Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

Climate change continues to be a growing phenomenon in Asia. One of the key challenges for cities to meet their climate goals is the availability of finance and technical expertise, especially in developing economies.  Now, private companies can work with the Asian Development Bank to fund projects that can help address this. Prime Time's Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak speak with Cleo Kawawaki, Head...

It is never easy to change one’s career, especially after investing thousands of dollars in university fees to acquire the relevant degree. But that was what Foong Leung, Head of Operations at Rocket Academy, did.  What was the trigger for the switch?  In the Spotlight, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with him on his story of quitting hospitality and chasing a coding position.  See omnystudio...

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan sent global markets down earlier this week on fears of further geopolitical tensions between the US and China. But while there had been some moderation in recent days, investors are concerned about the longer-term economic consequences of escalating tensions between the world’s two largest superpowers. So what are these longer-term consequences and h...

Vaccinated persons in Singapore who had Covid-19 during this recent Omicron wave or the one earlier in the year are much less likely to develop long Covid symptoms. That’s according to Dr Barnaby Young, head of the Singapore Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Cheow Sue-ann speaks wi...

The proportion of nurses in public hospitals who resigned reached a five-year high last year, with 7.4 per cent of local nurses leaving their jobs. The increase was greater for foreign nurses in the public sector, 14.8 per cent of whom left their jobs last year. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam disclosed these figures in Parliament in response to questions from Mr Louis Ng (...

Since the start of Covid-19 pandemic, smart device usage has been on an increase. In fact, they are believed to be indispensable tools for making daily life more efficient. However, not everyone is adopting such a technological-driven lifestyle due to the high cost of those items. Habitap One is redefining smart living and encouraging more Singaporeans to adopt smart living solutions by making it...

Singapore's core inflation hit its highest level in June, after the rate breached its 4 percent handle since 2008. With uncertain growth of income and increasing living expenses, some segments of society may face greater stress. How are consumers reacting to investing during these tumultuous times and what concerns do they have? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Samuel Rhee, C...

Emerging market bonds have been hit by their worst losses of the past decade amid looming rate hikes and the threat of a global recession. Just look at the numbers - the rolling 12-month return of the JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified was at -21.2% at the end of June. But despite this, some analysts believe that the asset class’ fundamentals remain strong, and that this is the time to buy into eme...

The fallout continues from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's short but controversial trip to Taiwan. Earlier today (Aug 4) China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called her visit a 'manic, irresponsible and highly irrational' act by the US.  Beijing has said that "measures taken by China at present and in the future are necessary and timely defensive countermeasures". In The Straits Times’ The Big Story,...

In 2021, Singapore unveiled its Green Plan 2030, which the government described as a "whole-of-nation movement to advance Singapore's national agenda on sustainable development." Now, innovation in renewables plays a key role in Singapore’s journey to a greener goal. What are the key technologies that we can tap on to promote Singapore’s green ambitions?  Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdis...

The private equity scene in Southeast Asia has rebounded from the lows of 2020 to post record growth in deal count last year. The area led growth in the APAC sector with an 81 per cent year-on-year improvement. Market watchers say the PE scene is getting even better with supportive government grants and a healthy inflow of global capital. But where are venture capitalists putting their money into...

A survey has found that the Gen Z workforce is pretty open about sharing their salaries with their peers. Some big companies overseas have also embraced salary transparency, while some remain skeptical. To weigh the pros and cons, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Alena Salakhova, Regional Director of STEM-specialist recruiters, SThree to get more insights. Highlights of the c...

After much speculation, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday night, defying Beijing’s threats of retaliation over the visit and raising fears of a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Prime Time’s Timothy Go speaks with Dr Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore for an analysis of the fallout from Mrs Pelosi’s visit to Ta...

As cyber-criminals are getting more sophisticated, companies are putting effort to guard themselves against such threats. However, shortage of manpower in the cybersecurity industry is posing a great challenge on protecting data from cyber crimes. What more can we do to alleviate the cybersecurity manpower crunch? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with David Ng, Country Manager for...

Finally, after many months of waiting, the Ethereum Merge, the highly anticipated event in the cryptocurrency space this year, is slated to take place mid September. What does this mean? How will it impact investors and will it overtake Bitcoin eventually? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Daniel Dizon, CEO of Swell Network to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Investors are digesting a number of key macroeconomic developments in Asia. For one thing, China's factory activity expanded at a slower pace in June, with the Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) standing at 50.4, down from 51.7 points one month ago. But how should we read into these numbers and what are the implications of these developments? On Market View today,...

Workplace fatalities have been on the rise with 31 so far this year, the most over the same period since 2016. Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad speaks to The Big Story on workplace fatalities and injuries, and measures that will be put in place to improve the safety of workers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is estimated that the carbon emitted from remote working in the first year of Covid-19 pandemic equals 3 trillion plastic straws. This figure only represents half of the conglomerates taking the survey. However, working from home also helped reduce the emissions due to reduced commuting and office use. Yet, hybrid work is on the rise means an increase in emission is expected. Some offices are n...

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicks off her tour of Asia this week, with a controversial stop in Taiwan. How will China react? What are the implications? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Rich Preston, Senior World News Reporter / Presenter, at the BBC to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, we saw Singapore’s core inflation hitting 4.4 per cent in June - the highest level since the global financial crisis. But have wages caught up with price increases? Which are the groups that are most vulnerable to high inflation, and how should the man in the street manage their money in the meantime? Well, DBS released a report that addresses just that. On Market View today, Financial...

Synopsis: 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 Timothy Goh and Bharati Jagdish. The current Covid-19 infection wave, which has been driven by the Omicron variant BA.5, is likely to subside further this week, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung o...

Ransom attacks have been rising in Singapore for the past few years. There is a 133% increase in Singapore-based companies being mentioned on leak sites with the financial sector under the greatest risk. Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Teo Xiang Zheng, Head of Advisory at Ensign InfoSecurity to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new home-based coffee place, serving customers through a little window of a flat, is barely one month old but has gone viral. What is the motivation behind this business venture? Prime Time’s Timothy Go speaks with the owner of Ground Floor Coffee, Muhammad Adhwa Hasif to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an exclusive interview with The Big Story’s Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said higher wages are inevitable amid surging inflation, and companies here need to find ways of competing other than on low labour costs. Meanwhile, Singapore’s job market continued its recovery in the second quarter of this year but global headwinds, such as rising inflation, the...

Clarke Quay is expected to recover S$62 million lost in the later of this year with the current vibrant nightlife, and even daytime life. At the same time, Jurong East mall JCube is going to be transformed into a mixed-use residential development. On SGExtra, Prime Time’s Timothy Go speaks with Ng Keng Gene, Journalist, The Straits Times to find out more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...