Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

When you're just starting out in your career, there’s one question almost all of us grapple with: Should you go for the job that pays well or the one that promises growth, passion and potential? With rising costs of living, unstable job markets, and an ever-changing career landscape, that first job can feel like a make or break decision. On The Hot Seat, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Spark Chen, HR Executive and Marcus Goh, Senior Financial Consultant to find out which path should younger workers follow. 

Change is never easy, especially when controversial. The SPL’s new rule allowing seven foreign players per match has sparked uproar, with many fearing it threatens local players’ chances. Yet, this influx could also boost the league’s standards and competitiveness. So, which matters more? Local legend Abbas Saad and former Welsh international Rob Earnshaw join Sports Minutes to share their views. Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg

What if failure was the best thing that ever happened to your startup? Fathurrahman Faizal co-founded SolanaFM as a student at SMU. It wasn’t a smooth ride but it led to a major acquisition by Jupiter Exchange in 2024. Now, he’s back with Ranger Labs, a decentralized trading platform aiming to give DeFi users the speed of a centralized exchange without compromising control. Backed by a $1.9 million round led by RockawayX, Ranger Labs is solving some of DeFi’s biggest pain points while using AI to make trading smarter and more accessible. So what does it take to build the future of Web3 while still in school? And what does the next generation of decentralized trading really look like? On The Right Business, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Fathurrahman Faizal, Co-founder of Ranger Labs, to find out more. 

Europe’s defense sector is at a critical crossroads. As geopolitical tensions rise, countries across the continent are dramatically ramping up their defense budgets, sparking a wave of innovation in defense and intelligence technologies. This surge is opening fresh doors for investors, especially in alternative assets.  Leading the charge, Lundgreen’s High-Tech Defence Fund offers direct access to some of the most promising high-growth defense tech companies.  But where exactly do the biggest opportunities lie? How can investors navigate the risks? And what trends will define the future of defense investing? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Peter Lundgreen, CEO Lundgreen's Capital, to find out more.

On July 29, 2025, a fire broke out in a 10th-floor unit at Block 229 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, spreading quickly to the unit above and sending shockwaves through the quiet residential neighborhood. Seven people, including a child and a firefighter, were hospitalized. Dozens more were evacuated as smoke engulfed the building.  For one family, the fire consumed nearly everything they owned — and for others, the long path to recovery is only just beginning. So what happened? And what kind of insurance coverage applies in a situation like this? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with David Sun, Crime Correspondent, The Straits Times and Chun Wei Oh, Director of Avallis Financial, to find out more. 

Singapore shares moved lower today to track regional movements. The Straits Times Index was down 0.64% at 4,192.32 points at 11.41am Singapore time, with a value turnover of S$782.65M seen in the broader market. In terms of companies to watch, we have Keppel, after the asset manager saw net profit rise 24.2 per cent to S$377.7 million for the first half ended Jun 30, driven by growth in its real estate segment.  Elsewhere, from how Wall Street's AI heavyweights added a combined half a trillion dollars in stock market value after quarterly reports from Microsoft and Meta Platforms, to investors’ reactions on a US trade deal between the US and South Korea – more international headlines remain in focus.  Also on deck – how Federal Reserve officials held rates steady overnight and how Southeast Asia’s ridehailing giant Grab reported Q2 2025 earnings of US$35 million, reversing a loss seen in the same period a year ago. On Market View, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian dived into the details with David Chow, Director, Azure Capital. 

It’s all about the banking and wealth management landscape today as we speak to a Wall Street giant that's said to have not slept since the 1800s. Yes – we are talking about Citibank. After all, its slogan is that Citi never sleeps.  Founded in 1812, Citi’s activities range from safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of its clients. The aim is to become a trusted partner for clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress.  And Citi set foot in Singapore over a century ago in 1902, and has grown to a full-service bank that provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in Singapore a broad range of financial products and services.  Today, the Lion City is a significant hub and gateway to Asia and ASEAN, with the country housing a number of its regional and global client coverage and product units.  And the role of Singapore as a market to Citibank continues to evolve. In October 2024, the US bank shut its last regular branch in Singapore to focus on serving customers online, and advising affluent clients at its wealth hubs.  The firm said the decision comes amid higher adoption of digital, online and self-service platforms. It also comes as the firm aims to capture growing wealth created in Asia.  To this end, the firm said in April 2025 that Citi Wealth anticipates that US$100 trillion of wealth will be created over the next decade, with Asia seeing the fastest pace of growth. The company added that wealth hubs catering mainly to Citigold clients with assets of at least S$250,000 have been set up in Singapore for this reason. But what should we know about the growth of wealth in Asia? And how will Citibank Singapore position itself to get a slice of the pie?  And how does Citibank intend to navigate choppy waters in the near term given ongoing uncertainties surrounding global trade, tariff wars and interest rate outlook? On Under the Radar Specials, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Yeo Wenxian, Head of Wealth for Asia South and CEO, Citibank Singapore.

A government land site in the new Holland Plain precinct has sparked attention - not for how many bids it received, but for how far the top offer went. Sim Lian Land and Sim Lian Development submitted the highest bid at nearly S$368 million, or about S$1,432 psf ppr, a striking 22% above the next closest offer. Property consultants are calling it a bold, bullish move in a market still finding its footing. What drove Sim Lian to bid so aggressively? Does this reflect growing confidence among developers  or rising pressure from limited land supply? What could this mean for future home prices and the direction of the private residential market? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Nicholas Mak, Chief Research Officer, MOGUL SG, to find out more.

In the aftermath of the powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, tsunami warnings remain in effect across vast stretches of the Pacific.  While some regions have already experienced smaller surges, the threat is far from over, with authorities closely monitoring the situation as new waves could arrive hours after the initial tremor. On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Adam Switzer, Professor of Coastal Science at the Asian School of the Environment, Principal Investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, to find out more. 

Floramis is a sustainability-driven software ecosystem that transforms real-world plants into interactive digital experiences. For individuals, Floramis lets users turn their houseplants into virtual companions by combining movement, mindfulness, and gamification to promote well-being and connection through a mobile game. For businesses, Floramis offers a novel way to use plants as engagement tools, embedding them as NPCs (non-playable characters) in the Florascape to deliver gamified customer rewards, loyalty programs, and interactive brand moments. On The Right Business, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Ojus Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO, Floramis, to find out more.