The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

In recent years, the digital entertainment landscape has witnessed a fascinating evolution with the emergence of Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers. There is a rising trend of these content creators who use computer-generated avatars representing themselves in videos and live streams. The VTuber market, stands at around US$500 million ($658.7 million).  Today on Industry Insight, we find out more about this trend in the live-streaming industry from SGX-Listed live-streaming platform 17LIVE. The global company is the SGX’s first and only entity to have gone through a despac transaction reversed a US$118.2 million loss to profit.  CEO of 17LIVE, Jiang Honghui. shares more.  

With the rise of digital assets, it can be quite an uphill journey and steep learning curve for both traditional banks and clients in navigating this space. This is where Singapore-based digital payment solution provider MetaComp enters the picture.  Describing themselves as the Compass of the Meta-Crypto World, Eddie Hui, COO and Co-President of MetaComp and Tin Pei Ling, Co-President of MetaComp, shares with us more about their vision, which is to build the bridge between traditional and crypto finance.

While quantum computing is still in its developmental stages, it is gearing up to have a profound impact on the financial system. According to McKinsey, by 2035, quantum computing use cases in the finance industry could create $622billion in value. Here in Singapore, efforts are being made to tap into that potential. For example, just a few months ago, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced plans to invest SGD$100 million to fund quantum computing and AI projects, as part of a scheme to support banks and other financial institutions as they innovate and develop capabilities in both quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Dr Joe Fitzsimons, CEO of Horizon Quantum Computing shares his insight on the potential impact of quantum computing in the financial sector and how might quantum banking change the financial system.

As global financial institutions and consumers navigate economic and regulatory changes, more effective ways are sought to predict risk. With the boom in generative AI, how has technology changed the financial services industry when it comes to financial crime compliance? What are the new challenges for financial institutions in the fight against financial crime? Rohit Mittal, APAC Director of Financial Crime Compliance and Payments at global data and analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions, shares more.

In an era of rapid digital transformation, efficient and innovative payment solutions are crucial for business success.  On Industry Insight, we look at the latest in payment solutions, and explore the advancements in payment technologies. From real-time transactions to embedded finance, what are some of the common initiatives industry players are focusing on, to help businesses scale and unlock new revenue streams through smarter and more secure payment infrastructures?  Sarita Singh, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, India and Greater China with global financial infrastructure company Stripe shares her views. 

Carbon markets have evolved into a significant international market segment that has generated $104 billion in revenue in 2024 to fund climate and nature programs. Indeed, it is a growing sector, especially when energy transition and the race to net zero is entering a new phase of maturity in which nations and corporations are being held to higher levels of integrity in both compliance and voluntary carbon offset claims, reporting and data. Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 aims to make the country Asia’s carbon services and trading hub. Yet, there appears to be a slowdown in the voluntary carbon market. According to industry experts, the voluntary carbon market has been in the doldrums for two years amid doubts among buyers over the integrity of the process. Project Qatalyst, a due diligence platform and the brainchild of Standard Chartered Bank and French multinational power company Engie believes strongly that carbon credits are an invaluable tool in financing climate action and drive the transition to net zero.  Poyan Rajamand, venture lead for Qatalyst at SC Ventures, tells us more. 

There is an emerging trend of innovative products being made to help boost food production without agriculture. For example, fat that is free from animal ingredients and artificial ingredients. Using precision fermentation, Australian food tech company Nourish Ingredients, a pioneer in the emerging 'animal-free' speciality fat segment has produced the world's first animal-free fat that is derived from nature. It claims this will help to accelerate the future food system by solving the biggest issues in the plant protein market around taste, nutrition, and consumer adoption. With its recent Singapore expansion, Nourish Ingredients hopes to scale up the production of its breakthrough fat.  Market intelligence research shows that the global precision fermentation ingredients market is projected to reach USD$38 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 43.5% during the forecast period of 2024–2031. Ernest Vecilla, Head of Culinary Innovation, Nourish Ingredients shares more insights from the food tech industry.

With the US election and Fed meeting on the horizon, there is a noticeable shift in investor sentiment across Asian markets. Key movements in currencies hint at regional resilience amid global uncertainties as the dollar weakened ahead of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election this week. However, the Malaysian ringgit has seen its move to the upside halted, closing in October lower by 5.8 per cent against the US dollar, which is its biggest monthly drop in about eight years. What can investors expect in the days ahead?  Yeap Junrong, Market Strategist at trading platform IG, shares his insights. 

For Singapore-based investors, letting properties in the UK is one of the best ways to make a steady income. But a long-distance landlord job can be challenging. Research by independent letting and sales agent Benham and Reeves has highlighted the increasing number of fraudulent lettings applications by rogue tenants in the UK. The research found that the number of false applications being detected by their team had already increased by 117% so far this year when compared to 2018 and the number of false passports being used had also increased notably. Marc von Grundherr, Director at Benham and Reeves, discusses how to prevent and handle rogue tenants who can potentially ruin your investment.

China’s top legislature will convene a meeting from November 4-8 to discuss a wide range of issues facing the country.  The meeting which usually takes place at the end of October, will be held as the US elects its next president. How will the US elections impact China’s markets? Gary Ng, Senior Economist at investment banking firm Natixis, tells us more about what to expect from China’s top legislative meeting.