Under The Radar

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a company said to be a US$62 billion revenue global technology powerhouse.  Drumrolls – bingo if you’ve guessed Lenovo. Founded in 1984, the firm delivers a portfolio of PCs and tablets, monitors, accessories, smart home and collaboration solutions, as well as smart infrastructure data centre solutions around the world.  In fact, the firm has since 1995 shipped over half a billion PCs, and make three devices every second.  The company ranks the #217 in the Fortune Global 500. It is also listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is included as one of the initial members of the Hang Seng TECH Index.  Why are we talking about Lenovo? We’re talking about Lenovo because while it is widely known for its consumer products, the firm is very much into B2B services. For one thing, it works with Formula 1 to build technology infrastructure that facilitates the flow of data collected on race tracks. But how far will B2B business be a key driver for growth?  Speaking of growth, the firm has a history of acquiring major firms including IBM’s PC business back in 2005.  More recently, the company had in June last year acquired stakes in two digital units of Hong Kong telecoms firm PCCW to grow its IT services business. But how far will the firm rely on M&A and investments in other firms for future growth? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Fan Ho, Executive Director and General Manager, Asia Pacific Solutions and Services Group, Lenovo.

This is the conversation for you if you’re looking to travel the world and sail the seven seas in the upcoming December holidays. Founded in 1969, our guest Royal Caribbean International is the world’s largest cruise line. The firm prides itself on its history of innovation from being the firm with the first surf simulator to the fastest internet at sea.  It also has a global network across major sea routes. Just to give a sense of Royal Caribbean’s global footprint, the firm’s fleets visited 256 ports in 64 countries on 6 continents around the world back in 2017.  But how important is Asia to Royal Caribbean in the bigger scheme of things?  What is the role of Singapore as a market given how it was one of the first to allow ships to be homeported during the pandemic, and how it has been the homeport of Asia’s largest cruise ship, the Spectrum of the Seas?  How far will the firm’s attention shift from Singapore to China post-pandemic with Asia’s largest cruise ship, the Spectrum of the Seas, returning back to its original homeport of Shanghai in May 2024? Meanwhile, Disney Cruise Line has signed a deal to homeport its newest cruise ship here in Singapore for the first time. What does this mean for Royal Caribbean, and what will it take for Royal Caribbean to homeport even larger ships here in Singapore? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Bert Hernandez, Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean International. 

Enabling a world where everyone and everything can be intelligently connected. That’s the mission of our guest for today Qualcomm Technologies.  Founded in 1985, Qualcomm is a semiconductor designer and an innovator in wireless communications technologies. The firm relies on third party manufacturers like TSMC and Globalfoundries to make chips, which are then sold to smartphone makers.  While it is not a hardware firm, Qualcomm still transforms the way we work, live and communicate through its processors and modems.  Take your Samsung Galaxy phones powered using Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G connectivity solutions, or even the technologies behind the smart and connected factories that make the items we consume.  The firm is perhaps closer to us than we think. But with preliminary data from the International Data Corporation showing worldwide smartphone shipments declined 0.1 per cent on-year to 302.8 million units in the third quarter of 2023, what bearing will this have on Qualcomm Technologies’ business?  Meanwhile, Qualcomm Technologies said in May that it is transitioning from a communications company to an “intelligent edge computing” firm. But to what extent has that got to do with the rise in Generative AI?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ehsanul Islam, VP Engineering & Regional Head of Qualcomm Technologies SEA.

Spaghetti, macaroni, fettuccine and linguine and you get it.  Pasta is a favourite when it comes to dinner choices but did you know that the global pasta market is actually worth some US$45 billion in 2022?  In fact, Fortune Business Insights projects the figure to reach US$68.97 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.26% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2030.  But how does a pasta manufacturer work, and what are the intricacies when it comes to operating a company that is reliant on commodities such as wheat?  Well, let’s pose these questions to our guest for today. Established in 1877, Barilla is an Italian family-owned food company that is now present in over 100 countries.  The firm is a world leader in the markets of pasta and ready-to-use sauces in continental Europe and is widely recognised as a symbol of Italian know-how.  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Federico Vescovi, Asia Pacific President, Barilla.

What comes to mind when you put messaging and mini programmes together? How about Tencent?  Founded in 2013, our guest for today is from Tencent Cloud, which provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry leading products and services.  We’re talking about businesses across a wide range of industries including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare and more. But what are the specific products and services offered in more granular terms? Speaking of products and services, Tencent Cloud worked with authorities in Abu Dhabi to transform its TAMM application into a SuperApp.  That’s by consolidating over 700 essential public services from more than 30 government entities and the private sector on a single, standardised mini programme.  But how does it work exactly and how far can the model be replicated to serve public and private  sector clients in Singapore and Malaysia?  Meanwhile, what is the outlook for Tencent Cloud in the near future given how Microsoft and Amazon reported robust financial performance on their cloud businesses. To what extent is Web3 a key growth driver? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kenneth Siow, General Manager (Singapore/Malaysia) at Tencent Cloud International.

Providing HR recruitment services to specifically the renewable energy industry. That’s what we are going to talk about today.  Incorporated in 2021, Sheffield Green is the renewable energy spinoff of Sheffield Energy, which is a recruitment firm specialised in serving the oil and gas sector over the past 30 years.  The subsidiary provides end-to-end services ranging from supplying technical and management staff to peripheral services including training as well as administrative paperwork.  We’re talking about Sheffield Green because it has recently completed its registration to list on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange.  The firm is offering 24.0 million shares, of which 3.6 million are for public offering. The counter is set to begin trading on 30 October, with an issue price of 25 Singapore cents apiece.  This will mean a valuation of S$46.6 million for Sheffield Green if all shares on offer are subscribed.  Question is – what are some of the opportunities that Sheffield Green wants to tap as the O&G industry rides on the green wave? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Bryan Kee, Chairman, CEO and Executive Director, Sheffield Green.

Is the Museum of Ice Cream a museum or an attraction? That’s the question we’re going to pose to its business leader today!   Founded by global lifestyle brand Figure8, the Museum of Ice Cream consists of fully immersive spaces like a pool of rubber sprinkles, a unicorn headed slide and more.  With locations in Austin, Chicago, New York City and Singapore, the firm calls itself a pioneer in the experience-first industry that helps to rediscover the kid in the young and old.  But how does the Museum of Ice-Cream define the space in which it operates in as far as its pricing strategy, product pipeline and valuations are concerned?  Speaking of which, the company’s parent Figure8 was valued at US$200 million in 2019 after receiving US$40m of Series A funding led by consumer venture capital firms including Elizabeth Street Ventures. But what numbers are we looking at right now, four years down the road? What are some of the firm’s recipes for sustainable revenue growth in the longer term? In the meantime, Toronto-based company Lighthouse Immersive – which is behind the “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibition – had reportedly filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy earlier this year.  What does this suggest about the challenges experiential museum operators face? And are we seeing a consolidation in the industry in the near term?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Pirakash T, Head of Revenue & Growth at Museum of Ice Cream.

What do shipping and property investments have in common? Well, not much, except for the fact that they are both key pillars of our guest’s business. Listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2007, Uni-Asia is an alternative investment group that specialises in creating alternative investment opportunities. Its investment targets are mainly handysize dry bulk ships and properties.  But what does this mean exactly? Well, ship investors can approach UniAsia for ship investments, while operators can reach out to the firm for ship chartering and management.  On the property side of things, Uni-Asia develops small residential properties in Tokyo under its ALERO brand, which are sold for profits. Aside from building properties for sale, the firm also provides property assessment management services in the country.  As you can see, the two engines of growth are very much uncorrelated. But the question is – how far has that boosted the firm’s resilience?  Meanwhile, Uni-Asia had in August reported a 74% on-year drop in first half profits. But why is this the case? How does the firm assess its reliance on the two drivers of growth? Does it intend to move beyond its niche in the near term? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Lim Kai Ching, Group Chief Financial Officer, Uni-Asia.

Giving small and medium enterprises the support they need to sell to the world. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.  Started all the way back in 2015, Amazon Global Selling is a programme that empowers entrepreneurs and SMEs to expand their brands globally.  It does so by providing sellers access to Amazon’s global infrastructure, as well as its network of over 200 million Prime customers in overseas Amazon stores. Also part of the deal – over six million business and institutional buyers in the US, Europe and Japan. Meanwhile, the programme also equips sellers with tools, knowledge resources and training collaborations to help sellers succeed in e-commerce.  Such tools help sellers choose the right products for international commerce and to promote their global brands respectively. With growing competition in the e-commerce market within Southeast Asia, how important is Amazon Global Selling in helping to boost e-commerce sales through Amazon.com in the region?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Anand Palit, the Head of Amazon Global Selling for Southeast Asia.

You might be on the lookout for personalised service and good customer experience when you’re out dining, or on a vacation.  But did you know that even the manufacturing industry is looking to increase their ‘human touch’ to serve customers better? Founded in 2021, our guest for today is Phasio, which is an end-to-end manufacturing interface for precision engineering firms.  The platform supports collaboration between manufacturers and customers by allowing both parties to view and comment on the topics such as the design of parts.  Manufacturers can also personalise the orders through the platform, including offering tailored pricing for different orders. But how does it work exactly, and how big of a market gap is Phasio trying to fill with its solution? Meanwhile, the firm raised US$2.5 million in October in a seed round led by VC firm Airtree Ventures. Investors who took part in the round included 500 Global, Entrepreneur First and private investment office Gattaca Ventures.  Question is – what is the strategic value provided by this group of investors and how does the additional funding position the firm for future growth in Asia and Europe? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sudharshan Raman, Co-founder and Chief Product Offiicer, Phasio.