Under The Radar

Did you know that despite what appeared to be a tough time for funding and valuations, the global fintech report coauthored by Boston Consulting Group and QED Investors in June this year noted that the global fintech market remained a hotbed for innovation and growth.  The firms expect fintech to reach a market size of US$1.5 trillion in revenue by 2030. That’s about a five times growth from numbe...

We promise to make this conversation a colourful one as we speak to global colour authority Pantone.  The firm is a provider of professional standards for the design industries, creating a universal language of colour that enables colour critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and the manufacturer. But did you know that Pantone’s origins could be traced back to a commerci...

Did you know that a ChatGPT query takes up nearly 10 times the amount of electricity needed to run a Google search on average?  That’s right. And what that means is that the current boom in artificial intelligence we’re seeing is driving up a significant increase in data centre workload and demand for data centre capacity. For one thing, the International Data Corporation or IDC expects the surgin...

It’s all about making carbohydrates great again today as we speak to a food tech company that aims to make carbs-heavy food healthier for consumers.  Founded in 2015, Alchemy Foodtech is a Singapore-based food innovation company that aims to create food that not only taste better, but are healthier for people.  In particular, the company formulates food ingredients that can reduce sugar usage and...

It’s back to the offshore and marine industry today as we speak to a Thailand-based international subsea and offshore services company that services some of the oil and gas majors and their contractors.  Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2007, Mermaid Maritime provides full turnkey services through its diversified portfolio of subsea vessels, specialised diving equipment and remotely opera...

Chipmakers take the centre stage today as we speak to a high performance and adaptive computing leader that is at the forefront of powering generative artificial intelligence.  Founded in 1969 as a Silicon Valley startup, our guest for today is fabless chipmaker and chip designer Advanced Micro Devices or AMD.  The company had driven innovation in high performance computing, graphics and visualisa...

Carsharing is on deck today as we speak to Singapore’s largest carsharing service, where users can register, book a car and start driving in the span of minutes.  You might have guessed it by now – yes we’re indeed speaking to GetGo. Founded in 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, GetGo has expanded quickly in recent years to 1,600 locations across Singapore.  The company now boasts a flee...

Using artificial intelligence to help banks dig up dirt on non-public companies in Singapore, Hong Kong and China. That’s what our guest for today aims to do.  Founded in 2023, Inriskable uses AI and alternative data sources, such as company information, litigations, news and directors information to help professionals identify credit risks and information regarding these private companies.  Throu...

It’s all about making FMCGs more accessible to consumers in rural Indonesia today.  With a population of over 277 million people, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy, with a GDP of around US$1.32 trillion back in 2022.  At the same time, data from Statista showed Indonesian households allocating almost a fifth of their household expenses for FMCGs since 2018.  While the numbers look prom...

Put professional networking and social media together – and there you have it – that’s our guest for today, LinkedIn.  Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more than productive and successful. The firm boasts a diversified range of services ranging from Talent Solutions, Marketing Solutions, Sales Solutions and Premium Subscriptions products.  With over 1 billi...

It’s all about the payments landscape today as we speak to a pioneer in Singapore’s fintech space. Make a guess – this company also has over 650 self-service kiosks across Singapore and handles over 650 million bill payments since its inception in the year 2000. We’re talking about bills for schools, government, hospitals, insurance, utilities and more. And users also use the kiosks to pay for the...

It’s all about the pharmaceutical industry today as we check in on one of our earlier guests on “Under the Radar” to find out what’s next for them.  Known as MSD everywhere outside of the US and Canada, our guest aims to harness the power of leading-edge science to improve lives globally, and has been on the path of doing so for over 130 years, through the development of medicines and vaccines.  T...

You would have heard of the old proverb that goes “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.  So – we’re going to talk all about play, and in particular about the future of play with our guest today, Toys “R” Us Asia.  Headquartered in Hong Kong, Toys “R” Us Asia operates around 460 stores across Asia, with an aim to fuel imagination and inspire the next generation through the power of toys and...

Today we’re going to catch up with one of our earlier guests who is said to operate a global technology powerhouse with a revenue of US$57 billion.  You might have guessed it by now, yes we’re speaking to electronics maker and IT services provider Lenovo.  To recap, the firm delivers a portfolio of PCs and tablets, monitors, accessories, smart home and collaboration solutions, as well as smart inf...

Calling once, calling twice and SOLD!  Today’s conversation takes us through the ins and outs of an auctioneer auctioning – no not rare art pieces or jewellery, but bottles of whisky.  Founded in 2015 by two brothers, our guest Whisky Hammer is a family run whisky auction service based in North East Scotland.  The firm said it hosts monthly auctions dedicated to whisky and other fine spirits, attr...

Capital management is on the table today as we explore what the current macroeconomic environment means for boutique asset management firms here in Asia.  Founded in 2017, our guest for today is Paragon Capital Management Singapore, an asset management firm overseeing assets exceeding S$1 billion.  With a Capital Markets Services Licence granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the company...

It’s almost time for dinner, but today’s conversation might just get you reaching out for that bag of chocolates or snacks right before meal time.  That’s because we’re speaking to one of the largest players in the global snacking industry today – Mondelez International.  Mondelez International is a relatively young company founded in 2012, but its history goes way back. The company emerged when t...

Today we’re going to talk about a blue chip company listed on the SGX that will definitely ring a bell with our audience, especially those tracking the Straits Times Index.   Headquartered in Singapore, our guest CapitaLand Investment is a global real asset manager with a strong Asia foothold.  If you recall, the company successfully de-merged from the development business of CapitaLand Limited so...

Imagine a productivity super app for businesses to digitalise operations from HQ to storefront, streamline communications, and achieve operational efficiency – all in one place. That’s Lark for you.  Initially developed by Chinese social media giant ByteDance in 2016 for internal use, Lark started as a platform that aims to combine business processes and collaborative documents in a single platfor...

Today we’re going to talk about the journey a Japanese thermometer manufacturer took to transform itself into a medtech player and increasingly a medical solutions provider.  Founded in 1921 to address a stoppage of thermometer imports to Japan amid World War I, our guest Terumo is now a global leader in medical equipment with a footprint in over 160 countries and regions.  Its range of products h...

If you’ve been to the newly revamped Changi Airport Terminal 2, you’ve would’ve noticed this landmark feature located at the heart of the departure hall.  Does an immersive digital waterfall ring a bell? Called The Wonderfall, the 14-metre tall digital waterfall is a piece of digital art and is said to be the result of a highly creative and technical challenge.  The LED wall, for one thing, is mad...

Today we’re going to talk about a company whose mission is to increase the GDP of – not a country or city – but the internet.  Founded in 2010, our guest Stripe is a technology company that prides itself on building the economic infrastructure for the internet.  With dual headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin, and offices dotted across major financial hubs such as London, Tokyo and Singapore, t...

It is all about helping enterprises extract value through digital transformation as we speak to a company said to be a global leader in the industrial software space.  With over 6,400 employees, 5,000 partners and 5,700 certified developers, our guest is Cambridge headquartered software development firm AVEVA. The firm prides itself on sparking ingenuity to drive the responsible use of the world’s...

If you have been to Osaka, you would probably know who our guest is for today. After all, the company is behind the running man signage overseeing the Dotombori canal and a must-see attraction when visiting the city.  Founded 102 years ago in 1922, Glico Group is best known as a confectionery maker behind brands such as Pocky, Pretz and Pejoy. But did you know that there is a heartwarming story be...

With Singapore’s 59th birthday right around the corner, we want to bring you a National Day special of “Under the Radar” where we speak to a homegrown heritage brand that you’ll come into contact with on a day-to-day basis.   Make a guess – this company is also said to be the oldest Hainanese coffee shop brand in Singapore. Established in late 1919 along the busy streets of Killiney Road, our gues...