The Front Row Podcast

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Gita Wirjawan. This podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at SCAPE Singapore. I would like to thank National Youth Council, the Singapore Global Network, *SCAPE and the Endgame team for helping us put this event together. Gita Wirjawan is an Indonesian entrepreneur, investment banker, and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chairman of Ancora Group, a business group with investments spanning private equity, natural resources, real estate, and sports.Before founding Ancora in 2008, Gita held senior roles in global finance — including Vice President at Citibank Indonesia, Vice President at Goldman Sachs Singapore, and President Director at JP Morgan Indonesia.Mr Wirjawan also served as the Indonesian’s Minister of Trade from October 2011 to January 2014. During this time, he also led the ninth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference held in Bali, December 2013. Where he chaired 159 WTO member countries in consenting to a set of policies to ease international trade barriers.Today, he is the host of Endgame with Gita Wirjawan, a podcast by the School of Government and Public Policy (SGPP) Indonesia, co-produced with Visinema Pictures. Through Endgame, Gita explores ideas and conversations with visionary leaders, uncovering the stories shaping Indonesia and Southeast Asia's bright future.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Trailer & Intro01:35 Why Indonesia Championed RCEP Over TPP08:18 - RCEP's Progress and Current Assessment10:53 - The Chicken-and-Egg Problem: Education and Development14:35 - Teachers as the Key to Regional Transformation15:25 - Southeast Asia's Value Proposition to American Investors19:09 - Why US Re-industrialisation Won't Work20:36 - China's Role: Technological Capital for Southeast Asia26:06 - The Nuclear Reactor Thought Experiment31:50 - Singapore-Indonesia Complementarity37:43 - ASEAN Research Council Proposal40:39 - Q&A: Translating Education to Impact41:24 - Q&A: De-dollarisation and G-142:07 - Q&A: Danantara Fund and Prabowo Administration42:18- Pak Gita's Answers 55:34 - Q&A: Language as Growth Impediment56:00 - Q&A: Learning from US-China Dynamics58:00 - Q&A: Addressing Corruption Through Education1:03:29 - Brain Drain as Brain Circulation1:06:52 - ASEAN's Historical Multipolarity1:10:56 - Final Advice1:13:15 - Closing RemarksThis is the 62nd episode Of The Front Row Podcast

George Yeo, a former Singaporean cabinet minister and distinguished public servant, shares insights on Asia's rising influence. He discusses America's adaptation to a multipolar world and India's strategic positioning between major powers. Yeo highlights China's symbolic displays of power and critiques simplistic Cold War analogies in Asia. He advocates for grassroots peacebuilding over top-down approaches and emphasizes respecting community autonomy. He even imagines governance on Mars, urging innovative thinking about future systems and relations.

Hian is a founding partner of Openspace Capital, a leading multi-strategy asset management firm focused on Southeast Asia. Most notably, he was an early investor in some of Southeast Asia's most notable tech startups such as Gojek, Love Bonito and Lucence. Hian himself has extensive entrepreneurial experience. He founded and built Asian Food Channel, a 24-hour pay TV channel that was sold to US media giant Scripps Interactive (now Warner Brothers Discovery Inc.). Prior to this, he was a technology investment banker at SG Warburg (now UBS) and Salomon Smith Barney (now Citi).He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Law Degree from Trinity College, Oxford.In our conversation today, we cover the following as seen below- TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction to Hien Goh and OpenSpace Capital1:06 The Early Days of OpenSpace Capital in 20143:02 The Southeast Asian E-Commerce Boom 5:15 Selecting the Right Founders 9:10 The TRUST Framework for Evaluating Founders14:29 What Makes A Great Founder for VCs 16:13 Investing in Gojek: Finding Indonesia's Unicorn20:05 Is AI a Bubble? 25:47 What The Dot-Com Era Can Teach US 27:30 AI Economics and New Business Models33:13 Why Focus on Cost of Distribution 35:04 Who Will Win the AI Race?40:03 The Agentic Revolution and Hian's "Hey Gorgeous" Idea 44:05 Beyond NVIDIA: The Future of AI Chips50:10 Jim Keller, The Famous Chip Ronin 54:18 Singapore's Talent Strategy in the AI Era58:59 Made in Singapore: Changing Mindsets1:03:16 Singapore Inc and Strategic Decision-Making1:05:41 Avoiding Over-Optimisation for Success1:08:21 Advice for Fresh GraduatesThis is the 60th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

Professor Jochen Wirtz serves as Vice Dean of MBA Programmes and Professor of Marketing at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. He holds several prestigious international appointments, including as an international fellow of the Service Research Center at Karlstad University in Sweden, an Academic Scholar at the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures at Cornell University, and a Global Faculty member of the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University.In our conversation today, we TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Trailer & Intro00:49 What The Re-Industrialization Hype Misses03:01 Growth Sectors in Services03:21 The Importance Of The Service Economy09:06 How Singapore Emerged As A Services Hub14:50 What Makes An Excellent Service Company20:21 How Singapore Airlines Became Best In The World37:35 The Coming Technological Disruptions In Service Industries38:29 Consolidation Of Services47:28 Artificial Intelligence & Robotics53:00 Economic Implications of AI01:00:40 How does Singapore Stay Ahead 01:06:24 Advice for the Next Generation: Embracing Lifelong LearningThis is the 59th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Gita Wirjawan. Here's what the podcast sponsor, Revolut is offering: 💰Get S$50 cashback when you sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/tfr/ before 30 Nov 2025 and top up your account. T&Cs and end date apply.Gita Wirjawan is an Indonesian entrepreneur, investment banker, and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chairman of Ancora Group, a business group with investments spanning private equity, natural resources, real estate, and sports.Before founding Ancora in 2008, Gita held senior roles in global finance — including Vice President at Citibank Indonesia, Vice President at Goldman Sachs Singapore, and President Director at JP Morgan Indonesia.He is also the host of Endgame with Gita Wirjawan, a podcast by the School of Government and Public Policy (SGPP) Indonesia, co-produced with Visinema Pictures. Through Endgame, Gita explores ideas and conversations with visionary leaders, uncovering the stories shaping Indonesia’s bright future.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Trailer & Intro01:02 Gita's Entry Into Governance07:16 Revolut Ad08:40 What It Took To 4X Indonesia's FDI18:00 Southeast Asia's Place in Global Consciousness23:45 The Importance of STEM Education for Southeast Asia34:38 The Intellectual Gap Between China And Southeast Asia 36:23 Why China Is More Democratic Than We Think40:13 Is Technology Undermining Democracy?44:00 Shifts in Global World Order49:30 How Polarization Happens in the Digital Age51:30 Southeast Asia's Economic Future56:38 Building ASEAN Consciousness01:01:51 Advice for Future Leaders and Young Southeast AsiansThis is the 58th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Kee Lock. Here's what the podcast sponsor, Revolut is offering: 💰Get S$50 cashback when you sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/tfr/ before 30 Nov 2025 and top up your account. T&Cs and end date apply.This is the 57th episode Of The Front Row PodcastChua Kee Lock is the Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex Holdings, a Singapore-headquartered global venture capital investment holding company. He also serves as Managing Partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and as Chairman of the Vertex Growth Fund.Under his leadership, Vertex has grown into a global network of venture capital funds investing in early-stage and growth-stage technology and healthcare companies.As of today - Vertex Holdings has USD 6.8B assets under management and 300+ active portfolio companies. Some of the notable startup successes under their belt include Grab, Patsnap, Nium and Instarem. TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro & Trailer01:11 Kee Lock's Exposure to US Tech Ecosystem05:55 Importance of Technical Expertise in VC07:56 Revolut Ad09:22 Revitalizing Vertex Ventures13:34 Why Was Kee Lock Chosen To Run Vertex?14:46 Avoiding the Traps of Silicon Valley17:57 The Importance of Discipline in Venture Capital21:10 The Decentralized Model of Vertex Ventures26:40 Advantage of Decentralization28:42 How It Was Like To Invest In Grab31:15 How To Evaluate Founders35:48 Grading Anthony of Grab39:58 How VCs Value-Add42:47 Future of Startups in SEA46:03 Where Can Singapore Innovate And Lead?49:10 Future of Technology52:33 Disruptive Technologies On The Horizon54:34 How Singapore Can Prepare 55:10 Preparing for a Globalized Future56:12 Advice To A Fresh GraduateFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Patrick Mcgee. Here's what the podcast sponsor, Revolut is offering: 💰Get S$50 cashback when you sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/tfr/ before 30 Nov 2025 and top up your account. T&Cs and end date apply.(This is also the first sponsorship I have taken since the inception of the podcast. Your support will help me grow the podcast) Patrick McGee is a business journalist who has spent over a decade uncovering the stories behind the technology we use every day. Since 2013, he's written for the Financial Times from Hong Kong, Germany, and California, covering everything from Apple's inner workings to the rise of electric vehicles and the Volkswagen diesel scandal.From 2019 to 2023, Patrick led the FT's coverage of Apple, earning a San Francisco Press Club Award in 2023 for his investigation into the company's HR problems. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and several other major publications.His first book, Apple in China, draws on more than 200 interviews with former Apple executives and engineers to tell the story of how Apple's decision to build its supply chain in China has increasingly left the company exposed in an age of increased geopolitical tensions between the US and china. Spanning three decades and featuring new details and vivid characters, the book offers a sobering look at Apple's future and the broader state of play in tech and geopolitics. What I like about Apple in China is that it goes beyond the usual executive biographies and fleshes out the increasing convergence between economics, technology and geopolitics. It's both a detailed historical account and an exciting read. TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro & Trailer1:42 Why Apple's Manufacturing Legacy Is Misunderstood6:21 A Message From Revolut7:46 How Steve Jobs Lost Manufacturing Control11:35 The Dot-Com Crisis And Its Impact On Apple18:49 America's Post-WWII Economic Transition27:52 Foxconn: The Unsung Partner Behind Apple's Success33:52 Apple Was Ignorant About China38:02 Beijing's Strategy Towards Apple40:48 Apple's Economic Weight In China46:46 Addressing Critiques of Patrick's China Numbers49:42 US-China Interdependence53:37 Why China's Scale Created Unique Challenges57:51 Can Apple Ever Escape China Dependence1:01:40 Advice To A Fresh GraduateThis is the 56th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Kyle Chan.Here's what the podcast sponsor, Revolut is offering: 💰Get S$50 cashback when you sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/tfr/ before 30 Nov 2025 and top up your account. T&Cs and end date apply.(This is also the first sponsorship I have taken since the inception of the podcast. Your support will help me grow the podcast) Kyle Chan is an American sociologist and postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, as well as an adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation. He is also a 2025 fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.–China Relations. His research centers on industrial policy, clean technology, and infrastructure in China and India, with work published in journals such as Current Sociology, Asian Survey, and the Chinese Journal of Sociology. Kyle has testified before the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission and contributes to public debates through his widely read newsletter High Capacity and a New York Times op-ed on U.S.–China competition and technology.You can find his newsletter here: https://www.high-capacity.com/about This Is Episode 55 of The Front Row PodcastTimestamps:00:00 Trailer & Intro01:00 The Utility Of Sociology05:34 Revolut Ad07:00 Insights From China's HSR Projects11:17 Understanding The China Shock17:16 Made in China 2025: A Shift in Policy22:24 Divergence From The East Asian Model26:08 Compounding Effects of Overlapping Industries29:25 The Rise of Swiss Army Knife Companies33:02 Why Apple Abandoned EVs37:11 The US Service Economy vs. Manufacturing42:57 Goals for US Industrial Policy43:29 How China Resolves Tech Inequality48:13 US Policy Attempts At Reducing Inequality53:34 Lessons from China's Industrial Policy58:17 Is There An AI Race Between US and China?01:03:58 How China and US Diverge In AI?01:10:16 What Should US-China Relations Be Like?01:17:00 Will America Become Irrelevant?01:24:35 What US' China Strategy Should Be01:26:55 Advice For Fresh Graduates📖 Full episode transcripts: ykeith.com/tag/podcast💬 Join the conversation:Instagram: frontrow.65LinkedIn: Keith YapWebsite: ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.co🎧 Listen and subscribe for free:Spotify: The Front Row PodcastApple Podcasts: The Front Row Podcast

In a riveting conversation, Kishore Mahbubani, a former diplomat and founding dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School, shares powerful insights on contemporary geopolitics. He reflects on his early experiences in war-torn Cambodia and how they ignited his commitment to peace. Discussing Trump's tariffs, he analyzes their geopolitical repercussions and the allure of protectionism. Kishore emphasizes Asia's rising influence and cautions young Singaporeans about the importance of remaining vigilant and grounded in their success. A thought-provoking dialogue on the changing tides of global politics!

Marc Levinson, an acclaimed economist and historian known for his insightful writing on globalization, dives into the evolution of global trade. He discusses the transformative impact of containerization on commerce, spotlighting Malcolm McLean's innovations. The conversation highlights the transition from physical goods to the exchange of ideas in globalization and addresses the socio-economic effects of automation on workers. Levinson also explores how America can navigate its industrial future while adapting to technological changes in the job market.