The Breakfast Grille

Hill Side Development - Derek Fernandez Lawyer and Town Planning ActivistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia is one of the major oil palm players on the international stage. In 2017,the Malaysian palm oil industry saw RM 75 billion in export earnings. However,with the most recent European Union ban on palm oil,  the sector is now facing uncertainties in its future ahead. The main contention to palm oil is the environmental consequences of its production processes. As this is one of the most relevant issues affecting both Malaysia and the world as a whole, we speak with Haris Arshad, Managing Director of Sime Darby Oils, and Heng Kiah Chun, a campaigner from Greenpeace Malaysia, to understand more about the climate change implications of the palm oil industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The investment banking business is becoming increasingly competitive and in light of global economic volatility and central banks tilting dovish, things might just get tougher. Roshan Kanesan speak to Lee Jim Leng on the state of investment banking and HLIB’s performance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Johor-based i-Stone Group designs, manufactures, and modifies specialized automation machines. For their listing on the ACE market, we speak to entrepreneur and Managing Director Rebecca Tee on their plans to propel growth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world is increasingly dependent on only a few major crops, giving rise to concerns that climate change and shrinking land areas will destabilise global food security. Today on the Breakfast Grille, we speak to Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, CEO of Crops for the Future, to talk about Malaysia's food vulnerabilities, and the role that underutilised crops play in bolstering food security.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With 1.4 billion viewers on Youtube, a home-grown animation studio Digital Durian is responsible for hit children’s music-based cartoon Didi and Friends. We speak to Sinan Ismail, CEO of Digital Durian to discuss the local animation industry and what's next for the studio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

QS World University Rankings is one of the foremost compilations of universities in the world- but what goes on behind the lists? Today on the Breakfast Grille we speak with Jason Newman, Vice President of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, for insight into the ranking metrics, QS's data consultancy service, and the wider landscape of higher education.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Qualitas Medical Group pioneered  the corporatising of GP clinics to create  a network of 276 GP clinics, one ambulatory care centre, 13 dental clinics and 11 medical imaging centres in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and India. We speak to Founder and Managing Director Dato’ Dr. Noorul Ameen to discuss Qualitas' growth plans and also the issues affecting the medical profession.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having listed on the ACE Market, Kim Hin Joo, which retails the Mothercare and ELC brands in Malaysia plans to open more clothing outlets and increase its existing toy offerings. Its chairman, Pang Kim Hin joins us on the Breakfast Grille to discuss their expansion plans and the outlook for maternity, baby and children products for Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real estate listing platform, PropertyGuru, is aiming for a slice of the mortgage broking business in Malaysia. But would regulations allow for this? Would there be pushback from existing players? Can the proptech realise its ambitions and grow their market share in a soft market?We speak to Hari Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru to discuss their role in the real estate sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mergers and acquisitions have changed the asset management industry globally and even here in Malaysia. We speak to  Juan Eyzaguirre, ASEAN Chief Executive Officer of Principal Asset Management to find out why this is the trend and also the challenges and outlook for the industry while taking a deeper dive on the reforms needed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prashant Aggarwal, the Chief Commercial Officer at Asian price comparison site CompareAsia Group, talks about their latest fundraising round while explaining their business model in the context of Asia’s low e-payments rates and digital penetration. He also discusses regulatory developments and operational metrics like visitorship, conversion rates and expected milestones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Armed with 425 millon US dollars of funding from the likes of Softbank’s Vision Fund and Sequoia, travel app Klook will probably morph into a behemoth for experiential solutions in travel. This is bound to get the attention of some of the more well-known and bigger players in the travel space. Julian Ng speaks to Eric about this and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amidst mounting alarm that the world's democracies may be swinging more to the side of populism, today on the Breakfast Grille we speak to Yascha Mounk, Political Scientist and Author of the book, "The People Vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It" about his research, populist leaders, as well as the future of democracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Google for Startups is a programme launched in 2011 to give a leg-up to budding entrepreneurs. Roshan speaks to Michael Kim, the APAC Partnerships Manager, for Google’s perspective on the secret sauce of successful businesses. They explore the startup scene in Asia Pacific, the Next Big Thing, and what Malaysia is missing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An obstetrician and gynaecologist by discipline, as well as the founder of Mercy Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, is now the Under Secretary General for Partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, continuing her efforts to make the world a better place. We speak to her about her illustrious decades-long career and the challenges she faces in her field.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kawan Food started 40 years ago and has now grown to become Malaysia's largest Asian frozen food manufacturer, famous for its parathas and spring roll pastry. We chart its progress and discuss future growth plans with its Managing Director, Timothy Tan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cherian Varghese, the Regional Managing Director & Vice President for ASEAN & South Asia at the global software firm Oracle Corp., discusses the challenges and opportunities in managing one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world while navigating competition from larger, younger rivals like Amazon and Google in rhe next big thing, the Cloud.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hungary is a heavily export-driven economy, which may see some repercussions from its position in the European Union, once Britain leaves the bloc. Today on the Breakfast Grille, we speak to Dr Balázs Orbán, Deputy Minister of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, about trade, the country's position with the European Union, as well as the Hungarian government's stance on immigration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fintech scene is fast-changing — but is it changing too fast? Do we have the right financial, legal and social structures in place to keep up with the fast changing fintech scene? We speak to Chris Skinner, frequent commentator on fintech matters, and author & blogger of Finanser.com, on his take on today’s fintech scene.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economist Peter Blair Henry, the author of “Turnaround” published in 2013, posited that first-world countries stand to learn from advanced and emerging economies that have successfully navigated economic reforms. We speak to him to discuss his outlook for the global economy and whether new lessons have emerged.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coursera has become synonymous with online continuous learning, offering over 3,000 courses in partnership with prominent higher education institutes. As more players enter the online education space, what is Coursera’s strategy to maintain its edge? We speak to Raghav Gupta, the Director of India and APAC for Coursera to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hino Motors has been in Malaysia for 40 years and is Japan’s oldest motor vehicle manufacturer, with its trucks and buses marketed in over 70 countries worldwide. So how is Hino maneuvering the rapid changes in the transportation sector? We speak to Hino Malaysia's newly minted Managing Director Atsushi Uchiyama, on the companies longstanding presence in Malaysia as well as its future plans for growth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Malaysian Government pushing for 20% renewable energy capacity by 2025, we speak to Yusrizal Yusof, Managing Director of TNB Renewables to uncover the initiatives to achieve this and how the residential customer can participate too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Malaysia on the cusp of Industry 4.0, building a mature digital economy has become a national priority. On the Breakfast Grille we ask Surina Shukri, CEO of the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, about MDEC's vision, initiatives for SMEs as well as efforts to build the country's native digital talent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) released the 2019 Policy Ideas on Affordable Homes. The Malaysian property sector has been making a lot of headlines recently: from affordable housing, to the property overhang and the role of government in the industry. We speak to Carmelo Ferlito, Senior Fellow of IDEAS for more insights on the housing sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mestron Holdings manufactures steel poles such as street light poles, decorative light poles, and specialty poles. The are listing on the ACE Market on the 18th June. We speak to Gary Loon, Executive Director, Mestron Holdings details of their planned IPO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Raymond Lim, Country Head of Airbus Malaysia about its investments in the country, the relationship it has with local airlines and government policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jean-Marc Roda gives a scientific approach to looking at whether palm oil is causing alarming deforestation. It boils down to the question of economic development and how the world population will be fed. As oil palm produces so much more edible oil per hectare than say, soy, growing other crops to feed the world's oil consumption is worse for the environment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BMW is one of two major carmakers who are synonymous with luxury here in Malaysia. But how will they adapt themselves to the changing world of mobility? We speak to BMW Malaysia CEO Harald Hoelzl about trends in electric vehicles, financing, and changing consumer behaviours in the automotive industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Union, despite its troubles, is often held up as an example of a successful monetary union. For his thoughts on the subject, we speak to Ashoka Mody, Author of the book 'EuroTragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts', and long-time critic of the EU, about whether a single currency might put the region at risk of a financial crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shou Ning Wong speaks to Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of Plus Malaysia Berhad, to find out if the Government will nationalise tolls and if the company can ward off the competition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Islamic Relief is a worldwide Islamic faith-based charity with a presence in over 45 countries. Islamic Relief Malaysia or IRM aims to alleviate poverty and suffering. We speak to CEO, Zairulshahfuddin Zainal Abidin, on the organisation's strategic direction and management of funds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Direct online insurance purchases which strip away expensive agency commissions not only make insurance coverage a lot cheaper but can also help in fulfilling Bank Negara Malaysia's coverage ambition of 75% of the population. We check out how the life insurance industry deals with this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labuan was declared as an international offshore financial centre in the 1990s and since Pakatan Harapan took over as government, the Labuan Blueprint 2030 is being put on hold. Labuan has yet to reach its potential as a financial services hub in the region. We speak to Dato Sri Amir Hussein, Chairman of Labuan Corporation on their plans to transform the island into a successful hub in East Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Ian Shapiro, CEO of REALL, a UK charity using a unique model to solve the problem of affordable housing in Africa and Asia and whether this model can be applied in Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PTPTN is RM40 billion in debt and counting. On June 13, it will be closing the public consultation and  begins the process of compiling the feedback of the people to be submitted to the cabinet., Wan Saiful seems to be leaning towards a mixed approach in dealing with debtors as opposed to the more punitive demands from sections of the public. We also try to get clues into his thinking about general policy on education funding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A landmark in Petaling Jaya, the Hilton Hotel was once the five star hotel for travellers in Malaysia. Today, they have 11 hotels throughout Malaysia, and 40 throughout the Southeast Asian region. In conjunction with the Hilton's 100th year anniversary, we speak to Paul Hutton, Hilton's Southeast Asian Vice President for Operations to discuss its plans for the region and sentiments of the hotel industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With much focus on trains in Malaysia, we speak to  Milko Papazoff, ASEAN Representative of International Union of Railways, to know more about this mode of transport in particular the ECRL and HSR.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EquitiesTracker Holdings, an equity investment research platform and training provider, made its debut on the LEAP Market in March, after nearly 20 years in the investment research business. We speak to its new CEO Alvin Vong about the company's reasons for listing, their plans to modernise, as well as challenges in the investment training industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Maria Antikainen, Principal Scientist at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,  to find out if the circular economy model is an ideal only for rich countries or if theres the possibility of implementing it in Malaysia as well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though it houses some of the best football teams in the world, as a business, La Liga trails behind the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga. We speak to Oscar Mayo, International Director of La Liga, about his plans to maintain the Spanish football league's competitiveness as well as increase its visibility in the region.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Palm oil is an issue increasingly politicised, with talk of possible trade wars with the EU and retaliatory bans dominating headlines. But how is palm oil viewed in France, which has spearheaded the call for a phasing out of palm oil in biofuels? For this, and answers to other questions, including if France is looking to ramp up investment in Malaysia, and his views on Malaysia's human rights agenda, we speak to His Excellency, Frédéric Laplanche, the Ambassador of France to Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has codified the foreign policy framework in the hopes that this helps with dealing with superpowers like China. In essence, this is a principled policy with an economic twist. He was coy about whether the US can have a counterbalancing influence in the region but believes that an area like the South China Sea should be open and free for trade. He is glad that Singapore and Putrajaya are talking again about the Water Agreement but didn't reveal a preferred price for water sales to Singapore. Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah is optimistic about the future of race relations with the upcoming National Harmony Act and the IPCMC. He believes that foreign policy is a function of what we want at home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ali Salman, CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), and Ahmad Yazid Othman, CEO of Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Melayu (MTEM), discuss Pakatan Harapan's first year in government from the perspectives of their roles in a libertarian think tank and the Malay economic action Council.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this saturated private health care market, we speak to Wan Nadiah, CEO of Thomson Hospital, to see how they differentiate themselves from the competition whilst discussing ethics and legislation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the change in government, Malaysia scored higher on media freedom — but there’s still a long way to go. We speak to Steven about ways to institutionalise media freedom, including the Malaysiakini proposal for a media council. We also discuss ownership structure of media companies and transparency in journalism.   Also, do listen to our podcast exclusive where Steven takes on questions from the civil society and the business community, including, why did Malaysiakini cover the story on ex-PM Najib's cat?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, we speak to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Comission (MCMC) Chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak, about his career thus far, key projects including the roll out of 5G in the country, as well as MCMC's role in nationbuilding.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His Excellency Makio Miyagawa, the Ambassador of Japan, discusses his country's role in a region where China's ascendance has reached new heights. He also talks about geopolitical safety and developments in the region, Malaysia-Japan trade, foreign direct investments (FDI) and linkages as well as the state of an economy which has spent the better part of two decades in a state of economic stagflation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the food delivery scene becomes more competitive, we speak to Jakob Angele, APAC CEO, about Foodpanda's growth in the industry, response to stiff competition, and the direction of the company going forward. Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.