Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Did you know that Singapore is the world’s sixth largest consumer market for watches? Boldr has quite the interesting story, having been started by a Singaporean on Kickstarter in 2016 and growing into a renowned indie watch brand especially in the US market ever since.  So how did Boldr work with PayPal to grow its US market presence?  Leon Leong, Founder, BOLDR Supply Co. & Pooja Sanan, Head of Sales, Southeast Asia, PayPal shares the story. 

Products and services are not the only valuable things your company owns. By understanding and optimising brand value, companies can invest in a powerful strategy for long-term gains. And according to Brand Finance’s ASEAN 300 2023 most airlines brands have witnessed an uptick in brand values this year. So what are the top brands of 2023? Which are the most valuable ASEAN brands and who are ASEAN’s fastest growing brands?  Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance shares more with us on the findings from this report. 

US President Joe Biden will miss the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, after two years of attending the talks. What’s on the agenda for the US at COP28? Will the US be ready to commit money this year? And how will US-China relations impact the momentum at the meeting? Elsewhere, following the release of the third group of hostages by Hamas as part of a truce, Biden has expressed his goal of extending the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas for as long as possible. Can the US do more in the ongoing efforts to maintain peace in the region? We find out from Trisha Craig, Vice President (Engagement) and Senior Lecturer of Social Sciences (Sociology and Political Science), Yale-NUS College.

A switchboard is known as a piece of equipment that directs all phone calls made to and from a particular building and area. But what about a switchboard that automatically helps enterprises direct and organise data into dashboards for business leaders to carry out data-driven projects on revenue operations, deal plannings, and campaign performance?  Well, that’s exactly what our guest Switchboard does. Founded in 2014 by the former Google BigQuery employees, Switchboard provides a platform for revenue and marketing teams to launch and maintain data projects at scale without the need for specialised data engineering teams.  The firm said its platform can make it 10 times faster for firms to implement data projects as compared to hiring a team of data engineers and managing vast amounts of data on their own.  Its software serves clients from a wide range of industries ranging from retail, technology, franchise operations and financial services. This includes a number of notable players such as Spotify and Orangetheory Fitness.  But what do clients in these industries require and how does Switchboard plug the gaps? Meanwhile, Switchboard had in July this year received US$7 million in a Series A funding round led by GFT Ventures and Quest Venture Partners. But what opportunities do investors see in them? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ju-kay Kwek, CEO, Switchboard AND Joseph Lee, Partner and Head of Investor Relations, GFT Ventures.

We delve deep into the world of pro-boxing with First Drop Pro Fight, a Taiwan-based management company - as brand ambassador Sam Kao shares insights into pushing boundaries in boxing, comparing training in Taiwan and Singapore, and assessing the local boxing standard. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Here is the deal, we all know that adulting is hard. So imagine receiving a warm and wholesome meal delivered to your doorstep right after a long day, just utter bliss. These healthy food delivery services in Singapore offer weekly and monthly subscription meal plans that will fill you up nicely. Michelin-trained chef Maxamillian Mepham, Founder and Chef, Green Kitchen shares his founding story and the crowd favourites from their menu. 

Singapore stocks fell during early trade today, led by declines from the banks. US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.3 per cent to 3,105.08 points, after 89.7 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch today, we have City Developments Limited. The property group and its joint-venture associates posted higher third-quarter sales of S$325 million, from S$281 million in the year-ago period.  This came on the back of sales from its 408-unit residential development The Myst, for which the group sold 169 units since the project’s launch in July. Elsewhere, from China reportedly weighing unprecedented builder support with unsecured loans to protests against Amazon in Europe on the traditionally busy Black Friday, more corporate headlines remain in focus. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments withSunny Soh, Lead Technical Analyst (Capital Markets & Investor Education), SIAS.

Singapore’s Presidents will be able to accept appointments at international organisations in a “private capacity”, allowing them to act and express views independently under constitutional amendments that were passed in Parliament this week.  But could any time spent serving private interests be time taken away from the President’s national duties and his constituents? Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University shares his views. 

Today we’re going to bring you an inside look into the largest liquor company in the Philippines that is also the world’s biggest brandy manufacturer. Founded in 1979, Emperador is a holding company that operates an integrated business of manufacturing, bottling and distributing distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages from the Philippines and Europe.  Its consolidated portfolio includes brands like the Emperador Light and whisky brands such as The Dalmore. It also entered the global Scotch whisky business through the acquisition of Whyte and Mackay in 2014.  The Manila-listed firm made its debut on the Singapore Exchange last July, and became a constituent of the Straits Times Index last September, making it the second regional spirits company listed on the SGX after Thai Beverage. So what is the role of Emperador’s Singapore business in the bigger scheme of things? Meanwhile, the company saw revenues increase by 10 per cent year-on-year to P47.1 billion in the first nine months this year. Emperador said its international business continued to experience double digit growth particularly in Asia and North America.  But why is this the case, and what are the key drivers of growth for the firm in the near future? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Glenn Manlapaz, CEO, Emperador International Division.

Business man by day, boxer by night? What are the similarities between the two seemingly different aspects of one's life - and what lessons can we take from one to another? Ahead of the 3rd edition of The Ring White Collar Boxing Show - Ruchdi Hajjar, co-founder of The Ring Boxing Community and founding partner of SGMC Capital, joins us to tell us more. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg