Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Will age be a huge factor for US President Joe Biden’s re-election bid? And the possibility of former US President Donald Trump getting a pardon if he is convicted.  Steve Okun, Senior Advisor, Mclarty Associates gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

Meatballs! That’s what we are going to talk about today. When it comes to meatballs, the first thing that comes to mind would be perhaps chicken meat balls, or those made from beef, pork, or even lamb, served in soup or with a scoop of delectable sauce.  But how about a giant meatball made from flesh cultivated using the DNA of the extinct woolly mammoth?  Well, that’s exactly what Australian cultured meat company Vow launched in The Netherlands in late March. It said the meatball was made of sheep cells inserted with a singular mammoth gene called myoglobin.  According to the company, the gene is responsible for the aroma, colour and the taste. The mammoth meatball by the way has the aroma of crocodile meat, and is currently not for consumption.  Now, Vow is not the first company that is eyeing the DNA of extinct animals. Biotechnology startup Colossal earlier wanted to de-extinct the Dodo, while others are setting their sights on mammoth proteins.  Question is - how much money is in it for firms to go the extra mile to look back into the past? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with George Peppou, Co-Founder, Vow for more. 

Today’s slang word is one for the Korean fried chicken lovers out there.  It’s '당모치'dangmochi.  If you’re craving fried chicken or if chicken is always the way to go - all you gotta do is use this slang word.

With the 2023 SEA Games in full flow in Cambodia - Elliott and Raushan check-in with our man on the ground Deepanraj Ganesan, Straits Times Sports reporter to get up to speed with what's happening at the 32nd edition of the regional games. Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg raushan@sph.com.sg

Singapore shares dipped slightly today as global markets continued reacting to the latest US Federal Reserve rate hike.  In early trade, the Straits Times Index lost 0.1 per cent, to 3,267.32 points after 33.3 million securities were traded in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch today, we have OUE Commercial real estate investment trust, after its manager announced yesterday a net property income of S$56.6 million for the first quarter of 2023, an 18 per cent increase from the same period last year.  Elsewhere, investors continue to be laser focused on the regional banking sectors.  More notably, shares of PacWest plunged 50.6 per cent in the previous session. The bank had confirmed an earlier Reuters report that it was exploring strategic options, including a potential sale or capital raise.   On Market View, the Drive Time team discussed the latest market moves and views with Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS.

Singapore HeritageFest (SHF) 2023 returns with its 20th edition in May, presenting two refreshing new themes namely, Singapore’s sporting heritage, and public transportation history.  Qazim Karim, Festival Programmer, Singapore HeritageFest shares more with us on what visitors can expect from SHF 2023. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for many businesses, but as we move forward, data shows the franchise industry is thriving.  After two years of economic uncertainty, more and more people are following their entrepreneurial dreams and taking control of their destiny through business ownership.  Choosing a franchise brand helps to alleviate some of the fears and the unknowns of starting a new concept from scratch. Hsien Naidu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TreeAMS shares more with us on the franchising landscape in Singapore. 

From UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak facing his first big electoral test as PM in local polls and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surprise visit to Finland for Nordic summit. Trisha Craig, Vice President (Engagement) and Senior Lecturer of Social Sciences (Sociology and Political Science), Yale-NUS College gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

With the earnings season in full swing in Singapore, we want to turn our attention to REITs, and in particular we want to zoom in on AIMS APAC REIT, which has just announced its FY2023 results today.  Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange since 2007, Aims APAC Reit invests in a diversified portfolio of logistics, business parks and industrial real estate across APAC, including subsegments like warehouse and hi-tech space in Singapore and Australia.  The REIT reported a 5.1% year-on-year increase in distribution per unit in FY 2023, representing a distribution yield of 7.5%. Its net property income also surged 18.7% to S$122.5 million for the year, while portfolio occupancy stood at a record high of 98%, with a tenant retention rate of 78.4%.  AIMS APAC REIT says the numbers were driven by higher occupancy in the Logistics and Warehouse segment, which has seen double digit growth across the four quarters thanks to demand coming in from third party logistics players.  But for how long will the logistics and warehouse segments remain defensive, and how will leasing demand look like in FY2024? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Russell Ng, Chief Executive Officer, AIMS APAC REIT for more.

There’s a new k-drama series, and it screams Korean Deadpool. It’s called “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper.” And it’s a new caper comic action drama in which a mysterious cultural asset thief named Skunk and an unofficial heritage redemption team known as Team Karma collaborate to fight against those who cannot be judged by the law.