Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Have you ever tried picking up a foreign language? And if so, are you still using it? According to a report by TechRepublic, citing data from FlexJobs, there were over 1,700 bilingual remote jobs listed as at early 2021, which is a 30% increase from the figure in February 2020. And it seems like job demand for bilingual speakers is on the rise as the world becomes increasingly globalised.  Question is - how do we master a new language? And how do we get ourselves familiarised with some of the jargons used in professions such as law and finance?  Well, one startup in Singapore is aiming to address that. It crafted a business language app to provide professionals with contents and tools to operate proficiently in Business Mandarin.  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Daphne Tay, CEO and Co-Founder of Bluente to find out more about Bluente’s value proposition, funding situation and expansion plans.

After nearly four years of renovations, the Peranakan Museum will be reopening its doors to the public. The completely refurbished building will feature brand-new permanent galleries presenting exceptional objects from Peranakan material culture, as well as a fresh new exhibition design and museum visitor experience. Noorashikin Zulkifli, Senior Curator, ACM and Peranakan Museum shares more with us on what visitors can expect from the new Peranakan Museum. 

Today we discuss if it is ok to change football clubs that you support also we speak to Kiss 92’s Glenn Ong to ask him on what he will do with his Man Utd tattoo now that he is an Everton fan. 

Singapore shares fell in early trade today, following Singapore’s Budget announcement yesterday. If you recall, the latest Budget focused on positioning Singapore for future economic and social growth. Budget 2023 set aside top-ups for business, wages, and household relief schemes this year.  The country’s corporate tax regime has also been adjusted. Similarly, there would also be higher top-end taxes for properties and cars.  Back to the Singapore stock market, The Straits Times Index fell 0.3 per cent to 3,307.64 in early trade after 37.2 million securities changed hands.  The fintech sector made the headlines today with DBS Group Holdings reporting an uptick in Bitcoin trading volume and iFast announcing an 82 per cent decrease in net profit. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked these developments with Jeff Ng, Senior Currency Analyst, MUFG.

As the world moves on from Covid-19, businesses and organisations worldwide find themselves facing challenges new and old. So why is E&C more important than ever in today’s unstable economic and business landscape?  Ty Francis MBE, Chief Advisory Officer, LRN shares his views. 

Businesses are giving a thrust to HR technologies with the ultimate goal to create a working environment that is secure, welcoming, and accessible to people from all walks of life and locations. But despite all that, why are some companies still resistant to embracing HR tech?  Shaswat Kumar, Senior VP of Global Customer Success and Delivery, Darwinbox shares his views. 

Stamps, parcels and postage fees - that’s right - we are putting the spotlight on the postal and parcel industry today.  In particular, we’re going to be looking at Singapore Post, which has seen a number of developments of late. The company is raising postage rates for postage, package delivery and doorstep parcel delivery this year as a result of the Goods and Services Tax hike as well as other inflationary cost increases.  On the investment front, SingPost will dilute and potentially sell its stake in Chinese e-commerce provider, Shenzhen 4PX Information and Technology,  Yet at the same time, the firm also expects to eventually acquire the whole of Freight Management Holdings, a leading 4th party logistics service company in Australia, to tap the fast growing market there.  What are the reasons behind the rebalancing of its portfolio and the adjustment of prices, and really, what’s next for SingPost?  On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Lee Eng Keat, Head, Strategy & Programs Office at SingPost.

In this edition of Budget Day 2023 Reactive Panel Discussion, MONEY FM's Drive Time team speak to Alvin Liew, Senior Economist, UOB, Harvey Koenig, Partner, Energy & Natural Resources, Telecommunications, Media & Technology, Tax, KPMG in Singapore and Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University. 

From Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim saying he has no plans to implement GST in the country to Thailand imposing a $12 entry fee for foreign travellers from June as tourism booms. Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International gives his analysis of those headlines and more. 

Singapore shares slid in early trade today following gains in US and Europe markets.   The Straits Times Index fell 0.1 per cent to 3,376.24 points in early trade after 47.7 million securities changed hands.  Some notable names seeing developments today included inflight caterer and ground handler Sats (S58).  The company reported a net profit of S$500,000 for the third quarter to December, reversing two consecutive quarters of losses, as aviation recovery continues. How significant is it for the company to swing into the black after earlier losses? Aside from that, Singaporeans are also keeping a close eye on the announcements made during Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget 2023 speech., as well as their effect on households and businesses. But to what extent have these influenced the STI’s performance today?  On Market View, the Drive Time team posed these questions to Matthias Chan, Head of Research at SAC Capital.