Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore shares opened higher today even though global markets were down over concerns of a slowdown in the China economy and US debt ceiling voting.  The Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.2 per cent to 3,165.33 points in early trade after 55.4 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have IReit Global, as the Europe-focused REIT acquires portfolio of 17 retail properties located across France.  Global headlines continue to make the news today, from China rolling out the red carpet to the likes of Elon Musk and JP Morgan to the US debt ceiling vote and how Asia’s ultra-rich clans are poised to invest more in China. On Market View, the Drive Time team dived into the details with Terence Wong, CEO, Azure Capital.

Legacy GLOWHARD Festival 2023 serves as a platform to showcase the best of Singapore's music scene. It is dedicated to the Hard Dance genre which is gaining popularity not just in Singapore but overseas in countries such as Australia and Netherlands. Yet, with a festival this big, issues such as ticketing fraud must be addressed and prevented. We speak to Andrew Teo, Festival Director, Legacy Music Festival more about this.

Mapxus is a fast-growing and leading indoor mapping technology platform that provides state-of-the-art indoor map services for global applications. Improving safety and convenience are some of the few benefits of making this technology more accessible to consumers. We speak to Dr. John Chan, Founder and CEO at Mapxus Technology Limited more about this.

The retail investment landscape in the region is in focus today as we look at how industry players are tapping growing numbers of retail investors during the pandemic.  Our guest for today is from financial services firm CMC Markets, which serves over 80,000 clients globally in areas such as equity, commodities and indices trading.  The firm is present in a number of geographies including Singapore, Sydney, Toronto and across Europe.  More recently, the London-listed firm has launched a new online and mobile trading platform called CMC Invest in Singapore as part of efforts to diversify and expand its geographical reach.  But how exactly does this platform help bring the company closer to the retail investing community? And on what basis will CMC Invest compete with other industry players?  Also, how does the firm intends to retain retail investors after the pandemic boom?   On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Christopher Forbes, Head of CMC Invest Singapore for more.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has extended his rule of Turkey to a third decade, France's Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot threatens to ban Twitter if it does not follow EU rules, and Rishi Sunak is trying to resolve issues that would further reduce their chances of winning their election. We speak to Chris Humphrey, Executive Director, EU-ASEAN Business Council more about this.

The perennial debate surrounding two footballing legends. In the company of John Dykes, famed football personality and international sports broadcaster, we explore the contrasting paths, playing styles, and remarkable achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have undeniably dominated the beautiful game for over a decade to answer the age-old question: Who truly deserves the title of the Greatest of All Time? Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Singapore shares started the day in the negative territory, after global markets ended mixed overnight. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.5 per cent to 3,170.68 points after 42.1 million securities were transacted in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch for today, we have Olam Group, after the company’s proposed initial public offering of its agribusiness unit is no longer expected to be completed by H1 2023 or ahead of the summer holiday period as originally planned.  Meanwhile, from a slew of factory output data out of Asia, to Tesla Chief Elon Musk’s visit to China and Nvidia surpassing US$1 trillion market valuation, regional headlines continue to remain on the top of minds of investors. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with Jeremy Tan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tiger Fund Management.

Renting tech devices is a service provided by the start-up Circular. It has to still maintain data privacy despite the devices themselves being passed around. Moreover, the stigma surrounding getting second hand devices is changing as the sales of these second hand devices are on the rise. We speak to Nick Ramsay, CEO & Founder, Circular more about this.

A majority of Thai people seem to be harbouring doubts about the ability of Move Forward Party, reported sightings of Jho Low should change Malaysian authorities' approach in their hunt for him, and lastly what will be the topics of discussion in the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore? We speak more about this with Dr. Felix Tan, Political Observer, Nanyang Technological University.

Today we’re going to talk all about being a modern farmer in Singapore.  Armed with technology from Israel that has turned strips of deserts into fruit orchards, our guest from today is Netatech Group, which is known for building farms and growing some of the most commonly eaten vegetables in Singapore including Nai bai, Kailan and water spinach.  Unlike traditional farms, Netatech uses drip irrigation to water its crops, saving costs, labour and improving yields. The firm says it is also the first company to introduce drip irrigation into skyrise greeneries and urban farms in Singapore.  But besides building farms and growing vegetables, a good part of Netatech’s business involves providing high-tech farming solutions, such as urban irrigation and stormwater management to industry players.  So how exactly does the company define the space it is in right now? Also, to what extent will the company need to export its farming solutions overseas, in countries such as Thailand, to achieve economies of scale?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to David Tan, Group CEO, Netatech Group.