Under The Radar

Building an unbroken cold chain within ASEAN. That’s become increasingly important as rising demand for perishables drive the need for cold storage to extend the shelf life of food items.  Our guest for today Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics does just that. Founded in 2018, Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics, is a joint venture between Commonwealth Capital - that’s the company behind F&B brands such as Pastamania, Swissbake and The Soup Spoon - along with Japanese F&B distribution giant Kokubu Group.  The company aims to provide end-to-end supply chain solutions to food retailers, ranging from warehousing, distribution and supply chain management.  It is currently in the process of setting up a S$200 million food logistics facility in Singapore. But what are the opportunities for cold storage facilities, and how does the JV fit in Commonwealth Capital’s business?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Daniel Tan, Managing Director, Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics.

We’re going to talk about watches today. When it comes to watches, the first that comes to mind might be those that come with sober round dials, say your Rolex or Omega watches.  Instead of that, we want to talk about watches that look like spaceships, cost US$100,000 and above, and have a waitlist stretching from years to almost a decade.  Founded in 2005, MB&F started with a dedicated fan base but has gained increased attention among the wider watch collecting community of late.  The company, which produced just 30 watches in its first run, now forecasts production of around 420 watches this year with a revenue of over 42 million francs.  But what’s next for MB&F, and what does a booming secondary watch market mean for watchmakers when determining the supply available?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these burning questions to Maximilian Büsser, Owner & Creative Director at MB&F. 

Ever wondered where all the millionaires are right now? And where they intend to migrate to in the near term?  Well, that’s what we are going to talk about today with UK-based consultancy firm Henley & Partners.  The company is a global leader in residence and citizenship by investment, with over 40 offices worldwide. It also runs a leading government advisory practice that has raised more than US$10 billion in foreign direct investment. What’s interesting is that Henley & Partners said its business grew 25% last year and another 35% the year before.  Meanwhile in its “USA Wealth Report”, the company said the number of Americans enquiring about citizenship investments and residency options has risen over four-fold since 2019.  But where are wealthy Americans moving to? What does this mean for the consultancy firm as well as or Asia as the region tries to attract family offices to set up shop? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Scott Moore, Managing Director, Henley & Partners for more.

This company will likely ring a bell, especially if you’re clearing your annual leave, submitting your taxi claims or an accountant working on your company’s financial statements.  You may have guessed it by now -  we’re talking to SAP. That’s a company behind the enterprise resource planning or ERP systems companies use to manage their day-to-day activities like accounting, purchasing inventory, human resources and more.  With over 110,000 employees from over 160 countries, we want to find out how SAP views the global enterprise software market, which is expected to reach a market volume of US$376.40 billion by 2028, according to Statista.   Also, the company recently set up its first SAP Labs in Singapore last March, but what is the status right now? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Eileen Chua, Managing Director, SAP Singapore for more.

What comes to mind when you think of peanut butter sandwich biscuits? How about Julie’s biscuits? If you’ve been having Julie biscuits lately, you might have realised that their blonde-haired Julie logo doesn’t look quite the same.  In fact, Julie might look slightly younger now - and that’s thanks to a global rebranding effort by the company in 2020 to capture younger consumers.  And if you’ve been tracking the company, you might realise that the Malaysian brand temporarily changed its Julie logo to Michelle Yeoh upon her winning the Best Actress at the Oscars. But why is Julie’s actively rebranding itself as a youthful brand to capture the younger crowd? To what extent were the efforts driven by the competition or shifts in the biscuit industry?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sai Tzy Horng, Director, Julie's Biscuits.

Founded by the co-founder of foodpanda and budget hotel chain Zen Rooms, Kiren Tanna, Una Brands is an e-commerce aggregator that acquires and scales e-commerce brands based in APAC.  The company focuses on acquiring companies with strong independent branding and which have annual revenue of between US$300,000 and US$20 million, and uses technology to optimise and automate product placement and marketing across a range of distribution channels.  Una Brands currently acquired and operates over 20 e-commerce brands across six countries including ergonomic furniture brands ErgoTune and EverDesk+.  It recently announced an additional US$30 million in Pre-Series C fundraise, bringing the total firm’s raise over the past year to US$60 million. On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian found out what’s next for Una Brands from Kiren Tanna, Co-founder & CEO, Una Brands. 

We have come to almost the end of the first quarter this year, and before we kick start April, let’s take a look at an asset class that analysts and observers are keeping their eyes on for this year - hospitality Reits.  With borders reopening and tourism resuming, market watchers believe 2023 will be an exciting time for hospitality trusts.  But there are several questions to address as well. For one thing, what will competition look like within the industry after two years of pandemic? Also - to what extent will the recent turmoil in the banking sector affect Reit managers when it comes to financial decisions? And is 2023 a good time for acquisitions and expansion?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Serena Teo, CEO of the Managers of CapitaLand Ascott Trust (CLAS).  They talked about the trust’s 47 per cent on-year increase in distribution per stapled security for the half year ended December, as well as the CLAS’ plans ahead.

Which camera would you use if you have to take a selfie or a picture right now? Would you whip out your mobile phone or would you bring out a DSLR camera instead?  Well, we're asking this because our guest for today is from world renowned camera maker Canon.  While Canon may be a familiar name, what we might not know about is the company’s efforts to diversify into new products and industries.  For one thing, it entered the office equipment market with the debut of the world's first 10-key electronic calculator. It also developed Japan’s first plain paper copying machine, which was introduced in 1970. And we want to find out how the company’s culture of diversification has helped it weather technological disruption when digital cameras were replaced by smartphones and when printing documents were no longer needed with the advent of file transfers via the cloud? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Vincent Low, Head of Enterprise Business, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore.

Founded in 1891, MSD is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceuticals. The company is among the top 10 globally with a revenue of US$59.3 billion in 2022. With the global pharmaceutical industry expected to grow to around US$2.4 trillion in 2029 according to Fortune Business insights, we want to find out what’s next for the company, particularly here in Singapore.  On that note, MSD announced the opening of two manufacturing facilities to produce vaccines and biologics in Singapore back in October last year. But what is the status right now, and what does the recent rise in vaccine production facilities in Singapore say of the environment the country provides for pharmaceutical businesses? On Under the Radar, Drive Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Dr. Sheriff Abdullahi, Managing Director, Singapore, Malaysia & Brunei, MSD for more.

How sustainable is humour as a value proposition for a business? That’s the question we want to ask our interviewee today. Our guest for today is from Hepmil Media Group. You might better know them as the parent company of leading comedy brands SGAG, MGAG and PGAG.  Hepmil Media Group, which first started connecting with Singaporeans through localised humour, iconic memes and videos posted on SGAG, has since grown to a network of companies and creators that engages and entertains millennials and Gen Zs.  More recently, Hepmil Media Group also launched a joint venture with US digital media company Bent Pixels to better connect esports content creators in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines with brands.  But how does the company define the market it is in and what is it doing to ensure that it has the last laugh? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Karl Mak, Co Founder & CEO of Hepmil Media Group to find out.