Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

In an effort to assist National Team football players with their retirement plans well in advance before they make the decision to hang up their boots, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has established a new initiative called the FAS Players’ Concierge. The brainchild of Baihakki Khaizan, the retired Lion's defender tells us all about the initiative and how it will help our footballers plan for life after football. READ MORE:  https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/fas-launches-players-concierge-to-support-lions-post-playing-career-needs Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

The gaming industry, due to it large and dedicated communities, stores a lot of personal and financial information, making it a prime target for cybercriminals. Although we cannot completely eradicate this threat, how can customers reduce the chances and/or effects of having their information stolen?  We speak to Reinhart Hansen, Director of Technology, Office of the CTO, Imperva more about this.

With big headliners making their way to our shores, ticket scalpers are back in ‘business’. Can ticket scalping be an issue we will ever overcome? Could legislation be put to play in this instance?  Khelvin Xu, Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP shares his views on this. 

We’ve heard of commercial REITs, residential REITs and industrial REITs. But how about a REIT focused on outlet malls in China specifically? Our guest for today is from Sasseur REIT which is an SGX-listed REIT since March 2018, and the first outlet REIT listed in Asia. The firm’s portfolio consists of four outlets in China, namely in Chongqing, Kunming and Hefei.  But why did the company focus on these Tier 2 cities? Also – how does the REIT assess its reliance on China, given the strict lockdowns we saw during the pandemic?  Meanwhile, the company recently reported its Q1 results, where distribution per unit rose 1.5 per cent from the previous year. The company attributed this to strong outlet sales boosted by pent-up consumer spending.  To what extent has tourism recovered to pre-pandemic levels and is there a significant difference between the recovery of domestic and international travels?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Cecilia Tan, CEO, Sasseur REIT  for more.

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.