Jing Yang, Asia Bureau Chief of The Information, discusses potential US TikTok ban impact, Bytedance's resilience, financial challenges, investor sentiments, and global future prospects. Insights on legislative process, CEO reactions, and data security concerns. Exploring TikTok's survival prospects post-ban and non-tech recommendations.

Catherine Shu shares insights on Asia's tech evolution, spotlighting China's app impact, India's tech scene, South Korea's startup growth, and Grab's influence. She discusses misconceptions, failures of Western companies in Asian markets, and Asia's significant global influence.

Michael Fritzell from Asian Century Stocks shares insights on the recent instability in Chinese equities, potential government responses, and historical investment cycles in China. The discussion also touches on corporate governance in Asian markets, the role of short-sellers, and investing strategies for Asian stocks.

"So in our view, great would be when everyone can find the best place to put their money to work. To whatever cause they want. It could be investing. It could be protecting their family. It could be long-term. It could be a nonprofit. It could be helping a local business. Today in the world, there is Google to find information, right? There's Amazon to find products. But what about financial opportunities? There is no one place to find financial opportunities. We wanna be able to create that for the world where anyone who's looking to put their money to work has a place to put their money to work. And anybody who's looking for help in building whatever business or, growing whatever they want to grow, can meet, these people who are looking to put their money to work." - Caesar Sengupta Fresh out of the studio, Caesar Sengupta, the CEO and co-founder of Arta Finance, shares the story of how the startup democratizes family office wealth management to accredited professionals in the digital era. Caesar shares the company's vision and mission, highlighting their alignment with current financial trends and their disruptive approach to traditional family office models. Following the conversation, he explains how Arta Finance leverages technology to provide personalized financial solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families and discusses the company's global strategy and its approach to navigating diverse financial regulations across different countries. Last but not least, he shares his vision for Arta Finance's future success in the coming years. Episode Highlights: [0:52] Quote of the Day by Caesar Sengupta. [1:38] Introduction: Caesar Sengupta. [2:05] What was Caesar's inspiration to become a startup founder? [3:10] Career lessons from Caesar Sengupta. [4:10] Total Market Opportunity for the Wealth Management Business. [8:07] Vision and Mission of Arta Finance. [11:00] How do accredited investors engage Arta Finance? [13:36] How can Generative AI enter into wealth management? [16:27] How does Arta Finance approach wealth management differently from traditional private banks? [20:55] The One Thing Caesar knows that very few people do on tech & wealth management. [24:21] The investors behind Arta Finance. [26:29] Challenges faced while building Arta Finance and how they overcame it. [29:20] How does Arta Finance establish trust? [31:41] How Arta Finance expands across the different regions. [33:17] What does great look like for Arta Finance? [34:27] Closing Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

Lei Xing, a Chinese auto industry expert, discusses the competition between BYD and Tesla in the global EV market. He explores the challenges and opportunities for Chinese manufacturers, their groundbreaking innovations, and the dominance of Chinese EVs in Southeast Asia. He also touches upon the focus on hydrogen fuel innovation by Japanese and Korean automotive industries.

"Indonesia is not of the scale of China and India. And some people argue that India and China are so vast that you can almost consider: North China, South China, East China and different parts of the world. But because Indonesia normally gets lumped into ASEAN, right? People think about, well, I don't want single country risk with a country of this size. And so that's where the differentiation came out. Nonetheless, this is our thesis. And we believe that the last 10 years have proven that thesis. So we continue to double down on that thesis. Again, we've invested in companies that are regional that come into Indonesia." - Adrian Li Fresh out of the studio, Adrian Li, founder and managing partner of AC Ventures joined us in a conversation to delve into the dynamics of the venture capital scene in Indonesia. He commenced by tracing his entrepreneurial journey, which spanned from the United States to China, and ultimately to Southeast Asia, culminating in his transition to venture capitalist. From there, he shed light on the investment thesis of AC Ventures, their decade of investing that led to their recent successful raise of US$210m to their 5th fund. He provided an in-depth analysis of the entire venture capital landscape in Indonesia, discussing its evolution over time. To conclude, Adrian shared his vision for AC Ventures, focusing on their intensified commitment to nurturing startups in Indonesia and across the broader Southeast Asian region. Episode Highlights: [0:44] Quote of the Day from Adrian Li #QOTD [1:16] Introduction: Adrian Li, Founder & Managing Partner, AC Ventures. [2:27] How did Adrian start his career? [4:36] Adrian’s first entrepreneurial pursuit till his move to China & then Southeast Asia. [8:13] The origin story of AC Ventures. [10:10] The three key things he looks for when evaluating investment opportunities. [13:52] AC Ventures, their perspective on the Indonesian market and their investment thesis. [17:35] Typical day for a VC like Adrian Li [19:23] The red flags that Adrian Li watched out for in founders & startup teams. [21:14] The startup class of 2021 vs the class of 2023. [24:40] The Indonesia Venture Capital Report 2023 by AC Ventures and Bain & Co. [25:22] How investors are adjusting their strategies to the Indonesian market. [27:24] Investor preferences, unit economics and valuations on the Indonesian market. [29:11] The challenges that the Indonesian startups face and how they are adapting to them. [32:00] The verticals that are working in the Indonesian market. [34:43] Indonesia's regulatory environment is supportive of startups. [37:01] The exit landscape for startups in Indonesia. [41:48] The Indonesia startup landscape after the ZIRP era. [45:12] The one thing that Adrian Li knows that very few do about VC in Indonesia. [47:38] In-country VCs vs regional VCs in Southeast Asia. [49:43] How should investors perceive Indonesia as a single market like China & India? [51:29] Can foreign entrepreneurs thrive in the Indonesia startup ecosystem? [53:22] What does great look like for AC Ventures? [54:24] Closing Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

"The whole of Southeast Asia has to come up as a group. Hence, my secret about what I know about the VC industry that people don't know. The secret is that you've got to be very sane when you come to investing, right? So, if you invest so high, we can't get exits. When we can't get exits, we can't return money to LPs, and then the investors will say, ‘Oh, Southeast Asia cannot find exits one.’ It cannot be, right? So to me, we must be able to show exits. That's the proof of the pudding.” - Carmen Yuen Fresh out of the studio, Carmen Yuen, general partner from Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India, joined us to discuss the current state of venture capital in Southeast Asia & India after the difficult fundraising climate in the past year. Carmen began the story of her career, moving from the government sector to venture capital. She shares the evolution of Vertex Ventures from their investment thesis to the portfolio of startups and evaluates the startup class of 2023 vs 2021. Last but not least, Carmen describes exits as the leading indicators for startup success and elucidates what great would look like for Vertex Ventures. Episode Highlights: [00:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Carmen Yuen. [01:21] Introduction: Carmen Yuen, General Partner, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. [02:16] Carmen’s career story from the government sector to venture capital. [05:03] Career lessons from Carmen Yuen. [08:32] Introduction to Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. [12:41] Perspectives on Markets: Southeast Asia & India. [14:50] Finding Local champions vs Regional players in Southeast Asia. [16:12] The verticals that Carmen Yuen invests in Southeast Asia & India. [18:48] Carmen’s typical day as a VC. [20:22] Traits of Founders & Startup Teams that Carmen invests in. [22:50] The red flags that deter Carmen from investing in startups. [24:46] Solo Founders vs Startup Teams. [26:55] Interesting companies under Vertex SE Asia portfolio. [32:05] Advice to founders on market expansion in Southeast Asia. [35:44] The startup class of 2023 vs the startup class of 2021. [38:19] Outlook for 2024: Headwinds and Tailwinds. [40:00] The one thing that Carmen Yuen knows as a VC that very few do. [42:36] Advice to Startup Founders in a difficult fundraising climate. [44:42] How do you explain the Southeast Asia to LPs? [46:50] Exits are key to success in Southeast Asia: M&A and IPOs. [47:36] What does great look like in Vertex Ventures SEA and India? [48:11] Closing. Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

"There are so many voices here that people can create their own unique things. And yet there is still this culture, that's still lingering from the past, that somehow the answers are in the West. And trust me, they are not. So the West is also confused and looking for their way to figure out things. And so the main inspiration for Yana TV was to create this particular platform where we can showcase the voices of Asian movers and shakers, which means people who are doing interesting things, who are standing up, who want to speak up, challenging the status quo, and the norms. People who are regional, who are thought leaders, and I also feel it is time there has to be a bigger platform where we can all go and see who are the people who are doing amazing things here." - Yana Fry Fresh out of the studio, Yana Fry, producer & host of Yana TV joined us in a conversation about the behind-the-scenes of her show and her perspectives on interviewing Asian change makers across the region. Our conversation kicked off with Yana's odyssey to Singapore and delving into what sparked the creation of Yana TV and its core themes. In the conversation, Yana shares the heartwarming tales featured on her show, ranging from a kidnapped diplomat to a heart-touching Singaporean Santa Claus and her perspectives as a content creator in the Asia Pacific. Last but not least, she shares what great would look like for Yana TV. [00:48] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Yana Fry, Founder & Host, Yana TV. [02:24] Introduction: Yana Fry, Founder & Host of Yana TV. [04:28] Perspectives on living in Singapore. [06:43] Yana shares lessons of her career journey. [08:20] Inspiration behind Yana TV. [10:28] Intended Audience behind Yana TV. [11:50] The Great Resignation and its Impact on Executives re-thinking work-life balance. [13:49] Main Themes and Key Takeaways from interviewing Asian change-makers in Yana TV. [16:18] How a seven-time convicted criminal becomes a change-maker to help prison inmates re-integrate into Singapore society. [17:43] The behind-the-scenes (BTS) behind Yana TV's production. [21:01] Different Profiles of Change-Makers on Yana TV. [25:14] How Asian change-makers differ from their Western counterparts. [29:35] Challenges faced by Asian Change Makers. [34:49] Tales of Asian Change Makers: A Diplomat. [36:30] Tales of Asian Change Makers: Singapore Santa Claus that moved the production crew on Yana TV. [41:23] How to tell stories in Asia with the digital format. [44:32] The challenge of distribution for Asian podcasters. Podcast Information: Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).

“[Glints] We would like to still be around and building an enduring company. A big part of why many of us at Glints are building what we want is we hope that our children and grandchildren can be using Glints to grow their careers as well. So we want this to be an enduring company. Our mission is to help realize human potential. And we would like to be a company that's here to last. That's one. Two, concretely we see a lot of opportunities in the platform business and in our cross-border business. We want to double down in this market, getting to market leadership in the market we're playing in, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and also expanding out to new markets for cross-border recruiting, helping employers around the world tap into their 300 million labour force in Southeast Asia, helping them to hire the people here." - Oswald Yeo Fresh out of the studio, Oswald Yeo, chief executive officer and co-founder of Glints joined us in a conversation to discuss how the startup has helped companies from all over the region to build out their talent hubs across Southeast Asia. We began the conversation with Oswald as he shared the journey of Glints and the importance of focus to find the product-market fit till scaling the company across the region. He shared his valuable insights on the application of generative AI in the human resources sector, particularly emphasizing its utility in cross-border recruitment and talent sourcing. Last but not least, he shared his vision on what great would look like for the startup in the future. Episode Highlights: [00:48] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Oswald Yeo, CEO & co-founder of Glints. [02:22] Introduction: Oswald Yeo. [03:09] Origin Story of Glints. [05:54] Career Lessons from Oswald Yeo - Finding the Right People. [08:15] Overview of Glints and its vision & mission today. [11:31] The total market opportunity of HR in Southeast Asia which Glints is poised to capture. [13:09] Borderless Mindset and its implications to cross-border talent acquisition. [15:54] Critical Mass of a Talent Hub. [16:33] Cross Border Hiring and its advantages. [17:54] How Glints adapts its approach across different countries in Southeast Asia. [20:50] Pivotal moments for Glints. [25:21] How Glints found product-market fit in Southeast Asia. [30:05] The one thing that Oswald knows that very few do. [30:32] Glints’ current investors & how they help them to scale. [32:34] Advice for Startup Founders to navigate the difficult fundraising climate. [34:02] Generative AI’s role in talent acquisition and retention for HR. [37:52] What does great look like for Glints? [38:38] Closing. Podcast Information: Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G.Thomas Craig (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).

"Money is a very interesting kind of numerical way of measuring when you're levelling up. So that's where the distinction needs to be very clear. The way that I've positioned it in the book and what the research tells us is that if we force the games on people, it's very bad. But if we look at the games that they naturally play in their free time when they were younger, it's a very good predictor in terms of the type of work that they naturally would gravitate to. So if somebody is amazing and loves playing hours and hours of strategy games, and if we put that person in front of the machine, turning out widgets is going to be a very bad mismatch, and then we need to pay them a lot of money and continue trying to squeeze them to improve that performance. But if somebody is motivated by strategy games, and we give them the kind of problems that are very similar to the type of things that they naturally gravitate to they will be motivated. So we're not creating a new game for them, but we're looking at parallels and helping them to find that intrinsic motivation. And that's something that I think becomes super, super powerful where they then create their own games based on the work that we want them to achieve." - George Kesselman Fresh out of the studio, George Kesselman joined us to discuss his new book "The Power of Play". He shares the main themes and key takeaways on how games will drive the future of work. We began the conversation with George providing an overview of how work has evolved from a craftsman environment to the industrial age and explained why we need a re-thinking of work using game play. He dived deep into the different personas of gamers in work life and offered what success would mean for his book in redefining the workplace. Episode Highlights: [0:44] QOTD [2:02] Introduction: George Kesselman [3:31] Inspiration behind “The Power of Play” book [4:47] How George convinced Wiley of the book deal [5:41] The intended audience for “The Power of Play” [6:38] Main Themes & Key Takeaways behind “The Power of Play” [9:31] Remote Work vs Return to Office [12:02] The legacy of work 1.0 [17:24] Work 3.0 world [21:04] Introduction to Gamification and Game Design in Workplace [26:58] Different Personas in Games and how they map into real-world work [29:42] The different motivations that draw people to work [34:22] How to apply game development principles and design to work [38:22] Predictors of Success in Matching People to Work [40:40] Gauging Performances of Workers in remote and distributed environments [43:13] Things not in the book and is a sequel in the works? [44:58] What does success mean for “The Power of Play” book? [46:13] Closing Podcast Information: Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin) hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G.Thomas Craig (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).