Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

If you don’t know something, just Google it!  While Google started out as the name of a search engine company, the word has become almost synonymous with the act of looking something up online. Beyond that, the tech firm has made itself into all parts of our lives. Some of us use Gmail for emails, Google docs for crafting documents, and Google Drive for cloud storage.  Not to mention the Android operating system that some of our phones use, and the YouTube app that we stream our videos from.  In fact, Google has 15 products that each serve over half a billion people and businesses, and six that serve more than 2 billion users too. But it wasn't that long ago when such conveniences were not available. In fact Google was founded just 25 years ago, and is way younger than a number of industrial firms that we spoke with on the show. So what was Google’s journey like throughout the past quarter century? What went ‘Under the Radar’ over the past 25 years?  And how does Google intend to take itself forward in the next 25 years, with the advent of Generative AI? How does it assess its peers’ investments into AI startups? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ben King, Managing Director, Google Singapore.

From the huge question of Chinese President Xi Jinping's attendance at the upcoming APEC summit to the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) marking its 10th anniversary. Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

Liverpool fell victim to a "significant human error" as the PGMOL admitted that VAR officials had failed to act after Luis Diaz's 34th-minute strike at Tottenham was wrongly ruled out for offside. With the catalogue of errors by officials piling up, how can the refereeing body restore credibility? And speaking of apologies, Guardiola might owe one to "that Korean guy" as Hwang Hee-chan scored the winner in Wolves' unlikely win over Manchester City! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

What are the most common fitness goals Singaporeans have? Mitch Price, National Group Exercise Manager, Virgin Active SG shares more with us on this and how Virgin Active SG is helping its members achieve these goals. 

Blue Water EduFest, organised by ONE°15 Marina, is making its return from November 2nd to 4th, 2023. This event is not just another gathering; it's a passionate call to action for marine and coastal conservation throughout the region.   Arthur Tay, CEO and Executive Director of SUTL Enterprise, and the visionary behind Blue Water EduFest, shares more about his passion for ocean conservation.   He also tells us why he believes the yachting community and beyond has a role to play to help foster this future. 

Singapore shares opened on a positive note today after global equities ended the week mixed. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.3 per cent to 3,226.54 points after 50.4 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch for today, we have Seatrium, after its unit Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz refinanced an existing facility due December 2023.  Meanwhile, from more on Sembcorp Industries and Singtel to Google making laptops in India, more corporate headlines remain in focus.  On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with David Kuo, Co-founder, The Smart Investor.

You have definitely heard this completely unhelpful, nightmare brief if you have ever worked in socials or marketing. It is the one where brands are obsessively fixated on being the talk of the town and chasing that fleeting "it" moment. But amidst droves of brands capitalising on droves of trends, are viral trends really your best chance at staying afloat in a saturated market? Or are they actually drowning you in the sea of other brands also on the same bandwagon? Strife Lim, Co-Founder, Sterra shares more with us on how his company has done this well. 

Taking an elevator or escalator has probably become an integral part of our lives, but the companies behind them often go unnoticed. And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today. Founded in 1910, KONE is a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry. It provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as solutions which can add value to the life cycle of any building.  The firm has been present in Singapore since 1978 and is now one of the fastest growing elevator and escalator companies in the country, with its solutions present in major malls and infrastructure such as the Marina Bay Sands, the Circle Line and Jem.  It is also diversifying beyond escalators and elevators to integrate robots in buildings. For one thing, the firm collaborated with Changi General Hospital and CapitaLand Investment to advance the integration of robotics in buildings.  Question is – why is Kone diversifying beyond its traditional lines of business amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution?  In the meantime, the firm had in July reported lower than expected second-quarter order numbers due to weather demand in its key Chinese market as low construction activity continues to weigh on demand for new elevators and escalators. But what is the situation like in Singapore? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sylvia Koh-Gratton, Managing Director, KONE Singapore.

You may have heard of wine sommeliers, but have you ever met a water sommelier? Caryn Tang is Singapore’s first female water sommelier, and she aims to reveal the hidden intricacies of water in Southeast Asia’s first ever ‘Essence of Water’ course. Now, if you think all water is the same, think again. Caryn shares how to identify the flavour profile of water and ways this humble beverage can complement your gastronomical experiences. 

August 2023 has seen the rental markets for both condos and HDBs in Singapore go through a significant shift.  We analyze these statistics and look ahead for potential future movements for the rest of the year with Nicholas Mak, Chief Research Officer, Mogul.sg.