Funding Societies has launched its comprehensive Islamic Financing solutions for both the micro SME and SME segments, in line with Malaysia’s aspirations to be a leader in Islamic finance.  But is this enough for the platform to penetrate the semi urban markets? We speak with Chai Kien Poon, Country Head, Funding Societies Malaysia to share the strategic objectives, channel strategy and the path to profitability for the company.

Funding Societies has launched its comprehensive Islamic Financing solutions for both the micro SME and SME segments, in line with Malaysia’s aspirations to be a leader in Islamic finance. But is this enough for the platform to penetrate the semi urban markets? We speak with Chai Kien Poon, Country Head, Funding Societies Malaysia to share the strategic objectives, channel strategy and the path to profitability for the company.

Sharper and stronger than a double espresso. The Morning Run stretches your mind and braces you for the business day. It's your fast track into work where you can hit the ground running. From 6am to 10am weekdays, the Morning Run brings you the biggest stories and must-listen-to interviews. Stay enlightened, make educated business and investment decisions.

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.

Will Funding Societies Islamic Financing Products Appeal To Makcik Kiah?

With record profits driven by strong CPO prices and surging industrial development returns, how is SD Guthrie balancing its legacy plantation core with the race for high-value land monetisation? Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of SD Guthrie, joins The Breakfast Grille to discuss the strategic evolution of the 200-year-old palm oil giant.

Haris outlines efforts to break through stagnant national yields through high-performing seed varieties, labor estate rehabilitation, and mechanisation. He also addresses the structural limits of land expansion, the ideal "sweet spot" for CPO pricing to prevent global demand destruction, and how the company plans to monetise strategic land banks for business parks and data centers without losing its plantation identity.

With record profits driven by strong CPO prices and surging industrial development returns, how is SD Guthrie balancing its legacy plantation core with the race for high-value land monetisation? Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of SD Guthrie, joins The Breakfast Grille to discuss the strategic evolution of the 200-year-old palm oil giant.Haris outlines efforts to break through stagnant national yields through high-performing seed varieties, labor estate rehabilitation, and mechanisation. He also addresses the structural limits of land expansion, the ideal "sweet spot" for CPO pricing to prevent global demand destruction, and how the company plans to monetise strategic land banks for business parks and data centers without losing its plantation identity.

SD Guthrie: Can Land & CPO Keep Record Profits Going?

The Breakfast Grille - Sep 10, 2026

Malaysia is now one of the world's four biggest net exporters of AI hardware, and Jabil is one of the companies that put it there. But while the group poured half a billion US dollars into North Carolina and signed a multi-gigawatt AI platform in India this year, Malaysia's headline was a leased logistics hub in Sungai Jawi. We ask whether 14,000 people, silicon photonics and a Perlis plant are buying Malaysia a bigger seat at the table — or just more floor space. We speak to Tan Siew Jin, Managing Director of Jabil Malaysia.

Malaysia is now one of the world's four biggest net exporters of AI hardware, and Jabil is one of the companies that put it there. But while the group poured half a billion US dollars into North Carolina and signed a multi-gigawatt AI platform in India this year, Malaysia's headline was a leased logistics hub in Sungai Jawi. We ask whether 14,000 people, silicon photonics and a Perlis plant are buying Malaysia a bigger seat at the table — or just more floor space. We speak to Tan Siew Jin, Managing Director of Jabil Malaysia.

Will Funding Societies Islamic Financing Products Appeal To Makcik Kiah?

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