Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Alexandra Parada cover a vending machine in Delhi stocked with underwear. The viral clip had people laughing, sharing, and even brainstorming what else future vending machines could carry. Then, in the U.S., President Donald Trump faces fierce backlash after posting a video that edited Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, sparking bipartisan outrage and raising questions about accountability in the age of social media.

Gold just did something we haven’t seen in years, a sharp drop, followed by an even sharper rebound. One moment it was sliding hard… the next, it was surging back like a comeback story. So what’s driving these wild swings, and is gold gearing up for its next record run? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Robin Tsui, APAC gold strategist at State Street Investment Management, for the latest.

On Market View, Sean Cheong speaks with David Kuo, Co-founder of The SmartInvestor, to unpack the key market moves shaping Asia and beyond. First up: Japan’s snap election and what a likely landslide victory could mean for the Japanese yen, broader export demand in Asia, and potential ripple effects for Singapore. They also dive into Singapore’s market highlights, including DBS’s earnings report while looking ahead to UOB, OCBC, and SIA, which are all set to report later this month. From aviation to engineering, they examine ST Engineering’s record highs post-Singapore Airshow, the technical and fundamental setups for SIA, and other notable Singapore market movers. Across the Pacific, they analyze last week’s chaos in US markets, from the Nasdaq’s struggles and a spike in the VIX, to Walmart crossing the $1 trillion mark as a "physical world" safe haven. Finally, they preview upcoming US earnings from Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cisco, and discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo’s new ownership stake in Chelsea.  

From traffic delays to tragic injuries, the Singapore Premier League delivered yet again - giving Sports Minutes plenty to discuss and dissect. Sailors continued their 100% start to the season despite losing their head coach, while another club could possibly be parting ways with their manager. Who could that be? Tune in to find out! Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg

Today we’re going to take you through the ins and outs of a semiconductor optics company that made the headlines for its performance post-IPO on the Singapore Exchange.  Listed on the SGX in September 2025, our guest for today MetaOptics develops metalenses, or flat, glass-based lenses made with the same technology and process as semiconductor chips. But what does this mean exactly? Well, lenses are typically made using curved glass, which helps them refract and focus light rays, say in the case of camera lenses or magnifying glasses.   MetaOptics, on the other hand, uses a different process to make its lenses. Instead of using curved glasses, it uses a process called semiconductor photolithography to carve out microscopic pillars on a flat wafer, just like how transistors are engraved onto silicon chips.  With the microscopic pillars engraved on the lenses, the lenses behave like silicon chips, where their reflective index changes when varying amounts of electricity passes through it. This means the same lens can adopt multiple properties and perform multiple tasks from zooming in, focusing, or even shifting depth, depending on the situation.  In application, this means that devices such as smartphones, laptops or projectors will only need one metalens to perform multiple functions. This reduces the thickness and weight of hardware devices, making them easier to carry around. Beyond that, metalens can also be used to transmit information using light. This presents an opportunity for the firm to tap the rise in demand for computing devices in the age of AI. So how does the firm define its value proposition exactly, and what are the key revenue drivers for it?  Meanwhile, MetaOptics listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange in September 2025, and has seen its shares rise five fold in three months. More recently, the firm also announced plans to seek a dual listing on the US NASDAQ stock exchange. So how has the firm used the additional public capital raised? What are its plans for the future and what is its assessment of the effectiveness of listing on the local bourse then? On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Mark Thng, CEO, Metaoptics.

Art has long been valued as both a cultural asset and a store of wealth, yet most artworks are bought once and never resold. As sustainability and alternative investing reshape the art world, ideas like “green-chip art” are gaining traction, promising to unlock hidden value while keeping art in circulation. Is there a real, scalable market for resold art, or are headline sales the exception? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Milon Goh, CEO of Art Again, on whether the secondary art market can change how we collect, invest and think about art.

On Feb 8, Japan will hold a snap election that could reshape the country’s political landscape. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is seeking to strengthen her coalition’s hold on power, while a newly reorganized opposition aims to make gains.  So, what’s really at stake in this election? And what could the results mean for the future of Japan’s domestic politics, its economy, and its role on the global stage? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Stephen Nagy, Professor of Politics & International Studies at the International Christian University, Senior fellow and China project lead at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs. They break down the key dynamics of the election, what to watch on election day, and what the outcome could mean for Japan’s future. The title of Stephen’s forthcoming book is “Japan as a Middle Power State: Navigating Ideological and Systemic Divides.”

Aside from Dubai chocolate, what is Korea’s newest global craze now? On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Alexandra Parada dive into the surprising rise of Korean gim, the humble dried seaweed snack that’s suddenly become a worldwide obsession. Once an affordable staple in Korean households, gim is now flying off supermarket shelves overseas, pushing prices up so quickly that even longtime vendors in Korea can’t believe what they’re seeing. And in China, one family has taken togetherness to a whole new level by building their very own 15-storey condominium to house more than 100 relatives under one roof.

Singapore shares fell today as investors continue to mull a selloff in US tech stocks overnight. The Straits Times Index dropped 0.7 per cent in the first 30 minutes of trading, with most counters opening in the red.  In terms of counters to watch, we have Nio, after the electric vehicle maker projects to record its first-ever quarterly adjusted operating profit for the quarter ended Dec 31.  Elsewhere, from how US President Donald Trump unveils TrumpRx discounted drugs website and what the move means for major pharmaceutical players, to how Intel and AMD have reportedly notified Chinese customers of supply shortages for server central processing units, more international and corporate headlines remained in focus.  Also on deck, how Amazon said it plans to spend US$200 billion this year on data centres, chips and other equipment. On Market View, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS.

Lion City Sailors have announced the departure of Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković with immediate effect. Despite 8 wins in 8 league matches, the defending SPL Champions have suffered exits in both continental competitions - which led to increased scrutiny on the head coach. Having taken over the reigns in June 2023, Ranko departs having delivered five major trophies and a fairytale run to the ACL Two final. Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg