Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

This is the conversation for you if you’re looking to travel the world and sail the seven seas in the upcoming December holidays. Founded in 1969, our guest Royal Caribbean International is the world’s largest cruise line. The firm prides itself on its history of innovation from being the firm with the first surf simulator to the fastest internet at sea.  It also has a global network across major sea routes. Just to give a sense of Royal Caribbean’s global footprint, the firm’s fleets visited 256 ports in 64 countries on 6 continents around the world back in 2017.  But how important is Asia to Royal Caribbean in the bigger scheme of things?  What is the role of Singapore as a market given how it was one of the first to allow ships to be homeported during the pandemic, and how it has been the homeport of Asia’s largest cruise ship, the Spectrum of the Seas?  How far will the firm’s attention shift from Singapore to China post-pandemic with Asia’s largest cruise ship, the Spectrum of the Seas, returning back to its original homeport of Shanghai in May 2024? Meanwhile, Disney Cruise Line has signed a deal to homeport its newest cruise ship here in Singapore for the first time. What does this mean for Royal Caribbean, and what will it take for Royal Caribbean to homeport even larger ships here in Singapore? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Bert Hernandez, Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean International. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a six-month pause on DBS Bank's non-essential IT changes to ensure that the bank keeps sharp focus on restoring the resilience of its digital banking services. DBS will not be allowed to acquire new business ventures during this period or reduce the size of its branch and ATM networks in Singapore. But why are such serious actions only taken now despite the bank facing major disruptions multiple times in the last year.  Benjamin Ang, Senior Fellow & Head, Centre of Excellence for National Security and Future Issues in Technology, RSIS NTU shares his views. 

Despite celebrating the highs of Joseph Schooling and Shanti Pereira in recent years, Singapore's sporting culture remains questionable. How then can we aspire to create a healthy eco-system to let budding athletes flourish? Soh Rui Yong, Singaporean national long-distance runner and holder of six national records, joins us from the United Kingdom to tell us more. READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/newly-wed-soh-rui-yong-breaks-two-singapore-records-at-valencia-half-marathon Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

The micro-hotel industry has seen incredible growth and is expected to reach over $150b by 2032, with Asia-Pacific holding one of the highest market shares of small rooms. What does this growth projection mean for micro-hotels like YOTEL?  Hubert Viriot, CEO, YOTEL explains the brand's ambitious expansion plans for Asia, including new projects in Japan, Malaysia and Thailand which will see YOTEL doubling its footprint in Asia by 2025. 

Singapore shares were pulled into positive territory today, following overnight gains on Wall Street.  That’s after the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent to 3,088.32 points, after 69.8 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have DBS, after the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday imposed a “six-month pause” on DBS’ non-essential IT changes following repeated and prolonged disruptions of its banking services this year.  Meanwhile, from more on SingPost’s earnings to SoftBank’s pioneering a new bond-type stock, more local and regional headlines are in focus today. Also on deck – a deep dive into European and US headlines from Zalando and Estee Lauder’s earnings outlook to the Federal Reserve’s signal on interest rates.  On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian dived into the details with David Chow, Director, Azure Capital.

Anyone feeling like AI is speeding up time in 2023. Everywhere we look there is innovation happening at what appears to be a faster rate than ever before. And as businesses continue to grow and evolve, it is essential to work with various teams within an organisation to understand how to harness the power of AI without causing unnecessary upheaval. But how can companies find the balance between AI innovation with human connection? Ricky Kapur, Head of Asia Pacific, Zoom shares his views. 

Tech companies, government officials, and experts from around the world are gathering at Bletchley Park to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Described as a “world first”, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's AI Safety Summit is expected to be a starting point for future policymaking on AI, which has developed rapidly in recent years. But will the UK AI summit actually achieve anything? What should we consider as a success from the summit?  We find out from Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Geopolitics, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific.

With the likes of Perry Ng and Luke O'Nien - two footballers plying their trade in the English Championship declaring their interest in swapping their British citizenship to become Singaporeans - we wonder: Is naturalisation and the enrolment of heritage players into the Singapore football team the best way to give the local game a shot in the arm? Would Perry and Luke be considered true blue Singaporeans? If not, why not? Deepanraj Ganesan, sports reporter with The Straits Times joins us to share his opinions. READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/for-the-lions-to-roar-s-pore-need-to-field-their-best-players Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

We speak to Tunku Khalsom, artist and business owner about her experience evolving from artist to businesswoman and the stigma about being an artist. 

In this special edition of The Evening Runway, guest co-host Tunku Khalsom, artist and business owner shares with us her thoughts on the recent evolution of the art scene, factors one should consider when starting an art business and the best way to sell art.