Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore shares opened lower today following news that the country’s economy grew 0.7 per cent on year for the third quarter of 2023. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.7 per cent to 3,195.22 points after 34.6 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch today, we have Keppel Corporation. This comes as its private fund is acquiring two properties in Australia for A$198 million (S$175 million).  The group said yesterday that it intends to lease out the properties to educational institutions.  Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced ahead of trading hours that it left monetary policy settings unchanged in October, though it intends to shift to a quarterly monetary policy statement schedule from 2024. But what bearing will this have on the Singapore stock market? 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.

When Coldplay’s concert tickets first went on sale in June, tickets for all six days in Singapore were sold out. While fans might be rejoicing with more tickets going on sale this month, the overwhelming demand also set the stage for exploitation. Since January 2023, at least 522 victims have fallen prey to concert ticket scams in Singapore, with total losses amounting to at least $518,000.  With the all the advancements in the tech space, why haven’t we found a way to stop concert ticket scams in Singapore? JenniferCheng, Proofpoint’sDirector of Cybersecurity Strategy for Asia Pacific and Japan shares how scams work and ways to detect social engineering scams.

Helping people eat, sleep, exercise and hopefully, feel better. That’s the aim of our guest Mito Health.  Started by Seedly co-founders Kenneth Lou and Chew Tee-Ming this year, Mito Health is a startup focusing on personalised health plans for executives keen on looking beyond annual health check-ups and supplements to maintain their health.  It aims to guide users in improving their diet, exercise and sleep with diagnostics results and wearable data.  Question is – how different is Mito Health from other Executive Health Screening providers and what additional value do they bring on board?  Meanwhile, the company recently raised over S$1.7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Forge Ventures.  The firm is also backed by a number of angel investors including ShopBack founder Henry Chan, Carousell founder Quek Siu Rui, Glints founder Oswald Yeo, Rainforest founder JJ Chai and Singlife’s innovation head Varun Mittal.  But what strategic value does this group of angel investors bring to the table?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Kenneth Lou, Co-Founder and CEO, Mito Health, and Ryan Ware, Chief Medical Officer, Mito Health.

Colligo Collective, Singapore's first community-centric platform for cyclists, made its debut in October with the Coastal Bike Glove, a product that embodies Colligo's commitment to enhancing the cycling experience and uniting enthusiasts worldwide through community engagement. Ringo Fan, Creator of Colligo Collective explains the driving force behind the platform and shares how the cycling community can embrace the movement responsibly.

Reeling from the shock of terrorist group Hamas' assault inside Israeli territory over the weekend, the European Union's Palestinian policy quickly fell into disarray.  What do we make of the EU’s reaction to the Hamas-Israel conflict? And, what are the economic ramifications for Palestine, given the fact that the EU is the biggest external provider of financial support to Palestinian territories? Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Geopolitics, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific explains. 

Flying the flag for the Lion City in Indonesia, Jacob Mahler is seemingly living up to his much talked about potential. But what are the perks of playing abroad, and how does he deal with the pressure that comes with representing the nation? We speak to Singapore footballer and Madura United defender Jacob Mahler ahead of the Lions' crunch World Cup Qualifier against Guam to find out more. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Singapore stocks opened stronger today following overnight gains in global markets, ahead of the release of US key consumer inflation data. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.5 per cent to 3,207.51 points after 44.2 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch, we have Centurion, after the dormitory operator said yesterday that it will retrofit its five purpose-built dorms so that they meet the requirements under the Ministry of Manpower’s Dormitory Transition Scheme.  Elsewhere, from shoemaker Birkenstock’s trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange to OpenAI’s major update to lower costs for developers, more corporate headlines are in focus. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian dived into the details with Terence Wong, CEO, Azure Capital.

It may be common for university or pre-university students to give tuition services to their younger peers to earn their first paychecks.  But can you imagine building a multi-million dollar business out of it? In fact that is exactly what our guest for today did.  In fact, 25-year-old Evan Heng started Zenith in 2019 to help Junior College students thrive in the Singapore education system.  The entrepreneur opened his first tuition centre with S$100,000 of his savings and now has over four centres, 90 staff and a revenue of – get this – a whopping S$6.7 million in 2022.  The firm says it is now serving over 10% of all junior college students in Singapore every year. It has also opened the firm to institutional investors, having raised US$1.4 million in a seed funding round in July this year.  The firm had said then that it wanted to expand from physical tuition centres to education technology, but why is this the case? What does this suggest about the limit to growth in the physical private tuition centre business, and what is next for Zenith Education? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Evan Heng, CEO, Zenith Learning Group.

Type 1 diabetes is characterised by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. In 2017 there were 9 million people worldwide with type 1 diabetes; the majority of them live in high-income countries. So how can proper diabetes management help patients maintain a normal life after being diagnosed? And how does tech have a part in this as well?  Dr Kenneth Lee, Regional Medical Director of Abbott Diabetes Care  and Jacyln Chan, Country Manager, Technogym Singapore & Fitness Influencer tell us more. 

When we talk about eSports more often than not we envision being sat on a couch with a controller in hand. What could be so taxing about that? Well, with the burgeoning interest and influx of money into the world of gaming - the pressure to perform is at an all-time high. Beyond gaming, eSports athletes have also become brand ambassadors - which in itself ramps up the pressure. So how do they cope?We speak to Charlie Bailie, Chief Strategy Officer of Ampverse - which is Asia’s largest ecosystem of gaming communities and IP, to find out more! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg