Under The Radar

Meatballs! That’s what we are going to talk about today. When it comes to meatballs, the first thing that comes to mind would be perhaps chicken meat balls, or those made from beef, pork, or even lamb, served in soup or with a scoop of delectable sauce.  But how about a giant meatball made from flesh cultivated using the DNA of the extinct woolly mammoth?  Well, that’s exactly what Australian cultured meat company Vow launched in The Netherlands in late March. It said the meatball was made of sheep cells inserted with a singular mammoth gene called myoglobin.  According to the company, the gene is responsible for the aroma, colour and the taste. The mammoth meatball by the way has the aroma of crocodile meat, and is currently not for consumption.  Now, Vow is not the first company that is eyeing the DNA of extinct animals. Biotechnology startup Colossal earlier wanted to de-extinct the Dodo, while others are setting their sights on mammoth proteins.  Question is - how much money is in it for firms to go the extra mile to look back into the past? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with George Peppou, Co-Founder, Vow for more. 

With the earnings season in full swing in Singapore, we want to turn our attention to REITs, and in particular we want to zoom in on AIMS APAC REIT, which has just announced its FY2023 results today.  Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange since 2007, Aims APAC Reit invests in a diversified portfolio of logistics, business parks and industrial real estate across APAC, including subsegments like warehouse and hi-tech space in Singapore and Australia.  The REIT reported a 5.1% year-on-year increase in distribution per unit in FY 2023, representing a distribution yield of 7.5%. Its net property income also surged 18.7% to S$122.5 million for the year, while portfolio occupancy stood at a record high of 98%, with a tenant retention rate of 78.4%.  AIMS APAC REIT says the numbers were driven by higher occupancy in the Logistics and Warehouse segment, which has seen double digit growth across the four quarters thanks to demand coming in from third party logistics players.  But for how long will the logistics and warehouse segments remain defensive, and how will leasing demand look like in FY2024? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Russell Ng, Chief Executive Officer, AIMS APAC REIT for more.

Supercars are on our agenda today, and this time, we want to talk about luxury car brand Lamborghini and its new hybrid model, the Revuelto. Priced at around US$600,000, the Revuelto is Lamborghini’s first ever plug-in hybrid.  The model, which was launched just back in March, already has a waiting list and two years worth of orders by mid-April, signalling the strength of the wealthy consumer amid a global economic slowdown.  But what will the rollout of the model look like with production scheduled to start in the second half of this year and delivery to the US to begin in the fourth quarter? Meanwhile, Automobili Lamborghini also reported a record breaking year for 2022. The company saw its best sales figure and delivered 9,233 cars worldwide - a 10 per cent increase over the previous year.  To what extent was this contributed by Asia and to what extent is the Chinese market a wild card?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Francesco Scardaoni, Region Director for Automobili Lamborghini Asia Pacific. 

Whether you’re heading out for work or leisure, ride hailing has become one of the most common modes of transportation these days.  Besides tech giants Grab and Gojek, we want to talk about a newer player on the block that has been gaining prominence in Southeast Asia - TADA.  Launched in Singapore in 2018, TADA is the world’s first blockchain-based zero-commission ride hailing application, where its key mobility data such as transactions, movements, and the maintenance of people and vehicles are recorded in a single Mass Vehicle Ledge or MVL ecosystem.   The company further expanded into Cambodia in the same year, before setting foot into Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. But how does the company’s blockchain based application help it differentiate itself against major incumbents in the ride hailing industry? More recently, TADA has entered into a strategic partnership with foodpanda to introduce new user benefits for customers in Asia, starting with Singapore and Cambodia. What does this partnership mean for TADA as it positions itself for future growth?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down  with Jonathan Chua, Regional General Manager, TADA Mobility (Singapore) for more. 

From content writing, to providing human-like responses in chatbots, and to even coding. Generative AI has made its potential known to the world with the introduction of ChatGPT.  But besides, did you know that generative AI can be used in the process of drug discovery as well?  Today we speak with Insilico Medicine, a clinical stage AI driven drug discovery company that is delivering breakthrough solutions to discover and develop medicines in areas such as cancer, immunity and ageing. The company was selected by NVIDIA as one of the top 5 AI companies for its potential for social impact back in 2017. But how does it work, and what does a new drug discovery mean for the company? Separately, Insilico Medicine had also signed a strategic research collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in a deal worth up to US$1.2 billion last November. So, what is the status right now? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions toDr Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO of Insilico Medicine.

Today we speak to one of the world’s largest fast moving consumer goods companies Unilever.  While we may be fairly familiar with Unilever, our guest for today is Unilever Food Solutions, which is the dedicated professional foodservice business of Unilever operating in 76 countries around the world. But how does Unilever Food Solutions fit in the bigger picture for the FMCG giant? Also, what does Unilever’s latest quarterly sales amid rising inflation mean for the subsidiary?  Aside from that, we also want to take a look at Unilever Food Solutions’ recent First Menu Trends report, and what the findings mean for the subsidiary’s product offerings in future.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Angeline Tan, Head of Country, Unilever Food Solutions (Singapore) for more.

Founded in 2015, G8 is a Singapore headquartered company that develops and constructs renewable energy projects across the globe.  It also uses its expertise in subsea cable and engineering technologies to develop solutions that effectively connect large offshore wind turbines and floating solar systems to land.  The group currently has over 3GW of renewable energy and subsea transmission projects under Asia and provides specialised engineering services to leading contractors, governments, utility companies and project developers to accelerate renewable energy developments around the world.  With most of G8’s operations and projects located overseas in countries such as South Korea, the company is now setting its sights in West Africa. But really what are the opportunities there and how does G8 assess its reliance on overseas projects? Also, the firm said last year that it plans to explore a NASDAQ listing this year, but to what extent can we expect that to happen amid the current economic climate? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Gerald Tan, Founder and Managing Director, G8.

Artificial Intelligence could help you plan your travel itinerary, come up with recipes.  But what about an AI-powered model that could capture patterns in the stock and options market that signals M&A, earnings shocks or FDA drug approvals?  Well, today we’re going to talk to the fintech company behind this AI model.  Founded in 2016, Qraft Technologies provides its AI models to banks, asset managers and insurance companies for them to launch investment products under their brands.  More famously, the company was known for raising US$146 million in Series C investment from SoftBank Group, the largest funding from the VC in a Korean enterprise after e-commerce giant Coupang.  But how does this work, what are the intricacies involved in operating an AI fintech company? Also, where will the US and South Korea focused company expand into next? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Francis Oh, CEO, Qraft Technologies APAC for more.

It is all about perfumes and fragrances today. And on that note, we want to bring you an inside look into a Singapore-based hauteperfumery brand called Maison 21G.  Founded in 2020, Maison 21G aims to make personalised perfumery accessible for all. The company says it is the first collaborative perfumery house for the luxury lifestyle generation, who wants to stand out from everyday common scents. But what does this mean?  And of course, we can’t escape from talking about business models, and dollars and cents. The company achieved US$3 million in revenue in 2021 and said it is the number four brand in perfumery in Singapore behind players such as Chanel, Christian Dior and Jo Malone.  It closed its series A funding last April  to expand the company’s footprint and reach within Asia and also in the Middle East, and grow the team. But what is the status right now? On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  Johanna Monange, Founder & CEO, Maison 21G.

Today we want to talk about a Finnish tech company that will take you back to the days without smartphones and tablets.  You might have guessed it already - yes - we are talking about Nokia.  Founded in 1865, Nokia is a B2B technology innovation leader in networking, bringing together the world’s people, machines and devices to realise the potential of digital in every industry.  It was also once a legendary phone maker, having commanded an over 40 per cent global market share in mobile phones at its peak. That is before smartphone makers Apple and Samsung came into picture in the late 2000s and early 2010s.  To make a long story short, the company eventually sold its handset and services business to Microsoft in 2013. What does this mean for Nokia in terms of its priorities then?  And as the company prepares itself for further technological disruption, its CEO Pekka Lundmark predicts smartphones would become extinct by 2030 with the invent of 6G. Why is this the case, and how does this influence the way the company positions itself for the future?   On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Daniel Jaeger, Head of Southeast Asia, Nokia to find out all about Nokia’s plans ahead.