Category: Uncategorized

The perfect storm may have arrived. Financial markets went crazy this week again, gyrating like crazy every day as panic grip investors. One day the American index was down 1,200 points and then it was up 800 the next day, then down again and up the next day.

Central banks all over the world used the only drug they have known for the past 12 years after GFC and cut rates again. The Fed cut 50 bps and the financial markets rallied. Then more bad news of the creeping wave of coronavirus sweeping the developed world spooked everyone.

Professional fund managers are also at a loss as to the future direction of stock prices as we are now dealing with a big unknown. Production lines have already been slowed down to a stop almost everywhere. Tourism and F&B activities have dropped to all-time lows.

It is funny to see supermarkets in Europe and America experiencing the same situation as we had a few weeks ago as panic buying sets in. Who knew that toilet paper was ever going to be a scarce commodity in times of panic? Things are getting surreal as all eyes are glued to the TV screens on the hour by hour tracking of the global spread of the virus.

Like the annual common flu, experts are hoping that things would get better when the weather warms up and the temperate countries start a warmer spring season in a few weeks time. The daily tension is worrying everyone as countries that do aggressive testing of citizens will naturally see a spike up of new cases, hoping that these will peak soon. The others who are ill-prepared to do extensive testing are getting accusations of hiding information.

On a personal front, we count ourselves lucky that our immediate family is safe. We have advised our aged parents to stay indoors as much as possible and to wear masks whenever they go out. It looks like older people are the age group that is most at risk. Those with pre-existing conditions are also prone to succumb to the virus.

We were relatively lucky with our travels so far. Wife and I went for a vacation to China last Apr. We were at a place in Central China call Yichang to embark on a river cruise up the Yangtze River. It was less than an hour’s drive to Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus in Hubei. Then I attended a Blockchain course in Seoul last Oct which my son and wife accompanied me. Now South Korea is also off-limits as more new cases pop up every day.  Late Nov, we headed to Japan with a group of friends before our boys join us. We spent almost 3 weeks there. Again, the situation there has gotten worse.

We decided to go to New Zealand in mid-Feb as S’pore experienced a code orange alert a few days before we were scheduled to leave. In the end, we had a 9 hours delay for the departure but the trip turned out pleasantly well. Upon returning, we just heard that NZ had a first case of the virus this week. Apparently, it was from a passenger that was travelling on the same flight as us! But luck has it that we were in the opposite direction and boarded the same plane just a day earlier…

I did my monthly business trip to Yangon 2 days after returning from NZ and it was uneventful. They had not declared any cases yet but mask pricing there had already shot up 10 fold. The wife did a 1 week Bhutan trip and came back last week before she heard about a case there, after returning home. The near misses are getting scary, even though the probability of contracting it may be quite low.

As long as a country has adequate medical facilities and not become overwhelmed by new cases, the chances of recovery should be high. But this unease of an unseen enemy amongst us is stroking fear and panic worldwide now. People look to their governments and world health organization experts for guidance but they may not have the full picture yet.

Its time to buckle down and be extra careful, wash our hands more often and avoid unnecessary actions that may expose one to a higher risk of infection. These are strange and uneasy times indeed…

 

 

 

In the midst of the coronavirus scare that has spread globally to date, we had planned our first trip to NZ in Jan. As the panic situation was developing by mid-Feb, we were not sure if the vacation will materialize. The situation had worsened in S’pore (Alert from Yellow to Orange) just a few days before departure. Flights were been cancelled and our Auckland flight eventually was delayed by 9 hours due to crew scheduling issues.

We finally left on Sunday morning at 3 am and decided to wear a mask throughout the 10 hours journey, just to be on the safe side. Once we landed at 6 pm, we picked up our Hertz rental car (Toyota Corolla) and drove directly south to Rotorua. It took just under 3 hours and I was driving in the pitch-black roads for the later part. Sunset in NZ during this time was just after 8 pm. Finally settled in the hotel at 10 and had to order room service for a late dinner.

Started the next day early with a hearty NZ breakfast before we had a nice nature walk around the lake area. Then it was off to Tauranga, a one hour drive away. After a simple Turkish lunch, we went for a walk at the nice along the sunny beachfront. The evening was spent on a kayak for a glow-worm tour with a group of tourists till late. Again, we needed to do another night drive back to the hotel at 10+.

The next day (Tue) was jam-packed with activities, starting with a visit to the famous Polynesian Spa that was within walking distance from our hotel. A bit underwhelming, compared to the spas we were used to in Asia. Then we had a movie tour and lunch at Hobbiton in the afternoon. It was the place where the Hobbit village scenes were shot for the LOTR (2001/2/3) and Hobbit (2012/13/14) movies. We signed up for the Tamaki Maori dinner and tour in the evening. That was also a pleasant surprise as it was quite an entertaining and informative immersion into Maori culture.

Said goodbye to Rotorua the next morning as we headed south towards Taupo. On the way, we visited Waio-Tapu Thermal park and did another nature walk around the various hot springs and to experience the Lady Knox Geyser at 1015 am. Bought some good value Manuka honey along the drive to Taupo and stopover at a top-rated Thai Lotus restaurant for lunch (s0-so). Signed up for the Haku Falls river cruise that was a nice journey upriver to see the Aratiatia Rapids.

Taupo is a lovely and laid back vacation place. The lake itself is already the size of the whole of S’pore! Checked into our hotel which had a swimming pool and jacuzzi before having a formal dinner at the Edgewater restaurant that night. We were committed to drinking the good NZ wines for the whole vacation, especially the sauvignon blanc and pinot noir grape varieties.

I woke up early Thurs morning for a nice run along Lake Taupo before we went to the Taupo town riverfront to check out the town for a nice brunch venue and we settled for Dixie. They had a lamb fry (lamb liver) dish which I had to try. We had a pickup at 1 pm for river rapids rafting near Turangi which lasted till late afternoon. They were very professional and had lots of safety gear for everyone. Over 2 hours on the river, we moved passed 51 rapids locations. A quiet late dinner back in Taupo and we chose Italian at Osteria.

The next morning, we set off for an early morning start for the 5 hours drive south to Wellington. The drive was surprisingly pleasant and straight forward. Managed to arrive in time for a late seafood lunch at Crab Shack, which was very near our hotel. We explored the city during the late afternoon, checking out the shopping and wharf area. For dinner, we had a simple Vietnamese Pho noodle meal. Back to city life again.

On Sat morning, we had a nice NZ breakfast before being picked up for a 4 hours Wellington highlights tour. First off to Victoria Peak to get a great view of the city and check out the forest where some of the LOTR scenes were shot. Thanks to the virus issue, we could see that the Wellington harbour had come to a standstill as the ships and warehouses were already full of pine trees stock and they were unable to deliver them to China. All the world’s supply chains have been disrupted by the coronavirus as the world’s biggest factory (China) had stopped working.

Next stop was the Weta movie studio at Miramar to see the history of how NZ developed as a CGI location of choice after Peter Jackson decided to use his hometown of Wellington as a base for LOTR trilogy in 1999. Dinner was along the happening area of Cuban street at the Olive restaurant.

We returned the car at the airport in the early morning the next day for a 9 am flight back to Auckland. Reached our Four Points @ Sheraton hotel by noontime. A nice walk along Queen street shopping district towards the harbourfront led to a nice alfresco restaurant by the waters. We had a bottle of champagne and a long lunch which observing an LGBT “Love all” festival which also featured a drag queen visiting our table!

Mid-afternoon, we decided to visit the Sky Tower as it is a prominent feature of the city. For our last dinner of the trip, it was back to the wharf again to watch the sunset at a fusion Chinese restaurant called White & Wong.

The flight back to S’pore was uneventful as I binged on the LOTR trilogy to remind me of the places in NZ we had visited in Hobbiton and Wellington. NZ was a much more cosmopolitan country than I expected. More than 25% of the population is now of Asian heritage. It is a resource-rich country that is very laid back for chilling and the good life.

Being at the end of the world and away from everyone has made it an attractive location for billionaires to have a home there in case the world goes into a serious crisis. What a timely coincidence now with the current virus epidemic sweeping all countries! Jeff Bezos happened to be in Wellington when we were there too…

 

 

The feared virus finally has an official name from WHO: Covid-19.

It has been a week since we had a panic last Friday evening as the Dorscon alert was changed from yellow to orange after a day of rumours that it will be raised. Common sense was thrown out the door as we had a mad scramble for basic necessities like rice and toilet paper. It went out of hand as supermarkets ran out of supplies and we see photos of empty shelves.

Social media went into full swing as people forwarded images and videos of widespread panic buying. The authorities had to come out in force to assure everyone that there are no food shortages. It was a funny but yet eerie situation as mass hysteria took hold of a nation. We had a dinner gathering the following night on Saturday at my sister-in-law’s place, did a whisky tasting session and had a good laugh over it after many drinks to drown our worries…

The whole of this week was a period of unease as we see daily reports of more citizens being hit with the virus as new clusters were discovered. Contact tracing uncovered more leads as this invisible and unseen enemy extends its tentacles. Some say that it is more deadly than terrorism as the limits are unknown up to now.

Fear and worry is a bad combination to wish upon someone. When a nation suffers that at the same time, the effect is surreal and uncomfortable to watch. Everyone is gripped with the fear of the unknown and trying to live life as normal. Yet there is a nagging feeling of “will I be next?” syndrome at the back of everyone’s mind.

To be honest, I have not been sleeping well for the past week. I tried to use logic and cold hard facts to argue against fear and panic. The mortality rate of 2% is lower than SARS (10%) or MERS (37%) and even much lower outside of China (0.2%). S’pore has much better medical facilities and better prepared as a nation to face the silent enemy. Even if one gets infected, chances of recovery are high. Coupled with the higher temperature here versus China, it was reasoned that the spread would be more restrictive.

But then the little voice inside cast doubts as we see more cases being discovered every day (67 to date) and now there are 7 in the intensive care units. The elderly population seems to be hit the hardest, according to the statistics from China. Then midweek, we hear of spikes in cases from China, blaming a reclassification of suspect cases as officials are replaced. I was concerned for my parents and asked them to stay home as much as possible and to wear masks if they are going out.

It does not seem that we have reached a peak yet. The weather will warm up when spring starts by mid-March, the best guess date for the virus to slow down. In the age of social media and real-time connectivity, news spread fast and the situation last Friday has shown how quick a panic can build up.

I thought I was better prepared, after having lived through SARS in 2003. That was pre-Facebook times, ancient by Millenials standards. We were in the dark about what was happening then. I had zero clues as to why we were at the contingency business plan site which stretched from a day to almost a month. We did not even know how the virus was spreading then. People were dying and eventually, we had 33 fatalities in S’pore.

We are now in the midst of a highly stressful period of time in history for each individual. While this will not last, it will probably take a pound of flesh from everyone, figuratively. Each of us has our own coping mechanism to tide over tough times. More drinks, more exercises? I wish everyone well. Stay healthy and happy always.

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just first establish the timeline. The saga started in early Dec as cases began to appear in the Wuhan seafood market. By end Dec, the Chinese authorities had flagged the virus as an issue. Before the CNY holiday period on 25 Jan, most were well aware of it and China had already started to ring-fence Wuhan as the situation worsens. So on a global scale, we are now into our 5th week of the new viral strain which supposedly came from bats.

This reminds me of the SARS episode in 2003 where we went through 17 years ago. It was the blind leading the blind then. We had no clue as to what was happening and the fear was very real as people started dying. No one knew then about how the virus was transmitted, other than it was highly contagious and no one was spared. Even healthy people succumbed to it and brave doctors who volunteered to be at the front lines were affected. A shout out to Dr Alex Chao, an ex-schoolmate who made the ultimate sacrifice to S’pore. He was one of the 33 fatalities in S’pore. SARS total global cases were 8,096 that resulted in 774 deaths worldwide.

I was working in an American bank then when cases began to occur in S’pore. The COB (Continuity Of Business) plan was activated. I was one of the small group of people who were told to report to work at a remote location on the west side of the country. The plan then was to have 2 separate teams in case one got infected and had to be quarantined and shut down. Eventually, a 3rd group working from home was also initiated.

We were told that this process was temporary, that it will last a few days at best. It stretched to a week and then became a month. We were totally unprepared as the computer servers at the site could not support all of us. An email took 5 minutes to read… All that time, we were wondering how bad the situation really was, being clueless of the unseen enemy that could be floating anywhere within the air we breathe. Well, we survived that and since then, we had MERS and H1N1 until the new Coronavirus arrived today.

This time, the governments reacted decisively, though some may also argue that actions were too late. China started slow but once the machinery was activated, they conducted one of the world’s biggest quarantine exercise by ring-fencing an entire city in order to slow down the spread. When medical resources were tight in Wuhan, they built a new 1,000-bed hospital within 10 days. The overwhelmed medical staff there suffered the biggest blow to date as they were inundated with patients they could not handle and were exposed to the full effect of the virus. A city was sacrificed to save the country and the world.

To date, more than 32,000 individuals were infected and the death toll now stands at over 700, nearing the SARS total. The fatality rate is only at 2% (outside China, it is 0.02%), versus SARS at 10% and MERS 34%. So far, all the deaths occurred mainly in the Wuhan region. It is likely because the overworked hospitals could not handle the sudden overload and infection became very high as patients were kept together in the same wards. At their current weather temperature of 6 degrees Celsius and with low humidity, the virus is able to survive for up to 100 hours and become very contagious.

In S’pore, we have had 33 cases so far and no fatalities yet. 2 are currently in the intensive unit. Our high average temperature of 26-32 degrees and high humidity makes the environment very hostile to the virus. It probably can survive no more than 1 hour outside the body. The government had just raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level alert level from Yellow to Orange yesterday and caused a panic rush to stock up on food.

Globally, the infection rate outside China still seems very low with hardly any fatalities at all. Even in regions in China but outside Hubei, the virus has not really seemed to be as deadly as we thought. Yes, it is contagious, but yet many have recovered from it too. The facts and figures presented so far do suggest that while it is like the common flu, it may not be as deadly as SARS or MERS. It has been 5 weeks since the alarm was raised and may take a few more weeks to run its course.

Like the annual flu season, when winter ends and spring begins with the warming of the seasons, the flu cases tend to decrease and end. It looks likely that the coronavirus will behave the same way too. How fast it spreads remains to be seen, but the exponential rise seems to have tapered off.

In the age of social media, rumours are easy to circulate and panics are easily whipped up. The governments are trying their best to be proactive but that might also result in unnecessary worry and unreasonable actions. There is a fine line of balance where the masses can tip over anytime. Being level headed when well wishing friends flood you with Whatsapp messages of dubious nature is extremely difficult to be.

We just need to stay extra vigilant and be careful. Wash hands often and to maintain a high level of hygiene during this period of time. Like in the previous situations, all this will pass soon too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice weekend of CNY feasting from last Friday evening into Monday, the 3rd day of the holidays. At the back of our minds, 3 situations were developing rapidly and unravelling this week.

The Corona Virus has started to sweep over the world and the infection rate just shot through the roof. It was first detected in Wuhan China on 01 Dec and by the end of that month, the Chinese authorities had started to sound the alarm bells. It looks like a virus from bats and the epicentre was the wildlife/seafood market that was based in Wuhan. While scientists are now able the replicate the virus in labs based on the DNA information that China had shared, the development of a vaccine is at least 3 to 6 months away.

It reminded me of SARS more than 17 years ago. We had no clue then on what had hit us, except that it was highly contagious and people were dying. Even healthy persons were affected. A very courageous doctor (Dr Alex Chao – RIP) whom I know from school had volunteered to help and succumbed to it. He had 2 young daughters then, whom I recently understand have grown to be successful graduates now.

The bank I was working in at that time in 2003 decided to send a group of us to the contingency office on the other side of the island in case the main office was quarantined. They said it was just for a day, then it became a week. Eventually, we were there for almost a month. It was months before we knew what had happened and how to deal with it.

Many years later, after similar incidents like MERS and Swine flu, the medical community is better prepared for a new virus to strike. However, the unease is still there as the infection and mortality statistics begin to rise rapidly in the last week. With this CNY period, it was difficult to stem the mass exodus of people travelling within China, let alone the rest of the world.

While it is too soon to forecast, the known information sounds more optimistic then I thought. Most of the known cases overseas are from Chinese tourists. Local infections seem to be very low at the moment. It could also be the cold weather in China that makes it more contagious, like the annual flu viruses that kill more than 250,000 people every year. Most vulnerable are those with pre-existing conditions and older people.

The next few days will be closely watched for signs and speed of non-Chinese infection outside China. The Chinese government has been more transparent this time, compared to the SARS period where they were trying to under-report the situation then.

People are starting to panic and medical masks are sold out nationally now. The government is providing regular updates to prevent rumour-mongering. I honestly believe that S’pore is doing a relatively good job so far. The government’s stockpile of masks has now been distributed to its citizens. Tighter travel restrictions on Chinese tourists have also kicked in. People have been told to avoid crowded areas and some events have been cancelled.

Brexit has finally happened on 31 Jan. The UK officially leaves the EU and has the next 11 months to negotiate and finalize the terms for the various sectors. I am negative on this as I believe that there will be a big impact on the UK, especially its top financial centre status. Scotland still wants to stay within EU and Ireland has a problematic border issue to resolve after this divorce. The United Kingdom countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland may not continue into the future. Boris will have a tough job keeping things in control. My older son will be going to Oxford to study in Oct, so a weak GBP currency is good for him 🙂

The impeachment trial of Trump by congress has been a farce so far. No witnesses allowed, are you kidding me? In general, Americans have double standards applied to others. What they can do to other countries previously, they cry murder now when another country does it to them. Russians rigged the 2016 elections? Hasn’t America done it to countless countries before? Globally, countries are laughing in glee, now that the US is suffering the same fate that it has done to others.

It looks likely that GOP is going to acquit Trump next Wed. The decline of democracy is happening and social media is hastening this journey. Just look at the US airports and roads – China already has high-speed rail and impressive airports plus a great AI strategy for technology while America has none. The decline of America is happening before our eyes and we have to thank Trump for it.

 

 

 

It has been a very busy week for me as I had to do my monthly business trip to Yangon and then travel to Bangkok for the annual microfinance conference till early Friday, before heading home to prepare the Chinese New Year (CNY) eve reunion dinner.

The week started with an early morning Monday flight to Yangon followed by a packed day of meetings that lasted till after 6 pm. We wind down the day with a nice bottle of vino and Italian food. The day had been an interesting one which was highlighted by a potentially errant intern situation which was still developing.

Another meeting in the office on Tuesday morning before we headed to the airport for our flight to Bangkok. There were 4 of us who were attending the annual AFIF (Asian Financial Institution Forum  https://www.afiforum.com/ ). This was the 2nd year which the conference was held in Asia for microfinance related companies. We attended the 1st one last year and had 19 back to back meetings which resulted in a very fruitful year for our company as we were able to close quite a number of financial deals due to the contacts we met there.

Like the year before, we booked a nice meeting room for our one on one meetings that had been arranged prior to the start of the forum. In total, we had 23 meetings over the next 2 days. Our Treasury Manager has a number of follow up leads to continue discussions after this. The last few meetings also had very interesting developments which could result in exciting developments for our company in 2020.

The shopping area where we were staying in Bangkok was vibrant with tourists and shoppers as many from China as they were there for their long CNY holidays. The current coronavirus scare is a worry as more cases are identified and the death toll continues to rise. Memories of the SARS epidemic more than 17 years ago remain fresh in our minds.

My colleague and I had an early morning Friday flight home as it was the eve of CNY. I managed to reach home just after noon time to start the preparation of our annual steamboat reunion dinner with our immediate family members. It was a long and tiring day and week as well as I crashed out that night after a few drinks and a lovely dinner with our loved ones to cherish the significance of the reunion meal.

 

The Chinese New Year (CNY) dates are much earlier this year and it is just a week away on 25 Jan. So many things to do and so soon after we started 2020 and the finalization of new year resolutions.

We usually have at least 3 reunion dinners to complete. The first 2 with the extended families before the actual date and the last one on the eve of CNY at my place, where I would usually prepare a steamboat dinner. I totally enjoy getting things ready for the last one as I go to CNY warehouse sales shopping for frozen seafood a few weeks before.

This year will be a bit rush for me as I would have to get on my monthly business trip to Yangon on Monday, then to Bangkok for the annual Microfinance conference till Thursday. I will fly back to S’pore on Friday early morning, in time to prepare the reunion dinner.

A number of catch up sessions happened this week with friends and 2 items to note. A good friend had informed me this week of her divorce. This makes it 2 divorces for 2019 from people I know. One was because of a 3rd party and this one is probably because the couple has drifted apart over the years. I guess it is better for them to move on as it is no longer viable to remain in the past. When one door closes, many other doors will open in front of us.

I had read of this increased divorce rate phenomenon for older people in Japan before. Couples that had crossed into middle age or after retirement have decided to go their separate ways, as kids have grown and they encountered an empty nest situation to experience different second halftime journeys. Both friends I know did not have any children though.

Next item was an update into my investment in a new asset class last year. With all the hype on ICO (Initial Coin Offer) in early 2019, I decided to invest in one. I was always sceptical of this type of investment, having done some homework and attended an ICO seminar. They are a derivative of cryptocurrencies that spawn new wannabe cryptos. Most are created via the ERC-20 Ethereum platform. Investors exchange fiat or bigger cryptos for these newly created ones by companies that propose a new business idea.

These firms promise to create a new ecosystem where the new crypto would be widely used as a means of exchange. The other big red flag will be that they promise that the price of the crypto will rise. Creating an ecosystem is not easy as many have failed. Little transparency about what the firm does with the funds it has collected is another. What if that is being used to artificially support the price in a pump and dump scheme? Finally, the investors do not have an equity stake in the company – they have no recourse to any assets if things go south.

I invested in this particular ICO because of a number of reasons. Firstly, it was being run by people I know (a cousin and a prominent/successful classmate) and I was curious about the business model of capturing the huge Chinese tourist wave. My belief in investments has always been “you never know until you try”. Well, my cousin informed me this week that the project is being canned. They ran out of funds in Q3 last year before they could launch the ICO. Starting the travel ecosystem was much tougher than they envisioned. It was lucky that I decided at the start to invest in a lesser amount than I had originally planned. Guess I have to write this investment down to zero now. Learn learned. Lots of hype for ICOs and little to no success stories at all.

And to my last topic of the week: Trump. It seems like he has finally dug a hole that is too deep for him to get out of now. The impeachment trial in the Senate has officially started. More evidence is flowing out like a burst dam every day. If the GOP does not abandon the sinking ship soon, then they will go down with it. Like for Nixon, it seems like the strong political supporters are sensing blood now and fear for their political survival. Then again, I may be wrong too, as I have been saying this for the last 3 years 🙁    …

 

Our first Sunday of the year started with a long and nostalgic journey for me as I travel back 35 years in the time to when I was a young 18-year-old again.

We were bringing my younger son to the island of Pulau Tekong for his National Service registration, to be ready to serve the nation for the next 22 months. It is a compulsory rite of passage for every Singapore son since 1967. It is an Ah Boys to Men moment, where the young male teenager morphs into an adult over this period of time.

My older son had his moment here 2 years ago and we were all doing this for the second time now. We are more familiar with what to expect during this tour of the facilities, while the army assures the families that their sons and siblings will be well taken care of.

I guess the modern army is now so much more different from my time, where I had no point of reference as my dad did not experience NS during his time, before WW2. Even my older son commented that things are not the same after 2 years… I guess safety is paramount now after a spate of accidents and fatalities which had made all citizens stand up and question the training practises.

I wish my son a new journey where he will absorb, experience and enjoy the ride as he transforms into an adult. Mixing with people from all walks of life will prepare him for the future as he gains new friendships and go through physical and mental challenges.

On the following day, I concluded my last workday with Deloitte as my subcontract ends. The Digital Bank consultancy project with Grab ended more than 2 weeks ago. I had to return my laptop and passes to the client’s office as well as to the consultancy firm. This has been an enriching experience for me, to eat and breath in a Fintech environment for a short while. Hopefully, it opens up more consultancy opportunities for me. I will be reconnecting with another local consultancy firm again later this month. I have also put my hand up for the 6 months treasury consultancy role which the client would be hiring to support their new CEO for the digital bank. Let’s see how this will turn out in 2020.

Midweek onwards were catching up sessions with old friends over lunches and dinner. I had back to back meals from Wed lunch with an ex-colleague and then dinner with ex-colleagues who were all still at Citi except me! Then Thurs lunch with my usual group of buddies. Again, too much good food and drinks. A total of 8 bottles of wine consumed for dinner/lunch! No wonder I was flat out by Thurs evening. This uncle forgot that he has a 50+ years old body and not young anymore 😉

I also had a chance to meet up with the second mentee I had connected with for my 2nd year of participation in the NUSS Mentorship program. It is always refreshing for me to meet undergraduates to listen to their dreams and aspirations. I hope that I can add value to them by sharing my work experiences and help guide them along with their careers. I want to pay it forward as I have been given opportunities in my career.

For this year, I have decided to take up 2 new mentees while I am still in contact with the one I had last year. I wish I had a mentor during my uni years to provide advice and direction. But maybe I can change this now by doing my part to providing it to students who have like minded interests like me.

In my halftime journey, I do think a lot about how I can move from success to significance, to give back to society. Doing my Myanmar job is satisfying and getting more consultancy jobs fills up my time. Continuing my life long learning journey will also keep me busy. The halftime journey is shaping up…