The Evening Runway with Elliott Danker, Timothy Go and Chua Tian Tian

South Asian fashion is having its moment in the sun, shaping and embracing current global fashion trends. From textiles to patterns and beading, South Asian style has been a significant presence in the industry, inspiring designers worldwide with its rich heritage. But what about its presence here in Singapore? Samia Khan, Founder, Studio Mèlange shares how her platform is bringing the best of Indian designers to Singapore and South East Asia.

Singapore stocks opened weaker today, following overnight losses on global markets. In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) headed down 0.2 per cent to 3,079.31 points after 50.7 million securities changed hands in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch today, we have Sembcorp Industries, after the energy group yesterday announced two separate agreements to acquire wind assets in China and India for a total consideration of S$200 million.  Elsewhere from more on the banking sector in Singapore and Sats filing notice of three straight years of losses, more corporate headlines remain in focus. Also on the table today – economic data points to watch out for in the US this week including the latest PCE price index numbers. On Market View, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Jeremy Tan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tiger Fund Management for more.

A surge of respiratory illnesses related to flu, respiratory syncytial virus and other infections has been sweeping across some parts of China and mainly infecting children, as the country experiences its first full winter since easing COVID-19 restrictions. What do we know so far about the mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China? And how will China respond to the outbreak? Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs explains. 

Social media platform TikTok has initiated a transformative shift in our media consumption habits, revolutionizing the way hyper-curated entertainment is delivered to users. So how can OTT providers adapt to evolving consumer behaviour among the younger demographic? Charley Thomas, Director of Solutions Engineering, Content Delivery & Cloud Computing Specialist, Edgio shares how OTTs can stand out amidst TikTok’s exponential growth.

Fei Siong Group is perhaps most famously known for its brands of bak chor mee or minced meat noodles.  After all, the company that started in 1995, has since grown to become a casual dining and quick service restaurant company with over 150 outlets across 19 brands, with most of them serving your typical hawker fare.   But do you know Fei Siong actually operates the Popeyes chain of restaurants in Singapore?  In fact, the firm inked an exclusive franchise deal with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Asia-Pacific in 2022 to develop and run new Popeyes in Singapore.  Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Asia-Pacific, for context, is owned by Restaurant Brands International or the company behind Burger King and Tim Hortons. The agreement marks Fei Siong Group’s first venture into the fried chicken quick service restaurant industry. Question is, why did Fei Siong decide to make its foray into the fast food business?  Meanwhile, the firm said it plans to “refresh and modernise” Popeyes outlets across Singapore by revamping storefronts, introducing new menu items and adjusting recipes to better suit the Asian palate. But what can we expect on this front? Also, Fei Siong Group is also looking to have 50 outlets in Singapore within the next 10 years, but what is the basis behind the expansion plan? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jedrick Tan, CEO, Fei Siong Fast Food (Popeyes PL Singapore). 

The Premier League resumed after the FINAL international break of the year, and boy was it worth the wait! From Arsenal going top, to City and Liverpool dropping points. Spurs doing spurs things, and Garnacho doing Rooney things, the weekend had it all! Tune in as we recap what went down! Got a story to tell? Get in touch with us! edanker@sph.com.sg | raushan@sph.com.sg

Did you know that Singapore is the world’s sixth largest consumer market for watches? Boldr has quite the interesting story, having been started by a Singaporean on Kickstarter in 2016 and growing into a renowned indie watch brand especially in the US market ever since.  So how did Boldr work with PayPal to grow its US market presence?  Leon Leong, Founder, BOLDR Supply Co. & Pooja Sanan, Head of Sales, Southeast Asia, PayPal shares the story. 

Products and services are not the only valuable things your company owns. By understanding and optimising brand value, companies can invest in a powerful strategy for long-term gains. And according to Brand Finance’s ASEAN 300 2023 most airlines brands have witnessed an uptick in brand values this year. So what are the top brands of 2023? Which are the most valuable ASEAN brands and who are ASEAN’s fastest growing brands?  Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance shares more with us on the findings from this report. 

US President Joe Biden will miss the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, after two years of attending the talks. What’s on the agenda for the US at COP28? Will the US be ready to commit money this year? And how will US-China relations impact the momentum at the meeting? Elsewhere, following the release of the third group of hostages by Hamas as part of a truce, Biden has expressed his goal of extending the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas for as long as possible. Can the US do more in the ongoing efforts to maintain peace in the region? We find out from Trisha Craig, Vice President (Engagement) and Senior Lecturer of Social Sciences (Sociology and Political Science), Yale-NUS College.

A switchboard is known as a piece of equipment that directs all phone calls made to and from a particular building and area. But what about a switchboard that automatically helps enterprises direct and organise data into dashboards for business leaders to carry out data-driven projects on revenue operations, deal plannings, and campaign performance?  Well, that’s exactly what our guest Switchboard does. Founded in 2014 by the former Google BigQuery employees, Switchboard provides a platform for revenue and marketing teams to launch and maintain data projects at scale without the need for specialised data engineering teams.  The firm said its platform can make it 10 times faster for firms to implement data projects as compared to hiring a team of data engineers and managing vast amounts of data on their own.  Its software serves clients from a wide range of industries ranging from retail, technology, franchise operations and financial services. This includes a number of notable players such as Spotify and Orangetheory Fitness.  But what do clients in these industries require and how does Switchboard plug the gaps? Meanwhile, Switchboard had in July this year received US$7 million in a Series A funding round led by GFT Ventures and Quest Venture Partners. But what opportunities do investors see in them? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Ju-kay Kwek, CEO, Switchboard AND Joseph Lee, Partner and Head of Investor Relations, GFT Ventures.