Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020. This comes ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year and two billion trips are expected to be made during the festive period, double the number that travelled last year. What does this mean for businesses in both Hong Kong and China? In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Ashley Dudarenok, China Digital & Marketing Expert, Founder of Alarice and ChoZan, for some insights. Highlights from the conversation: 01:37: How the situation in China is changing following its reopening plans 04:52: What opportunities do businesses see for growth or expansion as China’s borders reopen? 08:25: Threat perceptions of China  09:37: In the digital space, how advanced is China’s technology right now? Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Singapore’s labour market is expected to remain resilient in spite of economic headwinds for the first quarter of the year, while wage growth in 2023 is forecasted to stay robust. Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Ken Tan, Director - Specialised Contracting (Head of Division) & Professional Service / Head of Sales, PERSOLKELLY for a guide to Singapore's career and salary outlook for 2023. 

The mobility-retail landscape is at the heart of our discussion on the segment today.  The global retail industry as we know it, has been fundamentally disrupted by the rise in e-commerce over the last twenty years or so, changing the way businesses interact and build relations with their consumers.   But one segment of the industry that was relatively unaffected by this trend, according to McKinsey, was the fuel-retail industry, as it is just not feasible to sell gasoline over the internet.  Fast forward to twenty years later, even the fuel-retail industry is facing challenges of its own as the rapid adoption of electric vehicles is set to substantially decrease fuel sales.  Still, with drivers also spending more time to charge their vehicles, can petrol station operators and mobility retailers make up for the decrease in fuel sales by zesting up its retail offerings? And how would the positioning of mobility firms change as the world heads into a more sustainable energy future? On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Min Yih Tan, Senior Vice President of Shell’s Global Mobility Network. 

The past two years have been a uniquely challenging year. And as we start looking forward to 2023, when most have returned to the office, this could be a good time to re-evaluate our office spaces and business practices, and set a path to a more sustainable future. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Thushendran Amarakaran, Head of Sustainable Office Solutions, JEB Group, about how to encourage companies to start embedding sustainability into business as usual. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Australia has long been a popular location for Singaporeans to buy investment properties, with cities like Perth and Melbourne being particularly popular. But given rising interest rates, higher inflation and the impact of uncertain political events around the world, is it still a good idea to invest in real estate down under?  On Powering Your Property, Prime Time's Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish find out from Darien Bradshaw, Executive Director of One Global Australia and One Global Private Office.

We’ll keep you up to date with all you need to know with regard to the US Stock Market today.  Markets received a much needed boost late last week after December’s non-farm payrolls showed wage growth coming in below expectations. But to what extent can we take heart in this piece of news given that the labour market in the US remained rather resilient for the month with more jobs created?  Also - with December’s CPI data due later in the week, what can we expect and what would this mean for the Federal Reserve ahead of its February meeting?  In terms of companies, we’ll also have a look at major banks that are set to report their earnings this week, as well as the outlook for the troubled retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.  On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with AJ Kahling, Head of International Education at TD Ameritrade for more, including Apple’s production in India and companies to watch in the US.

2022 turned out to be a chaotic year for the world's venture investors as war, political tensions and inflation crimped deal flows, stymied fundraising and delayed public listings. Asia, long a prime target for venture investment, has not been immune. After a bruising year, Prime Time's Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Dr Finian Tan, Chairman and Founder of Vickers Venture Partners to find what 2023 has in store for the venture investing landscape.

In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Rich Preston , Senior World News Reporter/Presenter on the highly anticipated and highly controversial Prince Harry's memoir to be officially released on Jan 10, as well as US President Joe Biden's first visit to Mexico since taking office, how will that help with the perennial immigration problem?

Bitcoin mining has long been seen as a form of energy intensive process. According to a Bloomberg report, some studies estimate that the annual energy consumption involved in mining exceeded the amount used by countries such as Belgium.  But did you know, one startup called Gridless is taking advantage of this energy intensive process to unlock cheaper and more sustainable sources of energy in Africa? Here’s how it works. Africa is a haven for renewable energy but a lot of it has not been harnessed due to the costs involved in building the infrastructure needed to make them usable.  With Bitcoin miners looking to find ways to access energy at lower costs to create new tokens, Gridless is co-locating miners with renewable sources to create a financial incentive for renewable power production in Africa.  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Erik Hersman, Co-founder and CEO of Gridless on the road ahead for the business.

The marketing world moves at the speed of light. To succeed in the fast-paced marketing world and maintain a sense of relevance with your audience, it's vital to stay ahead of them. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Nick Goh, Co-Founder & Head of Strategy, BlackBear Digital to get some insights on the top marketing trends and strategies for 2023.