Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

COE prices ended mostly lower in the latest bidding exercise (May 4), due to a higher quota for May to July 2023. But they are still on the high side - over $100k for Cat A, Cat B and Open category - still a challenge for the average Singaporean to own a car.  Question now is, should something similar to the cooling measures being introduced to control the skyrocketing prices of homes here, be also introduced to the COE system? Measures such as the recently raised Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD), have been put in place to prevent property prices from rising too quickly, and to ensure that housing remains affordable for the average Singaporean. However, as home prices are being kept in check, there are growing concerns about the cost of owning a car in Singapore, with soaring Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums making it difficult for many to afford a vehicle. Is it time to reevaluate the COE system?  Listen to this mini panel as Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang host Associate Professor Walter Theseira, Transport Analyst, SUSS and Julian Kho, Editor & General Manager, Media, sgCarMart. (00:00) - Introduction (01:43) - Should there be a separate COE system for Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners, just like our HDB policies? (04.51) - Will an ABSD-like tax be effective in deterring car buyers from getting a second or third car, and in turn curb soaring COE premiums? (06:17) - What is the impact of the rise in taxes on costlier cars since it was announced at Budget 2023?  (08:03) - How might a more equitable COE system help to address social mobility and inequality in Singapore, such as families with elderly and young children? (12:13) - What policy changes can be implemented to address the role of private-hire vehicle operators in driving up COE prices, and potentially treat them like taxis to alleviate the issue? (14:17) - Should there be a different COE system for EVs, to encourage mass adoption? (15:51) - In conclusion, is it time to re-evaluate the 33-year-old COE system? This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Stocks closed lower for a fourth day running, coming on the back of renewed bank worries, The Dow too, turns negative for the year, pulling back 0.06% year to date, with declines in Boeing, Disney, Goldman Sachs and American Express shares dragging on the Dow. Yussef Gheriani, Director of Investments and Operations at IHT Wealth Management gives a deep dive on ripples shaking the banking sector, how things are shaping up for AI and big tech, as well as spaces to watch out for.  Presenter: Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Louis Teo, Senior Market Strategist, Fullerton Markets discusses why the US dollar will still see some strength as other factors come into play including geopolitical tensions, even despite the FOMC hinting that it has reached the end of its hiking cycle.

Disposable chopsticks are undoubtedly convenient, but they come with a heavy environmental cost. The production of these utensils contributes to deforestation, while their disposal leads to landfill pollution. With that in mind, a power couple became the first circular economy franchise in Singapore - to upcycle single-use chopsticks into style Scandinavian eco-friendly furniture. They count Shaw family scion, Howard Shaw, as one of their early investors and have recently raised USD$7.7 million dollars in growth funding to scale its circular global microfactory network. On Mind Your Business, Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang speak with the husband and wife combo - Evelyn Hew, Founder and Managing Director, ChopValue Singapore and Justin Lee, General Manager, ChopValue Singapore on how they stumble upon this business, where do they obtain their chopsticks, their rapid growth since its inception in 2016, creating over 150 jobs across 6 countries through 63 in-development franchises. This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Westminster Abbey will be taken over by splendour and formality featuring customs dating back more than 1,000 years, as King Charles III gets crowned. Ahead of the official coronation, Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore shares her perspective on its significance and relevance to Asia, as well as personal encounters with the royal family.  This podcast is produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Stocks fell after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected. Rates were raised by another quarter-point to a target range of 5% to 5.25%, the highest level since 2007. Kelvin Wong, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA shares his take on the notable movers overnight, the risk of a recession and whether he thinks the banking sector is healthy at this point.

Singapore’s labour movement has embarked on a new move to court youths and help ease their transition into the workforce.  But just turning back the clock, have you wondered how much impact higher education has on the possibility of your desired career? Razali Norazmi, Office Manager for Australia and New Zealand at IDP Singapore explains the correlation between higher education and jobs.  This podcast is produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

The Green Mortician - Singapore's first pet cremation service using water instead of fire - is now open for business. The process is called aquamation and it's been touted to have a smaller carbon footprint compared to traditional cremation options. Yang Loo, Co-founder of The Green Mortician shares why the process is more sustainable and how the business gets around the high cost involved in the technicalities. This podcast is produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Deborah Cunningham, CIO, Global Liquidity Markets at Federated Hermes discusses what the Federal Reserve will prioritize amid stubbornly high inflation, jitters around the US financial system, pockets of strength in the labor market, and a slowing economy. 

DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta shares his optimism in achieving a milestone $10 billion profit this year, following another record Q1 lifted by higher margins and resilient business momentum. He discusses how much we should worry about the latest ABSD hikes, SME loan defaults amid a slowing economy, the disruption from AI on jobs, as well as reflects on some "lessons from his younger self".   (00:00) Introduction  (00:34) - Let's dive into the numbers. Congrats on another record quarter. So let's recap it - first quarter, DBS reported a stronger than expected 43% jump in net profit to a new high from a year earlier. How would you describe the quarter, especially coming off another record?   (02:02) - On the back of higher net interest margins, sustained business momentum, and resilient asset quality, so pretty much putting you comfortably on track to hitting that milestone $10 billion in net profit this year, Piyush?   (02:40) - Alright, so lots of moving parts and I think one of them is, of course, the net interest margins. And looking at it, you've got it at 2.12% in the first quarter, and that's up 66 basis points, so it is a pretty good jump. And if you look at the guidance, you're looking at 2.05, 2.1% this year, worth noting your earlier guidance was for the peak to be at around 2.2%, so it's a bit of a cut back in expectations and you've signaled that the peak has been reached in Q1. So what's changed in past three months? (04:17) - And also what's playing out in the wider economy, you've got a bit of a slowdown, some signs of that happening with the Q1 numbers for Singapore's GDP. I think over the weekend, we saw some headlines about more signs of retrenchment creeping up, more SMEs also going bust. How does that fit into your outlook when you're looking at dashboards - are you seeing that play out when it comes to some of your, for example, SME loan defaults? (06:50) - Alright, so some degree of resiliency in some of the sectors that you're looking at for SME front at least. The other part that is also going up is ABSD and of course last week, we saw the Singapore government rolling out yet another round of cooling measures for the property industry. So on that front, how much impact do you see the latest ABSD hikes having on DBS? (08:26) - Now looking at some of the catalysts that we might be expecting for DBS, some tailwinds perhaps, the China reopening story is also going to help with the travel side of things I imagine. So that's going to be a big part in generating fee income, especially for credit cards. How much more upside is there when it comes to China reopening? (09:31) - Okay, and talking about some of the exciting stuff we can look forward to, ChatGPT has been making the ripples across many sectors and we've heard about the potential of the metaverse. How do you see these technologies playing a role in banking going forward? (12:23) - That is a lot of watch out for, and another thing that investors are watching out for is the implications of what's playing out in the banking sector in the US, and this is of course, with the fallout from the collapse of SVB. And of course over the weekend, questions about First Republic; now to some extent, we've seen some concerns being answered with the acquisition by JP Morgan. You mentioned that DBS, back in your AGM in end March, benefited from inflows amounting to a few hundred millions in the aftermath of the SVB collapse, so how much is that translating to income and activity, or are we still seeing these monies stay on the sidelines? (14:34) - And finally Piyush, just to wrap things up on a personal note, there's this book that has been making the rounds, creating quite some buzz - it's called 'Lessons for my Younger Self', and it features a chapter on you, your own reflections. So looking back, you used to talk about how you're really into nature, especially bird-watching, and of course many other lessons as well - walk us through some of those reflections. Presenter: Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)