ASEAN Speaks

In this episode, our host Ong Seng Yeow examines how MAS’s first policy tightening since 2022, persistent oil-driven inflation risks and a resilient Singapore dollar are reshaping the investment landscape. We begin with Head of FX Research, Saktiandi Supaat, on why MAS opted to steepen the SGDNEER slope, the outlook for USDSGD, and why SGD basket longs may still be attractive. We then turn to our...

In this episode, our host and Head of Research, Thilan Wickramasinghe, discusses how escalating Middle East tensions and rising oil prices are reinforcing the need for energy security and shaping investment opportunities. We begin with our Analyst, Xuan Hao Toh, who introduces Singapore Investment and Finance as a differentiated opportunity plus idea with strong niche positioning. This is followed...

In this episode, our host and Head of Research, Thilan Wickramasinghe, discusses how the ongoing oil shock and rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping market dynamics, with no clear resolution in sight. The focus turns to identifying opportunities across sectors as energy prices remain elevated. CEO of MIB Securities India, Jigar Shah, joins to explore how higher oil prices are accelerating ene...

In this episode, our host and Head of Research, Thilan Wickramasinghe, discusses how escalating tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices are increasing stagflation risks and reshaping market expectations. He explores how ASEAN should be positioned as the probability of a prolonged conflict rises. We are joined by Regional Head of Research, Anand Pathmakanthan, who shares his views on shif...

In this episode, our host and Head of Research, Thilan Wickramasinghe, examines how the Iran conflict, now in its fourth week is keeping oil prices above $100 and driving uncertainty across global markets. Economist Brian joins the show to assess the macro impact on ASEAN economies, including growth, inflation and relative winners and losers. We then take a deep dive into the Singapore market, ana...

In this episode, our host and Head of Research, Thilan Wickramasinghe, examines how the escalating Middle East conflict is driving higher oil prices, rising inflation risks and travel disruptions, while highlighting areas of resilience within the Singapore market. Our REITs & Industrials Analyst, Krishna, joins the show to discuss rising global defence spending and why he has upgraded ST Engin...

This episode is a deep dive into the real power shifts in China's EV supply chain and how competitive forces are shaping up in the battery chemistry labs, EV gigafactories and in energy-storage systems.

In this week's ASEAN Speaks , our host Thilan breaks down the key developments shaping Singapore’s markets as the US government shutdown nears resolution and expectations rise for a December Fed rate cut. In light of that, we review Singapore banks’ 3Q results, highlighting why OCBC has been upgraded to BUY, while DBS remains a BUY and UOB a HOLD. Thilan explains the trends driving net interes...

The countdown to year-end has begun and markets are showing momentum. In this week’s episode of Market Monday, host Thilan breaks down the key movers and macro shifts shaping Singapore’s investment landscape. Xuan Hao shares his BUY initiation on iFAST with a target price of SGD11.95, highlighting the catalysts behind the fintech’s strong outlook. Next, we turn to Sheng Siong, which surged nearly...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, Thilan Wickramasinghe, our Head of Research, introduces the 3Q25 Singapore banks outlook, and discussed "value-up" reforms that could unlock value and sustain the SMID rally. We then turn to Hussaini Saifee, our TMT analyst, who breaks down his decision to downgrade SEA Limited to a HOLD, citing slower margin recovery. Finally, our host, Jarick See...

In this week’s episode, Seng Yeow hosts, joined by Erica and Hussaini. Seng Yeow opens the discussion with the week’s key geopolitical and macro developments — including renewed Israel–Hamas tensions and the U.S. plan to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports by November 1 — framing them as signs of growing strain in global markets. He notes that “markets don’t die of altitude — they die of exhaus...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, Hussaini Saifee, our TMT analyst, introduces the emerging concept of Agentic Commerce — what it means for the future of online shopping, how it compares to existing e-commerce platforms, and the implications for key regional players such as Sea Ltd. We then turn to Malaysia, where our host, Thilan, breaks down the state of digital banks. With five new licens...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, Singapore takes center stage with a construction boom that could reshape the economy. Our Macro Team forecasts the sector to grow at more than 5% annually between 2025 and 2030—well above GDP. Hak Bin shares how this compares with past cycles, what’s fueling the surge, the potential spillover to the broader economy, and the key risks to watch. We then move t...

In this week's episode of ASEAN Speaks, out host Thilan unpacks the bullish momentum in Singapore's markets and the launch of SGX's new Next 50 indxed, as well as what they mean for small- and mid-cap investors. Sheryl takes us through Eric's deep dive on ComfortDelGro's underperformance versus the STI, and how earnings from Copenhagen could provide a boost. Finally, Xuan Hao s...

In this week’s ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan kicks off with the latest tailwinds driving Southeast Asia’s internet and telecom sectors. Hussaini, our TMT analyst, breaks down Sea Limited’s Shopee momentum and AI-driven gaming push, then explains why he’s bullish on Singapore Telecommunications and Indosat. Finally, Seng Yeow from our Quant team reviews Malaysia’s 2Q earnings season, highlighting p...

In this week’s ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan looks at why Singapore continues to attract safe haven flows amidst regional uncertainty. Hussaini, our TMT analyst, shares why he thinks the telco sector still has more upside, with a new BUY on StarHub and higher target price on Singtel. Next, our transport analyst, Eric highlights ComfortDelGro’s latest CityCab deal, explaining why this could close t...

In this week's ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan goes through the many tailwinds boosting Singapore's market. Brian comes in to talk about Singapore's recent jump in manaufacturing numbers and why the economics team is forecasting a potentially higher GDP growth for Singapore. Hussaini, our TMT analyst talks about Singtel's recent investor day and the key takeaways that he believes sup...

In this week's episode Jarick Seet is stepping in for Thilan as today's host. Jarick opens today's episode by talking about how markets are currently fatigued from Trump's tariffs reflecting in investors' actions over the past week. Krishna comes on to talk about ST Engineering and why he believed fundamentally the stock looks weak explaining his downgrade to a HOLD. Jarick als...

In this week's episode, Thilan highlights several stock picks amidst earnings seasons and a lot of tariff uncertainties as well as geopolitical issues. Jarick comes on to talk about his recent initiation Sanli Environmental which he believes will benefit largely from potential government contracts. Jarick also briefly goes through CSE Global's results and explains why it was inline with ex...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan kicks off with Jarick, who shares his take on Venture and how changes in the tech sector drives his upgrade to a BUY call. The conversation then moves to Singapore’s three big banks — DBS, UOB and OCBC — where Thilan looks at the differences in their results, the pressures on net interest margins, and what might be ahead for capital returns a...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan unpacks the STI’s rebound after a six-day losing streak, supported by signs that Singapore may avoid major fallout from Trump’s new tariffs. He discusses how this could revive interest in domestic sectors like construction, safe-haven flows, and capital returns. Hussaini comes on to shares his views on Sheng Siong after a slower 2Q, and dives...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, our host Seng Yeow welcomes Jarick to unpack MAS’s new $50bn EQDP programme and its potential to drive concentrated flows into non-index sectors. Jarick shares five BUY calls for the week: Food Empire Holdings, ISOTeam, ComfortDelGro, CSE Global, and Frencken, explaining why each is poised to benefit from raw material trends, sector positioning, and strong c...

In this week’s episode of ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan breaks down the STI’s record-breaking 11-day rally—the longest in 20 years—and explores what could drive the next leg higher as MAS prepares to announce the first recipients of the EQDP fund. Hussaini initiates Sheng Siong on a BUY despite the 30% rally the stock has seen this year, and he also initiates on Thai Beverage, explaining why he is...

In this week's episode of ASEAN Speaks, our chief Economist, Hak Bin Chua talks about Trump tariffs, and what our region has in store in terms of economics for the second half of the year. Hussaini Saifee, our TMT analyst comes in to talk about recent developments regarding the recent restriction of AI chips exports and what it would mean for data centres in Malaysia and Thailand. Our analyst...

In this week's episode of ASEAN Speaks, our host Thilan paints the best-case scenario for ASEAN amidst all of Trump's uncertainties. Jarick our SMIDs analyst goes through his Opportunity+ Stock, ISOTeam and why he believes there is a lot of upside potential. Anand our regional head of research dials in, giving his input on how the six ASEAN markets will develop and what stocks investors sh...