Citi Commercial Bank celebrates Vision, Grit and Determination of Home-Grown Brands in a five-part INSPIRING ENTREPRENEURS series on MONEY FM 89.3

SINGAPORE , Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of Citi's 120^th anniversary celebrations in Singapore, the bank is partnering MONEY FM 89.3 to share stories of five home-grown brands and their paths off the beaten track in pursuit of growth outside the shores of Singapore. 

The series, entitled Inspiring Entrepreneurs, begins on Tuesday, 1 March 2022, 6:15pm and continues on the same timeslot over five weeks.                                                                 

Each episode features a 15-minute-long interview between multi-award-winning journalist, Rachel Kelly who is MONEY FM 89.3's Senior Producer-Presenter, with a senior member of the management teams of five Singapore companies sharing their unique paths to business success across borders, what they have learned along the way, and their best advice to those looking to expand their business. 

Lin Hsiu-Yi, ASEAN & Singapore Head of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) said, "For over 200 years globally, Citi has been helping our clients meet the world's toughest challenges, embrace the greatest opportunities and spread their footprint beyond borders by providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. This year, Citi is celebrating its 120^th anniversary in Singapore and we are delighted to provide a platform for local firms to share their unique stories and experiences on how they are flying the Singapore flag high on the global stage. Through the stories told by these inspiring entrepreneurs, we hope that the series will inspire courage and conviction in companies looking to pursue growth."

The companies that will be featured in this five-part series are as follows:

Mercantile Pacific Group, Karan Narula, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Mercantile is a leading provider of device lifecycle management and buyback/trade-in and distribution solutions for manufacturers (OEMs), mobile network operators, wholesalers and online and offline retailers across 75+ Countries in Asia Pacific (APAC); Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA); and, Americas. Mercantile's operations form a part of the circular economy. A case in point -- Rehandel.com, Mercantile's B2B refurbished device platform, is contributing significantly to the reduction of the global carbon footprint by giving a second life to millions of devices.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Karan Narula, comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has been instrumental to the success of the business for over 25 years. He leads multiple functions within the firm including corporate sales, marketing and business development and is known to be a visionary leader.

Omni-Plus System Limited, Marcus Neo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Founded in 2002 with only two employees, Omni-Plus System (OPS) is today an established and reputable advanced materials engineering company. With presence across eight countries including China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, and an in-house Research and Development (R&D) arm specializing in material science, OPS provides end-to-end solutions -- from design, engineering, procurement to manufacturing – to mainly MNCs in the consumer electronics, telecommunication, automotive, medical and aerospace industries. Since its inception 20 years ago, the Group has grown from strength-to-strength with nearly 200 employees in their key markets. OPS is also the first Singapore company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the second foreign firm to list on the TSE Mothers Index for high-growth and emerging stocks in June 2021.

Marcus Neo is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the firm and has been steering the business since its founding. 

Everlife Holdings, Raman Gandotra, Chief Executive Officer

Everlife Holdings is a leading market access and distribution platform of medical and laboratory equipment and devices in Southeast Asia and India. By combining technology with their expertise in healthcare on top of a results-driven approach to business, Everlife aims to improve the health outcomes for patients and business performance for its customers and principals. Representing over 200 principals, the firm employs 800 people across six countries.

In 2019, Everlife appointed Raman Gandotra as its Chief Executive Officer. Raman has over 25 years of experience across the Pharmaceutical, Hospital Healthcare and Medical Device sectors with leading healthcare MNCs in Asia. He brings expertise in developing and executing business growth strategies across industry segments and geographies. As Chief Executive Officer of Everlife, Raman provides leadership in the overall performance of the Everlife platform, including M&A strategy, driving company and principal performance, and realizing synergies across Everlife's portfolio of companies. .

Best World International, Huang Ban Chin, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Founded in 1990, Best World International specializes in the development and distribution of premium skin care, personal care, beauty, health and wellness brands. Today, the firm is a key regional player in the industry, having subsidiaries, joint ventures and associate companies in 12 markets, with customers from 40 markets across Asia, Oceania, Middle East, North America and Europe.

Ban Chin joined Best World International in 1990. He oversees the group's day-to-day operations, executes its expansion plans, and manages the firm's key functions including finance, product development, information technology and investor relations. Ban Chin is also Best World International's Group Chief Risk Officer.  

LingoAce, Hugh Yao, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Used by students across more than 100 countries, LingoAce makes learning Chinese easy and fun for children through enhanced technology engagement, such as gamification. The EdTech company was the only Singapore-based company to be recognised in the 2021 edition of GSV EdTech 150, a list that represents the most transformative private companies in education. Today, LingoAce provides not just online classes but in-person, group and private Chinese language tutoring for students. It raised US$160 million of funding in Series B and C rounds in 2021.

Hugh is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LingoAce. In 2017, there were no globally recognizable brands for Chinese language online tutoring and his son was struggling to find the best option. Striving to serve the needs of many like his son, Hugh started LingoAce.  

Don't miss out on this five-part series to learn how these inspiring entrepreneurs have tread off the beaten path in pursuit of growth!

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. 

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi.