Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

On What’s Trending, Hong Kong makes a rare discovery - dinosaur fossils. Also trending, a Colorado court may decide whether elephants should have the same rights as people.

It's another day about startups and venture capital as The Evening Runway’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian reports from the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2024 in Hong Kong. Day 2’s programme is structured around several workshops for startups, including one which aims to provide a practical playbook for founders raising capital and scaling in turbulent times.   Tian Tian spoke with Pocket Sun, Managing Partner of SoGal Ventures, the speaker of one of the workshops, on the actionable strategies for startups to expand right now.  She also talked to Steffanie Yuen, Managing Director and Head of Hong Kong, Endowus, and Anthony Ng, Co-founder & CEO, Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange on the opportunities and challenges in expanding their businesses and how they have benefitted from this year’s forum.

South Korean novelist Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature this year. However, one of her books, “The Vegetarian” has stirred debate for being "deemed harmful to youths." Why? And should this book be banned from all school grounds? Hongbin Jeong spills the tea.

Rong Rong is an entrepreneur and podcast host committed to empowering women and addressing key issues that shape their lives. As the founder of an influencer agency, she works to connect brands with influential women who drive positive change in their industries. Through her podcast, The Real Sass Ladies Podcast, she offers a platform for women to share their inspiring stories and engage in meaningful conversations on topics ranging from mental health to teenage pregnancy. On R.I.C.H., Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rong Rong, Founder, The WAP Agency Singapore, to share her journey and the impact of her work on empowering women. Presented by: Hongbin Jeong Produced and Edited by: Alexandra Parada (alexparada@sph.com.sg) Want to get featured on our show? Drop me an email today!

Sacha Botanicals was founded in 2021 as a celebration of nature and Latin culture. Each shampoo and soap is thoughtfully crafted to capture the power of plants, offering a nurturing experience for hair and skin with ingredients that are both sustainable and kind to the planet. Sacha Botanicals believes that hair and body care should be a fun, nourishing experience, full of the vitality that plants provide. On Culture Club, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Susan Calderon, Founder, Sacha Botanicals, to share more about her products. Presented by: Hongbin Jeong Produced and Edited by: Alexandra Parada (alexparada@sph.com.sg) Want to get featured on our show? Drop me an email today!

It’s back to the offshore and marine industry today as we speak to a Thailand-based international subsea and offshore services company that services some of the oil and gas majors and their contractors.  Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2007, Mermaid Maritime provides full turnkey services through its diversified portfolio of subsea vessels, specialised diving equipment and remotely operated vehicles.  These services include subsea inspection, repair and maintenance, cable laying and engineering, transportation and installation as well as decommissioning.  The firm’s operations span across five geographical regions, namely the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia as well as the UK, and has a team of over 500 professional divers, technicians, surveyors, management and support staff.  Mermaid Maritime is an interesting company to watch given how SGX-listed offshore and marine are enjoying positive earnings results for the April toJune quarter and the first half of 2024. That’s as players hold a strong pipeline of work and recover from an earlier slump seen during the pandemic. At Mermaid Maritime, the Group had in Q1 turned around year ago losses. In Q2 2024, it reported a net profit of US$2.9 million, an increase from the last quarter, but a drop on a yearly basis due to higher in-planned financial cost.  Its total order book peaked at US$976 million at the end of June 2024 with multiple project awards in South East Asia, the Middle East, North Sea and Western Sub Saharan region for both short-term and long term throughout FY2026.  But how does the firm assess its outlook ahead?  Meanwhile, with tensions in the Middle East weighing on oil prices, what would that mean for firms serving the oil and gas industry, such as Mermaid Maritime?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Paul Whiley, COO, Mermaid Maritime.

Singapore shares began this morning trading in positive territory as overseas markets saw losses overnight. The STI continued the rally to end the day up 0.1%. Meanwhile, in corporate news, Keppel reports lower net profit in 3QFY2024; South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc.’s shares gained after the firm posted record quarterly profit and revenue; and Tesla’s stock shot up nearly 12% in pre-market trade, a day after its forecast-surging car sales growth. On Market View, Hongbin Jeong speaks to David Chow, Director of Azure Capital to find out more on the latest market movements. 

On What’s Trending, becoming an influencer is an ever more popular career path, especially amongst the Gen-Z youth. And now, one Irish university has launched a Bachelor Degree for wannabe influencers. Also trending, Paddington Bear has been given a real British passport.

It’s all about Venture Capital and startups for What’s Trending in Finance today, and The Evening Runway’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian travelled to Hong Kong for the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF) 2024.  Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital technology flagship and incubator for entrepreneurship featuring over 2,100 members including startups and tech companies. The theme for this year’s edition of the CVCF is “Innovation Challenger: Building New Venture Visions”.  The event sees more than 90 speakers including venture experts, entrepreneurial visionaries and innovation thinkers come together to explore the future of innovation and entrepreneurship.  The focus on artificial intelligence and Web 3.0 is apparent this time around with 16 Web 3.0 use cases keynotes taking place over the course of the forum.  The conversation is on how Web3.0 and artificial intelligence can help companies and investors breakthrough in the ever changing VC landscape to create new possibilities.  Tian Tian spoke with Simon Chan, Chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport, as well as Flora Chan, Head of Marketing, Ecosystem and Partnership at Beyond Ventures on the opportunities brought about by these macro trends, support for Hong Kong startups and how Hong Kong startups can better collaborate with ecosystem players in Singapore.

Is it the City of Love or is it the Eternal City? If you watched the latest season of Emily in Paris, it was insinuated that Emily may be moving to Rome in the upcoming fifth season, which surprised many fans. Now when French President Emmanual Macron heard the news, he wasn’t thrilled. He says it doesn’t make sense. Meanwhile, Rome’s Mayor claps back at Macron. Hongbin Jeong spills the tea.