Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

For the first time since his 2011 debut, Joseph Schooling will not represent Singapore at the biennial SEA Games. Saddled by National Service commitments and matters away from the pool, is this the end of the road for Singapore's only Olympic champion? Nicholas Fang, Managing Director at Black Dot & a well-known sportsman who has represented Singapore in both fencing and triathlon weighs in. 

Singapore shares struggled to advance at the open, following a retreat on Wall Street amid worries over the financial sector. The Straits Times Index headed down 0.6 per cent in early trade to 3,194.73 points, after 54.3 million securities changed hands. Some notable names seeing new developments include City Developments Limited, after the property developer completed its acquisition of the St Katharine Docks development in London for £395 million (S$636 million). But how significant is the acquisition for CDL? Another company to watch would be Del Monte Pacific, after the canned food brand posted a net profit of US$9.8 million for the third quarter ended Jan 31. That’s down 62 per cent year on year despite higher turnover. Is this a cause for concern? On Market View, the Drive Time team got down to the details with Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS.

The Boutique Fairs Singapore Spring Summer edition is back this month to showcase over 250 brands, including more than 40 exciting new brands making their debut.  On Culture Club, Drive Time's Elliot Danker speaks with Charlotte Cain, Founder & Director of Boutique Fairs to find out what to expect from the 3-day event happening from 17 to 19 March. They also discuss how changing consumer demands have led to the growth of the lifestyle retail pop-up scene here in Singapore. 

Receiving and showing care, is there any way to do them right? Income Insurance has recently released findings from its online ‘Real Care’ survey. And it examines how Singaporeans show and receive care with loved ones including family and friends in today’s digital era where expressions of care are often reduced to virtual emojis and text messages. Dhiren Amin, Chief Customer Officer, Income shares the findings from the study and if there is a way to make everyone, no matter the age, have the same idea when it comes to receiving and showing care. 

As Singapore transitions into a new endemic Covid-19 normal, the government has released the White Paper on Singapore's response to Covid-19. But was there a need to release such a white paper? Does the paper strike a balance between being both candid and self-critical? Dr. Felix Tan, Political Observer, Nanyang Technological University shares his views. 

We’re going to speak to global food corporation Cargill today. And in case you’re wondering - we are not going to talk about commodities.  But instead we’re going to talk about their ocean transportation unit, with the company being one of the world’s biggest ship charterers.  The company is seeing several developments relating to its cargo shipping business of late. It has signed a longer-term charter deal for two dry bulk ships which will be delivered at the end of 2025 and at the start of 2026. In addition, it is also stepping up a push to resurrect wind power for cargo ships, which Cargill believes could reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30. But what do the developments suggest about the demand for shipping services and the longer term opportunities in the global cargo shipping industry, which is expected  to grow to 13.19 billion tons in 2028? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Lim Ying Ying, Ocean Transportation Lead for Asia Pacific and Managing Director of Cargill Ocean Transportation Singapore.

With the rise of F&B delivery services, it’s no surprise that the ‘gig economy’ has gained traction in Singapore, as more people start to embrace flexible work options and opt for freelance work. How will the increase in CPF for gig workers in the F&B industry's food delivery sector and the adjustment of CPF contribution rates affect gig workers and F&B delivery businesses? On Culture Club, Drive Time's Elliot Danker speaks with Jonathan Lim, Co-founder and CEO, Oddle to find out. 

French president Emmanuel Macron is to stretch out the hand of friendship to Britain when he meets UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for a Franco-British summit in Paris on Friday. The two leaders are expected to agree new measures to tackle the 'small boats' crisis, boost defence co-operation and seek to restore social ties between Britain and France. On Euro Watch, Drive Time's Elliot Danker speaks with Chris Humphrey, Executive Director, EU-ASEAN Business Council to find out more about the key headlines out of the region. 

How can criticism be constructive? And how should one react to being criticised, both in sports and in life? 

Singapore shares opened on a positive note today after Wall Street equities ended mixed overnight. The Straits Times Index gained 0.2 per cent in early trade to 3,231.92 points after 40.1 million securities changed hands. In terms of companies to watch, we have Sabana Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust. That’s because a partial offer by VolareGroup to acquire an additional 10 per cent of the Reit has been declared unconditional in all respects.  We’re also tracking Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust after Fitch Ratings downgraded the trust’s long-term issuer default ratings from CCC+ to CCC. On Market View, the Drive Time team unpacked the developments with Terence Wong, CEO, Azure Capital.