Let's Talk, Singapore

Unveiled during Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's Budget 2024 speech, the enhanced Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) scheme marks a significant milestone in Singapore's commitment to empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the global stage.  Since its inception in 2010, PACT has catalysed co-innovation and internationalisation projects, fostering collaborations betwee...

Did you know that March doesn’t just mark International Women’s Month? Well, it’s also Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month! To commemorate this very special time, and to learn how you can be more inclusive - on this episode of Morning Shot, hear from Sara Minkara, US Special Advisor on International Disability Rights - a senior diplomat who lost her sight at seven years old. She’s been hard...

Plastic consumption has increased exponentially in recent years. When plastics enter the ocean, microorganisms attach to and colonise them, forming an ecological community known as the ‘Plastisphere’. But we don’t really know much about these colonies. What we know, is that plastics can be silent killers of marine life. Plastics also carry other chemical compounds called additives in addition to t...

Asian markets exploded to the upside for most of this week after the Federal Reserve maintained its forecast for three rate cuts this year, while holding rates at 5.25%-5.5% in its latest meeting. How much of this momentum is the afterglow from that FOMC meeting? Sean Cheong discussed this with Christopher Wong, Client Portfolio Strategist, South East Asia, Fidelity International .   Presented by...

In this episode of intergenerational series on Mind Your Business, we look at Singapore’s tea culture, where tradition meets innovation, where every cup tells a story of heritage and flavour.   From the bustling streets of Hokkien Street in 1918 to the global stage of modern-day tea aficionados, this is a story that spans four generations now.   Our guests , a pair of brothers, are carrying forwar...

Jay Woods, CMT, Chief Global Strategist, Freedom Capital Markets shares his insights on why Treasury yields are following the Trump polls more closely than Biden's, whether a rate cut could widen the underpriced fiscal deficit, cannot be necessarily compensated by the Fed cutting rates when the economy is growing above trend, and how his IPO playbook looks.  Presented by: Sean Cheong Producer: Yeo...

2.2 billion people around the world worry about not having drinking water. Can you imagine? World Water Day is a day that the UN uses to raise awareness of people without access to safe water; which most of us probably don’t think about here in Singapore - because we are fortunate enough to have easy accessibility to clean, relatively cheap water. Audrey and Emaad talk about how much water we use,...

Earth Hour returns for its 18th edition this Saturday, 23rd March 2024 at 8.30pm.  That’s when millions of individuals and businesses around the world will come together to switch off their lights for an hour - as a show of symbolic support for the planet and to raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it. On this episode of Morning Shot, Vivek Kumar, CEO of WWF-Singapore shares his i...

Ben Emons, Senior Portfolio Manager, NewEdge Wealth shares his insights on whether the market will be able to keep its bullishness till the next Fed meeting, and investors' risk appetite in a market powered by megacap technology stocks. He also weighs in on what the Fed is looking out for coming on the back of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments that strong hiring in and of itself would not be a re...

In this edition of the Bigger Picture, Sean Cheong breaks down with Goh Rong Ren, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Eastspring Investments, the details from the latest FOMC meeting, what it means for markets, fixed income instruments, and most importantly, what it means for your money. Edited and presented by Sean Cheong See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World Poetry Day is upon us! And did you know that this art form actually predates the written language as we know it? Tune in to hear about some of the more popular forms of poetry, including limericks, haikus and acrostic, with examples! Emaad and Audrey will also share their own masterpieces - you wouldn't want to miss it!   Presented by Emaad Akhtar & Audrey Siek Produced and edited by Ema...

In today’s Mind Your Business, we take a look at the booming specialised accommodations industry - ie. student and work accommodations - and why Centurion Corporation is leading the pack. Despite rising costs and inflationary pressures, the SGX-listed operator has enjoyed robust growth in 2023 and we also delve deeper into the Dormitory Transition Scheme announced by the Ministry of Manpower, thei...

Andy Baehr , Head of Product at CoinDesk Indices shares weighs in on whether bitcoin is set to see a further price-drop coming on the back of the latest flash-crash, driving forces behind the climb in crypto shares in recent days, and what his playbook is looking like in the ethereum space. Presented by: Sean Cheong Producer: Yeo Kai Ting ( ykaiting@sph.com.sg )  Graphics credits: pixabay & it...

Were you one of the Swifties who attended Taylor Swift’s concerts as “Taylormania” swept through Singapore when the American pop star performed six sold-out shows in early March? Or perhaps, you might have travelled to one of her concerts on another continent! But have you thought about the carbon footprints such concerts chalk up? And beyond the music industry, how can we play our part to just be...

Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party chief, Pritam Singh has been charged with two counts of lying before a parliamentary committee convened to look into the conduct of his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan, who lied in parliament about a sexual assault case that she claimed was mishandled by police. How will this impact the future of the Workers' Party at Singapore’s next General Election, wh...

The Bank of Japan hiked rates for the first time since 2007 and scrapped yield curve control. What do we really need to know about this historical move? Is this like a canary in the coal mine? Sean Cheong discusses this with Vasu Menon, Managing Director, Investment Strategy, OCBC Bank , who also weights in on why he is bullish for the quarter ahead.   Presented and edited by Sean Cheong See omnys...

The question "what is your love language?" has become a universally understood one, as people around the world use it to describe how they like to receive and express love. There are 5 of them: Quality time, acts of service, touch, words of affirmation and gifts. While we may all have our own favourite ways to show our love for our friends and loved ones, experts say knowing someone else's "langua...

Established in 1933, Danfoss has been a renowned leader in engineering sustainable solutions. It recently unveiled Asia Pacific’s first Sustainability Technology Center in Singapore to accelerate decarbonization efforts regionally. What kind of technologies are housed in the Center and how can it help businesses charge towards a greener and more sustainable future? Manuel Ong, General Manager of D...

Joseph Sroka, Chief Investment Officer & Co-Founder, NovaPoint Capital shares his insights on the latest rotation into tech, sentiments surrounding the US dollar turning red now that the dust has fully settled over the CPI data that had earlier come in slightly hotter than expected, whether speed of gains in the stock market will see a potential shift in narrative, and whether investors are re...

Overthinking. Whether with respect to our personal relationships, careers, fears or anxieties, we've all experienced the perils of recurring thought patterns that have seemingly no end in sight.  The good news is, with a bit of effort and practice, overthinking can be overcome, or its effect at least mitigated.  Emaad and Audrey reveal some of the tools we can deploy in everyday life.    Presented...

Singapore and Australia are set to enter new chapter of cooperation in 2025. This comes on the back of PM Lee’s meeting with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at the 9th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting and the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.  Both leaders agreed on the importance of an open and inclusive rules-based multilateral order that supports ASEAN Centrality. But why i...

With speculation mounting on whether the Bank Of Japan will raise its key interest rate, Sean Cheong spoke to Ben Powell, Chief APAC Investment Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute to discuss the Japanese markets and its outlook. He also touches on the transition to low carbon emissions, and how global elections may impact investors. Presented by Sean Cheong Edited by Audrey Siek See omnystu...

In this episode of Mind Your Business, we look at a journey of creativity and resilience with a single mom and her teenage daughter as they transform their love for rabbits into a thriving home-based business. Amidst the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic, their entrepreneurial spirit shines through, driven by a shared passion and a mission to fill a void in the market. Joanna Leng, Founder, The Onis...

Yeap Junrong, Market Strategist, IG, discusses de-risking trends among investors in the tech sector; FOMC meeting expectations; the possibility of BOJ ending its negative interest rate policy this week; outlook for the yen and USD in the coming days/weeks;     Presented by Ryan Huang Podcast edited by Emaad Akhtar ( eakhtar@sph.com.sg ) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've been to a wedding, you know there's a custom to gift the bride and groom an ang bao. How do you know how much to give? Nowadays, with websites clearly detailing how much the cost of a seat is at restaurants and hotels, there's that expectation for guests to cover their share of the happy couple's wedding dinner. What if you're not able to pay for that $600-per-pax market rate at Barracks...