Tariffs, protectionism and fractured alliances are reshaping the global trading system. With blocs like BRICS rising and the US facing questions over its influence, is uncertainty now the new normal for world trade? Dr Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation, joins us to unpack what this means for Asia, ASEAN and Malaysia.



Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Tariffs, protectionism and fractured alliances are reshaping the global trading system. With blocs like BRICS rising and the US facing questions over its influence, is uncertainty now the new normal for world trade? Dr Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation, joins us to unpack what this means for Asia, ASEAN and Malaysia.Image Credit: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Shutterstock.com">Shutterstock.com</a>

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The Breakfast Grille

Featuring the cream-of-the-crop as well as the controversial, the Breakfast Grille is the flagship show of BFM. Expect no-holds-barred interviews to get to the truth and into the minds of business leaders, policymakers and changemakers.

Uncertainty : The New Normal for World Trade

Telco tower veteran Suresh Sidhu launched EdgePoint Infrastructure in 2020, scaling the regional venture to over 16,000 sites across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with backing from DigitalBridge, and then later the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

However the infrastructure model now faces a more complex reality: carrier consolidation and a higher for longer interest rate environment that creates a more challenging environment, in particular for a PE-backed player. Can ASEAN’s underlying tide of data demand outrun these mounting structural pressures?

Suresh Sidhu joins the show to discuss navigating private equity expectations in a high-rate climate, the shifting economics of a consolidated customer base, and the new growth engines driving the TowerCo model.

Telco tower veteran Suresh Sidhu launched EdgePoint Infrastructure in 2020, scaling the regional venture to over 16,000 sites across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with backing from DigitalBridge, and then later the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.However the infrastructure model now faces a more complex reality: carrier consolidation and a higher for longer interest rate environment that creates a more challenging environment, in particular for a PE-backed player. Can ASEAN’s underlying tide of data demand outrun these mounting structural pressures?Suresh Sidhu joins the show to discuss navigating private equity expectations in a high-rate climate, the shifting economics of a consolidated customer base, and the new growth engines driving the TowerCo model.

Can ASEAN’s Digital Needs Push EdgePoint Past Key Pressures?

Pharmaniaga officially exited PN17 status in March, having taken three years to complete its regularisation plan. The firm is now vying to become the most valuable pharmaceutical company in Malaysia by 2030 leveraging on its ongoing government concession in logistics and biopharma manufacturing capabilities. We catch-up with Managing Director Dato’ Zulkifli Jafar to find out how he intends to achieve this goal.

Pharmaniaga officially exited PN17 status in March, having taken three years to complete its regularisation plan. The firm is now vying to become the most valuable pharmaceutical company in Malaysia by 2030 leveraging on its ongoing government concession in logistics and biopharma manufacturing capabilities. We catch-up with Managing Director Dato’ Zulkifli Jafar to find out how he intends to achieve this goal.

Pharmaniaga Post-PN17 Betting Big on Biopharma

Still fresh from his re-entry into UMNO, we ask the former Minister and Youth Chief what role he sees for himself in the party ahead of GE16, and his views on the Barisan-Pakatan cooperation and what the Malay community wants. We also tap him for his views on great power rivalry, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the global crisis it has created. Are our political elite up to the task of navigating the global crisis, or will they keep our house permanently divided?

Still fresh from his re-entry into UMNO, we ask the former Minister and Youth Chief what role he sees for himself in the party ahead of GE16, and his views on the Barisan-Pakatan cooperation and what the Malay community wants. We also tap him for his views on great power rivalry, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the global crisis it has created. Are our political elite up to the task of navigating the global crisis, or will they keep our house permanently divided?

Uncertainty : The New Normal for World Trade

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