Under The Radar

In today’s session, we speak with a trailblazer in the Asian electric vehicle industry to find out all about the new venture he is involved in.  Joining us all the way from Taipei, Jack Cheng is Co-Founder of electric vehicle maker NIO and was formerly the Chairman of Fiat (China) Automobiles, and is now the chairman of a company called M Mobility.  M Mobility is a startup that aim...

We’ve taken you through the ins and outs of over 300 companies globally over the past two years. That’s almost one company every one or two working days – rain or shine.  But there is one company that we have not talked about all this time. And that is the company behind our radio station MONEY FM 89.3. Yes we are talking about the Singapore Press Holdings or more specifical...

From a metal shop to an automotive giant – we’re going to go on an adventure today, to look at how carmaker Peugeot made history in the 21st century, and how it intends to charge ahead.  Founded in 1810 in the midst of the industrial revolution by Jean-Frederic and Jean-Pierre II Peugeot, the company came about when the Peugeot family transformed its hydraulic mill into a steel mi...

You’ll more or less notice the signage of this company if you drive along the Tampines Expressway towards the airport - rain or shine. Here’s another hint – it is located within the Tampines Retail Park along with Giant hypermart.  If you’ve guessed COURTS, then bingo, you’ve got it right. But have you ever wondered if COURTS is a Singapore or a Malaysian furnitu...

From making 186 deliveries on day one to about 17 million today.  That’s a reflection of the growth of logistics giant FedEx through the years since it was first founded half a century ago in 1971.  At that point in time, FedEx was known as the Federal Express Corporation, with the word “federal” suggesting an interest in nationwide economic activity in the US.  Fu...

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into an Italian pharmaceutical firm with over 135 years of history.  Founded in 1886 in Naples under the name of Farmacia Internazionale, our guest for today is from Menarini Group, a leading pharmaceutical and diagnostics company with a presence in over 140 countries.  The firm prides itself as a leading provider of important healthcar...

Cleaning barnacles and algae off the hulls of some of the world’s largest liners – that’s the work of our guest for today.  Founded in 2018, Neptune Robotics is a pioneer in AI-powered robotics and uses robots to reduce biofouling or an accumulation of microorganisms, algae, plants and animals on ship hulls. For context, removing biofouling and hull cleaning is important for...

Converting complex data landscapes into actionable insights that can drive strategic business outcomes.  That’s the work of our guest for today, Qlik. Founded in 1993, Qlik is a software company that focuses on data integration, analytics and artificial intelligence, providing enterprise grade artificial intelligence and machine learning powered solutions that work with diverse data sou...

It’s a deep dive into the private equity landscape as we speak to an investment firm that’s indirectly owned by Temasek Holdings.  Set up in 2015, our guest Azalea Investment Management defines itself as being in the business of PE investments, with a focus on the development and innovation of new investment platforms and products.  The firm said its goal is to bring private...

We’re going to start the year by looking at a global consultancy firm that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.  Founded in 1973, our guest Bain & Company works with clients from across 65 cities to solve industry-defining challenges in strategy, marketing, organisation, operations, digital transformation, corporate finance and even more.  The...

What comes to mind when you hear Top Gun and Tom Cruise? What about aviator shades and Ray-Ban? Whether you’re flying, driving or even walking to your next meeting, we aim to entice you to put on your sunny shades as you turn into this conversation as we speak to the parent company of Ray-Ban, EssilorLuxottica.  Speaking of EssilorLuxottica, the company was formed in 2018 by the combina...

Supporting the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Singapore and beyond – that’s the agenda of our conversation as we speak to our guest CDG ENGIE.  Founded in 2021, CDG Engie, also known as ComfortDelGro ENGIE, is a joint venture between ComfortDelGro Engineering and ENGIE South East Asia, the regional subsidiary of French multinational utility company ENGIE Group. ...

It’s back to the banking industry today as we speak to a Taiwanese bank set up nearly half a century ago.  Established back in 1975, our guest for today is Cathay United Bank, a subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holdings.  Cathay Financial Holdings, for context, is a financial conglomerate with businesses spanning insurance, asset management and brokerage, with its Chairman Tsai Hong-...

Ever clicked into an online website only to see a pop-up that writes “verify you are human”? If you’ve scrutinised the pop-up, chances are, you might find a logo at the side that says “Cloudflare”.  And if you have found the logo – then bingo – you’ve already been introduced to our guest for today.  Founded in 2009, Cloudflare is a leading connectivity cloud company listed on the New York Stock Ex...

You might have heard of the global ride hailing service called TADA, which was launched back in 2018, but how much do you know about its parent company MVL?  Well, this is an interesting one, because its parent MVL is actually an incentive-based blockchain mobility ecosystem, more so than a transport app maker.   Its consumer facing businesses include the ride hailing service TADA, as well as ONiO...

On our show today is a global family enterprise that could be dated back to a trading partnership formed in Hong Kong back in 1895.  That’s right. Now headquartered in Singapore, our guest Jebsen and Jessen Group has evolved into a diversified industrial conglomerate specialising in engineering, mining and distribution activities through Southeast Asia and beyond. These days, Jebsen &am...

Building safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence that could benefit all of humanity and enrich our lives. That’s what we are going to talk about today.  Founded in 2015, our guest for today is AI research and deployment company OpenAI.  The firm is famously known for its flagship AI model or chatbot ChatGPT, which reacts to questions in a conversational way. The chatbot could even admi...

Today we’re going to talk about a logistics company that started out of a second hand van a decade ago.  Founded in 2014 by a group of three friends, our guest is e-commerce express logistics company Ninja Van Group. Fast forward to the present, the firm is now a technology enabled logistics organisation backed by marquee investors including GeoPost, Alibaba, and B Capital Group. Just to give you...

It is all about the business of love today as we speak to a leading provider of digital technologies designed to help people make meaningful connections.  Founded 25 years ago, our guest today is Match group, which pioneered the concept of online dating and continues to foster innovation in the dating industry daily.  The firm boasts a portfolio of brands and is more commonly known as the company...

Opening new frontiers in information technology and pioneering the future of innovation. That is what we are going to talk about today with our guest from a leading technology services firm in Asia Pacific.  Founded in 1981, NCS is a subsidiary of Singtel Group that provides what it calls differentiated and end-to-end services to clients with its capabilities in core areas such as application, inf...

This year’s Singapore Fintech Festival surrounds six major themes that will frame 2025.  One of the themes among industry leaders, in particular, is the need to bridge the financial gap and ensure equitable access and usage of financial services and products to the underserved.  On this note, did you know that 1.4 billion people globally still lack access to bank accounts? Yes, and that is accordi...

We want to give you a quick wrap of some of the announcements made at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2024, as well as the implications of the developments on the fintech industry. One of the biggest announcements released ahead of SFF 2024 was how the Monetary Authority of Singapore set up the Global Finance & Technology Network or GFTN to further strengthen Singapore as a global FinTech hub a...

In this segment, we want to talk about the people behind a startup’s first few paychecks.  Business management theory would say that the first people who would give startup money to founders are the friends, family and fools, or people who give what they have in their pockets not because they buy into the founder’s idea, but because they genuinely want to help. As the company grows over time, star...

This year’s Singapore Fintech Festival surrounds six major themes that will frame 2025.  At the front and centre of discussions is the Roadmap for AI and Quantum. Of particular focus this year is the boom in generative AI, which uses algorithms to identify patterns within existing data to come up with new content, ranging from text, images, videos and even codes.  The technology is said to hold th...

Collaborations in the fintech sector are on the cards today, and with the year end holiday season very much in sight, why not talk about maximising your air miles through credit card spend? Specifically, we want to talk about how Heymax, a startup aggregating consumers’ fragmented rewards, worked with digital payments leader Visa in rolling out new products and campaigns to customers throughout th...