Junior
However i find it illogical to charge accrued interest by using CPF to buy property.Originally Posted by minority
CFP can use to buy ur investment property or own home u live in. isnt that yours?
so like that say CPF is not your money. so Money u put in the bank is not your money too?
Funny people think this way.
Furthermore, i think it is compulsory to buy into annuity when one reaches retirement age. We should be given a choice.
Valued Contributor
I think they are referring to the RA. I have to disagree with you on this.
RA is crap. They force you to buy CPF LIFE. I think they should allow people to withdraw as much as they want once they hit 65 years old. Go travel or whatever because this money is theirs. Shouldn't keep other people money until they die.
CFP can use to buy ur investment property or own home u live in. isnt that yours?
so like that say CPF is not your money. so Money u put in the bank is not your money too?
Funny people think this way.
Junior
http://thediplomat.com/2013/02/18/si...ated/?all=true
Singapore’s Population Debate Grows Heated
A government White Paper calls for Singapore’s population to hit 6.9 million by 2030. Citizens protest.
By Kirsten Han
February 18, 2013
Edwina Lin is 24-years-old and happily married, with a young son turning two this year. In Singapore, a prosperous city-state with a dismal birth rate, this is becoming increasingly rare.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Lin, a financial planner, and her family are currently living with her parents- and brother-in-law; five adults and one child squeezed into a four-room flat in one of Singapore’s many public housing estates.
She and her husband, a travel sales agent, have applied to buy a five-room flat in a newer estate that will only be ready in 2016. Until then, there isn’t much to do but work, earn as much money as possible and save up. They‘re expecting to have to take out a 30-year mortgage to pay for their home.
It’s a common tale among many young families in Singapore. Property prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and citizens have yet to feel the effects of the “cooling measures” adopted by the government. It’s a bitter pill to swallow as wages stagnate and the income gap widens; all while the country continues to record positive economic growth.
Singapore has often been cited as a success story, the envy of governments around the world. But simmering underneath the gloss and the shine lies a much more complex story of a nation slowly outgrowing a patriarchal government and restrictive system.
Not long after losing a by-election, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) launched a White Paper entitled ‘A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore’. The paper outlined the government’s plans to sustain economic growth and deal with a rapidly aging population, but for the most part only one thing captured the public imagination: the projected population of 6.9 million by 2030.
It’s a very unattractive prospect, especially when strains have already begun to show with 5.3 million people crammed onto an island of only 714.3 square kilometres. Flooding and train breakdowns are only some of the problems that have begun to annoy Singaporeans used to taking efficiency for granted.
Despite the public outcry, criticism from expert economists and five days of intense debate in Parliament, the PAP was able to use its parliamentary majority to push the motion through.
In the past, Singaporeans would have probably just complained in coffee shops before going about their everyday business, but not anymore. For many, the White Paper was the last straw. A protest organized at Hong Lim Park – the only space in the country where citizens are allowed to protest without a permit – drew a crowd of over 3,000 people, all of whom were fed up with the government’s policy and lack of serious engagement.
“It’s a united show of displeasure by the citizens against the White Paper even though it has been passed in Parliament,” says organiser Gilbert Goh. “Singaporeans basically are not happy with the 6.9 million population target by 2030 and are dropping all preconceived fears to step out of their comfort zone.”
Lin, too, had wanted to attend the protest, but had to stay home to take care of her son. Like the protesters, she has many misgivings about the White Paper and the quality of life for future generations: “The most worrying is that my children and grandchildren will have harder lives – and no signs of getting better quality of life – despite hard work put in, unlike our parents’ and grandparents’ generation when opportunities were abundant.”
Placards seen at the protest showcase the people’s frustrations. “We want to be heard, not herded!” one proclaims.
“We are not your ‘sheeple’,” says another.
It’s a sign that the government’s efforts to launch a ‘national conversation’ are not quite going to plan. Despite the social media pages, the love-heart-filled website and the dialogue sessions soliciting citizen viewpoints, Singaporeans still don’t feel like they’re part of the decision-making process.
Junior
More flat owners reluctant to sell: dataDue to the cooling measures implemented on 14/1/2011.. the gov did not aware of the "side effect".. In fact such CM will push up the price indirectly..... By the time they noticed that, they lan lan have to implement further CM
http://www.housesinsingapore.com/new...b-speculations
For example of the "side effect":
Let's say one project with 500 units..
Year 1:
Initially, 50 units available for sale.. with an average 1 new units added into new listing per month.. so is 62-units for 1st year
Every month sold 2 units on average.. 1-yr sold 24-units..
Left 38-unitsavailable for sale (62 - 24) at the end of Year 1
Year 2:
Brought forward 38 units available for sale from last year + 12 new listing = 50 units for 2nd year
After sold 24-units for Year 2,
Left 26-units
Year 3:
Brought forward 26 units available for sale from last year + 12 new listing = 38 units for 3nd year
After sold 24-units for Year 3,
Left only 14-units
I assure the same units sold.. will not come back to the resale market for the next 3-yrs.. due to the hefty SSD for the first 3-yrs at least (16%, 12%, 8%)
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prope...t-to-sell-data
Newbie
Garment and developers selling 200k units next 3 years. Don't need flat owners to sell lah!
Junior
In fact, most of the 200,000 units have already been sold.Garment and developers selling 200k units next 3 years. Don't need flat owners to sell lah!
This 200,000 refers to completion by 2016.
Junior
And how many "New SC" coming for the next 3-years?? Not even talking about current demand.. who's still waiting & waiting & waiting for BTO..Garment and developers selling 200k units next 3 years. Don't need flat owners to sell lah!
Newbie
I used my cpf to pay for the house I live in and an investment property which is still generating rental returns for me.CFP can use to buy ur investment property or own home u live in. isnt that yours?
so like that say CPF is not your money. so Money u put in the bank is not your money too?
Funny people think this way.
Junior
http://www.asiaone.com/print/A1Busin...19-403111.html
Business @ AsiaOne
More people declared bankrupt
After downward trend for 7 years, figure rose by 14.5% last year; experts blame inflation for the rise. -ST
Tue, Feb 19, 2013
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE - After seven years during which it fell steadily, the number of people made bankrupt swung upwards again last year.
While the strong economy and a debt repayment scheme helped push individual bankruptcy orders down from a peak of 4,553 in 2004 to a low of 1,527 in 2011, the orders rose by 14.5 per cent to 1,748 last year.
No reasons were given by the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office (IPTO) for the increase, but financial advisers, lawyers and counsellors who deal with bankrupts had some ideas about it.
More people might be finding it hard to keep up with their expenses even though they have jobs, as inflation has soared in recent years. Working-class families might turn to credit cards to get by and find themselves in trouble when they cannot pay what they owe.
A typical example is a renovation contractor counselled by Mr Leong Sze Hian, past president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. The man in his 30s was made bankrupt for charging $6,000 to credit cards "to make ends meet" as he had an irregular income. He went under when his debt snowballed to more than $10,000.
Also, given the solid economy and sizzling property market of late, more Singaporeans may be feeling flush and spending beyond their means, said Credit Counselling Singapore's president Kuo How Nam.
More people may also be getting into gambling debt, especially with the opening of the two casinos in 2010, counsellors noted. There are signs that increasing numbers may be in financial distress.
One is the burgeoning amount on rollover credit card balances - the amount unpaid which usually incurs interest of 24 per cent per annum - which shot up by almost 50 per cent from $3.4 billion in 2008 to $5 billion last year.
Another is the growing credit card bad debt being written off. This nearly doubled from $115 million in 2008 to $227 million last year, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shows. To prevent people from spending beyond their means, MAS proposed changes to rules on credit cards and unsecured credit last December.
According to IPTO, the top three reasons for bankruptcy are over-spending, business failure and unemployment.
About seven in 10 bankrupts have claims of less than $200,000 against them. Most are in the 31 to 50 age range and the good news is that the proportion of bankrupts just starting out in life has shrunk.
The share of bankrupts between 21 and 30 years old has fallen steadily in the last four years, from 14 per cent of all bankrupts in 2009 to 9 per cent last year.
Lawyer Adrian Peh, who handles insolvency cases, said one reason could be that younger people tend to have smaller debts, which qualifies them for the Debt Repayment Scheme. In 2009, the Government started the scheme, for employed people with regular incomes and debts of less than $100,000. A plan is made to help them to repay their debts within five years.
An IPTO spokesman told The Sunday Times about 700 people have been put on the scheme since 2009. Without it, they would have been declared bankrupt.
There were 24,895 undischarged bankrupts at the end of last year.
Newbie
many foreigners take loan from credit card and ODhttp://www.asiaone.com/print/A1Busin...19-403111.html
More people declared bankrupt
After downward trend for 7 years, figure rose by 14.5% last year; experts blame inflation for the rise. -ST
Tue, Feb 19, 2013
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE - After seven years during which it fell steadily, the number of people made bankrupt swung upwards again last year.
While the strong economy and a debt repayment scheme helped push individual bankruptcy orders down from a peak of 4,553 in 2004 to a low of 1,527 in 2011, the orders rose by 14.5 per cent to 1,748 last year.
No reasons were given by the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office (IPTO) for the increase, but financial advisers, lawyers and counsellors who deal with bankrupts had some ideas about it.
More people might be finding it hard to keep up with their expenses even though they have jobs, as inflation has soared in recent years. Working-class families might turn to credit cards to get by and find themselves in trouble when they cannot pay what they owe.
A typical example is a renovation contractor counselled by Mr Leong Sze Hian, past president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. The man in his 30s was made bankrupt for charging $6,000 to credit cards "to make ends meet" as he had an irregular income. He went under when his debt snowballed to more than $10,000.
Also, given the solid economy and sizzling property market of late, more Singaporeans may be feeling flush and spending beyond their means, said Credit Counselling Singapore's president Kuo How Nam.
More people may also be getting into gambling debt, especially with the opening of the two casinos in 2010, counsellors noted. There are signs that increasing numbers may be in financial distress.
One is the burgeoning amount on rollover credit card balances - the amount unpaid which usually incurs interest of 24 per cent per annum - which shot up by almost 50 per cent from $3.4 billion in 2008 to $5 billion last year.
Another is the growing credit card bad debt being written off. This nearly doubled from $115 million in 2008 to $227 million last year, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shows. To prevent people from spending beyond their means, MAS proposed changes to rules on credit cards and unsecured credit last December.
According to IPTO, the top three reasons for bankruptcy are over-spending, business failure and unemployment.
About seven in 10 bankrupts have claims of less than $200,000 against them. Most are in the 31 to 50 age range and the good news is that the proportion of bankrupts just starting out in life has shrunk.
The share of bankrupts between 21 and 30 years old has fallen steadily in the last four years, from 14 per cent of all bankrupts in 2009 to 9 per cent last year.
Lawyer Adrian Peh, who handles insolvency cases, said one reason could be that younger people tend to have smaller debts, which qualifies them for the Debt Repayment Scheme. In 2009, the Government started the scheme, for employed people with regular incomes and debts of less than $100,000. A plan is made to help them to repay their debts within five years.
An IPTO spokesman told The Sunday Times about 700 people have been put on the scheme since 2009. Without it, they would have been declared bankrupt.
There were 24,895 undischarged bankrupts at the end of last year.
Music of the night
To all the bears out there, this is your last chance to enter the market ... don't miss the boat again!!
Asian shares hit 18-month high on growth hopes
Ride at your own risk !!!
Junior
Well!! For that I have already warned MR B on 5th Oct 2012..
My predictions is so accurate.. till he also give up & thereafter go MIA..
http://forums.condosingapore.com/sho...2285&page=1528
5th Oct 2012
All these are tell tale signs that price will be looking UP UP UP further in the coming months
I have already warned MR B once during Aug this year.. just be prepared for another round in Feb/Mar next year..
Junior
aiya...nobody here will believe u one la. they rather believe someone with a THIRD EYE...ooooppppps.
WOAHAHAHHEH...FUNNY!
Junior
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100472868
A Wealthy Nation That Can't Afford to Retire
Published: Wednesday, 20 Feb 2013 | 3:42 AM ET
By: Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani
Assistant Producer, CNBC
The Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore may boast of the highest percentage of millionaires in the world, but retiring in this wealthy financial hub is becoming even more difficult for the common man.
According to a latest study by HSBC, the citizens of this country, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, face the grim prospect of running out of their savings almost halfway through retirement as the high cost of living and increased life expectancy eats into their nest egg.
Singapore has gradually moved up human resources firm Mercer's global rankings of the world's most expensive cities, moving to sixth place in 2012 from eighth in 2011 and eleventh in 2010.
(Read more: Singapore's High Cost of Living May Come at a Cost)
"There is cause for concern from the finding that the retirement savings of people in Singapore will run out after nine years, which is about the time they are entering into frail retirement and a stage of their lives when medical costs and other elderly care expenses are expected to rise," Paul Arrowsmith, head of retail banking and wealth management, HSBC Singapore, said in the report released on Wednesday.
"People are living longer, through tougher economic times, and expectations about their standard of living in retirement have risen," Arrowsmith added.
More than half of the 1,000 Singaporeans interviewed for the survey said that either they were not adequately prepared or not prepared at all for retirement as they expected to continue working beyond the age of 65 to be able to afford their desired lifestyle.
One also needs more money to fund one's retirement in Singapore. According to the study, the annual household income required to lead a "comfortable" retired life in Singapore is the third highest among Asia's major economies, behind Australia and Hong Kong, at $48,773. This figure is 68 percent higher than what was needed in 2011, the survey, which has been running for eight years, found.
The rising cost of living in Singapore has 58-year-old Singaporean Janice Tan worried about her retirement.
"I think the cost of living is really escalating a lot," Tan told CNBC. "During the Chinese New Year season, when I went to buy the goodies, it really shocked me, because the cost is really going up too fast."
Tan and her husband are currently paying for the education of their two children, including a 21-year-old daughter studying in Perth, Australia. While Tan, an administration professional, hopes to retire soon, she says she knows it might be another 10 years before that happens.
"As human beings we want more - a more comfortable life. That's where the worries come in on whether you will able to survive," Tan said.
According to the study, of those not saving for retirement, nearly half said they were being held back by the cost of day-to-day living.
(Read more: Protest Puts Political Risk in Singapore's Future)
High costs have become a major cause of discontent among Singapore's residents. This prompted a rare protest over the weekend in which about 3,000 people participated. They were voicing concerns over swelling costs driven by an influx of foreigners.
Foreigners, who account for almost 40 percent of Singapore's 5.3 million people, have been blamed for pushing up housing prices and taking up jobs in one of Asia's major business centers.
Retirement Fears
The top three fears about retirement cited by Singaporeans were poor health, financial hardship and not having enough money to provide for good healthcare, according to the study.
With retirement savings drying up at a time when Singaporeans are most vulnerable to health problems, funding medical bills could become a big burden, HSBC said.
Tan backed that sentiment, saying that medical bills from a motorcycle accident that her husband was involved in last year have been a drain on their finances.
"As we get older, I realize it [funding health costs] is a more important thing to sort out," said Tan. But the high cost of living is coming in the way. "I can't imagine how much more the cost of living is going to go up to," she added.
—By CNBC.com's Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani; Follow her on Twitter @RajeshniNaidu
Junior
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/02/20...e-dropped-1-5/
Lowest 10%’s real household income dropped -1.5%?
February 20th, 2013
I refer to the report “Median household income up 7.5% in 2012” (Channel NewsAsia, Feb 20).
Real household income grew 2.7%?
According to the Department of Statistics’ Key Household Income Trends 2012, “Among resident employed households, median monthly household income from work increased from $7,040 in 2011 to $7,570 in 2012, a 7.5 per cent growth in nominal terms, or 2.7 per cent in real terms”.
Real household per member income grew 1.6%?
As to “Taking into consideration changes in household size, median monthly household income from work per household member increased by 6.7 per cent in nominal terms, or 1.9 per cent in real terms in 2012″, does it mean that more people per household, particularly in lower-income households, may have to work in order to make ends meet?
Actually, the above statistics is “including employer CPF contribution”. The figure “excluding employer CPF contribution” is only 1.6 per cent in real terms in 2012.
The Average Household Size of Resident Employed Households by Type of Dwelling, increased the most for HDB 1 and 2-room flats, from 2.58 to 2.68 in 2012.
Lowest 10%’s real income grew 0.7% per annum last decade?
The 1st to 10th decile’s real Average Monthly Household Income from Work Per Household Member
Among Resident Employed Households, grew by – 1.2 per cent per annum in 2012 to only $440, and only 1.1 per cent per annum from 2007 to 2012.
From 2002 to 2007, the real income growth for this group was only 0.3 per cent per annum.
So, does it mean that the real income growth for the last decade was only about 0.7 per cent per annum?
Lowest 10 & 20%’s real incomes dropped -1.5 & -0.2%?
Similarly, the above statistics are “including employer CPF contribution” – the Change in Real Average Monthly Household Income from Work excluding Employer CPF Contributions Among Resident Employed Households for the 1st to 10th and 11th to 20th decile was – 1.5 and – 0.2 per cent in 2012.
Likewise, the Average Monthly Household Income from Work excluding Employer CPF Contributions
Per Household Member Among Resident Employed Households was only $410 and $780 in 2012 for the 1st to 10th and 11th to 2oth decile, respectively.
HDB 1 & 2-room’s real income grew 0.55% p.a. last decade?
For HDB 1 and 2-room flats, the real growth was only 0.3 and 0.8 per cent per annum, from 2002 to 2007 and 2007 to 2012, respectively.
So, their real income growth was only about 0.55 per cent per annum for the last decade.
This group comprise 4.7 per cent or 54,144 households out of the total 1,152,000 households.
Middle class’ real income grew as little as 0.1% p.a.?
The Change in Real Average Monthly Household Income from Work excluding Employer CPF Contributions
Among Resident Employed Households by Type of Dwelling, was only 0.3 per cent in 2012 for HDB 1-room, 0.2 per cent for 5-room and Executive flats, and 0.1 per cent condominiums and other apartments.
200,000 households don’t earn much?
Resident Households by Monthly Household Income from Work excluding Employer CPF Contributions, was 3.2, 7.0 and 7.3 per cent of total households, for income below $1,000, $1,000 to $1,999 and $2,000 to $2,999, respectively.
Does this mean that there were about 201,600 households (36,864 + 80,600 + 84,096) earning below $3,000.
Gini “excluding employer CPF contribution” worse?
“The Gini coefficient increased slightly from 0.473 in 2011 to 0.478 in 2012.” – “Excluding employer CPF contribution”, the Gini is even worse at 0.488.
Leong Sze Hian
Leong Sze Hian is the Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, an alumnus of Harvard University, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow and an author of 4 books. He is frequently quoted in the media. He has also been invited to speak more than 100 times in 25 countries on 5 continents. He has served as Honorary Consul of Jamaica, Chairman of the Institute of Administrative Management, and founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications. He blogs at http://www.leongszehian.com
Junior
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...tlook-20130221
Business Times
Published February 21, 2013
Cooling moves dampen developers' outlook
Respondents expect moderately lower home prices: survey
By Mindy Tan
[SINGAPORE] Developers' market outlook turned pessimistic, following the introduction of the latest set of cooling measures in January, with more expecting moderately lower residential prices in the near term.
According to the Redas-NUS Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI), the Current Sentiment Index, where respondents rate real estate market conditions now compared with six months ago, fell from 5.1 for Q3 2012 to 4.6 for Q4 2012.
The index ranges from 0 to 10, with a score below 5 indicating deteriorating market conditions and a score above 5 shows improving market conditions.
The Future Sentiment Index, where respondents rate overall property market conditions over the next six months too slipped, from 4.7 in Q3 to 4.0 in Q4. As such, the Composite Sentiment Index fell from 4.9 to 4.3.
"After the latest round of cooling measures, there was a dip in the market sentiments in both the current and future terms. The suburban residential and industrial sectors are expected to see volatility in the next six months," said Associate Professor Sing Tien Foo of NUS' Department of Real Estate.
Prior to the announcement of the latest round of market cooling measures, respondents' current, future, and composite sentiment index were 5.2, 4.9, and 5.1 respectively. Following the announcement, they were asked to reassess their market sentiment.
Specifically, current and future net balance scores declined across different real estate sectors. The prime residential sector showed the sharpest decline in Q4 with a current net balance of -27 per cent and a future net balance of -49 per cent, compared with -8 per cent and +2 per cent the previous quarter.
In the suburban residential sector, current net balance was +10 per cent. Future net balance dropped significantly from +6 per cent in Q3 to -28 per cent in Q4.
Suburban retail and hotel/serviced apartments were the two best performers with current and future net balances of +14 per cent and +9 per cent respectively.
According to the survey, 48 per cent of respondents expect moderately lower prices in the primary residential market, up from 10 per cent. 25 per cent (a significant drop from 58 per cent previously) expect prices to hold, and 28 per cent (from 33 per cent) expect a moderate price increase.
Overall, respondents plan to launch lesser units, with only 10 per cent indicating they will launch substantially more units, from 23 per cent previously. 43 per cent (down from 48 per cent previously) expect moderately more launches; 28 per cent (unchanged) expect the launches to hold at the same level. Notably, 20 per cent expect lesser units of new launches, compared with 4 per cent in Q3.
Level of interest in land sales too dropped, with only 10 per cent expressing moderately greater interest in GLS, down from 32 per cent in Q3. 38 per cent indicated moderately lesser interest, a big jump from 7 per cent previously.
Interest in en-bloc sales was also lacklustre - 35 per cent (compared with 61 per cent previously) expressed the same level of interest; 45 per cent (up threefold from 15 per cent) anticipate moderately less interest in en-bloc sales.
On the development cost front, labour cost continues to be a major concern, indicated by 59 per cent of respondents, from 55 per cent the previous quarter. One third of developers surveyed (33 per cent) note their concern in land cost, whereas 25 per cent express concern on building material cost.
Junior
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%...20-403205.html
Ageing population won't slow growth, says expert
By Victoria Barker
My Paper
Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013
SINGAPORE - Singapore's ageing population is unlikely to dampen the country's economic growth, a leading Austrian population expert suggested yesterday.
Demographer Wolfgang Lutz said that though further study is required, research so far has not shown any evidence that is in line with the common "expectation that ageing societies have economic problems".
"Our historical experience is still limited but, at least up to this point, I have not seen convincing evidence that the ageing of the labour force has negative consequences," he said.
Professor Lutz was responding to a question on whether the challenges posed by an ageing population may not be as dire as portrayed in the Government's hotly-debated Population White Paper, released last month.
He added that, in fact, it is quite the opposite, citing Germany - which he said is one of the oldest countries by median age of population - as an example of an ageing population which is thriving economically.
"Cyprus has a population that is about 10 years younger than Germany's. So why doesn't the younger, dynamic population of Cyprus overtake (it)?"
The 56-year-old said: "The image of today's elderly in Singapore is strongly formed by the fact that they are largely uneducated."
But he noted that this will change, as the proportion of Singaporeans with tertiary education has been on the rise. This will translate to a better-educated and, therefore, more active elderly population in the future.
The founding director of the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital was addressing around 140 academics and members of the public at the RELC International Hotel, during a lecture organised by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies.
In his lecture, Prof Lutz said that as a mature society, Singapore must look at its human capital in a broader sense, beyond just formal education.
"Motivation, imagination, innovativeness... These are valid, relevant factors for economic well-being, as well as social well-being," he said.
He said he attended last Saturday's protest against the White Paper, where he sensed that many Singaporeans view a strong sense of cultural and national identity as extremely important.
Junior
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/spec...-loan-20130221
Business Times
Published February 21, 2013
'Mortgaging' entire life to repay a home loan
'Housing slaves', a part of China's growing middle class, help real estate prices rebound
Cooling measures: China is expected to tighten credit policies for people buying a second home or raise the tax on gains on transactions of existing homes in the most affluent, or so- called tier-one cities. - PHOTO: AFP
[SHANGHAI] Sherry Sheng, a 29-year-old Shanghai policewoman, bought herself a 4,000 yuan (S$792) black fur jacket, splurging for the last time before she starts paying off the mortgage on her first home.
Ms Sheng is part of a generation of middle class that Chinese media has dubbed "fang nu", or housing slaves, a reference to the lifetime of work needed to pay off their debts. They're taking on mortgages even as the government maintains property curbs to damp prices that have almost tripled since China embarked in 1998 on a drive to increase private home ownership.
"It's a treat for myself because I could never afford such a luxury after I start repaying my housing loans next month," said Ms Sheng, who paid 1.1 million yuan for the one-bedroom apartment on the city's western outskirts and will be using about 70 per cent of her salary to service her mortgage.
China's growing middle class reaching for homeownership helped property prices rebound starting in the second half of last year. They rose one per cent in January from December, the biggest gain in two years, according to real estate website SouFun Holdings Ltd. Home prices in Beijing and Shanghai each rose 2.3 per cent from December.
Average per-square-meter prices in 100 cities tracked by SouFun are five times average monthly disposable incomes. A 100- square-meter (1,076-square-foot) apartment today costs about 40 years’ annual income, according to SouFun and government data, even as salaries have more than quadrupled since 1998.
Junior
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...t-economy.html
Singapore Companies Brace for Labor Curbs After Protest: Economy
By Shamim Adam - Feb 21, 2013 11:31 AM GMT+0800
A man holds up a placard at Hong Lim Park to protest against the government's White Paper on Population at Speakers' Corner in Singapore on Feb. 16, 2013. Photographer: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images
Singapore will probably force companies to further reduce their reliance on foreign labor in the 2013 budget, after a public backlash against the influx of workers led to the biggest demonstration in more than a decade.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam may cut the ratio of overseas workers companies are allowed to hire, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. To counter any labor shortfall, there may also be incentives to boost productivity, economists at Citigroup Inc. and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. said ahead of the Feb. 25 budget presentation.
Thousands gathered in a rare political protest on Feb. 16, signaling concerns that foreigners are taking jobs from locals and driving up housing costs haven’t abated even after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tightened hiring rules in recent years. Lee has warned that the labor curbs will slow economic growth, while rising costs are bedeviling businesses such as The King Louis restaurant, where all the full-time waiters are foreigners.
“I’m worried every time the budget comes around,” said Sebastian Teow, marketing manager at the medieval-themed restaurant. Teow is already struggling to fill positions at the outlet and coping with higher taxes for hiring overseas workers in recent years, he said. “We are really hoping there won’t be higher levies as they are eating into the profits.”
Growth Slows
Singapore’s economy grew 1.2 percent in 2012, the least in three years. The island is in a “new phase” of growth where it must adjust to a smaller pace of expansion, and hiring constraints are among the reasons for last year’s slowdown, the prime minister has said. The government forecasts growth of 1 percent to 3 percent this year.
“The ongoing challenge of sluggish growth coupled with a high-cost environment remains a hurdle to both businesses and workers alike,” said Selena Ling, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking in Singapore. The budget “needs to strike a balance between economic restructuring vis-a-vis manpower constraints and cost issues on the ground,” she said.
A report tomorrow may show the economy grew an annualized 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 from the previous three months, faster than an initial estimate of 1.8 percent, according to the median of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Elsewhere in Asia today, Hong Kong may say its jobless rate was unchanged at 3.3 percent last month, while in Europe, purchasing managers indices for the region may show an improvement in manufacturing and services in February, according to Bloomberg surveys. The U.S. will release consumer price data for January, while economists predict a separate report will show jobless claims rose in the week through Feb. 16.
Wage Supplements
Lee’s ruling party is facing weakening support in the island that it has governed for more than five decades. The rising number of foreigners has contributed to competition for jobs, congested public transportation and surging home prices. The resulting public discontent contributed to record opposition gains in the 2011 general election, and caused Lee’s party to lose a parliament seat in a January by-election.
Last week’s demonstration was against a population policy that may see the number of people on the island rise to 6.9 million by 2030 from 5.3 million now. Lawmakers from Lee’s party endorsed a white paper earlier this month that outlined proposals to allow more foreigners through 2030 to boost the workforce.
Tough Times
The white paper predicted total workforce growth will ease to 1 percent to 2 percent annually through 2020, compared with an average rate of 3.3 percent per annum in the last three decades. The projections are “tough” for businesses, said Ho Meng Kit, chief executive officer of the Singapore Business Federation, which represents more than 18,000 companies.
In 2012, the government cut the proportion of foreign workers that companies can hire, and increased levies for employing them. An Association of Small and Medium Enterprises survey last year showed more than eight in 10 companies are facing manpower shortages.
Under current limits, employers in the construction industry can hire as many as seven foreigners for every local worker, compared with a ratio of 1.5 for manufacturers and 0.8 for services companies. Monthly levies that companies have to pay for such workers may be as much as S$650 ($524) per employee in construction, S$550 in services and S$500 in manufacturing.
Worker Strike
SMRT Corp. (MRT), the island’s biggest subway operator, said in January that its profitability in the next 12 months will deteriorate in part as staff costs “significantly increase.”Dozens of SMRT’s bus drivers from China held Singapore’s first strike in 26 years in November over a wage dispute.
Unit labor costs rose 6.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, Statistics Department data show. They may climb 3 percent to 4 percent in 2013, the central bank said in October.
“The likely continued pressure on wage costs will be negative for offshore and marine companies, domestic transport operators and exporters,” Sanjay Mookim and Kwee Hong Ching, research analysts at Credit Suisse, said in a research note.
Shanmugaratnam may also announce more assistance for the poor and bigger wage supplements for low-income earners when he presents the budget to Parliament next week, according to Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng.
Singapore’s income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient widened last year, according to the Statistics Department. Inflation averaged 4.6 percent in 2012 and the island is the third-most expensive Asian city to live in and the sixth globally, according to an Economist Intelligence Unit ranking published this month.
Last year, the government said it will make permanent a program to provide cash, utility rebates and medical funds for elderly and low-income households.
“Helping the lower-income segment of the society is likely to remain on the top of the lists as Singapore strives to be an inclusive society,” Francis Tan and Jimmy Koh, analysts at United Overseas Bank Ltd., wrote in a research note.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at [email protected]
Junior
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/a...piness-deficit
Singapore, Hong Kong face happiness deficit
Rivals Hong Kong and Singapore have much in common - not least their wealth. So why are so many in both cities so unremittingly miserable?
Toh Han Shih and Joanna Chiu
Saturday, 19 January, 2013, 12:00am
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong and Singapore are rivals on many fronts. The two former British colonies compete for everything from tourist dollars to stockmarket listings and the right to host the regional headquarters of international corporations.
Politically, many Hongkongers deride Singaporeans for their weak political freedoms, while some in Singapore argue that Hongkongers' love of protesting goes too far.
But the two sides are locked in a new battle - perhaps a surprising twist in this ago-old contest - and it indicates that the two have rather more in common than they would care to admit.
Despite their wealth - Singapore and Hong Kong rank third and seventh on per capita GDP according to the World Bank - the two cities are among the least happy territories in the world, according to a Gallup poll released last month.
Singapore is way ahead in the race to be Asia's most miserable place, ranking rock bottom in the poll of 148 nations and territories, with just 46 per cent of those polled expressing positive feelings. Hong Kong came in 73rd, with 69 per cent of respondents expressing "happiness".
Panama and Paraguay topped the poll, with 85 per cent of the respondents reporting positive emotions. China, the United States, Chile, Sweden and Switzerland tied at 33rd place, despite the wide wealth disparity in these countries.
Happiness, after all, is a subjective sense of well-being; different cultures have different interpretations of it.
"The Gallup poll tries to standardise happiness between different places. Therefore, the poll uses positive emotions as a reference," Tso Kwok-chu, a psychiatrist who runs a clinic in Hong Kong, explained.
According to the World Bank, Singapore had a per capita GDP of US$60,688 as of December 30, 2012, while Hong Kong trailed at US$50,551. Of the two happiest countries in the poll, Panama's GDP per person was US$15,589 and Paraguay's was US$5,501 - about one-tenth of Hong Kong's.
"Singaporeans, while absolutely well off, are relatively unhappy. The survey is on to something real," said Yeoh Lam Keong, vice-president of the Economic Society of Singapore, a non-profit organisation of economists.
Alan Lo Tzee-cheng, 45, a teacher at the International College Hong Kong who moved to the city from Australia four years ago, said many Hong Kong people were too focused on achieving material success, which made them unhappy.
"I can understand why so many people say they're unhappy in Hong Kong. I travel throughout [the city] during the course of my work and see a great cross-section of people. A lot of problems start with the fact that the culture and society here is very focused on success that's based on, essentially, money," Lo said.
"Money and competition about making more money than others penetrate all parts of people's lives. Their education, the way they raise their children, what they eat. Even to go shopping can be an emotional trial. Lots of luxury goods are so priced out of people's range that it builds up jealousy and envy. People become quite negative. I think that's the heart of it."
As a result, the people in Hong Kong and Singapore find themselves constantly buried in an avalanche of work, leaving them emotionally insecure and fragile.
Singaporeans have one of the worst work-life balances in the world, as they work some of the longest hours globally, explained Yeoh, a senior adjunct fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies, a Singapore think tank. "They are overstressed and do not have enough time for family and recreation."
An International Labour Organisation report in 2010 found that Singaporeans put in the longest hours at work. While the report did not specify exact numbers, the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore put the average at 45.9 hours per week. Hong Kong follows closely, with 44.5 hours per week according to government statistics.
There are no comparable statistics from Panama and Paraguay. In Panama, 50-hour workweeks are allowed for two months in a year for manufacturing ventures during the peak season. In Paraguay, the standard working hours for civil servants is around six to seven hours a day.
Wealth does not necessarily guarantee a good quality of life. The average living space in Hong Kong is only 12 square metres per person - one of the smallest in the world. Singapore ranks much better at 25 square metres per person. However, despite its reputation for having world-class public housing, education and health care, these are becoming increasingly unaffordable for a significant segment of Singaporean society, according to Yeoh.
Overcrowding and wage stagnation due to immigration have generated huge negative social challenges for low and middle-income Singaporeans, Yeoh added. "Income inequality has risen to high levels. Most studies show high income inequality leads to poor social well-being, reducing social mobility."
As Chua Kheng Kok, Asia Pacific president of Mary Kay, an American cosmetics company, remarked: "The polarity of wealth in Singapore has resulted in the rich becoming happier and the common people become unhappier. I find Singaporeans more envious of each other and therefore less happy."
The increasing wealth gap is hardly unique to Singapore.
In Hong Kong, government figures show that the median salary of Hong Kong's top 10 per cent of earners is HK$88,800 a month, more than 26 times that of the poorest 10 per cent.
Overall, one in six people, struggled with poverty in the second quarter of last year - a shocking figure given Hong Kong's reputation as one of the most affluent societies in the world.
And the problem is not just the disparity in wealth distribution, but also people's mentality towards it.
Jacqueline Tong Tze-ling, 24, an engineering consultant for an international firm who was raised in Canada and lives in Hong Kong, says Hongkongers are too intense and competitive.
"The main causes of unhappiness in Hong Kong are financial, and that's just how the society is set up. Everyone needs to compete, and it starts really early. Preschoolers already need to develop a portfolio. That's ridiculous. When I was in preschool [in Vancouver], I was happy and blowing bubbles," she said.
"People make their kids grow up too fast here. They don't get time to explore and enjoy the things they want to do … basically people trade their health in order to gain wealth in Hong Kong. That's the norm."
Alvin Tan Sheng Hui, a Singaporean working in Hong Kong, put the dilemma simply: "We in Hong Kong and Singapore have a lot to be thankful [for] and we forget that. We have more than we need, which also engenders envy and dissatisfaction. We want more, yet we thank less."
In both Hong Kong and Singapore, the key determinants of happiness are money, career and family, said Alvin Tan, an executive director at a leading investment bank.
"Singaporeans are generally positive fellows, though the pursuit of the 5Cs is now in question - whether it really brings true happiness," said Kelven Tan, a Singaporean businessman. The 5 Cs is a Singaporean acronym for the symbols of material success: car, cash, credit card, condominium and club membership. Tan said he had become happier after moving to Canada from Singapore several years ago.
"I moved because I wanted my family to know there is more in life than earning money, more to learning than scoring As to get good jobs, to learn the truths themselves," Tan explained.
Lee Kwok Cheong, CEO of SIM Global Education, the largest provider of private education in Singapore, said: "We [Singaporeans] have the paradox of being happy and unhappy at the same time.
"Singaporeans are on the whole happy. We appreciate how far Singapore has developed and how we have done better than most countries. We like to boast we are No1 in this and that.
"At the same time, we focus on where we have fallen short, and compare ourselves against a very high standard. This is partly due to our government reminding the population we would lose everything if we drop the ball. This insecurity, plus the pressure of living in a crowded city, cause us to complain."
In Hong Kong, property is the one thing that makes or breaks a person's fortune - and largely decides if he is happy or not.
Hong Kong residents who profited from earlier waves of property inflation were happier than those who did not, said Lee, a Hongkonger who has lived in Singapore for many years.
Tong, the engineering consultant, agrees. "It is very tough for young people to establish themselves in Hong Kong. They really can't afford to support themselves. Housing is a really big deal. They end up living with their parents even after they get married," she said.
"So you end up with generations of people living together, so no one has privacy or time for themselves at all because they're crammed in a small space."
Singaporeans generally do not wear their emotions on their sleeves and open up to strangers, unlike people from Malaysia or the Philippines, said Raju Chellam, South Asia and Korea head of cloud practice for Dell Computers.
"But the reality is different. Singaporeans care about their country, family, neighbourhood and people who have been mistreated. Since Singapore is hyper-efficient, there is little to complain about, compared to many countries," said Chellam, who was born in India and has lived in Singapore for 20 years.
A Singaporean lawyer working in Hong Kong said he felt happier here, enjoying the freedom and vibrancy of the city.
"People are less angry and more comfortable with themselves. … Everybody has a different point of view and is not afraid to express their individuality. The transportation system works well. Things are not overpriced except housing.
"You don't feel the government is taking everything and leaving you the crumbs. When you walk around the streets, you always find new things to discover. The city is always interesting, alive and surprising," he said.
However, not everyone is seeing the benefits.
The proportion of poor people is increasing in Hong Kong, says Tso, the psychiatrist. Many young Hongkongers with university degrees born after 1980 have high qualifications, but low income. "These young people have become frustrated and helpless."
Tso has a front-row seat to Hong Kong's high-pressure culture and the toll it takes on citizens. "Hong Kong people are under great stress. There is great demand for mental health services in Hong Kong nowadays."
Chua, of Mary Kay, offers a solution: wherever one lives, the key to happiness is to count one's blessings and to look on the bright side of things.
Junior
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/02/18...nary-sporeans/
Does ‘asset enhancement’ really benefit ordinary S’poreans?
February 18th, 2013
When Mr Goh Chok Tong became Prime Minister in 1991, he introduced the “asset enhancement” programme. It involved upgrading public housing i.e. HDB flats as well as encouraging prices for both public housing and private property to rise.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew explained some years ago, “Let me explain what happens when we make progress. HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, all asset prices go up. Everybody finds he owns something more valuable in the house, his shares are worth more and he can live a good life.”
However, to live a good life, one needs to convert the asset to cash first by selling the property and realising capital gain.
As it turns out, more Singaporeans are now holding on to their HDB flats, according to the latest data from HDB. The percentage of people who sell their flats within the year after the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP) dipped to 11.8% last year (2012), reversing a trend that had been rising in the past 4 years.
In 2008, it was 4.3% while in 2011, it was 18.3%. These figures are for flats bought directly from HDB.
A property analyst said, “The fact that more people are reluctant to sell their flats is a sign that they have difficulty gaining entry into the private property ladder.”
HDB flat owner Steve Tan, 38, said he has no plans to sell his four-room flat in Hougang, even though he would stand to make a tidy sum. He said, “If I sell high, I need to buy high.”
PAP’s “asset enhancement” policy does benefit some people, but just not your ordinary Singaporeans. The following groups of people stand to gain the most from this policy:
1. Rich Singaporeans and PRs who own more than one property. They still have a house to live in after realising capital gains from selling their other houses.
2. PRs selling their high-priced Singapore property in S$ and leaving Singapore for good. Housing is generally cheaper in other countries compared to Singapore. So when they settle down in a new country or settle back in their home country, they can enjoy the capital gain.
3. And of course, Singaporeans who decide to give up on Singapore for good and emigrate to other countries as in (2).
4. The government – in fact, this year the government is expected to gain a few more billion dollars in its budget surplus, thanks partly to higher stamp duties from property sales.
5. Banks – higher bank loans for higher priced properties means more interest earnings.
6. GIC and Temasek Holdings – proceeds from high prices of land sales (for both HDB and private properties) go into our reserves which, in turn, feed GIC and Temasek Holdings. The bigger the fund, the higher the management fees for the fund managers.
Music of the night
yawn .. this topic of asset enhancement is history liao lah .. now price in non-prime Shanghai and Beijing already 500-1000psf, HK already SGD1500psf ... in an increasingly globalized society, it is not possible to articifially depress property prices in Singapore .... imagine if D15 is selling at 600psf ... then overseas Asians will find all kind of lobang to buy ... any arbitrage opportunity arise will be quicly snapped up by rich Asians from Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thai ...
it is not just properties ...look at bidding of F&N and APB
even Australians find it hard to control their prop prices
Ride at your own risk !!!
Junior
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...255585/1/.html
Eurozone PMI shows business activity contracting steeply
Channel News Asia
Posted: 21 February 2013 1819 hrs
BRUSSELS: Private business activity across the eurozone hit a two-month low in February, signalling a steepening of the economic downturn, a leading growth indicator said on Thursday.
The Purchasing Managers' Index published by London-based Markit fell to 47.3 in February from 48.6 the previous month.
The February indicator contrasted sharply with an easing over the previous three months. The January figure notably showed private business activity at a 10-month high.
"A steepening rate of decline in February is a disappointment, and suggests that the eurozone is on course to contract for a fourth consecutive quarter in the first three months of the year," said Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson.
January had marked a third straight monthly rise for the index even though it remained below the 50-point line indicating economic growth or contraction.
Markit's Williamson said that despite the fall in PMI, the first-quarter decline in the economy should be less severe than the 0.6-percent drop in gross domestic product seen in the final quarter of 2012.
He forecast a contraction of 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
He also noted widening differences within the eurozone, with Germany on course to grow in the first quarter and possibly expanding while France, the euro area's second-biggest economy, headed for a deeper downturn.
- AFP/al
Junior
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...255561/1/.html
Asian markets hit by Fed stimulus fears
Channel News Asia
Posted: 21 February 2013 1628 hrs
HONG KONG - Asian markets suffered a heavy sell-off on Thursday following a tumble on Wall Street as traders grow concerned that the US Federal Reserve could bring an early end to its huge stimulus programme.
Minutes from the Fed's most recent policy board meeting showed some members were in favour of cutting short the US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying introduced last year to support the economy and which has helped lift global shares.
Tokyo fell 1.39 percent, or 159.15 points, to 11,309.13 and Sydney slid 2.33 percent, or 118.6 points, to 4,980.1, its worst day so far for 2013 and biggest fall since May. Seoul was off 0.47 percent, or 9.42 points, at 2,015.22.
Shanghai tumbled 2.97 percent, or 71.23 points, to 2,325.95, while Hong Kong slipped 1.72 percent, or 400.74 points, to 22,906.67.
The Fed introduced a third round of its asset-purchase scheme, known as quantitative easing 3 (QE3), in September and said it would not take its foot off the pedal until unemployment had fallen and the economy was strong enough.
However, investor sentiment took a hit after the Fed minutes showed a "number" of board members said an ongoing evaluation of the easing "might well lead the committee to taper or end its purchases before it judged that a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labour market had occurred".
On Wall Street the Dow fell 0.77 percent and the S&P 500 lost 1.24 percent, with both markets having closed at more than five-year highs on Tuesday. The Nasdaq dropped 1.53 percent.
The dollar surged against the euro in New York trade, with the single currency ending at US$1.3283, well down from US$1.3390 the previous day.
In Tokyo on Thursday the euro bought US$1.3265. The euro also sat at 123.96 yen compared with 124.37 yen in New York. The greenback fetched 93.45 yen, against 93.61 yen.
Flagship airline Qantas lifted 2.79 percent after slashing international losses and banking Dreamliner compensation from Boeing to notch a net first-half profit of US$114 million -- up 164 percent year on year.
Sony slipped 1.77 percent to close at 1,331 yen in a muted response after it announced its long-awaited PlayStation 4 in New York without actually unveiling the console.
Oil prices were lower owing to a stronger US dollar, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, shedding US$1.06 to US$94.16 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April dropping 98 cents to US$114.62.
Gold was at US$1,566.70 at 0800GMT, compared with US$1,595.20 late Wednesday.
- AFP/ir
Junior
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/02/21...sehold-member/
$6,140 benefits per household member?
February 21st, 2013
I refer to the Department of Statistics’ Key Household Income Trends 2012.
$6,140 benefits per HDB 1 & 2-room household member?
It states that “On average, resident households received $1,340 of transfers per member from various government schemes in 2012. Those in HDB 1- & 2-room flats received the most, at an annual average of $6,140 per household member, followed by those in HDB 3-room flats at $1,530 per household member on average.
Benefits accounted for 75% of household income?
On per household member basis, government transfers as a proportion of annual household income from work were highest amongst resident householdsliving in HDB 1- & 2-room flats at 75 per cent. For households living in other dwelling types, this proportion ranged from 0.6 to 6.9 per cent.”
How much benefits exactly?
Let’s examine more closely the “annual average of $6,140 per household member” benefits and “75 per cent government transfers as a proportion of annual household income from work” that HDB 1- & 2-room households get.
Can be so many benefits are “Not Applicable”?
“Government Transfers and Taxes
Government Transfers include the following in relevant years
a) New Singapore Shares and Economic Restructuring Shares, Growth Dividends, NS Bonus, GST Credits, Senior Citizen Bonus, National Service Recognition Awards, Top-Ups to CPF Accounts and GST vouchers; -
For the current year, the GST Cash Voucher is only $250?
b) Re-Employment Support Scheme, Workfare Bonus, Workfare Income Supplement disbursements and Workfare Training Support Scheme Benefits; -
If you are not 35 years and older earning $1,700 or less, Workfare Bonus and Workfare Income Supplement may not be applicable to you. If you did not lose your job or go for training, the Re-Employment Support Scheme and Workfare Training Support Scheme Benefits may not be applicable to you.
c) Rebates on utilities, rental and service and conservancy charges; -
Under the current GST Voucher scheme. the maximum Rebates on utilities for the lowest income is only $260, and there are no more Rebates on rental and service and conservancy charges.
d) Schemes relating to education, such as Edusave Pupil Fund, Edusave Merit Bursary, Edusave Awards and Edusave Scholarships for Government or Government Aided Schools. Also include CCC/CDC Bursary/ITE Scholarship from 2002 onwards, MOE Bursary, MOE Financial Assistance Scheme from 2006 onwards, Post-Secondary Education Accounts Top-up and government’s matching grant from 2008 onwards, Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy for Malay Students (TTFSM) from 2010 onwards, CET Qualification Award from 2011onwards and Short-term Study Assistance Scheme (SSAS) for IHLs in relevant years; -
If you do not have children, or did not go for training, much of the above may not be applicable to you.
e) Schemes relating to healthcare, such as subsidies for medical bills incurred at A&E, day surgery, hospitalisation episodes, Interim Disability Assistance Programme(IDAPE) from 2002 onwards. From 2006, also include subsidies for medical bills incurred at specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics, Medifund disbursements. From 2009 onwards, also include Community Health Assist Scheme; -
If you did not go for medical treatment, much of the above may not be applicable to you.
f) Baby Bonus from 2001 onwards, Centre-based Infant and Childcare subsidies from 2002 onwards, schemes relating to ComCare programmes from 2004 onwards, Caregivers Training Grant from 2007 onwards and Assistive Technology Fund in relevant years; -
If you did not bore children or was not eligible to apply for financial assistance, much of the above may not be applicable to you.
g) CPF Deferment Bonus from 2008 onwards, CPF Life Bonus and Voluntary Deferment Bonus from 2009 onwards; -
If you are below age 55, or above age 55 and did not opt for or was not eligible for the CPF Life Bonus schemes, these benefits may not be applicable to you.
h) Public rental subsidies from 2003 onwards; -
If you did not rent a HDB flat under the Public Rental scheme, or you did meet the eligibility criteria, this benefit may not be applicable to you.
i) Income tax rebates and property tax rebates. -
If you don’t earn enough to pay income tax, or don’t own property, much of the above may not be applicable to you.
Could be hardly any benefits?
So, in summary, if you are say a lower-income Singaporean below 35 years old with no children who don’t own a HDB flat, was not hospitalised, didn’t lose your job, don’t earn enough to pay income tax or went for training, you may end up with hardly any of the benefits listed above.
Gini lower due to Government transfers and taxes?
Consequently, the following:-
“After adjusting for Government transfers and taxes, the Gini coefficient in 2012 was lower at 0.459, reflecting the redistributive effect of government transfers.
“The redistributive effect of government transfers and taxes was similarly reflected in the P90/P10 ratio, lowering the ratio from 9.14 times to 7.87 times in 2012″,
may also not be of much meaning to you.
Leong Sze Hian
Leong Sze Hian is the Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, an alumnus of Harvard University, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow and an author of 4 books. He is frequently quoted in the media. He has also been invited to speak more than 100 times in 25 countries on 5 continents. He has served as Honorary Consul of Jamaica, Chairman of the Institute of Administrative Management, and founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications. He blogs at http://www.leongszehian.com.
Junior
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/5-sneaky-pr...160000046.html
5 Sneaky Property Agents’ Tactics to Watch For (in Singapore)
By Ryan Ong | MoneySmart – Thu, Feb 21, 2013
So you think property agents are all cheats, do you? You think every last one is just out for your money. Well that’s not fair, because I’ll have you know you’re only 97% right! But seriously, I exagerrate. Few property agents outright lie or cheat in squeaky clean Singapore. I mean, their mind games are already so good, they don’t even require outright lies:
“And we agents think it should be replaced with something simpler. Like nodding your head. Once.”
Do Property Agents Cheat?
For the most part, no.
Think about it this way: If a store sets up a display that tempts you into buying, is that cheating? No? Well that’s the level property agents (and any other good salesperson) works on. It’s like a pro-Poker game. They may play dirty, but they never cheat.
So as long as the agent’s properly licensed*, worry less about his bio or tattoos. Focus on his manipulative efforts instead, like:
*Property agents are licensed by the CEA (Council for Estate Agencies). They are required to tell you their license numbers.
- The Contrast Principle
- Sense of Urgency
- Fishing
- The Reciprocity Principle
- Inflated Interior Design Costs
1. The Contrast Principle
“And it’s vermin free. The rats left when they got a rash from staying in there. Or we can look at this OTHER unit…”
What we’re willing to pay isn’t determined by fixed measurements. Rather, it’s defined by comparisons. Here’s how a property agent would use that:
The agent starts by showing you a house that’s cheap and bad. This is usually a run down mess, or a unit with trendy interior design. Trendy in 1973, that is.
You’ll hang around for maybe 10 minutes, before deciding puke-yellow isn’t an ideal living room colour. Then the agent will whisk you off to another apartment…the one he actually wants to sell. Since your brain’s easily fooled by comparisons, this next place will feel like the Versailles Palace.
Not only will it be easier to sell to you, there’s a chance you’ll offer more.
Solution: Establish a fixed frame for comparisons. Bring some pictures of your ideal house, then compare every unit to that. Not to the previous unit you saw.
2. Sense of Urgency
“And the negotiation was like a chess game. That is, I wasted his time till he gave up.”
This happens all the time in showrooms. Agents will tell you people are already sending in cheques. That all units are selling fast. That prices could go up 10% by the time you’re back from that bathroom break, so you better sign now.
Okay, the agent may not be lying. Sometimes, sales really are brisk; but the wonder of it is you’ll never know. As such, agents will use the “selling fast” speech by default. Even if the launch reception consists of three people, two of whom just want to sit under the air-conditioner, the agent will swear that units are going fast.
Solution: Panic is a leading cause of stupidity. Calm down and ask yourself: Would I want the place if it wasn’t selling out? And would you buy at the same price?
3. Fishing
Fishing pole? Nah I’m a property agent. I just talk at the water till the fish choose to climb on.
This is when fake property listings are used to hook buyers.
The agent puts up a great property listing. Something like “Two storey landed property, only $1 million, comes with Jaguar in driveway”.
After you screw your eyeballs back in their sockets, you call the agent. He verifies it’s not a trick. He takes you to view the property, you love it, and he’ll “call you about your offer this Monday”.
Come Monday, you indeed get a call….to tell you the property’s already sold. He’s so sorry, etc. But hey, he’s got a whole bunch of alternatives to show you.
Obviously, the listed property was never up for sale, at least not at that price. It was just dangled as bait, so you’d get within range of the agent’s deadliest weapon (his mouth). It’s an underhanded way to meet you, dig out your details, and find out what sort of house you’re shopping for.
Congratulations, you just became a lead.
Solution: This isn’t a positive reflection on the agent. If you do go and see his other properties, remember not to be too trusting.
4. The Reciprocity Principle
“You’re a property agent and I wanted to be practical. So enjoy the ski mask and fake passport.”
Reciprocity is the unofficial system of “favour payments”, which we like to call civilization. The problem is, reciprocity doesn’t mix well with finance.
Most of the time, we significantly overpay social favours. How many times have you bought a $5 lunch for a colleague, because he got you an 80 cent cup of coffee?
Yeah. Like any good salesmen, property agents see this as leverage. Sending you all the way home might cost them $40 in petrol, but who cares when it could results in a $50,000 commission? Which is why some property agents pull out all the stops: They’ll take you to nice cafes, send you little presents, etc.
The more favours they do for you, the more guilty you’ll feel if you buy from someone else.
Solution: If your conscience is getting the better of you, refuse all favours. Ensure your decisions are financially sound, not guilt driven.
Incidentally, some property agents will offer to help you get a home loan. Before you take them up, always verify that the loan package is the cheapest (this isn’t their field of expertise.)
(And in case you’re wondering, yes, property agents can get referral fees from banks).
5. Inflated Interior Design Costs
“And these toilet pipe fittings were stolen from an advanced alien race.”
Resale flat buyers, watch out for this one.
Some property agents will tack inflated values on renovations. They’ll claim it was done by a famous designer, that the marble’s all Italian, and that the new kitchen counters were smelted from the original Holy Grail. They’ll use this to justify added costs, particularly to cash over valuation (COV).
Solution: Take some pictures, and show it to a few design firms. Ask them how much they’d charge for something like that. There are some complex looking renovations that can be quite cheap.
It’s even better if you can get a contractor in, to verify the quality of materials used.
Junior
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/02/22...g-our-elderly/
The truth about the Silver Tsunami and Supporting our elderly
February 22nd, 2013
During his speech at Hong Lim Park on 16 Feb 2013, a very energized Leong Sze Hian lambasted the White Paper for its claim that the large foreign influx is needed to support the elderly in Singapore so that they can have a better life:“I tell you that the very basis of the white paper is wrong. Because it says the population is aging, people are not producing babies that is why we need immigration. You know what’s the problem?Under the PAP system, the elderly takes care of themselves with whatever money that have saved up while working and the amount they have accumulated in their CPF. When they retire, they have no income unless they are among the minority who have done so well that they have sizable investments and assets that yield a good return. But for most people, all they have are their savings and CPF to live on when they retire. Their biggest concern is the rise in the cost of living and cost of medical care.
In the developed countries they have this problem, why? They have pensions, cost government money. Do you have pensions?
Is your CPF your own money?
In the developed countries, they have universal healthcare. Do you have universal healthcare?
The development counties have welfare, do you have welfare?
So what is the problem with the population aging when the government is not spending any money on the aging population?”<
- From The Online Citizen[Link]
“According to a latest study by HSBC, the citizens of this country, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, face the grim prospect of running out of their savings almost halfway through retirement as the high cost of living and increased life expectancy eats into their nest egg.The real problem with retirement is the rising cost of living. So what has driven up the cost of living? One of the factors is overcrowding caused by the high foreign influx – this high population density pushes up the cost of everything from housing to rentals to the cost of private transport. The PAP proposal to import more people in the coming years will hurt the large number of Singaporeans who are retiring as part of Silver Tsunami. The White Paper claims that more foreigners and a higher living density will lead to better quality of life is not true. Actually I don’t have to waste any more bandwidth to explain this, because we already see many of our elderly right now suffering from the high cost of living resulting from PAP policies.
Singapore has gradually moved up human resources firm Mercer’s global rankings of the world’s most expensive cities, moving to sixth place in 2012 from eighth in 2011 and eleventh in 2010.” – CNBC Report
When people are hurt by the consequences of the PAP policy, what is actually on the mind of the PAP leadership when people fall into hardship? Suppose due to high inflation rate of 4.5%, you are a retiree finding it hard to cope in the 6th most expensive city in the world because as a wage earner during your working life you earned nowhere near the 6th highest salaries in the world for your profession – this is true for many today who will retire as part of the Silver Tsunami because we have the 2nd largest income gap (sometimes largest) in developed world and a 3rd world wage structure..,..much of this due to the policies of the PAP…suppose you seek help when you find you can’t cope through no fault of your own.
I would like thank, PAP member Victor Lye, for his frank and honest Facebook posting of what he thinks when people come to him for help during MPS. In case you don’t know who Victor Lye is, he is a member of the PAP tasked to win back Aljunied GRC[his impressive resume, a speech he gave]. He is the head of PAP’s Bedok Punggol branch. I truly appreciate Victor Lye’s honesty given the White Paper’s hazy unsubstantiated promise of “better support and better quality of life” for elderly Singaporeans if only we allow the foreign influx to continue.
Here is what Victor Lye said:
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content...aid.jpg?9d7bd4
PAP member Victor Lye did not sugar coat or fudge what he really believed to make it acceptable to ordinary Singaporeans. Please read what he wrote a few times so that you understand clearly what he means. Whatever the consequences of PAP’s economic policies, at the end of the day, you are responsible for your own retirement. If your financial situation makes it hard for you to stay in high cost Singapore, then you should adapt to that situation by moving out. The PAP is not going to hand out “goodies” because it cannot “afford” it. So you’re are very much on your own…if you have a HDB flat, sign up for the lease-buy-back to get some money from it – when you leave this world, the bulk of what you worked for goes back to the govt and you leave nothing for your children. This is the reality right now when our old age support ratio(OASR) is near historic high at 9.8 (it will decline towards 2030) and the govt surplus is $5B. There is little govt support now and there will be little govt support for those retiring in 2030 under the present system regardless of OASR so the argument that we need to bring in foreigners to support our elderly is bogus.
That the PAP does not believe in the increased sharing of financial burden of caring for the old is clear over the years – if you still believe the PAP’s rhetoric of being compassionate and caring towards the old because you see our PM giving out a few ang pows to the old during Chinese New Year…good luck to you. In the past, when the cost of living was contained…. Singaporeans could pay off housing loans within 10 years and accumulate CPF funds and savings for retirement so they bought into this idea that everyone should takes care of their own retirement with money they earned while working. The conditions under which this philosophy was accepted by ordinary people was never preserved. After the financial burden of caring for the elderly was shifted to individuals and their children (by way of Maintenance of Parents Act), we saw, as a result of PAP’s economic policies, the huge rise in cost of living, stagnant wages, structural unemployment , income gap, rising cost of medical care etc that hurt the financial ability of Singaporeans to retire. The pro-business policy of allowing cheaper foreign labor resulted in a wealth transfer from wage earners to corporations. The PAP is now pushing for a continuation of the current economic model and policies.
In the coming decades, more Singaporeans will reach retirement age without the financial ability to retire comfortably due to our 3rd world wage structure and high cost of living – a consequence of PAP policies. But like Victor Lye so honestly explained, the PAP view is that those who are not rich should adjust to a lower a quality of life and if necessary, leave the country to stay in a cheaper place. This is the only way to be consistent with PAP’s ideology and its resultant policies. We are told often the PAP approach is the best for us and is the only way to sustain our nation. If you choose to accept this, the outcome is all laid out as Victor Lye has honestly described. If you choose not to accept this, you cannot squeeze an alternative from the PAP because such a solution is likely to run counter to their ideology and the PAP leadership will never believe it can work even if there is overwhelming evidence to support it. For this reason, the PAP has lost its ability to solve problems faced by Singaporeans. As the problems mount, the PAP solution is actually a non-solution, they will simply tell Singaporeans to live with it and solve their own problems.
Singaporeans can dream of fairer wages for their hard work, a proper retirement, better quality of life with less stress, affordable heath care and housing, higher equality, …but year after year, the problems that Singaporeans face just get worse despite paying our political leaders the highest salaries in the world to solve these problems for us. Not only are they not solving these problems, they are starting to sell us ideas that will clearly make all these problems worse and packaging them as solutions to our problems. If the PAP has other overriding considerations such as the perpetual need to attract foreign capital, generate economic growth and they really have no fundamentally different ideas of how to run this place other that those they have executed, it is better for them not to fudge the outcomes and create false expectations. That many Singaporeans face the risk of a poorer quality of life because the PAP does what it believe is the best way to sustain this city-state, should be honestly presented to us instead of a fairy tale rising quality of life that we will never experience. The PAP often does this to sell its policies and when Singaporeans experience the opposite trust is eroded.
When the PAP started importing foreigners, they sold the policy by telling us that foreigners are here “to create better job opportunities for Singaporeans”, Singaporean workers experienced the opposite of this. There has been intense competition for jobs and downward pressure on their wages. We are now told the proposal in the White Paper will elevate the quality of life and provide support for our elderly. We know this is not true – quality of life will decline in an overcrowded Singapore and our elderly will suffer due to the high cost of living. If the PAP proposal in the White Paper is purely to sustain economic growth because ideologically the PAP believes things can never be better with slower economic growth, as proposed by WP, and that whatever quality of life we achieve in 2030 even if it is bad, is still better that something we can achieve with slower growth then they should be honest enough to say it so we can get to the real policy tradeoff and debate it. Painting a fairy tale that every knows is not true to sugar coat the proposal simply enrages Singaporeans and make them question the integrity of the govt.
Lucky Tan
*The writer blogs at http://singaporemind.blogspot.ca/
Junior
http://www.todayonline.com/commentar...are-affordable
TODAYonline
Commentary
Spend more, to keep healthcare affordable
Source: World Bank
By Jeremy Lim - 22 Ferbruary 2013
Singapore’s health system is lauded internationally for its ability to achieve outstanding health outcomes at very low national spending. Yet, 72 per cent of Singaporeans believe “we cannot afford to get sick these days due to high medical costs”, according to a 2012 Mindshare survey.
How can this be? Our low national spending on healthcare is the envy of the world and yet Singaporeans are so worried about healthcare costs.
What makes a great healthcare system? Healthcare planners the world over dream of the ideal health system: High quality, low cost and universal access for all citizens. How would Singapore rank along these dimensions?
The quality of Singapore healthcare is top-notch; 850,000 medical tourists in 2012 is testament to our high standards.
What about access? Geography advantages us and, unlike many large countries which need extraordinary measures to provide for far-flung populations, Singaporeans are hardly a stone’s throw from a doctor and barely a 15-minute drive from a hospital.
Our weakness lies in affordability, or at least the perception of affordability. Ironically, why we spend so little may account for why there is so much anxiety.
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
In many developed countries, healthcare is funded collectively. Citizens are enrolled into a national health scheme and funds drawn based on individual need. These “solidarity” schemes are designed to offer medically necessary care without consideration of the ability to pay.
Singapore has eschewed this path, with then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew asserting: “Subsidies on consumption are wrong and ruinous ... for however wealthy a nation, it cannot carry health, unemployment and pension benefits without massive taxation and overloading the system, reducing the incentives to work and to save and care for one’s family — when all can look to the state for welfare.”
The Government declared health an “individual responsibility” in the 1980s and established Medisave and MediShield, enabling individuals to finance and hence be “responsible” for personal healthcare.
The principle of emphasising the private financing of healthcare through individual responsibility supported by family has been praised for helping Singapore achieve remarkable cost constraints, but there has been a human cost. While the Government has successfully mitigated the risk of wanton state spending, the consequence arguably is that financial risk from medical catastrophe has been passed to individual citizens and their families, with resultant anxiety.
Support from Medifund is possible, but only upon application and on a case-by-case basis with no certainty of coverage, complete or otherwise. C-class wards provide subsidies which can be as high as 80 per cent, but paying even the remaining 20 per cent may be impossible for hefty bills; 20 per cent of S$50,000 is still too heavy a burden for low-income Singaporeans.
THE GERMAN EXAMPLE
And healthcare costs can be very unpredictable.
While virtually every country imposes co-payments to guard against over-consumption, many countries, especially European nations, operate on the reverse principle to Singapore. Co-payments are preserved as with Singapore, but the individual’s share of the total bill is capped — for instance, in Germany at 10 per cent of monthly income — with the government assuming the financial risk for unexpectedly large bills. No need to apply for special dispensations or subsidies.
Princeton University economist Uwe Reinhardt, speaking of the German health system, declared about medical bankruptcy: “That’s almost impossible … I have not ever read of Germans going bankrupt over healthcare.”
In Singapore, MediShield lifetime dollar coverage is capped at S$200,000 (soon to be S$300,000) with high deductibles and sub-limits on what clinical services can be covered. All these collectively enable relatively low premiums to be imposed and render MediShield financially very healthy — but similar to the structuring of subsidies, financial risk is borne by individuals and their families, with no certainty of help from Medifund or other schemes.
The theme is consistent: In our healthcare financing model, safeguards are built first and foremost to ensure system financial viability and sustainability.
A HUGE MIDDLE GROUND
Defenders of the system will point out the many financially struggling “welfare states” and proclaim Singapore must never go there. But it should be noted that between where we are today and the “fiscal extravagance” of the welfare states, there is a huge middle ground.
Singapore’s total public spending as a proportion of gross domestic product is only 13 per cent, a far cry from the 40 per cent that Finland spends. Singapore’s government spending on healthcare is just above one-third the total, with a long way to go before even sniffing the four-fifths that is the case in the United Kingdom.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong’s commitment following the release of the Population White Paper — to “look at how we can restructure our primary care sector, our hospitals including our intermediate long-term care sector”, that is, the entire healthcare landscape — is reassuring, especially when juxtaposed against earlier comments on looking at healthcare affordability from the patient’s perspective. Times are changing.
“To live well, live long & with peace of mind” is the mission of the Ministry of Health. How can we balance “individual responsibility” with ‘peace of mind’? Between 13 per cent and 40 per cent, between one-third and four-fifths, where do we want to be?
Dr Jeremy Lim has held senior executive positions in both public and private healthcare sectors. He is currently writing a book on the Singapore health system. This is part of a series on health policies in Singapore.
Junior
http://sbr.com.sg/commercial-propert...dive-681-units
Singapore Business Review
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY | Staff Reporter, Singapore
Published: 22 Feb 2013
CapitaLand's Singapore sales took a 24% dive to 681 units
It still targets to gain 8-10% market share.
According to CIMB, unit sales in 2012 fell from 844 units in FY11 to 681 units in FY12. Recent incentive schemes introduced at D’Leedon and The Interlace have helped to push sales up with 395 units sold YTD.
This comes at the expense of margins, which we estimate have been squeezed to single digit levels. While management aspires to achieve 8-10% of total market share in Singapore residential, it concedes that the latest cooling measures will have an adverse effect on sentiment and volume.
Here's more from CIMB:Singapore residential remains a core segment for the group but management is likely to be selective in future landbanking. For 2013, projects due to be handed over are Urban Suites (100% sold), Urban Resort (42% sold) and The Interlace (71% sold).
Units due for launch in 2013 include the remaining units at The Interlace, D’Leedon and Sky Habitat, and new projects in Marine Point and Bishan St 14.
Global recession is coming....
Can post some news about the commercial and industrial properties' prices and rentals? We often hear that these properties' prices and rentals gone up by a lot but you never cut and paste anything on those? Heard rentals for industrial properties up >40% within past 4 years! Same for rental of commercial/retail properties! No wonder inflation so far because business owners passed all these rental costs down to consumers!
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