The Breakfast Grille

E-commerce transactions for essentials picked up significantly during the MCO. Leo Chow, CEO of Lazada Malaysia and former executive from Taobao discusses plans to maintain Lazada's lead as the biggest e-commerce platform operator ahead of Shopee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Review of Books is one of the foremost intellectual publications in the US. This morning on the Breakfast Grille, we speak to its former editor, Ian Buruma, about his time editing the publication, as well as his long-term observations of the politics in East Asia. Image source: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Esports has become a billion dollar industry. It reportedly generated US$1 billion in revenue for the first time last year, and although COVID-19 presents a stumbling block for 2020, the industry as a whole is expected to continue growing in the longer term. Roshan speaks to Tommy and Kevin to get their views on the state of the industry, the need of a governing body, their views on Dynasty Esport...

Despite a gloomy long-term outlook for the oil and gas industry, Ocean Vantage Holdings saw a strong debut on the ACE market. It was oversubscribed almost 16 times, and jumped from its issue price of 26 sen to close at 53 sen on IPO day, but is this optimism justified? Roshan gets into this with Stephen Yau, as well as their earnings outlook, expansion plans, plans for the IPO proceed, navigating...

Medical and healthcare stocks have gotten a lot of attention recently, and few can boast the stock returns that medical bed manufacturer LKL International has seen this year. The stock is up 6 times since end-March, on the back of a boom in revenue due to COVID-19, but is this sustainable? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malaysian equity market has recovered from March low's while the broader economy has weakened with rising unemployment and weaker consumption. So why the disconnect? To find out, we speak to Patrick Chang, CIO for Asean Equities, Principal Asset Management & Alexander Chia, Head of Regional Equity Research, RHB Investment Bank. We also take a hard look if there are still gems to be found o...

The Malaysian equity market has recovered from March low's while the broader economy has weakened with rising unemployment and weaker consumption. So why the disconnect? To find out, we speak to Patrick Chang, CIO for Asean Equities, Principal Asset Management & Alexander Chia, Head of Regional Equity Research, RHB Investment Bank. We also take a hard look if there are still gems to be found o...

Malaysian car sales have plunged, possibly to 15-year lows, but recent govt stimulus measures and the end of lockdown may have reversed the course, including for luxury cars, according to Nalin Jain, Managing Director of Volvo Cars Malaysia, who also discusses the country's auto policy, reports of a merger with its parent, Geely and global outlook for autonomous cars. Source: EPA-EFE See omnystudi...

Malaysian car sales have plunged, possibly to 15-year lows, but recent govt stimulus measures and the end of lockdown may have reversed the course, including for luxury cars, according to Nalin Jain, Managing Director of Volvo Cars Malaysia, who also discusses the country's auto policy, reports of a merger with its parent, Geely and global outlook for autonomous cars. Source: EPA-EFE See omnystudi...

After decades of maintaining a National Poverty Line that many criticised was misrepresentative of the true scale of poverty in the country, Malaysia recently made the decision to revise the line to RM2,208. Philip Alston, a vocal critic of the previous line, commends this as a step forward, but is it enough? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Daniel Susskind, Fellow in Economics at Balliol College, Oxford University and author of A World Without Work paints a picture of Big State and less power for Big Tech when machines take over more jobs. Image Source: FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital payments have picked up steam over the last few years and look to be the way forward, but for most countries it’s a very fragmented market for customers, but also businesses and merchants. Dutch unicorn Adyen, says that they’re the solution, and can better unify the payments space. Roshan speaks to their Asia-Pacific President, Warren Hayashi, about their recent entry into the...

2019 was a blockbuster year for movies, 2020 has been a far cry from it. The biggest grossing movie this year was Bad Boys For Life which made around $420 million , 2019’s biggest movie was Avengers: Endgame which raked in $2.8 billion worldwide, almost double 2020’s top 10 movies combined. However, this is not a surprise considering that economic shutdowns coincided with the peak time...

Airlines around the world have been hit hard by Covid-19 and the subsequent evaporation of global travel demand. In the wake of bankruptcies like Flybe and Virgin Australia, we speak to Philip See, CEO of Firefly, to get a picture of domestic demand for air travel, and the gauge whether the lossmaking company can survive the global pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With loan moratoriums set to expire at the end of September, Malaysia’s six-month debt holiday will soon be over. Which means both people and companies will have to address their financial obligations sooner, not later. KC Wong, CEO of Credit Bureau Malaysia and President of the Association of Credit Reporting Agencies (ACRA), explains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As one of the two rating agencies in Malaysia, Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has an even greater role to play as the risk of companies defaulting are higher in these challenging times. We speak to Datuk Jamaludin Nasir, Group CEO, to find out if capital markets and the economy is at risk while asking if there is an intrinsic flaw in their business model. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

With a new CEO at the helm, Cradle Fund is undergoing big changes as it deals with the impacts of the pandemic on the start-up community, and the tragic passing of its founding CEO, Nazrin Hassan. With the two newly launched investment programmes and new leadership at the helm, we speak to Rafiza about what she brings to the table, the role of equity investing, and her vision for Cradle. See omnys...

After the UK's exit from the EU on the 31st of January, the race is on for the island nation renegotiate its trade relationships with countries around the world. With Covid-19 now throwing its shadow across the global economy, we discuss the implications of Brexit, regional trade ties, and potential avenues of bilateral cooperation, with Natalie Black, UK Trade Commissioner for the Asia Pacific re...

The Malaysian steel industry has not been a particularly successful one, with Perwaja steel a reminder of this. However with a White Paper from the industry in the hands of the government, could the future be a brighter one? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private education is big business, but can it continue to grow under the shadow of COVID-19? Established in 1975, Beaconhouse School System began as a small Montessori academy in Pakistan and has grown into an education network spanning eight countries. Roshan Kanesan speaks with its CEO Kasim Kasuri, to discuss the group’s international expansion, the viability of virtual education, and the...

Amidst the volatility in capital markets and the gloomy long-term outlook for the oil and gas industry, would a listing be the right decision? We speak to Thien Chiet Chai, the Executive Director of Reservoir Link which is making a bold move in listing on the ACE market this month and find out the reasons for this and what they expect in terms of contracts when every oil major is cutting capex. Se...

Like other retailers, Harvey Norman took a hit from store closures during the height of the Covid-19 movement restrictions. Now that economies are reopening, how does the Australian lifestyle retailer plan to catch up on lost ground? We speak to Kenneth Aruldoss, Managing Director of Harvey Norman Asia on their expansion plans and how they plan to keep consumers coming back to their stor...

No business contingency plan could have prepared any company for the radical change to our lives from the impact of Covid 19. So we speak to Lee Sang Hui, CEO of Manulife Malaysia Berhad to find out how fast they were able to pivot in the new normal and what are the challenges to still grow with the inevitable recession knocking on Malaysia's door. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Tun Zaki Tun Azmi served as the 6th Chief Justice of Malaysia from 2008 until his retirement in 2011. On today's Breakfast Grille, we discuss judicial reform, as well as Tun Zaki's second career in the corporate sector as chairman of Television Airtime Services, which stands poised as a new contender in the digital arena. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women face many challenges when it comes to furthering careers in the sciences, and economics is no different. With only two women having ever won a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (and both of those given in the last decade), we ask the question of why there is such a dearth of women in this field, and why is it important to have them? To discuss this, we spoke to Shelly Lundberg, Leonard Broom...