You might have heard of Jotun paint or the Jif dishwashing liquid (they are known as Cif in Singapore and carried by Unilever, but that is a story for another day), but did you know who is the player behind these brands?

What about a Norwegian conglomerate called Orkla ASA?  Founded in 1654, Orkla is a leading industrial investment company focusing on brands and consumer oriented companies.

Just to give you a sense of the business’ scale of operations, Orkla ASA generated operating revenues of some 58.4 billion Norwegian Krones or S$7.44 billion in 2022 and a workforce of over 20,000 employees. 

The Oslo Stock Exchange listed firm has 12 companies under its belt, in areas such as paints and coatings, home and personal care, foods, confectionery and snacks, health and food ingredients among others.

And it has set some exciting financial targets for these brands. For one thing, the firm had in November last year estimated the value creation potential for its consolidated portfolio companies to be 40 to 45 billion Norwegian Krones (S$5.11 billion to S$5.75 billion) in the period between 2023 and 2026. 

This will mean a Compound Annual Growth Rate (or CAGR) of 8 to 10% for underlying adjusted EBIT (or earnings before interest and taxes) and a margin expansion in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 percentage points. 

But how does it intend to do so? Which portfolio companies is it looking to grow versus to transform or exit? Also with Orkla selling its products in over 100 countries, what value does Asia hold for the firm?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kaj-Dac Tam, Vice-President, Net Revenue Management, Orkla Group. 

You might have heard of Jotun paint or the Jif dishwashing liquid (they are known as Cif in Singapore and carried by Unilever, but that is a story for another day), but did you know who is the player behind these brands?
What about a Norwegian conglomerate called Orkla ASA?  Founded in 1654, Orkla is a leading industrial investment company focusing on brands and consumer oriented companies.
Just to give you a sense of the business’ scale of operations, Orkla ASA generated operating revenues of some 58.4 billion Norwegian Krones or S$7.44 billion in 2022 and a workforce of over 20,000 employees. 
The Oslo Stock Exchange listed firm has 12 companies under its belt, in areas such as paints and coatings, home and personal care, foods, confectionery and snacks, health and food ingredients among others.
And it has set some exciting financial targets for these brands. For one thing, the firm had in November last year estimated the value creation potential for its consolidated portfolio companies to be 40 to 45 billion Norwegian Krones (S$5.11 billion to S$5.75 billion) in the period between 2023 and 2026. 
This will mean a Compound Annual Growth Rate (or CAGR) of 8 to 10% for underlying adjusted EBIT (or earnings before interest and taxes) and a margin expansion in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 percentage points. 
But how does it intend to do so? Which portfolio companies is it looking to grow versus to transform or exit? Also with Orkla selling its products in over 100 countries, what value does Asia hold for the firm?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kaj-Dac Tam, Vice-President, Net Revenue Management, Orkla Group.

We speak with businesses, industry leaders, venture capitalists and startups on their assessment of the business environment they're in, and what the future holds for them.

We speak with businesses, industry leaders, venture capitalists and startups on their assessment of the business environment they're in, and what the future holds for them.

Under The Radar

From politics to pop culture, we've got it all. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of business, lifestyle, culture, travel, and sports.

From politics to pop culture, we've got it all. Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of business, lifestyle, culture, travel, and sports.

The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong, Roshan Gidwani and Chua Tian Tian

Under the Radar: Behind your Jif dishwashing liquid and and Jotun paint – Norwegian conglomerate Orkla on its new operating model for value creation, ambitious CAGR

With Singapore’s 59th birthday right around the corner, we want to bring you a National Day special of “Under the Radar” where we speak to a homegrown heritage brand that you’ll come into contact with on a day-to-day basis.  

Make a guess – this company is also said to be the oldest Hainanese coffee shop brand in Singapore. Established in late 1919 along the busy streets of Killiney Road, our guest for today is none other than – well — F&B operator Killiney! 

But there’s a story behind how Killiney Kopitiam came about. The coffee shop was founded as Kheng Hoe Heng Coffeeshop back in the day, serving well-brewed coffee and tea and charcoal-grilled bread toast. 

The traditional breakfast fare stole the heart of one regular customer called Mr Woon, who loved it so much that he finally bought the shop in 1993, renovated it, and called it ‘Killiney Kopitiam’. 

But despite major renovations, the new owner believed in upholding the legacy of the previous owner, as well as the traditional working style and influence of the coffee shop. The focus remains on making good kaya, bread toast, coffee and tea, even as the brand scales and modernises. 

Today, the Killiney Group has grown to a presence of about 50 outlets worldwide, and even moved into the FMCG merchandise business selling ready-to-cook food paste and instant beverages under the same heritage brand. 

Now, we’re talking to Killiney Kopitiam not only because the old-school coffee shops are not only one close to our hearts, but also because the trade is also fading away from modern Singapore. 

According to a Business Insider article in January this year citing Singapore’s Housing Development Board, only 776 coffee shops remain, down from the over 2,000 traditional coffee shops back in the 1950s. So what was Killiney Kopitiam’s recipe to thrive over the years, all while retaining a slice of Singapore’s past?

Meanwhile, what is the company doing to bring a slice of Singapore abroad to other international markets such as the US?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Henry Oh, General Manager, Killiney International.

With Singapore’s 59th birthday right around the corner, we want to bring you a National Day special of “Under the Radar” where we speak to a homegrown heritage brand that you’ll come into contact with on a day-to-day basis.  
Make a guess – this company is also said to be the oldest Hainanese coffee shop brand in Singapore. Established in late 1919 along the busy streets of Killiney Road, our guest for today is none other than – well — F&amp;B operator Killiney! 
But there’s a story behind how Killiney Kopitiam came about. The coffee shop was founded as Kheng Hoe Heng Coffeeshop back in the day, serving well-brewed coffee and tea and charcoal-grilled bread toast. 
The traditional breakfast fare stole the heart of one regular customer called Mr Woon, who loved it so much that he finally bought the shop in 1993, renovated it, and called it ‘Killiney Kopitiam’. 
But despite major renovations, the new owner believed in upholding the legacy of the previous owner, as well as the traditional working style and influence of the coffee shop. The focus remains on making good kaya, bread toast, coffee and tea, even as the brand scales and modernises. 
Today, the Killiney Group has grown to a presence of about 50 outlets worldwide, and even moved into the FMCG merchandise business selling ready-to-cook food paste and instant beverages under the same heritage brand. 
Now, we’re talking to Killiney Kopitiam not only because the old-school coffee shops are not only one close to our hearts, but also because the trade is also fading away from modern Singapore. 
According to a Business Insider article in January this year citing Singapore’s Housing Development Board, only 776 coffee shops remain, down from the over 2,000 traditional coffee shops back in the 1950s. So what was Killiney Kopitiam’s recipe to thrive over the years, all while retaining a slice of Singapore’s past?
Meanwhile, what is the company doing to bring a slice of Singapore abroad to other international markets such as the US?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Henry Oh, General Manager, Killiney International.

Under the Radar: How did Singapore’s oldest Hainanese coffee shop brand thrive while retaining a slice of Singapore’s past over the years? GM of Killiney International spills the coffee.

Remember the days when the gas delivery man would come to our homes to switch out our gas tanks or gas cylinders? 

That’s probably becoming a thing of the past, making today’s “Under The Radar” conversation all the more meaningful. 

With over 40 years of operating track record, our guest Union Gas Holdings is an established provider of fuel products in Singapore. The company's key businesses consist of Retail Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Compressed Natural Gas and Diesel. 

The SGX mainboard listed company is also said to be one of the leading suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas in Singapore. 

It has a fleet of over 200 vehicles serving more than 200,000 domestic households as well as commercial entities such as hawker centres, eating houses, coffee shops and commercial central kitchen. 

Assets-wise, the Group owns LPG storage depots as well as two out of four bottling LPG bottling plants in the island, giving it full control of the supply chain from procurement to bottling, storage, distribution, wholesaling and retailing. 

Union Gas is an interesting company to look at particularly as households and F&B operators increasingly hop onto the green bandwagon, opting for electric stoves versus using gas stoves. 

What does this mean for the firm when it boils down to demand for gas cylinders and cooking gas, and how is it switching up its portfolio offerings to prepare for a cleaner future?

Speaking of which, Union Gas Holdings had in April this year expanded its offerings to provide electric vehicle charging services through a partnership with Hong Kong-based charging service provider Deltrix. But what can we expect on this front? 

Also – how will moving away from traditional fuel sources also help the firm mitigate volatilities with oil and gas prices given ongoing geopolitical tensions in key supply markets?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Alexis Teo, General Manager, Union Gas.

Remember the days when the gas delivery man would come to our homes to switch out our gas tanks or gas cylinders? 
That’s probably becoming a thing of the past, making today’s “Under The Radar” conversation all the more meaningful. 
With over 40 years of operating track record, our guest Union Gas Holdings is an established provider of fuel products in Singapore. The company's key businesses consist of Retail Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Compressed Natural Gas and Diesel. 
The SGX mainboard listed company is also said to be one of the leading suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas in Singapore. 
It has a fleet of over 200 vehicles serving more than 200,000 domestic households as well as commercial entities such as hawker centres, eating houses, coffee shops and commercial central kitchen. 
Assets-wise, the Group owns LPG storage depots as well as two out of four bottling LPG bottling plants in the island, giving it full control of the supply chain from procurement to bottling, storage, distribution, wholesaling and retailing. 
Union Gas is an interesting company to look at particularly as households and F&amp;B operators increasingly hop onto the green bandwagon, opting for electric stoves versus using gas stoves. 
What does this mean for the firm when it boils down to demand for gas cylinders and cooking gas, and how is it switching up its portfolio offerings to prepare for a cleaner future?
Speaking of which, Union Gas Holdings had in April this year expanded its offerings to provide electric vehicle charging services through a partnership with Hong Kong-based charging service provider Deltrix. But what can we expect on this front? 
Also – how will moving away from traditional fuel sources also help the firm mitigate volatilities with oil and gas prices given ongoing geopolitical tensions in key supply markets?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Alexis Teo, General Manager, Union Gas.

Under the Radar:  From gas cylinders to EV charging – Union Gas Holdings on diversifying service offerings as customers tap the electrification trend

Using artificial intelligence to overcome language barriers through human-like machine translation. That is what we are going to talk about today. 

Founded in 2017, our guest DeepL is a global communications startup powered by Language AI.  Language AI, for context, is a field of artificial intelligence that looks at getting computers to understand and communicate in the human language.

Now, back to DeepL, the German company works on human sounding translations and intelligent writing suggestions for enterprises across 32 global languages, and is said to be able to translate with pinpoint accuracy, accounting for industry-specific terminology and situational context. 

Since its founding, DeepL has enabled over 100,000 businesses to transform communications, reach new markets and improve productivity. 

The company is seen as a competitor to Alphabet’s Google Translate. It is also backed by a number of notable names including a fund from Mark Zuckerberg’s family office and Index Ventures. 

Its valuation? A whopping US$2 billion as of May this year. 

Aside from the big numbers, DeepL is also seeing a number of exciting developments of late. The company had in late July launched traditional Chinese as a language option as it looks to double down on its presence in Asia. 

But why did DeepL choose to offer this rather niche language used mostly in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and how far will this help it compete against major Chinese technology giants  such as Baidu and Tencent which provide translation tools in simplified Chinese?

Meanwhile, the firm had also in the same month launched a language model that is said to outperform GPT-4, Google and Microsoft for translation quality. But how will this set the stage for DeepL as it pursues future growth?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jarek Kutylowski, CEO and Founder, DeepL.

Using artificial intelligence to overcome language barriers through human-like machine translation. That is what we are going to talk about today. 
Founded in 2017, our guest DeepL is a global communications startup powered by Language AI.  Language AI, for context, is a field of artificial intelligence that looks at getting computers to understand and communicate in the human language.
Now, back to DeepL, the German company works on human sounding translations and intelligent writing suggestions for enterprises across 32 global languages, and is said to be able to translate with pinpoint accuracy, accounting for industry-specific terminology and situational context. 
Since its founding, DeepL has enabled over 100,000 businesses to transform communications, reach new markets and improve productivity. 
The company is seen as a competitor to Alphabet’s Google Translate. It is also backed by a number of notable names including a fund from Mark Zuckerberg’s family office and Index Ventures. 
Its valuation? A whopping US$2 billion as of May this year. 
Aside from the big numbers, DeepL is also seeing a number of exciting developments of late. The company had in late July launched traditional Chinese as a language option as it looks to double down on its presence in Asia. 
But why did DeepL choose to offer this rather niche language used mostly in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and how far will this help it compete against major Chinese technology giants  such as Baidu and Tencent which provide translation tools in simplified Chinese?
Meanwhile, the firm had also in the same month launched a language model that is said to outperform GPT-4, Google and Microsoft for translation quality. But how will this set the stage for DeepL as it pursues future growth?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jarek Kutylowski, CEO and Founder, DeepL.

Under the Radar: Overcoming language barriers with AI - German translation startup DeepL on future growth, backing by Mark Zuckerberg’s Family Office fund and expansion in Asia

Under the Radar: Behind your Jif dishwashing liquid and and Jotun paint – Norwegian conglomerate Orkla on its new operating model for value creation, ambitious CAGR

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