Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

At this time of the day we want to ask the question - what’s for afternoon tea. We're asking this question because we’re talking to a company that sells a snack commonly paired with Kopi O or soybean milk.  Bingo if you’ve guessed Youtiao or Chinese fried dough sticks. Our guest for today is You Tiao Man, which had its humble beginnings in a hawker stall back in the 1940s.  That is, before its fourth generation owner transformed it into the multi-chain food manufacturer it is today.  The company is now one of the largest wholesalers of You Tiao to hotels, caterers, restaurants, food courts and hawkers in Singapore and began distributing to supermarkets in Singapore in 2021.  From a traditional hawker business into a B2B and B2B2C manufacturing brand, we want to find out how this process has been for You Tiao Man, and what’s next for the company.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Audrey Chew, Chief Executive Officer, You Tiao Man for more.

According to a McKinsey & Company report, one in three employees in Asia experiences symptoms of burnout, and 80 percent are not turning to professionals for help.   The common factor contributing to these burnouts is work, and yet, 38 percent of employees in Southeast Asia are reluctant to share their mental health concerns with their managers. Lin Tan, ICF Master Certified Coach and Founder of Collective Change Institute shares with us what needs to be done to break this barrier or wall of mental health conversations at work. 

Napoli ended their long wait to win the Italian Serie A, ending 33 years of pain since club icon Diego Maradona led the team to their last title in 1990. But will this be the start of a Naples dynasty, or will it be a flash in the pan much like Leicester City's surprise Premier League title win? Elliott & Raushan are in conversation with Kaustubh Pandey, Editor-in-Chief at Get Italian Football News to find out more!  Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Singapore stocks rose this morning, despite overnight losses on Wall Street and in Europe.  In early trade, the Straits Times Index climbed 0.2 per cent to 3,249.78 points after some 53.2 million securities changed hands in the broader market.  In terms of companies to watch, we have for you OCBC, after the bank announced that net profit for its first quarter rose 39 per cent to a record S$1.88 billion, bolstered by strong net interest income growth.  Meanwhile, investors zoom in on Olam Group after reports said the agri food giant is planning to launch in June a dual IPO of its agricultural unit that could raise up to US$1 billion in Singapore and Saudi Arabia.  If actualised, the dual listing would solidify Southeast Asia as a global IPO hotspot and give a lift to Singapore’s IPO activity.  Elsewhere, all eyes are on April’s US consumer inflation due later tonight. That’s as traders continued to watch President Joe Biden and top lawmakers’ attempt to break a deadlock over raising the US$31.4 trillion US debt limit.  On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with Carmen Lee, Head of OCBC Investment Research.

According to research by Boston College, companies that are already participating in the world’s largest-ever trial of the 4-day work week are not returning to the 5-day standard. But the real question here is, are organisations equipping their employees with the right tools to help them become more productive, portending a future where they need less time to complete ‘a week’s worth of work?’ Sherie Ng, Country Director, Singapore, Google Cloud gives us her perspective on this matter. 

From Thailand’s upcoming general election to the latest on the ASEAN Summit happening in Indonesia.  Dr. Felix Tan, Political Observer, Nanyang Technological University gives us an analysis of those headlines and more. 

We’ve talked in depth about artificial intelligence, synthetic data and ChatGPT. Now, what’s next? How about a new AI chatbot called SeaGPT?  Developed by Singapore-based company Greywing, SeaGPT uses GPT-4 technology to help shipping companies navigate port agency communication hurdles.  With SeaGPT, emails related to port agency communication can be instantly automated. It can also handle questions by crew managers, saving time and reducing the risks of errors or miscommunications.  Greywing says its SeaGPT solution can be further integrated with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp and SMS. But really, how powerful can SeaGPT get?  And with the global maritime digitisation market estimated to generate US$423.4 billion by 2031, how much of a market share is Greywing aiming to get with SeaGPT? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter posed these questions to  Hrishi Olickel, CTO and Co-Founder of Greywing.

Singapore stocks dipped today as investors anticipated key US inflation data to be released later this week.  In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent, to 3,246.08 points, after 50.6 million securities traded hands across the broader market. In terms of companies to watch today, we have SIA Engineering Company, after the aircraft engineering and maintenance provider reported a 20.4 per cent on-year drop in net profit to S$33.9 million for the second half-year ended March.  Elsewhere, softening imports and a rally in financial stocks in China weighed on markets in the region. That’s as investors continue to mull the Federal Reserve’s survey of bank loan officers.  The US debt ceiling standoff is also on the top of mind of investors after a report said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling on CEOs to personally warn them of the impact of a US default on its debt. On Market View, the Drive Time team sat down with Jeremy Tan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tiger Fund Management for more. 

Another tournament, another debacle. With Singapore football at a new all-time low after both the men's & women's teams suffered early exits at the 2023 SEA Games, the spotlight has once again shifted onto the governing body - the Football Association of Singapore. How do we pick up the pieces? Deepanraj Ganesan, sports reporter with The Straits Times, chimes in on the back of his commentary accusing the FAS of lacking honesty & accountability.  READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/dear-fas-it-s-time-to-be-honest Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

How happy is Singapore? Despite Singapore being a country often defined by fast-paced lifestyles, high levels of stress and an unrelenting drive for progress, Singapore fared relatively well in UN’s 2023 World Happiness Report, ranking 25th-happiest out of 137 nations. However, what is stopping us from aiming for first place? Simon Leow, Co-Founder, Happiness Initiative shares with us on what his social enterprise is doing to promote happiness in Singapore.