Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

Lee Kian Soon, CEO, Astral Asset Management, discusses how the tough year for Chinese stocks so far has affected his investments and how much of a dent the COVID-19 lockdowns will have on China's growth outlook.

In 2016, the US-based venture capitalist, Tom Loverro published a blog post that explored how neo-banks or fintechs were attacking traditional banks. Six years later, there is no doubt that fintechs have changed the way consumers spend, save and invest while in the process grabbing market share from the traditional banks. Yves Roesti, Managing Partner and Co-CEO, Synpulse shares with us his observations with regards to the rise of digital banks and how a traditional bank can make their digital banking efforts a successful one. 

In today’s ever-evolving economy, it is crucial for brands to understand and connect with their consumers to drive real benefits, including increased sales and client retention especially as audiences become more unpredictable than ever. Benjamin Soubies, Managing Director, APAC & Japan, Talkwalker shares with us findings from Talkwalker's ‘Shape Tomorrow’ report, detailing conversations around 100 global brands and identifying what consumers expect brands to be working on. 

From the latest development on the shooting incident aboard a subway car in Brooklyn, to US President Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with ASEAN leaders, and former president Donald Trump endorsing a celebrity doctor for a US Senate seat in Pennsylvania, Nirmal Ghosh, US Bureau Chief, The Straits Times gives an analysis of it all.  Follow The Straits Times' Asian Insider Podcast channel - co-produced with Money FM 89.3 - like us and rate us: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/Ju4h  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Asian Insider newsletter.   Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/JoVb SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

In this morning's The Breakfast Brief, we discuss the upcoming busy week for China, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to Singapore and what to expect from the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting later in the week. 

Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book, detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores now. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/ In this third episode of six instalments, ST's executive editor Sumiko Tan tells the exclusive story of how the decision-makers in Singapore's Covid-19 "war room" managed the pandemic and why it decided to be as transparent as they could with the public. Highlights (click/tap above): (Headphones recommended) 01:25 Singapore's then-Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on how he realised back in January 2020, that the new coronavirus outbreak was beyond the efforts of one ministry 03:53 How a high-powered group of civil servants led by permanent secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry - Mr Pang Kin Keong - worked to support the ministers 05:06 Mr Gan on why the multi-ministry task force (MTF) decided to be as transparent as possible about how it dealt with Covid-19 06:44 Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on his role in creating a structure in how the crisis was managed 08:22 PM Lee Hsien Loong on the aim to be transparent, a chain of command, making decisions guided by data, and differing views in Cabinet 14:37 PM Lee reflects on painful national decisions, such as the closure of Changi Airport and Singapore's "circuit-breaker" lockdown in April 2020 19:50 PM Lee addresses a weary nation to explain the decision to move from a strategy of zero-Covid to living with Covid  Produced by: Sumiko Tan (sumiko@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Hadyu Rahim Edited by: Hadyu Rahim Follow Singapore's War On Covid podcast series here: Channel: https://str.sg/wuJa Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wu3n Spotify: https://str.sg/wuJy SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg  Read Sumiko Tan's stories: https://str.sg/Jbhe  --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- #stcovidbook

Barnabas Gan, Economist, UOB, discusses how aggressive Singapore's central bank is positioning its policy, and breaks down the trajectory of the country's growth following Q1 GDP estimates of 3.4 percent yoy, which moderates from Q4's 6.1% yoy.

A study by SAP titled, ‘Transformational Talent: The impact of the Great Resignation on Digital Transformation in APJ’s SMEs’ has found that 49 percent of Singapore SMEs say they are not finding it easy to deal with the Great Resignation. About 62 percent of SMEs here have also seen more staff resigning compared to a year ago. Eileen Chua, Managing Director, SAP Singapore shares how The Great Resignation has impacted SMEs' ability to digitally transform and some of the key strategies SMEs have highlighted and are prioritizing for the next 12 months.

Singapore has been found to be the top country in the emerging market section to reflect an increase in interest for wine investment. However, in order to make sound and calculated investments, one needs to understand wine, the vineyard and even the way the wines are stored to ensure the integrity of the wine. Anthony Zhang, CEO & Co-Founder, Vinovest shares an overview of the current market’s investment trends on wine and how Vinovest - the world's first ever AI-powered wine investment platform - is helping investors of all risk appetites and skill levels to invest.