Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Golf's biggest battleground is coming to Singapore, May 3-5th. Are you ready to experience golf like never before? Well tune in to be convinced if you're not already - as Su-Ann Heng, Singapore's former No.1 ranked golfer & LIVGolf's on course analyst, speaks to Sports Minutes! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

The Executive Centre (TEC), headquartered in Hong Kong with a footprint across APAC and Middle East, has been at the forefront of flexible work since opening its doors in Hong Kong in 1994. Today, the flexible workspace company boasts over 200 Centres in 34 cities and 15 markets. All of their spaces are situated at prime office buildings in the CBD, and are well-furnished with luxury furniture from prestigious brands. Of note, TEC proudly owns two of Timothy Oulton’s twenty two Apollo capsules – a luxury lounge built to the same scale as NASA’s Apollo 11 space capsule. The pods have landed in the Centres at AIA Central in Hong Kong and ITC in Shanghai respectively. Ricky Wells, Global Head of Capital Development, The Executive Centre shares more. 

Did you know that In 2022, the amount of e-waste generated globally hit 62 million tonnes and that is enough to fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks. And Asia is a major source of e-waste, accounting for nearly half of the global e-waste generated in 2022.  While many components of electronic devices are recyclable, the recycling rate for e-waste is relatively low. Nathan Hall, Vice President of Asia Pacific & Japan, Pure Storage tells us how we can recycle e-waste right. 

From former Malaysian PM Najib Razak not divulging a meeting with the Saudi King to MACC investigators to Myanmar’s former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were reportedly moving out of jail to house arrest last week.  Dr Felix Tan, Independent Political Observer gives us an analysis of those headlines and more.

Hidden for more than 150 years, a row of Victorian railway arches will be restored to become the focal point of a £2.5 billion development on London’s South Bank. They will form the heart of a commercial, retail, cultural and residential hub as part of Native Land’s ‘Bankside Yards’ riverside project. With climate action as its foundation, the mixed-use development at Bankside Yards is set to be the UK’s first major fossil-fuels-free regeneration project with zero emissions in operation. Nicholas Gray, Sales & Marketing Director, Native Land shares more. 

Singapore Aquatics (SAQ) and Sports Schooling, the swim school of Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling, will be conducting a swim clinic to bring aquatic sports to underprivileged children. The clinic is part of SAQ’s “Empowering Lives Through Aquatics” initiative, which aims to get participants between the ages of 6 and 14 to complete the first three stages of SwimSafer, the national water safety programme. How will this set us on the trajectory to unearth our next Olympic Champion? Ow Yong Weng Leong, Vice President (Partnerships), Singapore Aquatics, joins us to explain. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Recently a few gyms and fitness centres have all been in the news for the wrong reasons as members found themselves caught out with sudden closures. The blame has been cast on the impact of Covid-19 and rising business costs. But even with the current landscape of the fitness business undergoing significant transformation, our guest has somehow managed to sustain his business. Sasidharan Unnithan, Founder & Managing Director, FightZone shares his story. 

From China’s initial restrained silence on Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel to China's President Xi Jinping ordering the biggest military reorganisation since 2015.  Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

Singapore stocks opened stronger today following overnight gains on global markets as easing tensions in the Middle East boosted investor confidence. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1 per cent to 3,258.07 points after 76.6 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have CapitaLand Ascendas Reit. Its manager yesterday reported a higher average rental rate of 16.9 per cent for leases renewed in the first quarter of 2024, up from 15.2 per cent in the previous quarter.  Elsewhere, from a media report on how China acquired recently banned Nvidia chips in Super Micro and Dell servers, to bubble tea brand Chabaidao’s trading debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, more corporate and international headlines remain in focus. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Kelvin Wong, Senior Analyst, OANDA.

It’s all about sentiment within financial markets today as we speak to one of the earliest fintech companies in the world. .  Founded in 1992, our guest Saxo is an international investment firm for investors and traders under the supervision of the Danish FSA, with a reach of over 2,500 professionals around the world including in key financial hubs such as Singapore. Its investment platform provides users access to global capital markets across asset classes, while its open banking technology powers over 200 financial institutions to enhance their investment experience. Why are we talking to Saxo you might ask? Well, with economic data out of the US coming in hot in the early months of the year, putting into question the Federal Reserve’s rate cut timeline, a property slump in China, and ongoing geopolitical tensions around the world – we want to find out how if investors’ are indeed on a risk-off mode right now, and if that has influenced demand for investment products investment platform.  The firm also revamped its pricing structure to lower trading costs for customers in March this year – but how far has that got to do with the wider business environment and the competitive landscape of the global online trading platform market?  More recently, the firm was reportedly said to be exploring a possible sale after talks to go public through a SPAC merger fell through. But what were the reasons behind the move and what can we expect from here?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kim Fournais, Founder and CEO of Saxo.