Under The Radar

We’re going to talk all about succession and business leadership development today.  While departments such as human resources may be labelled as cost centres, effective talent development and management can reap tangible outcomes for businesses when it comes to the dollars and cents.  According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group in 2015,” talent magnets” – or companies that rated themselves strongest on 20 leadership and talent management capabilities – have increased their revenues 2.2 times faster and profits 1.5 times faster than their peers with weak practices.  On this front, the Singapore Business Federation’s Alliance for Action on Business Leadership has released a report to call out opportunities in the local talent development landscape and put forth recommendations on what key stakeholders can do to help Singaporeans earn their place at the corporate leadership table on a global stage.  But really, what is in it for businesses to train locals for leadership positions? How will local leaders make strategic decisions differently given their understanding of the local market, and how will training local leaders position firms for longer-term growth? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with  Frank Koo, Head of Asia - Talent and Learning Solutions at LinkedIn and  Albert Tsui, Executive Director, Advocacy and Policy at the Singapore Business Federation for more. 

India’s retail scene is at the heart of our conversation, with the country being the fifth largest global destination in the retail space and expected to reach US$2 trillion in value by 2032 based on an analysis by the Boston Consulting Group. So how do international brands get a slice of the booming Indian market? Well perhaps the answer lies in licensees who operate and manage the brand in their place.  Our guest for today is Ace Turtle is a tech-native retailer who holds the exclusive licences to brands such as Lee, Wrangler, Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us for India. What is unique about the firm is that it adopts a vertical retail model, where it controls the entire supply chain of brands, from design, manufacturing to distribution, both online and offline.  This has helped it respond to customer needs more efficiently and effectively, and we will find out whether that is the company’s secret sauce to being able to sink its roots in the Indian retail scene.   On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Ervin Lim, Chief Strategy Officer, Ace Turtle to find out more about the opportunities in the Indian market and how Ace Turtle is positioning itself to seize them. 

Can you imagine that it has been about three-and-a-half-years since the pandemic started and when all of us had to work remotely from home using video conferencing tools?  As the dust settles and as face-to-face meetings resume, we want to find out what’s next for companies providing video conferencing solutions, such as Zoom.  Speaking of Zoom, the company seems to be betting big on AI and enterprise customers for post-pandemic growth, with its venture arm Zoom ventures investing in Google-backed Anthropic to build reliable AI systems. It also recently launched key features of its next generation AI smart companion called Zoom IQ, which help users generate summaries or even emails based on the content discussed in meetings. But to what extent will a focus on AI help position the company for future growth?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these burning questions to Ricky Kapur, Head of Asia Pacific, Zoom.

What comes to mind when you put shopping and the airport together? How does duty free shopping sound?  Well, our guest for today is from The Shilla Duty Free Singapore, which operates over 20 Cosmetics and Perfume stores across four terminals in Singapore’s Changi International Airport.  The company is part of Shilla Duty Free, and an affiliate of Samsung. In South Korea, Shilla Duty Free operates five duty free outlets including in downtown Seoul, Jeju island, and Incheon, offering over 1,300 world famous brands.  With borders reopening last year and international travel returning in full swing, we want to find out if airport sales revenues are back to pre-pandemic levels, and what that means for Shilla Travel Retail in terms of their expansion plans. Also – with a Euromonitor study tipping China to be the leading source market for duty-free destinations like South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong by 2027, how concerned should duty-free retail operators be? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian chatted with Sok Ling Chan, Head Of Commercial, The Shilla Duty Free Singapore to find out more.

When it comes to a franchise business, one would think of fast food chains to the likes of McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and so forth. Instead of that we are going to talk about an unconventional franchise business that doesn’t quite come to mind when we think of franchises.  With a network of over 300 highly connected, mutually supporting businesses and organisations in 92 countries, the World Trade Centers Association is the owner of the “World Trade Center” and “WTC” trademarks.  And this means the WTCA licences exclusive rights for members to use in conjunction with their independently owned, iconic properties, facilities and trade services offerings. But how does it work exactly, and what is the WTCA doing to strengthen its member network and increase the value of its brand? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Scott Wang, Asia Pacific Vice President, World Trade Centers Association for more.

The retail investment landscape in the region is in focus today as we look at how industry players are tapping growing numbers of retail investors during the pandemic.  Our guest for today is from financial services firm CMC Markets, which serves over 80,000 clients globally in areas such as equity, commodities and indices trading.  The firm is present in a number of geographies including Singapore, Sydney, Toronto and across Europe.  More recently, the London-listed firm has launched a new online and mobile trading platform called CMC Invest in Singapore as part of efforts to diversify and expand its geographical reach.  But how exactly does this platform help bring the company closer to the retail investing community? And on what basis will CMC Invest compete with other industry players?  Also, how does the firm intends to retain retail investors after the pandemic boom?   On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Christopher Forbes, Head of CMC Invest Singapore for more.

Today we’re going to talk all about being a modern farmer in Singapore.  Armed with technology from Israel that has turned strips of deserts into fruit orchards, our guest from today is Netatech Group, which is known for building farms and growing some of the most commonly eaten vegetables in Singapore including Nai bai, Kailan and water spinach.  Unlike traditional farms, Netatech uses drip irrigation to water its crops, saving costs, labour and improving yields. The firm says it is also the first company to introduce drip irrigation into skyrise greeneries and urban farms in Singapore.  But besides building farms and growing vegetables, a good part of Netatech’s business involves providing high-tech farming solutions, such as urban irrigation and stormwater management to industry players.  So how exactly does the company define the space it is in right now? Also, to what extent will the company need to export its farming solutions overseas, in countries such as Thailand, to achieve economies of scale?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to David Tan, Group CEO, Netatech Group.

Let’s talk about telcos today. And we want to focus our attention on mainboard-listed StarHub which had released its Q1 results just about a couple of weeks ago.  The company posted a 26 per cent rise in net profits to S$37.5 million for the first quarter ended March.  StarHub attributed its Q1’s performance to higher service revenue, which grew 11 per cent year-on-year, despite sustained market competition.  But what is the competitive landscape for the telco operator with the rollout of 5G? And how effective has StarHub’s Dare+ transformation strategy to introduce new 5G solutions been in generating sustainable revenue growth and dividend growth? Meanwhile, the company also cited a boost from the consolidation of MyRepublic broadband for its stronger Q1 showing.  But how has MyRepublic broadband generated long-term synergies for StarHub, particularly in the areas of cloud gaming and over-the-top content?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Johan Buse, Chief of Consumer Business Group, StarHub for more.

We want to talk about the banking sector and in particular the digital banking sector which has gained traction in recent years.  You may be familiar with Grab and Singtel’s GXS, Sea Group’s MariBank, as well as Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group backed Trust Bank.  Aside from these banks catering to retail customers, Singapore also has two wholesale digital banks, namely Ant Group’s ANEXT Bank and Green Link Digital Bank, catering to SMEs and non-retail customers.  But what is the wholesale banking landscape right now, and how are industry players positioning themselves to gain a foothold in this field? What do the recent volatilities in the banking sector mean for wholesale banks targeting SMEs?  On Under the Radar, Drive TIme’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Su Mei Toh, CEO, ANEXT Bank for more. 

Bringing London's West End to the far reaches of the world. That’s what we are going to talk about today.  Our guest for today is the British Theatre Playhouse, a Singapore-incorporated theatre production company that has produced and presented a series of highly successful British productions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and the UK. Since its founding in 2004, the company has brought in over 20 shows to Singapore through events such as charity galas and has moved into musicals of late.  But what are the reasons behind the moves to diversify? And to what extent does dollars and cents have a part to play? Meanwhile, the company is also currently exploring gamification and on demand theatre plays, after witnessing how the world came to a standstill during the pandemic.  To what extent can its on-demand offerings increase the monetisation of its theatre productions. Also - how will increased monetisation of its production help the firm gain more funding from investors? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian found out more about the ins and outs of the theatre production business from Cecilia Leong-Faulkner, Managing Director, British Theatre Playhouse.