Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

If you love drinking bottled water, it seems there are many just like you in Singapore. A recent report has found that people here consume the most bottled water and spend the most on it per capita, far more than any other country.  So why do people here feel the need to buy bottled water, given that water from the tap is safe to drink? Dr. Corrine Ong Deputy Director & Senior Research Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore shares her insights on the matter.

Great leaders are often inspired by role models in their life.. In our Mind Your Business' Monday chat with C-Suite, our guest is someone who looked up to both his biological father as well as the founding father of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He is Rajeev Kannan, Co-Head of Asia Pacific Division, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). How has both father figures shaped his outlook on life and career? As a banking veteran of more than 20 years, we tap into his experience on how this current banking crisis (2023) differs from the previous crisis in 1998 and 2008 and much much more in this insightful conversation. This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

The banking crisis is casting a shadow over markets – Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank crisis, First Republic Bank and the latest to join the list - Deutsche Bank. Shares of the German bank plunged the most in three years on Friday, suggesting that a week of soothing words from central bankers and politicians have failed to calm broad worries about the financial sector. What can we make of what's happening in the banking sector? Plus what to look ahead this week, Willie Keng finds out from Charu Chanana, Market Strategist, Saxo Singapore.

World leaders gathered for two high-level climate meetings last week - the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial in Denmark and UN Water Conference in New York. Under the spotlight of it all - how far are we from the targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement? And how are our water consumption patterns affecting the availability of that lifeblood resource globally?  Adjunct Professor Jean Palutikof, Founding Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University shares her perspective. [Find Us on Podcast Platforms] Awedio | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | OmnyStudio [Contact Us] Presenters: Lynlee Foo Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) is down to a historic low of 1.05. But the good news is that a recent survey shows that young single Singaporeans want children. Eight in 10 aged between 21 and 35 polled  say they want to marry and 77 per cent want children. Dr. Gillian Koh, Deputy Director (Research) at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) which is part of the National University of Singapore shares her insights on the falling birth rate and what can be done about it.

Hilde Jenssen, Nordea Asset Management’s Head of Fundamental Equities discusses how to navigate the banking sector opportunities for investors in the wake of the SVB fallout and Credit Suisse takeover by UBS, as well as whether companies are in place to pass on rising costs to consumers.

What is on the checklist of small businesses when they think of going global? I guess one of their top priorities is payments. And partnering the right fintech company can probably help to save cost, save time and increase scalability.  On Mind Your Business, Lyn Lee Foo and Ryan Huang find out more about the collaboration between Low Cher Hao, Director, SME at Airwallex - a global payments and financial platform that helps businesses remove unnecessary friction and cost, inherent in the traditional financial system to expand globally, alongside one of their merchants Emily Chu, Co-Founder Hey! Chips.  This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Millions of people and companies worldwide will be switching off their lights when the clock strikes 8.30pm on the 25th of March. Yes, the annual Earth Hour is back!  Swati Mandloi, Assistant Market Transformation Manager, WWF-Singapore shares an insider perspective on the gaps faced in pushing the world towards net-zero and what needs to be done to better tackle competency greenwashing [Find Us on Podcast Platforms] Awedio | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | OmnyStudio [Contact Us] Presenters: Lynlee Foo Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Is there liberal opposition to what is going on, even in a more diverse India with a raucous democratic tradition? Synopsis: Each fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests.  In this episode, we discuss how and why, across the complex region of South Asia, majorities are convinced that minorities are a threat. South Asia is a region of some two billion, but right-wing politics and religious majoritarianism, the arms of the state and the media, are coming together to threaten democracy and the health and longevity of states. The politics of hate in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is fuelling, and feeds off, religious majoritarianism. Nirmal Ghosh hosts Farahnaz Ispahani, a former journalist, former member of Pakistan’s parliament, and currently a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington DC, and Salil Tripathi, author, journalist and member of the Board of PEN International.   Highlights (click/tap above): 1:40 Why Pakistan is the worst among "religious majoritarian states" in South Asia; add to that a "nuclear-armed Pakistan with an economy in free fall" 3:40 On the history and similar trajectory in Bangladesh and also, how "the liberal Pakistani used to look up to India for its democratic roots and tradition, when now… if you're Muslim, you can't be safe in India." 9:05 How the religious right and the political right have come together to make the majority feel they're under threat from the minority 12:16 How this trend is happening, as our guest expert offers daily life examples in India 17:15 On how the media in these South Asia countries could amplify divisions Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/wdcC --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsider

What can indie media production firms do to stay ahead of the game in a world dominated by streaming platforms and content creators? Award-winning Director and Founder of Giraffe Pictures, Anthony Chen shares his personal journey in putting Singapore on the international film stage and the challenges behind getting funding