Under The Radar

Have you ever passed through automated immigration at airports and wondered who are the people building these biometric systems?  Does NEC ring a bell? Yes, that’s one of the companies behind your smoother experience at airports.  But the company’s operation goes way beyond just biometric systems. NEC is a leading information and technology provider whose expertise includes solutions for carrier networks, biometric identification, enterprise applications and infrastructure and more.  And we want to speak to the people behind NEC’s APAC headquarters in Southeast Asia on what’s next on their cards.  Turns out they’re working on solutions such as smart digital business cards in Singapore, as well as solutions to achieve a goal called Society 5.0. But what is in it for the firm to do so, and what are the trends influencing the information and communication technology scene right now? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Teh Chong Mien, Managing Director (Singapore), NEC APAC  for more.

Do you still remember the time where you signed off your first employment contract with a ballpoint pen? Well, I’m asking this because we’re going to talk all about signatures, and in particular the rise of e-signatures today.   According to Deloitte, estimates of the global e-Signing market reached between US$2.3 billion and US$2.8 billion depending on the source in 2020. And with the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way businesses do things, the market has become one of the fastest growing in the world.  It is now projected to grow to over US$14 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of some 28 to 30 per cent. But with the market heavily dominated by major players such as DocuSign, how do other players in the industry assess the market and competition?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Daphne Ng, Co-founder and CEO of Dedoco.

If you recall, we spoke with used car marketplace Carro some time last month. Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into yet another marketplace - but for alternative investments.  According to the company, Alta is Southeast Asia’s largest digital marketplace for alternative investments ranging from direct investments to late stage private companies, private equity and VC funds, asset backed securities of luxury assets, real estate and more. Since 2016, the marketplace has completed over 1,000 transactions valued in excess of US$600 million and has created access for investors to invest in over US$22 billion worth of mandated opportunities globally.  But the question is - how will the ongoing turmoil in the global financial sectors and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank affected demand for alternative investments on the platform? And what does this mean for Alta in screening investment opportunities available on its platform? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kelvin Lee, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alta.

The Great Resignation is a term that we’ve heard a lot over the past year.  The term, which was coined in May 2021, described the phenomenon where workers quit their jobs after deferring their decisions to do so early on in the pandemic.  There’s a reason why I’m bringing this term up again - because the hiring scene is what we’re going to talk about on the segment today. According to Statista, the global executive search industry grew some 17 billion euros between 2012 and 2021. But how sustainable is this trend amid the current state of the current economy, and what does this mean for headhunters? Also - what does the ongoing series of tech layoffs and the banking crisis in the US mean for companies in the executive search industry?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Sam Belcher, Managing Partner, Asia Pacific, and Katherine Ho, Executive Director, Corporate Governance, Financial Services at The Edge Partnership for more. 

At this time of the day we want to ask the question - what’s for - not dinner, but what’s for tea break!  How about bubble tea? Speaking of bubble tea - here’s a fun fact. Did you know that Southeast Asia spent US$3.7 billion on bubble tea and similar “new tea” drinks in 2021?  That, by the way, is according to a report published by venture outfit Momentum Works and payments startup qlub, which also found that Indonesia’s bubble tea industry ranked first in terms of market size with an annual turnover of US$1.6billion.  Singapore, despite being the smallest nation in the region, came in fourth with an annual turnover of US$342 million.  The numbers tell us just how much Singaporeans or Southeast Asians love our bubble tea. But it also raised more questions as to what the sheer market size means for bubble tea chains and the expansion of their franchise operations.  Also with over 60 active bubble tea brands in Singapore and 31,000 stores and other retail channels in Thailand, is the market oversaturated now? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Martin Berry, Founder & Chairman Gong Cha Global.

If you recall, we spoke about ship chartering on the segment last week. Today we want to double down on that conversation by giving you an inside look into a Singapore-listed integrated marine logistics company called MarcoPolo Marine.  The company works with customers of varying industries on ship chartering and even transhipment services of tugboats and barges. Besides that, Marco Polo Marine also builds and repair ships. It has a shipyard occupying over 34-hectares of land area in Batam Indonesia, and has supplied at least 100 tugs and barges and Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels.  The firm recently posted a gross profit of S$6.6 million for the first quarter ended December, up 153.8 per cent from the year ago period thanks to more ship-repair activities and larger contracts from customers. But how are things like for the current quarter? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Sean Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Marco Polo Marine for more.

Could AI have a hand in equipping healthcare professionals with people management and communication skills? Well according to the founders of Singapore-based AI Startup MediVR, it can!  MediVR is apparently creating generative AI virtual humans that can perceive, talk and respond with human-like training behaviour, allowing professions to practise their people management and communication skills in a safe environment and with greater efficiency. Aside from doctors, MediVR said its virtual humans have also been used to train Teachers, Social Workers and Financial Advisors.  But how much money is the market for virtual humans worth? And what are the intricacies involved for a company making money out of virtual humans?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jeremy Ong, COO and Co-founder, MediVR.

Have you ever wondered what’s behind our 4G, or wifi connectivity? How about a network of shoebox-sized devices sending lasers to one another?  Well, that’s what Singapore-based startup Transcelestial does to bring superfast connectivity to the masses. The company also recently bagged US$10 million in its Series A2 funding led by Airbus Ventures.  Other investors including Cap Vista - which is the strategic investment arm of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency - have participated as well.  Transcelestial has said then that the funds will be used to ramp up growth in Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. But to what extent is the company on track to achieve that? The company is also planning to enter the US market soon, but what can we expect on that front? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Rohit Jha, CEO and Co-founder, Transcelestial for more. 

Singapore is known to be a medical tourism hub due to its good facilities and services, with the country’s healthcare system ranked first in Asia and fourth in the world in the Medical Tourism Index by US-based Healthcare Research Centre. According to the Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore, about 500,000 foreign patients visited Singapore annually for medical treatment prior to the pandemic. While a bulk of them stopped entering Singapore in 2020 due to the pandemic, it seems like premium regional medical tourists are returning again. But to what extent has that boosted business for private healthcare providers? Well, that's what we are going to find out from Mount Elizabeth Hospital today.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Yong Yih Ming, CEO, Mount Elizabeth Hospital to find out.

We’re going to speak to global food corporation Cargill today. And in case you’re wondering - we are not going to talk about commodities.  But instead we’re going to talk about their ocean transportation unit, with the company being one of the world’s biggest ship charterers.  The company is seeing several developments relating to its cargo shipping business of late. It has signed a longer-term charter deal for two dry bulk ships which will be delivered at the end of 2025 and at the start of 2026. In addition, it is also stepping up a push to resurrect wind power for cargo ships, which Cargill believes could reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30. But what do the developments suggest about the demand for shipping services and the longer term opportunities in the global cargo shipping industry, which is expected  to grow to 13.19 billion tons in 2028? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Lim Ying Ying, Ocean Transportation Lead for Asia Pacific and Managing Director of Cargill Ocean Transportation Singapore.