The Breakfast Grille

Four months into the role, Deputy International Trade Minister YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming outlines the key priorities for his ministry, key of which is the message that Malaysia remains ready to do business with the rest of the world. And central to this are the negotiations on the trade pacts Malaysia is currently involved in, including with the RCEP and the CPTTP. He also discusses Industry 4.0, the National Auto Policy and his work as Member of Parliament for Bangi, the country’s largest constituency, numbering some 180,000 voters, in which he scored a landslide victory.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy International Trade Minister YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming and Maybank Etiqa Chief Strategy Officer Chris Eng are on hand to talk about Budget 2019, focusing on the dominant role of oil revenue in funding the Budget, and the repercussions on Malaysia’s path to fiscal consolidation and the reaction among global ratings agencies to this development. The duo also discuss the Budget’s reaction to capital market and currency fund flows, the RM4b airport REIT, new taxes, private consumption as an economic driver, the National Auto Policy and the third national car and US-China trade disagreements.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Lavindran Sandragasu, Tax Partner at PwC and Dr. Richard Record, Lead Economist for Malaysia at the World Bank about what to expect from Budget 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swiss whistleblower and former PetroSaudi International executive Xavier Justo gives us his take on the 1MDB story, and speaks to us about his involvement in the scandal as well as the struggles he faced as a consequence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suria Capital’s stock has been on a downtrend recently falling to its 8-year low of RM1.56 just in Sept 14 this year. The share price has been on a downward trend since December last year. What is the group doing about its stock’s underperformance? We ask Ng Kiat Min this. She says Suria Capital wants to bank on the rising tourism industry in Sabah. But, will it be quick enough to capture the rising market? In the Breakfast Grille interview, Kiat Min shares a number of growth initiatives that the company has planned but adds that in terms of timing, the initiatives are "long term" in nature when it comes to value creation. She shares their plans to turn their port in Kota Kinabalu into an international cruise terminal and they are looking at a GDV of RM2 billion from tourism related projects. Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The role of auditors is a crucial one - be it internal or external auditors. They are essentially the “gatekeepers” for the state of finance of a company. However, over the years, Malaysia is not lacking in terms of accounting scandals. The prominent fraud cases among listed companies in Malaysia in recent years include Transmile Group Bhd, Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd, Linear Corp Bhd and Axis Inc Bhd. What is the root cause for the string of accounting scandals happening here? Should accountants/auditors be held more accountable for their actions or inactions during their course of work? We discuss this with Philip. We also talk about the digital disruption of the internal auditing profession. Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SenseTime is the world’s most valuable Artificial Intelligence start-up, having raised more than $1.6 billion from the likes of Alibaba and Qualcomm. Currently valued at over $4.5 billion, SenseTime was recently tapped to be part of China’s national push to develop the next generation of AI. We speak to its co-founder, Xu Bing, about the company’s international expansion plans and the ethical implications of AI technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato' Muzaffar Hisham talks about the business segment's tough balancing act between growth and risk management. He also shares the strategies undertaken by Maybank Global in the current challenging operating environment faced by banks today. We ask him about the earnings momentum moving forward for the business that is the second largest earnings contributor to the Maybank Group. Muzaffar also reveals that the M&A option is "on the table" for them. He believes that "scale is key" but points out that the debate in this case would be timing, opportunity and valuation. Is inorganic growth on the cards and would they consider acquiring non-banking assets? Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Azhar Azizan Harun, popularly known by his pen name Art Harun, was appointed as the Election Commission’s new chairman. He officially assumed office the eve of Nomination Day for the Port Dickson by-election. He shares how he plans to reform the EC and address issues within the electoral system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lu International is the Singapore-based subsidiary of the Chinese online wealth management giant, Lufax. Lufax itself is owned by Ping An Group, which is the largest financial services company in China. Following the recent launch of Lu Global, its online wealth management platform aimed at individual Asian investors, we speak to CEO Kit Wong on Lu’s growth strategy and its fintech advantage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Puan Zakiah talks us through some of the key pillars of the revised 11MP, including the reform agenda. She also explains the rationale for the potential trade-offs as evidenced by the lowered macroeconomic targets for 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GrabPay is the digital payments business of Grab and its game plan is to be the "Asean Wallet". But the battle for payment platform dominance is heating up in the region. Everyone wants a share of the e-payments pie -- from Chinese Giants such as Tencent and Alibaba to traditional banks as well as Grab’s biggest rival Go-Jek that is expanding beyond its home base of Indonesia. At home, there are 5 banks and 36 non banks in the e-money space. What are GrabPay's strategies in this competitive payments sector? We ask Huey Tyng this. Aside from competition rising in the mobile payment's space, cash continues to be a strong incumbent competitor with 80% of transactions undertaken in cash. Can Grab convert cash to cashless? It looks like a long and uphill ride ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teresa Kok, the Minister of Primary Industries, sheds light into how the ministry is managing issues within the palm oil industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Port Dickson by-election is widely seen as a barometer of sentiment towards the Pakatan Harapan government. We discuss the outcome of the weekend by-elections and what this means for the government moving forward with our panel of guests. We also speak with Dato' Dr Rais Hussin on the drafting and implementation of the Pakatan Harapan manifesto. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lim Peng Jin, Managing Director of Scientex Berhad, discusses the family company's journey to become one of the top three producers of packaging materials in the world and its plans to get even bigger, to quadruple revenue by 2028.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his 2017 book 'Playing with Fire', Dr. Yilmaz Akyüz concluded that his home country of Turkey was the emerging economy most vulnerable to external financial shocks.What can Malaysia learn from Turkey's woes? Dr. Akyüz also identifies the vulnerabilities of the Malaysian economy, while outlining both its short-term and long-term challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renowned development economist and author of “23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism” Dr Ha-Joon Chang discusses Malaysia's deindustrialisation and industrial policy, and looks to the lessons of South Korea.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001, shares his reflections on the state of the global economy in 2018 — from inequality to political polarisation, from 1MDB to the rise of China.Professor Joseph Stiglitz was a speaker at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Edge was one of the early trailblazers into the 1MDB investigation in terms of media coverage.Ho Kay Tat revealed how The Edge team first caught wind of this big story and what triggered the media group to pursue it relentlessly - despite having been shut down by the BN government for close to 3 months in 2015 due to its 1MDB reporting.Was there a time when they had wanted to throw in the towel?We asked him this.We also discussed the media landscape in the New Malaysia that we are in. The government wants to limit political parties from holding stakes in media groups to free the media from political interference.Does Kay Tat agree?Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vizione has been historically dependant on government jobs in the property sector. Even after having grown its FY18 net income by 43 times compared to the prior financial year, share prices have remained stubbornly low.Given the expected pullback in public spending, will Vizione be able to find new avenues of growth, ones that shareholders can latch on to? Dato’ Ng weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the RM80.77 million tax bill, to reducing property prices at the behest of the Minister of Finance, K. Mohanachandran speaks about MK Land's bid to overcome challenges in the property sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melisa Idris speaks to Ng Chet Chiang, CEO of Logistics Worldwide Express and one of the founders of Malaysia's pioneer courier company, City-Link Express, about the potential of e-commerce and lessons we can learn from China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this day in age where the customer can go direct to the source for practically anything thanks to technology, just how relevant are tour agents today? We discuss this with Datuk Tan.We also ask him how tour agents are strategising to fend their turf from the likes of AirBnB who are encroaching into their territory. He further shares how regulation and policies have affected the Malaysian tourism industry. We also talk about the current travel trends and discuss the reasons why Malaysia is starting to lose its shine as a favourite tourist destination in this region. Listen in. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Umno Member of Parliament for Rembau, Khairy Jamaluddin, now holds the Finance Ministry portfolio in Barisan Nasional’s Shadow Cabinet. Melisa Idris speaks to him about Umno's role as the opposition, ahead of the party's General Assembly this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tun Mahathir's push for a third national car has ignited heated debate among Malaysians. Dato' Madani weighs in on the merits of such ambitions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid, Chairman of CIMB ASEAN Research Institute or CARI, and Dr. Donald Hanna, Chief Economist of the CIMB Group, discuss the whys and wherefores of the escalating trade spat between China and the US, what it means for the global economy and perhaps most importantly, the repercussions for Malaysia, which counts both protagonists as important trading partners. The duo also discuss the possibility of ASEAN, and the ASEAN Economic Community, playing a role, in future, in mitigating any fallout from poor-case outcome from the impasse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Afif Bahardin addresses the public’s fatigue in the politicking and infighting that appears to be taking place within PKR. He also analyses why there was such a mixed response to the Port Dickson move, and if the PKR party polls is really about camps, between those aligned with Rafizi Ramli or Azmin Ali. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Legal Affairs, about the role and responsibilities of a de facto law minister and how he views the plural legal system practiced here in Malaysia. We also discuss the progress of the Pakatan-Harapan government in granting more autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melisa speaks to the minister about his appointment and agenda, party politics between PAS and Amanah as well as the rice monopoly and BERNAS' role in the industry.They also talk about the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), the recent trip to China and the development and modernization of the agriculture sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Malaysia Day, celebrate through a journey back in time with Malaysia's longest serving Member of Parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Tengku shares what it was like to work alongside leaders who led the country through independence, and tells the story of his own involvement with the Malayan-UN delegation that eventually led to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having offered Islamic financial services in the country since 1994, HSBC Amanah Malaysia is now the country's 6th largest Islamic bank by branch network.Oz speaks about the Islamic finance's growth potential domestically vis a vis the global context.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the rolling out of the SST this week and the advent of smartphones as a key competitor, we speak to Andrew Koh, President and CEO of digital imaging solutions provider Canon Malaysia about their outlook under the new tax regime as well as how they're adapting to the new dynamic technology landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malayan United Industries' (MUI) Andrew Khoo returned to the group end of last year as CEO after being absent for six years. Andrew is the son to the group's major shareholder Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng. Andrew is back in the group at a time that is very different compared to when he left in 2012. The state of play today for MUI has changed drastically, coupled by fact that the group has been lossmaking for years now, with its latest 12-months results registering a net loss at RM130 million for FY2017. Andrew shares his plans to turn the group around.He reveals that the group is looking to be profitable in one to two years time as well. Andrew also shares that MUI is looking to launch new retail and hotel concepts. We discuss MUI's business transformation plans for its different business segments.Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, AirAsia, talks about the airline’s future, routes, expansion, fuel surcharges, aircraft and its long-standing feud with Malaysia Airports. He also discusses QPR, getting married and getting fit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's Group CEO Tengku Dato' Seri Zafrul Aziz ponders on what it means for the banking group to do business in this New Malaysia.He also talks about the banking group's earnings outlook moving forward and the strategies CIMB will be undertaking in the midst of a tougher operating landscape.Zafrul reveals for the first time that CIMB will be kicking off T23 (Target 23) after T18 (Target 18) draws to a close this year. He says T23 will be built on different pillars and that includes customers, people and digital. He also shares that CIMB is in talks for more partnerships outside Malaysia. Zafrul does not discount another merger with a local bank in Malaysia but he stresses that CIMB wants to look to expand outside of Malaysia first. We also discuss the "purge" that has been happening in Corporate Malaysia. Does Zafrul feel safe?Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Dr Wan Ismail wears many hats in her personal and professional lives - medical doctor, devoted wife, steadfast party leader, and now the first woman Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. We get up close and personal with her for reflections on her political journey and her priorities for the nation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid the oversupply of retail space in Malaysia alongside the threat of e-commerce to brick and mortar stores, Sunway Malls aims to become the country's largest owner and operator of shopping malls.Kevin explains the growth strategies for specific assets within the company's portfolio, while sharing his outlook for the retail sector in the face of broader macroeconomic conditions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Dr. Kuljit Singh is President of the Association of Private Hospitals Long waiting times and perceived disparity in service standards between public and private healthcare in Malaysia has been a long standing grouse. Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh of the Association of Private Hospital discusses the factors affecting healthcare services and proposals for reform to bridge the gap.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the Statistics Department, Selangor’s urbanisation rate stands at 91%.  How does the state government balance the competing demands of development and conservation in improving the quality of urban living? We discuss the issues at hand with Selangor State Executive Councilor Haniza Talha. She also discusses gender diversity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite being one of the fastest growing banking sectors, Islamic finance is still relatively small compared to the global industry, and the sector has seen a decrease in its growth rate since 2014. What happened? We ask CIMB Islamic's CEO, Rafe Haneef this. Rafe also shares his insights on the evolution of Islamic banking and how VBI (Value-Based Intermediation) will change the state of play for the industry moving forward. VBI is a business strategy by Islamic financial institutions to create value and make an impact through their activities on the real economy, community and environment. What would this mean to the average consumer when VBI kicks in? We also discuss if Islamic banks are moving fast enough into the fintech world. The fast changing business landscape that has disrupted the finance world has impacted conventional banks and Islamic banking is not spared from the disruption. What is CIMB Islamic doing to stay relevant? Rafe shares his strategies with us. We also discuss CIMB Islamic’s performance in the midst of the fast changing landscape. Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ng Zhu Hann, Director of Strategy for Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd, updates listeners on its five projects in Malaysia that focus on Johor/Iskandar and the Klang Valley and the motivations that drive its operations here in terms of going beyond being a pure property developer to becoming more holistic in nature.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARA Asset Management, which is partly owned by Li Ka Shing’s CK Asset, operates four malls in Malaysia. Chia shares the strategies adopted by one of Asia's largest REIT managers for its Malaysian assets, which has to contend with the current oversupply in retail space and fend off the e-commerce threat, while looking to grow its global portfolio size to SGD100 billion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subang MP Wong Chen offers a backbencher's unvarnished and personal take on how his party has performed in its first hundred days in office 25:08 - Dennis Kam, founder of The Harapan Tracker weighs in on this with some burning questions for Wong Chen.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelin, the second largest tire makers in the world, boasts capabilities of manufacturing high quality products. As a latecomer to the Malaysian market however, Michelin is up against other manufacturers who have been the top choice for Malaysians when purchasing tires for their vehicles. How do Malaysians make their choice when shopping for tires? Pascal Nouvellon, its Managing Director for Malaysia, gives us his insights.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 1983, Grameen Bank has issued about US$25 billion in collateral-free loans to the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh, while boasting a loan repayment rate of 99%. 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, shares how his microcredit model has been successfully replicated in over 100 countries, while challenging existing norms in the mainstream financial sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The SST (Sales and Services Tax) is a hot topic in the country this year. With the targeted SST implementation date just weeks away are businesses ready?What can we expect when SST kicks in? The government says the SST would be a benefit to the consumers as it covers only 38% of CPI basket compared to 60% in the case of GST (Goods and Services Tax).But, would opportunists take advantage of the situation to justify upping prices again? What anti-profiteering measures can be put in place? We discuss this and more. Listen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 9th, 32-year-old Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir trounced then-Felda chairman and UMNO veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Samad with a majority of about 20,000 votes for the Parliamentary seat of Johor Bahru. Akmal discusses the issues he plans to champion in Parliament as a first-term MP, and addresses the factionalism within PKR. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a new leadership installed, the question is how different a course will this 20 year organisation, dedicated to providing financial aid to those wanting to pursue tertiary education, have to chart. Between the spirit of generosity (mesra) and commitment to instil financial prudence in the young, PTPTN attempts to collect from past borrowers to fund the future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rohit Nambiar is the Chief Executive Officer of AXA-Affin Life Insurance Company. We speak to Rohit on the impact of ownership limitations for foreign insurers in Malaysia, growth prospects in what seems to be a stagnating market and the benefit of introducing disruptive technology to AXA-Affin's medical insurance distribution network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Ian Goldin is the author of ‘The Pursuit of Development’ and ‘Age of Discovery’ and the Founding Director of the Oxford Martin School at Oxford University. The Oxford Martin School was established to pioneer research to address critical global challenges -- everything from climate change to inequality. We speak to Professor Goldin about what he thinks is the biggest challenge the world is facing this century.Ian Goldin also served as an advisor to President Nelson Mandela. Given that Malaysia is going through a transition of government for the first time in 60 years, Goldin also shares the lessons we can learn from South Africa’s period of transition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.