The Breakfast Grille

This Scandinavian country of  just over five million people, is an active part of the conversation on drug policy (recently decriminalising drug use), on gender equality and FM radio (it recently was the first country to shut down its entire FM network taking the country completely digital). Today we focus on Norway’s Oil Fund, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, with an...

In light of recent revelations of major security breaches of personal data, many Malaysians are wondering how secure our digital infrastructure and framework is. We discuss these concerns with Dato' Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, the CEO of Cybersecurity Malaysia and find out more about the role and responsibilities of this agency in safeguarding the country’s online landscape. See omnystudio.com/...

According to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit index, New Zealand’s education system tops the list in terms of preparing students for the future. We dive into what sets the NZ education environment apart and the challenges it faces. We also go into how education providers are adapting to the changing demands of the global economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 GEMS Education is the world’s biggest operator of private schools, and entered the Malaysian market in 2015 with its Penang campus, followed by its Subang campus earlier this year. Alister explains how GEMS plans to differentiate itself from the other private and international schools already here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato Seri Hamzah Zainudin addresses claims he associated the rising cost of living with 'God's will'. The minister also explains the fuel pricing mechanism, the Price Control and Anti-profiteering Act, and KR1M 2.0. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 With AUM of RM137 billion as of end-September 2017, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) will have to more than double its fund size to fully take over the Federal Government's total pension liabilities. Dato' Wan dives into the investment strategies for Malaysia's second largest pension fund. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018 will be the year Deleum re-engages back its plans to venture overseas, says Group Managing Director Nan Yusri Nan Rahimy. The group stopped its plans to venture out of Malaysia in 2014 because of the drop in oil prices. Nan says Deleum was in the process of assessing its positioning in other countries but it had to be put on hold in 2014 because of the drop in oil prices. "We believe that aft...

The recent establishment of the National Integrity and Good Governance Department (JITN) under the Prime Minister's Department raised questions on whether resources could have been better allocated elsewhere. Are there too many cooks in the kitchen? On the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day, we speak to JITN Director Zaiedah Mohamed Esa, to find out more about the role of the department in s...

Will Robots and automation replace human jobs in the future? Andrew shares with his insights on how the second machine age is going to have a greater and more positive impact on society than the industrial revolution See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony shares his insights and over 40 years of experience in discussing the complex challenges facing governments in their quest to secure their national borders, especially in light of increased immigration, the refugee crisis and the rising threat of terrorism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Established in 1910, plantation company United Malacca remains a small player in the industry and yet, its yields have surpassed many of the big players. We ask CEO Peter Benjamin what's their secret to this. He also shares his outlook on the industry and CPO prices as well as his plans for the company moving forward. Peter also spoke about diversifying into cash crops to mitigate risk from being...

Don shares his insights on how technology is changing the way educators and institutions approach teaching and how profound changes in education are needed to build the digital workforce of the future. He also shares his views on the Malaysian education system and tells us what the gold standard is for countries in the fore front of education transformation in the Asia Pacific region. See omnystud...

Before TripAdvisor, Expedia or Skyscanner, there was Travelocity. Travel industry veteran Terry Jones led the team that founded the travel aggregator website Travelocity in 1996, which went on to revolutionise the online travel landscape. Terry speaks to us about the evolution of technology in the travel industry, and the use of artificial intelligence in his current project, WayBlazer. See omnyst...

The Czech Republic is at a curious crossroads. Having just elected its own billionaire business tycoon to lead the country and facing rising Euroscepticism in response to ongoing immigration debate, international commentators are closely watching the Czech Republic for its next steps. We speak to H.E. Rudolf Hykl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Malaysia on the latest developments in the count...

Since starting up shop over two decades ago, Golden Eagle Retail International Group's retail assets has expanded to 31 stores in China spanning across 19 cities today. The business has certainly grown over time but in recent years, its earnings have been hit. Net profit halved to RMB400 million in FY2016 and it is much lower than the group's profits in 2012 of RMB1.2 billion. Can mall earnings ev...

Malaysian football has just equaled its record low ranking of 174 out of FIFA's 211 member associations. Sanjeevan explains how the governing body of world football can assist its member associations to develop its respective football programmes. He also speaks about FIFA's attempts to overcome its corrupt past, and Oceania's role in the expanded 2026 World Cup format. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group or in short (MSWG) was formed to encourage good governance amongst public listed companies with the objective of raising shareholder value over time. It was also set up to protect the minority shareholders. But just how effective are they? We ask MSWG's General Manager Lya Rahman this. We also raise the question on independence of MSWG. Lya also talks about reju...

Dr Abdul Razak Baginda is back in the public eye as the head of newly-established think-tank ICON Centre for Global Affairs. He joins us on the Breakfast Grille to talk about ICON's research and consulting work, and how he's moved forward from his previous ventures.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conjunction with Women's Entrepreneurship Day on 19 November, we spoke to Vivy Yusof, the co-founder of FashionValet and The dUCk Group. In a candid interview with BFM, Vivy shares her business strategies in the midst of intensifying competition at a time when everyone wants a piece of the tempting e-commerce pie. She also shares the gameplan behind their diversification strategy and talks abou...

RHL Ventures was founded on the wealth pooled together by the children of some of Malaysia's tycoons. The young venture capital fund has plans to attract outside capital and grow the firm into a leading independent investment group. Find out more as we speak to Managing Partner Raja Hamzah Abidin about funding startups in South East Asia and the challenges his young team faces. See omnystudio.com/...

According to the 2015 Pisa rankings, Finland's much-heralded academic achievements in science, maths and reading have been surpassed by Asian economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. While higher taxes have meant higher spending on education, Finland's unemployment rate remains above the OECD and EU average. Olli explains how Finland's education system is evolving to face future...

Fonterra Group is one of the largest dairy exporters and processors in the world. Jose tells us about Fonterra's business and how they are evolving in the changing landscape of growing consumption of dairy products but also growing competition for a share of consumers wallets. He also shares how Fonterra has contributed to Malaysia becoming one of the top 10 largest dairy exporters in the world Se...

E-commerce is all the rage now and ZALORA is one of the first movers into the sector. However, since the start of the fast moving e-commerce race, some have burnt out, while others have had to turn to big backers for support. Giulio Xiloyannis shares ZALORA's strategy to survive in this capital intensive space, their game plan to build a sustainable business model, beyond simply growing...

Having seen a 70% on-year decline in net income for its last fiscal year, how will Emirates weather some of toughest business conditions in its 32-year history? Andrew also speaks about Malaysia's importance to the world’s biggest long-haul airline. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Istvan talks about: -How the traditional petrol station has evolved into a convenience retail store for consumers -Shell's partnership with Ferrari and Ducati and how that impacts the performance of their fuels and lubricants -How Shell is moving to take advantage of new technologies powering cars and its acquisitions this year -Shell's focus on talent development See omnystudio.com/listener for p...