CNA938 Rewind - Stock take today: Markets react to Iran-Israel ceasefire, S&P 500 rallies
On the daily markets analysis on Open For Business, Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Lee Kian Soon, CEO of Astral Asset Management.
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Independent Singapore
an hour ago
- Independent Singapore
'If I resign, we might lose the roof over our heads': Singaporean mum caught between exhaustion and the need to provide
SINGAPORE: In the depths of a current Reddit thread, an honest post from a first-time mother resonated with many. In her mid-20s, she's crisscrossing the pressures of full-time work while taking care of her 9-month-old baby. And right now, she's barely hanging on. Simply thinking about juggling a career and the rigid pace of motherhood has left her emotionally exhausted. She admits, her mental health is deteriorating. The thought of leaving her job has crossed her mind often, but the stakes are just too high. Her family is scheduled to get the keys to their Build-To-Order (BTO) flat next year, and under the long-standing HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) structure, having employment is vital to safeguarding the loan. Resigning would mean putting at risk not just her professional path, but also that 'roof over their heads.' She's been vigorously searching for a job, hoping for a softer mooring, but the prospects are not that good in the current market. While her job permits her to work from home three times every week — a bonus in present-day work culture — it doesn't mitigate the mental anguish. To make things worse, she recently returned from maternity leave, only to be told she's taken 'too much' of her annual leave, about 18 days over six months. 'Apparently, just because we have annual leave doesn't mean we have to clear it all,' she shared in the thread. The subtle reprimand left her even more deflated. Trapped in the typical clash of contemporary working motherhood, she turned to the Reddit community for some guidance, and possibly, for some direction. The responses were a combination of tough love, financial practicality, and emotional sustenance. 'Don't resign… make them fire you.' One comment took a calculated slant: 'Don't resign (unless you find another job). That's what they want, for you to make it easy for them… Make them fire you if they have to. They can't fire you for using up your annual leave early.' The user continued to recommend that she set boundaries: 'Refuse to OT. Just say you have other obligations now as a mother. Buy yourself time. Fulfil what's needed for your BTO.' 'Your health matters more than anything.' Others focused on the personal cost of burnout. One user wrote: 'If one day you are down, that's it—your family loses you. A company can find a replacement. A family can get another BTO. But your family can't get another you.' 'Speak to your husband first.' At that point, there were also voices of caution. 'There needs to be a consensus if you quit,' one said, pointing out the financial implications of a single-income household. 'It's trading one form of stress for another. Once the elation of quitting wears off, you might panic. Ultimately, it depends on your finances—how long can you tank being jobless?' This user's post exposed a quiet but pressing truth: many young mothers are trapped in a system that isn't planned with them in mind. The emotional toll of childrearing and being a wife at the same time, matched with uncompromising job requirements and inflexible housing guidelines, can become an excruciating burden. Her story isn't unique, but it is incredibly real. For the moment, she's still determining whether to stick it out for the sake of financial stability or jump out in favour of her sanity. If it were your life, your call — what would you do?
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
'No perfect' CPF system exists, but its self-reliance principle is still pertinent: SM Lee
SINGAPORE: As Singaporeans live longer, the Central Provident Fund's (CPF) philosophy of self-reliance remains as pertinent as ever, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday (Jul 5). He added that while there is "no perfect CPF system", Singaporeans are generally in a good state now. As society's needs and working patterns change, and life expectancies lengthen further, the government will have to adapt and update the CPF scheme to keep it "fit-for-purpose" for new generations, he said. "This will be a perpetual process of innovation and adaptation. But that's the nature of many public policy issues," he said, adding that there is never a "once-for-all final solution". The CPF scheme is one such government policy that will always evolve and improve, but the same can be said of many others, including housing, healthcare, education and security, he added. SM Lee was speaking at the launch of a commemorative book by CPF to mark its 70th anniversary at Our Tampines Hub. The launch was also joined by Minister for Manpower, Dr Tan See Leng. At the launch, CPF also introduced a new one-stop financial guidance platform, Plan Life Ahead, Now! (PLAN), where members can access a personalised dashboard of financial planners. In Singapore, each generation funds its own retirement needs, SM Lee said. 'While self-reliance works well for the majority of the population, we recognise its limits for lower-income workers and for those who have not been in the workforce, such as housewives,' he added. In these cases, the government complements members' savings with targeted state support, such as the Workfare Income Supplement scheme, Silver Support Scheme and tax incentives to encourage voluntary CPF contributions from family members, he said. The government also provides additional support through packages for the Pioneer, Merdeka and Majulah generations, and periodic top-ups, which ensures a certain degree of intergenerational equity. 'But the basic principle remains: You must try your best to provide for your own future needs. And if that is still not enough, the government will be there to help you,' he said. Looking back at the past 70 years of CPF's history, SM Lee said "some very tough choices" were made in adjusting CPF rules and schemes. For example, the government had to cut employers' contribution rates by 15 per cent in 1985, after the total CPF contribution rate of 50 per cent from both employees and employers proved too high to sustain. The government also had to repeat the process of cutting CPF contribution rates during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, and in the early 2000s after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. It took them until 2015 to finally reach the total contribution rate of 37 per cent, which is about the "right level for the long term", SM Lee said. "NO OTHER PAINLESS WAY OUT" In his speech, SM Lee recalled meeting the late Lord Paul Myners, a British financial expert and UK city minister, who had done a comprehensive review of institutional investments made by UK insurance companies and pension funds. "He explained to me bluntly that with people living longer, there were basically only three ways for them to still have enough for retirement: One, save more while working. Two, spend less every month, to make their retirement savings last longer; or three, work longer and retire later," he said. "There is no other painless way out." All countries are confronted with this trilemma, and Singapore is no exception. "But that doesn't mean there is no way forward. It is still possible to make balanced, practical and politically workable arrangements in these three dimensions, to ensure Singaporeans' retirement adequacy," he said. The delinking of the CPF withdrawal age from retirement age has made it easier to raise retirement and re-employment ages to encourage workers to work longer, he said. While the national retirement age is 63, many choose to continue working, perhaps in a lighter job, beyond that, he added. SM Lee said that every change to the CPF system must be "carefully thought through". "In the end, for the whole CPF system to function and endure, Singaporeans must have faith that the scheme is sound and that the rules ultimately serve their best interests," he said. Today, public trust in the CPF is "very high", SM Lee added. People "faithfully" make their contributions every month, and many members voluntarily top up their own and their family members' CPF accounts with cash. Even when members reach 65 years old - when CPF payouts start - about 30 per cent do not make any withdrawals. "They are confident their money is safe, and they know that they are getting more than a fair deal," SM Lee said. NEW FINANCIAL PLANNING TOOL SM Lee penned the forward of the new book, called Save & Sound: 70 Years of CPF, which can be downloaded at CPF's website. The book chronicles the organisation's journey over the past seven decades and documents how the CPF system has evolved over the years. Through its new one-stop financial guidance platform, CPF members can access a personalised dashboard which consolidates digital CPF planners, such as the retirement payout planner, home purchase planner and the health insurance planner. The dashboard also pools together curated educational resources and features a new financial fitness questionnaire, where members can conduct self-assessments on their overall financial health. Announcing the launch of PLAN with CPF, CPF Board CEO Melissa Khoo said the dashboard seeks to enable members to make more informed financial decisions across different life stages. 'As we mark our 70th anniversary, we want to build on the CPF Board's legacy of service and innovation, and strengthen our commitment to support members through life's milestones, she said. CPF will also hold a CPF70 and Life's Supermarket exhibitions at Our Tampines Hub, which runs until Jul 10.
Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business Times
Singapore C-suite leaders face a ‘complexity conundrum' that demands different leadership
SINGAPORE-BASED C-suite executives face a unique challenge that their global counterparts often don't – what we at AlixPartners call the 'complexity conundrum'. Our 2025 Global Risk Survey shows that while most organisations worldwide struggle with specific risk categories, Singapore business leaders must juggle a much broader range of interconnected challenges all at once. Let's be clear: This isn't just about having more risks to worry about. It's about understanding how deeply interconnected these risks are when you're running operations across multiple markets. The numbers tell an interesting story: 61 per cent of global organisations admit they're unprepared for cyber threats, but in Singapore, businesses have developed what we see as an 'all-front defence strategy', with remarkably consistent investment across all cybersecurity dimensions. This balanced approach jumps out from the data. Singapore organisations maintain extraordinarily consistent cybersecurity investments (21 to 29 points across all measures), compared to the rather erratic patterns charted among regional neighbours like China (22 to 36 points), Hong Kong (17 to 34 points), and Japan (10 to 29 points). Singapore's C-suite leaders seem to understand instinctively that you can't just shore up defences in one area when you're operating across multiple markets; that simply creates vulnerabilities elsewhere. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Climate change is perhaps the most telling example of this complexity. Singapore executives rate climate change concerns at 42 per cent – significantly higher than in Hong Kong (16 per cent) and Japan (20 per cent). This isn't just about being environmentally conscious – it reflects the hard reality that multi-market operations face climate risks that ripple across diverse geographies, regulatory environments, and supply chains. One Singapore CEO put it rather bluntly: 'When a climate event hits one of our markets, the headache spreads through our entire regional operation in ways that single-market businesses just don't experience.' The same goes for navigating regulations: 71 per cent of global organisations confess they're not ready for international regulatory changes, but in Singapore, C-suite leaders have had to develop more balanced approaches to juggling technology resilience, data privacy, cybersecurity, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and AI regulations across multiple jurisdictions – all at the same time. This complexity conundrum demands a different sort of leadership. Singapore executives simply can't afford to become experts in one risk area while neglecting others. They need balanced competency across cybersecurity, climate adaptation, regulatory compliance and geopolitical navigation. Their leadership teams must be good at spotting connections between seemingly unrelated risks – understanding how a climate event might trigger supply-chain problems while simultaneously creating regulatory headaches and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. For C-suite leaders navigating Singapore's complex business environment, our research points to three essential strategies: First, resist the temptation to prioritise risks narrowly based on global trends. Second, approach risk management holistically, recognising that Singapore's position creates uniquely interconnected challenges. Finally, build leadership teams with diverse risk management capabilities rather than isolated specialists. The Singapore complexity conundrum certainly makes life more difficult, but our data suggests it's also creating a hidden advantage. By mastering this balanced approach to risk, Singapore-based executives are developing skills that will become increasingly valuable as all global businesses face the interconnected challenges of tomorrow's business landscape. The writer is partner, managing director and Singapore country leader at AlixPartners.
