Podcast
The Breakfast Grille
Hosted by BFM Media · EN
Sharper and stronger than a double espresso. The Morning Run stretches your mind and braces you for the business day. It's your fast track into work where you can hit the ground running. From 6am to 10am weekdays, the Morning Run brings you the biggest stories and must-listen-to interviews. Stay enlightened, make educated business and investment decisions.
126episodes
Episodes
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IKEA: Balancing Affordability, Sustainability & Growth
May 1800:21:11Tap to summarizeIKEA has been part of the Malaysian retail landscape for 30 years and as consumers become more cost-conscious and e-commerce reshapes retail, it is evolving beyond its traditional megastore model. Malcolm Pruys, Country Retail Director of IKEA Malaysia discusses affordability, omnichannel retail and expansion for the IKEA experience in Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →UCSI University: Competition in the Higher Education Space
May 1700:22:50Tap to summarizeUCSI University, which in 2024 found itself at its highest position in the QS World University Rankings since its inception, slipped slightly in the 2025 list. Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, the university's Vice-Chancellor, discusses whether UCSI University can sustain its position as competition intensifies and weighing in on Malaysia’s higher education system.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Can ASEAN’s Digital Needs Push EdgePoint Past Key Pressures?
May 1400:23:33Tap to summarizeTelco tower veteran Suresh Sidhu launched EdgePoint Infrastructure in 2020, scaling the regional venture to over 16,000 sites across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with backing from DigitalBridge, and then later the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.However the infrastructure model now faces a more complex reality: carrier consolidation and a higher for longer interest rate environment that creates a more challenging environment, in particular for a PE-backed player. Can ASEAN’s underlying tide of data demand outrun these mounting structural pressures?Suresh Sidhu joins the show to discuss navigating private equity expectations in a high-rate climate, the shifting economics of a consolidated customer base, and the new growth engines driving the TowerCo model.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Pharmaniaga Post-PN17 Betting Big on Biopharma
May 1300:23:57Tap to summarizePharmaniaga officially exited PN17 status in March, having taken three years to complete its regularisation plan. The firm is now vying to become the most valuable pharmaceutical company in Malaysia by 2030 leveraging on its ongoing government concession in logistics and biopharma manufacturing capabilities. We catch-up with Managing Director Dato’ Zulkifli Jafar to find out how he intends to achieve this goal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Khairy Jamaluddin: Back in the Running
May 1200:34:25Tap to summarizeStill fresh from his re-entry into UMNO, we ask the former Minister and Youth Chief what role he sees for himself in the party ahead of GE16, and his views on the Barisan-Pakatan cooperation and what the Malay community wants. We also tap him for his views on great power rivalry, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the global crisis it has created. Are our political elite up to the task of navigating the global crisis, or will they keep our house permanently divided?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Caught in the Chip War: Perspectives from the Netherlands
May 1100:25:36Tap to summarizeHow is the US-China geopolitical rivalry affecting other countries also involved in the semiconductor space, like the Netherlands and Malaysia? We discuss the Dutch approach to semiconductor advancement and lessons that can be learned by Malaysia in growing its domestic industry with Michiel Sweers, Vice Minister for Foreign Economic Relations of the Netherlands.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Gulf War: Navigating A Multi-Wave Crisis
May 1000:32:34Tap to summarizePutrajaya has been laying out strategies to deal with what is being called a “supply-side crisis” sparked by the American and Israeli attack on Iran on February the 28th. From the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, to the impacts on crude oil supplies and agriculture, leading to shortages of petroleum derived products and disruptions to manufacturing supply chains, to geo-political realignments and its economic consequences, the crisis is about to hit with increasing severity in the coming months. Are we ready for what it will demand of all stake-holders in the country?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →EU Seeking Solidarity in a Fragmented World
May 700:25:19Tap to summarizeThe European Union has not been spared geopolitical whiplash under the Trump administration as US-China competition, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East upends the global order. How is the bloc navigating these challenging times and how is this shaping its relations with Malaysia? We catch up with H.E. Rafael Daerr, EU Ambassador to Malaysia on the eve of Europe Day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Oil Shock: Is Asia’s Tech Boom Enough to Avert a Recession?
May 600:22:40Tap to summarizeIs the world on the brink of a recession?10 weeks into the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz, the global market is still missing between 10 to 15 million barrels of oil daily, and the longer this goes on, the darker the economic scenarios look.Dr. Gaurav Ganguly, Head of International Economist at Moody’s Analytics, joins the Breakfast Grille to unpack Asia’s ‘Two-Part Story’, where Asia’s weakness in energy is offset by a surge in electronics exports due to the AI boom.We explore why Malaysia’s RM5 billion monthly subsidy bill is testing the absolute limits of fiscal resilience, how the supply shock could trigger a "wage-price spiral" that threatens to break the global labor market, and what this prolonged shock means for the permanent re-ordering of the global order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Can MARA Liner Be Both Service and Business?
May 500:22:50Tap to summarizeMARA Liner Group has been connecting rural communities across the country for decades, but with rising costs and low margins, can that model hold? New CEO Wan Agyl Wan Hassan discusses the challenges of transforming a legacy bus operator through digitalisation, diversification, and operational reform while navigating thin margins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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