Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

If Hollywood has John Wick - South Korea has JEON Wick.  It’s K-MOVIE on today’s episode, and I’ll be talking about the latest new Korean movie out on Netflix - called Kill Boksoon.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s about the pressures of balancing work and motherhood.  But in this case - the mom - is a world-class assassin.  So is being an assassin harder or being a mom harder?

Singapore shares fell this morning, following hikes in Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates for residential properties. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.5 per cent to 3,276.95 points after 101.5 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch, we have UOB, after the bank reported net profit of S$1.5 billion for the first quarter ended March, up 67 per cent from Q1 2022.  Meanwhile, investors in Singapore are also tracking property counters, which were largely in the red after authorities raised the ABSD rate for foreigners buying any residential property from 30 per cent to 60 per cent – the highest increase. The rate will be raised from 17 per cent to 20 per cent for Singapore citizens buying their second residential property, and from 25 per cent to 30 per cent for those buying their third and subsequent property. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with David Chow, Director Azure Capital.

Cambodia takes centre stage as host of the 2023 SEA Games. What ca we expect, and what how will Team Singapore fare? Straits Times Sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan weighs in to tell us more. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg raushan@sph.com.sg

What if we told you that you can have a taste of fine dining desserts for less than S$7?  And that it packs high quality ingredients in the same elegant bite-sized portion, so you can have it on the go? Huang Yen Kun, Founder, Mr. Kun Lava Cookie Ball tells us more about this dessert ball and his experience creating it.

The Solar New Year is a festival observed by many South and Southeast Asian communities.  This year, Haw Par Villa’s management team, Journeys, will bring them together in one place to share and celebrate their culture and heritage through a variety of programmes. Visitors can expect a colourful bazaar, free music and dance performances, workshops and an exhibition introducing the concept of calendars and the Solar New Year. Savita Kashyap, Executive Director, Journeys shares on what more visitors can expect from this event. 

Founded in 2015, G8 is a Singapore headquartered company that develops and constructs renewable energy projects across the globe.  It also uses its expertise in subsea cable and engineering technologies to develop solutions that effectively connect large offshore wind turbines and floating solar systems to land.  The group currently has over 3GW of renewable energy and subsea transmission projects under Asia and provides specialised engineering services to leading contractors, governments, utility companies and project developers to accelerate renewable energy developments around the world.  With most of G8’s operations and projects located overseas in countries such as South Korea, the company is now setting its sights in West Africa. But really what are the opportunities there and how does G8 assess its reliance on overseas projects? Also, the firm said last year that it plans to explore a NASDAQ listing this year, but to what extent can we expect that to happen amid the current economic climate? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Gerald Tan, Founder and Managing Director, G8.

From details of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping to Bank of England's top economist, Huw Pill saying that people in the UK need to accept that they are poorer otherwise prices will continue to rise. Dr Samir Puri, Visiting Lecturer in War Studies at King's College London and author of 'Russia's Road to War with Ukraine' shares his analysis on these headlines and more.

With UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin mooting the possibility of a salary cap in European football, Elliott and Raushan weigh out the merit of this proposal - and question if the essence of sport is being lost in pursuit of financial gains? Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg raushan@sph.com.sg

The Museum of Ice Cream has recently launched Singapore’s first ever official guidebook for desserts as part of Singapore Tourism Board’s SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme. As the first ever official guidebook to desserts in Singapore, Sweet Spots will be the comprehensive dessert guide that is representative of Singapore’s diverse culinary landscape. Pirakash T, Head of Asia Pacific for Figure8 & Museum of Ice Cream tells us more about this campaign and their experience being part of STB’s SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme.

Singapore shares fell this morning, mirroring losses in global markets. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.2 per cent to 3,291.7 points after 40.9 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have for you Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, after the Reit posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.01737 (1.73 Singapore cents) for the first quarter of 2023, a 27.4 per cent decline from the same period a year ago.  Meanwhile, mixed earnings reports in the US continue to weigh on investors though we saw promising earnings from Microsoft and Alphabet after markets closed.  On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with Carmen Lee, Head of OCBC Investment Research.