Under The Radar

We’re setting our sights on the commodity sector today as we speak to a Singapore-headquartered international commodity trading house. Founded in 2007 as a company facilitating trade flows from Africa to Asia, Valency International has since established a sizable global presence with offices and operations in 22 countries and a workforce of over 2,600 people.  The firm’s global footprint now extends to 21 product categories including agricultural commodities and FMCG products the likes of cashews, almonds, pulses and beans, sesame, cumin, soybean, rice and corn.  Outside of edibles, its portfolio includes steel, paper and industrial chemicals. But what is the most important product vertical for Valency International and what implications will this have in terms of the geographical markets Valency wants to deepen its presence in? Meanwhile, Valency International recently made the news after UK’s development finance institution British International Investment (BII) invested US$15 million in it to fund the firm’s expansion of cashew processing in Nigeria.  But what opportunities does it see in cashew processing in Nigeria and what is the strategic value behind having BII invest in the firm?   On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sumit Jain, CEO, Valency International.

Today we’re going to talk about a medical issue that up to 60 per cent of children will have by the age of six.  And that is a condition called Otitis Media, also known as OME or ‘Glue Ear’. According to HealthHub SG, glue ear refers to the collection of fluid in the middle ear which frequently occurs after an upper respiratory tract infection.  While the issue resolves by itself in most cases, the process can take up to three months. In fact, ‘Glue Ear’ is the number one cause of a child’s hearing loss, visits to doctors and surgeries. But not everyone can get access to such surgery, as the procedure can be too expensive. The hospitals that perform them are also too far away from people located in remote areas.  It is said that 120 million surgeries are needed a year while only 18 million get the surgery at the moment.  And that is the gap that our guest NousQ aims to fill.  Founded in July 2021, NousQ is a medtech firm that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing and commercialisation of innovations that bravely and sustainably disrupts healthcare delivery to serve large unmet needs.  Its flagship product, CLiKX, is the world’s first handheld, robotic, and automated surgical applicator that inserts a ear tube onto the eardrum to treat glue ears.  The process takes just one second, without the need for an operating theatre. It also reduces costs and risks by four times.  But how does NousQ intend to commercialise its CLiKX product to ensure affordability? What is needed to build up a distribution network that penetrates deep into remote areas with high prevalence of the Glue Ear condition? Also – how does the firm balance generating impact versus the revenue and profits? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  Dr Lynne Lim, Founder and CEO, NousQ.

Today we’re going to deep dive into an all-time favourite – S-Reits that is!  Our guest is the Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management, the manager of Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management or Lendlease Reit. Listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2019, Lendlease Reit was established with the principal investment strategy of investing in a diversified portfolio of stabilised income producing real assets used primarily for retail and office purposes.  Its portfolio properties comprise leasehold properties in Singapore including Jem, 313@somerset as well as a freehold interest in Sky Complex in Milan, Italy.  The buildings have a total net lettable area of about 2.1 million square feet, with an appraised value of S$3.65 billion as at the end of June 2023.  But what is the capitalisation rate (or the ratio between the net operating income to market value of its properties) of these properties with the global economy reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and with working from home becoming a trend of the future?  And with interest rates remaining at elevated levels, how does Lendlease Reit assess its gearing right now? What is the outlook ahead with the US Federal Reserve set to cut interest rates as early as in the second quarter of the year? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kelvin Chow, CEO, Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management.

We have slightly more than three weeks until Chinese New Year and that means it is also time to indulge in snacks like your pineapple tarts and even bakkwa or barbecued meat! We’re bringing up Bak Kwa because our guest for today is barbecued pork jerky maker Bee Cheng Hiang.  Just to take you down memory lane, the firm started in Singapore in 1933, where an enterprising street hawker peddled the streets of Chinatown selling freshly barbecued meat.  Fast forward to today, Bee Cheng Hiang has grown to 367 retail outlets across 11 territories such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The company said it remains as the market leader in Singapore’s barbecued meat industry.  Why are we talking about Bak Kwa? Well, the Bak Kwa business is an interesting one to watch, because it is a seasonal business where demand peaks during Chinese New Year. Prices also go up during this period as Bak Kwa makers try to take in revenue to smoothen their financials for the rest of the year.  But how does demand look like for Bak Kwa makers throughout the year? What do industry players do in the lull period after Chinese New Year? And how do firms like Bee Cheng Hiang determine the sweet spot to price their barbecued meat to maximise profits? How far are players diversifying their revenue streams to ensure sustainable revenue flows throughout the year? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jessica Wong, Assistant Manager, Bee Cheng Hiang.

It’s all about storing your computer data safely and securely through the use of hardware solutions.  You might recall storing data in hard disk drives in the past which often has slow reading and writing speeds.   Fast forward to today, super-fast SSDs or Solid State Drive that use NAND-based flash memory to store data are more commonly used, as they are said to be more reliable and efficient than hard drives.  But while they may be faster, the question remains as to whether using SSDs are more secure. And that’s the problem that our guest Flexxon wants to address.  Founded in 2007, Flexxon is a Singapore-headquartered firm that marries cybersecurity solutions and hardware. In particular, the firm launched the world’s first AI-embedded firmware based cybersecurity solution called the X-PHY® Cybersecure SSD in 2021.  The solution detects anomalies in behavioural data access patterns and effectively shuts down potential incursions in real-time to prevent critical data loss and exposure.  The solution has since been integrated into laptops with major PC makers including Lenovo, ASUS, HP, and Thomson Computing. But how does it work exactly? Meanwhile, the Heliconia-backed firm also said it has 30 patents under its belt, but what can we look forward to in terms of its product pipeline for the year?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Camellia Chan, CEO and Founder, FLEXXON.

We’re going to talk all about the disposable gloves that gained prominence over the pandemic today.  Founded in 1989, our guest is Thailand's largest gloves producer Sri Trang Gloves Thailand.  The firm makes a wide range of natural latex and nitrile examination gloves as well as general-purpose disposable gloves that cater to a wide variety of uses such as healthcare and medical, food processing and handling, as well as manufacturing.  Just to give you a sense of the company’s scale of operations, Sri Trang Gloves Thailand has production facilities in three provinces in Thailand producing over 49.5 billion pieces of disposable rubber gloves every year.  Why are we talking about Sri Trang Gloves you might ask? Well, glove companies the likes of Top Glove, Sri Trang, Supermax were put into the spotlight in prior years as the pandemic pushed up demand for personal protective equipment and protective gear. While that interest has somewhat fizzled as economies opened up post pandemic, causing a supply glut, the sector was put into the spotlight once again amid a rise in infection numbers within Southeast Asia last December.  But is the recent rise in interest sufficient to drive up demand for the near term? What are glove makers doing right now to position themselves for more sustainable and reliable growth in the future? And is the current lull period a good time for glove makers to reassess their portfolio, consolidate business units and improve their financial standing? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  Jarinya Jirokul, CEO, Sri Trang Gloves Thailand.

Today we’re going to talk about the company that distributes your Toyota and Suzuki cars!  While known as an automotive distributor, our guest Inchcape was started in 1847 when two merchants from Scotland formed a general merchanting partnership.  By the next few decades, the firm became one of the early adopters of the internal combustion engine transport revolution, as well as one of the first importers of motorcars into Asia.  Its modern presence in Asia Pacific started in 1967 with the acquisition of Borneo Motors, a company founded in 1925 to distribute vehicles in Singapore.  Since then, Inchcape APAC has expanded significantly, with 3,900 employees across the region. It now distributes new vehicles and parts in major markets such as Australia, Brunei, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore just to name a few.  Its portfolio of OEM brands include Toyota Motor, Subaru, Suzuki, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, and more.  And it seems like the next couple of years would be interesting for Inchcape, after the firm signed a global strategic partnership with automotive brand GWM in June 2023 to tap what it calls the ‘enormous’ potential of the Indonesian market. But what can we expect on this front?  Speaking of Indonesia, Inchcape and Indomobile also took over the Mercedez Benz business in Indonesia in April 2023. Why is this the case and how far is Indonesia a key focus area for the firm? What is Inchcape’s grand plan for the region? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ruslan Kinebas, CEO, Inchcape Asia Pacific.

Do you record all the credit cards you own in an Excel sheet just to make sure that you maximise your rewards? Or do you have a friend that does that?  Well, our guest for today HeyMax AI hopes to save you from all that work by automatically picking the best card for you to maximise your rewards.  It also provides what it calls Max Miles on top of credit card rewards whenever users shop online using the platform.  The miles can then be transferred on a 1:1 ratio to over 20 airline and hotel points including Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad. HeyMax AI says it makes money through a B2B model, where merchants pay it a commission for directing customers to them. The commissions are then use to generate Max Miles and profits.  So far, the platform supports some 150 merchants such as Klook, iHerb, Expedia, Singapore Airlines and Booking.com. But how many merchants can we expect towards the end of the year given that the company is in its nascent stage? Also – how far does the firm compete against other credit card reward apps such as Max Rewards, Award Wallet, and even cashback apps such as Shopback? Looking ahead, the company intends to launch what it calls a “multi-linkage card” to consolidate all existing credit cards into one in the future. While it is still a work in progress, how long is the waitlist right now?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Joe Lu, Co-founder and CEO, HeyMax AI.

It’s a little of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory situation for us today as we speak to the world’s leading manufacturer of chocolate, mints and fruity confections.  You might have guessed it – we’re speaking to Mars Wrigley, the firm behind world-famous brands including M&M’s®, Snickers®, Twix®, Skittles.  With a presence in over 180 countries, and nearly 1,000 of its snacks consumed every second, the firm had said in 2022 that it generated revenues of US$45 billion. 12 of its brands generate over a billion US dollars on a yearly basis. In Asia, Mars Wrigley operates as a business unit overseeing 20 markets with its strategic eight being Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. But why is this the case and what is the role of its Singapore business in this regard?  Also – the firm mentioned that the ‘treat and snacks’ category is a US$32 billion business in Asia excluding China, India and Japan.  But what is the basis behind the valuation? How does the firm assess its growth trajectory and aim to get customers to expand their average basket size? Meanwhile, Mars Wrigley also embarked on a journey to digitally transform its supply chain in the prior years, but how far has that translated into cost savings for the firm here in Asia?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kalpesh R Parmar, Regional General Manager, Mars Wrigley Asia.

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into a mainboard-listed tourism company that bought over the troubled Singapore Flyer back in 2014.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Straco Corporation. Listed on the SGX, Straco Corporation is a local developer and operator of aquatic related facilities and tourism related assets.  Aside from the Singapore Flyer, the firm’s other main operating assets include the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium next to the city’s landmark Oriental Pearl Tower, the Lixing cable car service at Mount Lishan, and the Underwater World Xiamen on the scenic Gulangyu Island.  But  why are the majority of Straco Corporation’s assets situated in China and how has the reliance on a single market weighed on the firm during the pandemic amid the lockdowns we saw in China?  And with the Chinese economy recovers post-pandemic, how are things looking like for Straco Corporation right now? Also – what is on the top of Straco’s to-do-list right now to make up for lost revenues over the past three years or so?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  Amos Ng, Group Chief Financial Officer and Sean Wu, Senior Vice President (Corporate Development & Risk Management), Straco Corporation.