The Breakfast Grille

Among the first listings of 2015, health-supplement company Bioalpha Holdings Berhad, which listed on the ACE Market on 14 April 2015, has big plans to tap into new markets like the Middle East & Indonesia with the funds it has raised. MD William Hon also discusses valuations, forex volatility and its strategy for expanding its distribution network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Goh Peng Ooi thinks there's nothing new in the new economy. That kind of philosophy or at least Silverlake's version of that philosophy has enabled them to be a dominant force in banking software. However, have they become to cozy with their banking sector strengths? We also glean details of expansion plans, especially into China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Muhammad Rizhan bin Mohd Razif, Head of Corporate Finance & Strategy at Damansara Realty Bhd, discusses the entry of the well-connected Johor businessman Datuk Daing Malek, and how he has altered the profile of this formerly staid property, construction and services firm. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) represents 28,000 employees from the clerical and non-clerical sector of Malaysia's commercial banks. Trade unions however are seeing an overall declining trend in membership. Only a mere 9% of Malaysia's 11 million workers are unionised -- lagging far behind nations like Japan, the UK and Singapore. What does the decline in membership mean for unions' 'strength in numbers' philosophy?Will they still have the collective bargaining power?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once dubbed the "Iron Lady", the former Minister of International Trade and Industry, shares her thoughts on the Goods and Services tax (GST), Malaysian Airlines, the role of government, car prices, the ASEAN Economic Community, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the leadership of both Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Razak.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rocket Internet has a mission to be the World's Largest Internet Platform outside of China and the US. Its portfolio of companies include the wildly popular and successful groups like Lazada, Foodpanda, and Zalora. Kiren Tanna shares what are the group's strategies for the Asia-Pac region and the potential he sees.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legal scholar Professsor He Jiahong who currently teaches criminal law and anti-corruption investigation techniques to both students and government officials at the Renmin University in Beijing is also a best-selling author. He shares with us how the Communist Party is tackling corruption in the growing nation and his concept of amnesty & for stricter reforms forcing officials to disclose their assets publicly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amin Halim Rasip doesn't believe that there's a "fight" between Integrax and Tenaga - this is just the normal course of business for him. We look into the finer points of the M&A overtures and Amin's possible responses. For a port that is highly dependent on Tenaga for business, we also look at Integrax's strategic direction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to an eminent historian and China expert on the story of Asia’s transformation. From his childhood in pre-World War Two Ipoh to the effects of Cold War politics on his career to the dramatic moments that’s marked his six decades as a student of history. Professor Wang gives his view on the contradictions between China’s rapid economic development and its stunted political change, the reasons behind authoritarian governance as well as the deep history of the region's South China Sea debacle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Petronas continues to be the dominant giver of Malaysian oil and gas awards based on policies of national interests. Would the oil price rout force more competition into the sector in order to safeguard national coffers?Meanwhile, Barakah's strong balance sheet and healthy annual cash flows open up acquisition possibilities, but at what cost?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

E.H. Lim, CEO of Eduspec Holdings Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the business of education.Eduspec, formerly known as Litespeed Education, provides IT literacy material for primary and secondary, including providing IT and language labs, e-learning and school management systems among others. The company recently finished a placement, so we ask about the plans for the money it raised, about its lumpy earnings and the future of education.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ali Jaleel, Country Manager, Philips Group of Companies, Malaysia, discusses its move into consumer lifestyle healthcare and lighting; macro prospects and competition; RGT weakness, GST introduction, dealing with the government and prospects.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The various quantitative easing policies (QEs) have pushed up prices of financial assets and widened inequality. The World Development Report 2015 on "Mind, Society, and Behaviour" explores psychological and cognitive dimensions in addressing poverty but that depends on how quickly such thoughts can be translated to policy. This is coming at a time when the so-called Washington Consensus (loosely comprising the IMF, World Bank and US politicians) is being challenged by China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is bad for humanity may not be bad for business. In fact, breaching ethical rules often results in a competitive advantage, until bad reputation catches with you. Running an ethical accreditation service requires breaking down blurred lines in the world of business. We also ask Ethical Alliance whether the commercial service of setting ethical standards is conflicting and counter-intuitive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Established in 2011, DagangHalal provides a single E-commerce platform for consumers worldwride to source and purchase Halal products and services. Mohamed Hazli shares the potential of the Islamic e-commerce market and the challenges in verifying the the halal status & certification checks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The formation of alliances by the world's largest shipping companies is a reflection of the state of shipping capacity oversupply. While Westports loses volume coming from 2M, it will be a net gainer from the O3 or Ocean Three alliance.We also discuss Malaysia's strategic location as a transshipment hub. Moving forward Westports doesn't believe that size is everything and there is no need to achieve the size of the likes of Singapore's port at all costs but they do want to grow with their customers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brahmal Vasudevan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the private equity (PE) fund Creador, discusses his India PE experience, the pull of ASEAN, association with Ananda Krishnan, Creador's investors, promised returns, performance, fundraising and competition. He also talks about his investing style, the broader PE industry and investments like CTOS.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 8th of December last year, an open letter was sent by a group of 25 prominent Malay personalities, calling on “moderate Malays, Muslims and Malaysians” to speak out against “extremist, immoderate and intolerant voices”.The 25 signatories include retired senior civil servants such as former Secretary-Generals, Director-Generals, and ambassadors.Melisa Idris speaks to two representatives of the G25 on the Breakfast Grille: Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, former Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry, and Dato’ Latifcah Merican Cheong, the former assistant government of Bank Negara.They both call for a public discussion on the place of Islamic laws within Malaysia’s constitutional democracy, the urgency to address the breakdown of federal-state division of powers, and the rise in moral-policing throughout the country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mykris Ltd Group's executive chairman and CEO, Chew Choo Soon comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the future of the company's managed internet services.Listed in New Zealand, Mykris already has a large portfolio of large corporate users and hotel operators, among others. It aims to be a provider of a Wireless Last mile for businesses, and for financial year 2014 revenue came in at NZ$7.3 million. We talk about growing the business, competition and challenges that lie ahead, as well as whether listing in New Zealand was the right decision.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato' Richard Curtis says that Cahya Mata Sarawak is a follower of state and federal policy but we try to find clues of where CMS leads and influence policy that adds to state vibrancy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Tan Ling Geck, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Interbase Resources, which owns Lelong.com.my & Superbuy amongst other Internet properties, talks about his ecommerce journey, sale of Autoworld, 'DotCom 3.0', Seek's purchase of Jobstreet, Lelong vis-a-vis competition from Rocket Internet and Rakuten, its expansion with Superbuy, listing possibilities, profitability and possible trade sale/disposal. He also talks about his South African Naspers shareholders and Interbase's financials.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff Kong, executive director for Nirvana Asia Ltd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the end of life business.Nirvana, which was known as NV Multi when it was listed in Malaysia, is best known as an integrated bereavement services provider. It completed its listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange in December 2014 and now has its eyes firmly on its future expansion plans. We ask Jeff about life since the de-listing on Bursa Malaysia and how does Nirvana plan to expand its services portfolio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Gibbons, managing director of Sports Direct Malaysia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the sporting retail business.Sports Direct Malaysia, is actually a partnership between local golf retailer MST and UK's largest sports retailer SportsDirect.com. Built on the concept of big box stores, Sports Direct just set up its 11th outlet in Intermark with an aim to open another 25 over the next five years.Sports direct in the UK current majority owner and chairman is Mike Ashley, who is currently the owner of Newcastle United. Its UK parent recorded 2.7B pounds in sales for 2014, so we ask about expansion plans, competition and what some see as the death of the big box.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francois Nunez, product director for Victorinox AG comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the company's foray into the watch business.Victorinox, is best known for its utility knives, bearing the highly recognisable cross on shield motif. The company is the largest manufacturer of pocket knives in the world, but has recently branched out to the likes of luggage, clothing and watches. We ask about future direction, challenges post 9-11 and whether it diversifying could possibly dilute the brand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, the Director of The Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute (ASLI) and Chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), discusses the funding, integrity, efficacy and independence of Malaysian think tanks.He also talks about the background behind the 2006 resignation of one of its directors, Dr Lim Teck Ghee, whose research asserted that Bumi corporate equity stood at 45%, in excess of the 30% target set under the new Economic Policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this 2015 interview, Dato? Wei Chuan Beng, Group Managing Director, REDtone International Bhd, discussed the surge in interest in his listed shares, the role and increasing presences of Tan Sri Vincent Tan, the Sultan of Johor and Chairman Dato Sri Al-Habshee, the growth of his data and managed services segments. He also talks about possible new interest in Digital Terrestrial TV Broadcastng (DTTB), Redtone's interests in China, its NSA pact with Maxis and new businesses like vehicle inspections and the Internet of Things.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aspen Group is a young, ambitious company which will spearhead the Bandar Cassia development in Batu Kawan worth RM8b in GDV. The company wants to make a name in affordable housing. They address this by using Batu Kawan to meld new land with proximity to employment centres. A transportation blueprint is key for this purpose but that seems to be lacking in Batu Kawan at this point. The spotlight would also be Aspen's ability to execute given their very short track record.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On his second visit to strengthen relations between our two countries with a focus on education, trade and Islamic finance, Britain's Minister for Asia also had to engage with his counterpart on less than comfortable issues of concern like the jailing of Federal opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the Sedition Act and general questions of human rights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Mahender Singh, CEO of Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation or MISI comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about its mission to develop and disseminate innovation in the realm of the supply chain and logistics.However, the global situation never remains static, so we ask him about the changing face of the supply chain, how factors like e-commerce and 3D printing changes things and what is the strategy in the face of black swans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Some of the statements in the book would also make uncomfortable reading both for those in power and in the political opposition,” says one reviewer. Now a bestseller, Muhammad’s book takes on many common perceptions about the question of inequality and related policies like the New Economic Policy. But the real strength and contribution of the book is in the new research as well as an insistence to think more deeply about inequality beyond income.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Axis REIT believes that their status as a syariah compliant investment does not restrict their economic potential. Sukuk funding costs are comparable to conventional funding and readily available. Compliant assets are in abundance. In the scheme of things, this will be reflected in long term DPU (dividend per unit) growth which had been for 2014 lower than the likes of KLCC Stapled Reit, IGB Reit etc.Given the challenges in economic conditions, it is also going to be interesting how the focus on industrial and logistics will pan out growth-wise. In this vein, watch out for rental revisions for the over 40% of tenancy coming up for renewal over the next 2 years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the mapping of the human DNA by the Human Genome Project, MGRC saw the need to fill what they believed was going to be a huge market in analytics. Even the government has high hopes in this area with a target of 15% contribution to GDP coming from the Bioeconomy. 40 patents and a few loss-bleeding years later, MGRC is beginning to see signs of profitability. The need to achieve greater investor understanding of the field of genetics is probably manifested in its poor share price performance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysians usually have a jaded reaction when it comes to big policies from the government: think Proton, Vision 2020, NEP, 1Malaysia etc. The intentions of the Bioeconomy Transformation Programme in raising employment and spurring growth are good but it should be another one of those areas receiving high scrutiny, not least due to the huge incentives given to the sector. We catch up with Dato Dr Nazlee on the achievements and prospects of the BTP.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joining us from Digi on the Breakfast Grille are its CEO Lars-Ake Norling and COO Albern Murty, who will take over the mantle of CEO from April 1. Digi is the third largest telco in the country with net profit for 2014 coming in at RM2 billion on the back of RM7 billion in revenue. However, Lars was appointed CEO just in August, hence his departure just six months later has raised eyebrows. Albern will be the first Malaysian CEO to head the telco, whose major shareholder is Norway''s Telenor. Albern takes over at a challenging time for the telcos as they switch from legacy services to data, so we ask about transition teething problems, the heavy expectations on both men's shoulders and the challenge of their former CEO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jakob Angele, head of business development for food delivery service, Foodpanda comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about its latest acquisition trail.Foodpanda states its ambitions as being the main food delivery platform, giving established names an additional delivery channel while giving a presence to those without a website. Most recently it announced the acquisition of competitor Room Service, inorganically expanding its footprint.We talk about whether Foodpanda has bitten off more than it can chew, the new markets it has broken into and whether there is more on the horizonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss whether things like social safety nets, minimum wages, affirmative action policies and even protectionism are at odds with the quest for competitiveness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Piti Pramotedham, Executive Chairman and CEO of Kronologi Asia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the growth prospects for the company following its listing on the ACE market last year. Kronologi, which had its start in Singapore, is in the business of providing enterprise data management (EDM) solutions, offering customers backup, storage, and recovery services for digital data. He talks about diversifying the company's business, what it hopes to accomplish going forward as well as the markets Kronologi is eyeing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CTOS provides data for assessing one's credit standing. On the one hand, this raises discomfort about privacy and freedoms. But on the other, information about credit quality protects the financial and banking system. It also speeds up the application process for financial products. Yet another concern is whether monopolistic tendencies and a dominant credit report agency would open other cans of worms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His Excellency Dr Makio Miyagawa, ambassador of Japan to Malaysia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about building on the already steady relationship between the two countries.He also talks about how to grow trade between Malaysia and Japan, how Abenomics has been the game changer for many, and Japan's ambitious 20 million tourist target leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also discusses Japan's perceived soft power push, which included its Cool Japan programme, and the difficulties in implementing structural reform in the land of the rising sun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Undeterred by the repercussions of the oil price crash, Prinsiptek is soldiering on further into construction and property development. Having survived a major rights issue and share cancellation exercise with a price crash, investors will now ask the question of how the company will position itself against the big players who have the economic clout even in Prinsiptek's niches like affordable housing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Bujold, President of Honeywell South East Asia comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about growing its presence in this part of the world.Honeywell, which made its name in thermostats, is in present day a well-known conglomerate in US with headquarters based in New Jersey. For Honeywell Malaysia, the company is chiefly involved in the aerospace, avionics and automation services. We talk about the challenges of growing in SEA amid the current climate and what will drive the company going forward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The falling oil prices have had a huge impact on the already struggling Venezuela economy, as oil accounts for more than 95% of its exports and 50% of the Goverment’s fiscal revenue. Analysts say for every $1 drop in oil prices, Venezuela will lose $700 million in export revenue. His Excellency Manuel Guzman, the Venezuelan ambassador to Malaysia, is on the Breakfast Grille. He talks about, among others, the future of the country amid falling crude prices, how Venezuela plans to use its new position on the UN Security Council, and potentially normalising relations with the US.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Both lifestyle aspirations and concern for fitness have expressed themselves into to the growth of gym memberships. Fitness First taps into both nicely with their comprehensive and premium offering. They have aggressive expansion plans which need funding. There is also at the margins rising competition no-frills concepts. But Simon Flint believes that the enlargement of the fitness pie is good for all operators.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eg Kah Yee, founder and chairman of Palette Multimedia Bhd comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about the company's turnaround plan. Palette's business is as a solution provider of broadband, wireless and networking products and services. However, this ACE-listed market has been loss-making for the past six years, and now is banking its hopes on its mobile healthcare cloud system. So we ask him about bringing the company back to the black, its progress on its new system and whether it is a mistake to put all your eggs in one basket.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A career diplomat, Ajit Singh become Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, at a time of double-digit growth and tremendous optimism. He was the first to have a ministerial rank, unlike his predecessors with ambassadorial status; a development championed by Malaysia’s foreign minister. We speak to Ajit about the challenges that presented themselves during his tenure - Myanmar’s inclusion in the grouping, China’s territorial claims over the South China Sea, and the perennial question of Asean cohesion - some of which continue till today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite what we know about online-disrupting businesses and budget travel, the low-cost revolution actually began in the 70s when John Bogle conceptualised and pioneered the index fund. Today Vanguard has funds that charge only 0.05% as management fee with no sales cost and provide decent market returns to investors made possible by the passive investment philosophy. This is a stark contrast to high-cost funds where fees are a big portion of returns (or losses). We find out whether indexing will continue to have a future in a world dominated by trading and volatility.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

E-commerce is set to take off given that it is currently only a small portion of the US$500b retail spending in Asean. How are online shopping websites going to emulate the trust and touch and feel aspects of brick and mortar shopping especially in an environment of high cybercrime and fraud? Enter websites like trustedcompany.com which seek to plug the online reputational gap.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Chang, the founder and CEO of Jobstreet comes on the Breakfast Grille to talk about life for the company after it sold its online employment business to Australian-based Seek Ltd. Last year Seek, which is Australia's biggest online jobs ads company, said it would buy the remaining shares it did not own in Jobstreet's core business for RM1.73 billion. We ask Mark what is the latest concerning the acquisition, and more importantly, what lies ahead post-Seek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan Haidt, author of The Happiness Hypothesis, talks to us about how well the idea of happiness sits in this competitive world. Related to that are questions of whether capitalism is ethical when seen in the light of grave inequalities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top diplomat Professor Mahbubani is renowned among intellectual and inner circles having served as President of the United Nations Security Council. He shares his views of the potential for Asean as an economic bloc and the creeping extremism we see in the region today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.