In an interview on the proposed acquisition of Trans-Cab by Grab, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan discussed how Grab’s merger with Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator would strengthen their already dominant position in the ride-hailing and point-to-point market, making it harder for rivals to compete, and how the everyday consumer would be affected if the merger goes through.
Commenting on whether China regrets vacating the crypto playing field in 2021, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Emiliano Pagnotta said, “Beijing’s 2021 mining crackdown was a strategic blunder. They accounted for 75 per cent of the mining industry and, in a short period, lost a considerable percentage to the United States, chiefly.” On why China made the strategic error, he said, “An adversary to Bitcoin has much more leverage against the security properties of the network by controlling the majority of the hashrate.
SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) and Academic Director of SMU’s Business Families Institute Kenneth Goh, a former national swimmer, wants to rally the community to build “an aquatics legacy together”, should the Singapore Aquatics’ (SAQ) presidential hopeful and his team be voted in at the national sports association’s elections. The current SAQ secretary-general held a press briefing at the Chinese Swimming Club, where he unveiled his team and manifesto.
Former national swimmer Mark Chay will not seek re-election as Singapore Aquatics (SAQ) president when his two-year term ends in August, after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. Incidentally, the topic of succession was already discussed among the SAQ executive committee in January, and Mr Chay’s cancer diagnosis sped up the activation of the plan, as he backed SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) and SAQ secretary-general Kenneth Goh to take over because of his “right attitude, aptitude and experiences”.
Commenting on TikTok’s association with Singapore, SMU Senior Lecturer of Communication Management Tracy Loh said while it would be an overplay to say that Singapore’s neutrality had led to TikTok’s decision to set up base here, the company should expect to face scrutiny. “Because of the fact that they are Chinese, they are from China, and the views of the Chinese government amid the geopolitical tensions – so fair or not, it is not an unexpected question,” she said
Commenting on more drivers jumping on the electric vehicle (EV) bandwagon, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said that ultimately, the sale of traditional internal combustion engine cars will stop by 2030. So there is little cause to worry if people will be on board by then as they will “fall in line” regardless, he added. However, he pointed out that since the aim of transitioning to EVs is to reduce emissions, it is important to look at the entire lifecycle emissions produced by the vehicles.
SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) placed first in Asia in the newly released 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Masters in Finance Rankings. Amongst Masters in Finance programmes worldwide, SMU's Master of Science in Wealth Management secured the top spot, where it ranked first globally for the measure of Value-for-money and second for Thought leadership. In a related ranking by QS, the SMU Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme set a new record by placing 5th in Asia, advancing a spot from last year.
According to the research findings of the Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (SInDEx) survey jointly released by DBS Group and the SMU Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI), the one-year-Ahead Inflation expectations fell to 4.0% in March 2024 from 4.2% in December 2023. The survey notes that in spite of uncertain geopolitical and socio-economic climates, the increasing demand for travel, food and beverage and accommodation might have met with a commensurate increase in supply, which led to mostly flattening of inflation expectations across the board.
Commenting on people putting their money in a savings account, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) and Director of the Citi Foundation-SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults Aurobindo Ghosh said, “Saving early is a very good habit but saving and putting everything in a savings account might not be a very good habit. He reckons people should set aside three to six months of income as emergency savings.
In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Kenneth Goh, who is Secretary-General of Singapore Aquatics and a former national record holder in swimming, discussed how training for the Olympics exacts a steep price from young athletes. He noted that while financial and public support for athletes to see through their training may have increased since Joseph Schooling’s early years, there is room to do more.
