The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Hotels are increasingly being turned into co-living spaces in markets, where institutional investors are hunting for cheaper alternatives to residential conversions and high rental growth potential. But come February, those who are looking for alternative living options can look forward to a first boutique hotel with co-living and hospitality services for a truly flexible stay experience. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go speak with Giselle Makarachvili, Chief Executive Officer, Hmlet to find out more. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

We deep dived into the latest happenings in the US, South Korea, China and Singapore for today.  In the US, consumer prices fell month-on-month for the first time in over two years, but to what extent does this provide a case for the Federal Reserve to go for a 25 basis point rate increase at the end of the month? Also, what would the implications be on the King dollar? Over in Asia, we’ve South Korea’s central bank action dominating headlines, but again, how would another rate hike affect the won and imported inflation?  We’ll also take a quick look at several key data points out of China ahead of its Q4 GDP figures, as well as some of the key indicators due to be out of Singapore early next week.  On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the numbers with Jeff Ng, Senior Currency Analyst at MUFG.  

Biodiversity loss has been extensive over the last 50 years, and the impacts go far beyond the ecological concerns. Certain companies face real financial risks tied to the loss of biodiversity - meaning investors need to consider these risks when allocating funds to these companies and sectors. Prime Time’s Timothy Go speaks with Nadia Laine, Executive Director, Head of ESG Products at MSCI to find out how they’re helping investors assess biodiversity, deforestation risk in portfolios.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has defended his party’s strategy during the 15th General Election, urging members to stop finding faults and instead think of the way forward. In his policy speech at the UMNO General Assembly on Friday,  Ahmad Zahid also laid out why UMNO and the Barisan Nasional coalition it leads chose to form a unity government with Pakatan Harapan instead of Perikatan Nasional. In The Straits Times' The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Cheow Sue-Ann speaks with Malaysia Correspondent Ram Anand to find out more. 

Southeast Asia has seen a burgeoning retail media growth with giants such as Shopee and Tokopedia. But with the bumper shopping days quarter over, such as 10.10, 11.11, 12.12 sales, and a looming recession, what can marketplaces and retailers do to power the next stage of growth? The answer may just lie in retail media. But what exactly is retail media, what is the strategy that marketers should look at? In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Junho Lee, Head of Retail Media Platform (RMP) Business, SEA & ANZ, Moloco to find out more about retail media. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

 If you thought travel came back with a vengeance last year, you’re not wrong. Air traffic hit about 70% of pre-pandemic levels globally. While we’re thrilled to see normalcy returning and tourism rebounding, will travel in 2023 be as overwhelming? Prime Time's Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President of International Markets, Trip.com Group to find out what lies ahead for the travel industry in 2023.

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020. This comes ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year and two billion trips are expected to be made during the festive period, double the number that travelled last year. What does this mean for businesses in both Hong Kong and China? In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Ashley Dudarenok, China Digital & Marketing Expert, Founder of Alarice and ChoZan, for some insights. Highlights from the conversation: 01:37: How the situation in China is changing following its reopening plans 04:52: What opportunities do businesses see for growth or expansion as China’s borders reopen? 08:25: Threat perceptions of China  09:37: In the digital space, how advanced is China’s technology right now? Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Singapore’s labour market is expected to remain resilient in spite of economic headwinds for the first quarter of the year, while wage growth in 2023 is forecasted to stay robust. Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Ken Tan, Director - Specialised Contracting (Head of Division) & Professional Service / Head of Sales, PERSOLKELLY for a guide to Singapore's career and salary outlook for 2023. 

The mobility-retail landscape is at the heart of our discussion on the segment today.  The global retail industry as we know it, has been fundamentally disrupted by the rise in e-commerce over the last twenty years or so, changing the way businesses interact and build relations with their consumers.   But one segment of the industry that was relatively unaffected by this trend, according to McKinsey, was the fuel-retail industry, as it is just not feasible to sell gasoline over the internet.  Fast forward to twenty years later, even the fuel-retail industry is facing challenges of its own as the rapid adoption of electric vehicles is set to substantially decrease fuel sales.  Still, with drivers also spending more time to charge their vehicles, can petrol station operators and mobility retailers make up for the decrease in fuel sales by zesting up its retail offerings? And how would the positioning of mobility firms change as the world heads into a more sustainable energy future? On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Min Yih Tan, Senior Vice President of Shell’s Global Mobility Network. 

The past two years have been a uniquely challenging year. And as we start looking forward to 2023, when most have returned to the office, this could be a good time to re-evaluate our office spaces and business practices, and set a path to a more sustainable future. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish speak with Thushendran Amarakaran, Head of Sustainable Office Solutions, JEB Group, about how to encourage companies to start embedding sustainability into business as usual. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)