Under The Radar

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.

Our guest for today will certainly ring a bell, especially if you love to print out all your electronic documents. Drumrolls - we are talking about FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corporation, also formerly known as Fuji Xerox before a rebranding exercise done between 2020 and 2021.  From a copier printer company back in the early 1990s, FUJIFILM Business Innovation has now evolved to meet the demands of a digital economy. The firm’s portfolio now includes not only printing equipment, but also the manufacturing and sales of world-class workflow solutions.  In particular, FUJIFILM Innovation is setting its sights on the hybrid work phenomenon by offering document share services and electronic signatures.  Meanwhile, the company is also deepening its roots in its printer business. For one thing, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Singapore has taken its first step towards the Direct-to-Consumer market this year, by working with e-commerce platform Lazada to launch the brand’s first official LazMall flagship store in Singapore in March.  But really - what else can we look forward to as the company positions itself for the next bound of growth?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian finds more about the company’s priorities ahead with  Adeline Goh, Chief Marketing Officer, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Singapore.

Can you imagine a world without keys? Well, that’s the vision of a Singapore-headquartered company that makes smart locks and lockboxes.  Founded in 2015, igloocompany offers a holistic suite of software and hardware products that enable seamless and secure accessibility for a robust digital economy.  Since then, igloocompany has also grown over the years to include an enterprise focused vertical, which focuses on large-scale access management.  Its smart locks and lockboxes, meanwhile, are sold in more than 100 countries all over the world, including in the US.  The startup was listed on Forbes Asia’s 100 small companies and startups to watch in 2022, and was reported to serve over 400 enterprise customers with 5 million digital credentials issued. The firm charged ahead in 2021 to expand in Austin, the US, and get a slice of the US$46 billion smart home market over the next few years.  It set an ambitious target then to deploy 1 million devices in the US across the next three years, but what is the status right now?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Best Haputpong, VP of Business Development, igloocompany for more.

At this time of the day we want to ask the question - what’s for afternoon tea. We're asking this question because we’re talking to a company that sells a snack commonly paired with Kopi O or soybean milk.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Youtiao or Chinese fried dough sticks. Our guest for today is You Tiao Man, which had its humble beginnings in a hawker stall back in the 1940s.  That is, before its fourth generation owner transformed it into the multi-chain food manufacturer it is today.  The company is now one of the largest wholesalers of You Tiao to hotels, caterers, restaurants, food courts and hawkers in Singapore and began distributing to supermarkets in Singapore in 2021.  From a traditional hawker business into a B2B and B2B2C manufacturing brand, we want to find out how this process has been for You Tiao Man, and what’s next for the company.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Audrey Chew, Chief Executive Officer, You Tiao Man for more.

We’ve talked in depth about artificial intelligence, synthetic data and ChatGPT. Now, what’s next? How about a new AI chatbot called SeaGPT?  Developed by Singapore-based company Greywing, SeaGPT uses GPT-4 technology to help shipping companies navigate port agency communication hurdles.  With SeaGPT, emails related to port agency communication can be instantly automated. It can also handle questions by crew managers, saving time and reducing the risks of errors or miscommunications.  Greywing says its SeaGPT solution can be further integrated with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp and SMS. But really, how powerful can SeaGPT get?  And with the global maritime digitisation market estimated to generate US$423.4 billion by 2031, how much of a market share is Greywing aiming to get with SeaGPT? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter posed these questions to  Hrishi Olickel, CTO and Co-Founder of Greywing.

Generative AI has been the talk of the town in recent months with the launch of ChatGPT.  But have you ever wondered just how much data is processed for these so-called ‘AI models’ to build up their so-called ‘experience’ and provide us with the answers we want? Plus, how do AI companies get around the issue of data protection worldwide amid rising user awareness on privacy?  Well, one answer to this is the use of synthetic data that mimics real-world data without compromising quality and privacy. Our guest for today is a Singapore-based startup Betterdata, which converts limited real data into limitless synthetic data.  The company says this is faster and safer than traditional data-sharing methods that use data anonymisation to destroy information and ensure privacy. How does this work and to what extent does it lower the costs of acquiring data to an AI firm? Meanwhile, Betterdata has raised US$1.7 million in an oversubscribed seed round, where investors included Franklin Templeton Investments and the Singapore University of Technology and Design. But how does it intend to use the money? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Kevin Yee, Co-Founder and CTO, as well as Dr Uzair Javaid, Co-Founder and CEO at Betterdata for more.