Transforming the real estate agency business to better relate to customers and tap demand from younger homebuyers. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Launched in February 2000, our guest OrangeTee aspires to be a reputable, dynamic and fast growing real estate enterprise in Singapore.

The firm prides itself on building trust and long-term relationships and its ability to embrace the old and new to thrive in the realty space.

More notably, the associate agencies of OrangeTee and Edmund Tie & Company had in 2017 merged to form OrangeTee and Tie, a move that puts the workforce of the combined entity of over 4,050 property agents.

Now, OrangeTee is an interesting company to look at because of a number of things. First of all, the company had a leadership reshuffle at the start of this year, where it appointed a new CEO, Justin Quek, who thereafter headed a brand refresh at the company in a bid to underline the firm’s commitment to simplify the real estate experience.

More importantly, the firm also appears to be on the charm offensive to tap a growing group of younger homebuyers and increase productivity.

One way it is doing so, is by engaging younger property agents and enabling agents to increase the transaction size of their deals. It is also in the midst of an internal revamp to make the once “agent-centric” business a more “consumer-centric” one, with a consumer-focused “Property Festival” in store for Q3.

But how much money can the firm unlock by tapping the younger demographic and what challenges does the company face given the amount of cooperation needed from its thousands of agents to transform the way the firm sells houses?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Justin Quek, Chief Executive Officer, OrangeTee.

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Tapping emerging opportunities in the maritime industry – that is what we’re going to talk about today.

Founded in Norway in 1861, our guest is the corporate investment arm of Wilhelmsen. Wilhelmsen, for context, has one of the world’s largest maritime networks on call 24/7 to provide essential products and services to the merchant fleet.

With thousands of employees spread across close to 60 countries, the company is said to supply crew and technical management to the largest and most complex vessels ever to sail.

But perhaps what is more exciting about this century old global maritime industry group is how it is leveraging the startup ecosystem to sieve out new opportunities and pockets of growth.

For one thing, Wilhelmsen came up with a joint venture with German engineering firm thyssenkrupp called Pelagus 3D to use 3D printing technologies to make custom, standard and obsolete spare parts on-demand.

The question is – how far will corporate venture initiatives help position the firm for future, and ride the wave of the transforming maritime industry?

Meanwhile, Singapore had in 2021 set out its ambitions to make the country the Silicon Valley of maritime technology, raising its 2025 target for the number of maritime startups up from 100 to 150.

So what opportunities does the geographical market present for old-timers and legacy firms like Wilhelmsen?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Nakul Malhotra, Vice President, Emerging Opportunities Portfolio, Maritime Services, Wilhelmsen.

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We’re going to talk all about bathroom and kitchen fixtures today. Now, the next time you visit the bathroom, take a look at the brand of the sinks and toilets.

Chances are – they’re of the American Standard and Grohe brands. But did you know that they are all part of a leading Japanese home and water products giant called LIXIL?

Born in 2011 through a merger of five of Japan’s most successful building materials and housing companies, LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products with the aim of making better homes a reality for everyone everywhere.

Just to give you a sense of the company’s scale, LIXIL has approximately 60,000 employees in over 150 countries around the globe, having expanded to international markets through the acquisition of North American plumbing fixtures maker American Standard and German manufacturer Grohe.

Its reach – a whopping one billion people each day through its portfolio of 15 product brands.

This is no surprise given the size of the global plumbing fixtures market, with Precedence Research valuing it at US$90.11 billion in 2023. That figure is expected to reach US$140.21 billion by 2033, translating into a CAGR of 4.52% from 2024 to 2033. But what is LIXIL’s assessment of the market and what will be the key drivers of growth?

Meanwhile, makers of building fixtures appear to be weighed down by lower home sales amid elevated global interest rates, as well as a property slump in markets such as China in the near term.

But how does LIXIL intend to navigate this, and how far will Singapore act as a buffer against short-term volatilities for LIXIL?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Koh FuSheng, Leader, Singapore, LIXIL Water Technology APAC.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.