Now, residential property investors (or speculators) need to pay additional buyer's stamp duty, ranging from 3% to 10% (for foreigners and corporations). REDAS chief (Wong) lamented that it will put downward pressure on property prices (I agree) and even the wider economy (question mark).
Inflation
Novermber's inflation rate was 5.7%. It looks bad for the government. It shows that government eefort to rein in inflation is not working. One of the factors affecting inflation is property prices. The govt has to rein in property prices to tame the inflation.
Investment
One comment is that it will drive away investors in the property sector. How does anyone benefit from foreign investors in residential properties? Yes, the developer's benefit. The construction companies benefit. There is business activities, but how does Singapore benefit? The government benefits by collecting stamp duty, and being able to sell land at higher prices. Once property price go up, the foreigners will sell off, making a tidy profit.
HDB
From a macro point of view, we should not forget that the govt has announced that they will ramp up the building of HDB flats. If they don't slow down the private property sector, prices of raw material and labour will escalate with competing demand. HDB prices have to be raised to break even, or make a decent profit.
So, actually, the move is timely.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Where is Singapore Economy heading?
Stupid question, with obvious answer. Our finance minister said that the economy is slowing down. Possibly we will be faced with a recession. A double dip recession.
What was the solution? Let Singdollar depreciate. Those who follow the currency, will have noted that at the beginning of September, US$1 was trading for S$1.20. Today, it is US$1 to about US$1.26. By weakening the Singdollar, it is hoped that it will boost exports. But will it?
For exports to grow, there must be increased consumption. We can leave US & Europe out of the equation. Where else? Africa? Middle East? I don't know. I don't think keeping the S$ low will save jobs. On the other hand, weaker S$ will mean imports will become more expensive. This will lead to higher costs. We will be hit by double whammy. Recession; possibly loss of jobs. And higher prices for food and other essentials. Just be prepared.
Other side effects - with the weaker S$, our properties will begin to look attractive to foreigners. I expect a flood of foreign investors (Or rather, speculators) will pluck our properties. I hope China and Indonesia also get hit, then we will get a chance to get private properties at a bargain.
What can we do? I believe gold and silver will continue to climb higher in US$ terms, and S$ weakening against the US$, its double the profits.
Good luck.
What was the solution? Let Singdollar depreciate. Those who follow the currency, will have noted that at the beginning of September, US$1 was trading for S$1.20. Today, it is US$1 to about US$1.26. By weakening the Singdollar, it is hoped that it will boost exports. But will it?
For exports to grow, there must be increased consumption. We can leave US & Europe out of the equation. Where else? Africa? Middle East? I don't know. I don't think keeping the S$ low will save jobs. On the other hand, weaker S$ will mean imports will become more expensive. This will lead to higher costs. We will be hit by double whammy. Recession; possibly loss of jobs. And higher prices for food and other essentials. Just be prepared.
Other side effects - with the weaker S$, our properties will begin to look attractive to foreigners. I expect a flood of foreign investors (Or rather, speculators) will pluck our properties. I hope China and Indonesia also get hit, then we will get a chance to get private properties at a bargain.
What can we do? I believe gold and silver will continue to climb higher in US$ terms, and S$ weakening against the US$, its double the profits.
Good luck.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
A Tribute to my teachers
Today being 31 Aug, and tomorrow being 1 Sept, I started feeling nostalgic. Why? Tomorrow is Teachers' Day. So, I started recollecting my 40+ years of life and the most enjoyable period of my life was ...
My secondary school days (so called the teenage years).
So here goes my heart to my secondary school & all the teachers there! I really miss them.
I studied at Si Ling Sec School from 1981 to 1984. I was in the 2nd batch of the school. So there was no high expectation to live up to, and no baggage of poor performances of earlier batches. I still have fond memories of Si Ling Sec Sch ...
- whole class made to stand outside the classroom for being too noisy (Sec 4A)
- finger kena smash by door closing
- public caning during assembly for keeping moustache
- sweeping most of the book prizes for topping the different subjects & sweeping most of the quizzes
- missed out on getting a medal for athletics in Sec 2 (my only chance - gone)
I still remember a number of my secondary teachers (as if they just taught me yesterday). So here goes - who & why ...
had 2 principals - Mr Lee (very strict; got caning by him) & Mr Bhajan Singh (very magnanimous - but I think discipline in the school slackened in later years). I still think it is good to have caning as a punishment in schools
Ms Lim Li Li - taught us chemistry in Sec 3 & 4. Remember her for her:
a) cheongsam - she almost always wore cheongsam
b) her hour-glass figure
c) she used to repeat & repeat until we could just follow her word for word. But later realised that didn't have to study so hard for Chemistry to get an A1. Thank you Ms Lim.
Mrs Mathews - taught us Biology. Remember her for making a remark that we will never get good results. Spurred me to prove her wrong. Thank you Mrs Mathews for helping me get an A1 for Bio.
Mr Philip - Maths teacher. Never had any problem with Maths. Still love Maths to this day.
Mr Ng - Add Maths teacher. Good teacher. My fault - over confident. Only managed a B3
Cikgu Syed - Malay teacher. He reprimanded the Malay students becos a non-Malay can score A1 but they could not (I think I was lucky as that was the only time I got an A1 in my 4 years). Met him a number of times outside school. Very passionate man who spent a lot of time counselling prison inmates. Met him in 2010 at JB
Mdm Maznah - Malay teacher in Sec 2. Treated me kindly.
Mdm Maimoonah - her favorite personality was Robert Redford.
Mdm Rugaiyah - taught us Geog in Sec 1. Developed a liking for Geog. Took Geog for 'O' levels
Mr Edwards - Arts teacher. I was never good in Art, but he was a good teacher.
Mr Yap - PE teacher. Met him recently in my neighbourhood. Still very fit.
Ms Devi - English teacher & form teacher in Sec 2
Mr Khoo - Physics teacher. & Thanks to him, became a member of Computer Society. My first contact with a computer was Apple & used Basic lang.
Mrs Ngooi - Sec 3 & 4 English teacher. Thanks to her, managed an A1 in English (by a whisker)
Mr Singh - taught History in Sec 1. See him a lot in the neighbourhood. Last I heard, he got a law degree. Still studying at age 60++
I can't remember some of the other teachers, but still can remember their faces. I hope you all are doing well.
Happy Teachers' Day to you all!
My secondary school days (so called the teenage years).
So here goes my heart to my secondary school & all the teachers there! I really miss them.
I studied at Si Ling Sec School from 1981 to 1984. I was in the 2nd batch of the school. So there was no high expectation to live up to, and no baggage of poor performances of earlier batches. I still have fond memories of Si Ling Sec Sch ...
- whole class made to stand outside the classroom for being too noisy (Sec 4A)
- finger kena smash by door closing
- public caning during assembly for keeping moustache
- sweeping most of the book prizes for topping the different subjects & sweeping most of the quizzes
- missed out on getting a medal for athletics in Sec 2 (my only chance - gone)
I still remember a number of my secondary teachers (as if they just taught me yesterday). So here goes - who & why ...
had 2 principals - Mr Lee (very strict; got caning by him) & Mr Bhajan Singh (very magnanimous - but I think discipline in the school slackened in later years). I still think it is good to have caning as a punishment in schools
Ms Lim Li Li - taught us chemistry in Sec 3 & 4. Remember her for her:
a) cheongsam - she almost always wore cheongsam
b) her hour-glass figure
c) she used to repeat & repeat until we could just follow her word for word. But later realised that didn't have to study so hard for Chemistry to get an A1. Thank you Ms Lim.
Mrs Mathews - taught us Biology. Remember her for making a remark that we will never get good results. Spurred me to prove her wrong. Thank you Mrs Mathews for helping me get an A1 for Bio.
Mr Philip - Maths teacher. Never had any problem with Maths. Still love Maths to this day.
Mr Ng - Add Maths teacher. Good teacher. My fault - over confident. Only managed a B3
Cikgu Syed - Malay teacher. He reprimanded the Malay students becos a non-Malay can score A1 but they could not (I think I was lucky as that was the only time I got an A1 in my 4 years). Met him a number of times outside school. Very passionate man who spent a lot of time counselling prison inmates. Met him in 2010 at JB
Mdm Maznah - Malay teacher in Sec 2. Treated me kindly.
Mdm Maimoonah - her favorite personality was Robert Redford.
Mdm Rugaiyah - taught us Geog in Sec 1. Developed a liking for Geog. Took Geog for 'O' levels
Mr Edwards - Arts teacher. I was never good in Art, but he was a good teacher.
Mr Yap - PE teacher. Met him recently in my neighbourhood. Still very fit.
Ms Devi - English teacher & form teacher in Sec 2
Mr Khoo - Physics teacher. & Thanks to him, became a member of Computer Society. My first contact with a computer was Apple & used Basic lang.
Mrs Ngooi - Sec 3 & 4 English teacher. Thanks to her, managed an A1 in English (by a whisker)
Mr Singh - taught History in Sec 1. See him a lot in the neighbourhood. Last I heard, he got a law degree. Still studying at age 60++
I can't remember some of the other teachers, but still can remember their faces. I hope you all are doing well.
Happy Teachers' Day to you all!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Case about PA and non-partisanism
I find it incredulous that PA claims to be non-partisan and therefore do not allow WP MPs to join the grassroot functions or use their facilities. By the sheer action of not allowing opposition MPs access to their facilities, they are already being 'political' bcos they are discriminating just because of party affiliation.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Reality
I've been reading the Temasek Review & The Online Citizen since GE2011. Basically the TR is quite demoralising. Reading too much of TR gives me a sense of helplessness & like what the heck - .....
Lets face reality. Those who have been in the workforce will surely realise that those who 'make it' are those who are better at networking. How many times have we heard of someone, who is very knowledgeable and hardworking, but poor EQ, is being passed over for someone who is not so capable but able to please his boss?
My frank opinion is that many people think that the government is duty-bound to take care of the citizens. However, we forget history. Those in power will definitely try to help their kins first, before helping strangers. If you ask me, I would do the same too.
For those naive TR readers who expect the govt or others to take care of them, I suggest they read up Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Whatever our opinion of the author, basically what he trying to drive home is that we should be financially literate, and there is no better person to take care of our finances than ourselves.
I will take the example of the 40+ former hedge fund manager who was earning $100K++ and he was on cloud nine. I can imagine him on cloud nine - buying all the luxurious goods and lavishing on himself like there's no tomorrow. Suddenly he finds himself out of job - and he expects the whole world to be sympathetic to him, and offer him a job, paying $7K++? It all boils down to keeping our feet on the ground. We need to face reality. Whoever becomes the next govt will take care of their own interests first.
Lets forget who is in govt. Lets look at what we can do for ourselves and our friends. The glass is either half full or half empty. If we see the glass as half empty. we will always be unhappy. On the other hand, if we see the glass as half full, we will be contented. That is not to mean that we don't fight for our rights. But the lesson is that it is so much better that our destiny is in our hands. & not in the hands of the govt. Or charity. Or even our children. I believe that we should nourish our children without having the thought that they will pay us back.
So ... lets think positively - and accept whatever life throws at us as challenges - and we will triumph!
Lets face reality. Those who have been in the workforce will surely realise that those who 'make it' are those who are better at networking. How many times have we heard of someone, who is very knowledgeable and hardworking, but poor EQ, is being passed over for someone who is not so capable but able to please his boss?
My frank opinion is that many people think that the government is duty-bound to take care of the citizens. However, we forget history. Those in power will definitely try to help their kins first, before helping strangers. If you ask me, I would do the same too.
For those naive TR readers who expect the govt or others to take care of them, I suggest they read up Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Whatever our opinion of the author, basically what he trying to drive home is that we should be financially literate, and there is no better person to take care of our finances than ourselves.
I will take the example of the 40+ former hedge fund manager who was earning $100K++ and he was on cloud nine. I can imagine him on cloud nine - buying all the luxurious goods and lavishing on himself like there's no tomorrow. Suddenly he finds himself out of job - and he expects the whole world to be sympathetic to him, and offer him a job, paying $7K++? It all boils down to keeping our feet on the ground. We need to face reality. Whoever becomes the next govt will take care of their own interests first.
Lets forget who is in govt. Lets look at what we can do for ourselves and our friends. The glass is either half full or half empty. If we see the glass as half empty. we will always be unhappy. On the other hand, if we see the glass as half full, we will be contented. That is not to mean that we don't fight for our rights. But the lesson is that it is so much better that our destiny is in our hands. & not in the hands of the govt. Or charity. Or even our children. I believe that we should nourish our children without having the thought that they will pay us back.
So ... lets think positively - and accept whatever life throws at us as challenges - and we will triumph!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Education is big money
We all know that education is big money. Look at all the private education centres mushrooming in Singapore over the past few years, until Edutrust had to step in to filter out those fakes from the real ones.
The mind boggling question is: When employers can easily employ graduates from all over the world, and so many students are competing for a place in Spore u, why is the govt still offering tuition grants to foreign students to study at local unis? I am sure we will get enough good students from overseas to study in our unis without offering them the subsidies. Yea, in the developing years when NUS & NTU were not up there yet, it was ok. But now, should remove the carrots. Then MOE can make even more money.
But then again, the govt must know something we don't.....
The mind boggling question is: When employers can easily employ graduates from all over the world, and so many students are competing for a place in Spore u, why is the govt still offering tuition grants to foreign students to study at local unis? I am sure we will get enough good students from overseas to study in our unis without offering them the subsidies. Yea, in the developing years when NUS & NTU were not up there yet, it was ok. But now, should remove the carrots. Then MOE can make even more money.
But then again, the govt must know something we don't.....
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