPO, how the funds will be used, and competition in the solar PV market. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accounting firms today have expanded their business to more than just auditing, with many of the major firms like the Big Four expanding into digital services, risk assurance and even consulting. Are we also seeing smaller firms follow suit? Philip See speaks to Francesca Lagerberg, the newly appointed CEO of Baker Till, and also the tenth largest accounting network in the world by revenue, on the...

The dissolution of Parliament was finally announced, thus paving the way for the 15th General Elections. This was not a surprise, even though Budget 2023 was just tabled. We get first hand reactions with our panel of experts; Ibrahim Suffian, Programme Director, Merdeka Centre and Pankaj C. Kumar, business commentator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.