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Bootstrap, borrow, or bag investments? 9 financing options for M’sian entrepreneurs.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for financial advice. Readers are encouraged to do their own research before arriving at any conclusions based solely on this content. Vulcan Post disclaims any reward or responsibility for any gains or losses arising from the direct and indirect use and application of any contents of the written material.

So, you want to start a business. How are you getting the money?

There is a myriad of ways, though none of them are necessarily easy. Here are some ways to get moolah so your business gets off the ground. 

1. Bootstrapping 

The simplest way you can start is by putting your own money on the line. Of course, this is easier when the capital to start your business is relatively low, or if you’ve saved up a sizeable amount of money. 

The benefits of bootstrapping is that you retain complete control over your company and all business decisions without having to answer to investors.

However, you might have limited capital if you go the bootstrapping route, which might limit your business growth, too. 

2. FFF 

Also known as “Friends, Family, and Fools.” 

You can always ask your friends and family to take up a stake in your venture. As for the fools part… Well, whether that is to be seen depends on the results of said venture. 

There are differing opinions on whether you should do this. Some believe you shouldn’t mix your personal relationships with business. 

Meanwhile, others believe that if you truly believe in your business venture, you’d give your loved ones an opportunity to cash in on that venture, too. 

Just be sure not to let business damage your personal relationships—and vice versa. 

3. Peer-to-peer (P2P)

Peer-to-peer financing is exactly what it sounds like—it’s when entrepreneurs and small businesses get capital (in relatively small amounts) from a pool of individual lenders. 

P2P lenders are typically individual investors who typically want a better return on their cash savings than they would earn with a bank account or money market fund. Meanwhile, P2P borrowers seek an alternative to traditional banks or a lower interest rate than they could get at one.

In Malaysia, there are a number of P2P platforms registered with the Securities Commission to allow businesses to borrow and investors to lend capital. 

These platforms include Capbay, cofundr, microleap, Funding Societies, and more. 

4. Equity crowdfunding (ECF) 

If you’re familiar with equity crowdfunding, you might be wondering how it differs from P2P financing. 

According to Capital Markets Malaysia, the two are slightly different in the sense that with P2P, an issuer can be “hosted concurrently for different purposes” on multiple P2P platforms. 

ECF is essentially a form of alternative fundraising that allows small businesses to raise capital from the public, using online platforms registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia.

In return for their funds, investors are given equity in the business.

5. Banks

Of course, you could also just get a loan from the bank. 

In Malaysia, many banks tend to have special programmes and terms for small businesses, typically with lower interest rates. So, it’s worth looking into those when you’re just starting out. 

Aside from your usual commercial banks, in Malaysia, there are Development Financial Institutions (DFI), which includes: 

• Bank Rakyat
• Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad
• Agrobank
• SME Bank
• BSN
• EXIM Bank

Banks such as SME Bank are also specifically designed to cater to various entrepreneurs in various industries. They offer an array of financial programmes.

BNM has set aside different schemes such as the Skim Pembiayaan Mikro, which supports the financing needs of microenterprises and self-employed individuals. 

Financial Institutions offering Skim Pembiayaan Mikro include: Agrobank, Alliance Bank & Alliance Islamic, AmBank & AmBank Islamic, Bank Islam, Bank Muamalat, Bank Rakyat, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Maybank & Maybank Islamic, Public Bank & Public Islamic, and United Overseas Bank. 

6. Venture capital 

Of course, you could go the route of raising funds through venture capitalists. 

Going this route typically means having more investors on the cap table, meaning more people will have a say in your business direction, though. 

But more than financial support, venture capitalists are typical very risk-tolerant investors, and often offer lots of hands-on support, guidance, and networking opportunities. 

7. Angel investors 

In Malaysia, angel investors are described as individuals who are tax residents in Malaysia and whose total net personal assets exceed RM3 million. 

Like VCs, angel investors are often open to taking on more risks, but they typically dole out less capital. That said, lesser capital also means lesser equity, which might be beneficial if you still want to maintain a large stake in the company. 

8. Accelerators and incubators

Accelerators and incubators are programmes that businesses can sign up for to accelerate or incubate their growth. That much is given. 

But if you perform well in these accelerator or incubator programmes, you may stand a chance to win prize money as well as other sorts of non-monetary incentives (e.g. mentorship). 

Aside from “winning,” these programmes tend to help you set a benchmark for how your company is doing. But these can be quite time-consuming, as they usually require key members of a startup to be present, and can go on for months. 

Some examples of notable recurring accelerator programmes include the MYStartup Accelerator, Cyberview Living Lab Accelerator, and Sidec’s many different programmes.

9. Grants

There are also some grants out there, typically organised by the government or corporations. 

Compared to other kinds of funding, grants don’t require repayment, but they involve a particular purpose. As in, the money can only be used in a very specific way, even if using it for another purpose would have helped the business grow faster. 

Cradle has the CIP Sprint, MDEC offers a variety of grants, and institutions such as MIDA also have certain grants available.

To each their own

At the end of the day, each entrepreneur will have to determine what is right for their own business. Factors such as what industry you’re in may play a huge factor, and it’s also about your own risk tolerance and business ambitions. 

Everything has its own pros and cons, so be sure to think things through wisely before making your final decision.  

• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Also Read: This global real estate firm is expanding to KL to help local agents achieve their ambitions

How personal care brand Stryv bounced back from almost failing to opening 8 outlets in S’pore

When Roy Ang’s wife gave birth back in 2022, her postpartum journey was anything but easy.

Hair loss, weight gain and excess belly skin post-delivery led to a substantial drop in her confidence, which impacted her relationships with others, including her husband.

To lift her spirits, he gifted her a hairdryer and immediately saw a spark return to her eyes. “I think she was also touched that her husband cared,” Roy said.

However, he also came to realise that quality hairdryers often come with hefty price tags, raising the question of whether they were truly accessible to the average person.

This realisation ultimately sparked a business idea to enter the personal care product industry.

So, after visiting and testing over 100 hairdryer manufacturers, claiming to invest a seven-figure sum, and acquiring external funding, Roy launched Stryv as a “digital-first brand,” selling “premium and affordable” haircare and styling products.

A success after a failed venture

Stryv is actually the second brand that Roy started under his parent company, Evo Commerce—a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) personal care and supplements business that he co-founded with his former colleague, Ming Hao Teoh, after their previous tenure at Grab.

The duo’s first venture was a hangover supplement brand called BBack (previously known as BounceBack), launched in 2021, which offers an anti-hangover remedy with “liver-strengthening properties.”

However, Evo Commerce didn’t start out in the D2C space. When it first launched in 2020, the business sold livestreaming backend software, but things did not turn out as expected.

“Back then, there wasn’t any TikTok Shop and most [livestreams] were done through Facebook—the experience wasn’t great,” Roy lamented. Struggling to turn a profit, the duo started to consider pivoting their business.

This was when Roy and Ming Hao learnt about the D2C industry—after seeing many livestreamers successfully building their own brands through the business model, they believed they could do the same by leveraging multiple platforms and channels to drive sales.

Hence, the duo pivoted Evo Commerce’s focus, but their decision was met with scepticism and distrust from both investors and employees.

When we first announced [the pivot] to our investors, most of them thought that we went mad as we had no experience running a brand. Most of the employees also lost confidence in us because of the failed project, and they didn’t believe that we could pull through the D2C business. 

We still decided to push it through as we believed in what we learnt from the livestreamers regarding product building—margins were a lot better compared to the software business, and there’s a better founder-market fit (both Ming Hao and I were media executives in our early careers). In hindsight, it was the right decision.

Roy Ang, CEO and co-founder of Stryv

With only six months of runway, both founders had to start from the ground up once more—but by June 2022, Evo Commerce managed to break even and had subsequently raised US$600,000 in seed funding two months later, paving the way for the launch of other brands, including Stryv.

Building the foundation

During Stryv’s early days, Roy shared that the business “spent quite a bit” on advertising and working with influencers and celebrities, with the goal of creating “a hyperlocal brand that people could relate to.”

“This helped to build the foundation of the brand,” he said.

Those early efforts seem to have paid off, as Stryv has since expanded beyond Singapore to three other countries: Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

According to Roy, these countries have similar GDP per capita and social media consumption behaviour, allowing the company to have a streamlined international expansion strategy, including working with local media content creators on the ground.

In addition, the brand has expanded its product range beyond hairdryers to include more haircare and personal care products, including straighteners, electric toothbrushes and shavers.

While the majority of sales still come through its e-commerce website, Stryv has also decided to venture into the brick-and-mortar space, which has “opened up many opportunities to meet consumers where they are.”

“⁠⁠In [the] Southeast Asia region, consumers still love the shopping malls because of the weather. [It’s always either] too hot or raining, hence we always want to be near where our consumers are,” Roy explained.

Currently, the brand operates eight outlets in Singapore and seven stores in Malaysia.

Growing, but not rushing

Since 2023, Roy claims that the company has managed to bring in eight figures in annual revenue, and aims to hit nine figures within the next three years.

At this point, it might seem that the brand has hit its peak, but Roy doesn’t plan to stop there.

There’s definitely competition and we believe the differentiation still has to come from the products. Product quality is something that we have been working on, and we also started R&D-ing our own design and IP. This is super hard but we feel that if we want to build a global brand, we have to start doing this.

We’ll likely still invest into building more product categories that are relevant to our existing customers and at the same time, expand into new markets that we’re not in.

Roy Ang, CEO and co-founder of Stryv

At present, Stryv is working to launch 25 new products this year and scale to 50 retail outlets regionally within the next two years. It is also gearing up to enter what Roy describes as “a big market” in 2026.

However, he emphasised that the brand will be “taking it cautiously,” as entering new markets requires a deep understanding of the local customers. “It’s a challenge when problem statements and user behaviours are different.” 

Hence, with the company already profitable, its focus remains on sustainable growth and maintaining that profitability.

Locally, Stryv is set to launch two more physical stores in Singapore—one at ION Orchard, which will open its doors within the next two to three weeks, and another at Northpoint City mall in Yishun in May.

A third location is also in the works, though details are kept under wraps for now.

Looking forward, Vulcan Post asked Roy if he sees himself continuing in the D2C industry in the years ahead, and what his personal goals are outside of Stryv. Here’s what he said:

I hope I can retire and play with my kids everyday. 

I’m kidding! I can’t sit still, and I absolutely love the vertical and do see myself working beyond that. Even if I’m not operating anymore, I will definitely invest or advise the next phase of builders solving real world problems as the learning is just phenomenal. I selectively do some pro-bono advising other brands and it’s giving me joy.

Roy Ang, CEO and co-founder of Stryv

• Learn more about Stryv here.
• Read other articles we have written on Singaporean startups here.

Also Read: A gamble that paid off: Cloversoft’s founders on 10 yrs of growth & the future of the brand

Featured Image Credit: Stryv

This M’sian chef opened an Indian restaurant in KL offering authentic flavours—but with pork

It’s not often that you find Indian restaurants specialising in pork dishes, and that’s why Meat The Porkers in Damansara Heights is quite the unique eatery.

Founded by chef Herukh Jethwani, the spot features intriguing and “porky” takes on Indian food. 

Herukh himself was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, boasting a Bachelor’s degree in F&B and Hospitality Management at Taylor’s University and Université de Toulouse in France. 

“I got into the food and beverage industry because it’s in my blood,” he shared with Vulcan Post. “My father has owned a Bangles restaurant since the ‘80s, and I grew up there, running around the restaurant and sneaking into the kitchen.”

A restaurateur in his own right, Herukh has owned and operated numerous brands, including Bangles Restaurant, Fierce Curry House, Fierce Kitchen & Catering, and Cakes by Aahana (run by Herukh’s wife, Aahana Jethwani, who he describes as a “baking extraordinaire”). 

And of course, there’s Meat The Porkers. 

Today, three of the aforementioned brands are active—Meat The Porkers, Fierce Kitchen & Catering, and Cakes by Aahana.

Getting to the meat of it 

Founded in 2016, Meat The Porkers was inspired by Herukh’s desire to offer something unique in the Indian culinary space. 

“Growing up in Kuala Lumpur, I have always had a love for dishes like siew yoke, bak kut teh, and wantan mee,” he expressed. “One day, while having a drink with a friend, I came up with the idea of creating a pork biryani.” 

The chef decided to try the novel idea out at home. After making his first order, word starting getting around, and things just took off. 

At the time, he was already running his other pork-free establishments, so he couldn’t incorporate the dish in any of his restaurants. So, he just made the biryani from home. 

The true trigger to officially start the restaurant came from his wife, Aahana. She pushed him to take the leap and transform an existing restaurant in Publika into Meat The Porkers. 

“Initially, I was hesitant due to fear of the unknown, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions we’ve made, especially when the restaurant began gaining exposure,” Herukh said. 

Not fusion, just innovation 

But as we know, pork isn’t traditionally a common protein in Indian dishes. Herukh pointed out that this is especially due to the large Muslim population in India, where both pork and beef aren’t widely consumed. 

He also said that in the past, it was also difficult to procure pork, which contributed to its absence in the Indian restaurant scene. 

“However, times have changed,” he said. “Today, we’re seeing more pork-centric restaurants opening up across India and the world, and we’re proud to be the first to bring this concept to Malaysia—and perhaps even Southeast Asia.”

Despite its name, though, Meat The Porkers is a full-fledged Indian restaurant with a diverse menu that includes vegetarian options, chicken, seafood, as well as mutton and lamb dishes. 

“Adding pork to our offerings gave us that special edge, making us stand out from the crowd and providing something unique for our customers,” Herukh determined. 

But the chef wanted to clarify that his food isn’t fusion cuisine—it’s authentically Indian in flavours, with recipes inspired by family traditions. 

“We’re not a fusion restaurant—there’s no blending of cuisines. Instead, we take authentic Indian dishes and dress them in new ways,” he reiterated. 

For example, the restaurant serves Palak Fish Tacos, but everything about the taco is cooked authentically. It features flatbread, with Amritsari fish rolled in palak gravy, topped with a fresh salad. 

“The presentation is taco-style, but the essence is purely Indian,” he said. 

Together with his sous chef and kitchen team, Herukh takes R&D seriously, committed to changing part of Meat The Porker’s menu every six months. 

He believes this is important because they’re a neighborhood restaurant, and many of their customers are regulars. Keeping the menu fresh helps prevent menu fatigue. 

Serving fierce food 

Today, Herukh still runs the Fierce brand. Fierce Curry House was originally started by his father in the early 2000s as a traditional Malaysian curry house. 

“It’s called Fierce as that’s how my father describes great food, beautiful women, and anything incredible,” Herukh said. 

When he revived the brand in 2011, it quickly gained popularity, especially for the biryani offerings. Over time, they expanded to feature a variety of biryanis, including lobster, crab, salmon, and lamb shank. 

However, Fierce Curry House is actually no longer operational as a dine-in business. 

“After COVID, the office crowd in the area didn’t return, and the dine-in business declined due to limited parking and changing work habits,” Herukh said. “However, we transitioned to Fierce Kitchen & Catering, focusing on corporate and home catering, along with daily deliveries.” 

This shift has allowed the team to grow more in the events space while still offering their popular menu. Fierce now operates from a central kitchen, focusing on corporate catering, home catering, and events.

Meating expectations, and more

In the many years of Herukh’s F&B experience, he’s grown to have several cornerstones in his entrepreneurial philosophy. 

“It’s a tough business and you can’t remote-control run the show; that’s always the death of the restaurant,” he said. 

“You have to be there, at least for the beginning of your F&B journey. Customers love to see the owner around and especially one who is not afraid of getting their hands dirty. No employee will ever do what you do—that is the owner’s edge.”

He also believes that entrepreneurs should stay relevant, grounded, and focused. Always keep yourself educated and humble, as that will help you deal with the many issues restaurateurs deal with. 

“Being a foodie and loving to eat has nothing to do with running a restaurant or hospitality business,” he reminded. 

Nine years in, Herukh hopes to maintain his regulars by focusing on keeping their menu, food, and outlet relevant and interesting. 

But in the bigger picture, he envisions growing Meat The Porkers into a global brand. With the right investors and strategies, he hopes to share porky Indian cuisine everywhere with the right investors and strategists. 

• Learn more about Meat The Porkers here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Also Read: This Sabahan serial entrepreneur built 6 brands, here’s his business playbook

Featured Image Credit: Meat The Porkers / jusdi lee via Google

GE2025: What happens if you don’t vote on Polling Day in Singapore?

The Writ of Election was just announced yesterday (April 15), officially kicking off the lead-up to Singapore’s 2025 General Election, which will take place on May 3.

GE comes around every five years, and it’s important for all eligible voters to do their part, especially as the world faces profound changes.

As PM Wong emphasised yesterday in a Facebook post, Singaporeans must choose the team to lead the nation forward in these uncertain times.

But what happens if you don’t vote—or are unable to?

Voting is compulsory in Singapore

Unlike other democratic countries such as the United States of America, voting is deemed compulsory in Singapore, according to Singapore’s Elections Department (ELD).

It is as much a fundamental right of citizenship as it is a civic responsibility to be exercised by citizens to choose and elect their leaders in a democracy.

All Singapore citizens whose names are in the Registers of Electors have to cast their votes on Polling Day.

Elections Department Singapore

So, long story short, if you don’t vote on Polling Day, your voting rights will be forfeited.

After the elections end, the Returning Officer will compile a list of non-voters (those who should have voted but didn’t).

The Registration Officer will then remove these names from the certified Register of Electors of the constituencies that they belong to.

Non-voters cannot vote at any subsequent Presidential or Parliamentary election, and are disqualified from being an election candidate in the future.

How can Singaporeans restore their name in the register?

According to the ELD, a non-voter can restore their name to the register by submitting an application to the Registration Officer along with an explanation as to why he/she did not vote in the election.

A fee of S$50 will be imposed if a non-voter does not have a valid and sufficient reason for not voting.

Some valid reasons are:

• Working overseas (including being on a business trip) at the time of the poll
• Studying overseas at the time of the poll
• Living with their spouse who is working or studying overseas
• Overseas vacation
• Illness, or delivering a baby

The application may be made online via the Voter Services portal on the ELD website or through over-the-counter assistance at any community centre/club or the Elections Department.

Those who wish to restore their names in the register are encouraged to submit their application early, as no restoration can be made once a Writ of Election is already issued.

In the future, if you foresee that you cannot vote in the upcoming election (as per the reasons above) but wish to vote in future elections, you can pre-apply for your name to be restored through the same application process mentioned earlier.

Applications for restoration of names received during the election period will only be processed after the non-voter list is compiled after the election.

In the event that you are later able to vote in the election, you may still proceed to cast your vote at the allotted polling station, and your earlier application to restore your name will be automatically voided.

In an uncertain world where a new era is looming, your vote matters more than ever this GE2025—it could be the deciding factor that tips the scales in favour of one political party.

Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and more here.

Also Read: [JUST IN] GE2025: Parliament’s dissolved, Singaporeans will go to the polls on May 3

Featured Image Credit: Elections Department

GE2025: President Tharman has issued the Writ of Election, but what does it even mean?

Political lingo can be confusing, especially if you’re not someone who regularly keeps up with the topic.

But with Singapore officially heading to the polls, now’s a good time to demystify some of that jargon.

Today (April 15), President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has dissolved Parliament and issued the Writ of Election on the advice of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

But what exactly does that mean—and why should you care?

What is the Writ of Election?

The Writ of Election is a formal legal document issued by the President, which kickstarts Singapore’s election process.

It outlines key dates such as Nomination Day, when prospective candidates submit their nomination papers, election deposits and certificates, and Polling Day, when voters cast their ballots.

By law, Nomination Day must be held at least five days (excluding Sundays and public holidays) or at most one month after the issuance of the Writ. Polling Day must take place between 10 and 56 days after Nomination Day.

This year, Nomination Day will take place next Wednesday (April 22), while Polling Day has been set for Saturday (May 3).

In short, the countdown to the polls has officially begun.

You’re going to start to see posters going up around your neighbourhood, campaign rallies, and candidates hitting the ground to engage with voters as parties try to win your support. (We’ve also put together a detailed breakdown of what you can expect in the weeks ahead here.)

If you’re a first-time voter or just need a refresher, now’s the time to start paying attention. The decisions made in the next few weeks will shape Singapore’s future and your everyday life.

Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and who’s running where on the election battleground here.

Also Read: YouGov: Singapore’s PAP leads in early GE2025 poll

Featured Image Credit: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Elections Department via Facebook/ Graphic designed by Vulcan Post

[JUST IN] GE2025: Parliament’s dissolved, Singaporeans will go to the polls on May 3

Parliament was dissolved today (April 15), and the Writ of Election was issued by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the request of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Nomination Day will be next Wednesday (April 23), and Polling Day is set for Saturday (May 3).

The announcement comes about a month after the announcement of the electoral boundaries, which saw major changes to several constituencies—only five Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and four Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) unchanged from the previous election.

Here’s a timeline of what to expect in the lead-up to the formation of the new government, including key dates and what voters should take note of:

Nomination Day

Nomination Day must occur between five days and one month from the Writ of Election, and in this case, it has been set for eight days after the writ was issued.

On Nomination Day, hopeful candidates must submit their nomination papers and certificates to the Returning Officer in person between 11 am and 12 pm.

The Returning Officer for this election is Mr Han Kok Juan, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

They must also pay an election deposit (8% of the total allowances paid to MPs in the preceding year) before submitting their nominations.

At 12 pm, candidates get half an hour to study one another’s applications and raise any objections they have to the Returning Officer.

When nomination is closed, SMCs that have more than one candidate nominated and GRCs with more than one group of candidates nominated will be contested for.

If only one candidate or group of candidates remains nominated in any SMC or GRC, they win by default. This is also called a walkover.

Notice of Contested Election

With all candidates confirmed, the Returning Officer will issue a Notice of Contested Elections.

This informs the public about the candidates who are running for each SMC and GRC, the date of Polling Day, and the locations of all polling stations.

Polling Day has to fall between 10 and 56 days after this notice is issued.

Campaigning

Candidates can start campaigning immediately after the notice of contested election is issued.

During this time, they can seek permits from the Commissioner of Police to hold rallies. They are also allowed to campaign online through platforms like apps, websites, forums and social media.

Campaigning will stop one day before Polling Day. This is known as the Cooling-off Day, a 24-hour silence period meant to allow voters to reflect on issues that were raised.

Polling Day

On Polling Day, qualified voters go to their polling stations to cast their votes at any time between 8 am and 8 pm. Polling Day is a public holiday by law.

Singaporeans who are overseas and have registered as overseas electors will also cast their votes. 

Due to time differences, they might start voting earlier than electors in Singapore, but overseas polling must be closed before polling ends in Singapore.

Counting of votes

After polling stations are closed, ballot boxes are sealed and transported to their respective counting centres.

The counting process starts with a sample count to provide an early indication of the possible outcome for each electoral division.

The counting of votes is conducted in the presence of the candidates or their counting agents. In the event that the difference in the number of votes between two parties is 2% or less, candidates may request for a recount.

After the votes are consolidated, the Returning Officer concludes whether overseas votes will have any impact on the results.

If overseas votes may potentially change the result in a particular SMC or GRC, the Returning Officer will declare that the results for that division are inconclusive until overseas votes have been brought back to Singapore and counted.

In divisions where overseas votes will not impact the result, the Returning Officer can immediately declare which candidate or candidates have been elected.

The final results will be published in the Singapore Government Gazette.

Elected candidates form the Parliament

Elected candidates for every electoral division will take their seats as Members of Parliament (MP).

If one political party holds more than 50% of the seats in Parliament, the MPs of that party will form Singapore’s Government.

If there is no political party holding more than 50% of the seats in Parliament, two or more parties may form a coalition government, or a smaller party may form a minority government.

Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and who’s running where on the election battleground here.

Also Read: The road to GE2025: Will PAP continue to be the “sure win” option?

Featured Image Credit: Elections Department via Facebook/ Graphic designed by Vulcan Post

Tariffs this, tariffs that—What does M’sia actually export & what would even be affected?

In quite the turn of events, US President Donald Trump has put a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs that were scheduled to be imposed on April 9, 2025.

As a quick recap, we were to be on the receiving end of a 24% reciprocal tariff for imposing a 47% tariff on imported goods from the USA. 

(Remember that number, we’ll come back to that soon.)

That does bring us to an interesting question, though. What do we export and what were we about to be tariffed for?

Here’s a list of Malaysia’s top 10 exports in January 2025, as reported by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.

10. Processed foods

According to MATRADE, part of what makes Malaysia’s processed food industry as big as it is, would be our “globally recognised halal standard.”

Products include processed seafood, meat, dairy, cocoa, and confectioneries, just to name a few.

There’s also of course an age-old classic from our history books, spices.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM2,755,000,000
• Exported to: Singapore, Indonesia, USA, Thailand, Australia
• Example Malaysian companies: Various SMEs

9. Palm oil-based manufactured products

To spoil things a little bit, palm oil actually makes it on this list twice. This specific placement covers palm oil-based manufactured products.

This includes soaps and margarine.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM3,287,500,000
• Exported to: China, Netherlands
• Example Malaysian companies: Iffco Malaysia, Adeka Foods

8. Optical & scientific equipment

As per EximPedia, a Singaporean export-import data provider dedicated to international trade, this category involves quite a bit that I personally never thought we were involved in.

Optical exports include telescopes, binoculars, and lenses.

As for scientific equipment, microscopes, spectrometers, and laboratory equipment make up the category.

We also export imaging equipment like X-rays and MRIs in addition to surgical instruments and prostheses.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM4,242,100,000
• Exported to: Taiwan, Chile, Ukraine, Colombia, UK, USA
• Example Malaysian companies: ZK Instruments, Ophthalmic Instruments, Tay Scientific Instruments, Interscience

7. Metal products

By metal, this category specifically refers to iron and steel.

Steel in particular plays an integral part in infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads, railways, and the like.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM5,002,300,000
• Exported to: Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore
• Example Malaysian companies: Malaysia Steel Works, Ann Joo Resources

6. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

In June 2024, the International Gas Union reported that Malaysia was the fifth largest exporter of LNGs, losing only to Russia, Qatar, Australia, and the US.

They’re used primarily as a fuel source for generating electricity, cooking, and heating homes.

That said, they can also be used to make paints, medicines, fertilisers, as well as to fuel commercial vehicles.

• Total exported in January, 2025: RM5,245,400,000
• Exported to: Japan, China
• Example Malaysian companies: Petronas

5. Chemical & chemical products

Malaysia’s primary exports when it comes to chemicals are petrochemicals, which are obtained from refining petroleum and natural gases.

These are used to make plastic, synthetic fibres, and cosmetics, to name a few.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM5,506,400,000
• Exported to: Thailand, China, Netherlands, Singapore, India
• Example Malaysian companies: Petronas

4. Machinery, equipment, & parts

For this entry, our local exports can be broken down into two categories, manufacturing and construction.

In manufacturing, exports include data processing machines, printers, air conditioners, and specialised equipment for automotives, electronics, and textiles.

Construction includes bulldozers, excavators, and cranes.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM5,921,000,000
• Exported to: Singapore, USA, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand
• Example Malaysian companies: Muar Ban Lee, Vitrox, Greatech, Favelle Favco, UWC

3. Palm oil & palm oil-based agriculture products

Here’s the second appearance of palm oil mentioned earlier.

This time around, the focus is on palm oil itself as well as agriculture products. The easiest way to put it is that palm oil-based manufactured products are made from palm oil-based agriculture products.

Examples include palm kernel oil which is used to make soaps and food as well as palm sugar, a natural sweetener.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM6,688,100,000 million
• Exported to: India, China, Kenya, Phillippines, Pakistan
• Example Malaysian companies: Sime Darby, IOI Group

2. Petroleum products

Coming in at second place are our petroleum products, specifically refined petroleum and crude petroleum.

Refined petroleum refers to gasoline diesel, jet fuel, and lubricants.

As for crude petroleum? Well, that’s simply petroleum as it occurs naturally.

• Total exported in January 2025: RM9,759,200,000 million
• Exported (crude) to: Thailand, Australia, Japan, Brunei, India
• Exported (refined) to: Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Bangladesh
• Example Malaysian companies: Petronas, Hibiscus Petroleum

1. Electrical & electronic products (E&E)

And last but not least, here’s our biggest export by a long shot. Over four times larger than our petroleum products, we have E&E.

Half of our E&E exports are made up of semiconductors, the lifeblood of all modern electronics.

As for the other half, that includes integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs).

• Total exported in January 2025: RM50,525,700,000
• Exported to: Singapore, USA, China, Japan, Europe
• Example Malaysian companies: Inari Amerton, Vitrox, Frontken

A small side note

Circling back to the topic of tariffs, we don’t actually have a 47% import tariff on American products.

That’s at least according to Tengku Zafrul Aziz, our Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia, who stated that the actual average is closer to 5.6%.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that seems like quite the leap.

Lucky for us, the United States Trade Representative was happy to show how they got their numbers.

Note that ε × φ, that is 4 × 0.25, actually cancels each other out. And so the equation can be simplified to this, explanations included:

Now, take that final number produced by the equation, 47 in our case, and divide it by two, rounding it up if there’s a decimal. 

That’s where the 24% that was to be imposed on our exports to the US comes from.

Here’s hoping that once the 90 days are over, this won’t be the reality that we find ourselves waking up to.

• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025

Featured Image Credit: The White House / Global Track Lines

This M’sian is carrying on her family’s 42 Y/O incense legacy with aromatherapy retreats

It’s widely known that the right smell could invoke cherished memories, bringing back strong emotions or a moment lost to time, triggered by a familiar scent or a long-forgotten one.

Even despite my withering sense of smell due to years of sinusitis, even a whiff of vanilla is bound to bring a smile to my face, or saffron and cardamom bringing back childhood memories of my mum’s cooking.

And so it makes sense why one Vanessa Chong has dedicated her life and career to the scents.

Old roots

Since birth, Vanessa has been surrounded by the delights of good scents.

Started by her dad in 1983, the family business Foo Kwai Heong had its humble beginnings in Ipoh as an OEM incense manufaturer, before becoming a top manufacturer in Southeast Asia.

Despite the brand’s status, Vanessa said she was never pressured into joining the family business, instead spending time abroad, especially in New Zealand, where she lived for five years as a permanent resident.

“It all sort of clicked when I worked in duty-free retail in New Zealand, selling perfumes. That’s where my love for fragrance truly grew,” said Vanessa.

“I was living my own life there, but when my brother passed away during the MCO period in 2020, I made the decision to come back and help my dad with the business. That’s when I really went deep to study the fragrance and incense world more seriously,” she added.

And indeed, since those early days, Vanessa has been helping to take it to the next level, modernising the business by building a social media presence and their branding, bringing in more automation, and overall improving efficiency.

She has also been helping out with another family business, S W Aroma, a fragrance distribution business aimed at bringing high-quality, raw fragrance materials, mainly from France, to the local market. 

A family business since 2007, the B2B venture continued to grow as Vanessa took over as CEO, offering IFRA-compliant (International Fragrance Association) fragrance ingredients to personal care, home care, air care, and scented incense OEMs in Malaysia.

Making her own way

“Franoe, my other venture, came about from a personal passion for creating experiences around scent. I was really interested in how scent can influence moods and emotions, and I wanted to bring that to others through workshops and impactful events.”

Established in 2020, Franoe provides customers with an expansive range of natural essential oils with the goal of promoting a balanced and harmonious lifestyle.

But not just that, via retreats and workshops, Vanessa builds communities, centred around improving one’s wellness through aromatherapy.

“For Franoe, it’s all about creating wellness experiences through essential oils—aromatherapy. We do everything, from aromatherapy workshops to bigger wellness retreats and special collaborations with wellness and lifestyle brands.”

“The first events were pretty small, but as we’ve grown, we’ve added more layers to our events, bringing in sound healing, scent-blending workshops, wine yoga, floating sound bath, and all sorts of interactive and creative elements.”

Their latest retreat, a two-day, one-night getaway in Bentong, featured activities like a group yoga session, mandala art therapy, and of course, an essential oil workshop where participants learned about the safe use of essential oils and were given the opportunity to create their own specialised blends.

And although this retreat was no light expense for participants at RM788, the slew of complementary therapies may just make it worth it, if that’s your thing of course.

Big dreams

Vanessa claims that although competition is strong right now, her business’s future is promising, with all three companies doing financially well.

For the family businesses, Vanessa hopes to keep expanding their distributor network, bringing in new clients and expanding their market share both locally and across Southeast Asia.

“My vision is to make our incense a household name, ensuring consistent quality while reaching more customers who appreciate both traditional and modern incense, turning it into a lifestyle product.”

“For Franoe, however, my vision is for it to grow into a well-known name in the wellness industry, recognised for its unique retreats and holistic experiences. By offering workshops and wellness retreats in 4-star and above hotels, we get people to experience scent in a way they might never have before while building a collaborative wellness community.”

• Learn more about Franoe here.
• Read our other startup stories here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: Franoe

Chee Hong Tat: The S’pore government subsidises about S$1 for every trip a commuter takes

It’s been about four months since the public transport fare hike of 6% kicked in—commuters have been paying up to 10 cents more for each journey since December 28, 2024.

This marks the fourth consecutive year of fare increases. In 2023, adult card fares rose by as much as 11 cents, following hikes of up to five cents in 2022 and four cents in 2021.

Yet, at the same time, Singapore’s public transport system has continued to experience a series of service disruptions, including a major six-day-long East-West Line breakdown in September 2024, which impacted around 2.6 million passengers.

But if commuters are paying more and more each year, why aren’t service improvements more consistently visible? And is there a continued need for these fare adjustments?

Why do fares keep rising and how are they determined

Since 1998, public transport fares have been adjusted annually based on a fare formula designed to strike a balance between financial sustainability and affordability, according to the Public Transport Council (PTC).

The formula takes into account factors such as wage growth, energy prices, and the overall cost of operating the public transport system.

To ensure it stays relevant and responsive to shifts in the sector and broader environment, it is revised every five years.

However, in a recent episode of The Daily Ketchup, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said that the PTC doesn’t apply the fare formula strictly.

While the formula reflects real cost pressures, the resulting figures can sometimes be too high to implement fully—exceeding 10% in some years. Raising fares by that much would hurt affordability for commuters, he said.

“If you look at the fares, for the last few years, we didn’t follow the formula. We reduced the increase by quite a large number.”

Last year, for instance, fares rose by 6%, even though the formula indicated a higher adjustment—the shortfall was absorbed by the government, which had provided a top-up of S$200 million, on top of existing subsidies of S$1 billion each to keep Singapore’s bus network and train systems running.

“So for every trip taken [by a commuter], actually, the subsidy from the government for that commuter is about S$1.”

If the government doesn’t step in to cover this shortfall, it would create a permanent gap between fare revenue and operating costs—a situation that could undermine the long-term sustainability of the public transport system.

“We don’t want operators to persistently lose money, because if they do, they won’t be able to retain staff and build capabilities. Then, we will see more problems and reliability issues.”

Back in 2023, Mr Chee pushed back against suggestions in Parliament from MPs to freeze future fare hikes or eliminate subsidies for the shortfall, calling such moves “not sound” and “populist.” He warned that doing so would widen the funding gap and result in an even heavier burden on taxpayers in the future.

Improvements to Singapore’s public transport system

While public transport fares are primarily used to cover the rising costs of operating and maintaining the existing public transport system, the PTC adopted a new fare formula in 2023, which incorporated a fixed “capacity adjustment factor” of 1.1% each year to account for costs related to expanding the system.

The formula will apply till 2027, and it is based on actual and planned capacity enhancements to the network from 2020 to 2026.

But have commuters seen tangible improvements in Singapore’s public transport system?

There are certainly efforts underway—new MRT stations and lines have been rolled out over the years and are continuing to be progressively introduced.

For instance, by next year, the Circle Line will finally be completed, forming a full loop that reduces travel time and enhances connectivity for commuters along that route.

The Thomson-East Coast Line and Downtown Line will also be extended further, and between 2027 and 2029, stations along the Jurong Region Line will open in phases.

Looking ahead, the Cross Island Line is expected to commence operations in 2030. These projects aim to bring the MRT network closer to more residents, supporting the government’s goal of having 8 in 10 households within a 10-minute walk of a train station.

Meanwhile, improvements are also being made to Singapore’s bus network. Since the launch of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme last year, the Land Transport Authority has introduced 11 new bus services to better connect estates across the island, including Woodlands, Punggol, and Tengah.

Additionally, 43 existing services have been enhanced with increased capacity or expanded coverage.

“The best replacement for a train disruption is another train line”

That said, there’s no denying that the recent MRT breakdowns have caused frustration and inconvenience to thousands of commuters.

Addressing these issues on the podcast, Mr Chee explained that part of the long-term solution lies in expanding the MRT network.

Currently, when disruptions occur, commuters are often forced to switch to buses because there “isn’t enough redundancy” within the train network. But buses simply don’t match the capacity or efficiency of trains.

“The best replacement for a train disruption is another train line,” he said.

With a more extensive and interconnected network, commuters will still be able to complete their journeys by switching to alternative train lines, making the overall system more efficient.

In addition to expanding the network, the government is also investing heavily in improving rail reliability.

Over the next five years, S$1 billion will be spent on enhancing the system’s infrastructure. This includes installing more sensors and adopting advanced technology for condition monitoring, allowing operators to detect early signs of wear and tear and carry out preventive maintenance before issues escalate into service disruptions.

It’s important to recognise that disruptions are, to some extent, inevitable—no train system is completely immune to issues.

Nonetheless, Singapore’s public transport system has come a long way. Just a decade ago, the MRT network faced frequent reliability problems, a fact acknowledged by then-Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

At the time, trains averaged just 130,000 kilometres between failures—but today, that figure has improved dramatically, with Singapore’s trains now clocking millions of kilometres between delays.

With the continued rollout of new MRT lines, the expansion of the bus network, and significant infrastructure upgrades, these collective efforts will not only improve connectivity and efficiency but also position Singapore’s public transport system as one of the most reliable in the world.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Also Read: Data shows Singapore MRT is more reliable than Hong Kong MTR—and has been for several years

Featured Image Credit: Screengrab from The Daily Ketchup

Wake Up Singapore founder among SDP candidates to go against PM Wong in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has revealed its candidates for the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, where they will go against Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his team for the upcoming 2025 General Election.

They are SDP’s organising secretary Jufri Salim, founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore Ariffin Sha, theatre director Alec Tok and former chief executive of Gulf Oil China Dr Gigene Wong.

SDP chief Chee Soon Juan introduced the candidates yesterday (April 14) after a walkabout at Marsiling Lane Market and Food Centre.

Mr Jufri has been a long-time member of the party; however, the remaining three candidates have been members of other opposition parties.

Mr Alec was a former candidate for Red Dot United (RDU), while Dr Gigene was a former candidate for the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) in the 2020 General Election.

Mr Ariffin, on the other hand, was the assistant secretary-general of the Singapore People’s Party before he reportedly resigned in 2020.

When asked if their candidacy would make residents question their loyalty or commitment as candidates, Dr Chee said: “The only thing I find relevant in this election is the loyalty to Singapore”.

He was also questioned about Ariffin’s criminal defamation charge last year, following the publication of a fabricated story about KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Dr Chee dismissed concerns, stating, “Going forward into this election, let’s not get to the situation [of] character assassination, personal demonisation. That’s not keeping with a mature, civilised election.”

SDP feels “very at home” at the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC

On contesting against PM Wong and his team in the Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Dr Chee emphasised that the party will focus on pressing bread-and-butter issues like the rising cost of living and migration.

He said that these are concerns the SDP has been campaigning for since the 2020 General Election.

“Despite telling [the Government] of the difficulties Singaporeans are facing and not to proceed with the increase in GST, the government has seen it fit to increase GST in 2023 and 2024,” Dr Chee said.

[PM Wong] must clearly articulate a plan that will take Singapore and address the people’s foremost concern, and that’s the huge rising cost of living in Singapore.

SDP chief Chee Soon Juan

Dr Chee also added that the party “feels very at home here (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC)”, having contested in the constituency during the last two elections.

In both instances, they were defeated by the People’s Action Party (PAP), securing 31.27% of the vote in GE2015 and 36.82% in GE2020.

Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and more here.

Featured Image Credit: SDP Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC via Facebook

This 22 Y/O S’porean runs her own biz at Jewel Changi selling mochi doughnuts & matcha on tap

Success can be difficult to measure, but at just 22 years old, Alexan Tang has arguably achieved some form of it through her very own business, SugarBelly. 

A specialty mochi doughnut shop, SugarBelly further gained attention thanks to its outlet in Jewel Changi Airport, which is possibly home to Singapore’s first matcha on tap. 

Taking a chance on baking 

Alexan’s own interest in baking started at the young age of 8, spending much of her childhood watching baking shows and recreating the recipes. 

At the time, though, it was just a hobby. Little did she know it would turn into a career.

Recognising that she wasn’t the most academically inclined, though, Alexan decided to go all in on her passion for the arts and enroll in culinary school at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy at just 17 years old. 

“Immersing myself in the professional F&B world and working with Michelin-starred chefs ignited a fire in me,” Alexan expressed. “I realised at a young age that F&B was the career I wanted to pursue wholeheartedly.”

Thus, she set out to create a dessert that Singaporeans had never experienced before. This eventually led her to create Singapore’s first local specialty mochi doughnuts brand, SugarBelly. 

A sugary start 

It all began with a dream. No, literally. Alexan had a dream where she envisioned the name “SugarBelly” with a pink and blue storefront. 

She officially introduced SugarBelly’s mochi doughnuts to Singapore in 2023. The brand launched as a pop-up at International Plaza in April 2023, with the operations taking place in Alexan’s home kitchen. 

Receiving an overwhelmingly positive response, the chef continued hosting pop-up events, including one at Takashimaya. 

Emboldened by the successful pop-ups, Alexan knew it was time for a permanent location. She didn’t just want any location, though—she had her eyes set on Jewel Changi Airport, one of Singapore’s most iconic malls.

Filling a hole

In her line of work, Alexan noticed that many larger companies would mass-produce products in factories, then distribute them to outlets. The products would be displayed for too long and lacked freshness. 

Deciding to make everything fresh and by hand, Alexan created her own recipe, which took about a year of research and development. 

“At SugarBelly, everything is made fresh to order, handmade by our ‘pixie fairies,’ and you can even watch us craft each donut when you visit our physical outlet,” she said. “This allows SugarBelly customers the freedom to choose from a rotating selection of flavours, depending on demand.” 

Since everything is made fresh on the day itself, Alexan has an early start to the day before heading to Jewel Changi to open the store and prepare for the morning rush. At 11:30AM, the rush begins, and it’s a constant flow throughout the day. 

The 22-year-old is usually able to grab a quick five-minute snack break before diving back into preparing orders, taking orders, packing, and serving customers. 

“I love interacting with our customers, asking about their day as I prepare their orders—it gives me the energy I need to keep going,” she shared. “Our day wraps up at 10PM, after which I check stock and clean the space for the next day.” 

That’s not the end of Alexan’s day, though. Once home, she continues working on marketing, admin, and backend tasks until about 3AM. 

Tapping into matcha 

As a matcha fan, Alexan has tried numerous matcha lattes in Singapore. However, she felt like most of them lacked the creamy, rich, and bold flavour she was looking for. 

“To me, a good matcha latte should have a strong, creamy matcha flavour that isn’t too sweet—exactly what we’ve perfected at SugarBelly,” she shared. 

SugarBelly’s matcha latte can also be served with a house-made strawberry compote cooked fresh daily. 

More than the drinks themselves, though, it’s how the drinks are served that’s unique—on tap. 

“I thought it would be a unique experience, especially at Jewel Changi Airport, one of the country’s most iconic malls and a popular tourist destination,” Alexan explained. 

For those concerned about the freshness, rest assured that the matcha is hand-whisked daily, made fresh in batches throughout the day. 

While this is unique, Jewel Changi is home to many other innovative F&B offerings. Standing out against the many local competitors can’t be easy.

Yet, Alexan is confident in the fact that SugarBelly is offering something new as a specialty mochi donut and matcha-on-tap store. 

“This was one of the key reasons I wanted to open my first physical outlet in a mall—to bring a fresh, unique concept to the space, rather than the usual Koi or Potato Corner that can be found in every mall across Singapore,” she argued. 

“As a 22-year-old Gen Z entrepreneur, I’m determined to make my mark at Singapore’s most iconic mall, Jewel Changi.”

A hustler’s mentality 

Currently, SugarBelly operates as a two-person team—Alexan and a full-time employee. But the young entrepreneur is working towards building a reliable team and finding people who genuinely fit the brand.

“I don’t want to just hire anyone to represent SugarBelly; I want to strategically build a team I can trust to uphold the standards and vision of a brand I’ve created from the ground up,” she explained. 

Due to her high standards, the entrepreneur is working tirelessly without a break, from 8AM to 3AM daily. And she plans to keep going until she’s built a team that can execute the brand as well as she does.

Despite her hard work, Alexan admitted that she doesn’t know if she’s doing a good job growing the brand. At the same time, she often forgets to take breaks until her body can no longer handle it. 

“I’ve been working 30 days straight since opening, juggling everything from marketing to operations, and learning from each mistake I make,” she confessed. “Entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting something—it’s about committing to it, especially when things get tough and when I feel like giving up.”

As an entrepreneur, Alexan recognises that many see it as an appealing path. However, many don’t realise that success isn’t guaranteed—it only comes after numerous failures, valuable lessons, and moments when you feel like giving up. 

But she believes that the key is to always take that first step and not get caught up in overthinking the what ifs—every bit of preparation meets opportunity.

Even though the journey is arduous, Alexan is fully committed to growing SugarBelly.  

She asserted, “I started working in F&B at the age of 16, and I plan to continue doing so for as long as I can—whether that’s until I retire or even beyond. I’m passionate about what I do and confident in my creations.”

• Learn more about SugarBelly here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: SugarBelly

Do you make games, animations, or use metaverse tech? MDEC has RM5.7 mil you can tap into.

Malaysia’s digital creative industry has been maturing over the years, with a myriad of iconic animations, films, and video games over the years. Think iconic cartoons like Upin and Ipin, heart-wrenching movies like Abang Adik, exciting video game IPs like Gigabash, and countless other indie projects. 

A “strategic economic industry with strong potential that continues to create high-value jobs, nurture local intellectual property, while driving export revenue”—that’s how the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) CEO Anuar Fariz Fadzil described our local digital creative industry. 

The potential they see is why MDEC is launching financial incentive programmes aimed at amping up industry development, strengthening the entire value chain from talent development to market access. 

With this, they seek to position Malaysia as a globally competitive hub for digital content creation. 

Specially devised programmes

It’s true that Malaysia’s digital content market has grown substantially over the years, but don’t take it from us. Just look at the figures. 

The industry has posted RM87.25 billion in revenue and RM11.18 billion in export sales, while creating gainful employment for some 11,154 Malaysians within this industry since 2011. 

“MDEC’s programmes are designed to support these talents by encouraging them to build on their strengths, explore innovative ideas, and turn their passion into commercially viable content for local and global audiences,” the CEO shared. 

It was at the Digital Creative Industry Engagement Session 2025 where MDEC officially launched the new funding initiatives aimed at empowering local studios and digital content creators in key segments such as games, animation, and the metaverse. 

The initiatives include: 

1. The Digital Games Testbed Programme (DGTP) 

Aimed at strengthening Malaysia’s games industry, RM3.5 million in funding has been set aside to go to at least five Malaysian game development companies, each eligible for up to RM700,000. 

This programme is open to Malaysian-owned games studios with a proven track record and a clear IP expansion strategy. 

DGTP is designed to encourage new game genres, enhance local studios, and foster international partnerships to position Malaysia as a competitive game development hub.

2. The Animation Shorts Challenge programme

A competition-based initiative, this challenge is designed to strengthen Malaysia’s animation industry by nurturing high-quality digital content. 

Through structured competition and industry mentorship, this programme supports local creators in developing impactful animated short films with strong Intellectual Property (IP) potential. 

The initiative will provide selected participants with expert guidance, bridging local talent with industry leaders to enhance skills, creativity, and global market readiness. 

A total project fund of RM1.2 million will be allocated to support 12 trained participants and the development of 12 new animation short IPs. 

3. Business in Metaverse Programme 

This programme is designed to help Malaysian businesses leverage metaverse technologies for brand engagement and immersive commerce. 

With a total funding of RM1 million, this programme will support 200 businesses, each eligible to receive up to RM5,000 to implement metaverse-based marketing strategies. 

By integrating digital tools such as virtual storefronts, gamified marketing strategies, and branded digital assets, businesses can enhance customer engagement and increase brand visibility in the evolving metaverse landscape. 

Readying Malaysia for the future 

Announcing these programmes, Anuar reaffirmed MDEC’s commitment to advancing all facets of the digital economy, including nurturing local innovation, supporting local industry players, and building a resilient digital ecosystem while enabling jobs and opportunities. 

Being tech-forward and future-ready is critical in keeping Malaysia on the global playing field, especially with so many changes happening in the world. 

“The newly announced incentives are aimed at driving sustainable industry growth, attracting international investment and positioning Malaysia as a prominent player within the global digital creative landscape, which we already are,” the CEO concluded. 

More information on the above initiatives, including application details and deadlines, can be found on the MDEC website, mdec.my. 

• Learn more about MDEC here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about MDEC here.

Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025

Featured Image Credit: MDEC

Singapore slashes 2025 GDP growth forecast to 0-2% as US-China trade war bites

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced today (April 14, 2025) that they have cut the city-state’s GDP growth forecast for 2025 to “0.0 to 2.0%”, a downgrade from the 1% to 3% range they had previously set.

The cut follows concerns that the US-China trade war could induce a “far sharper economic slowdown.”

MTI’s assessment is that the external demand outlook for Singapore for the rest of the year has weakened significantly. This has led to a deterioration in the outlook of outward-oriented sectors in Singapore. In particular, the manufacturing sector is likely to be negatively affected by weaker global demand.

This, alongside softening global trade, will also weigh on the growth of the wholesale trade sector. The pullback in global trade will similarly dampen the growth of the transportation and storage sector through its drag on demand for shipping and air cargo services.

MTI on the GDP forecast cut

MTI added that the finance and insurance sector could simultaneously see weaker trading activity due to risk-off sentiments that will adversely affect the net fees and commission incomes of the banking, fund management, forex and security dealing segments.

The ministry also highlighted that the uncertain economic backdrop will likely dampen firms’ capital investment spending and constrain credit intermediation activity. Furthermore, the growth of payments firms could moderate in tandem with tepid business activity and lower consumer spending.

“Given the significant downside risks, MTI will continue to closely monitor global and domestic developments, and make further adjustments to the forecast if necessary.”

In the first quarter of 2025, the Singapore economy grew by 3.8% on a year-on-year basis, slower than the 5.0% growth in the previous quarter.

Acknowledging the concerns that Singaporeans may have on the uncertain economic environment, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong addressed Parliament on April 8, 2025, stating that a new task force will be formed to address the impacts of the US tariffs.

A rundown on President Trump’s new tariffs

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 10% blanket tariff on all goods coming into America from anywhere in the world, including Singapore.

The measures were supposed to take effect on April 9, but Trump backpedalled and declared a 90-day pause on the additional tariffs.

China was exempt from the pause, following past retaliations from the country and currently faces a 145% tariff.

In turn, China raised its tariffs on American goods to 125% last Friday (April 11), which took effect on April 12—marking its third retaliation in the escalating trade war between the two superpowers.

The Trump administration later excluded electronics such as smartphones and laptops from the reciprocal tariffs, which means they will not be subject to the 145% rate levied on China.

But hours later, it played down the exemptions, saying they are included in the semiconductor tariffs, which face a separate round of import tax, with President Trump warning that “no one is off the hook.”

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Also Read: Singapore acts swiftly as global trade war unfolds

Featured Image Credit: The Light Lab/Shutterstock

Singapore acts swiftly as global trade war unfolds

The world entered a turbulent period over the past few weeks, marked by rising protectionism and economic tension.

A trade war has broken out between the US and China, with both sides slapping high tariffs—up to 145%—on each other’s goods.

Even though the US has paused some of these, many tariffs are still in place, including a 10% universal rate and extra charges on goods like steel, aluminium, and cars.

As a small and highly globalised economy, Singapore is particularly exposed to these developments. With limited natural resources, the city-state relies heavily on international trade, investments, and global supply chains to sustain its economy.

The trade war is expected to dampen global demand for Singapore’s goods and services, reduce foreign investment, and slow wage growth. In some cases, businesses may relocate, leading to job losses and retrenchments.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) today slashed Singapore’s 2025 growth forecast to “0.0 to 2.0%,” pointing to the US-China tariff war as a potential drag on global growth.

“It’s not fearmongering,” said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, addressing concerns about the government’s warnings on the ongoing tariff war.

He made the remark during a morning walkabout at Bedok 85 Fengshan in East Coast on April 12, in response to questions from members of the public.

Local support, global action

To counter these challenges, the Government has earlier rolled out Budget 2025, which included a strong package of cost-of-living support measures.

These include CDC and SG60 vouchers, and continued investment in SkillsFuture to help workers upskill. Businesses will receive help with trade financing and market diversification.

Earlier today, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also eased the Singapore dollar policy by slowing the pace of the Singapore dollar’s trade-weighted appreciation, aiming to curb inflation and address rising risks to economic growth.

“MAS will continue with the policy of a modest and gradual appreciation of the S$NEER (Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate) policy band. However, the rate of appreciation will be reduced slightly,” it announced on April 14.

The government has also assured the public that it stands ready to introduce further support if needed.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is engaging international leaders to forge a more stable and open global order. Domestically, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong will lead a crisis task force to work with unions and businesses to protect jobs and recommend strategies to safeguard livelihoods.

Singapore will also deepen cooperation within ASEAN and strengthen ties with countries that support open and rules-based trade. These efforts aim to ensure the nation remains competitive and connected to global opportunities.

In Parliament, PM Lawrence Wong reassured Singaporeans not to panic.

“Do not fear. Now, more than ever, we will stay resolute and united. Our little red dot will continue to shine.”

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Also Read: As the US-China trade war rages on, how are S’porean bizs reliant on these markets affected?

Featured Image Credit: Richie Chan/ Shutterstock.com.jpg

The White Lotus, but M’sian: 5 resorts to live out your luxury fantasies, minus the drama

Well, The White Lotus fans, it’s over… and it’s going to be another couple of years before we get to watch more rich white people and their first-world problems at a luxury resort.

But whether you’re still reeling over a certain character’s death or crying over another character’s incredible monologue (shoutout to Carrie Coon, you have my heart), I’m sure we can all agree that we wish we could get just a little taste of the luxury these characters had for about a week.

Filmed at the five-star Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui, the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus was set in Thailand, the first eastern location after seasons one and two’s Hawaiian and Italian settings respectively.

Now, if this latest season has also gotten you fantasising about a week of massages and cocktails, check out this list of five-star spots right here in Malaysia for you to plan (or dream) your next getaway around.

1. One & Only Desaru Coast

Nestled on the east coast in Johor, this lush seaside resort features architecture that seamlessly blends the surrounding flora with its Prairie School design.

Accessible via car, ferry, and even helicopter, the resort features 42 spacious suites, two luxurious grand suites, and an exclusive four-bedroom Villa One, all with private plunge pools and terraces so you can have that epiphany on how “time gives life meaning.”

Other amenities include a world-class fitness centre, with a specialist Pilates studio and multi-court, a Yoga pavilion overlooking the azure waters of the South China Sea, and a 56-metre Infinity Pool.

Location: Bandar Penawar, Johor

Pricing: From RM2,475 per night

Special offers: Extend your stay with one or two complimentary nights for every four and seven-night booking respectively.

2. The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat

Situated in Ipoh, the retreat offers visitors a true forest getaway despite only being 15 minutes away from Ipoh City. 

With 44 villas, the retreat offers visitors a chance to destress from the hustles of life with luxurious lifestyle essentials, from geothermal hot tubs to indigenous-inspired interiors.

Our sister brand visited in 2020 when the resort was supposedly at “full capacity,” but the space was so well-planned that it didn’t feel that way at all. It didn’t hurt that each villa had its own private hot spring and pool, too.

Other premium services include hot springs dipping pools, treatment caves tucked within limestone mountains, a well-equipped fitness centre, and various therapies, from facials to massages.

Location: Ipoh, Perak

Pricing: From RM1,850 per night

Special offers: Book directly via their website and enjoy 15% off their best available rates.

3. Tanjong Jara Resort

Shaded by tall palms and facing a beach of golden sand, this Terengganu resort stays true to its tagline: Unmistakably Malay, with architecture inspired by 17th-century Malay palaces; offering non-locals a glimpse into Malay culture and hospitality.

Along with its signature “The House of Terengganu,” a secluded one-bedroom villa hideaway with an idyllic private pool, the resort also features various smaller rooms that either overlook the sea or their manicured gardens, each featuring wooden furnishings and premier appliances; just be sure to wash them in between uses 😉.

Don’t just stay inside though, as the Tanjong Jara Resort also hosts a slew of “experiences” from a five-course seaside dinner, to a seven-step holistic wellness programme anchored in the Malay belief of Sucimurni.

Location: Kuala Dungun, Terengganu

Pricing: From RM808 per night

Special offers: Exclusive for Malaysian and Singaporean residents, book directly via their website and enjoy a complimentary 50-minute massage and daily meals.

4. The Danna

Recognised by the World Luxury Hotel Awards, LUXE Global Travel Awards, and Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards in 2024 alone, The Danna, Langkawi offers guests a luxurious perspective of the island.

With rooms featuring a colonial-Mediterranean style, The Danna offers various options at different price points, from their classic marina or sea view rooms to their 1,080 sq metre beachfront villa, fitted with a private infinity pool, sun loungers, and direct access to the beach.

The resort also hosts several restaurants, each offering different cuisines be it Italian or Peranakan, so you can enjoy a casual, elegant, or even romantic dining experience, whichever flavour you fancy.

Location: Langkawi, Kedah

Pricing: From RM1,965 per night

Special offers: Enjoy four paid nights and receive a complimentary extra night, or enjoy seven nights for the price of five when you book via their website.

5. Gaya Island Resort

Perched atop Gaya Island, a forest reserve that forms the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Sabah, the Gaya Island Resort is surrounded by a highly diverse yet fragile ecosystem under the purview of Sabah Parks.

Discover an exceptional botanic reserve via the resort’s nature trail and listen to the choir of the Bornean forest, sung by Proboscis Monkeys and flying squirrels backlit by a newly established population of Twilight Fireflies.

Owned by the YTL Hotels group, the Gaya Island Resort features luxuries and premier services integral to its family of five-star hotels. This includes a Spa Village, where guests are treated to traditional Bornean therapies and healing practices, from the specialised rice scrubs and masks of the Kadazandusun to the age-old practices of the Bajau sea nomads.

The resort also provides various “crafted experiences”, from snorkeling expeditions to yacht cruises, providing a great bonding experience for you and your loved ones—or your brother (IYKYK).

Location: Gaya Island, Sabah

Pricing: From RM896 per night

Special offers: Exclusive for residents of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, their Residents Package includes all meals and a speedboat transfer between Jesselton Point and the resort.

• Read our other travel stories here.

Also Read: Why Brisbane & Gold Coast should be M’sian travellers’ top Aussie destinations in 2025

Featured Image Credit: One & Only Desaru Coast / The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat

As the US-China trade war rages on, how are S’porean bizs reliant on these markets affected?

The world was shaken up when the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, announced that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all goods coming to America from anywhere in the world, including Singapore.

He has also announced hefty “reciprocal” tariffs on at least 60 trading partners, which he singled out as “nations that treat [the US] badly” for levying “excessively high duties” on American products.

Among them was China, which was hit with a 34% tariff on top of an existing 20% levy that Trump had imposed on the country for not doing enough to combat fentanyl trafficking.

However, President Trump has recently dropped another bombshell through a social media post on Truth Social, announcing a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs on all countries just 13 hours after the duties had gone into effect on April 9, 2025.

That pause, however, did not extend to China, which was hit with a 125% levy in response to its own retaliatory tariff of 84% on all US goods—bringing the total tariffs on its exports to the US to a staggering 145%.

With tensions continuing to rise between the world’s largest trading nations, how are Singaporean businesses reliant on these markets affected by the heavy duties and the growing global uncertainty?

The US is one of their key markets

For local maternity and baby product retailer KeaBabies, the US is one of its key consumer markets, comprising more than 80% of its total sales.

As its products were not “as well received” locally due to differences in consumer preferences and shopping behaviour, the brand decided to stop building its presence in Singapore, shifting its focus to larger markets like the US.

Singaporean recovery product company Hydragun also shares a similar dependence on the American market, as it generates over half of its total revenue.

Though the company was founded in the city-state, Aloysius Chay, the co-founder and CEO of Hydragun, explained that it was more of a “launchpad” for them. “The recovery niche is growing quickly, but [it is] still small in Asia compared to Western markets.”

“Almost impossible” to keep prices the same

On top of their heavy reliance on the US market, both companies also manufacture and ship their products from China—making the tariffs a major cause for concern.

Ivan Ong, the co-founder of KeaBabies, shared that when China initially had a 20% tariff from the United States, he thought that the company would be able to absorb the new costs, even though its profit margins would be cut.

However, as the rates continued to increase, he realised that doing so would be unsustainable, and he might have to raise prices.

This would likely lead to customers purchasing less from them or seeking cheaper alternatives, and the company might have to “optimise” its internal costing and operation processes, including reducing excessive headcount.

Aloysius shared similar concerns, and was considering several options to mitigate the impact of the tariffs, though they came with their own pros and cons:

With the 145% tariff on Chinese goods, he shared that it is “close to impossible” to continue shipping products to the States in the long term at current prices.

As a result, Hydragun will be looking to enter the UK market to reduce its reliance on its consumer base in the States.

No concrete plans set, at least for now

That said, while both companies are exploring various options, neither has committed to concrete plans, given the volatility of the situation.

Overall, though, Keababies is projecting “slower growth” and will be adopting a “more conservative” mode.

On the other hand, Aloysius emphasised that the company will “try its best” to maintain current prices, which is in line with its core mission to make recovery devices accessible.

However, if we have to choose between raising prices or compromising on the quality of our products to cut costs, we will choose the former.

Aloysius Chay, co-founder and CEO of Hydragun

• Read more stories on Singapore’s current affairs here.
• Read more stories we have written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Trump’s tariffs may put Singapore jobs at risk, especially in these key industries

Featured Image Credit: kovop / Shutterstock.com

What made the RM5,780 Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i my favourite work companion for 2 weeks

As a writer, a good laptop is my holy grail. After all, I spend at least eight hours a day staring at my laptop. Sure, I can work off a lousy but functional one, but the better it is, the more inspired I feel. 

With the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 Aura Edition, my productivity has been through the roof, if I can say so myself. 

Here’s a breakdown of my experience with the laptop. 

On the surface

A sleek and slim laptop, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i is undoubtedly a powerful work companion.

At 1.46 kg, it’s got a bit of heft to it, but it’s a fairly good weight for a 15-inch device, plus the solid feeling to the device makes it feel premium and durable. 

The slim nature of the device makes it super easy to slip into a briefcase, backpack, tote—you name it. 

Compared to some of the laptops I’ve reviewed as of late, I do find the keyboard to be more satisfying to use as a writer, with a smooth, soft-matte finish. It’s said to be oil and water-resistant, and so far, that seems to be true. 

I find my palm keeps brushing up against the touchpad when typing, though it usually doesn’t get triggered by these accidental touches. 

Featuring the PureSight 15.3’’ 2.8K display with a 120Hz refresh rate, the colours on this laptop are nice and vibrant with a brightness that peaks at 500 nits. It’s not OLED, but feels like it. Matching this visual quality is the sonorous audio capabilities. 

The auto-adjust on the brightness is helpful especially when outdoors, where light vastly changes from moment to moment. 

The huge touchscreen makes it a useful laptop for collaborative and creative work as well. 

This slim laptop has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, one on each side. The left side also features an HDMI monitor port and headphone jack. The right has a USB port, a power button, and a toggle for the webcam.

Beneath the cover 

The camera is just alright, on par with typical laptop cameras. It’s kind of grainy with a fair bit of noise, but it’s acceptable for what it is. 

Powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and Intel Arc graphics, this laptop isn’t playing around when it comes to everyday use and then some. While not designed for gaming, it can certainly support it. 

Moreover, the laptop offers a ridiculously long battery life—I find myself really pushing the limits of it when I’m out working. It holds up for a full day of productivity—and then some. 

What about the AI? 

And what’s a laptop nowadays without the incorporation of AI? For this Aura Edition laptop, Lenovo has also incorporated AI-based features to optimise performance, making sure your laptop runs efficiently without wasting power. 

The functionality is similar to another Lenovo laptop I’ve tried recently—the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition. 

Unfortunately, for the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i, I couldn’t seem to get the Smart Shield to work. This security is supposed to blur my screen should someone be looking at my laptop over my shoulder, but it has never gotten triggered. 

The Smart Focus is relatively useful, though you could technically just set up a timer if you’re more disciplined. I do like the Smart Attention feature, which helps to zoom in on the speaker in meetings and such—useful for those who often hop on video calls. 

In any case, the laptop is also outfitted with Copilot to fulfill any other AI assistant needs. 

The verdict

Sleek, powerful, and intuitive, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 Aura Edition is a strong candidate for a work and life laptop. Blending high-end tech with everyday practicality, it’s a well-rounded and portable device for all sorts of needs. 

I would recommend it for those who value aesthetics, portability, and modern computing, especially when it comes to professional needs. 

That said, it is pricier for the average person with a starting price of RM5,780.78, so I would only recommend it for those who truly want to maximise their laptop usage. 

• Learn more about the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 Aura Edition here.
• Read other VP Verdicts we’ve written here.

VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.

Also Read: This global real estate firm is expanding to KL to help local agents achieve their ambitions

Why Common Man Coffee Roasters’ founder started another biz to bring “real” honey to S’pore

Harry Grover has long been at the forefront of Singapore’s third wave coffee movement.

Back when Singapore’s coffee landscape was dominated by Starbucks and local coffee stalls, he launched speciality coffee joints Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR) and Forty Hands—both of which quickly grew into well-known brands in the city-state, though the latter has since closed its doors.

Beyond coffee, he’s also played a key role in establishing F&B concepts such as Open Door Policy and Tiong Bahru Bakery.

Now, the Australian entrepreneur has started a new venture—with The Rare Honey Company, he aims to put sustainably sourced, raw Australian honey on the global stage.

But why honey, and is there even a demand for it in Singapore?

A gap in the F&B scene

While running CMCR, Harry started The Rare Honey Company sometime in mid-2020 as a side project driven by his passion for specialty honey.

“I had a real interest in it, partly because of my background and childhood growing up in the Southwest forests of Western Australia,” he shared. The region is known to be one of the best locations for bee keeping, thanks to its “unspoiled wilderness and unique species of eucalyptus trees” that can produce exceptional honeys.

He also noticed a gap in Singapore’s F&B scene at that time—though people were becoming more discerning with food products and concerned with quality, authenticity, and traceability, he realised that there “wasn’t much information and education” on specialty honeys in Singapore.

There just seemed to be two ends of the spectrum in Singapore’s market: cheap, and probably fake honeys in supermarkets, and very, very expensive manuka honeys that seemed to be trading off big marketing budgets but still with pretty limited information on their origin. Pricing seemed arbitrarily high. 

Harry Grover, co-founder of The Rare Honey Company

A hive to jar business

The Rare Honey Company sources its honeys directly from its own hives located in the Southwest and Great Southern regions of Western Australia.

Harry runs the business alongside two other co-founders and experienced beekepers, Stephen Tomsic and Ryan Brand, who are both based in the country.

From managing hives to harvesting and packaging, the company oversees every step of the production journey, ensuring full control over quality and traceability.

We are a farm to table—hive to jar—business. We not only bottle and retail the honey, but we are also the apiarists.

By owning and managing the primary production, we are able to focus on producing some of the highest quality Australian honeys, all sourced from unique wildflower species endemic only to this small pocket of the world . Hence the name ‘rare.’

Harry Grover, co-founder of The Rare Honey Company

According to Harry, this approach different from the “standard business model,” where beekeepers typically sell their honey to a large company that blend it with other batches—often including honey of questionable origin.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing

Initially, Harry started the business as an online brand, however, after realising that customers were “curious and eager” to try out the honeys and learn more about them, he set up a “tasting bar” a few months later at the Tan Boon Liat Building.

“With the tasting bar, if we could interest a customer to try, then 95% of the time they would buy—seeing (or tasting) is believing!”

Four years later, the business relocated its retail space to a “more accessible” location in Joo Chiat as demand picked up.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the business.

One key challenge it has faced—and continues to face—is the high cost of shipping. Transporting honey is expensive due to the bulk and weight of the glass jars.

While it could opt for plastic tubs to reduce costs, the company believes that its packaging should reflect the “quality and rarity” of its products.

When The Rare Honey Company first launched, it air-freighted all of its products from Australia to the city-state, however, this quickly became “prohibitively expensive.”

Now, the company only air freights temperature-sensitive varieties, like its creamed honey, which does not fare well in sustained periods of high temperatures.

The rest of its products are shipped via sea, which requires the company to carry a larger inventory in Singapore due to the slower shipping times. This, in turn, leads to higher storage costs locally.

Expanding its reach

Despite these challenges, Harry shared that the business has experienced “steady annual sales growth” and is aiming to hit half a million dollars in sales this year.

However, he also acknowledged that the market for specialty honey in Singapore remains relatively niche, and most value high-quality honeys for medicinal purposes, as opposed to just an everyday breakfast spread or as an addition to cooking or baking.

One way he hopes to increase The Rare Honey Company’s market reach is through product education and advocacy.

As such, the company focuses on providing ample information on its website and in-store education, aiming to build a deeper understanding and appreciation of specialty honey within the local community.

Moving forward, Harry plans to further refine the physical store concept for The Rare Honey Company and expand the brick-and-mortar side of the business.

Expanding beyond Singapore’s borders is also very much on his radar—in fact, he has recently soft-launched the business in the UK and is “excited” to get started in the country’s “mature market.”

• Find out more about The Rare Honey Company here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.

Also Read: Moved by their mums’ struggles, they launched a S’porean startup helping women with menopause

Featured Image Credit: The Rare Honey Company

11 yrs in, this M’sian food truck owner now runs 2 F&B brands and supplies to others

Sometimes entrepreneurship is about doing the right thing at the right time, even if you didn’t know it then. 

Such was the case for Adel bin Muhamed Ishak, who studied mass communications in university. 

Entrepreneurship has always been something Adel leaned towards, though, having played and sold trading cards as a child. 

“I also used to play games and sell virtual items for real money such as Ragnarok and World of Warcraft,” he mused. 

While F&B is a relatively low barrier-to-entry business, it’s pretty different from selling trading cards and video game skins, though. But that’s exactly what Adel chose to do in 2014. 

At the time, his partner had convinced him to try running a food truck business together. “If business does go south, we sell the lorry and go back on our career journey,” Adel thought. 

So back then, at the age of 26 with no heavy commitments, he took the leap into running the food truck business known as Little Fat Duck.

Driving into the business

Noticing that there weren’t many options for affordable spaghetti and French dishes back then, Adel and his partner decided to hone in on halal French and Italian-inspired cuisine. 

“Some recipes were taken from my mum, others were R&D-ed by watching YouTube videos and getting friends to come over and do taste tests on the food,” Adel recalled. 

Until today, Little Fat Duck continues to serve these dishes, including a range of pastas, mains like Chicken Confit, and sides. 

With a strategy to sell in high volumes, the team was able to purchase ingredients in bulk and get discounts on it, which translated to a low price for customers.

This focus on affordability is also why Little Fat Duck began as a food truck. Compared to a brick-and-mortar store, a food truck is definitely much lower cost, which is why Adel and his partner decided to go this route. 

It proved to work for them, as Little Fat Duck was able to scale into malls just over a year after their launch. 

Regrouping and refocusing 

Over the past decade, many things have changed for the business, though. For one, the team has grown a lot then shrunk a lot—but half of the team are still people who have been there from the start.

At one point, the business had grown to nine outlets in malls and three cloud kitchens. 

But then the pandemic happened and wiped out most of those outlets. Today, only one Little Fat Duck outlet and one food truck is left, both of which are self-owned.

To cope with the losses, Little Fat Duck began offering OEM services—“manufacturing” white-labelled dishes for other brands. 

“We still had our central kitchen and our staff on payroll, so that’s when we started to produce for other people,” Adel explained. “Because during that time it was hard to get a manufacturer to produce sauces and meat together.”

So, leveraging their central kitchen, Little Fat Duck began supplying to cafes, burger joints, hotdog joints, kopitiams, and more. 

Straying from their own menu, they even offer Malay dishes such as rendang ayam, kicap kambing, and pes ikan bakar. 

“We noticed this was what was missing in the market,” Adel commented. “If we had known that our service existed when we started, we would never have invested in the central kitchen ourselves and have all this additional cost of maintenance and such. We would only just need to focus on selling.”

Venturing into something new 

Beyond running Little Fat Duck and their OEM business, Adel and his team now also own and operate Cowboys Barbecue and Grill, a notable BBQ joint in Ara Damansara. 

“It happened when the owner, who is also a close friend, offered us to join in,” he said. “We went through with it because we have always been manufacturing [some] of their items all [this] while.”

Thus, the Little Fat Duck team now runs the outlet together with the previous owner. 

Despite the new ventures, though, the financials still aren’t looking solid for the business. 

“Our profits were not amazing, because we were heavily affected on volume sales,” Adel admitted. 

“COVID wiped us clean of whatever war funds we had. We had to still pay rentals to malls and there were no sales, but rental, utilities, all we still had to pay. Also, we did not let go of any of our staff during this time. And we had to do a lot of restructuring repayments to our debtors.”

Although there are many challenges, there are no plans to let go of the Little Fat Duck brand. However, the business will be going back to basics, focusing on what worked for them in the past—food truck concepts. 

Yet, this time, they’re supplemented by a different business venture, which is to supply to more F&B businesses.

Even through the many battles that come with entrepreneurship, Adel and his team continue to persevere, keen to continue serving Malaysians affordable dishes.

• Learn more about Little Fat Duck here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Also Read: This global real estate firm is expanding to KL to help local agents achieve their ambitions

Featured Image Credit: Little Fat Duck

This M’sian chef’s deep fried burger joint in PJ wants to create a legacy beyond virality

Located in Mutiara Damansara, Mean Mince has gained a sizable following since it opened its doors in 2018. 

Known for its American-themed concept, the spot serves up deep fried burgers, deep dish pizza, and other indulgent eats. 

Not too long ago though, its chef patron Min, announced that he and his wife Stephanie were taking a step back. But fret not—the business is still ongoing, and Min is actually still a part of the picture. 

Meet Min 

Min, whose full name is Nik Md Syazmin, has always felt a calling to pursue F&B. 

After getting a diploma in Culinary Arts from Taylor’s University, he continued his higher diploma in IMI institute in Switzerland, before finally getting a degree from University College Birmingham. 

During his schooling, he pursued internships in various institutions such as a sushi restaurant, Royale Chulan Damansara, and Schweizerhof Hotel, Weggis. 

“I eventually landed a job in Playboy Club London after finishing my degree and worked there for almost two years,” he added. And yes, he has the pictures to prove it. 

Eventually, he came back to Malaysia, working as a head chef in a now-closed restaurant called Yellow Apron. In just eight months, he decided to open up his own spot with his then-girlfriend and now-wife Stephanie.

“It was always my ambition to open up a restaurant to share my food with others as I enjoy watching peoples faces light up when they eat something good,” Min said. “The moment when you take the very first bite and you instinctually do the head nod of approval brings joy to my eyes.”

Making a mean plate

American-themed eateries have been more popular locally, but Mean Mince really pushes the envelope by offering American food that is rarely found in Malaysia. For example, they serve deep dish pizza, Philly cheesesteak, and deep fried burgers.

Most of these dishes were inspired by Min’s exploration of foodie channels on YouTube. Of course, he also put his own touch to the recipes for Mean Mince. 

“Several burgers are a homage to a few notable chefs in the US such as the burger scholar George Motz, which we have a burger named after, and also Alvin Cailan who owns Eggslut.”

Mean Mince quickly gained recognition for their unique offerings, and seven or so years in, they continue offering the same standards and flavours. 

Min explained, “We still maintain our deeply held belief of keeping things simple much like how most of the burgers in the US are; you won’t find our burgers drenched in sauces or condiments. At Mean Mince it is all about simplicity and going back to basics.”

A meaningful step back 

In 2022, with the arrival of their son Maximus, the duo decided to take a step back from the business. 

Min is no longer in the restaurant as frequently, but his aunt keeps him informed on the business. With the right SOPs in place, business is still ongoing as usual. Still, it’s not easy to let go.

As a chef-owner, Min understands that labour has always been an issue, but is assured that he can cover any missing staff when it comes down to it. 

Plus, he has the backing of his family, who’s always willing to help. “I remember the early days when we were short on staff, and my relatives would come in to help out as they possibly can. In a way, we can be called a family run business,” he said. 

All that said, Min still goes in from time to time when needed or when there are events. 

Marketing the mince 

Starting the business, Min and Steph decided that they wanted to see their business grow organically for as long as they could. 

That means no marketing spend on paid reviews or write-ups. (Yes, this article, like all our editorial articles, is not paid.) 

“We turned down many prominent names in the first five years. We believe that reviews or features of Mean Mince should be honest and unbiased and this cannot be achieved if they were paid for,” he determined. 

Seven years in, Mean Mince has paid for content twice during the slowest times. 

But the business has welcomed many food reviewers, bloggers, and influencers. A few of them have even made the restaurant viral. 

“If I recall correctly, our highest monthly revenue was around RM100,000 a month after one of the videos went viral,” Min claimed. 

With not much knowledge in social media, Min struggles with using it as a marketing tool. Thankfully, they were lucky to be approached by several food reviewers who brought in a lot of customers. 

“But when we had a period of no influencers, we do feel the business slowing down until the next coverage,” he said. 

But going viral has its fair share of problems. When a video goes viral out of the blue, the Mean Mince team may not be prepared for the surge of customers. That leads to complaints that the food is sold out early or the quality suffering for a short period.  

Plus, one viral video doesn’t sustain a business. Especially when others are going viral, too. 

This is especially true since the pandemic, when more and more roadside stalls began to operate due to people losing their jobs and venturing into the food business. 

“This diluted the market in a huge way because there were more competitors that we had to go up against,” Min admitted. 

A lean, mean machine

Not only is F&B a very competitive industry, it’s also a physically and mentally demanding one. Keeping up isn’t just about following the market but also having enough stamina. 

“What is most important is creating a product that doesn’t really go out of fashion,” Min said. “Honestly, burgers have been around throughout the ages and will be around for a long time to come.” 

He believes that consistency is key as well, as regulars appreciate going back to familiar flavours. 

In the past, Min has shared that they intended to expand the Mean Mince brand. However, post-pandemic, these plans faltered as it was hard to find like-minded business partners. 

“As of now, we are keeping Mean Mince as a sole business unless an opportunity were to arise. Then, we might think about expanding,” he expressed. 

Still, expanding or not, running one restaurant for seven years is no small feat. 

For those looking to enter the F&B realm, Min advised, “Do your research, don’t jump on the bandwagon just because something is going viral. Yes, it will get you lots of sales, but only for that period. Create something that will last.”

• Learn more about Mean Mince here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: Mean Mince

A powerful AI computing solution for enterprises, by this M’sian biz with NVIDIA & Dell

[This is a sponsored article with SNS Network.]

I think that it’s safe to say that we’re all pretty familiar with the term “artificial intelligence” or “AI” at this point.

It’s a technology that saw explosive growth in 2023 with the development of generative AI models such as ChatGPT, and it has only gained momentum since.

Come 2030, the industry is expected to contribute an estimated US$15.7 trillion to the global economy.

But as convenient as the technology can make things, incorporating it into business models can prove tricky in more ways than one.

Training AI models effectively requires immense computational power, making GPUs more or less essential for handling vast amounts of data. 

Originally designed for digital image processing and computer graphics, GPUs have evolved into the backbone of AI workloads due to their parallel processing capabilities. 

The challenge for businesses, then, often comes in the form of the high cost of acquiring and maintaining these similarly high-performance GPUs.

And that’s where a GPU-as-a-Service, or GPUaaS, comes in.

Breaking ground without breaking bank

A GPUaaS can essentially be described as a service that allows businesses to “rent” powerful GPUs via the cloud.

This is especially important for businesses looking to adopt AI, because they operate on a pay-as-you-use model.

Organisations can align their expenses with how much they’ll actually be using the GPU without having to overcommit one way or the other.

Meaning, they can scale up when workload is high, or scale down during lower-demand periods, giving businesses the freedom to experiment.

Having a GPUaaS also means having access to a ready-to-use AI-optimised infrastructure, eliminating the complexities of procurement and setup. This extends to re-equipping themselves with the latest GPU technologies, removing the need to spend more money on upgrading pre-existing equipment.

SNS Network, a local ICT reseller, told Vulcan Post that it launched its own GPUaaS, SNS AI Factory, to bridge the AI infrastructure gap and accelerate AI adoption across industries in Malaysia.

In partnership with giants

Named SNS AI Factory, SNS Network’s GPUaaS is powered by NVIDIA’s H100 GPUs, which is said to be a first for local GPUaaS platforms.

For those not in the know, the particular significance of this is that NVIDIA is the market leader when it comes to GPUs, the beating heart of AI technology.

Their H100 is the company’s first GPU specifically optimised for machine learning, and was noted by the World Economic Forum to be the “most powerful GPU chip on the market” at the time of release.

The SNS AI Factory also provides users with full exclusive access to NVIDIA AI Enterprise (NVAIE), a software suite equipped with tools that aid in the development and deployment of AI.

This includes NeMo which can be used to fine-tune generative AIs and language-learning models as well as AI blueprints which offer pre-configured workflows for “rapid” AI implementation.

These systems bridge the skill gap required to set up AI, allowing organisations to focus on actually using it.

Additionally, SNS Network is also a Dell Technologies Titanium Partner, giving the company priority access to Dell Technologies’ latest AI-optimised hardware.

This includes Dell PowerEdge servers, which SNS AI Factory is built on.

“Being a Titanium Partner also means direct engagement with Dell Technologies’ technical and engineering teams, enabling us to design and deploy solutions based on validated architectures that meet the highest industry standards,” said the company.

“Through this partnership, SNS Network can offer tailored AI solutions with flexible financing and enterprise-level support, making AI adoption easier and more cost-effective for Malaysian businesses.”

In healthcare, for instance, SNS Network notes that GPUaaS can be utilised for accelerating medical imaging analyses, drug discovery, as well as personalising treatment plans.

Financial institutions meanwhile can leverage GPUaaS for fraud detection, risk analysis, and real-time trading strategies.

The manufacturing sector benefits by having AI-powered predictive maintenance and process optimisation, improving productivity.

Under lock & key

But those benefits aside, a major concern when it comes to cloud services like a GPUaaS is what’s known as “data sovereignty.”

Essentially, it means that data originating from a certain country is subject to the laws and regulations of said country. The government thus reserves the right to regulate the collection, storage, processing, and distribution of data originating from home soil.

Utilising the services of foreign cloud providers comes with the risk of clashing with data sovereignty regulations on top of being a security concern.

This is especially the case for heavily regulated industries that deal with sensitive data such as the financial, healthcare, and public sectors.

SNS AI Factory ensures complete data sovereignty by having its servers hosted in Malaysia, fully managed by a Malaysian company.

Their AI infrastructure is deployed in a Tier-III certified data centre in Cyberjaya, featuring end-to-end encryption. And this too, of course, is run by a Malaysian operator.

Fun fact: Data centres are rated in four tiers according to the reliability of their infrastructure, Tier I being the worst and Tier IV being the best. A Tier III data centre notably does not require a complete system shutdown for maintenance and can continue operating for at least 72 hours in the event of a power outage. Read more about it here.

“Our collaborations with government agencies such as MDEC and NAIO reinforce our commitment to providing a trusted AI ecosystem for Malaysian businesses,” they shared.

“By keeping AI workloads and data processing local, SNS Network ensures that enterprises can innovate with AI without exposing their data to foreign jurisdictions, aligning with national AI goals while safeguarding digital sovereignty.”

Paving the way

The long-term vision for SNS Network with their GPUaaS is to position Malaysia as a regional lead in the field of AI.

To that end, their aforementioned collaborations with MDEC and NAIO will see SNS Network facilitate various AI adoption programs for businesses of all sizes. 

This includes bootcamps, hackathons, and industry-specific initiatives, providing Malaysians with “the necessary resources, guidance, and funding support to explore and scale their AI capabilities,” SNS Network explained.

“With flexible subscription models tailored for startups, SMEs, and large enterprises, SNS AI Factory’s GPUaaS aligns with Malaysia’s National AI Roadmap to accelerate AI-driven transformation and strengthen the country’s position in the global digital economy.”

If what the trusted and authorised reseller has to offer interests you, then you can register your interest through their Microsoft Form here.

You can also follow SNS Network’s Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the latest info on what they have in store.

• Learn more about SNS AI Factory here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: SNS Network

Singapore’s Love, Bonito is on its way to becoming profitable in 2025, says CEO Dione Song

Singaporean fashion retailer Love, Bonito is on its way to becoming profitable, according to its CEO Dione Song. The company is projected to cross S$100 million in revenue and reach profitability this year.

In a LinkedIn post published today (April 9), Song highlighted the brand’s strong financial performance in recent years. In 2023, it recorded S$88 million in revenue—a 37% increase from the previous year—while also cutting losses by 27%.

“Growth and efficiency aren’t mutually exclusive,” she wrote.

Speaking to Tech In Asia, the CEO shared that Love, Bonito’s success comes from “having products that stand out, knowing who its customers are, and selling effectively both online and offline.”

But how exactly did they do it?

Love, Bonito has a total of 27 stores in six markets across Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

Aside from having country-specific strategies, the company has been implementing initiatives to make operations leaner, which involve streamlining its warehousing and increasing the efficiency of its marketing spend.

In a recent interview with Options, Song shared that the brand has leaned into a more “core-based” business model by leveraging data-driven insights.

Historical data revealed that 20% of its bestselling products were responsible for 80% of Love, Bonito’s sales. With this knowledge, it has doubled down on enhancing product thoughtfulness and functionality, focusing on the offerings that resonate the most with its customers.

The brand has now cut the production of new pieces by 60% and will continue to work on areas “that have proven to be successful.”

However, the journey hasn’t always been smooth for Love, Bonito.

In 2024, the company laid off about 7% of its total workforce, and out of the 29 roles affected, 14 roles in Singapore got the chop.

Moving forward, it is looking to enter new markets in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam.

Song also shared that while Love, Bonito is always open to new partnerships, their goal is not to raise capital, but to build a “great business.”

Our vision remains rock solid: to build Southeast Asia’s most iconic women-first brand—designed for women, by women—and eventually become the #1 women’s lifestyle group in the region.

As we always say internally: We’re not building for hype. We’re building to last. To build [a] world-class and enduring brand and organisation.

Dione Song, CEO of Love, Bonito

• Read more articles we have written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: These are the top 15 companies to work for in Singapore, according to LinkedIn

Featured Image Credit: Love, Bonito

These are the top 15 companies to work for in Singapore, according to LinkedIn

LinkedIn, on April 8, unveiled its 2025 Top Companies list, publishing the top 15 companies to work for in Singapore.

The professional networking site picked out these companies based on its data, evaluating factors such as their ability to advance employees and support skill development, among other factors.

Note: Companies with layoffs of 10% or more of their workforce, as reported by corporate announcements or reliable public sources between January 1, 2024, and the launch of the list were excluded from consideration.

Here are this year’s top companies in Singapore, according to LinkedIn:

1. DBS

Taking the lead again in this year’s list is DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia. The banking giant is currently seeking employees for various roles, including:

• Assistant Relationship Manager
• Cybersecurity Analyst
• Wealth Planning Manager 

You can view their job openings here.

2. Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

First founded in 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, Boston Consulting Group is a global firm that provides management consulting services.

According to an article by Forage, the company is recognised as one of the Big Three consulting companies in the world, alongside McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company.

The company is looking for new hires for these positions:

• Data Scientist
• Platinion IT Consultant, Enterprise Solutions
• Senior AI Engineer

Click here to view their full job list.

3. Alphabet

Alphabet is the parent company behind tech powerhouses including Google and YouTube, and is the third inductee of this year’s list.

It is currently hiring for the positions below:

• Content Regulation Policy Manager
• Legal Assistant, Corporate
• Associate Product Marketing Manager, YouTube

View Alphabet’s full job list here.

4. HP

A heavyweight in the global IT industry, HP is a technology company that manufactures a range of monitors, laptops and desktops. It also produces and offers services around printers and 3D printers.

The tech company is looking for new faces to fill these roles:

• Workstation Sales Specialist
• Senior R&D Firmware Developer
• Failure Analysis Chemical Technician 

You can browse through HP’s full job listings here.

5. Roche

Originally founded in Switzerland, Roche is a multinational healthcare company that focuses on research and development of medical solutions for major disease areas such as oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.

Some of its available positions include:

• Senior Manufacturing Biotechnologist
• Finance Excellence Partner – APAC Insights & Regional Partnering Chapter

See its full job list here.

6. Shell

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, and Singapore serves as a regional hub for its marketing and trading business.

The company has only one open position on LinkedIn at the time of writing, which you can view here.

7. Standard Chartered

Another notable bank on the list, Standard Chartered offers banking services across 52 markets worldwide.

The bank’s on the lookout for people to fill these positions:

• Manager, Credit & Treasury Model Validation
• ICS Digital Assets Security Manager

You can look at Standard Chartered’s full job list here.

8. Apple

The company behind the all-familiar iPhone, Apple, first opened its facility in Singapore in 1981 and has since grown its presence in the city-state with three outlets in Orchard, Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi.

Apple has over 100 openings listed on its website as of writing. You can view them here.

9. Infineon Technologies

Infineon Technologies is a semiconductor manufacturer that develops products such as sensors, microcontroller chips, and power modules that support a variety of sectors, including data centres and AI applications.

The company is looking to hire for the positions below:

• Senior / Staff Engineer – SOC Digital Verification
• Assistant / Senior Assistant (Machine / Wafer Operator)
• Senior / Staff Specialist – Production Management

Check out the full job list for Infineon Technologies here.

10. Amazon

The second tech conglomerate on the list, Amazon, is one of the world’s largest ecommerce platforms and the parent company of known brands, including Audible, Twitch, IMDb and Whole Foods.

The company is currently looking to fill these roles across its many teams:

• Catalogue Specialist, Amazon Fresh – Singapore
• Regional UX Researcher, APAC, GREF – Global Transformation Insights (GTI)
• Solutions Architect

View Amazon’s full job list here.

11. JPMorgan Chase

The fifth largest bank in the world, JPMorgan Chase & Company, first opened in Singapore back in 1964 and has established itself as a global financial services firm across 17 markets in the Asian Pacific region.

JPMorgan Chase is on the hunt for fresh faces for these positions:

• Global Nature and Social Risk – Associate
• Equity Research – Analyst
• Software Engineer II, Regulatory Reporting

Here’s the bank’s full list of available roles.

12. Novartis Singapore

A heavyweight in the global pharmaceutical industry, Novartis is a Swiss company known for developing, manufacturing and selling medical treatments for various diseases.

The company is on the lookout for the following roles:

• Value and Access Specialist
• Cell Therapy Operations Manager
• Specialist – QA Ops – Manufacturing Management

Have a look at Novartis Singapore’s full job list here.

13. MSD

Known as Mereck in the United States and Canada, MSD is the second pharmaceutical company to be featured in this year’s list. It specialises in producing prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products.

MSD is currently hiring for the following roles:

• Associate Technician, Operations
• Senior Sales Specialist (Companion Animal)
• Senior E&I Technician

Browse through their full job list here.

14. Marsh McLennan

Headquartered in New York, Marsh McLennan is the parent company of Marsh, Mercer, Oliver Wyman and Guy Carpenter. The firm specialises in insurance broking and risk management.

The company is looking for job seekers for these two positions, but do check out their subsidiaries for more job listings:

• Content Marketing Specialist, Marsh McLennan Asia
• AVP, Marketing Business Partner 

15. ByteDance

The last inductee of LinkedIn’s 2025 list of Top 15 Companies, ByteDance, is known as the parent company of social media platform TikTok and editing application CapCut, among others.

The tech powerhouse is currently looking for new hires for these roles:

• Graphic Designer – Organizational Culture
• LLM Training Operation (Language and Creative) – Specialist
• Marketing Operations and Campaign Specialist, BytePlus

View ByteDance’s full job listing here.

• Read other job-related articles here.
• Read other stories we have written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Nearly 50% of tech roles in Singapore saw salary cuts in 2024—even AI-related positions

Featured Image Credit: DBS Bank, Shutterstock, Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto, pymnts

Here’s what Singapore politicians have to say about Trump’s tariffs

During a Parliament sitting yesterday (April 8), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed his disappointment with the US-imposed tariffs on Singapore, warning of their broader implications for the global trading system and the world economy.

The tariffs, announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2, impose a blanket 10% tariff on all imports into the country, with even higher rates for countries deemed to have treated the US “unfairly.”

Despite maintaining zero tariffs on American imports through its bilateral free trade agreement with the country, Singapore has not been exempted and is still subject to the baseline rate.

We are very disappointed by the US move, especially considering the deep and long-standing friendship between our two countries. These are not actions one does to a friend.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

While the “silver lining” may be that Singapore faces the lowest tariff rate, PM Wong stated that this offers him “no comfort,” as the tariffs will nonetheless have a significant impact on the economy and increase the risk of a full-blown trade war.

In the near term, global growth is expected to weaken, leading to a decline in external demand for Singapore’s goods and services, he noted.

Sectors reliant on external markets—such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, and transport—will bear the brunt of this impact. Additionally, some service industries, including finance and insurance, will also be affected amid global uncertainty and dampened sentiments.

With slower economic growth, fewer job opportunities and smaller wage increases for workers are expected. “And if more companies face difficulties or relocate their operations back to the US, we could see higher retrenchments and job losses.”

Given these circumstances, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is reassessing its 2025 growth forecast of 1 to 3% and is likely to revise it downward.

The government’s measures to cushion the impact of the tariffs

To support businesses and workers, PM Wong announced that the government would form a national task force to help them address immediate uncertainties, strengthen resilience, and adapt to the new economic landscape.

The task force will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. While the details of its composition and key responsibilities are still being worked out, one of its primary focuses will likely be on enhancing communication and information sharing.

At the same time, the city-state has also reached out to its trading partners to share its assessment of the situation and find different ways of working together.

For now, however, PM Wong is confident that the measures announced in Budget 2025 will provide support for any short-term strain on Singaporeans and local businesses.

These include CDC vouchers, SG60 vouchers and USave rebates to ease the cost of living for Singaporeans, as well as targeted initiatives like increased ComCare Assistance for vulnerable groups.

For businesses, short-term support includes corporate income tax rebates, alongside schemes designed to boost productivity and competitiveness and facilitate pivots into new markets. 

The government “stands ready to do more, if and when necessary,” PM Wong added.

What do opposition parties have to say?

There was more consensus than disagreement in Parliament regarding the impact of the tariffs.

Opposition parties, including the Workers’ Party, have shared their views, with the WP’s stance largely aligning with that of the government.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the WP said that Singapore should immediately start bilateral negotiations and that “no response should be ruled out, given the unprecedented nature of the act”.

The party believes that a “rational and pragmatic approach is required” at both the international and domestic levels:

PSP’s Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai, on the other hand, suggested that the situation might not be so dire, noting that the 10% tariff put on Singapore is the lowest in Asia. He argued that this would put Singapore in a stronger competitive position than its neighbours to continue exporting to the US.

He also pointed out that the world has been adjusting to a post-Pax Americana era for some time, and that the tariffs only accelerate this process.

Prior to the Parliament sitting on April 8, Leong said that the government’s strong warnings over the US tariffs were “overblown,” suggesting that it could be an attempt to stoke fear ahead of the General Election.

He made these remarks at a press conference, where the party launched its manifesto. Party chairman Tan Cheng Bock went further, suggesting the government’s rhetoric might be aimed at swaying voters through fear.

“This call by the government ministers about this tariff, in my opinion, is partly to instil fear in the voter,” he said. “People might start thinking, ‘this thing is going to happen, it’s going to be serious. We better vote for the incumbent—the safe bet.'”

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Also Read: Trump’s tariffs may put Singapore jobs at risk, especially in these key industries

Featured Image Credit: Leong Mun Wai via Facebook/ Lawrence Wong via Facebook/ Workers’ Party

Is zero waste still in? The founders of this 3 Y/O Subang zero-waste store are betting yes.

Growing up, my mother had always preached about recycling and waste management and overall trying to minimize our contribution to the endlessly growing pile of trash on this world.

“Why must get plastic, ah?”

“Wash the container, can use tomorrow.”

“Go send that bag of newspapers and old milk boxes to the recycling place.”

And it’s been long enough of that that I’ve gone through the whole “this is stupid” to “whatever I’ll just do it” to “how can I avoid throwing another shampoo bottle?” pipeline.

And that led me to MINIMIZE.

Beginnings

Sitting between a clinic and an AC shop in SS14, MINIMIZE’s humble store once served as a “kombuchary,” serving artisanal micro-brewed kombucha under the name My Kombuchary.

“We were still lecturing then during the day and brewed kombucha at night at home,” said Jayne Lee, one of the co-founders of MINIMIZE.

“We started our sustainable values even back then by offering RM1 cashback for every clean kombucha bottle returned because glass is not easily recyclable in Malaysia.”

Along with Tan Pei Yan, the duo started off as lecturers, when they noticed a need for a zero-waste store in Subang after being intrigued by the ban on plastic bags in Selangor.

“Having learnt about the environmental impact of everyone’s individual consumption/purchasing habits, we were encouraged to embrace a more responsible way of life,” said 39-year-old Jayne.

And so, with the founders’ personal investments, they transformed the spot in SS14 into a store selling, well, a lot.

Not just for the rich

Mostly sourced from local businesses, distributors, and makers, MINIMIZE’s catalogue includes bulk food refills like grains and legumes, pet treats, reusable toiletries, and many household essentials, the latter of these made by local artisans, tailors, and manufacturers.

Opened post-COVID, Jayne said that seeing people’s necessities during times of crisis “encouraged us to ensure that we always have an affordable range of products on our shelves.”

“For example, we have the basic range of laundry detergent at RM5.50/kg, dish wash at RM3.50/kg, hand wash at RM8/kg.”

“Alongside, we have the natural detergent range that is more premium but is free of SLS, parabens, and artificial colorants or fragrances. This allows customers the option to select what they need depending on their budget,” she added.

She opines that in recent years, the zero-waste movement has made a shift, citing a realignment to the realities of a high cost of living, coupled with greater awareness of environmental issues. 

“People are looking for affordable and realistic ways to live sustainably.”

As such, MINIMIZE looks to meet this demand by providing affordable, sustainable alternatives of everyday goods, proving that being eco-conscious isn’t just for upper class families.

“[We’re] combatting the misunderstanding that zero-waste stores are only for the rich. We have products that fit into a variety of price ranges, and we are careful when bringing in new products to ensure that they are within the price range acceptable to most of our residential middle-income customers.”

And keeping the local consumer base in mind has certainly paid off.

An eco-conscious community

Over the past couple years, various other zero-waste stores have unfortunately closed down, namely The Hive Bulk Foods (though they’re still operational online) and NUDE.

Although this might be indicative of a slowing in the zero-waste movement, Jayne thinks that MINIMIZE continues to see growth because of the preexisting eco-friendly awareness in the Subang Jaya township.

“We’re fortunate to be located in Subang Jaya where the municipal council and the member of parliament (Michelle Ng) have strong convictions in introducing and carrying out eco-friendly initiatives.”

“The MP has introduced a recycling campaign whereby garbage collection is paired with recycling collection at the same time, in addition to other initiatives.”

“Since we are building on this by encouraging Refusing, Reusing and Refilling before Recycling is considered, it helps that the residents here understand this as well. This is a major factor that has kept us going for 3+ years,” said Jayne, mentioning that their business is more stable now than during its first two years.

Looking forward, Jayne added that she hopes to bring more locals living in or around Subang Jaya towards a zero-waste lifestyle while bolstering the MINIMIZE brand into a platform for conversation on the varied aspects of living a low-waste life.

“MINIMIZE can only cover a limited scope but there are so many other voices that deserve to be heard too.”

“There are too many misconceptions and disillusionment on what the individual person can and cannot change when it comes to being environmentally conscious. Only by educating those around us, kindly and patiently, can we make a change.”

• Learn more about MINIMIZE Zero Waste Store here.
• Read our other startup stories here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: MINIMIZE Zero Waste Store

What’s in a RM2,099 Samsung Galaxy Ring? We got hands-on with it to find out.

If you’ve had your eye on the Samsung Galaxy Ring since its release in July 2024, good news—it’s now on Malaysian shores too, selling for RM2,099.

We recently had a chance to get our hands on it (or it on our hands?), and here are our first thoughts on the tech.

Size matters

After seeing release after release of phone and watch and earbuds time and time again, the Galaxy Ring is a breath of fresh air.

First things first, we got fitted on-site to ensure that the ring size we chose actually fits (doesn’t slip around yet isn’t too tight), and it’s recommended that you do the same at a Samsung store before you make a purchase. The Galaxy Ring is available in sizes 5 to 15.

Putting it on, I did feel pretty cool, but at the same time, it doesn’t suit my vibes. It’s rather chunky and masculine, with its colours adding to that perception—Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold.

And since the ring is so reflective, it’s quite eye-catching.

It’s recommended that you wear the ring on your index finger on a non-dominant hand, so that you minimise scratches and signs of wear.

In order to ensure that the ring’s sensors are able to detect what it needs to, there’s an orientation indicator that should be facing towards your palm.

Health stats at your fingertips

The Galaxy Ring mainly tracks your sleep, heart rate, and stress levels, then gives you a daily energy score based on your sleep performance, heart rate, and any activities you did (or didn’t do…) the previous day. 

The daily energy score is simply a measure of your physical and mental readiness, and it’s Samsung’s attempt to make health tracking more personalised for you, following up your score with recommendations of better choices for your health.

The ring doesn’t offer the full suite of features that a Galaxy Watch does, but it’s meant to be complementary to it. 

Other than some health tracking, the ring also has gestures enabled, but note that you’ll need to have your device updated to UI 6.1.1 in order to access them.

With a “double pinch” motion, you can take a picture when in the Camera app, as well as dismiss an alarm. 

It’s quite limited at the moment, so I hope to see more features being supported by the gesture, such as dismissing a timer (useful when your hands are busy), answering a call maybe, and more. 

The Galaxy Ring has an IP68 rating which means it’s dustproof and waterproof, so you can wear it while washing your hands, doing the dishes, showering, and even swimming.

The battery life on it is pretty good, claimed to be able to last up to seven days on a single charge, and you get extra battery life with the case too. 

Just like with Samsung earbuds, the case can be charged separately and carried around for charging the ring on the go.

-//-

In the time that I’ve been wearing the Galaxy Ring, I’ll say that despite its weight of 2.3 g (it goes up to 3.3 g based on size), I sometimes feel some fatigue on the finger wearing it. When that happens, I’ll either take it off for a while or switch to my other index finger. 

Maybe this isn’t helped by its chunkiness either, and I hope that the tech will advance soon so that we can get even more health tracking features out of a Galaxy Ring on a much slimmer, daintier body.

• Learn more about about the Samsung Galaxy Ring here.
• Read other Samsung reviews we’ve done here.

Also Read: This global real estate firm is expanding to KL to help local agents achieve their ambitions

All Image Credits: Vulcan Post

Ride-hailing giant Grab disrupts the scene again with new AI features, here’s what to expect

Following its “strongest financial quarter” last year, ride-hailing giant Grab introduced a new series of products at its inaugural Grab X event this morning (April 8, 2025).

In his opening address, Anthony Tan, co-founder and CEO of Grab, introduced the key problems the company hoped to tackle with their new services, all of which are powered by Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“I’m fully committed to this. In fact, last year, we embarked on an ambitious, company-wide initiative—our ‘G/AI Sprint’—to accelerate ALL of Grab to embrace AI. Because you either disrupt, or you get disrupted. So we chose to disrupt ourselves.”

The solutions presented at the event aimed to target consumers, as well as merchants and drivers, and we’re here to break it down.

Users

Following its extension to include one to three-year-old children in 2018, GrabFamily will soon include teenagers aged 13-17 under the name Grab for Family | Teens, with the aim to give parents and caregivers peace of mind.

Teen users can either book their own rides or have rides booked by their parents or caregivers, with additional safeguards built in.

This includes a PIN verification to prevent teens from going into the wrong car with the wrong driver. When their ride arrives, they have to get a PIN from the driver and enter it into their own app. The ride only starts if the PIN matches.

The company shared that this service is currently under review with the local authorities, notably the Land Transport Authority, and is planning to launch it in May 2025, across all markets.

Under the Family umbrella, Grab has also introduced an improved solution to handling large orders for its delivery partners.

Through its Large Language Model (LLM), they are able to gauge the size and weight of the items in the order, and will attempt to assign a four-wheeler to deliver the order should it be too bulky or heavy.

If not, the system splits the order into two and assigns it to two delivery partners without any extra cost, and the delivery riders can still earn the same amount as if they were the only rider for the order.

With every order on GrabFood, users might incur delivery fees and a “small order” fee if they do not hit the minimum spend waiver. As such, Grab has launched GrabFood for One to make food delivery more accessible and simpler for solo diners.

All meals offered will be kept under S$12, inclusive of delivery fees. This service is now live and available in Singapore and beyond.

Grab has also launched Shared Saver, which is described as similar to a group order, but with strangers. Users can either join a live order if they can place it within the live countdown timer, or initiate a live order for others to join, hence reducing the delivery fees.

The company explained that it leverages AI to detect when there are multiple orders from the same merchant and will prompt users to start a Shared Saver order. This service is currently being piloted this month in Singapore, and more “experiments” will be rolled out in other cities by June of this year.

Previously, we also did an experiment on Grab’s new Advanced Booking service, where we booked a ride to the airport to “catch a red eye flight.” Today, the company has announced a new extension to the service, specifically for airport pickups.

This service allows users to book a ride before they leave their home, and the system tracks their flight in real-time. This allows the app to adjust driver schedules in a flexible manner and account for early arrivals and delays, therefore increasing its reliability.

As of now, advance booking for airport pickups is only available in seven airports in seven cities, including Seletar Airport in Singapore, with more launches in major cities in the coming months.

To further enhance its superapp offerings, Grab has also introduced its Travel Pass and Dine Out Discovery features to allow users to enjoy vouchers and cash deals, as well as help them navigate available food options wherever they are.

For its Dine Out Discovery service, users can also make reservations and book rides through the app. This service will be available across all markets in May, with reservations first launching in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

Merchant & Driver Partners

For its merchants, Grab has launched its new AI Merchant Assistant, a chatbot that aims to come up with personalised recommendations with the help of AI.

The chatbot is integrated through its GrabMerchant app, and aims to fill the gap for merchants who often do not have the resources and time to invest in advanced technology and deeply analyse business performance.

Phillip Kendal, Grab’s Chief Product Officer, added that the AI Merchant Assistant also “proactively reaches out” with business suggestions, such as creating promo codes to boost sales during a slow week, as well as creating ad campaigns and updating menus.

However, he has clarified that the merchants will have the autonomy to make the final decision and that the chatbot merely acts as a “24/7” business advisor.

Grab has also introduced an AI Driver Companion for its delivery partners, which comes with an AI ride-guidance feature and an AI-assisted Voice Reporting tool integrated within the Grab Driver app.

For its ride-guidance feature, Grab’s system relies on real-time and historical data to direct drivers to high-demand areas, allowing them to find jobs “faster” and keep fulfilment rates up, but also continue to offer affordable prices for users.

But some might have encountered drivers rejecting jobs to pick up another job that is priced higher, so how would drivers feel supported by the company?

According to Phillip, the majority of the drivers he has spoken to shared that he would prefer the company to direct them to jobs to focus on driving safely. He also emphasised that the price system aims to keep the playing field level for drivers and maximise their overall productivity.

On the other hand, the voice reporting feature allows drivers to provide vocal feedback in real time so the system can reroute them faster in the event of roadblocks, closures, and even floods, for example.

Grab has launched its pilot rollout and shared that the tool has received over 16,000 reports a day from more than 900,000 drivers across the region, which has improved GrabMaps’ overall accuracy.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Grab here.
• Read more articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Grab receives street-hail service license, to become Singapore’s 6th taxi operator

Featured Image Credit: Grab

Trump’s tariffs may put Singapore jobs at risk, especially in these key industries

With the new US tariffs set to come into effect tomorrow (April 9), all eyes are peeled to see how global countries are going to react to the tariffs.

Earlier today, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told Parliament that tariffs would hurt the city-state’s economy, businesses, and workers.

“Singapore may or may not go into recession this year. But I have no doubt our growth will be significantly impacted,” he said.

According to Trading Economics, semiconductors were Singapore’s top export to the US in 2023, valued at US$13.17 billion—and they make up about 30% of total exports to the US.

Singapore also produces 11% of the world’s semiconductor equipment, making the industry a key contributor to our GDP.

A 10% tariff on all imports will drive up prices, reducing demand. The electronics sector makes up over 9% of Singapore’s GDP, hiring 60,000 employees. A drop in electronics demand would have an impact on the economy and jobs in the sector.

Key companies in this sector include Infineon Technologies and Micron Technology, both of which are featured on the EDB industry page.

Singapore serves as Micron’s global operations headquarters, leveraging its strategic location to efficiently serve customers across Asia. The company has been operating in Singapore since 1998.

Beyond semiconductors, DBS chief economist Taimur Baig also identified the pharmaceutical industry as another sector that could be heavily impacted by the tariffs.

He warned that if the US imposes separate tariffs of up to 25% on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports, the blow to Singapore’s economy could be far worse than current projections.

According to EDB, Singapore’s biopharmaceutical sector employs over 9,000 skilled workers—more than twice the number in the early 2000s. Four of the world’s five largest pharmaceutical companies have manufacturing facilities in Singapore.

Some notable companies in this industry include GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Merch Sharp & Dohma (MSD).

If tariffs reduce demand in these industries, growth in these sectors will slow.

PM Lawrence Wong, who is also Finance Minister, shared in Parliament that slower growth would lead to fewer job opportunities and smaller wage increases.

“And if more companies face difficulties or relocate their operations back to the US, there will be higher retrenchments and job losses.”

Besides sector-specific effects, the broader economy will also be impacted. Global growth is expected to slow, which will reduce external demand for Singapore’s goods and services.

As a result, retrenchments and job losses are likely to increase.

A new task force is also being set up to address uncertainties following the announcement of new US tariffs. Chaired by the deputy prime minister, the task force aims to help businesses and workers manage uncertainties, build resilience, and adapt to the changing economy.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Also Read: Trump’s tariffs shake up global trade—Singapore imposed with 10% baseline rate

Featured Image Credit: The White House

YouGov: Singapore’s PAP leads in early GE2025 poll

The People’s Action Party could secure at least 40% of the votes if GE2025 were held tomorrow, according to a YouGov survey cited by Bloomberg.

The poll, which was conducted from March 25 to April 1, also found that approximately 12% of respondents would support the Workers’ Party, while the Singapore People’s Party, Singapore Democratic Party, National Solidarity Party, and Progress Singapore Party would each receive 1% of the vote.

However, of the 1,845 Singaporeans polled, 29% would rather not disclose their preference, and another 13% were undecided on their party of choice.

The YouGov poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.

Check out our GE2025 microsite for the latest election-related news, find out which constituency you belong to, and more here.

Featured Image Credit: Petir.sg

Also Read: “Nothing matters as much as the vote”: Political analyst Prof Walid gets real about GE2025

What do Trump’s tariffs actually mean for M’sia? We asked local experts & biz owners.

On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on its trading partners.

Starting April 6, a universal 10% tariff would be imposed on all goods coming into the US from anywhere in the world.

Adding to that, Trump also announced “reciprocal” tariff rates for over 60 countries, apparently targeting countries with which the US has the largest trade deficits.

As shown, Cambodia was imposed with the highest tariff rate, at 49%.

Other standouts within the Southeast Asia region include Laos, being imposed a 48% tariff, Vietnam at 46%, Myanmar at 44%, Thailand at 36%, Indonesia at 32%, Malaysia at 24%, and the Philippines at 17%.

Singapore was not imposed with a reciprocal tariff rate and will instead take on the universal rate of 10%. 

As a result of the tariffs, Malaysian stocks fell on Thursday amid an Asia-wide market decline.

But what does this mean for businesses?

To directly quote BBC’s Jennifer Clarke:

• Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.
• Typically, tariffs are a percentage of a product’s value. For example, a 25% tariff on a US$10 (£7.76) product would mean an additional US$2.50 charge.
• Companies that bring the foreign goods into the country have to pay the tax to the government.
• Firms can choose to pass on some or all of the cost to customers.

As such, companies, even small businesses, exporting goods or materials to the US from Malaysia would now be imposed with a 24% tax.

Let’s say your small business sells jewellery to a global consumer base, and you received an order from the US for 10 necklaces, totaling US$100.

With the 24% tariffs in place, the price would climb to US$124, a US$24 increase which would likely have to be covered by the customer (unless you’re feeling generous, of course). And that’s not even including the shipping costs and other potential fees or markups.

As such, this could indirectly lead to a preference for local goods among Americans.

This higher rate however does not cover all Malaysian goods exported to the US, with gloves and semiconductors among goods that have been exempted from the 24% tariff.

What the experts say

Talking to PBS associate professor Dr. Ida Yasin, the economist told Vulcan Post that the increased tariffs on China could also impact the Malaysian cost of living indirectly.

“For example, say there is a factory in the US buying raw materials from China, to then sell their finished goods to Malaysian customers. These Malaysian customers would then incur a higher cost than before due to the higher tariff rate of 54% now imposed on China by the US.”

“This especially affects Malaysians who prefer products sourced from the US.”

Dr. Ida added that she strongly believes that manufacturers from other parts of the country might relocate to Johor Bahru or even Singapore to take advantage of the lower 10% tariff on Singapore, that is if this policy continues.

In a statement by the Labour Solidarity and Learning Resource Association (LLRC), the group expressed concern that the move of factories or manufacturing companies to other countries with lower tariffs could lead to “tens of thousands of workers in Malaysia being terminated.”

Ida continued, “It’s just temporary I would say. This policy would affect the average American or even business owners more than it does non-US businesses, as it is likely that they would be the ones to incur these additional costs.”

“In the short term, Malaysians would definitely be negatively impacted as the US is one of the primary export destinations.”

“That said, if these tariffs continue in the long term, Malaysia is bound to explore new markets and different trading partners.”

What some local businesses say

Speaking to John, the founder of Goblintechkeys, however, he expressed that his business proceedings and strategy would “surely be affected,” with a foreseen additional charge of 9-14% for US customers.

We hope that [the tariffs] won’t last, but compared to other huge export countries like China and other ASEAN countries, I think we are considered ok.

We are, however, exploring to focus on other countries instead of just focusing on the US. Whether you like it or not, we business owners need to find ways to adapt to it, either by reducing our [profit margin] or by selling something that provides value.

– John, founder of Goblintechkeys

Indeed, even for semiconductor company LR Technology, strategies are being implemented to diversify their business by trading with different markets, despite semiconductors being exempted from the new tariff rates.

We are eyeing more business from Europe this year and by collaborating with our German counterparts, we are trying to explore the Chinese market. 

This is crucial when the whole world is affected by US tariffs. Large blocs like the EU and China will have to react and switch focus to other areas to minimise the impact.

– LR Technology Managing Director, HS Toh

Texas-based robotics company, Dallas Roboter, is also another business significantly affected by the tariffs, with its engineering centre based in Cyberjaya.

But the Dallas Roboter team remains hopeful about the situation, with Racheal saying, “Given the dynamic changes in trade relations, these policies might change depending on how other countries respond and comply with US demands.”

“We’re surprised to see Malaysia high on the US tariff list, and to mitigate the impact of these tariffs, our government must actively engage with US authorities and assess whether it’s advantageous to maintain this tariff protection.”

In a statement by the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), they said that the MADANI government would continue engaging with the US, leveraging on the Malaysia-US Trade & Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

MITI and relevant Ministries will continue to engage with the industry and exporters for all of us to weather through this testing period based on a whole-of nation approach, and with a view to support impacted industry sectors to mitigate the impact of the tariffs.

• Learn more about the US tariffs here.
• Read our other Malaysian startup stories here.

Also Read: This HP smart printer proves that M’sian SMEs don’t have to break the bank for reliability

Featured Image Credit: Images used under licence from Shutterstock