Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta shares his optimism in achieving a milestone $10 billion profit this year, following another record Q1 lifted by higher margins and resilient business momentum. He discusses how much we should worry about the latest ABSD hikes, SME loan defaults amid a slowing economy, the disruption from AI on jobs, as well as reflects on some "lessons from his younger self".   (00:00) Introduction  (00:34) - Let's dive into the numbers. Congrats on another record quarter. So let's recap it - first quarter, DBS reported a stronger than expected 43% jump in net profit to a new high from a year earlier. How would you describe the quarter, especially coming off another record?   (02:02) - On the back of higher net interest margins, sustained business momentum, and resilient asset quality, so pretty much putting you comfortably on track to hitting that milestone $10 billion in net profit this year, Piyush?   (02:40) - Alright, so lots of moving parts and I think one of them is, of course, the net interest margins. And looking at it, you've got it at 2.12% in the first quarter, and that's up 66 basis points, so it is a pretty good jump. And if you look at the guidance, you're looking at 2.05, 2.1% this year, worth noting your earlier guidance was for the peak to be at around 2.2%, so it's a bit of a cut back in expectations and you've signaled that the peak has been reached in Q1. So what's changed in past three months? (04:17) - And also what's playing out in the wider economy, you've got a bit of a slowdown, some signs of that happening with the Q1 numbers for Singapore's GDP. I think over the weekend, we saw some headlines about more signs of retrenchment creeping up, more SMEs also going bust. How does that fit into your outlook when you're looking at dashboards - are you seeing that play out when it comes to some of your, for example, SME loan defaults? (06:50) - Alright, so some degree of resiliency in some of the sectors that you're looking at for SME front at least. The other part that is also going up is ABSD and of course last week, we saw the Singapore government rolling out yet another round of cooling measures for the property industry. So on that front, how much impact do you see the latest ABSD hikes having on DBS? (08:26) - Now looking at some of the catalysts that we might be expecting for DBS, some tailwinds perhaps, the China reopening story is also going to help with the travel side of things I imagine. So that's going to be a big part in generating fee income, especially for credit cards. How much more upside is there when it comes to China reopening? (09:31) - Okay, and talking about some of the exciting stuff we can look forward to, ChatGPT has been making the ripples across many sectors and we've heard about the potential of the metaverse. How do you see these technologies playing a role in banking going forward? (12:23) - That is a lot of watch out for, and another thing that investors are watching out for is the implications of what's playing out in the banking sector in the US, and this is of course, with the fallout from the collapse of SVB. And of course over the weekend, questions about First Republic; now to some extent, we've seen some concerns being answered with the acquisition by JP Morgan. You mentioned that DBS, back in your AGM in end March, benefited from inflows amounting to a few hundred millions in the aftermath of the SVB collapse, so how much is that translating to income and activity, or are we still seeing these monies stay on the sidelines? (14:34) - And finally Piyush, just to wrap things up on a personal note, there's this book that has been making the rounds, creating quite some buzz - it's called 'Lessons for my Younger Self', and it features a chapter on you, your own reflections. So looking back, you used to talk about how you're really into nature, especially bird-watching, and of course many other lessons as well - walk us through some of those reflections. Presenter: Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Stocks tumbled overnight on Wall Street as jitters around contagion in the regional banking sector returned ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.  Mark Newton, Managing Director & Global Head of Technical Strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors analyses the banking turmoil, VIX index and what the technicals say about the healthcare, tech & banking sectors. Presenter: Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

National Development Minister Desmond Lee says the latest round of cooling measures of ABSD rate hike is aimed at preventing property prices from being pushed up by investors and prioritizing Singaporeans buying homes for owner-occupation. Following that announcement, buyers from China bought 4 units of the Blossoms By The Park at the weekend, despite having to pay the 60 percent additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rate that kicked in on Apr 27 for foreign buyers of any residential property here. How effective will this latest cooling measure be? How will developers react and how will it affect upcoming launches? Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang find out from Nicholas Mak, Chief Research Officer, MOGUL.sg - a real estate platform. This podcast is produced by Ryan Huang and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Yeap Junrong, Market Strategist, IG, discusses DBS's guidance that Net Interest Margins have peaked in the first quarter and will gradually moderate, and how much of an impact ABSD hikes will have on the loan book.

At this year’s May Day Rally, the Singapore Government and labour movement renew their commitment to help workers earn a better living, amid global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.  Dr Mathew Mathews, Head of IPS Social Lab at NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy shares his perspective on whether this push will be enough to narrow the social divide in Singapore. This podcast is produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

In this episode of Mind Your Business, we bring you an inspiring story of an individual who is breaking barriers and stereotypes in the automotive industry. From facing scepticism from his family when he decided to become an apprentice mechanic to finally opening his own car workshop, he has been striving to shatter the Grease Monkey stereotype type and mindsets of both young and old about the industry. He is determined to create a modern, bright and clean workshop environment and invest heavily in human capital. His efforts were recognised when Motor Edgevantage received the SkillsFuture Employer Award (Silver) by SkillsFuture Singapore in 2022, the nation's highest skills award which honours organisations that champion employees' skills development and build a lifelong learning culture at the workplace.  Lynlee Foo and  Ryan Huang speak with Eric Goh, the co-founder and director of Motor Edgevantage, to learn more about his journey and his commitment to upskilling and reskilling at the workplace, as well as his plans for preparing his staff for the future of electric vehicles. This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Mark Matthews, Managing Director & Head of Research Asia, Julius Baer shares his perspective on whether JPMorgan buying First Republic Bank assets will help to soothe nerves, what to watch out for ahead of FOMC's meeting and an analysis on earnings season so far. Presenter: Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

China’s Ant Group announced that its cross border solution Alipay+ is now incorporated into Singapore’s SGQR. What does this mean for merchants and consumers alike?  As Alipay+ surpasses its target of 1 billion regional and global consumers, what is the  strategy in this region? Dr Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services, Ant Group shared on Breakfast how merchants in Singapore and the region can benefit from this payment solution, and the global capabilities of Alipay+. 

Singapore is playing host to players from the international maritime community at the Singapore Maritime Week 2023 this week. With shipping accounting for more than 3 per cent of global carbon emissions, what are the key challenges facing the maritime industry in its pursuit of decarbonisation targets, especially on the fuel front?  Dr Imran Halimi, Programme Director at the Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence and Chris Chatterton, Chief Operating Officer of Methanol Institute joined the Breakfast Show to share their perspective. This podcast is produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Ben Powell, Chief APAC Investment Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute, discusses why the conventional 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds needs a rethink, why investors need to take a more active approach, and where they should look for opportunities.