Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Building a talent ecosystem to help the 120 million professionals in Southeast Asia grow their careers. Well, that’s the aspiration and the mission of our guest for today Glints. Founded in 2015, Glints is a recruitment platform that allows organisations to hire the right talent from anywhere in Southeast Asia.  With operations spanning across key markets such as Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, the firm has so far empowered over 3 million talent and supported 50,000 organisations in realising their human potential.  And according to a Tech In Asia report, the firm had in September registered “record-high” revenues in the 2022 financial year of S$45.4 million, an 85% year-on-year increase.  Glints attributed this to growing demand for cross border talent. This comes as firms become more willing to hunt for talent outside of their head offices.  But why is this the case? What bearing will this have on Glints’ strategy to acquire talent within Southeast Asia, and how far will this trend continue to drive Glint’s business looking ahead? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ying Cong Seah, Co-founder, Glints.

As an antithesis to usual Christmas celebrations with fabricated tree structures, Millenia Walk is encouraging a Singapore-first, eco-friendly Christmas celebration this year as part of the Millenia Walk Christmas With Our Trees initiative and its ongoing sustainability efforts.  This includes showcasing a 7-metre-tall Christmas tree made entirely out of 5.5 tonnes of salvaged wood in the form of “shelves” from our local felled trees.  Melanie Yeap, Head of Retail for the Pontiac Land Group and Quek Shian Pin, General Manager, Timber Actually share more about the inspiration behind the initiative as well as the importance of upcycling our local felled trees.

Among cities ranked as the world’s best for annual prime property price growth, three in the top 12 are Australian, according to Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index Q3 2023 which tracked the movement of 46 luxury residential markets worldwide. Given it's potential in 2023, how will Sydney’s luxury property market play out in 2024? What does it mean for international investors here in Singapore? Alex Adams, Head of Sales and Marketing, Aqualand and Nerida Consibee, Economist share their insights. 

Singapore shares started trading in positive territory today, tracking gains in the US and Europe markets. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up by 0.5 per cent at 3,220.76 points as 51.3 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have Manulife US Reit, after it requested a trading halt this morning after releasing details of its recapitalisation plan, along with additional plans to reduce the Reit’s leverage.  Elsewhere from Chinese investors ploughing money into ETFs to the death of Warren Buffet’s right-hand man Charlie Munger, more international headlines remain in focus.  On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian dived into the details with Jeff Ng, Head of Asia Macro Strategy, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

From highlights to the recently concluded Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) annual congress to Malaysia and Thailand looking to enhance their cooperation to proper economic growth.  Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, Senior International Affairs Analyst, Solaris Strategies Singapore gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

You might have played Tamagotchi before, but for some of us who grew up in the early 2000s, we went for Neopets. Founded in 1999, Neopets is an immersive, web-based pet game where we raise our virtual pets, collect free items under the Money Tree, and of course, haggle for goods with virtual shopkeepers and get chased off for making an unreasonable bargain.  The online game was a hit back then. According to Mashable, the game saw 25 million users at its peak. A lot has changed since, and Mashable said the firm saw daily active users worldwide shrunk to just 100,000 by 2017.  Some of the mini-games on the website have also become unplayable after the discontinuation of the Adobe Flash Software in 2020.  Internally, the firm has also seen multiple changes to its ownership, from being owned by Viacom, the parent company of Nickelodeon, in 2005, to JumpStart Games in 2014, and thereafter by NetDragon after it acquired JumpStart Games. And when JumpStart Games closed this June, the firm became independent after an undisclosed management buyout deal. Its new management now wants to change things up by restoring minigames and doubling down on the use of intellectual property in merchandise. It wants to bring lapsed players back into Neopia, and capitalise on the nostalgia former users had for Neopets.  But how sustainable is nostalgia as a value proposition, and will it be heyday again for Neopets? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Dominic Law, CEO, Neopets.

As the 2023 F1 season came to a close, we look back on the campaign that was dominated by Max Verstappen - who clinched 19 of 23 race wins to seal an emphatic third world title. F1 Analyst Matthew Marsh is in the hot seat to give us his hot takes, including his pick on best & worst in class for the year. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

South Asian fashion is having its moment in the sun, shaping and embracing current global fashion trends. From textiles to patterns and beading, South Asian style has been a significant presence in the industry, inspiring designers worldwide with its rich heritage. But what about its presence here in Singapore? Samia Khan, Founder, Studio Mèlange shares how her platform is bringing the best of Indian designers to Singapore and South East Asia.

Singapore stocks opened weaker today, following overnight losses on global markets. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.2 per cent to 3,079.31 points after 50.7 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch today, we have Sembcorp Industries, after the energy group yesterday announced two separate agreements to acquire wind assets in China and India for a total consideration of S$200 million.  Elsewhere from more on the banking sector in Singapore and Sats filing notice of three straight years of losses, more corporate headlines remain in focus. Also on the table today – economic data points to watch out for in the US this week including the latest PCE price index numbers. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Jeremy Tan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tiger Fund Management for more.

A surge of respiratory illnesses related to flu, respiratory syncytial virus and other infections has been sweeping across some parts of China and mainly infecting children, as the country experiences its first full winter since easing COVID-19 restrictions. What do we know so far about the mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China? And how will China respond to the outbreak? Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs explains.