Your Money with Michelle Martin

After years of negligent behaviour and lack of concern for our environment, it has raised many major red flags in climate change, especially in the past few years. The Maldives in particular are at risk with rising sea levels and coral bleaching affecting this beautiful and iconic destination. Maria Andersen, Marine Biologist at InterContinental Maldives shares what the newly opened InterContinental Maldives Maamu-nagau Resort, Manta Trust and Ocean Group are doing to protect the environment that surrounds the resort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you’ve planned or have not planned for retirement, it never hurts to find out how you can better plan for retirement. “The Quicksilver Generation Podcast” presents conversations with interesting personalities from across Asia, all featuring men and women over 60 who continue to innovate, achieve success and grow their careers beyond the traditional “retirement” age. Creator and host of the ‘The Quicksilver Generation Podcast’, Miguel Bernas, shares more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to a study by the NUS Business School, there are 12 types of shoppers, with the most popular being classic shoppers. Classic shoppers are consumers who weigh different brands after a purchasing need arises, before deciding on one brand. We speak to the man who led the study, Professor Leonard Lee from the NUS Business School.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we truly be happy? ‘The Art of Making Memories’ examines how mental images are made, stored, and recalled in our brains, as well as the “art of letting go” - why we tend to forget certain moments to make room for deeper, more meaningful ones. Meik Wiking, Author of ‘The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments’ shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can you thrive as a leader? Tor Mesoy, Co-author of ‘Musings on Leadership: Life lessons to help you thrive as a leader’ weighs in. He shares what he thinks is most important for leaders to keep in mind when trying to improve themselves, and why it is crucial to have self-awareness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore Art Week is an annual celebration of visual arts which takes place in the month of January, and is the pinnacle event of Singapore's visual arts calendar. The nine-day celebration - which runs from 11 to 19 January 2020 - offers artists, collectives, organisations and other art intermediaries a visible platform for showcasing a range of quality visual arts projects, discussions, and exhibitions to a local and international audience. Mae Anderson, Chairman of Art Outreach Singapore weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Circulate Capital Ocean Fund is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to address Asia’s plastic crisis. With 60 percent of ocean plastic originating from the region, Asia is the biggest source of plastic leakage into global oceans. We find out more with Rob Kaplan, Founder & CEO at Circulate Capital.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What caused the biggest financial headwinds in 2019 and what can we expect in terms of investment outlook for 2020? From signals of inflation, to the clash of superpowers, here is a seasoned investors outlook for 2020 set within the context of the most important business stories of 2019. Arun Pai, Chief Crystals Officer at Krystal.AI weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Distinguished Teaching Professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business Arthur Dong weighs in on what businesses need to understand about the US-China trade war. Can businesses prepare to be ahead of the game? Michelle Martin also finds out why the Professor believes businesses need to discern their own "foreign policy" for their own path forward in the clash of the superpowers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A leading provider of satellite communications solutions to airlines, operators and passengers worldwide, Inmarsat keeps people connected at 35,000 feet in the sky. Find out more about their new contract with Airbus to develop a pioneering new generation of satellites which will mark a transformative step-change in in-flight broadband capabilities for airlines across the world, allowing real-time mobility for its consumers.Guest: Chris Rogerson, Regional Vice President for Inmarsat Aviation APACSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Asian Food Channel is now the Asian Food Network. In Influence, Michelle Martin discovers the programming strategy behind the aim to grow the channel's audience, and how a digital-first approach is powering the way forward.  Guest: Rohit Tharani, Head of Products, Southeast Asia in Discovery Networks Asia-PacificSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the last episode of Money and Me (The Property Edition), Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Chairman & CEO of Propnex shares the most memorable moments for the property market this year and what 2020 holds for prospective investors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SingSaver has recently secured a brokerage licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to offer more than 100 insurance policies from 12 providers such as AXA, Allianz and FWD, to name a few. As Singapore’s insurance market is set to hit 4 billion dollars next year, according to FY2018 data published by the General Insurance Association of Singapore, how will this license allow SingSaver to tap on this growing market? We find out more with Rohith Murthy, Founder and Country Manager at SingSaver.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Chairman & CEO of Propnex wrap up the trends for 2019’s public housing market, as well as what to lookout for in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is key to succeeding with online video? Why do "funny " videos go viral? Eugene Choi is CEO and Co-Founder of Collab Asia, a digital media company that manages over 1,800 YouTube channels worldwide with over 155 million subscribers and 2.5 billion monthly views. Choi talks about the trends he is seeing in online content and what influencers of the future need to know to make money from their work   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An alumnus of Harvard, Stanford and now a Rhodes Scholar, Jamie Beaton seems perfectly placed to advise on how to get into an Ivy League University. But this 24-year-old CEO also recently secured US$20 million in a Series C funding for his company - currently valued at US$245 million. What is key to getting investors on board? How is Crimson using algorithms so its clients exhibit 2-4 times the likelihood of admission to Oxford or Cambridge than the average global applicant?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a move to encourage more people, especially women, to understand and master blockchain, public blockchain platform Zilliqa and The University of Oxford conducted a series of blockchain education workshops last month.Michelle Martin finds out more from Saiba Kataruka, Developer Marketing Lead at Zilliqa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've been paying up to 300% more than you need to for that diamond ring.  LUXIEE is the world's first online marketplace for diamonds. It links consumers to diamond suppliers and aims to revolutionise an age-old industry. Michelle Martin sits with the 35-year old founder and COO of LUXIEE Nicholas Lim, to find out how the platform cuts massive middlemen fees resulting in affordable prices for consumers, plans to use its 6-figure-seed funding, and how consumers are assured that the gems they click on line to buy is what they receive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singaporeans are increasingly adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach when buying properties, according to PropertyGuru’s Consumer Sentiment Survey for the first half of this year. Join Michelle Martin, as she finds out why this is with Dr Tan Tee Khoon, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Singapore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite having nearly 50 percent of the world’s population being under the age of 24, the voices of our youth are still not being heard or taken seriously. Recognising this need to engage the youth community regarding key issues, give them a voice and empower them to make a real change in the world, KidsRight has launched the world’s first borderless digital ‘state’ to do just that.  Michelle Martin finds out more from Marc Dullaert, Founder and Chair of the KidsRights Foundation, as well as the founder of the International Children’s Peace Prize.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spartans Boxing Club is bringing boxing to everyone, whether you're learning the sport professionally or to get fit. The club is currently raising $1 million in the immediate term, with potential franchisees throughout Asia, Middle East, Australia and Europe. Russell Harrison, Managing Director of Spartans Boxing Club shares more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arun Pai, Chief Kristals Officer at Kristal.AI sheds light on the latest developments this week. Topics include Trump signs Hong Kong bills supporting protesters in a move likely to irk China, Xerox's hostile takeover attempt for HP, Alibaba Hong Kong IPO debut and Hyflux's $400 million rescue deal with Utico.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How much will your salary rise next year? Unfortunately, likely a little less compared to this year. The average real salary rise for Singaporean workers in 2020 is projected to be 3%, down from 3.3% for 2019. Workers in China are set to see a real salary increase of 3.6% next year, while workers in India, are sitting comfortably at the top of the table. Workers in India are likely to see a 5.4% salary increase. We take a closer look at the ECA International's annual Salary Trends Report with its Regional Director of Asia, Lee Quane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre and co-author of 'ENTRUSTED: Stewardship for Responsible Wealth Creation', Ong Boon Hwee, talks about restraining greed, irresponsibility and short-termism that both businesses and investors can enable through his definition of "stewardship". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Major wins for talent investor Entrepreneur First include Hydroleap, a Singapore-based wastewater treatment start-up which could save the industry over $10 billion annually. It raised $2.6 million in its latest funding round. What does international talent investor (with an international branch in Singapore) Entrepreneur First look for in the people it invests in? Bernadette Cho, General Manager at Entrepreneur First Singapore shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hailed as ‘the next fintech’, education technology is one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the world. Tenopy is Singapore’s leading education tech company specialising in interactive live online tutoring programmes for primary and secondary level students in English and Mathematics. Chong Kian, Founding CEO of Tenopy shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Niki Ong, Senior Manager at Li-nk talks about Wolero's new app for customers interested to book a limousine in Singapore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore has taken the No.1 spot for real estate investment prospects in terms of price increases next year. Lee Nai Jia, Senior Director and Head of Research at Knight Frank Singapore weighs in. He discusses the opportunities for property investors in Singapore and shares the countries he thinks would be good to invest in overseas property.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arun Pai, Chief Kristals Officer at Kristal.AI sheds light on the latest developements this week. Topics include MAS seeking to allow derivatives of payment tokens to be traded on approved exchanges in Singapore, US and China 90-day extension, WeWork, Softbank and Saudi Aramco.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

VUE is the next iconic rooftop bar and grill destination overlooking some of the most stunning vistas of Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline, and is now open to offer an epicurean adventure unlike any other in Singapore. Benedict Tan, General Manager of VUE and Sommelier Joel Lim shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Kevyn Yong, Chief Learning Officer at the Singapore Institute of Management shares why he thinks AI is a tool for innovation and why companies should use AI to make consumers' lives easier and simpler, quoting Spotify as one of the examples he provided. He has previously tailored customised leadership and innovation programmes for many organisations, including Amazon and ATOS in France, eBay and Nike in China, Deutsche Bank, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and UOB in Singapore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 25% of people aged 15 to 62 who have disabilities are employed, this according to the annual Comprehensive Labour Force Survey. The sectors employing most of these people are community, social and personal services, food services, administrative and support services, and manufacturing. But what can we do to increase this number and encourage more companies to hire PWDs? And how can PWDs seek the training and grants they need to help them to get employed? We discuss with Winnie Lewis, Manager at SG ENABLE (Employment & Employability division), Rachel Yeo, Content Strategist at Seedly and Kenneth Lou, Co-founder of Seedly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think about your portfolio as a football club, how can you better structure your investments? If central banks start issuing digital foreign currencies what could this mean for the future of banks and FX? Benn Ng, Managing Director and Head of Southeast Asia at Raffles Family Office debunks the myths and common mistakes retail investors make when approaching not only FX but their entire portfolio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is perhaps the most important book on climate change to read. David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth takes us to life after warming and how climate change is likely to transform how we all live on the planet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Curated shopping platform L’effet is helping you to accumulate travel miles while you shop at luxury brands like Temperley London, Penhaligon’s, Ettinger London and George Cleverly. L’effet has also recently inked a partnership with Singapore Airlines and shoppers can now collect Krisflyer miles when shopping at these luxury brands in London. Ulrike Pohl, Co-founder of L’effet shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most Singaporeans think that buying a property makes more financial sense in the long-term than to rent, which explains why majority of Singaporeans own a property. What are some factors to take into consideration when deciding between owning or renting a property? We find out with Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Chairman and CEO of Propnex Limited ( who also shares which of his own apartments was completely paid off recently).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avid comic collector Brighton Yap has been collecting comics for 29 years, spent some $200,000 which has paid off. His copy of 'Amazing Fantasy 15' bought at a 2015 Comic Convention for US$17,000 has gained three times its value. Brighton shares his top pick for the comic that could gain and you could get your hands on at the upcoming Singapore Comic Con in December.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When his university pal turned up in a car he bought from money made in the stock market, Ethan Ho decided it was time to learn about investing. Ethan is Director of Business Development and Marketing at InvestingNote. We find out if the "social" factor at this site helps investors uncover the hidden gems, and if the connections at the social networking site for investors can lead to better outcomes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hong Kong shopping centre, Festival Walk, faced great damage after protesters attacked the mall. The mall is also owned by Singapore-listed Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT). We ask Krystal.AI's Chief Kristals officer who leads investment on the platform what is on his stocks to watch list in Hong Kong and for his views on the biggest headlines investors are digesting. Saudi Aramco, Alibaba, DBS, and the real efforts being laid down to avoid a dark future of AI in Singapore are discussed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yale or Wharton? A seat an elite school could be within reach for you. We get to know the CEO and Founder of ExecOnline, Stephen Bailey.  ExecOnline collaborates with top business schools, including Berkeley-Haas, Chicago Booth, Columbia, IMD, MIT-Sloan, Stanford GSB, Wharton, and Yale, to rapidly deliver online leadership development programs that generate lasting organizational impact. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How much money should you prepare when getting your first home and how does this amount differ when you’re considering a BTO, EC or a resale flat? Kenneth Lou, CEO of Seedly, Kenneth Fong, Editor at Seedly and Darius Cheung, Co-Founder and CEO of 99.co weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Online platform Workana connects freelancers to businesses looking to hire highly-skilled talent for projects and continues to foster ongoing relationships between the two parties. What are they doing to create the right match? Tomas O'Farrell, Co-Founder of Workana shares more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We may think it's all about what you say, but sometimes you need to stop talking to make what you want happen. Tim Castle, author of 'The Art of Negotiation' shares how you can position yourself for more possibilities in life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the future of driverless cars in Singapore? CapitaLand is teaming up with NavInfo DataTech and TPG Telecom to build a 5G smart estate trial site to test 5G-enabled Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies. Navinfo is backed by Tencent and is currently creating detailed digital maps for up to 30 million self-driving cars in China alone. We speak to map service provider NavInfo - Jonathan Ng, CEO and Ivan Ng, COO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you buy an HDB in a distressed sale? You want a real deal but there are several different auction platforms to consider in Singapore. What are the pros and cons of buying a property through an auction? We break it down with Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Chairman and CEO of Propnex Limited.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From social buying, complex promo schemes, selling apartments via auctions, to getting you to "game" and donate your points in red packets, Alibaba has generated in one day, more online gross merchandise volume than all US retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday since 2013. E-commerce players like Alibaba, JD.com, Lazada and Shopee all want you to buy with them. We take you behind the schemes with Wang Xiaofeng, Senior Analyst at Forrester.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a chart that tracks the spread between the 10-year Treasury and the 2-year Treasury yields, but what does the yield curve really tell investors? What are contrarian calls and how has StashAway made decisions to do with Gold and European Equities? Freddy Lim, CIO of StashAway shares more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forget 5G, China said yesterday that it is working on 6G networks. Author of 'Tech Titans Of China', Rebecca A. Fannin takes us beyond the page of her gripping and extensively researched book to describe China's grab for superpower status in tech, mobile and e-commerce. Besides Alibaba and Tencent, Rebecca shares who the new important players in China's enterprise scene are today. Host Michelle Martin says this "addictively readable" book is her pick for book to read in November.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Michelle Martin, as she speaks to Arun Pai, Chief Kristals Officer, Kristal.AI about TransferWise’s partnership with Asian e-wallets and the outlook for a potential 2020 recession.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He is widely recognised as one of Singapore’s most prolific composers, whose works draw upon Singapore’s rich musical traditions and cultures. Eric Watson learnt to play the piano and violin growing up in the UK, and have since moved to Singapore in 1991 and successfully fused diverse musical and cultural sources. We’re talking to composer, conductor, music technologist and educator Eric Watson, Cultural Medallion Recipient 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.