Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

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. 

The Singapore stock market is in focus today as we wrap up the first business week of 2023. Some market watchers may find the Singapore market a little boring with the benchmark Straits Times Index built on value stocks and bank stocks that are defensive in nature.  But against the backdrop of higher interest rates and market volatilities, the STI bucked regional trend to gain 4.1% for 2022. So how should we go about investing in the Singapore stock market and which companies should we be looking out for? On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Terence Wong, CEO of Azure Capital.  They also discussed a variety of issues including: Standout performers for 2022 and companies to watch in 2023 Expectations of reit performance for the new year Likelihood of more secondary listings in Singapore in 2023 after Comba Telecom System’s debut Spike in Creative Technologies shares

Hiring is a large investment and businesses want to find the right fit. So how can job seekers find outwhat employers want in 2023, in order to stand out in a crowded job market? Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish gets some insights from Yvonne Kong-Ho, Career Futurist and Workforce Developer.

The incredible success stories of self-made entrepreneurs that we read about in the press may lead many to think that today’s celebrated founders made it to the top all on their own. What headlines usually don’t say is that they all had experienced mentors to guide them. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Kent Teo, Founder and CEO, Invade, about where enterprising youths can get mentorship in their young entrepreneurial journey. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg) Highlights from the conversation: 01:29: Kent's entrepreneurial journey  04:43: Challenges he faced in his entrepreneurial journey 07: 43: Kent's key to success 13:17: What value does the Somerset Sandbox offer for entrepreneurs-to-be 16:21: What to know about the next batch of 100 Sandbox Somerset Youth Founders 

At this time of the day we love to ask “What’s for dinner?” but as we decide on what to eat next, fast food is on the table right now on Market View.  Now, fast food has long been described as convenient and pocket-friendly. But with inflation hitting operators, we want to find out how fast food chains are dealing with the rising costs, and if they could take selling prices higher.  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Benjamin Boh, Managing Director, Mcdonald’s Singapore. They also chatted about McDonald’s Singapore’s plans for 2023, possibility of new menu items, the rationale behind price differentiation across locations within the city state, as well as the odds of opening automated locations in the island to entice customers on the go.

Amidst all the buzz about ESG and how Singaporeans rate it as important in their day-to-day purchase decisions, the truth is, sustainability is expensive. Many Singaporeans are more conscious of financial concerns despite their desire to practise green living. So, how do you green-proof a city? Do we have better ways to cool down as the climate heats up? In the Spotlight on Prime time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Aman Sivasriamphai, CEO and Founder, Enovatek Energy for more. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

As Singapore aims to cements itself on the world stage as a global hub, the VUCA business landscape continues to pose many challenges for businesses. In order for organisations to remain resilient and succeed, more attention needs to be placed on human capital. On Career 360, Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Tonny Loh, Partner at Heidrick & Struggles Singaporeon the ways Singapore can further develop global-ready executives.

We’ve talked in depth about private equity and venture capital investing on the show. But what about corporate ventures and how bigger players are positioning themselves for the future? Our guest for today is from Supply Chain Angels, the corporate venture arm of Singapore’s largest home-grown supply chain solutions company.  Co-invested by National Research Foundation under the Early Stage Venture Funding Scheme III, SCAngels invests in startups that are synergistic and complementary to YCH’s supply chain and logistic business with the aim of “Nurturing Innovative Disruptors”. And we want to find out what they’re up to and which startups they’re setting their sights on for the new year. On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Isaac Chua, Head of Investment at Supply Chain Angels and Head of Corporate Investment at YCH Group for more.

On the first In the Spotlight of 2023, we look at what to watch out for in the new year ahead. One of them is the metaverse. To avoid being left behind, businesses will have to start viewing the metaverse as a platform to expand their retail opportunities and increase customer engagement as analysts predict it to snowball into an US$800 billion industry by 2024. Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Jinnie Lee, Head of Global Partnerships, Klaytnfor more insights.  Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)