Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singaporeans are earning more than ever, with median household incomes crossing $12,000 a month in 2025. But higher paychecks don’t tell the whole story.Wealth inequality remains much more pronounced, with the richest households holding far more assets than the rest. So what does that really mean for everyday families? Are some people being left behind despite higher wages? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Dr Ee Cheng Ong, Associate Professor, Economics, National University of Singapore, to find out more.

Bitcoin swung wildly this week, dipping as low as $60,033 before bouncing back above $70,000, leaving traders on edge after last week’s roller-coaster moves. Is the original cryptocurrency still a long-term store of value or has it become just another risky asset in global portfolios?  On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Elbert Iswara, Head of Client Coverage of QCP, to break down what’s driving Bitcoin’s volatility and what it means for investors.

Dating in 2026 has officially gone off the rails. On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Nadiah Koh dive into China’s bizarre viral trend of referring your exes like job candidates, complete with ‘resumes’, pros and cons, and even user manuals for your former partners.  But it doesn’t stop there. ChatGPT’s caricature trend is taking over social media, with everyone trying it and sometimes roasting themselves in ways they didn’t see coming. From painfully accurate job depictions to absurdly funny life quirks, no one is safe. So, would you trust your ex or let AI spill all your secrets first?

On the local front, UOB takes the spotlight as we review its movements ahead of earnings later this month, alongside OCBC and DBS - the latter having logged two consecutive red sessions following its latest results. From there, we turn to Singapore Airlines, which is also set to report on the 24th of February. SIA has enjoyed a strong run over the past 5-6 days, climbing nearly 5% and breaking out of a W-shaped formation on the charts. With momentum clearly improving, we discuss how the fundamentals stack up too, especially in light of the airline’s recently announced $500 million, 10-year bond issuance. We then shift to Japan, where the Nikkei is staging a powerful bounce following election developments. On Market View, Sean Cheong speaks to Willie Keng, Founder of The Dividend Titan, to discuss the latest market movements.

Thailand’s general election has produced a surprising outcome, with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party projected to win around 198 seats, a dramatic increase from the 71 seats it secured in 2023. The result has shaken up the political landscape, leaving the People’s Party and Pheu Thai trailing behind, raising questions about the next government’s formation and priorities. On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Professor Purawich Watanasukh, Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University, to unpack these results and explore what they mean for Thailand’s political future.

On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Alexandra Parada cover a vending machine in Delhi stocked with underwear. The viral clip had people laughing, sharing, and even brainstorming what else future vending machines could carry. Then, in the U.S., President Donald Trump faces fierce backlash after posting a video that edited Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, sparking bipartisan outrage and raising questions about accountability in the age of social media.

Gold just did something we haven’t seen in years, a sharp drop, followed by an even sharper rebound. One moment it was sliding hard… the next, it was surging back like a comeback story. So what’s driving these wild swings, and is gold gearing up for its next record run? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Robin Tsui, APAC gold strategist at State Street Investment Management, for the latest.

On Market View, Sean Cheong speaks with David Kuo, Co-founder of The SmartInvestor, to unpack the key market moves shaping Asia and beyond. First up: Japan’s snap election and what a likely landslide victory could mean for the Japanese yen, broader export demand in Asia, and potential ripple effects for Singapore. They also dive into Singapore’s market highlights, including DBS’s earnings report while looking ahead to UOB, OCBC, and SIA, which are all set to report later this month. From aviation to engineering, they examine ST Engineering’s record highs post-Singapore Airshow, the technical and fundamental setups for SIA, and other notable Singapore market movers. Across the Pacific, they analyze last week’s chaos in US markets, from the Nasdaq’s struggles and a spike in the VIX, to Walmart crossing the $1 trillion mark as a "physical world" safe haven. Finally, they preview upcoming US earnings from Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cisco, and discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo’s new ownership stake in Chelsea.  

From traffic delays to tragic injuries, the Singapore Premier League delivered yet again - giving Sports Minutes plenty to discuss and dissect. Sailors continued their 100% start to the season despite losing their head coach, while another club could possibly be parting ways with their manager. Who could that be? Tune in to find out! Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg

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.