Thewokesalaryman handle on Instagram has over 357k followers; on Telegram, it has nearly 37k subscribers. It is a highly popular social media platform on financial literacy, using original, witty cartoons to impart critical life lessons on career building, savings, investment, and just living worthy lives. He Ruiming and Goh Wei Choon, the creators, join Kopi Time to share their motivation, content generating process, the feedback loop between posting and follower response, their financial model, and the way forward. With a strong sense of the pulse of Singapore’s Gen Z population and beyond, Ruiming and Wei Choon are making truly valuable contribution to the overall well-being of the society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Munib Madni, CEO of Singapore-based Panarchy Partners, returns to Kopi Time to talk about the fast growing world of climate investing. We go over the realities of climate change hitting home, numerous changes in the regulatory environment globally, and the deepening zeitgeist around investments in the context of climate mitigation. We then get into the thorny issue of how to deal with climate sceptics, including the dialogue around just transition. Munib then looks at various market failures, issues related to the term ESG and carbon pricing, Asia’s role in climate change and related investments, and financial returns coming from decarbonisation. Tons of inspirational takeaways for those feeling gloomy about our planet’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carin Smaller, Executive Director of the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate, joins Kopi Time to talk about global food security. As per the United Nations, after three decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger began to increase again in 2015. Current estimates show that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population. Compounding this trend is the high frequency incidences of natural disasters, pandemics, and wars that are pushing millions more into hunger. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030.   Ms Smaller begins by going over the state of global food security for the remainder of this year and 2023, both with respect to the price and availability. She then sheds light on the various dimensions of structural food security, touching on income inequality, climate change, distributional bottlenecks, and insufficient global coordination. But there is some glimmer of hope, with initiatives like Ceres 2030 estimating the funds and work required to end global hunger by the end of this decade, galvanizing official donors, private philanthropies, and multilateral organisations. We go over promising technologies, recent developments in global trade rules, and state of resource mobilisation that reflect some degree of resolve to deal with this crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Dekle, Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California, joins Kopi Time. Robert’s speciality is Japan, so we start there, going over his views on the yen’s rapid depreciation this year and the sustainability of yield curve control going forward. Robert thinks that there may still be some time left for BoJ to stay with its ultra-easy monetary policy stance, but the clock is ticking. For the longer-term, aging creates formidable headwind with respect to Japan’s domestic economic outlook, which is a major cautionary lesson for other parts of the world that are experiencing an adverse demographic shift. We then talk about the idea that aging and accompanying shrinking of the labour force could cause structural inflation. Robert thinks that between automation and the contribution from countries like India and Vietnam to the global labour pool, this fear may be overstated. We then move on to the US, talking about inflation. Robert sees a fairly long runway left for policy tightening, but also not a full resolution to the elevated inflation issue, with 2% inflation not being secured before 2025. The main reason for this, in Robert’s view, is that US fiscal/monetary policies will not become draconian enough. Robert sees high mortgage rates begin to cool the housing market, and some decline in pump prices being helpful, but worries about sticky food prices. He sees a US dollar peak around the corner as growth slowdown ensues, but at the same time sees lingering risk for emerging markets from high US rates and still-strong USD. We round up our discussion with inflation in the context of climate change and globalisation.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Serey Chea, Assistant Governor at the National Bank of Cambodia, joins to Kopi Time to provide an incisive view on central banking geared toward financial development and inclusion. She talks about the government’s role during the pandemic to support the population through a series of financial measures, including the tricky job of keeping ATMs going even as banknote sourcing faced global mobility restrictions. We then delve into Bakong, a blockchain-based peer to peer payment system for financial sector participants in Cambodia. Ms Chea talks about the genesis, use case, outcome, challenges, and potential with clarity and depth, flagging ideas that would be useful for many developing economies. She adds a human dimension to central banking by referring to her personal experience in seeing people struggle with lack of financial inclusion or financial literacy. Truly inspirational.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ms. Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, joins Kopi Time to go over the nation’s challenges and response regarding sustainability and climate. She lays out, in sobering detail, the issues associated with recalibrating the entire economy for green transition, with heightened focus on energy and food security. While cognizant of the steep hill to climb toward a mid-century net zero goal, Minister Fu is constructive about the work being done with public-private coordination and cooperation, as well as the myriad of financial and technological solutions available and under development. We go over Singapore’s plans for carbon tax, greening of the energy grid and overall infrastructure, the exciting area of urban agri tech, and the ongoing changes in global regulatory environment for decarbonisation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Substantial trade linkage notwithstanding, Asean’s near-term outlook is not particularly vulnerable to the ongoing slowdown in China . Asia faces many macro risks, but a slowing China in not at the top of the list. Global inflation threat is a non-China factor Chinese tourists have been largely non-existent since 2020, hence there is no additional downside. Asean’s trade with China is a global demand beta that can withstand a domestic demand slowdown. US interest rates, global capital flows, and food/fuel prices matter more for Asean. Full commentary and analysis available here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Eichengreen, professor at University of California at Berkeley, a foremost expert on economics and international finance, joins Kopi Time. We begin with the war in Ukraine, where he is calling for rebuilding to begin even before the conflict is over, led by a consortium that supersedes multilateral institutions like the IMF/World Bank. We also delve into the demonstration effect of the sanctions imposed on Russia on other potential antagonists. In relation to that, the reach and scope of the weaponisation of the USD is discussed. We then move on to the issues of the moment, global inflation spike direction of Fed policy, recession risks, and debt overhang, with an interlude on digital currencies. A tour de force.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CL Lien, avid mountaineer and ultra-marathon runner, and Singapore General Manager of Gojek, an e-services platform, joins Kopi Time to discuss managing the business through a wide range of challenges and disruptions. We talk about the driver-partner model and the various dimensions around that. Lien sheds light on how Gojek managed through the pandemic and how the business is shaping up presently, especially in light of rising fuel prices and interest rates. We touch on the imperative to find green solutions to transportation and logistics, and the balance between embracing innovation and automating jobs away. Lien brings empathy and social realism to decision-making and strategy, a great leadership trait.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest to mark Kopi Time’s 75th episode is Tan Su Shan, Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS. In a wide ranging chat, we talk about how her business is dealing with the various challenges associated with the conflict in Ukraine and the pandemic. Su Shan walks us through the approaches to managing credit risk and emergency measures deployed in these contexts. We then delve into the role of data and digitalisation in transforming banking and finance, especially in helping clients keep pace with a range of disruptions. We then talk about stakeholder accountability and green finance, especially the role technology can play in the latter. The looming topic of rising inflation and interest rates is discussed next, with the balance between rising rates helping the bottom line initially, but then those higher rates also manifesting in higher credit risks. Su Shan recognises that to deal with unavoidable complexity and volatility, the key is to have an agile team that thrives on open communication. It is this trust in her team that makes her optimistic about her business outlook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.