Semiconductors are the invisible foundation of our digital world – powering everything from data centres and electric vehicles to smartphones and even satellites.

But behind the global chip ecosystem lies precision engineering firms that make tools and parts used in the manufacturing process.

And our guest for today, Micro-Mechanics, is one of them. Founded in 1983, and listed on the SGX-Sesdaq in Singapore in 2003, the company designs and manufactures a range of consumable tools and parts used in the assembly and testing of semiconductors.

The company also engages in the contract manufacturing of precision parts and tools used in process-critical applications for the semiconductor wafer-fabrication and other high-technology industries.

In July 2008, the listing and quotation of Micro-Mechanics’ shares were upgraded to the SGX Mainboard.

Today, Micro-Mechanics’ boasts a headcount of 450 globally, with five factories located in Singapore, China, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as in Silicon Valley in the US.

Micro-Mechanics is a company that we want to talk about right now, given how ongoing trade tensions and tariff spat between the US and China have thrusted the semiconductor industry and supply chain into the spotlight.

Despite global headwinds, Micro-Mechanics said it was somewhat sheltered given how it had plants set up in both China and the US.

So how is the firm capitalising on its relative advantage in the global semiconductor supply chain right now, and what are the growth opportunities present within the industry right now?

How does the firm assess the role of its presence in Singapore, and the vibrancy of the local stock market in boosting its valuation?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kyle Borch, CEO, Micro-Mechanics.

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Today we’re going to turn the clock back to the 1800s to share with you the story of a young man, Georges Nagelmackers, who had just fallen out of love.

Like some of us who might travel abroad to take a breather, Nagelmackers fled to the US, where he discovered railroads with the world’s first sleeping cars.

The enterprising Belgian engineer decided to take that idea back to Europe, where he would launch luxurious trains leading to the Gates of the Orient.

That’s right, we are talking about the Orient Express, or the luxurious train experience provider that would later be further popularised by a suspense novel by writer Agatha Christie in the early 1930s.

Then called the CIWL (Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits), or The International Sleeping Car company, Orient Express’ inaugural trip happened in October 1883 from Paris to Constantinople (or the modern day Istanbul), redefining the meaning of long distance travel for luxury travelers.

As we know, the development of air travel has changed the way people move between places. That dealt a blow to CIWL, and eventually, the Orient Express made its last direct trip between Paris and Istanbul in 1977.

That same year, the SNCF or the French National Railway Company acquired the Orient Express brand, and the last Orient-Express train left Vienna for Strasbourg in December 2009.

But hope is not lost. Nearly 140 years after making its first trip, Accor Hotels fully bought over and redeveloped the brand in 2022, expanding the portfolio of Orient Express to include hotels and even yacht sailings.

As for the original Orient Express carriages – they will be back on railway tracks in 2027, though details are still scant at the moment. So, what should we know about the Orient Express portfolio of hospitality solutions today, and what is next for the firm?

In this episode of Under the Radar “SPECIALS”, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Group Chief Strategy Officer of Accor & CEO of Orient Express.

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Today we’re going to take you through the ins and outs of a semiconductor optics company that made the headlines for its performance post-IPO on the Singapore Exchange.

Listed on the SGX in September 2025, our guest for today MetaOptics develops metalenses, or flat, glass-based lenses made with the same technology and process as semiconductor chips.

But what does this mean exactly? Well, lenses are typically made using curved glass, which helps them refract and focus light rays, say in the case of camera lenses or magnifying glasses.

MetaOptics, on the other hand, uses a different process to make its lenses. Instead of using curved glasses, it uses a process called semiconductor photolithography to carve out microscopic pillars on a flat wafer, just like how transistors are engraved onto silicon chips.

With the microscopic pillars engraved on the lenses, the lenses behave like silicon chips, where their reflective index changes when varying amounts of electricity passes through it. This means the same lens can adopt multiple properties and perform multiple tasks from zooming in, focusing, or even shifting depth, depending on the situation.

In application, this means that devices such as smartphones, laptops or projectors will only need one metalens to perform multiple functions. This reduces the thickness and weight of hardware devices, making them easier to carry around.

Beyond that, metalens can also be used to transmit information using light. This presents an opportunity for the firm to tap the rise in demand for computing devices in the age of AI. So how does the firm define its value proposition exactly, and what are the key revenue drivers for it?

Meanwhile, MetaOptics listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange in September 2025, and has seen its shares rise five fold in three months. More recently, the firm also announced plans to seek a dual listing on the US NASDAQ stock exchange.

So how has the firm used the additional public capital raised? What are its plans for the future and what is its assessment of the effectiveness of listing on the local bourse then?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Mark Thng, CEO, Metaoptics.

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