Kopi Time podcast with Taimur Baig

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Kopi time is a podcast series on insights from markets and economies around the world, hosted by Taimur Baig, Ph.D., Chief Economist of DBS Bank Ltd.

  1. Kopi Time E171 - IIF's Tim Adams on the Fed, US Fiscal, & Financial Stability

    6D AGO

    Kopi Time E171 - IIF's Tim Adams on the Fed, US Fiscal, & Financial Stability

    Timothy Adams, President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, brings his deep experience and expertise to Kopi Time. We begin with the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair, and his potential approach to monetary policy, including the challenges of balancing political pressure with institutional independence. We then discuss the state of monetary and fiscal policy, risks characterising the outlook, financial stability concerns, and the politics and economics around the USD and stablecoins. We end with Tim's views on the evolving geopolitical landscape and the need for middle powers to seek new partnerships and pragmatic positions on matters of national security and trade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  2. Kopi Time E170: Bernard Haykel on foreign policy in the Americas and the Middle-East

    JAN 28

    Kopi Time E170: Bernard Haykel on foreign policy in the Americas and the Middle-East

    Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, returns to Kopi Time to walk us through various geopolitical flashpoints. We begin with the US’s recent intervention in Venezuela and the cohesiveness of the strategy at play. Heavy on economic coercion and light on ground-level involvement, to what extent US can achieve control on the region remains to be seen, although the goal of reducing China’s influence is being achieved to some extent. We then touch on what lies ahead for other central and Latin American leaders who are not aligned with the White House. Next, Greenland, where Professor Haykel does not see military intervention, nor does he see the fraying of the NATO. We then move on to the various moving parts in the Middle-East, from Iran to Saudi Arabia to UAE to Israel to Syria. There are few academics like Professor Haykel who can parse through these complex issues with such ease. A tour de force.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    57 min
  3. Kopi Time E169 - Upside to the US, China, and Singapore

    JAN 16

    Kopi Time E169 - Upside to the US, China, and Singapore

    In the year’s first podcast, we examine the factors that could help overcome ongoing geoeconomic uncertainty, helping achieve trend growth outcomes in the US, China, and Singapore. The year has begun under the shadow of a highly assertive US pushing its hegemonic agenda. Both externally and domestically, Donald Trump has taken a largely imperialist posture, subject to hardly any checks from the other arms of the government. His goals include achieving energy and rare earth material security, forcing neighbours in the Americas into acquiescence, curtailing China’s power, and supporting right wing regimes worldwide. We are however doubtful that his actions would secure the House of Representatives in November. Beyond the political dynamic, short of an AI bubble burst, the US economy is poised to grow in line with trend this year, led by consumption. A weak job market and easing inflation pressure would keep the Fed cutting the policy rate more, drama around Fed Chair notwithstanding. We worry about the erosion of institutional integrity in the US, but the ramifications are in the medium term, with investors likely to remain enthusiastic about holding US assets in the near term. On China, we recognise both its struggles with the property sector and the tailwind emanating from an impressive tech wave. The spillover from China’s expanding manufacturing base is positive for trade-oriented economies, contrary to the narrative of predatory excess capacity. On Singapore, we see a number of levers in place to propel growth this year and beyond.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    31 min
  4. Kopi Time E168 - 2026 Stagflation Risk with Komal Sri-Kumar

    12/18/2025

    Kopi Time E168 - 2026 Stagflation Risk with Komal Sri-Kumar

    Fiscal slippage, lower economic growth, sticky inflation, weaker dollar, steeper yield curve, financial instability; these are the key prognostications of Dr. Komal Sri-Kumar in our year-end podcast. President of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, Sri is a deep thinker on macro trade strategies, and his forecasting track record is outstanding. Going into 2026, he is bearish both stocks and bonds, long vols and gold, and bearish the USD. He worries that the inevitable bursting of the AI-bubble and sticky inflation would cause stagflation and financial instability risks in the US next year. He is also concerned about the erosion of institutional strength in the US, from the central bank to the treasury to the statistical agencies. An unambiguously bleak outlook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    52 min
  5. Kopi Time E167 - Noah Doyle on Tech, AI, and Bubbles

    12/10/2025

    Kopi Time E167 - Noah Doyle on Tech, AI, and Bubbles

    Noah Doyle, Managing Partner at Javelin Investment Partners in Silicon Valley, with decades-long background in venture capital, joins Kopi Time to talk about tech and AI. We begin with a general discussion on the present vibe in Silicon Valley, giddy with record investments and returns. We then immediately pivot to the question of the moment, if there is an AI bubble, to which Noah offers a detailed and nuanced response, walking us through the supply and demand for AI infrastructure and products, the fund raising and capital deployment ecosystem, and dizzying valuation of AI companies, public and private. I then nudge Noah toward an issue close to his heart--if the path toward AGI through Gen AI, and if not, are there alternative paths in the making. Noah responds by discussing alternatives to Large Language Models, including symbolic logic-based AIs. We take the conversation toward innovations coming out of China and the US, which Noah tracks closely and sees the trend as a positive, mutually beneficial development. We talk about regulatory guardrails, cyber security, privacy, and ethical aspects of AI to round-up this fascinating conversation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1 hr
  6. Kopi Time E166: David Marsh on Europe’s Existential Challenges

    12/03/2025

    Kopi Time E166: David Marsh on Europe’s Existential Challenges

    David Marsh, Chairman of OMFIF economic research group, returns to Kopi Time to talk about the UK and Europe, with his new book, “Can Europe Survive?” (Yale University Press, link here), anchoring the conversation. We begin with the current economic, political, and security-related challenges, including US tariffs, China’s industrial prowess, conflict with Russia, immigration, energy security, and the rise of the far right. David delves into his decades of experience on geoeconomics to parse through the difficulties faced by the region’s leaders. He sees an urgent need for liberalisation of capital markets, greater trade and financial linkages with Asia, and sustained efforts to bring the region closer, while at the same time respecting some of the centrifugal forces at play. Europe, according to David, faces its gravest test since the second world war; a fundamental renewal of the EU compact and international partnerships is warranted at this critical juncture.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min
  7. Kopi Time E165 - Jawed Ashraf on India's Foreign Policy

    11/19/2025

    Kopi Time E165 - Jawed Ashraf on India's Foreign Policy

    Jawed Ashraf, with over three decades in Indian foreign service, including Ambassador to France and High Commissioner to Singapore, offers his insights on India’s foreign policy here and now. We begin with the India-Europe relationship on trade, investment, tech, talent, travel, and visas, which leads to the challenges related to Russia. The conversation then moves to India’s ongoing challenges vis-à-vis the US, China, and Pakistan. We conclude with going over the vast potential for deeper India-South East Asia collaboration. In each of these cases, the recently retired foreign service veteran digs into his vast experience and deep expertise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 2m
  8. Kopi Time E164: The “new China shock” with Arvind Subramanian

    11/14/2025

    Kopi Time E164: The “new China shock” with Arvind Subramanian

    We welcome back Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, to Kopi Time. We focus on some recent work by Arvind and Shoumitro Chatterjee (see article here), in which they argue that China’s continued dominance in low-skill export sectors reflects not just efficiency, but deliberate policy choices that prevent poorer countries from climbing the development ladder. We talk about their findings, nuances to the conclusions, implication  for trade and exchange rate policy, geopolitical considerations, and delve into a few issues beyond the article, including China’s rapid climb up the technology value-addition ladder. We also touch in Arvind’s new book,  A Sixth Of Humanity: Independent India's Development Odyssey, co-authored with Devesh Kapur. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    52 min
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Kopi time is a podcast series on insights from markets and economies around the world, hosted by Taimur Baig, Ph.D., Chief Economist of DBS Bank Ltd.

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