Latest news at CSFI

Will a labour shortage crimp Singapore's post-pandemic recovery?

9 Apr 2022 — Assoc Prof Angie Low says the stricter policies would push companies to look for labour domestically, but this would be contingent on the supply of qualified locals willing to take up the jobs

In The Money: Know your risk profile and options available

6 Mar 2022 — Assoc Prof Angie Low recommends investors understand their risk profile and the optimal mix of assets that will be suitable for them.

Budget must address urgent foreign worker crunch but stay firm on long-term weaning

4 Feb 2022 — Assoc Prof Angie Low notes that the pandemic merely exacerbated an existing manpower shortage in industries – such as hospitality, food, and beverage – that “have always been reliant on foreign labour to plug the labour shortage and to keep cost low”.

Asean logistics sector could get tech boost as Alibaba unit looks to region for growth

18 Apr 2022 — Assoc Prof Chen Tao says logistics enterprises that can successfully seize these opportunities will be able to gain huge benefits from the Southeast Asian market

As inflation rises, how much more are you paying for your groceries?

13 Mar 2022 — Inflation figures only tell part of the story - how much exactly have the prices of your everyday groceries gone up in the past year? CNA compares the prices of some essential supermarket goods to find out.

Higher prices for petrol, electricity and food: How Russia's invasion of Ukraine might affect people in Singapore

3 Mar 2022 — Singapore might see prices rise amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Assoc Prof Chen Tao says that the increase in petrol and electricity prices can be attributed partly to the “soaring price” of raw materials, including crude oil and natural gas.

Crypto curbs: Industry players say ad ban not the only way to protect retail investors in Singapore

20 Jan 2022 — Complying with new guidelines prohibiting public advertisements, firms have pulled the plug on cryptocurrency ATMs around Singapore. Industry players recognise that the new guidelines are in line with MAS' stance on cryptocurrency trading being “highly risky”, but said other ways can be explored to protect retail investors. Others were concerned about how the guidelines, which seem to indicate a tougher stance, may impact Singapore’s ambitions to be a key player for cryptocurrency-related businesses.

Binance’s exchange closure in Singapore could usher in more regulations on cryptocurrencies

26 Dec 2021 — Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange with a daily turnover of US$76 billion, has withdrawn its application to start a cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore. This could herald more regulatory clampdowns, says NTU’s Chen Tao.

Cyberspace Administration of China: Illegally collecting user information to save national security hidden dangers Didi was fined 1.65 billion yuan

22 Jul 2022 — However, Assoc Prof Deng Xin says that as a leading Internet company, the fines imposed on Didi is not large compared with the size of the company. “Didi will likely make rectifications in accordance with the country's data security requirements before proceeding to be listed in Hong Kong, setting a precedence for other Internet companies planning to list outside of China,” she says.

Analysis of Ant Group's plan to restart its listing

10 Jun 2022 — Assoc Prof Deng Xin observes that the Ant Group has been divesting its financial and technology businesses since it started its internal reform. When the listing is restarted, the market will also pay special attention to the attributes of the group, and if listed as a financial enterprise, there is no doubt that its valuation will decrease.

AI in finance: Taming the beast

13 May 2022 — Assoc Prof Cindy Deng Xin discusses the risks and limitations to consider as artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being deployed for various purposes in finance, including digital identity verification, trading and personalised banking

Cryptocurrencies have huge appeal despite holes

26 Feb 2022 — Assoc Prof Cindy Deng Xin gave her take on what lies ahead for cryptocurrency under the intense glare and scrutiny of regulators everywhere

Robust pay rises in Singapore last year tempered by inflation

31 May 2022 — Assoc Prof Hong Ru says high prices are expected to persist for the rest of the year as lockdowns in China and the Ukraine war worsen supply bottlenecks

Singapore firms undeterred by Chinese rule-book changes

29 Apr 2022 — Assoc Prof Ru Hong says that while foreign firms in China may seem to have a lot of advantages and benefits like tax incentives on paper, it is a different story in practice

Grab drivers, car owners are worried, experts expect prices to continue rising

9 Jun 2022 — Dr Siriwan Chutikamoltham says that as long as the Ukraine-Russia war continues, supplies from Russia will continue to face restrictions and therefore oil shortages will continue. To make matters worse, Asst Prof Ru Hong adds that demand for oil will increase when economic activity in China recovers and the rise in oil prices will continue for the rest of this year.

Fed interest rates hike

21 Mar 2022 — The US Federal Reserve may raise interest rates six times this year as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has caused the price of oil and other commodities to rise. In a ‘live’ interview, Assoc Prof Ru Hong explains how, collectively, these issues will impact the Singapore dollar and local interest rates.

Why borrowing money to fund insurance policies can prove detrimental

22 Jul 2022 — Assoc Prof Jonas Chen says that borrowing at rates close to the benchmark short-term rate could present some challenges for policyholders given interest rates are on the rise.

Consumers feeling the squeeze as industry disruptors come under pressure to deliver profits

25 Jul 2022 — Assoc Prof Lee Boon Keng says that rising interest rates coupled with economic uncertainties make raising funds more challenging, with private equity funds probably “less tolerant of high (cash) burn-rate. This means that early-stage start-ups would have to prove their viability faster, and late-stage disruptors will have to show profitability sooner.”

Don’t Make Rash Decisions About Your Career Now. Here’s How Inflation Can Affect Singapore’s Employment and Salary Market

15 Jul 2022 — Says Assoc Prof Lee Boon Keng: “Stay in your job. The current tight market may prompt some to jump for small wage increase. However, given that no one knows when higher interest rates will cause a recession, workers don’t not want to find themselves in a last-in-first-out employment situation. The important career and financial steps to take are to prepare for a monetary policy tightening-induced recession. High inflation is already here.”

What do higher interest rates mean for you?

9 May 2022 — Interest rates have been at historic lows since the global financial crisis in 2008 but now, with demand recovering and supply chains affected by the pandemic and the Ukraine war, inflation has gone up. Assoc Prof Lee Boon Keng says there is no other way to end this inflation, given the supply chain disruption in the background besides demand destruction, and it can only be achieved by tight monetary policy.

Grab drivers, car owners are worried, experts expect prices to continue rising

9 Jun 2022 — Dr Siriwan Chutikamoltham says that as long as the Ukraine-Russia war continues, supplies from Russia will continue to face restrictions and therefore oil shortages will continue. To make matters worse, Asst Prof Ru Hong adds that demand for oil will increase when economic activity in China recovers and the rise in oil prices will continue for the rest of this year.

Southeast Asia seen growing way out of gloom

24 May 2022 — Southeast Asia is on track to recover from nearly two years in the doldrums. Senior lecturer Dr Siriwan Chutikamoltham says the region has several “growth factors” that will support its economic rebound. These include a young population that has better immunity against COVID-19, and the rise of more digital-savvy consumers and online businesses.

Can't afford to buy a house, can't get married, gamble and speculate and go bankrupt overnight, how miserable can young Koreans be?

15 Jul 2022 — “High housing prices weigh heavily on the minds of young South Koreans. Home prices in Seoul have risen nearly 93 per cent since 2017 due to a lack of supply, making it nearly impossible for young South Koreans to buy a home on their own,” says Prof Kang Jun-Koo.

Deutsche Bank's DWS replaces CEO after police raid in greenwashing probe

1 Jun 2022 — Prof Kang Jun-koo says the DWS case sends “a strong signal that ESG can’t be just empty rhetoric but should be something deliverable.

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