Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

The maximum amount of money home buyers in Singapore can borrow to purchase their homes has been tightened so that borrowers avoid future difficulties in servicing those loans. The authorities have also put in place several measures to ensure home buyers borrow within their means and to moderate demand in the property market. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at Orange Tee and Tie about the impact of the latest round of property cooling measures.

Credit markets and the performance of banks in Asia are on our list today after recent jumbo rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve rattled markets and hurt demand for homes and mortgages.  Just look at Hong Kong - the city’s home prices, for one, fell 2.3% in August from a month ago, the lowest in over three years.  In Singapore, major banks such as UOB and DBS Bank have temporarily ceased their fixed rate home loans for now to review their rates. Plus - cooling measures announced by the local government last night. On Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter spoke with Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, as they unpack how recent developments would weigh on mortage demand and bank performance in Asia.

With an increasing adoption in supply chain diversification strategies, companies need to incorporate integrated systems and end-to-end visibility to adapt and react to supply chain shocks and avoid major disruptions down the line. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Ajit Melarkode, Vice President of Asia Pacific & Japan at Boomiabout what can be done to mitigate supply chain risks and get ahead of worsening trade barriers. 

Malaysia’s Budget will be tabled next Friday on the 7 October. Given that this budget will be out before the next general election, economists are expecting it to be election friendly with a slew of expansionary measures. At the same time, observers are also expecting the government to remain committed to consolidating its fiscal position and focus on its recovery post-pandemic.  So what can we expect from the upcoming Malaysian budget, and how will its government fund the measures aimed at boosting the economy?  On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions with Julia Goh, Senior Economist, UOB Malaysia.

As modes of payment continue to evolve with the many digital payment platforms, so do fraudulent activities. Mass quantities of transactions going in and out of said platforms renders manual fraud detection largely unscalable, and money laundering across online platforms has become that much harder to detect. Regionally, the topic of anti-money laundering is making tremendous progress in the technology landscape.  Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Jeeta Bandopadhyay, COO and Co-founder of Tookitaki to find out if the growing threat of fraud is outpacing the fintech industry.

Taiwan has confirmed that it will end its mandatory Covid-19 quarantine for travellers from Oct 13, in its latest step to reopen to tourists. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with ST correspondent Yip Wai Yee about this development. She also recommends interesting new places travellers to the island can visit.

It’s been a rather painful week for markets so far, as investors mull the risks of a recession amid interest rate hikes by major central banks around the world last week.  In the US, the broad-based S&P 500, for one, registered a new closing low for 2022, while the Dow slipped into a bear market earlier this week. Away from the US, the British Sterling hit a record low earlier this week, after the new UK government announced its so-called ‘mini-budget’ to spur the economy, risking further price increases, and higher interest rates.  So where are markets in the US likely to go in the near term? Does the UK government know where it wants to go with the mini-budget, and where will the pound move going forward?  On Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Robert Hoffman, Head of Investment Counsellors, South Asia, Citi Private Bank to find out. 

Sustainability has become a salient topic in recent years as more business stakeholders, such as investors and customers, pay closer attention to the impact of sustainable practices on their ecosystem and business operations. The increased interest and awareness also mean more job opportunities in the sustainability space as well as demand for labour with the relevant skills. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Tay Ee Learn, Chief Sector Skills Officer, NTUC LearningHub on what they are doing to help equip more people for the booming sector.

According to a study by UOB, Singaporeans have the most finance-related worries in the South-east Asian region, amid expectations of rising household expenses and higher inflation.  Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Dean Tong, Head, Group Human Resources, UOB to find out what else Singaporeans are most stressed about, and if that has something to do with the workplace. 

Singapore’s central bank and regulator was never under any illusions about the price volatility of cryptocurrencies and has always cautioned that cryptocurrencies are not suitable as investments for retail investors. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Vincent Chok, CEO of tech-driven financial institution, First Digital, as they take a closer look at what regulators should focus on as pillars for blockchain infrastructure in Singapore and the APAC region.