Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

In episode 310, Justin Hall, partner from Golden Gate Ventures joined us in a conversation to discuss the state of venture capital in Southeast Asia. Justin shared his career journey in how he progressed from an associate to a partner within one of the well-known venture capital firms in Southeast Asia and explained what he has learned over the years from working with startup founders and companies. From there, Justin extended the conversation to offer his perspectives to how the infrastructure has evolved and the importance of exits for startups in Southeast Asia. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Justin Hall, partner in Golden Gate Ventures (@JVinnyHall, LinkedIn) [0:15] How did you start your career? [0:46] Does the Kauffman program help you in advancing your venture capital career? [2:30] Prominent alumni in Kauffman Fellowship within Southeast Asia [3:15] In your career journey, what are the interesting life lessons you can share with my audience? [4:02]  Golden Gate Ventures and Venture Capital in Southeast Asia (or ASEAN) [6:12] Can you introduce Golden Gate Ventures to the audience (and yes, just a refresher as I have interviewed Jeff and Vinnie) years back? [6:34] How has the fund evolved since you have started as an associate and eventually now as a partner? Can you talk about some of the successful startups within Golden Gate Ventures portfolio? [8:01] What is your current role in Golden Gate Ventures? [11:09] How do you think about making decisions on whether to invest in startups within the investment committee? [12:35] What is a typical day for you as a venture capitalist? [14:23] What are the industry verticals which you are most excited about in the venture capital space lately? [16:10] Where are the opportunities that you have identified in the logistics space given that last mile delivery is commoditized? [19:09] How about any other interesting verticals other than logistics? [21:27] What do you look for in a startup team when you invest in them? [23:17]  We are now at the tail end of the first institutional funding cycle for Southeast Asia but most VC funds in the region have raised at least 2nd and 3rd rounds of funding, how has the VC scene changed since you first started? [26:15] How do you see the signaling risk for startups within the venture capital circle in Southeast Asia? [29:09] How does the infrastructure within the Southeast Asia market has changed from your opinion? Does it enable more or less startup activity? Let's exclude Singapore given that it is well developed as a city state. [30:20] Recently, in the past two years, there has been a strong interest from tech giants in China and US on Southeast Asia, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem from the perspective of startups and venture capital? [33:40] How does a startup founder look at Southeast Asia market? If you are asked to advise a founder in Singapore or in Jakarta to expand into another market, what will be the first advice you give them? [36:18] One major criticism, pointed out by many is the lack of startup exits in the startup ecosystem. How do you define startup exits and what does success in startup exits would mean for Southeast Asia, and if you have any examples, please share them? [39:38] Closing [43:04] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [43:25] Justin's recommendation: "Trillion Dollar Coach" by Eric Schmidt et al.  How can my audience find you? [44:54] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In episode 309, Wilma Gerber, the chief operating officer for project and development services in JLL Asia Pacific, joined us for a conversation on digital transformation in the real estate industry. Starting from her work in building technology before the iPhone turned the smartphone mainstream to building the 4G network in India which becomes Reliance Jio, she offered the important lessons that explained the intersection of business and technology. Moving forward, she offered her perspectives on the why and how for a successful digital transformation and how it can be applied into a traditional industry for real estate. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Wilma Gerber (LinkedIn), Chief Operating Officer, Project & Development Services Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) [0:18] How did you start your career? [0:40] Given that you have worked on technology ideas before these ideas become fashionable, for example, the instant mobile messaging app leads to whatsapp, the mobile music player becomes the iPod and the mobile app store before Apple App Store and Google Play, what are the major lessons that you have drawn from these experiences? [3:04] So you spent your early a career in South Africa and Europe. What brought you to Asia? [4:35] What is like working with Reliance to build out the 4G network for India that jumpstarted the smartphone market for the next 100-200M users? [6:01] After you have worked in technology companies for more than 20 years, for example, building the network in India that is now the 4G network for Reliance Jio, why have you transitioned into real estate? [7:41] Given that new upstarts such as Wework has entered into the real estate and the complexity of the real estate supply chain, why would it be different this round for you in executing a digital transformation in a traditional industry such as real estate? [9:34] Digital Transformation in Real Estate [10:20] Can you briefly introduce JLL to my audience and describe your current role and coverage with JLL? [10:43]   How do you define digital transformation and what exactly it entails? [11:21] How has your perception of DX changed since you moved from the vendor to client side? [12:12] How do you define the typical objectives/goals for digital transformation? [13:32] Who should be involved in the digital transformation within the company? [15:00] Do you think that digital transformation is a program or a new way of thinking for a company or business? [16:02] In a digital transformation given that it involves people and culture, what is more important, the transition or education for the organization? When you start off on a digital transformation initiative, what are the initial steps? [17:46] You have been working on digital transformation initiatives for over 15 years - can you provide an example of a successful digital transformation initiative from the wider market that you find compelling? Wilma discuss the case of DBS bank as a successful example of digital transformation. [18:50] What sets this example apart from the typical digital transformation initiatives? [21:07] What are the major challenges for digital transformation? [22:00] Organisational  Cultural Financial Strategic Technological In your perspective, how do you think about aligning the different stakeholders in digital transformation? [23:46] What do you mean by leader-led change? [24:38] The importance of culture in digital transformation. [25:35] So now that you’ve been in Real Estate for about 3 years, what are you seeing as some of the industry specific challenges holding back digital transformation? [26:31] If you had to give one piece of advice for someone who is about to undertake a digital transformation initiative from the leadership position, what would it be? [29:00] References: McKinsey article - Why Digital Strategies fail? Closing [29:29] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [29:35] Wilma's recommendation: Adam Grant's podcast "Work Life", the Freaknomics podcast and Malcolm Gladwell's "Revisionist History" podcast. How do my audience find you? [30:16] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In episode 308, Charles Reed Anderson joined us to discuss the recent report "Smart Cities Success: Connecting People, Proptech and Real Estate" which he collaborated with JLL. Charles discuss the major findings in the report and examine the role that governments are playing in shaping the concept of smart cities. Continuing the conversation, Charles shares the opportunities and challenges for different countries in Asia Pacific from China to India and offers his perspectives to where we are heading on smart cities globally. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Charles Anderson (@CRASingapore, LinkedIn), founder of Charles Reed Anderson and Associates. [0:17] What have you been up to since we last spoke? [0:29] Smart Cities Success: Connecting People, Proptech and Real Estate report by Charles Reed Anderson & Associates and JLL (full download of the report here) [0:37] What are the main themes of the report and its intended audience? [1:23] Can you discuss the findings of the report in brief? [3:23] Why are cities at the center of this conversation from the perspective of challenges? [6:39] How do you define ‘smart city’ in the report? [7:45] What is the role played by real estate space in smart cities? [9:00]  Can the vision of smart cities eventually be realized? [12:25] In the report, you have looked at the opportunities and challenges for different countries such as Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore, what are the interesting points on the cities within these set of countries on delivering smart cities? [16:03] Which smart cities will be interesting to you at this moment? [19:50] Where do we go next for smart cities? [21:20] Closing [23:22] Can you recommend a book, podcast or anything else that has impact to your work and personal life recently? [23:39] Charles' recommendation: Reading the transcripts of interviews he did with different people in how they looked at the smart cities. How do my audience find you? [24:22] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In Episode 307, Gary Liu, the chief executive officer of South China Morning Post (SCMP), joined us to discuss the vision and mission of the media outlet and offer his perspectives on media across Asia Pacific. We started with Gary sharing his career story and how he came to lead SCMP. He discuss the core audience of the media outlet and the new content and innovations that is driving the transformation of SCMP. Last but not least, Gary offered his perspectives on the current trends driving media in the digital age. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Gary Liu, CEO of South China Morning Post [0:17] How did you start your career? [0:38] Can you talk about the backstory in how you come to join SCMP as the CEO? [1:06] In your career journey, what has been the most interesting lessons you can share with my audience? [2:16] South China Morning Post [4:01] The South China Morning Post aka SCMP is a Hong Kong English language newspaper founded in 1903 and is now owned by the Alibaba Group. In preparing for this interview, I did not realize that both Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp and a well-known Singaporean real estate tycoon, Robert Kuok were past owners of the SCMP as well.  Starting with an introduction, can you summarize what the South China Morning Post (SCMP) do and talk about its current mission and vision? [4:36] Who are the core audience of SCMP? [7:10] Since Alibaba’s acquisition and your hiring, what are the changes that you have brought to the post? [8:10] What are the interesting innovations and products that are now pioneered from SCMP that will be interesting to take the paper forward into the digital age? [9:34] Ink Stone This Week in Asia Style Abacus News What is your thinking process in making a decision if business and editorial groups are at loggerheads and could not come to an agreement? [13:56] How do you define if SCMP is successful in a few years time? [15:34] Perspectives in Media [17:33] As digital disruption has entered into traditional newspaper and media outlets, what are the challenges and where are the opportunities do you see that a traditional outlet can move forward? [17:42] Media outlets, for example, the Guardian & New York Times have shifted their audience from a local or regional to a global one. Do you see regional media outlets such as Nikkei and SCMP going in the same way in thinking about your audience and putting your knowledge about the region as a competitive advantage? [20:38] In your view, what are the most interesting business models and innovation in media that keeps you excited about the space? [21:59] Given that traditional news outlets can be viewed as institutions of trust, are there opportunities in the curation of media rather than discovery of media? [24:32] Where do you think that Asia journalism and news will go towards with the rise of China? [25:50] Closing [27:42] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [27:50] Gary's recommendation: "Team of Teams" by Chris Fussell, David Silverman, & Stanley A. McChrystal and Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin How do my audience find you? [29:11] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In Episode 306, Tim Culpan, columnist from Bloomberg, joined us in a conversation to discuss the tech cold war. Starting from the definition when the event started with US ban on Huawei, Tim explained how the global technology supply chain will be affected in the process from Foxconn, TSMC to Apple. Tim also offered his perspectives on the recent change in leadership within Foxconn, Alibaba's listing in Hong Kong as a hedge and the impact fo the tech cold war on SoftBank's Vision Fund. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Tim Culpan (@tculpan, Linkedin, Bloomberg), Columnist at Bloomberg [0:17] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:31] The Tech Cold War [0:58] You have recently written that May 19 is an important date for the turn of China and US relationship starting with Huawei placed on the ban, why do you characterize it as the tech cold war? [1:03] Is it way past the Thucydides Trap now for US and China? [3:14] With the US and China trade war breaking the global supply chain, particularly its implications to Huawei, Apple, TSMC, Foxconn and many others involved? [3:34]  Is Alibaba’s upcoming listing in Hong Kong Stock Exchange a way to have a hedge against themselves in the US market? [6:32] Let’s start with Foxconn, can you describe the interesting happenings in the Foxconn leadership because of Terry Gou’s decision to run for the Taiwan Presidency and what does it mean for the company? [9:27] Given your understanding of Terry Gou and if he wins, what will he be like as the Taiwan president? [11:25] Does everyone shares Masa’s vision with Vision Fund? [13:50] What does the tech cold war means for SoftBank given that the fund invests in both US and China? [15:51] Are we in a peak SoftBank? [17:29]  What are your thoughts with Masa’s recent floating of an idea to float the Vision Fund public? [18:42] What will we be expecting in the next couple of months or what should we look out for with the tech cold war coming? [19:45] Closing [22:00] Can you recommend a book, movie, podcast or anything else that has recently impact your personal or work life? [22:08] Tim's recommendation: The 996 Podcast by GGV Capital & The Extramilest podcast. Where can my audience find you? [23:06] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded in June 2019.

In episode 305, Robert Greene, author of the famous "48 Laws of Power", joined us in a conversation to discuss his latest book "The Laws of Human Nature". We dived deep in Robert's background and how he was inspired to write the "48 Laws of Power" and subsequently his other books that led eventually to "The Laws of Human Nature". We discuss how business leaders can learn to lead in difficult times and how to navigate the current climate of populism by understanding the laws of human nature. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Robert Greene (@RobertGreene, LinkedIn), author of “The Laws of Human Nature”, “48 Laws of Power”, “33 Strategies of War”, “The Art of Seduction”, “Mastery” and “The 50th Law” with 50 cent aka Curtis Jackson. [0:19] How did you start your career? [1:03]  What is the inspiration behind your first book “48 Laws of Power” and what is the lesson that you want the reader to understand from the book? [3:23] Are you surprised by the book’s popularity with the business community when it was first launched? [7:58] I often enjoyed the style of how you have presented your books with the principle followed by a story that illustrate the principle, does that mean to you that stories are the best ways to explain difficult concepts such as power, leadership and mastery to your readers? [9:41] Does the choice of historical examples help to have the reader to take detached view on the concepts? [12:21] What are the interesting life lessons you can share with my audience? [14:07] The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene [15:44] How did you decide to write the book “The Laws of Human Nature”? [16:27] What are the major themes behind this book? [17:56] Are the laws of human nature immutable given that our history keeps showing that we often repeat making the same mistakes over and over again the same in essence but different in context? [21:10] Do you see that technology is an amplifier to the laws of human nature rather than an enabler that allows us to break out of them? [24:49] What are the three laws in the book that you believe are important to those who are in business? [26:58] It seems that the geopolitical landscape in the world is starting to shift significantly where most people are becoming more nationalistic and starting to prefer populism over facts, and wealth gaps disparity are getting bigger in the present, how does your book help us to understand the current world as it is now? [33:22] Do you think that there will be any more additional laws of human nature which you will insert into the book in the future? [36:36]  Closing [39:29] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [39:52] Robert's recommendation: Alain De Botton's "The School of Life" podcast How can my audience find you? [41:02] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong.

In episode 304, Rui Ma, co-founder of Transformative Technology Academy and co-host of the Techbuzz China podcast joined us in a conversation to discuss Xiaopeng Motors and extending the conversation to analyse the state of electric cars (EVs) market in China. We dived deep to the origins of Xiaopeng Motors with its legendary founder, He Xiaopeng, and how it amassed a huge and massive funding from Alibaba Group and other investors. From there, we bring in the other key players: Nio, WM Motors and Byton into the fray and how Tesla and the traditional automotive companies such as SAIC are approaching the Chinese market. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Rui Ma, Founder of Transformative Technology Academy and Host of TechBuzz podcast by Pandaily produced by SupChina (LinkedIn, @ruima) [0:19] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:34] Can you talk about the influencer marketing in China on a recent Techbuzz China podcast? [1:24] Rui Ma's thoughts on the e-cigrattes market in China [2:55] Xiaopeng Motors and State of EVs in China [3:34] Reference: TechBuzz China Episode 22 - NIO  Introduction: Xiaopeng Motors is an electric car company who has recently raised US$587M (~ 4B RMB) in China backed by Alibaba Group and many other prominent investors? [4:09] [Ref: Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng raises US$587 million as it gears up to take on Tesla, SCMP and TechBuzz China episode on NIO] What is the mission and vision of Xiaopeng Motors? [5:43] Can you talk about He Xiaopeng, the CEO and Chairman of the company and former co-founder / CTO for UCWeb, China's largest web browser acquired by Alibaba Group over US$4.3B? What is his background before he started Xiaopeng Motors? [7:35]  Does Xiaopeng Motors build their own cars? Where and how do they produce their electric cars? [8:55] Recently, they have unveiled their latest car, G3 in CES and the car is priced at US$47K compared to Tesla Model 3 priced at US$30K, can you talk about the different car models which they have done so far or will be doing? [12:58] Can you talk about William Li Bin, NIO’s celebrity founder and how has he managed to create a car company out of powerpoints? What is the rivalry between the EV car companies founders and other tech founders? [15:18] Let’s expand the scope of the EV market in China out, and other than Xiaopeng & NIO, there are also other companies such as WM (or Weima) Motor and Byton, how are these EV cars company differ in how they approach the market?  [19:00] Has the Chinese government like the US government during the Obama era been supportive of EVs, and have they offered similar type of incentives for the Chinese consumer? [22:52]  What is their business model for Xiaopeng Motors? Is it similar to Tesla or NIO? [26:07] How are EVs viewed and perceived in China? Will the chinese consumer purchase an electric car? [27:40] It’s interesting that Alibaba backed Xiaopeng and Tencent backed NIO and is the EV market another extension or proxy war between the Chinese tech giants and what are their intentions behind the market? [29:20] It seems that the car market is focused on EVs and not autonomous vehicles. Is that a tacit acknowledgement that self driving technologies are not ready for the Chinese market? [31:10] How about the traditional car companies in China who have partnered with VW Group, GM Motors such as SAIC, or non-traditional car companies such as BYD which started off as a battery company and now a car company or new EV companies from the US such as Tesla? How do these players fit into this new EV market within China? [32:43] Closing [34:47] Can you recommend a book, podcast or anything else that has impact to your work and personal life recently? [34:55] Sam Harris' book Waking up, Waking Up app and Making Sense podcast. How do my audience find you? [35:38] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong.

In Episode 303, Bryan Ma, vice president from IDC joined us to discuss the US ban on Huawei and its implications to the smartphone market across the world. We dived deep to how Huawei will be crippled by being on the US entity list and whether Samsung will make a comeback due to this surprise turn of events. Next, we discuss the major smartphone and PC trends across Asia Pacific, the recent foldables fiasco by Samsung and what the next innovation for smartphones might be on the horizon. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Bryan Ma (@bryanbma , LinkedIn), Vice President IDC [0:18] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:28] The US ban of Huawei and its impact [1:30] Can you offer an introduction to the recent US action on Huawei? [1:39] Upon Huawei on the United States’ blacklist, the action has forced Google cutting the android support for future devices and ARM not going to supply future chipsets, what are your perspectives on Huawei for both the smartphone and carrier networks business?  (Ref: Reuters on companies list) [2:57] Where do Huawei go from here given that they have no problems surviving in their local market but globally they will have challenges moving ahead? [8:37] Bryan's comments that the US is targeting Huawei on their carrier networks rather than smartphone market. [12:11] If this has not happened, will Huawei become the number one global smartphone player? [13:24] We know that Huawei also build laptops. Have they been successful with those, and how will they be affected by trade tensions too? [14:27] Who are going to benefit from Huawei’s current troubles in the smartphone market? Will Samsung get a comeback? [16:16] Given that Xiaomi is a public company and their structures are pretty transparent, will the other Chinese smartphone makers be affected? [18:46] Effect on Apple in China. [21:25] Peak Smartphone? Major trends in smartphones and PCs [22:23] Based on our last conversation, let’s start with smartphones, what are the current brands that are leading globally? [23:14] From most reports, India is the only major growth engine of smartphones last year, bringing 100M mobile users online. Will that growth continues in the next two to three years from now? [24:04] Are we in the period of peak smartphone? Will smartphones like PCs be commoditized? Will innovations on the smartphone be incremental or are there any tech which we are not aware of on the horizon that will shift the smartphone to the next level? [25:19] Where do the wearables or other technology such as the watch, glass, VR or AR augment the smartphone ecosystem? [26:47] Are the Chinese brands such as Huawei, Oppo & Vivo and Xiaomi leading the way as compare to what Samsung has done in the past few years?  How about Apple? Will their recent sudden decline in China lead iPhone towards a major downturn for them? Given Apple’s turn towards services, what are your thoughts on Apple’s prospects with the smartphone? [28:20] Can you talk about the recent Samsung foldable phone fiasco?  Are foldables really something that users are asking for, and how quickly do you think it will take off? [29:27] What about foldable laptops like the one that Lenovo showed off recently? And dual-screen laptops like the new HP Omen X 2S or the ones that ASUS and Intel showed off at COMPUTEX? [34:27] What are your thoughts on the shift with the iPad in the recent WWDC 2019? [39:02] Closing [40:12] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [40:21] Bryan’s recommendation: Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road” song. How do my audience find you? [42:31] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is both hosted and edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong.

In episode 302, Taliessin Raeburn, the trade commissioner to Singapore with Australia Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) discuss the landing pad program in Singapore and shared his perspectives on business entry into the highly diverse Southeast Asia market. We began with an introduction to Austrade and the landing pad programs across the world and specifically zoom into the recent interesting initiatives achieved by the Landing Pad in Singapore. We discuss how Austrade helps Australian companies and startups to expand and identify the challenges faced by companies in Southeast Asia. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Taliessin Reaburn (LinkedIn) Trade Commissioner to Singapore with Austrade (Australia Trade and Investment Commission) [0:22] How did you start your career? [0:52] What are the most interesting life lessons which you can share with my audience? [2:34] Austrade’s the Landing Pad Program in Singapore and Perspectives on Southeast Asia [3:20] As a start, can you describe the mission and vision for the Austrade (Australia Trade and Investment Commission) and how it operates as a government agency? [3:37]   What is your current role and coverage as the trade commissioner to Singapore with Austrade? [4:47] How does Austrade help businesses in Australia come to Asia? [6:13] I understand that Austrade has a program called the Landing Pad, vision to create a platform for local enterprises to collaborate with Australian startups and help them find success in the region, Can you describe the landing pad in a global scale and then specifically down in Singapore on the mandate of the landing pad? [8:18] What does success means for the Landing Pad all over the world or specifically for Singapore? [12:08] Since the launch of the landing pad in Singapore, what are the number of startups that have come here and what industry verticals they are typically in? Can you share 2 or 3 startups within the landing pad in Singapore? [14:18] The landing pad program has also aligned with Singapore’s push in cybersecurity as part of their smart nation program, how do they work? [16:31] How do you look at the Southeast Asia or ASEAN as a whole? How do you differentiate the markets for example, developed, emerging and frontier? [17:51] From a government agency’s perspective, how do you work with your startups to set them up for market entry into the region? What do you look out for from your perspective and from the company’s perspective? [20:39] What are the key challenges for startups typically going into Southeast Asia? [22:48] Closing [24:41] Can you recommend a book or anything else from movie to podcast that has recently impacted my life? [24:48] Taliessin’s recommendation: the movie “Avengers: Endgame” and a novel entitled “Walkaway” by Cory Doctorow. How do my audience find you? [25:33] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is both hosted and edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong.

In episode 301, Matthew Brennan from China Channel joined us in a conversation to discuss Tencent's Q1 2019 earnings and how the latest version of Wechat app is now evolving with the consumers and enterprise.  We discuss the recent Q1 earnings of Tencent and how the company is moving ahead with the obstacle of getting games approved in China. Then we dive deep into Wechat 7.0, the super app's latest iteration, the new features and why the Wechat enterprise is not given a serious look from observers outside China. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Matthew Brennan, Co-founder of China Channel and host of China Tech Talk podcast (chinachannel.co, @mbrennanchina , Linkedin, Wechat:Yowdy-CQ) [0:23] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:35] You have just been to a Tencent conference (Thursday May 23) in Kunming, what are the interesting things that have popped up there? [1:07] Who is the intended audience for this conference which you are attending? [2:50] Just a quick one: What are your thoughts on Google and ARM cutting access to Huawei? What is the long term implications given that Huawei is now banned in the US? [5:58] How long does it take for Huawei to start having problems in China with the current ban? Matthew also examined the impact on Huawei in Europe. [8:33] Tencent Q1 2019 Earnings and Wechat 7.0 Release [10:44] Tencent has recently released their Q1 earnings for 2019, what are the key highlights for the company? [11:15] Moving forward, it’s a weak quarter, how will Tencent move forward in the next few quarters, particularly on issues relating to gaming where they are at the mercy of the regulators in getting approvals?  [12:58] There has been an re-organization in Tencent, what are the key personnel changes? [14:55] During this year’s conference, Allen Zhang, the person in charge of Wechat gave a 4 hour keynote, and you did an excellent summary of the event, what are the key messages that he has delivered? [16:40] What is Wechat 7.0 and what are the biggest changes for the app as compared to the past versions? [19:36] Does the philosophy of Wechat app has an impact to how it has evolved differently from the other social media apps in China? [23:17] Do Wechat starts incorporating AI and other infrastructure upgrades for this 7.0 version? [25:12] How is Wechat 7.0 responding to their potential competition in different types of usage whether it’s ByteDance or Alibaba? [27:46] Why is the Wechat app for enterprise not get talked about in the Western media given the deployment of the app has been quite impressive? [29:45] Does Wechat 7.0 foreshadow a shift in business models for the messaging app? [34:28] Is the narrative of Wechat killers over-hyped in the market? [36:35] Matthew's thoughtful comments on the possibility of Tencent being caught in the US and China trade war [39:00] Closing[41:49] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [41:50] Matt's recommendation: Crazy Capital, a chinese podcast by 2 Chinese VCs. BL's recommendation: Xu Dong's "Empire of Silver" (Chinese book) How can my audience find you? [44:10] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is both hosted and edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong.