Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

There was a robust debate in Parliament (Monday) over the new scheme to woo top foreign talent. Sixteen MPs had filed questions on the new ONE Pass, asking specifically about plans to prevent abuse or fraudulent applications. Manpower Minister Dr Tan See Leng said safeguards are in place and provided more details on the new pass. Here’s more from Multimedia Journalist Cheow Sue-Ann on the Straits...

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin left Balmoral yesterday heading to capital Edinburgh, Scotland before her state funeral on Monday 19 September. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Pete Ross, Producer/Presenter, BBC for more on the Queen’s last journey, King Charles III’s plans amid the economic uncertainty in the country as well as calls among some countries to be removed from the...

Synopsis: Every Tuesday, The Straits Times analyses Singapore's latest news and announcements in this weekly podcast.  The Straits Times' Zakir Hussain, Singapore editor at The Straits Times, speaks with Money FM 89.3's Bharati Jagdish. The Ministry of Manpower will carefully vet through applications of the Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass, to prevent abuse and fraudulent applications. M...

The Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass has had Singapore talking ever since it was announced by Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng on Aug 29. In Parliament today, Dr Tan said the ministry will carefully vet applicants for new One Pass, with safeguards against abuse put in place.  On SG Extra today, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Zakir Hussain, Singapore Editor at The Straits Times to talk abo...

We ended the previous week on a rather sad note, with the UK mourning the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch of seven decades. But there has been some glimmer of hope as well, as UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a broad stimulus package to help its people cope with rising energy bills. Elsewhere in Europe, the European Commission is mulling drastic moves to control energy prices as w...

Private property cooled in the first half of 2022 after the property curbs and higher mortgage rates started from Dec 16 last year. HDB upgraders are also ditching private homes, while younger Singaporeans are renting homes instead. What is the property outlook like in Singapore? Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with  Nicholas Mak, Head of Research & Consultancy, ERA Real Estate to find out...

The goal of tokenomic analysis is to understand the potential value of a DeFi or Decentralised Finance project. With authorities contemplating imposing stricter rules on retail crypto investors, Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Danny Chong, co-founder of Tranchess t o find out how this will impact investors, especially retail investors and if you were to invest, how you can do your own tok...

Stock markets in the US, Europe and Singapore are at the heart of the discussion today.  In the US, the Beige Book showed the US economy grew slightly through the end of August, while outlook remained weak over the next year. But what does this mean for markets?  Elsewhere, the European Central Bank has hiked interest rates by yet another 75 basis points to tackle rising inflation, but how are mar...

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II shocked Asia earlier this morning. Her Majesty left peacefully in Scotland aged 96. Tributes have poured in from global leaders including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. But what's next for the new monarch, King Charles III? Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speak with Pete Ross, Producer/Presenter, BBC to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

The guidelines to enhance flexible work are expected to be introduced by the Government in 2024 following a growing trend in Singapore. One of the top concerns is whether workers are allowed to do their jobs wherever convenient. Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ASEAN, Salesforce to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Singapore dropped to second place in the Digital Agility Index 2022, overtaken by Australia which showed the greatest progress in digital transformation efforts. Across all nine APAC markets surveyed, progress in digital agility is uneven. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Damian Leach, Chief Technology Officer, APJ, Workday to find out why. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

The world’s economy is still facing many headwinds and none of them are out of the way yet. While countries have been firing up coal plants and importing high levels of LNG gas - questions remain as to whether governments can get through winter without severe rationing. This of course raises even more questions around the European Central Bank’s monetary tightening path for the rest of this year....

HDB resale prices rose for the 26th straight month in August, with 33 million-dollar flats sold. Is the million-dollar resale flat a continuing trend and will we see another wave of cooling measures? Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Dr Tan Tee Khoon, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Singapore for more insights. Highlights: 01:53: Is price resistance setting in? 02:47: What is the reason of...

We basically want to insure things that we value as precious to us. So, will we go to the extent of insuring our smartphones or tech gadgets? In the Spotlight, Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with John Trotter, Asia Head for Digital Partnership Distribution for QBE Asia to find out more.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motorists driving to Malaysia are having to jump through hoops to get a refund for unused balance in their Touch 'n Go highway toll cards, which are deactivated after 12 months of disuse. On the Straits Times the Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent, Hairianto Diman, spoke with Christopher Tan, Senior Transport Correspondent at the Straits Times about some of the motorists' experience in trying to...

Bursa Malaysia’s leadership team is in town this week and we posed some of our burning questions to their leadership team.  On our list of questions - Bursa Malaysia’s push towards Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG goals, how the bourse is drafting up new rules for ESG disclosures, Bursa's IPO pipeline for the year and whether the stock exchange is exploring a trading link between Singa...

A 2022 NTUC survey has revealed that approximately 66 percent of employees are keen on upskilling to have better job progression. Meanwhile, a survey by Rackspace Technology shows that companies are becoming more comfortable with “Cloud 2.0” technologies, regardless of the challenges in recruiting and retaining IT talents. But it is still a race against time to close the tech talent gap. Prime Tim...

The use of mobile payments has significantly spiked due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also led to the popular buy-now-pay-later scheme. But sceptics are saying it entices consumers to run into the danger of overspending and overleveraging. In the Spotlight, Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Bryan Quek, General Manager, Atome Singapore to find out more.    See omnystudio.com/listener for...

All eyes are on European markets this week as investors continue to mull economic risks in the region. The indefinite closure of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, for one, has ignited fears of an energy crunch ahead of the winter season. The Euro fell to test a two decade low earlier in the week, while the Sterling hit a 2.5 year low, reflecting investors’ sentiments. But what would this mean...

The unexpected disruptions in the past two years have urged governments to change their ruling approach. Digital solutions were increasingly being adopted to tackle difficulties evolving from the pandemic, including tracing infected cases and maintaining safety for citizens. Such a lesson now turns into a foundation of digitization priority. Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Max Peterson, V...

The UK's incoming prime minister will be shortly announced later today. The new successor will have to handle the current economic crisis and the pressure coming from the hike in energy costs.   In the Spotlight, Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Rich Preston, Senior World News Reporter / Presenter, at the BBC to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US non-farm payrolls rose 315,000 in August, a little lower than the 318,000 expected by Dow Jones economists, but will the data is enough for the Fed to change their minds on a jumbo rate hike come September?  At the same time, Russia’s Gazprom has announced an indefinite shutdown of its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany after G7 countries agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil. Have thi...

Retailers are coming back with in full force for the upcoming The Great Singapore Sale, timed to coincide with the return of the Formula One Grand Prix, which is expected to bring in an increasing number of visitors to the country. Shopping is expected to stay hybrid with two modes, online and offline, hoping to help sellers attract more buyers and compensate for the loss of the past two years. Pr...

Most local businesses have pledged to comply with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, showing the determination to deal with climate change. But according to the Schneider Electric’s “Singapore Green Pulse Survey”, Singaporeans are still uncertain that the country can accomplish its climate goals n the coming years. Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Yoon Young Kim, Cluster President, Singapore,...

12 percent of Singapore's national waste comes from food. As such, reducing food waste, redistributing unsold or excess food and recycling food waste are among the goals of the national waste management approaches towards a Zero Waste Nation. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with two young entrepreneurs, Tan Shi En, Founder & CEO of EzCompostr, and Gabriel Yang, Co-Founde...