Useful instagram channels for you to enjoy this holiday season

As we head towards Christmas, I wanted to share a few Instagram channels I follow that can sharpen our investment savvy over time. I do not zoom into financial channels because I prefer to read to further develop my expertise. 

Hence, the channels I love focus on geographical regions I'm interested in. 

a) Tim Tiah for insights on Malaysia

Timtiah gives a more accurate view of the Malaysian economy than reading newspapers like The Star or The New Straits Times, which spend too much time on politics. Tim's reporting is very even-handed and paints a relatively optimistic picture of Malaysia. Over time, I suspect Tim's strength lies in his focus on the economy rather than on politics, so Singaporean fans won't be frightened off by UMNO's racial politics.

You can follow Tim here.

https://www.instagram.com/timtiah/ 

b) Yuan Pu Huang for insights on China

This space is actually getting crowded. Yuan is an interesting channel as he is a scholar who has made it his personal mission to help the Western world understand China a little more. China is too big to analyse as a whole, with Chengdu being a chill place and Shenzhen being way faster than cities like New York, so Yuan is a valuable guide to help us better understand China.

Like all media from Greater China, we have to absorb both the negative press from the West, such as The Economist magazine, and, while I found Yuan quite balanced six months ago, he has recently become more critical of the West and more defensive about China. 

Nevertheless, it's not easy to find balanced reporting, and we need to read books by Dan Wang and Hu Anyan to better understand China. This is a lifelong educational process.

Whether you like it or not, China will become more critical to the next generation. 

https://www.instagram.com/yuanunpackschina/

c) Nicholas Wu for insights on Indonesia

This channel is a guilty pleasure for me because Nicholas Wu is a seasoned businessman who has experienced a lot in Indonesia, and it's where he voices his frustrations about what it's like to be a Singaporean there. 

Singaporeans who want to build their credentials but prefer to do it in Hard or Inferno mode may want to try Indonesia instead of the unusual places like China or the US. It's videos like this that make me grateful for being Singaporean. 

https://www.instagram.com/paknicaman/

Why do I like channels like this?

I suspect it's probably a realisation that I've spent most of my career in Singapore and feel like a frog in the well. In hindsight, the most successful Gen X careers involve a long stint overseas.

Would I have been able to generate the same amount of wealth and cruise after age 39 if I had built an engineering career elsewhere? I can speculate. Fortunately for me, I no longer have a need to explore that.

But I want this option for my kids in the future.