Under The Radar

Nanomaterials that could create, detect and manipulate light – that’s what we’re going to talk about today.  It may sound like a sci-fi movie, but these so-called ‘optical materials’ are widely used in our daily lives.  Think about the nanocrystals used to emit bright and life-like colours in our TV displays, or luminous materials in invisible inks used to mark barrels of oils for tax accounting p...

We’re going to bring you an inside look into a conglomerate investment company with operations and financial interests in resources, property and hospitality.  Founded in the early years of Singapore’s colonial history – we’re talking about 1887 here – The Straits Trading first started out as a company catering to the region’s growing tin smelting industry.  It become renowned for its tin smelting...

Did you know that football star Cristiano Ronaldo is somewhat of an investor himself? Today we’re going to talk to a company that he has recently invested in – and that’s online luxury watch resale marketplace Chrono24.  Founded in 2003, Chrono24 prides itself as the number one address for luxury watches for commercial watch dealers and private sellers from around the world.  It currently has over...

What happens when you have a group of engineers with backgrounds in 3D data processing in an online class studying computer vision?  Well – they form a company that develops software systems for self-driving cars! And that’s the story behind our guest for today Seoul Robotics.  Founded in 2017, Seoul Robotics develops software systems for self-driving cars to determine traffic conditions.  Its sys...

From producing abalones to distributing FMCG products and to offering consultation services, our guest for today Oceanus has its wings spread across business pillars such as food production, innovation and distribution.  The aim here is to leverage what it calls cross-pillar synergies for exponential growth to boost financial performance. But having a diversified portfolio of businesses hasn’t alw...

Today we’re going to look at the oldest form of lending, which dates back to the Ancient Greek and Roman Empires. Make a guess – it was also found in China during the Spring and Autumn Period or between 770 to 476 BCE.  Bingo if you’ve guessed pawn shops! Pawnshops first made their way to modern Singapore back in 1872.There were 25 pawnshops dotted across Singapore from 1920 to 1929, and they gene...

Did you know that Singapore has been home to many foreign banks in the 1800s?  In fact our guest for today is one of them. Having opened its first branch in Singapore in 1877, HSBC Singapore is a qualifying full bank serving the international needs of individual, corporate and institutional clients.  It provides retail banking, wealth management, commercial investment, private banking, insurance a...

Earlier we told you about the world’s largest mining company BHP. Today we are going to take you closer to home by looking into the operations of a Singapore-grown minerals and resource company.  With a global footprint spanning across countries in Southeast Asia and West Africa, TOP International Holding is an integrated producer of bauxite – or a mineral used to produce aluminium – and offers en...

Today we’re going to talk to a German multinational technology conglomerate that set its foot in Singapore 115 years ago.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Siemens. Founded in 1847 as a small workshop in a back courtyard in Berlin, the company’s offerings now span across a wide range of industries such as digital industries, mobility, and smart infrastructure.  The firm first entered in Singapore back in 1...

You’ve probably heard about incubators and accelerators that help startups scale up before they could stand on their own.  But what about a venture platform dubbed as a super incubator?  That’s what we’re going to talk about today. Founded in 2022, VentureBlick is a Singapore headquartered Super Incubator with a presence in countries such as Australia, China, South Korea, India, Germany and the US...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into the private education business. Founded in 1907, ESSEC Business school is a major French business school with a tightly knit community of some 62,000 graduates. With the region, ESSEC Business School Asia-Pacific, was established in Singapore in 2005 to offer academic and executive programmes with Asian insights and Western perspectives. It has si...

Mining for minerals used in farming, infrastructure and even in electric vehicles. That’s what we’re going to talk about on the segment today, with the world’s largest mining company BHP.  Founded in 1885, BHP is a leading resources company headquartered in Melbourne, with about 80,000 employees and contractors across 90 locations worldwide.  It produces essential commodities through its assets su...

We told you about the wholesale banking landscape in our conversation with ANEXT Bank a couple of months back. Now this time, we’re going to turn our attention to look at the digital retail banking sector.  Our guest for today is Trust Bank, which is the digital bank backed by Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group.  The bank had breached the S$1 billion mark in deposits in early May, with over 50...

Our guest for today is no stranger to Singaporeans. Founded in 1974, Temasek is a global investment company with 12 offices across eight countries.  The state investor has a long term horizon, where activities are guided by their views on long-term structural trends. It mostly invests in equities though it does not set limits for geographies, sectors or asset classes.  The firm released its latest...

Today we’re going to give you a snippet into a South Korean startup that could rival Nvidia in the race to provide high-end AI-chips.  But not without some context about the AI chip prediction landscape. Currently, Nvidia dominates the AI computing market with analysts predicting a market share of between 80 and 95%. It provides graphics processors known as GPUs for users to run AI applications du...

Have you ever wondered where the meat we eat comes from? That’s exactly what we are going to find out today.  Headquartered in Singapore, our guest Japfa specialises in producing protein staples and packaged food that feeds millions of people.  Put simply, the company produces animal feed such as poultry feed, cattle feed and aquaculture feed. It breeds animals such as chicken, pigs, fish and cows...

Do you still remember the time when every eligible Singaporean could book for attraction tickets, hotel stay-cations and local tours using the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers?  Well, we are bringing this up because our guest for today is one of the industry players that helped to facilitate your SingapoRediscovers voucher redemption.  Founded in 2013, GlobalTix is one of the leading reservation and di...

Extended reality solutions - the umbrella term for virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality solutions – are at the heart of our conversation today.  Our guest for today is from Varjo. The Finnish firm that – by the way consists of veterans who previously came from Nokia Cast – makes what it calls the highest immersion virtual and mixed reality products and services that includes not ju...

Today we’re going to talk about one of the world’s largest express transportation companies.  Our guest for today is from FedEx, a company that was founded by Frederick W Smith as the Federal Express Corporation in 1971.  And here’s a fun fact about the company’s name. The word “federal” suggested an interest in nationwide economic activity in the US and was meant to resonate with the US Federal R...

Today we’re going to talk to a company that hires over 105,000 employees around the world.  With over 130 years of history, ABB is a Switzerland-based technology leader in electrification and automation to drive industrial transformation and enable a more sustainable and resource efficient future.  The firm serves a wider range of clients from industries ranging from automotive, mining, marine, me...

What is the first thing you would do once you get to the airport?  Well, if you’re like me, you might make a beeline to some of the fast food outlets or traditional kopi kiosks to grab a quick bite or your daily dose of caffeine.  On that note, did you know that the franchise branded stores for Subway and Killiney across all four airport terminals in Singapore, as well as at The Jewel are all mana...

Studying the microorganisms in our gut and developing solutions to address health issues and developing probiotics supplements – that is what we’re going to talk about today.  Our guest for today is AMILI. The company says it is Southeast Asia’s first and only precision gut microbiome company and houses the region’s first and only gut microbiome transplant bank.  It is also in the process of build...

Today we want to look at how high-net-worth individuals preserve their wealth after they experience a major liquidity event, such as when they sell off their companies and receive a large sum of money.  Our guests for today are from Tiger 21. This is a membership community that provides individuals – individuals with over US$20 million in liquid assets,  that is,  – their personal board of directo...

We’ve heard of commercial REITs, residential REITs and industrial REITs. But how about a REIT focused on outlet malls in China specifically? Our guest for today is from Sasseur REIT which is an SGX-listed REIT since March 2018, and the first outlet REIT listed in Asia. The firm’s portfolio consists of four outlets in China, namely in Chongqing, Kunming and Hefei.  But why did the company focus on...

Today we’re going to talk about a fashion brand or company that would come to mind when we mention the phrase ‘heat-tech’.  Bingo if you guessed UNIQLO! With over 2,400 stores in 25 markets including Japan, UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, which is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies.  The company attributes its success to unifying the entire cloth...