Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

The accounting and professional services industry is back in focus today. 

Founded in 1904, our guest is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or ACCA. This is a global body for professional accountants with over 200,000 fully qualified members and 500,000 students worldwide.  

While widely known as an association or educational body, ACCA essentially operates like a business with a turnover of over 200 million British pounds for the year ended March 2023.

It generates revenues through membership fees, courses and certification, but which is the most important revenue stream for the association?

Meanwhile, the number of accounting degree students at universities in Singapore has reportedly dropped over 10 percent over the past five years, despite rising demand for accounting professionals.  

So what does the talent shortage mean for ACCA in terms of potential future revenue? Also – how does the rising demand for accounting professionals provide ACCA an opportunity to get more people into the accounting profession and reverse the decline?

On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed the questions to Daniel Leung, Country Manager, ACCA Singapore.

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It is all about China's presence or lack of presence at the recently concluded G20 Summit. 

Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us an analysis on those headlines. 

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Singapore's Lion City Sailors begin their second foray into the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) later this month, placed in Group F (East Zone) along with two-time ACL champions and 2022 K League runners-up Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, 2022-23 Thai League 1 runners-up Bangkok United, and 2022-23 Hong Kong champions Kitchee SC. 

How will the Sailors fare on the continental stage? We check in with head coach Aleksandar Rankovic to find out!

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Singapore stocks rose at the open after global markets closed higher last week.

In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent to 3,212.45 points after 49.5 million securities changed hands in the broader market.

In terms of companies to watch for today, we have Seatrium. The company had said on Friday that it has a balance of S$300 million in net proceeds from its rights issue back in 2021. That’s after S$100 million was recently used to repay a loan facility.

Elsewhere from Tesla’s Dojo Supercomputer to what investors should note from the G20 Summit in India - more corporate and international headlines remain in focus. 

On Market View, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked these developments with David Kuo, Co-founder, The Smart Investor.

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US President Joe Biden is nearing the end of a trip to India and Vietnam for a series of high-profile meetings aimed at countering China’s influence in the developing world. What are the key takeaways from G20 Summit 2023 and what can make of Biden's messaging abroad?

For a better analysis, we're joined by Trisha Craig, Vice President (Engagement) and Senior Lecturer of Social Sciences (Sociology and Political Science), Yale-NUS College.

 

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Laptops, computers and phones – they are among the items that have shrunk in size over time as consumers demand items that are smaller, more portable and perhaps cheaper. 

But besides our daily consumer goods, did you know that even satellites are getting smaller too? 

Not only are satellites getting smaller, they also need to fly closer to the Earth to collect better quality data to power industries such as maritime, aviation and even banking. 

To do so, satellite companies now need smaller, low power and efficient, engines, and that’s exactly what our guest for today does.

Founded in 2018, Aliena is a spin-off from the Nanyang Technological University that creates propulsion engines to allow satellites to fly closer to the Earth. 

Question is – why do satellites need to fly closer to the Earth in the first place and to what extent has this got to do with the cost of satellite deployment?

Meanwhile, the firm’s propulsion engines hitched a ride on a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket last year. Its engines were deployed this year as well in a separate space mission. But what can we expect from the firm next?

On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed the questions to Dr Mark Lim, Co-founder and CEO, Aliena.

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Singapore stocks dipped today after global markets mostly finished lower overnight.

In early trade, Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent to 3,222.73 points after 54 million securities changed hands in the broader market. 

In terms of companies to watch today, we have Thailand-listed Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods), after UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) upgraded its call on CP Foods from “hold” to “buy” .

Elsewhere from the Fed’s latest beige book out last night to Apple grappling with a turmoil days before its iPhone 15 launch, more international headlines remain in focus.

On Market View, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Sunny Soh, Lead Technical Analyst (Capital Markets & Investor Education), SIAS.

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Can you imagine that the Moon may support a population of 1,000 with over 10,000 people visiting each year by 2040? 

How about having the moon support industries such as construction, energy, steel procurement, communications, transportation, and even tourism and medicine?

It may seem a little out of reach at this point in time, but that is the belief of our guest for today ispace. 

Founded in 2010, ispace is a global lunar resource development company that specialises in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. It was also the first space startup to go public via an IPO in Japan this year.

The firm aims to extend the sphere of human life into space by providing high-frequency, low-costs transportation services to the moon. 

In particular, ispace US was part of a team awarded a contract to land on the far side of the Moon by 2025.

Aside from transportation, ispace was also tasked by various space agencies to collect lunar regolith and extract water on the Moon. 

So far, the firm has more than 200 employees worldwide, with offices in Japan, Luxembourg and the US. But what is the value of space exploration, and to what extent does Singapore have a role in this emerging lunar economy? 

On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Jenna Tiwana, Senior Business Development and Strategy Advisor,  ispace inc for more.

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Singapore stocks dipped at the open after global markets finished lower overnight.

In early trade, the Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent to 3,220.65 points with 22 million securities changing hands then.

In terms of companies to watch, we have  mm2 Asia, after mainboard-listed media company said it agreed to subscribe for HK$19 million (S$3.3 million) worth of bonds issued by concert organiser Unipact Entertainment and Productions. 

Elsewhere from TSMC’s mulling an investment in chip designer Arm Holdings to China’s export slump easing in August and the US service sector, more international news remains in focus.

On Market View, the Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with David Chow, Director Azure Capital.

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This conversation is set to pique your interest if you’re a grocery shopper or a foodie.

On that note, have you ever read the back of a food label packaging and wonder what exactly is this ingredient called the chicken extract that is packed with umami flavour? 

Or have you opened a bag of barbecue flavoured chips and wonder what’s behind that rich and smoky flavour?  Or perhaps – what are milk proteins and milk protein concentrates and how do they make the food and drinks we consume more nutritious? 

With over five decades of history, Kerry Taste and Nutrition is an Ireland headquartered food company offering taste and nutrition solutions for some of the world’s best known FMCG and pharmaceutical brands. 

The firm currently has over 22,000 employees and over 150 innovation and manufacturing centres in over 30 countries. But what is the role of Kerry’s presence in Singapore in its wider portfolio?

Meanwhile, Kerry Taste and Nutrition recently reported its half year results where both sales volumes and pricing went up at the same time. How was this achieved given how its clients or FMCG players are struggling with balancing price increases and falling demand amid high inflation?

On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  John Cahalane, President and CEO for Kerry Taste and Nutrition Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa.

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