Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

In just a matter of days, financial markets have gone from orderly to chaotic. The S&P 500 has dropped to its lowest level in nearly a year, and the VIX has spiked to levels not seen since the early months of the pandemic. So what’s going on, and what does it mean for portfolios? What strategies are investors turning to to protect their portfolios? On Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Ritesh Ganeriwal, Head of Investment Advisory, Syfe, to find out more.

Bernard Tan, the outgoing president of the Football Association of Singapore, reflects on his tenure at the helm - marked by both significant efforts and heavy criticism. He explains his decision not to seek re-election, explores the highs and discusses the lessons learnt from the lows. So was he the right man at the wrong time, or was he the wrong man regardless of the time? Tune in and decide for yourself. READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/letting-go-is-not-so-easy-football-association-of-singapore-chief-bernard-tan-will-not-run-for Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg

TIIM Healthcare is transforming emergency care with AI-powered solutions that support faster, more accurate triage decisions. Their flagship product, aiTriage, leverages heart rate variability and artificial intelligence to detect high-risk patients early. With support from the National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC), TIIM Healthcare has successfully launched clinical trials and built vital partnerships with hospitals like SGH and NUH, accelerating adoption and driving real-world impact in healthcare delivery. On The Right Business, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Prof Marcus Ong, Senior Consultant and Clinician Scientist at the Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, and Dr Pauline Erica Tay, Director at the National Health Innovation Centre, Singapore, to find out more.   Presented by: Hongbin Jeong Produced and Edited by: Alexandra Parada (alexparada@sph.com.sg) and Nadiah Koh Want to get featured on our show? Drop me an email today!

It’s all about food today as we bring you an inside look into what’s said to be the largest supermarket chain in Thailand. And this is a company that you might be very familiar with if you frequent the food halls at Bangkok’s malls. With operations dating back to 1996, our guest for today is Central Food Retail Company, one of the business units under Thai multinational conglomerate Central Group.  The firm now runs supermarkets and F&B concepts in varying formats, namely: Tops Food Hall, Tops, Tops daily, Tops Online, Central Wine Cellar and Tops Eatery. Besides that, the company also embarked on a joint venture with Japan’s drugstore chain Matsumoto Kiyoshi in 2015 to open Matsumoto Kiyoshi stores. But why are we trying to get you hungry by speaking to Central Food Retail at this time of the day? Central Food Retail is an interesting company to talk about given how the firm announced an investment plan of 1.6 billion baht or close to S$63.2 million for 2024.  The investment was in line with the firm’s T-O-P-S strategy to position it as a Truly World-Class Omni-Channel Food Retail player, with an aim to achieve a total of 1,000 stores by 2027.  To this end, the firm is also doubling down on its investments in technology, having in December 2024 teamed up with Google Cloud to launch an AI-powered shopping assistant called ‘Tops Chef Bot’.   With the investments in place, Central Food Retail aims to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 8%. But what should we know about the firm’s progress in bridging its online to offline presence?  On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Stephane Coum, Chief Executive Officer of Food Group, Central Retail.

US President Donald Trump disrupted the global economic order with sweeping tariffs, sparking the possibility of a global trade war, soaring prices, and a devastating blow to global economic growth. To the surprise of many, Singapore was handed down a tariff of 10%, despite being a long-term ally. Still, some believe that there are silver linings to be found within these dark clouds.  Could Singapore turn this crisis into an opportunity to become a new safe haven for multinationals fleeing an unstable world? Or will the tariffs expose the vulnerabilities of our small, open economy? On The Hot Seat, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Professor Goh Jing Rong, Assistant Professor of Economics from Singapore Management University and Dr Jayant Menon, Visiting Senior Fellow, Regional Economic Studies Programme, from ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, where they discuss whether Trump's tariffs could turn out to be beneficial for Singapore.

As a National Serviceman, the NS allowance is the only source of income available for most NSFs. With the Ministry of Defence announcing another round of increment in NSF allowance, is this the best time to harness that small sum by making smart financial moves? On the Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Wayne Cheong, a former Singapore Armed Forces military regular, turned financial consultant.

Last week, US stocks lost close to $7 trillion in just two days. Earlier this week, Trump paused tariffs, sending the S&P 500 soaring 10%, the largest one-day percentage jump, since October 2008. So far, Trump's back and forth tariffs have sent markets in a panic.  In less than 24 hours after the US President backtracked on his once-in-a-century trade war, selloffs hit US assets including stocks, bonds and the dollar. The S&P 500 Index ended yesterday down 3.5%.  In Singapore, shares fell after the market opened on Friday. Most STI constituents suffered losses, with Singapore banks were down at the open. DBS shed 3.7 percent, OCBC fell 3.2 per cent and UOB dipped 2.8 percent. What do we make of these situations? On Market View, Willie Keng speaks with Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS to find out more. 

Osome is a tech-driven online accounting and bookkeeping platform designed to take the hassle out of financial admin for entrepreneurs and small businesses. By combining expert accountants with intelligent automation, Osome streamlines bookkeeping, tax filing, company formation, and compliance, ensuring business owners can focus on growth instead of paperwork. On The Right Business, Hongbin Jeong speaks to William Chong, CFO, Osome, to find out more.   Presented by: Hongbin Jeong Produced and Edited by: Alexandra Parada (alexparada@sph.com.sg) and Nadiah Koh Want to get featured on our show? Drop me an email today!

The 10,000-year clock is a visionary timepiece being built inside a mountain in West Texas. Designed by Danny Hillis and funded by Jeff Bezos, it ticks once a year, with a century hand that moves every 100 years and a cuckoo that appears only once every millennium. Crafted from marine-grade stainless steel and high-tech ceramics, it’s built to last for 10,000 years, surviving temperature changes and humidity. 

In a shocking reversal, US President Donald Trump announced a surprise 90-day pause on tariff hikes for most countries overnight, causing a surge in global markets. This move comes after a period of heightened trade tensions, particularly with China, and has raised questions about the future direction of US trade policies. But while some see it as a step toward stabilising the global economy, others are concerned about the long-term implications of continued tariff uncertainty. So what does this decision mean for the global trade environment? And could this decision signal a shift away from a possible recession? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Antonio Fatás, Professor of Economics at INSEAD to find out more.