The Breakfast Grille

Having survived through the pandemic, many construction players are now faced with a new set of challenges like rising material cost and labour shortages. Philip catches up with Datuk Dr Lim Jee Gin, group managing director of construction company Nestcon on the Breakfast Grille to discuss how the company plans to navigate rising material costs, labour shortages and returning profit to shareh...

As we celebrate 65 years of independence from the British, what economic shape is Malaysia in? What are the structural reforms that are needed to ensure the success of Malaysia Inc and also all Malaysians. Tan Sri Andrew Sheng, a former central banker and financial regulator in Asia, frequent commentator on global finance who is also a distinguished fellow at the Institute of Capital Market Resear...

Malaysia plans to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in its installed capacity to 31% in 2025 and 40% in 2035. But is there still money to be made in this very competitive field especially with rising solar panels and a plethora of players? Chow Pui Hee, Group Managing Director at Samaiden Group Bhd , a listed RE player tells us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Classic Scenic Berhad makes wooden picture frames and is listed on Bursa Malaysia's Main Board. It is one of the biggest frame makers in the world and has been steadily paying out dividends since its listing in 2004 - even through the pandemic. Its Executive Director, Eric Vo, paints us a picture of the business and what Classic Scenic can look forward to. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Over four billion people around the world live in cities and the number is growing by 1.5 million each week. As urban growth rockets through the region, a holistic approach towards developing our cities is important to ensure inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities. We speak to a panel of experts to discuss this from a global perspective and what Malaysia can learn from.  See o...

Yesterday, the five-person apex court bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun unanimously dismissed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's appeal to quash his conviction over seven criminal charges as well as the sentencing. We speak to P. Gunasegaram, Author of 1MDB The Scandal That Brought Down A Government and Goh Cia Yee, Criminal Lawyer on this verdict and the court process. See...

Bursa Malaysia wears the dual hat of market regulator and listed exchange company. However, average daily values have been on a declining trend. We ask its CEO Datuk Umar Swift how we can revive interest whilst discussing its latest initiatives in ESG including voluntary carbon trading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Technogym is a maker of premium high-end gym equipment that has been supplying the hospitality, corporate, business and home segments since it was founded in Cesena, Italy, in 1983. Today it is worth over US$2.4 billion and is present in over a hundred countries. It wants to expand its footprint in Malaysia and the region. We talk to James Lyne, Executive Director at Technogym Malaysia, to find ou...

World Vision Malaysia is a child-focused organization set up in 1997 to support community development and humanitarian programs. We ask CEO, Terry Leong how is World Vision Malaysia bringing the local communities out of poverty and into self-sustainability. And how is the organization utilizing its funds and the ease of collaborating with local stakeholders? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

More people turned to books during the pandemic but was this reflected in revenues. Not likely if operations was just focused on fairs and bookshops. So we speak to Andrew Yap, Co-Founder & Managing Director of BookXcess as to how they made the switch to online sales and are they back in the black with all 19 stores opened. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The most intensive oil and gas activity in Malaysia is presently carried out in Johor, where major oil storage, trading, bunkering, warehousing and manufacturing projects are located. Acting CEO of Johor Petroleum Development Corp, Izhar Ismail tells us how they plan to turn Johor into a regional Oil and Gas hub. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Developing apps is becoming increasingly a necessity in an increasingly connected world. This is how businesses today reach their customers and this tool is even more crucial after various Covid-19 lockdowns forced us to stay home and go online. OutSystems is a US-based company that provides tools for businesses to develop apps. Its Asia Pacific Vice President Mark Weaser tells us about how much p...

Climate Governance Initiative works with boards around the world to accelerate the net zero transition and has established a global network of national and regional Chapters in 53 countries worldwide. As the IPCC report released last year emphasized the need for global emissions to be halved by 2030 to ensure average temperature rise does not exceed 1.5 degrees by 2050, we ask Karina Litvack, Chai...

For over a century, Ford Motors has been one of America's top car companies delivering its trucks and SUVs to the hands of consumers globally. But as the supply chain issue continues to worsen and inflation concerns rise, will the carmaker be able to remain profitable and grow in a region not so familiar with the brand name?  Philip See speaks to Ford's ASEAN president to understand the...

United Nations Development Programme works in around 170 countries and territories and aims to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, some of the goals are to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities and exclusion. Kanni Wignaraja, Assistant Secretary-General, and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, at the UNDP tells us the challenges it faces and gives us...

Malaysia briefly saw a federal government that included DAP for the first time ever after the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the 14th General Election in May 2018. Yeo Bee Yin was put in charge of the newly created Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, the Environment and Climate Change, which she oversaw using her engineering training for 20 months until, the Sheraton Move, led by Azmin Ali, up...

TVB is a name synonymous with the golden age of Hong Kong entertainment, cult classic TV series and Cantopop at its best. After 55 years, where is it headed as demand for Cantonese language content appears to ebb? Desmond Chan, the General Manager of TVB International, tells about the challenges in finding talent, producing content while ensuring profits and maybe even discovering the next Chow Yu...

Listed on the Singapore Exchange, Sim Leisure Group designs and builds theme parks all over the world.  The group currently owns ESCAPE parks and recently acquired loss-making Kidzania KL from Khazanah and Boustead.  Founder and executive chairman, Sim Choo Kheng shares with us how the leisure industry is doing now, the business of designing fun and why is he advocating against roller co...

Philip See asks Professor Steve Keen, an Australian economist and Author of The New Economics: A Manifesto about creating alternative and realistic economics for a world that is trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic. He also asked him whether raising rates is still effective in tamping down inflation and why the study of economics need a major reformation to intertwine with energ...

The Covid-19 pandemic boosted demand for quick diagnostic testing to unprecedented levels, bringing into focus the crucial role of pathology players in the healthcare ecosystem. What trends in healthcare and medicine are driving the regional growth potential of the pathology industry? We find out from Dr Christopher Ting, CEO of Pathology Asia Group, which runs a network of pathology labs across S...

Logistic companies are facing the perfect storm of challenges of global supply chain shortages, soaring commodity prices, and border closures. We speak to Venkateswaran Lakshmanan, Sub-Regional Managing Director of Southeast Asia at Geodis if the worst is over and what are their growth prospect in this region. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After hitting a revenue of RM1 billion, SNS Network Technology Bhd, is heading for a listing on the ACE market but what is the next catalyst for growth? Is the market saturated and with cost pressures, will we see margin compression? Co-founder and managing director, Ko Yun Hung comes on the Breakfast Grille to answers these questions and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cloud storage and analytics services provider Snowflake had one of the most impressive debuts on NYSE in 2020, with its share price reaching a high of USD401 in November last year. However the stock has tumbled sharply amid investor concerns over the prospects of tech players in a challenging global economy. What bearing do global market signals have for Snowflake’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific r...

It's been a month since the 25th anniversary of the 1997 Asian financial crisis which wreaked havoc in much of East Asia and Southeast Asia.    What were the fundamental impact of the crisis to the region's economic policies and what lessons can we take away from it as concerns of another economic crisis draws near? Russell Napier, author and cofounder of the think tank ERIC explains. Se...

As the cost of goods continue to rise on the back of supply chain issues and inflation, how does a multinational fast moving consumer goods company like Dutch Lady manage costs while ensuring profitability without pushing customers away? Ramjeet Kaur Virik, its newly minted managing director for Malaysia talks to us about her strategies moving forward and whether you'll have to pay extra for your...