Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

With the 5000 capacity limit at the National Stadium, and lack of LIVE broadcasts for the Singapore Football Team's recent matches hogging the headlines, we speak to Deepanraj Ganesan, sports reporter with The Straits Times, on his commentary piece - questioning the lack of support for what is claimed to be our 'national sport'. READ MORE:  https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/for-the-lions-to-succeed-it-will-take-more-than-just-the-work-of-fas Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Singapore shares opened lower today after the US central bank affirmed that more interest rate increases are likely ahead as the inflation rate is still high.  In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.1 per cent to 3,221.78 points after 30.3 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have DBS and OCBC. That’s after the Monetary Authority of Singapore imposed composition penalties totalling S$3.8 million on DBS, OCBC, Citibank and insurer Swiss Life (Singapore) for money-laundering rule breaches uncovered in a Wirecard probe.  Elsewhere, investors continue to digest Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish tone in its semi-annual testimony on where the central bank is headed for the rest of this year.   Meanwhile, from Netflix outlining its US$2.5 billion South Korean bet on the K-drama mania to job cuts at SoftBank Group’s Vision fund, more corporate news continue to make the headlines today. On Market View, the Drive Time team dived into the details with Terence Wong, CEO, Azure Capital.

Fiz on 21 Tanjong Pagar Road is a tasting menu-only restaurant that serves contemporary Southeast Asian cuisine. This type of cuisine has unique flavours that differ across the region but still maintain some common elements. In this day and age, old-school cooking techniques, in combination with technology, allows chefs to efficiently make Southeast Asian foods, while still maintaining its authentic flavours and textures. Hafizzul Hashim, Chef-Owner, Fiz helps us understand Southeast Asian cuisine better and what diners can expect when visiting Fiz. 

With the future of the logistics and supply chain industry looking bright, Singapore seems certain to ride this boom. However, the bigger question lies is how can the logistics sector attract a large enough talent pool to keep up with the growing demand?  Patrick Wong, Singapore Country Manager, GoGoX shares with us on how the sector can fill up the gaps in the logistics workforce. 

Ukraine, in the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 conference in London, will look to ensure US and European investment in their recovery and rebuilding after the Ukraine-Russian war. French President Emmanuel Macron will be hosting world leaders in Paris this week for a summit to reimagine global financing for a new era. It will put issues surrounding debt that poorer countries have incurred as the primary focus. Finally, Spain will take over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council from Sweden on 1 July. They will look to strengthen economic and political unity within the European region. We speak to Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Geopolitics, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific. more about this.

Singapore shares opened lower today following losses in the global markets. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.4 per cent to 3,206.93 points after 32.9 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch for today, we have Keppel, after the conglomerate obtained a contract to design, build, own and operate a new large-scale district cooling system plant in the Jurong Lake District for 30 years, during which it expects to generate about S$950 million.  Meanwhile, we now know that Grab is cutting 1,000 employees or 11 per cent of its workforce to enhance efficiency.  Elsewhere, from NIO entering into a share subscription agreement with CYVN to China unveiling a 520 billion yuan tax break to boost the sales of EVs and YouTube reportedly launching its first official channel, international news continue to make the headlines.  Not to mention – Elon Musk back in the headlines today – this time with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  On Market View, the Drive Time team dived into the details with David Poh, Head of Investment and ESG Strategies, South Asia, Amundi.

As Singapore's first Olympic Esports finalist in motor racing, Aleef Hamilton will be hoping to fly the flag loud and proud for the Lion City at the inaugural event happening this week. But just how did this Lewis Hamilton fan go from chasing autographs to chasing his ultimate dream? Tune in to find out! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) May Day Awards 2023 have honoured 128 distinguished and deserving individuals, including union leaders, workers, management partners and government representatives.  We speak to Alexander C. Melcher, Vice President, Singapore National Employers Federation, an awardee of the Distinguished Service Award for the May Day Awards 2023 and what this award means to him and his ongoing mission to encourage diversity and age-inclusion in the workplace.

With cybercrime estimated to cost the world $8 trillion annually in 2023, there is one more insurance policy businesses need to add to the list, cyber insurance. But when looking to purchase cyber insurance, there are several factors to consider. Sathish Murthy, Director of Systems Engineering, ASEAN/India, Cohesity shares with us the factors companies should consider when getting cyber insurance. 

Today we’re going to talk about a fashion brand or company that would come to mind when we mention the phrase ‘heat-tech’.  Bingo if you guessed UNIQLO! With over 2,400 stores in 25 markets including Japan, UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, which is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies.  The company attributes its success to unifying the entire clothes making process, from planning and design to producing, distributing and retailing. But how does it work in reality and what kind of activities are centralised versus managed by individual stores?  Speaking of designs, how have UNIQLO’s basic designs and focus on comfort widened the company’s customer base, especially in Singapore?  And with rents of prime spaces on the rise– what will this mean for UNIQLO Singapore when it comes to store expansion? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Joey Tong, Store Development Director at UNIQLO Singapore.