The Iran war, combined with unprecedented debt and deficits, is an unprecedented crisis but South-East Asia is better placed to handle it.

Synopsis: The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor distils 45 years of experience covering the Asian continent, with expert guests.

The US-Israeli assault on Iran, which led to the effective closure of the Straits of Hormuz, has seized up many Asian economies which are seeing rising fuel prices, soaring airline ticket costs and leaving restaurants short of cooking fuel. But South-East Asia, with memories of the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s still fresh in memory is better placed macro-economically to tackle the crisis - evidenced in investors’ confidence in stocks such as DBS, SIA and OCBC.

In this wide-ranging conversation host Ravi Velloor speaks with Thilan Wickramasinghe, head of research at Maybank Securities and an expert on the interplay of geopolitics, macro-economics and the stock market. They unpack the full dimensions of the crisis before discussing how Asia is likely to fare when it ends, as it must some day. Mr Wickramasinghe offers some advice: it has paid off for investors to be long on stocks, he says, and there is a case to keep some gold in your portfolio, as well as energy stocks.

Highlights (click/tap above)

01:38 A Michelle Yeoh, Di Caprio-style crisis

08:16 SE Asia is better placed than other regions

14:09 DBS, SIA - why some stocks do better than the rest

15:33 Opportunities for investors in this crisis

17:59 Post-War realities to watch for

21:10 Equities will never go out of fashion

Read Ravi's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP

Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor

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Host: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

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After US President Donald Trump walked back his threats to wipe Iran off the map, there’s now a two-week ceasefire in place.

Hours before this kicked in, the Singapore Government announced in Parliament on April 7 support measures to help cushion the cost increases resulting from the Middle East conflict.

These include disbursing $500 in CDC vouchers half a year early and a $200 increase in the Cost-of-Living Special Payment.

Six weeks into this war, the question now is: Will things get better from here, or are we just having a moment of respite before the knock-on effects continue to worsen?

In this podcast episode, I chat with economists Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Sheana Yue, a senior economist at global economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, about what else we should brace ourselves for.

Highlights (click/tap above):

4:12 Iran war uncertainty’s impact on Singapore

10:53 Singapore’s 1973 oil crisis lessons

17:21 Better placed to handle this war?

20:12 “We have a bit of breathing space.”

23:30 Do we need more handouts?

29:21 Is Singapore headed for a recession?

32:01 Stagflation a worry for all countries

35:55 Should we throw out the old diplomacy rulebook?

43:39 The worst-case Iran war scenario

Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)

Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm

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Filmed by: Studio+65

Edited by: Eden Soh, Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew

Executive producer: Danson Cheong

Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law

Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:

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If Singapore has fuel reserves, why are electricity tariffs surging?

Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with newsmakers.

From April to June 2026, electricity and household tariffs will be higher. And we’ve been warned to brace for even higher utility bills after this quarter, as the ongoing war in the Middle East squeezes global fuel supplies.

But this always leads to a very common question from Singaporeans. To counter these exact types of supply shocks, does Singapore actually have enough national fuel reserves to last for months? So if we have our own stockpiles, why do we still have to pay more?

In this episode, assistant podcast editor Lynda Hong unpacks the impact of the war on inflation with Dr David Broadstock, partner at energy consultancy The Lantau Group. He unpacks the stockpile paradox and explains how and when global conflicts hit the cost of living at home.

Apart from cost of living issues related to the rise in energy prices, the episode also discusses whether it’s more cost-effective to buy an Electric Vehicle (EV) and the challenges to transition to decarbonised energy like nuclear and renewables.

Highlights (click/tap above):

4:54 Survival vs. hedging: The two types of fuel reserves Singapore uses

14:10 Will Open Electricity Market (OEM) retailers collapse again?

20:35 When will energy inflation hit food and transport?

25:52 Why the war, even if short-lived, would have long-term impact on high prices

27:58 EV vs. petrol: Does switching to an electric vehicle actually save you money right now?

30:59 Is nuclear energy the ultimate solution to Singapore's price shocks?

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Follow Lynda Hong on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/Gm2v

Host: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong

Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

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