Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

Singaporeans have been waiting eagerly to see what goodies Finance Minister Lawrence Wong is putting forth in the Singapore Budget this year, which also coincides with Valentine's Day.  With headwinds expected on the global macroeconomic front, Alvin Liew, Senior Economist, UOB shares his take on the likelihood of a delay in 2024’s GST hike to 9%. 

Forward Singapore is at its midway point, and feedback collected through the the initiative's dialogues will be taken into account as the government updates its policies. Some of those plans are set to be shared at the upcoming Singapore Budget.  Dr Mathew Mathews, Head, IPS Social Lab shares his take on why a strong social compact is crucial to Singapore and gaps that need to be addressed.

Project Refresh aims to improve the living environment of seniors and low-income families within the North East District through a series of refurbishment works, including painting, cleaning and decluttering. Organised by the North East Community Development Council (NECDC), the 19th edition of Project Refresh goes beyond a commercialised holiday to redefine love and uplift the community. Mr. Desmond Choo, Mayor of North East District and Advisor to Tampines Grassroots Organisations & Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC tells us more about spreading love in a different way.

Thilan Wickramasinghe, Head of Research at Maybank Investment Banking Group,Singapore previews how much upside has been priced into Singapore bank earnings in the fourth quarter, and what to expect from net interest margins amid expectations of a slower pace of rate hikes by the Fed. 

A.I. is eating the world. From the way it is transforming existing industries to the way it is creating entirely new ones. And the buzzword this whole week : ChatGPT, the latest A.I. bot in town that has prompted rival companies Google and China's Baidu to announce their own versions. Even if you aren't into artificial intelligence, you'd have to listen to this interview that compared questions generated by the bot and a human being. Join Rachel Kelly and Lyn-Lee Foo on Mind Your Business as they speak with Daniel Posavac, CEO of Bonsey Jaden & Managing Director of CUE Group Southeast Asia to explore the impact of AI on society, business and industry. This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg) Highlights of the conversation: 1.39 : Could you tell which question is by ChatGPT and a human being? 3.56 : How will the A.I. rivalries pan out? 4.40 : Is A.I. a threat to jobs, such as tech professionals and art designers? 8.09 : What are the skills students should pick up in the A.I. world? 10.18 : What other A.I. tools or companies are under your radar? 

A strong showing on the economic front, with Singapore attracting a record $22.5 billion in fixed asset investments last year despite global headwinds. But with a slew of macroeconomic uncertainties and competition on the rise, will the year ahead be just as rosy? Jillian Lim, Executive Vice President, Economic Development Board with a closer look. Produced and edited by Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Singapore will lift its remaining Covid-19 restrictions like requiring masks on public transport from 13th February. This coincides with the adjustment in  disease outbreak response from Dorscon yellow to green. The Ministry of Health says that this comes as the global and local pandemic situation is stable and the disease is mild, especially among vaccinated individuals. Could the easing of measures result in a wave of Covid-19 here? And should you still continue to wear a mask? Rachel Kelly speaks to Dr Alex Cook is an Associate Professor at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health to find out. 

SGX reported a 30.1 per cent increase in net profit to S$284.6 million for the first half of FY2023. Breakfast Anchor, Rachel Kelly, sits down with Ng Yao Loong, Chief Financial Officer, Singapore Exchange to discuss the bourses latest results, IPO pipeline, SPACs, strategy, and the evolving investment market. 

Why the Taiwan issue today is different from the Vietnam War's political dynamics. Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, join The Straits Times' associate editor Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent. In this episode of 2023, he chats with Nayan Chanda, the celebrated editor, journalist and Indo-China specialist on his eyewitness account of the end of the Vietnam War, the new Cold War in Asia, the Sino-Russian concord, and chances of an open conflict in the region. This podcast was conducted against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreement that led to the end of the conflict in Vietnam.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:35 Fall of Saigon ends Vietnam War 6:00 Why he stayed, when other fled 10:45 Vietnam 1975, Afghanistan 2021 15:50 The new Cold War in Asia? 21:00 Sino-Russian ‘shotgun wedding’ 25:20 Possibility of war in our current times  Produced by: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Follow Speaking Of Asia Podcast every second Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Ravi Velloor's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP Ravi Velloor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsider

Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy, AMP Capital discusses why Disney is cutting jobs despite bright spots in its latest quarterly earnings, as well as his view on US President Joe Biden's push to tax the wealthy including non-realised capital gains and quadrupling the levy on share buybacks.