Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

ChopValue is the world’s first circular economy franchise, designing and manufacturing products using an innovative, high-performance material engineered entirely from recycled chopsticks. They make these strides in sustainability while collaborating with many other businesses to push their products into the general public. We speak to Justin Lee, General Manager, ChopValue Singapore more about this.

From US President Joe Biden calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraising event in California to South Korean airlines temporarily suspending some flights to China.  Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

The APAC region is a frontrunner when it comes to implementing technology in the construction sector. AI's role in scheduling of projects and budget management is only going to become more significant in the future. To keep up with high demand, technology can help mitigate issues around a shortage of skilled labour in the industry. Moreover, using AI, the ability to monitor the progress of project planning allows the supply chain to be closely monitored. This helps businesses ensure the use of sustainable materials for their construction projects. We speak to Rob Bryant, Executive Vice President, Asia-Pacific, InEight more about this.

Studying the microorganisms in our gut and developing solutions to address health issues and developing probiotics supplements – that is what we’re going to talk about today.  Our guest for today is AMILI. The company says it is Southeast Asia’s first and only precision gut microbiome company and houses the region’s first and only gut microbiome transplant bank.  It is also in the process of building the world’s largest multi-ethnic Asia gut microbiome database. The data is used for research and for developing products and services that improve people’s gut health. This is apparently a lucrative market. According to Market.us, the global digestive health market is estimated to be valued at US$104.4 billion by 2032, growing by a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2032.  But how big is the market in Southeast Asia and how does AMILI intend to position itself to maximise growth and profits? Had a fruitful chat with Dr Jeremy Lim, CEO and Co-founder, AMILI  for more. 

Singapore shares started the week higher today, in contrast with global markets, which closed lower amid concerns that interest rate hikes will continue. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.2 per cent at 3,197.54 points as 42.6 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch for today, we have Cordlife Group. Shares were up over 19% earlier in the day after the company said it was aware of a possible transaction for an offer for its shares. Meanwhile, from developments in Russia to S&P Global cutting China’s 2023 growth forecast from 5.5% to 5.2%, international developments continue to make the headlines today. And not forgetting more comments from Elon Musk about that cage fight with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with David Kuo, Co-founder, The Smart Investor.

Ever wanted ringside seats to the hottest sporting tickets in town? Well one man who always has a seat close to the action is Shawnrick Hu, a sports announcer who recently became the Singapore's first Sports Presentation Announcer for the Olympics at the inaugural Olympics E-Sports Week. What made him pursue this, and what does it take to be a hype man extraordinaire? Tune in to find out! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

There are many misconceptions around bone marrow donation such as it being excruciatingly painful and causing infertility. These myths make individuals not want to go through with this process, another factor being that one must invest time to do it. There being a low number of donors makes, especially among Singaporean Indians and Malays, the chance of finding a compatible bone marrow donor very low. Raising awareness of this issue and encouraging the public to participate in donations is hence crucial. We speak to  Charles Loh, CEO, Bone Marrow Donor Programme more about this.

With the rise of e-commerce during the pandemic, Singaporeans have been shopping online much more compared to before. Moreover, as cost of living increases, consumers and retailers are becoming more cautious and price sensitive .To keep up with this trend, online and offline business strategies must be developed and employed. However, both channels should be seen as complementary rather than binary in order to be most effective. We speak to Leo Laforgia, Country Manager for Singapore, Amazon more about this.

Today we want to look at how high-net-worth individuals preserve their wealth after they experience a major liquidity event, such as when they sell off their companies and receive a large sum of money.  Our guests for today are from Tiger 21. This is a membership community that provides individuals – individuals with over US$20 million in liquid assets,  that is,  – their personal board of directors for candid discussions around wealth creation, preservation, family, legacy and philanthropy.  But how does this work in reality, and how does Tiger 21 monetise this highly valuable network? And with over 1,200 members across 45 cities and a cumulative US$140 billion in assets, Tiger 21 is now setting its sights in Asia.  Notably, it is currently in the process of expanding into Singapore. Question is – how does the company scale given that it operates in such a niche arena? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Greg Wells, Chief Operating Officer of TIGER 21 and Hon Mun Yip, Singapore TIGER 21 Chair for more. 

The US and India have announced defence and chips deals at the White House. For India, this is in an effort to advance their technology, especially for defense and military purposes. US President Joe Biden travels to Chicago where he will deliver what is being billed by the White House as a major speech on his economic achievements, dubbed ‘Bidenomics’ which involves addressing issues around infrastructure, unemployment and climate change. Republicans are taking steps to expunge former US President Donald Trump’s two failed impeachments from his record. How likely is this and what will his role be in the upcoming election? We speak to Pushan Dutt, Professor of Economics, INSEAD to find out more about this.