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Perspectives: An ASEAN agritech's growth journey
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Boon Keat (BK) Chua, CEO of Glife Technologies, joins Jonathan Yip, Asia Head of HSBC Innovation Banking, and Neil Falconer, Head of HSBC Innovation Banking in Singapore. They discuss BK’s transition from the military to the commercial sector, leading to his role at Glife Technologies, a Singapore-founded agritech firm committed to improving the food supply chain's efficiency and transparency, by connecting farmers with F&B operators. BK discusses the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and growth opportunities for ASEAN startups, emphasising a proactive approach to regional growth and the advantages of Singapore’s startup ecosystem.
This episode was recorded during the launch-week of HSBC Innovation Banking in Singapore on 28 October 2025.
Disclaimer: Views of external guest speakers do not represent those of HSBC.
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Transcript
Introduction to HSBC Global Viewpoint
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to HSBC Global Viewpoint, the podcast series that brings together business leaders and industry experts to explore the latest global insights, trends, and opportunities.
00:00:12
Speaker
Make sure you're subscribed to stay up to date with new episodes. Thanks for listening, and now onto today's show.
Discussion on Innovation with HSBC and Glyph Technologies
00:00:21
Speaker
Hi, I'm Jonathan Yip, Asia Head of HSBC Innovation Banking. Joining me today is Neil Falconer, Head of HSBC Innovation Banking Singapore, and Boon Kee, CEO of Glyph Technologies.
00:00:34
Speaker
Welcome. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks Jonathan. BK, I think before we start today, I've always been fascinated by your background, and going right back to the early days in the military.
Boon Kee's Career Transition to Glyph Technologies
00:00:47
Speaker
I wonder if you'd just give an introduction to what you've done in the past and how you got came on this journey to be with Cliff.
00:00:53
Speaker
Sure. um Actually, my career is ah quite easily explained. right in Three phases, I would call it. ah The early years, when I was 18 years old up to 47 years old, there's one career, which is in the military, the Singapore Armed Forces.
00:01:09
Speaker
ah Thereafter, of course, I joined the commercial sector from 2019 2024 in Fair Price as a head of channels, rising to a position of head of channels in the retail.
00:01:21
Speaker
And then before joining GLEEF, just to rewind back in my the almost 30 years of career in the military, one would ask why, you know, going to commercial sector and one would ask also why going to the fresh produce business.
00:01:34
Speaker
um I would say it's accidental. When I was ah in the military, um I've always enjoyed thinking about the bombs, doing things slightly differently, ah constantly challenging ourselves to be innovative and ah solve problems so for the betterment of our soldiers or the system, organization.
00:01:55
Speaker
I've enjoyed all these challenges. So when I retired, I told myself that I want to be in a space that I can ah
Glyph's Mission to Improve Food Supply Chains
00:02:03
Speaker
learn new things. If I have a choice, I want to go into commercial and try something different. So Fair Price came along and there was this option for me to run convenience store, which I thought was quite exciting to be running convenience store in Singapore. So I ran Cheers as a deputy GM first before I was being promoted to become the GM of Cheers.
00:02:23
Speaker
And so I've always enjoyed the space in trying to be innovative and solving problems. So naturally, um when this opportunity came about in Glyph, I thought I've spent enough time in the corporate world.
00:02:34
Speaker
Now it's for me to start off, yeah to try it out in the startup world, to try out, to see how I can help the company to grow into a the next level of growth for Glyph. Can you maybe just explain a little bit around like what Glyph does and and you know the the opportunities that it's trying to solve for? Sure.
00:02:52
Speaker
Glyph is an agritech company, as you introduced us earlier on. ah We are a young company. We started in 2018. The the team saw an opportunity and they want to make food supply chain space ah more efficient, more transparent and fair.
00:03:12
Speaker
um and So back in 2018, the small group of founders and the small team saw the fragmented way in the journey between the farmers and the F&B operators, which is our main customer in the B2B space.
00:03:29
Speaker
um And they decided to build a bridge across these farmers and the SMB to make the whole ah chain efficient ah and thereby of course freeing up ah the reducing waste in between making the whole system
Adapting to COVID-19: B2B to B2C Shift
00:03:43
Speaker
more efficient.
00:03:44
Speaker
Of course um in 2018 they were then slowly building a business. started with a few trucks, with a few farms they collaborated with, worked hard to get the businesses a few F&B and like most businesses how they started.
00:04:00
Speaker
ah But with a strong belief that with technology and ah they are able to help both the farmers and the F&B operators to be better organized, more if efficient and hopefully make more money between.
00:04:15
Speaker
But as you all know, we were hit by COVID break back in 2020. Everybody got hit. All businesses, all types of businesses, all size, whether you're big or small, you get hit.
00:04:27
Speaker
It's much more difficult for the startup business. They were just starting off, just rewinding back from 2018 to 2020, just barely two years, and they got hit by COVID. That was a difficult few years for the company. I wasn't with the company, but oh hearing from the team, I know it was a difficult year for the company.
00:04:43
Speaker
But credit to the founders and the small teams in the company, ah they managed to pivot. Because they were already building the software to support the farmers and the restaurants, they could quite quickly adapt the software for the online customer.
00:04:58
Speaker
So they pivoted from B2B to B2C just to survive. And at that point, Nobody was talking about how to grow the company 10 times, right? yeah Everybody was talking about how do you survive the next month, right? the The cash flow and everything else.
00:05:14
Speaker
So they were precisely doing that. Parking the vision of B2B supply chain aside, focusing on the immediate task of surviving and not giving up, digging in to make sure that companies survive.
Regional Expansion and Funding Success
00:05:27
Speaker
I wish they did. I think ah really credit to the team for riding through the COVID years. And I always believe that those companies that survived through COVID,
00:05:38
Speaker
oh who will be able to survive, not only survive, but thrive beyond COVID, right? so you add A lot of character built through last year. Indeed. So one of the things that they, they I think, caught attention of institutional investors at that point in time was this resilience of the team that they were able to pivot and able to survive and in the toughest condition.
00:06:01
Speaker
And when you identify the character as that, right, post-COVID, then I think ah People believe that they will make it. and they they'll make it Which is what happened. So in 2020, they managed to raise a substantial amount money from Series A investors and comprising key institution investors now, we still in our cap table. ah I think because they saw the kind of resilience and and the fortitude and fighting spirit in the team.
00:06:29
Speaker
Fast forwarding beyond 2020 to 2023, we grew the business, of course, slowly with the new money added in. We were then acquiring businesses in the region. We started to establish food sourcing across the region, mainly in Vietnam, Malaysia, establishing subsidiary acquiring companies in Indonesia.
00:06:54
Speaker
um building facilities in Johor, right, where and and to strengthen our processing arm and capabilities. So between 2020 and 2023, we were all trying to build the business and building up the capabilities for it.
00:07:10
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And they we are doing well. We are acquiring, I think up to that point, I would say almost a thousand customer points of F&B and caterers and hotels that we are serving and and the enterprise customers at large.
Advice for Startups Expanding to ASEAN
00:07:22
Speaker
Okay, maybe just another question, just to dive into the ASEAN proposition, because we often hear ASEAN talked about as a region, and it is with huge potential, but it's many different countries that ombrute very differently yeah to each other. Yeah.
00:07:36
Speaker
Now being a regional player in a number of markets, how would you advise a a new business and maybe an early stage business that wants to take advantage of the region to approach growth in tiaz and into ASEAN?
00:07:49
Speaker
and Is it a market-by-market approach or yeah a Pan-ASEAN approach? Yeah. I think taking a look from what our experience is in BLEAF, of course we started here and then we quickly branched off to Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and then subsequently China. this I think Singapore market, ah if you ask a lot of businesses, they will say that it's too small. right Indeed are small. So we we we we must recognize this. right This is geography, this is facts.
00:08:19
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a Market is small. If your ambition is 1 billion market size cap, then you want to go regional. Hopefully global at some point time. But regional first. um So my advice would be, right, have a view to go out and be bold in going out, right? We never quite know what is out there.
00:08:40
Speaker
The advantage we have in Singapore is that Singaporeans and Singapore businesses, our people are bilingual by training in the early education years. I think that helps because we speak Bahasa Indonesia, we speak Bahasa Malaysia, Melayu.
00:08:57
Speaker
So slight variation, slight nuances are different but you can get by. i speak Mandarin because it's my mother tongue. I learned that in school. I don't use it but I can pick it up quite easily because of the base that I had.
00:09:12
Speaker
English is our commerce language, right? So we go everywhere. Malaysia has no problem. So I think the advantage for Singapore businesses is that you have this ability to actually go into this country um quite easily, I would say, if you're prepared to do so, right?
00:09:29
Speaker
Will we always be successful going to a country and not lose money and then get into trouble? I would say not realistic to assume that way for 100% the business, right? You expect some business risk, but I encourage startups, especially the early stage, right?
00:09:46
Speaker
I think the greatest problem or the failure will be fearing fear itself, right? If you don't dare to go out. I think it's about making sure that you go out, test, learn the lessons, but don't bankrupt yourself in the midst of testing this.
00:10:03
Speaker
ah Make sure you survive and then get good lessons in and have the belief that Generally, people are honest business people that want to do decent business with you, right? i can do it Your mindset is very important.
00:10:16
Speaker
If you go in a mindset that everybody's going to cheat you, then you'll be very defensive, nothing works, everything is a problem. Whereas you go with a positive mindset that look, that side also want to do business with you, they have tons of supplies they want to bring for the farmers to export to overseas market, I need those supplies.
00:10:33
Speaker
If you had adopt the positive mindset, I think a lot things will turn out. And got have some faith in the humanity. And that's my approach to life. um May not always get it right. There may be some people that will take you for a right. But you you you generally want to think positive and be positive about the whole spirit of business, especially in region.
Importance of Collaboration and Networking
00:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i i I can agree more. I think we look at many people going out and many clients going out into the ASEAN trying to make the most of the the opportunity. And i I don't think there's a one size fits all, but I think going into these markets with a positive mindset, with your eyes open, and but trying to make the most of the opportunity and i put in a positive manner and be bold with the concept that you're bringing yeah makes a big difference. yeah And I also think speaking to peers or other banks or institutions and getting that what was the experience, what were the challenges, where did things go wrong.
00:11:29
Speaker
This ecosystem is one in Singapore where that's possible. yes People speak to each other, people are open. So just taking advantage of that, term but undoubtedly an amazing opportunity and and something that Singapore startups need to recognize because as you rightly say, the universe of Singapore is only so big. yeah And if you really want to scale, you have to go outside. yeah Look, Neil, you're right about collaboration and seeking advice, right? I mean, you don't have to, you're not the first one to go overseas, right? There are tons of businesses that succeeded and failed.
00:12:00
Speaker
We just have to open our mouth and ask our peers about what kind of experience, what kind network they have in helping you. And the government, Enterprise Singapore has lots of these contacts in the region.
00:12:12
Speaker
right And in the private sector, all the banks have all the network. Like when we are exploring Malaysia, we speak to HSBC Malaysia to help us yeah connect to see what opportunity comes about. I think the whole idea of the network and ecosystem is
Future Goals for Glyph as a Food Supply Aggregator
00:12:26
Speaker
very important. You don't operate in a silo.
00:12:28
Speaker
and There are good learnings that we have taken from the past. And certainly we don't to relearn the lessons. If you were to maybe fast forward three to five years from now, what does Glyph technologies look like?
00:12:40
Speaker
Well, i I hope that we we will become a unicorn of ah Southeast Asia. Our vision is to be the number one leading aggregator, right, an integrated food supply ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
00:12:57
Speaker
I think we still have that vision intact, but we are scaling sustainably. We don't want to scale at all costs because, ah ah as I mentioned earlier, scaling strains the capital.
00:13:12
Speaker
We have to take a step at a time. But in the near three to five years, I see ourselves investing in companies. ah ah Of course, ah organic growth is part and parcel of the game. right that we are and We are doing well organically.
00:13:26
Speaker
But to scale to the 1 billion revenue that we are targeting, as we will need to acquire ah companies in the region. And that's where we need capital to support us, right? Working with our partners to see whether, partner banks, see whether there's a potential where we see opportunities, whether we decisively go after it, right? and and And then boat on to our current business to make it even a a stronger business entity.
00:13:52
Speaker
This is especially true for ah if we are looking at regional growth, which we are already putting in place the seeds. ah You can't grow regional by growing organically in a sense. right It's easier.
00:14:06
Speaker
okay I should rephrase that. I don't want to say we can't, but it's just harder. But if you are ah acquiring company it overseas, it's just easier for us to put on and then grow it together with the synergies that's in.
Enhancing Technology and Trust in Supply Chains
00:14:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're hitting the the right themes. I think if you think about you know startups over the past decade, it was very much a consumer growth platform play. I think what you're building is a new model that integrates the region. and you know With that, it's not as simple as just saying, let's just take VC money and and continue to grow in scale. I think today's investment thesis and today's building blocks of companies of the future, it really requires venture capital with venture debt, with growth credit, growth equity buyout.
00:14:55
Speaker
you know How does that all come in, fit together to build the businesses of tomorrow? yeah that's That's the dramatic shift that we've seen. in in recent years as the world continues to reglobalize and reach and start focusing on the agendas that are important to them. What was a bad day look for you?
00:15:10
Speaker
Bad day? You're dealing with farmers, logistics, delivery, boardrooms, investors. Investors, boardroom, I think I can handle it. Again, I focus a lot on customers, right?
00:15:21
Speaker
I get my team to look at it, pay a lot of attention, and we want our customers to sell to be served well, right? We hold a high demand on our team to make sure the customers are served well.
00:15:33
Speaker
We take in orders the night, the day before. We turn around the orders in 24 hours. If you order something of a processed vegetables or cut, basically cut fruits or cut vegetables, you order in the day, we get it delivered in the next morning across the courseway. Yeah. So it's just think about that, right? Incredible number of pieces. Yes, yes, yes. So you got a key in orders, digital orders get fired through the system.
00:15:57
Speaker
The order reaches ah ah cho barru the factory floor. The manager look at it, send the team down to process it based on the time that is required, pack it aside in a cold room.
00:16:09
Speaker
At midnight, the trucks are loaded up and they cross the causeway. Causeway takes about, you get stuck about one and one or hour typically, and then they come through Singapore, drive to the doorstop of the business, deliver it to the customer.
00:16:22
Speaker
That's what we do. 24 hours, turn around. 24 to 48 hours. twenty four to forty hours um We have thousands of orders. Now we have about 10 to 20 feedback per day, sometimes even more, depends on the day, depends on the type of vegetable vegetables and fruits.
00:16:38
Speaker
I wish that those were diminished over time, right? And that that gets me on my ah my nerve because we can't get it to zero, right? I'm a perfectionist. Those my mistakes we can avoid, we should avoid, right? Like wrong delivery.
00:16:50
Speaker
or even quality, I demand that we must have the best quality and we should make no excuse when we cannot deliver to our customers. And we will take the bull by the horn and try to address these issues. so It is work in progress.
00:17:04
Speaker
I don't think any player out there can say that they're 100% on point, on quality and the timing, etc. If you're doing 10 customer, for sure, but we are serving hundreds. But I like your philosophy that the companies that have really scaled are those that have that maniacal focus on customers and just just absolutely obsessed with customer satisfaction. You have to, we have to. So now we are at a scale, but how do we now continue to focus on customers? And the answer must be with technology, right?
00:17:34
Speaker
With technology, you can cut through layers of inefficiency. You can ensure that the drivers deliver on time. I can track the drivers point of drop, the timing when they drop. The invoicing ordering can be all digitalized without human error in the in the entry.
00:17:49
Speaker
So technology will help us. i Again, huge potential. We are now working on it. ah we We already have that platform, the technology, but it's about now how to strengthen it further to make sure that this becomes seamless. Everything that we solve will benefit the end consumer, benefit the farmer, because if we save costs in between, we'll pass on the savings, right? Either upstream or downstream, everybody benefit and you get the best produced.
00:18:13
Speaker
What do you want? You want to feed people well. You don't want to be giving them rubbish, right? Maybe it's sedated or bad produced, like vegetables or food. want to give them the best. So if you can shorten this, reduce waste, and go for environment, go for society, go
The Role of Trust and Integrity in Business
00:18:29
Speaker
for you. I think trust is an important quotient here in business or in other things, right? I mean, um but trust is extremely important. I think coming from Singapore, we have an advantage.
00:18:41
Speaker
People believe in the Singapore Ink brand, the Singapore brand of trustworthiness. That if we believe in something we want to execute, people believe that Singapore will have a certain set of rules and governance that will follow.
00:18:54
Speaker
And coming from a government for the last 30 odd years or so, I have the DNA, right? It is in me that we we will want to honour and do what we say we'll do.
00:19:05
Speaker
Well, BK, I really wanted to thank you for joining us today on this journey. You know, my my key takeaways from today's discussions are significant value creation by integrating the supply chains and agri across the region.
00:19:18
Speaker
ah You guys are doing this through tech enablement, which gives you an edge over traditional um distributors. and And you've said it a couple of times that there is a greater good to feeding Southeast Asia sustainably by uplifting farmers across the region into an integrated model. And that's ah that's a very inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. No, thank you. Thank you so much.
00:19:41
Speaker
Thank you for joining us at HSBC Global Viewpoint. We hope you enjoyed the discussion. Make sure you're subscribed to stay up to date with new episodes.