The Breakfast Grille

Julian Persaud, Managing Director of Google Southeast Asia, talks about its new Malaysian office and the market dynamics of this country, such as ad spend, usage and demographics.He also talks about Internet freedom, growth of its SEA market, biggest products as well as its forays into desktop and mobile operating systems such as Chrome and Android.He discusses global management changes at Google, where founder Larry Page is now CEO, Eric Schmidt becomes Chairman and Sergey Brin remains as creative sweeper and the reasons for the change. He also discusses issues such as secrecy, privacy, search rankings and Google's secret search algorithm (criticised for not giving enough respect to some sites, such as of search rivals) and SEO players.He also talks about how Google is dealing with trailing Facebook in the social media space and being late to the game. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASEAN GE President, Stuart L Dean, discusses GE's range of businesses in Malaysia and where on the value chain it is. He talks about GE's capital investments in the region, as well as those higher on its value chain, whether Malaysia's missing out on these commitments is related to challenges such as brain drain, human capital issues, procurement challenges and corruption -- as well as how GE approaches and responds to this.He also discusses his role on AMCHAM, and its stance on issues such as FDI, the tax regime, shortage of labour and solar feed-in tariffs.The discussion moves onto how things moved have developed at GE since that landmark $3billion infusion from Warren Buffet three years ago and his views on how bad the situation is in the US today in terms of unemployment - inflation - political despair - Gifford - Obamanomics.He also talks about GE's various businesses and commitments in its other ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Tek, CEO and MD of IJM Plantations, one of the most productive oil palm plantation companies in the world, tells how IJM will ramp up yields, his outlook for CPO prices, why there are no plans to go downstream, and tackling environmental issues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jennifer Too, CEO and co-founder of the World of Feng Shui (WOFS), tells us what to expect for the Rabbit year especially the Prime Minister who is born in the year of the Snake, the science behind using figurines and images, and the company's plans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Hardy, founder of the Green School in Bali, talks about how the school is providing children with a green and holistic education. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Mulholland, Managing Director, China-America Capital Company, Chicago, discusses his take on the talks between Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, partciularly on fostering commercial ties (and their differences on currency policy and human rights?, Obama;s (increasingly) tougher line with China, saying their prosperity linked to US military presence, and whether it is true that China has an image problem in the West. He also rates the chances of an interest rate increase in China after its growth accelerated to 9.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.Finally, he shares his short-term outlook for US shares, given that the S&P is trading at the highest level since Aug 2008.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato Foo Chu Jong, managing director and founder of Prinsiptek Corporation Berhad, talks about the growth prospects of the company and its strategy of developing land near landmarks like schools and hospitals instead. The company is trading below 50sens and at 10x, which is below the maximum industry peer of 16x.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Thomas, coach and author of the book, "Negotiate to Win", talks about navigating through high level negotiations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tambun Indah Land Bhd Managing Director Ir.Teh Kiak Seng discusses the company's upcoming IPO, the response, who the biggest buyers of its shares are, and the planned Offer for Sale portion. He talks about landbank, expansion outside of the Northern region, its positioning, his outlook for the property sector and whether there is a bubble, building material costs, its net margins, dividend policy, how it plans to ensure a vibrant market in its shares post-listing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, human rights lawyer, activist, and political candidate for the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) talks about the Teoh Beng Hock inquest, Lina Joy's intended conversion out of Islam, and the release of Raja Petra Kamaruddin from ISA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abdul Mushir bin Che Chik, Executive Director of Century Software Bhd, discusses the IPO exercise, and defends the Offer for Sale and the allocation of shares for Independent Non-Exec Directors.He also discusses their mostly clients, mainly from the Govt Sector, and contract duration being a risk to the business.He discusses open tenders, its "SAGA" (Standard Accounting System for Government Agencies") recognition and how viable it is a USP going forward. He talks about non-govt projects and whether it is a strategy to win these jobs and how it plans to do so. Financial issues such as margins, receivables, recoverability, is also discusses, as are its strategy to expand to overseas markets like Brunei, Indonesia and Cambodia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irina Bokova, Director General of Unesco, tells how the UN agency is allocating resources to fight illiteracy. UN's Millenium Development goal is that by 2015, every child should be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. EFA Global Monitoring Report for 2009 reported that a relatively large number of countries are far from achiveing education for all by this year because 75 million children are still out of school, half of whom are in Africa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Dr Joachim Schwass, a Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship at IMD in Switzerland, advises on how to improve the success of passing on wealth to the next generation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Eddy Leong, the Managing Director of Firefly tells how he is taking on incumbents, AirAsia in the low cost carrier space.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Wood, founder and Executive Chairman of Room to Read in US and former executive of Microsoft, tells how the non-profit is able to build more than 10,000 libraries and 1,200 schools, and publish 7.4 million books, and raise more than $30 million last year through private companies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His Excellency Frank Van de Craen, the Belgium ambassador, gave insights on the political stalemate in Belgium and why Belgium is not likely to need a bailout from EU. The Dutch Flemish party is advocating for a break-up of Belgium while the French Walloons want to preserve the status quo as they are economically dependent on the state. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato Neoh Soo Keat, founder and Managing Director of Trinity Group, a boutique property developer, tells us his entrepreneur journey since he was nine years old, where he is buying land, how he manages the risk to avoid abandoned projects, and how Trinity is differentiating itself in the market. A future project is to build a floating condominium. Their projects include The Heron Residency, 19 Residency, The Zest and Latitude @ USJ19.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin, Managing Director of San Francisco Coffee Sdn Bhd and San Francisco Coffee (S) Pte Ltd, talks about the beginnings of this non-American, non-franchise brand, how he went from Bank Pembangunan CEO to San Fran coffee chief, and discusses the investment capital to obtain San Fran coffee from the owners. He discusses the business model, the challenges, the value of the market, the typical customer profile, and talks about success measurability, performance ratios  and the importance of location, location, location. He also talks about his USPs, his biggest rivals, market share, revenues, net profits, margins and funding. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clearwater Group Founder Dian Lee Cheng Ling talks about the challenges of building boutique-style residences and incorporating green strategies such as energy efficiency, rainwater harvesting, waste management and green architecture into the structures. She discusses its property divisions, takeup rate, appeal of living so near the commercial centre, project pipeline, how the company is funded and capitalised, revenues, profits, credentials to build and maintain, quality wise and maintaining standards. She also talks about her outlook for the High End Property, demand patterns, interest rates, outlook for raw material prices and her outlook for selling prices. She also talks of whether she heas learnt any lessons from her father, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee Check Poh, Group Managing Director of Tasco Berhad, one of the largest logistics operator in Malaysia, tells how the company stay on top of the game in this cut-throat business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Elliot, co-founder and Group Marketing Director of Quinessentially, a global, private members' club gives us insights on the bizarre requests of the ultra-rich, and the club's expansion plans. Elliot is the nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greenpeace International Campaign Director Shailendra Yashwant talks about what Green Peace stands for today and how it has changed through the years, discusses the biggest issues in which it is most actively involved and its methods. He also talks about the legal suits that have been taken against Greenpeace activists, its direct actions, motives and methods. He also talks about how it is funded, its role in SEA and the biggest issues it grapples with in this part of the world. He also provides an update on sustainable development and climate change mitigation amd spends some time on some of its 'wins'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tricorona Southeast Asia managing Director Moe Moe Oo, discusses the carbon credit market and its role as a project developer, its biggest project to date, its business in Asia and Malaysia, and his thoughts, in terms of registrability under the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism, the problems inherent in the carbon credit industry, most notably in the delays in registering clean energy projects, other challenges such as revelations of recycled CERs entering the EU market, more suspensions of CER project validators and confirmation of a sharp fall in CO2 emissions in 2009. He also discusses its own targets for emissions offset portfolio, the main reasons for this decrease and adds his thoughts on how the carbon credit market has developed to expectations. He also talks about climate talks in Copenhagen and Cancun, uncertainty for Clean Development once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 as well as providing a outlook for CER prices. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pieter Schats, CEO of Toys Li Fung Asia, the owner of Toys R Us, tells us about where the new stores will be in Malaysia, and reveals numbers on market share, and how the China and Indonesia market will be the main growth catalyst for the company. But there are challenges expanding in China, which he explains in the interview. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chua Guan Hock, Director at Khor Joo Saik Sdn Bhd, the owner and developer of Menara Binjai, Kuala Lumpur, a green building certified gold status by the Building and Construction Authority Singapore and also by Malaysia. Chua tells the positioning of Menara Binjai given that the office building market is increasingly overcrowded. He also talks about plans for Coliseum cafe and cinema, properties that are owned by the family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Burson-Marsteller Bob Pickard President & CEO Asia Pacific talks about re-establishing itself in Malaysia, and its target industries. He also talks about the PR industry and its challenges, efforts to legislate the industry and his views on how the industry should develop. He then discusses the dark side of PR in the context of its work for governments and corporations that are in trouble with environmentalists, voters or shareholders. He moves on to the opportunities in 10, 15 years time and how technology can be harnessed to add further value. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Haw Par Corp CEO A K Han talks about how Tiger Balm came to be, how big it is globally today, its Kwan Loong brand and how it is different from Tiger Balm, and discusses the size of the analgesics market. Issues such as global market share, target market, barriers to entry, pproduct extensions, and its biggest markets are also addressed. Han also talks about Haw par's otjer businesses in leisure, where it owns and operates three oceanariums, namely the Underwater World Singapore at Sentosa and Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand and Chengdu Haw Par Oceanarium in China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lynas Corp Executive Chairman Nicholas Curtis, discusses what rare earths are and why they are important today, how big a player Lynas is on the global stage and which kinds of rare earth elements they mine. He also discusses whether interest in rare earth producers is akin to the dotcom frenzy and argues that rare earths are not the next bubble to burst. He also discusses the industry, and how important it is that non-China production needs to step up. He also explores other issues like whether the world can do without rare earth elements, whether alternative materials to rare earth elements exist, the possibility of major discoveries outside of China, and where the biggest prospects are. He also addresses questions on its Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan in Pahang, what the committed investment is, how high-tech / high - value-add this plant is, whether gas supply and costs will be challenges, whether red tape and bureaucracy hindered progress, and whether Malaysia should be concerned over environment and safety issues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chan Poh Kim, Managing Director, Harrisons Holdings Bhd, talks about how Harrisons' income is currently derived mainly from the marketing, sales, warehousing and distribution of consumer, building materials and engineering products, fine wines, agricultural and industrial chemicals, and the operation of shipping/logistics and travel agencies. He also discusses how its different from the Diethelm Group (DKSH Bhd), another agency and distribution house, discusses how and why the bulk of its business is in Sabah and Sarawak and its plans to diversify to West Malaysia, Indonesia and IndoChina. He also discusses challenges like receivables and inventory management, margins, credit and credit ratings. He also talks about its ontrolling shareholder, Indonesia's Bumi Raya and how they will be able to help with an expansion to that country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CK Chew, Group Managing Director, Freight Management Bhd, explains how his business works, addresses issues like revenue, geography, product mix, customers and market dynamics. He also discusses profit growth, margins, dividend policy, and shares his growth plans, which are ASEAN in nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Reno, Managing Director of Envergent Technologies, part of Honeywell US, compares pyrolisis oil to fossil fuel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels, tells us his expansion plans, the funding strategy and how franchising would be the way forward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tunku Naquiyuddin ibni Tuanku Ja'afar, Chairman of Family Trust Firm, The H N Trust, discusses his business interests in Philantrocapitalism and sustainable development via his investees such as; – Sino Hua-An International Bhd (http://www.sinohuaan.com/) - a producer of metallurgical coke, used in steel production - Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd (http://www.jimahev.com.my) - a coal-fired power plant - EntoGenex Industries Sdn Bhd (http://www.entogenex.com/) - a biotech firm seeking a cure for dengue and malaria - Noble Mineral Resources Ltd (http://www.nobleminres.com.au/) - a gold producer He also discusses personal issues such as the role of the Royal Family in today's context and as a counterweight to corruption, and the important of English in business and education. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Featherstone, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, talks about British University fees, which will almost certainly treble due to grant cuts of up to 80 per cent, and the impact on Malaysian students, course programmes, the quality of British education and whether the British will now send their children outside of the UK to study. He then discusses UK - Malaysia ties, trade issues, Malaysian developments and industries like climate change and Islamic finance, as well as social issues like human rights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Professor Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim talks about the principles of the Rukun Negara, which he helped formulate and which were commonly known as the Malaysian declaration of national philosophy, after the May 13 race riots. The Rukun Negara:* Achieving a greater unity of all her people;* Maintaining a democratic way of life;* Creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably shared;* Ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural tradition;* and building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.We, the people of Malaysia, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends, guided by these principles:* BELIEF IN GOD* LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY* UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION* SOVEREIGNTY OF THE LAW, and* GOOD BEHAVIOUR AND MORALITYHe provides his views on each, as well as on Malaysia's cultural diversity whether Malaysia will ever share a single identity, one that is not divided along racial lines, his role in the VK Lingam issue, as part of a Royal Commission.*(* The Royal Commission of Inquiry Into the V.K. Lingam Video Clip was formed in late 2007 to investigate into an allegation of illegal intervention into the judicial appointment process of Malaysian judges purportedly occurred in 2002)He also talks about his position in MU, how engaged the students of today are in History, what the endgame is of all this political interference, whether he is optimistic, pessimistic or neutral about the future, and what he tells his children. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr.S.Aravind, Director-New Projects, Aravind Eye Hospital talks about his concept of nearly-free eye healthcare, how it works, why it was started, the founding principles, challenges, funding, revenue, the methodology, plans to expand and the similarity Aravind shares with with McDonalds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Resintech Berhad Founder MD Dato' Dr Teh Kim Poo talks about the founding of his plastic pipes, water tanks and fittings business, financials, operations and its painfully thin margins, which has led to its current expansion into the fast-food and herbal supplements business. He also provides some insights into the political scene. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zainah Anwar, Founding Executive Director, Sisters in Islam, talks about the founding principles of Sisters In Islam and what it hopes to accomplish. In turn, she also discusses issues such as women's rights in Islam, child marriage, apostacy, polygamy, divorce and domestic violence, all against the backdrop of the legislative, judicial and executive framework of the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stuart Pack, CEO of Prince Court Medical Centre, explains the strategic positioning of this Petronas-funded hospital, and says it takes a few years to break even. It was reported that Prince Court incurred losses of RM200 million in 2009. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dato' Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Group CEO and MD of TM Bhd, talks about HSBB, whichis the growth part of the business, along with Internet services as regards takeup rate, installations, premises passed, meaningful contributions, capital expenditure and broadband penetration. He also discusses whether TM might go into mobile one day, HSBB competition, entry price of 149rgt/mth and whether this is too high a barrier to entry from a cost perspective / mass takeup. He also discusses his HyppTV and whether TM is now competing with Astro as well as YTL. He also has a view on the much-coveted 700MHZ spectrum.He also deals with a series of consuemr issues such as broadband pricing bandwidth capping, bandwidth allocation, extension throttling, application of the Fair Use Policy, customer service and engagement.  He ends by dealing with capital management issues and their commitment of paying at least 90 percent of of after tax profit or 700 million ringgit whichever is higher. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REHDA National Council Member and Group MD of Bukit Kiara NK Tong, talks about issues pertinent to REHDA such as the low level of foreign investment in real estate, the role that the housing and property sector plays in the overall economy, household debt, NPLs, the government's "high impact strategic developments" such as the KLDIF, RRI Land in Sungai Buloh and Warisan Merdeka, urging the Government to lock arms with private property developers in the planning and implementation of these high impact developments and its hopes for a more level playing field. He also discusses issues in the property sector right now such as the property mega-mergers (UEM Land-Sunrise, IJM Land-MRCB and the Sunway Group property mergers), the reasons behind them, the next move for unmarried developers, and whether he expects more consolidation. He also discusses whether there is a property bubble, whether there are parallels to Eurozone and the US in terms of property speculation (cheap liquidity and over-leverage issues) and whether developers should be less aggressive in launches. He also discusses Dato Michael Yam's views is that there is no bubble, whether from the affordability standpoint, national house price trend or supply chart. As for his Bukit Kiara Property company, he talks about his Verve Suites and psf values in terms of whats driven it and whether it is sustainable at these levels, and his views that his business is a marathon and what stage of the race he is at now. He also responds to an OSK report that the suggests the property market is in the midst of a supercycle and that in future there will be a shift to medium-level housing. He also discusses his Vinaland Fund, a real estate investment fund listed on AIM London, and investing in Vietnam and his role At local fund manager, KSC and how bullish he on the Malaysian stock market, as well as his role at Accelera Ventures, a boutique Pacific Rim growth fund in Hong Kong, which focuses on Real Estate and Private Equity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Koh Joo Siang, General Manager at Cerebos Malaysia, tells how the company maintains market share lead for its core product, the Brand's Essence of Chicken, despite the plethora of health supplements and multi-level marketing companies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time dotCom CEO Afzal Abdul Rahim talks about the company's sixth straight quarter of profits against the backdrop of his 2-year-old turnaround plan, its growing global bandwidth business and the interplay between being a yield versus a growth stock and dividends. He also discusses its recent 339 million ringgit acquisitions of Global Transit and AIMS in the context of valuations, potential, prospects, assimilation and cultural fit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ashild Kjok, First Secretary at the Embassy of Norway, talks about Telenor and Jotuns' investments in Malaysia. No figures are recorded for the services sector. On Norway's plans to cut CO2 emissions by 30% over the next 10 years, they will do so by participating in the CDM system (Clean Development Mechanism) by buying carbon credits from emerging markets, apart from using existing renewable energy sources like hydro. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahmad Hadri Haris Hadri, Chief Technical Advisor of National Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) Project, talks about the main objectives of Malaysia's Renewable Energy Program, the concept of feed-in tariffs (FIT) and how they practically work. He then discusses the progress of the legislation required to activate the Renewable Energy (RE) program such as the Renewable Energy Act & Act for a Feed-in Tariff Implementing Agency He also addresses Malaysia's goal of increasing renewable energy from 1 percent to 5.5 percent of electricity supply by 2015, how this ties in with the ETP's goals in terms of contributions to the Big-Picture goal of $444 billion by 2020. He also expands on FIT rates and degression ratios for different RE sources. He then discusses in greater detail the aim by 2050 for Solar as the single biggest contributor to RE (87.5 percent, or 18.7GW of 21.37GW) and how this will happen, the lessons Malaysia can learn from Europe, which has been an early mover in PV usage (such as Spain for example, which has had problems, such as including annual technology caps, and project registration). He also talks about broad climate change issues and the impasse between the Rich and the Emerging Nations where the rich want the poor to join the fight but the poor say it's the sovereign right to cut trees down - unless they receive significant financial incentive to not do so. He explains his hopes for a resolution in Cancun, Mexico. He also fields questions from listeners, mainly on practical issues such as costs and ROIsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Hartini Zainuddin, General Manager and founder of Nur Salam, updates us on the crime situation in Chow Kit and how Nur Salam works with children who sleep in the streets, or are abandoned, or are stateless.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TMC Life Sciences Bhd Group CEO Francis Lim Poon Thoo talks about  the reasons behind the resignation of TMC's founder Datuk Dr Colin Lee Soon Soo and the entry of new substantial shareholder, Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim Eng Hock, as well as the implications, outlook for, and expertise he brings to the entity. He also discusses expectations of a return to profit this year, the 4 income streams of hospital, fertility treatment, wellness programme and stem cell banking services, and which is growing the fastest and the bigest contributor, outlook for earnings and the drivers behind its profitable fertility business. He also discusses TMC's plans to focus on medical tourism, what's going to drive this surge and what are TMC is doing to drive this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Hj Ambrin Buang, the Auditor General of Malaysia, tells why the PTPTN fund has accumulated a huge deficit of RM50 billion, and why the tuna venture at Batu Maung has not net a single fish and has defaulted on its loan of RM240 million and needs a government bail-out. While the audit process is random and performance-based (non-performing contracts are highlighted), it is not entirely risk-focused, hence military procurement contracts are not consistently audited despite the media and politicians highlighting issues in defence equipment procrurement, and likewise not audited the decision-making processes of a major division like the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's department. Tan Sri justifies that it is not easy to audit procurement contracts and for over-spending on defence equipment because prices are not easily available. He has also inspected the submarine that could not dive, and assures that it can now. He says that not all non-performance of contracts is due to corruption - sometimes civil servants are aware of the rules but forget to comply. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, the Co-Chairman of Pemudah and Managing Director of Royal Selangor International, tells how Pemudah is making it easier for businesses to deal with the government in getting grants, licenses and permits. He says there is a time lag in showing improvements in international rankings. Companies with problems dealing with the government can write to Pemudah.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HSBC Msia Deputy Chairman and CEO Mukhtar Hussain talks about the key differences between the regions in which he has worked, what brings him to this neck of the woods, and also define the thrust for the Malaysian franchise. He then moves on to the loans nbook and discusses residential among other loans issues such as growth and delinquencies. He also talks about deposits taking and capitalisation efforts. The he moves on to financial sector liberalisation before discussing interest rates,his outlook for them and how it will affect margins. He also talks about HSBC's Islamic Banking business and his remit for HSBC Amanah in terms of his position as Global CEO. He also addresses retail banking and real complaints from real account holders about issues like (ppor) customer service.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.