Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore’s inflation numbers are at the heart of our discussion today. If you recall, core inflation rose to 5.3% year on year in September, higher than the near 14-year high of 5.1% on-year in August.  Headline inflation, on the other hand, remained at  7.5% on-year, unchanged from that in August. But beyond the actual figures, what’s also important is how the people in the city state view inflation going forward. On that note, the Singapore Management University and DBS Group Research teamed up to survey around 500 individuals representing a cross section of Singaporean households.  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian deep dived into the survey findings with Dr. Aurobindo Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Finance Education SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business. He’s also the Principal Investigator for the Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations or SInDEx survey. 

A world-renowned hospitality business university in Switzerland has architecturally transformed their 86,000 square-feet campus to reduce the risk of climate change. With campuses in Singapore and Switzerland, how exactly did this university achieve such large-scale sustainability success in multiple continents? In The Spotlight, Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Dr Luciano Lopez, Dean of EHL Campus (Singapore) to find out.  Produced by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

The Government says Singapore has raised its climate ambition, committing to net-zero emissions by 2050. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with Melissa Low, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions on how Singapore can reach this ambitious goal.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so we continue our conversation on cybersecurity issues with a focus on a new approach to better protect against ransomware. As cybercriminals seek out loopholes in operational processes, how can businesses prepare themselves for the next barrage of ransomware attacks? In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharat Jagdish speaks with Chua Chee Pin, Area Vice President of ASEAN, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Taiwan at Commvault, a global leader in intelligent data to find out more.   Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

 The fintech sector is thriving globally and locally. It has also brought about disruptive innovations to several industries, increasing the demand for fintech talents worldwide. How can companies continue to hire tech talent for the region? On Prime Time, host Bharati Jagdish speaks with Harsh Sinha, Chief Technology Officer, Wise to find out.

We wrapped up the week by looking at markets in the US, Asia, as well as a number of notable currency moves.  Increasingly, analysts say there may be opportunities in the market, and in particular small cap growth stocks amid the current economic climate. But why is this the case, and what should we be looking out for? In the meantime, brighter days are ahead for the Asia Pacific region as well, with reports suggesting that the travel industry in APAC may recover faster than the rest of the world. What would this mean for growth in the region as well as the strength of major currencies going forward?  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Henry Quek, Asia Pacific Head of Global Markets at State Street as they summed up the key movements for the week.

COE premiums for all categories are all up in the latest bidding out yesterday, with motorcycle COE price hitting a new high of over $12,800. This comes before the kickoff of the lower COE quota between November and January 2023. Singaporean car owners are looking at other options such as car renting and car sharing. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish dives deeper into the car sharing option when we speak with Toh Ting Feng, Managing Director and Co-Founder of local car-sharing brand GetGo. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Businesses and IT leaders have cited infrastructure management as an increasing drain on their resources. More than ever, it is crucial that new technology helps CIOs in their jobs, rather than pile on their workload. On Prime Time, host Bharati Jagdish speaks with Gina Wong, Kyndryl’s Managing Director, Singapore to find out how the right technology can enable more proactive management of complex IT environments and help tech leaders do their jobs better.

According to the firm, East Ventures was named the most consistent top performing VC fund around the world, as well as the most active investor in Southeast Asia and Indonesia by Preqin.  It is also the first investor for Indonesia’s unicorn companies Tokopedia and Traveloka, and some companies in its portfolio included Shopback, Kudo and Tech in Asia. The VC firm seems to be fairly active in the scene, investing close to 10 companies within the past month. Question is - Why is East Ventures pumping in money into startups amid the current economic climate? What opportunities does it see and what are some recent investments by the VC firm?  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures to address these burning questions.

Malaysians will go to the polls on Nov 19 for their 15th General Election. In the Straits Times The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent, Hairianto Diman speaks with Dr Francis Hutchinson, a senior fellow and coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, for more.