Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore shares opened higher today, following strong overnight gains on Wall Street.  The Straits Times Index (STI) notched up 0.3 per cent to 3,252.18 points in early trade as 54.9 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch today, we have Singapore Airlines. The national carrier and its budget counterpart Scoot served 2.8 million passengers in May, a year-on-year increase of 65.8 per cent.  Meanwhile, from Singapore’s key exports showing a larger-than-expected drop to the Bank of Japan keeping ultra-low interest rates, major economic developments continue to make the headlines.  Corporate developments continue to be in focus as well with Micron saying that it's committed in China, while Tesla’s China expansions hit the speed bump. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked the developments with Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS.

AI now has even evolved to aid us in social situations by adjusting how you interact with a particular person based on their personality profile. This type of AI is trained under human supervision by inputting relevant data into the system. It could also have a significant impact on the sales industry by changing how they pitch their products to their consumers. We speak to Ethan Lin, Founder, MindReader more about this. 

A battle of CV’s? On what basis are we looking at to elect our next president? Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Mr George Goh look like the two most promising candidates for the upcoming election. However, without a savvy media team Mr Goh would have trouble putting his name forward and ensuring eligibility for running. Moreover, should we keep an eye on ‘hopefuls’ such as former secondary school teacher Seng Soon Kia as potential contenders? We speak to  Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University more about this.

Heightening seamlessness and efficiency in the food value chain by forming closer connections between farmers, distributors and wholesalers, is the approach that Farmbyte is taking to tackle food security in Malaysia. Digitalisation of the farming industry and maintaining its sustainability by reducing wastage are the top priorities in this process. We speak to Aiman Syed Jaafar, CEO, FarmByte more about this.

Singapore shares opened higher today following the decision to pause the interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve. In early trade, the Straits Times Index was up 0.1 per cent to 3,222.24 points after 129.8 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have Keppel. That’s as the company obtained two contracts to provide what it dubs “energy-as-a-service” in Bangkok’s Sam Yan Smart City, through its joint venture with Decarb.  Meanwhile, a slew of central bank decisions continue to take the centre stage with the US Federal Reserve holding rates steady at the 5 to 5.25 per cent range, while China lowered its medium-term lending facility rate by 10 basis points to 2.65 per cent. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with David Chow, Director Azure Capital.

The halal travel demographic is a sizable market segment globally. Ensuring that Muslim tourists can continue to practice their faith while still enjoying the culture of the country they are visiting requires these countries to implement Muslim-friendly services, namely easy access to halal food and places to pray. We speak to Fazal Bahardeen, CEO, CrescentRating & HalalTrip more about this.

The accounting and professional services sector is at the centre of our conversation today.  According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Singapore projects 6,000 to 7,000 new accounting jobs by 2025, adding on to the current workforce of over 100,000 employees.  Globally, the Big Four accounting firms also went on hiring sprees of their own last year, with the companies already boasting over a million employees as of November 2022.  But why did demand for professional services increase amid the volatile economic climate and as job cuts hit other industries such as investment banking?  Has that boom fizzled yet with consulting firms announcing job cuts in the US this year? If not, what is the way ahead for the industry? I sat down with Shariq Barmaky, CEO, Deloitte Singapore, to find out what Deloitte Singapore is seeing right now in terms of demand and what this means for the firm’s growth trajectory. 

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister died on June 12 at the age of 86. Now, there is much debate over what it means for Italian politics and his business empire.  Over in Russia, the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, once dubbed the ‘Russian Davos’ kicks off amid geopolitical tensions.  And as the rest of the world moves away from the pandemic, Britain’s Covid-19 inquiry looks to analyse the pitfalls in their dealing with the crisis. We speak to Chris Humphrey, Executive Director, EU-ASEAN Business Council for an analysis of the biggest headlines out of Europe. 

With technology having been an important part of our lives for a few years now, many users, especially Gen Z's, have unused online accounts that they have moved on from. Data waste in forms such as this is increasing and curbing it is crucial especially from a sustainability point of view. We speak to Andy Ng, Vice President and Managing Director for Asia South and Pacific Region, Veritas Technologies more about this.

Growing a brand in this day where e-commerce is so vital requires effort and expertise. E-commerce accelerators, such as Pattern, help brands optimise sales on marketplaces like Tmall, JD.com, Coupang, and Lazada.  We speak to John Lebaron, Chief Revenue Officer, Pattern more about this.