Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Audience insights company GWI’s latest Travel study reveals thatmore than 1 in 5 Singaporeans say vacations are very or extremely important to them. Meanwhile, over 70% are planning a vacation in the next 12 months. With travel finally catching up to pre-pandemic levels, what are on the minds of Singaporean travellers and how have they changed because of the pandemic? Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Chase Buckle, VP, Trends, GWI to find out. 

The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place next week, on 15-16 November 2022 in Bali. In The Spotlight, Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with John Marrett, Senior Analyst, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on what to look out for at this leaders’ meeting, as well as Indonesian president Jokowi’s legacy. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

In a significant calibration of the Covid Zero policy that has isolated the world’s second-largest economy and raised public ire, Chinese health authorities have eased some of the country’s strict Covid-19 rules. These include a reduction in the amount of time travellers and close contacts of infected people must spend in quarantine. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with China correspondent Elizabeth Law for more on this development.

Have you thought about what’s for dinner yet? Well, today’s discussion could leave you wanting for a juicy burger to kickstart the weekend.  With over 166 locations across the US, and internationally in countries such as Brunei and Saudi Arabia, American burger chain Wayback Burgers now wants to further expand its footprint in Asia.  The company signed a master franchise agreement through WB Burgers Asia Incorporation, a publicly traded holding company of WB Burgers Japan Company to open 60 Wayback locations in Asia within 20 years. The brand opened its first branch in Tokyo back in March this year and is now setting its sights on Singapore.  On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Mitsuru Anthony Ueno, COO of WB Burgers Japan and COO of Next Meats USA to find out more about the opportunities in the fast casual restaurant scene in Asia.

A slowing Chinese economy, in part due to its zero-Covid strategy, has raised concerns among investors and businesses. How can businesses brave this storm, what digital marketing and tech trends can they adopt for 2023?  In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish finds out more from Josh Gardner, Chief Executive Officer, Kung Fu Data, a senior China strategist and a recognised authority on China ecommerce. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

What if job seekers finding the right job fit and recruiters finding the perfect candidate was like the Netflix reality television series, Indian Matchmaking, but faster and 80% cheaper? On Tech Talk, Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Jansen Gwee, Founder of OppTy to find out how AI can be used to streamline the job recruitment process.

It may take days for the final results of Tuesday’s midterm elections to emerge and decide the political make-up of the US Congress; in some cases, run-offs may be necessary. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with ST’s US Bureau Chief, Nirmal Ghosh for the latest developments. 

South Korean and Thai credit markets are at the heart of our discussion today. Speaking of South Korea, the country has been scrambling to prevent a credit market meltdown from sparking broader contagion, after local corporate bonds suffered one of the most rapid sell-offs in the past three months.  More recently, South Korean insurer Heungkuk Life Insurance said it’ll delay the buying back of perpetual bonds,citing unfavourable market conditions and the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.  That move triggered a perpetual bond rout in Asia. While Heungkuk Life has decided to reverse its earlier move to exercise a call option on its perpetual notes, we want to find out the outlook for South Korea’s bond markets.  Closer to home, investors continue to watch Thailand’s banking sector even as the country recovers from the troughs of the pandemic. But why is this the case?  On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter spoke with, Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence for more.

If you’ve been walking around major malls, you might have seen these three letters - Yuu - popping up in recent weeks.  What exactly is this yuu - you might ask? Apparently this is a reward app founded by minden.ai in strategic partnership with DFI Retail Group. The tech venture also partners with BreadTalk Group, DBS Bank and even Singtel and Mandai Wildlife Group.  As always on MONEY FM, we want to find out just how much money is in this whole loyalty programme market for these major players to come together and work on such a large scale initiative.  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke all about money with Sng Ren Yeong, CEO at minden.ai and Lee Yik Hun, SEA Marketing Director, Food at  DFI Retail Group.

How can luxury watches hedge against inflation and fight climate change? In The Spotlight, Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Nelson Lee, Founder of UltraLuxe and Singapore Watch Fair and Matt De Bakker, Founder of Atelier Holgur for more insights. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg) Highlights from the conversation: 01:50: How do luxury watches match up against other asset classes? 02:58: Benchmarks that will determine the long-term value of a luxury watch 03:47: Markers investors need to look out for before parting with their money 07:18: How are luxury watches a hedge against inflation? 09:02: Debut of a luxury diver’s watch of sustainable materials