Is your digital bank built to last, or is it just a very expensive app? Despite massive hype, only 24 of the 55 digital banks tracked across Asia have reached profitability. The rest remain trapped by vanity metrics, offering unsustainably high deposit rates instead of building real margins.

As a massive wave of industry consolidation looms, Simon Loong, Founder and Group CEO of WeLab Group, joins The Breakfast Grille to reveal his Southeast Asian acquisition targets, why merging struggling banks is a trap, and what survival in the new financial landscape actually costs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 2017, Sarawakian corporate figure Dato' Sri Idris Jala has taken the PEMANDU transformation ethos beyond the corridors of Putrajaya through his consultancy, PEMANDU Associates. He outlines his latest pivot into capital investment through PEMANDU Capital and the growth targets for SME acquisitions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple Inc. is 50 years old, a milestone once thought impossible when the company sat 6 weeks from bankruptcy in 1996. Today, as a $3.6 trillion "Empire," the Tim Cook era faces scrutiny for prioritising operational scale over the blockbuster hits of the Steve Jobs era.

David Pogue, CBS correspondent and author of Apple: The First 50 Years, joins the Breakfast Grille to dissect Apple’s near-death experience and debunk persistent myths surrounding Steve Jobs. He explores the stark transition from a "rebel" cult to a “Empire” status, the critical innovations that could define the Tim Cook era, and why he believes Apple, at its core, remains a "Steve Jobs company".

Image Credit: Shutterstock.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uzbekistan, a doubly-landlocked country in Central Asia, is stepping onto the global stage, balancing ties with major powers while pursuing economic reform and regional influence.  Ambassador Karomidin Gadoev discusses Tashkent’s multi-vector foreign policy, its engagement with the US, China and Russia, and how Malaysia fits into this evolving partnership.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ISF Group is a family-run piping systems specialist that listed on the ACE Market in January, raising RM61 million ringgit. They have been beneficiaries of the data centre boom in recent years, but can this trend sustain future growth? We discuss ISF Group’s business strategy and prospects with second-generation Managing Director Jeff Ai Boon Chen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xiao En operates in a sector many overlook, yet one that is essential. It is also a business that demands land, capital, long-term vision and deep empathy. Dato’ Frank Choo, Managing Director of Xiao En Group, discusses the realities of building a bereavement care group, and why it is far from a “dying” industry.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Analysts Ryan Bohl and Jared Mondschein join Philip See to discuss the Middle East's volatility, questioning U.S. strategic regional influence versus reactive crisis management and its economic impact on Asian markets.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kazakhstan is a land-locked central Asian country situated along the ancient Silk Road and it aims for bilateral trade with Malaysia to grow from US$220 million currently to US$1 billion in the next few years. Ambassador Bulat Sugurbayev shares thoughts on how to make this happen, as well as his country's role in geopolitics and how Borat helped put Kazakhstan on the map.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With over 500 companies currently under investigation for bid-rigging in government tenders worth RM2 billion, MyCC is sharpening its enforcement teeth. Datuk Iskandar Ismail, CEO of MyCC, discusses the critical upcoming amendments to the Competition Act, why the commission is targeting digital platforms, and the hard lessons learned from high-profile courtroom battles with Grab and Malaysia Airlines.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a mid-sized European nation navigate an increasingly turbulent world? Juraj Koudelka, the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Malaysia, shares his thoughts on the state of Malaysia-Czech relations, opportunities for trade and investment, and how a Central European country, and member of NATO, approaches today’s shifting geopolitical landscape.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.