Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore stocks opened on a muted note today after global equities ended mixed overnight. In early trade, the Straits Times index (STI) was down 0.02 per cent at 3,101.8 points after 54.9 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch for today, we have ST Engineering and StarHub. Both parties said separately today that the defence and engineering group will acquire cryptographic technology company D’Crypt from a StarHub unit.  Elsewhere from more on private sector economists’ forecast for Singapore’s 2024 growth to Japan planning tax breaks for 10 years to boost EV and chip production, and what to expect ahead of the latest US FOMC meeting more economic developments remain in focus. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Toby Gresham, Investment Counselor Team Lead, Citi Private Bank.

From Malaysia announcing a major cabinet reshuffling yesterday to more Rohingya refugees landing in Indonesia's Aceh.  Nicholas Fang, Managing Director, Black Dot and Director for Security and Global Affairs, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

Making the world a safer and better place to live through the use of restoring blurry videos - that’s what we’re going to talk about on the segment.  Our guest for today is ProHawk AI, a company focusing on video restoration. Video restoration refers to the technical process of transforming noisy, obscured, or unclear video to clear understandable video.  Imagine manipulating every pixel in a high-resolution frame of video. ProHawk does that in real time, with a per-frame processing rate of 16 microseconds.  But what has video restoration got to do with making the world a safer place you might ask?  Well, we use video feeds for security, automation, transportation and a multitude of other applications. For instance, videos can be used to interpret traffic, assist law enforcement and even in the medical setting. Making sure that video feeds are clear in real time can result in more reliable performance regardless of adverse lighting or extreme weather, hence allowing operators to identify threats in a timely fashion and hence, making the world safer.  The firm is part of the Nvidia Metropolis partnership programme where over 1,000 companies bring to market Vision AI powered solutions across industries. The firm also said it’s partnered with Dell Technologies.  But what does the partnerships mean for ProHawk AI when it comes to product innovation, growth as well as finances?  Speaking of growth, Statista data showed that the global computer vision market is projected to see a market volume of US$50.97 billion by 2030. But how does ProHawk AI assess its growth trajectory? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Brent Willis, Chief Operating Officer ProHawk AI.

With Chelsea and Manchester United both flattering to deceive, we discuss how two of the Premier League's most successful clubs, who have each reached three Champions League finals in the past 15 years, have become the definition of dysfunction. And which manager is leading the sack race? Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

The Art Works Gallery is now open at the new One Holland Village development. And to mark this milestone, the gallery has partnered with Lamborghini Singapore to showcase an exhilarating live art performance. Chris Hallewell, Chief Operations Officer, Art Works Group shares more details on their partnership with Lamborghini.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the term “black swan events” has been thrust into the spotlight to describe events that are unpredictable and leave behind severe consequences. But with a new year just around the corner, is it time for businesses to retire the term? What strategies can businesses adopt to help weather everyday disruptions, making these uncertainties feel less “black swan”, and more “water off a duck’s back”? Charles Ferguson, APAC General Manager, G-P shares his views. 

Making healthcare more accessible, effective and less invasive. That’s the ambition of our guest for today, Castomize.  Spun off from the Singapore University of Technology and Design in late 2022, the firm aims to do so through the use of medical devices made with advanced manufacturing techniques.  It has since launched its first device, a series of 4D-printed orthopaedic casts which are more comfortable and convenient for patients. The casts are also easier for doctors to apply and remove, and require less resources for hospitals to deploy.  The casts have won awards at multiple startup events including the K-Startup Grand Challenge. As a firm, Castomize was also selected as the first startup in incubator VentureBlick’s super incubator programme.  It is also working with other incubators and accelerators such as Shinhan Square Bridge Incheon, Singapore Management University’s Business Innovations Generator, the Temasek Launchpad and the SUTD.  But what is the strategic value of working with these players and how does the Castomize envision its growth trajectory to be like?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Abel Teo, CEO, Castomize.

From Chinese and Philippine vessels colliding on contested waters to the agenda behind Chinese President Xi Jinping's two day visit to Vietnam starting today. We have on the line Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

Our next guest has one of the most fascinating career progressions one could ever come across. From being an ASEAN scholar at Raffles Junior College to a surgeon, investment banker, c-suite at a large healthcare group and now a start-up founder with MiyaHeath.  His motivation to start his own company was because of his experience of losing a loved one, which made him realise the apparent gaps in our healthcare system. Dr Ramesh Rajentheran, CEO & Co-Founder, MiyaHealth shares his story with us. 

Today we’re going to talk about a company that helps organisations create a personalised, measurable and scalable coaching programme for the entire workforce regardless of department and seniority level.  Founded in 2018, CoachHub is a leading global talent development platform with over 3,500 certified business coaches in 90 countries.  The firm provides sessions in over 60 languages and serves over 1,000 clients around the world. They include some of the biggest names including Coca-Cola, Toyota, LVMH, L’Oreal and Twitter.  It says coaching helps firms reap benefits from increased employee engagement, higher levels of productivity, improved job performance and increased retention. And it seems like the market for coaching is a lucrative one. According to a 2020 International Coaching Federation (ICF) study undertaken by PwC, the estimated global total revenue from coaching in 2019 was US$2.849 billion, representing a 21% increase over the 2015 estimate.  But what are the drivers of growth in the industry and what do they mean for CoachHub?  Meanwhile, CoachHub raised US$200 million in Series C funding in a round led by Sofina and Softbank Fund Vision 2 in June last year. The company said then that it wants to use the money to expand its footprint within the APAC region, particularly in Singapore.  But what is the strategic value brought about by this group of investors, and how far has CoachHub’s plans to expand within Asia been realised, one year down the road? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jimmy Li, VP for APAC, CoachHub.