Under The Radar

What is the first thing you would do once you get to the airport?  Well, if you’re like me, you might make a beeline to some of the fast food outlets or traditional kopi kiosks to grab a quick bite or your daily dose of caffeine.  On that note, did you know that the franchise branded stores for Subway and Killiney across all four airport terminals in Singapore, as well as at The Jewel are all managed under one company?  With a heritage dating back to 1986 with the opening of the first terminals at the Changi Airport, Palms Food International is one of the earliest established airport F&B operators in Singapore.  But why is the company focused solely on the airport? And how has that changed since Palms Food International was acquired by RMA Group in 2012? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Avon Lau, General Manager, PALMS Food International for more.

Studying the microorganisms in our gut and developing solutions to address health issues and developing probiotics supplements – that is what we’re going to talk about today.  Our guest for today is AMILI. The company says it is Southeast Asia’s first and only precision gut microbiome company and houses the region’s first and only gut microbiome transplant bank.  It is also in the process of building the world’s largest multi-ethnic Asia gut microbiome database. The data is used for research and for developing products and services that improve people’s gut health. This is apparently a lucrative market. According to Market.us, the global digestive health market is estimated to be valued at US$104.4 billion by 2032, growing by a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2032.  But how big is the market in Southeast Asia and how does AMILI intend to position itself to maximise growth and profits? Had a fruitful chat with Dr Jeremy Lim, CEO and Co-founder, AMILI  for more. 

Today we want to look at how high-net-worth individuals preserve their wealth after they experience a major liquidity event, such as when they sell off their companies and receive a large sum of money.  Our guests for today are from Tiger 21. This is a membership community that provides individuals – individuals with over US$20 million in liquid assets,  that is,  – their personal board of directors for candid discussions around wealth creation, preservation, family, legacy and philanthropy.  But how does this work in reality, and how does Tiger 21 monetise this highly valuable network? And with over 1,200 members across 45 cities and a cumulative US$140 billion in assets, Tiger 21 is now setting its sights in Asia.  Notably, it is currently in the process of expanding into Singapore. Question is – how does the company scale given that it operates in such a niche arena? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Greg Wells, Chief Operating Officer of TIGER 21 and Hon Mun Yip, Singapore TIGER 21 Chair for more. 

We’ve heard of commercial REITs, residential REITs and industrial REITs. But how about a REIT focused on outlet malls in China specifically? Our guest for today is from Sasseur REIT which is an SGX-listed REIT since March 2018, and the first outlet REIT listed in Asia. The firm’s portfolio consists of four outlets in China, namely in Chongqing, Kunming and Hefei.  But why did the company focus on these Tier 2 cities? Also – how does the REIT assess its reliance on China, given the strict lockdowns we saw during the pandemic?  Meanwhile, the company recently reported its Q1 results, where distribution per unit rose 1.5 per cent from the previous year. The company attributed this to strong outlet sales boosted by pent-up consumer spending.  To what extent has tourism recovered to pre-pandemic levels and is there a significant difference between the recovery of domestic and international travels?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Cecilia Tan, CEO, Sasseur REIT  for more.

Today we’re going to talk about a fashion brand or company that would come to mind when we mention the phrase ‘heat-tech’.  Bingo if you guessed UNIQLO! With over 2,400 stores in 25 markets including Japan, UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, which is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies.  The company attributes its success to unifying the entire clothes making process, from planning and design to producing, distributing and retailing. But how does it work in reality and what kind of activities are centralised versus managed by individual stores?  Speaking of designs, how have UNIQLO’s basic designs and focus on comfort widened the company’s customer base, especially in Singapore?  And with rents of prime spaces on the rise– what will this mean for UNIQLO Singapore when it comes to store expansion? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Joey Tong, Store Development Director at UNIQLO Singapore.

Water is an essential part of our lives, but ever wondered who are the ones behind the clean water we use and drink everyday? Our guest for today is Memiontec, a Catalist-listed water treatment company that designs and builds systems and water treatment plants in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and China.  Recently, the company also moved into financing, operating and maintaining plants and selling their treated water. But what was the reason behind the firm diversifying its revenue streams? Meanwhile, Memiontec clinched its largest contract worth S$56.6 million to install equipment for the Changi Water Reclamation Plant last year and started expanding to Vietnam. But what do the developments mean for the firm’s balance sheet?  Also, the company intends to achieve a market capitalisation of S$500 million by 2026, up from the S$132 million when it was listed on the Catalist board in 2020, but how does it intend to do so? On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Tay Kiat Seng, CEO, Memiontec for more.

Imagine building a platform where you can search, book and meet mentors from around the world to seek career advice.  That’s what our guest for today did during the pandemic to make mentorship accessible for everyone.  Founded in 2020, ADPList is a global community of mentors and learners, and so far, the community has grown to over 14,000 people with over 15 million minutes mentored in about 140 countries. But how does ADPList monetise the platform and position itself against other membership networks? Does the company see potential to work with corporations to develop tailored mentorship programmes, and craft out a B2B vertical for itself?  Separately, the company had in 2021 raised US$1.3 million in funding led by Seqoia’s Capital India’s accelerator programme Surge, as well as angel investors such as Carousell’s co-founder Quek Siu Rui, but what are ADPList’s future plans as far as capital raise is concerned? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Felix Lee, Co-founder and CEO, ADPList for more.

The accounting and professional services sector is at the centre of our conversation today.  According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Singapore projects 6,000 to 7,000 new accounting jobs by 2025, adding on to the current workforce of over 100,000 employees.  Globally, the Big Four accounting firms also went on hiring sprees of their own last year, with the companies already boasting over a million employees as of November 2022.  But why did demand for professional services increase amid the volatile economic climate and as job cuts hit other industries such as investment banking?  Has that boom fizzled yet with consulting firms announcing job cuts in the US this year? If not, what is the way ahead for the industry? I sat down with Shariq Barmaky, CEO, Deloitte Singapore, to find out what Deloitte Singapore is seeing right now in terms of demand and what this means for the firm’s growth trajectory. 

Today we’re going to give you an overview of one of the largest privately held real estate investors and managers in the world.  Founded in 1957, Hines is a real estate investment, development and management firm with presence in 395 cities across 30 countries and US$95.79 billion of investment assets under management as of the end of last year.  The company has historically developed, redeveloped or acquired over 1,600 properties with 203 developments around the world underway at the moment.  With many APAC currencies devaluing against the US dollar, we want to find out what this means for the Houston-headquartered firm and its investors when it comes to expansion within Asia.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Ray Lawler, CEO, Asia Pacific, Hines for more. They also had a look at land development patterns and trends in urban sites within APAC and the opportunities they present for the company.

We’re going to talk all about the buses we take to get to and off work every other day.  Our guest for today is from Volvo Buses, which is one of the world’s leading providers of sustainable people transport solutions.  Offering premium city and intercity buses, coaches, and chassis, Volvo Buses has sales in 85 countries and a global service network with more than 1,500 dealerships and workshops.  With Volvo Buses changing its business model in Europe to focus on chassis production to restore it to profitability, we want to find out what the situation is like over in Asia and what’s next for the company as far as APAC is concerned.  Speaking of APAC, the company revealed a made-in-Singapore city bus powered fully by batteries in November last year as part of a collaboration with Singapore’s SC Auto Industries, but how big of a market is Volvo Buses aiming in the region? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Mats Nilsson, Vice President, Volvo Buses APAC for more.