Money Singapore

2009-12-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

Mentored by a Self-Made Millionaire

In March, i came across this article featured in the Business Week or Economist or some business magazine .It featured the story of how this young man, Terry, CFA, CEO of OneMentor.com became a multi millionaire by the age of 34 owning a few properties fully paid and having several businesses generating income in excess of 1 mil annually.

He graduated from University with Honours in Engineering and got a job in a fund management firm so that he can learn about money. This was followed by several other roles in the financial industry with securities firm, Investment and Commerical Banks.

Fed up that the financial industry is more about politics and greediness rather than truly helping people make money, this Self-Made Millionaire left to set up OneMentor.com educating people on their Career and Money Management.

I too wanted to be rich and stop worrying about paychecks. I longed to have a few million so that i can do what i want in life. I have always been sceptical about the get rich schemes from FX, options trading or Internet biz listed in the newspapers. These cost thousands and i wonder are these speakers really worth thousands for just a few days' work?

Found that OneMentor.com have mentoring services costing only a few restuarant meals. I signed up with them just to try the free trial.

The Mentor signed to me helped me analyzed my job and showed me why with my performance, i can never become a millionaire. I found that in the office, there is a certain hidden protocol to get to the top.

Over some months, he worked with me on increasing my salary through specific steps and mentored me on smart money management. It is quite good advice and i am definitely surprised how the rich view money. Its totally different from mine! I wished they taught this in school!

The good thing about this service is i now have a realistic target to reaching the elusive 1million and wiser in money management than before.

The bad thing is i can't get to meet my assigned Mentor face to face. he is overseas and he charges $1000 per hour for face to face coaching. hmm, i can't afford it, so can only settle for the online 99bucks email service. works anyway.

So far, i have gotten a $1890 pay rise, made about $36,890 in the recent stock market crash thanks to his views and gained lots of insights on how a Millionaire thinks.

overall, a very good return on the Coaching i received at www.OneMentor.com Now, i know what i want in life and have a specific plan to achieve my goals in Career and being a Millionaire in 3.5 years.

2009-09-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Recently, a friend asked me how to make money in the stock market.

There was this friend who has unfortunately lost a big sum in the financial meltdown in 07-09. I remember discussing with him in early 2008 on the stock- Citigroup, yes, the one that fell from $30+ to the current $4+.He got it at $19 and held till today.

As the stock market dropped steadily in 2008 and sharply after Lehman Brothers collapse till March 09. he kept his portfolio of stocks and stopped reading the stock statements.

I was lucky, i decided to stop loss for any positions at 20% and will buy it back later when the drop reach a plateau which i did after April 2009. The astonishing rise in stock prices more than erased the 20% loss i took in some stocks had now, my portfolio is up in a short time.

Just like me, we had daily does of Wall Street Journal, Financial times, Economist, Bloomberg access and devour the investment book classics.

However, i realised there may be one difference between us. i read non-mainstream media as well such as from RGE Monitor started by Nouriel Roubini. I also have regular investment insights from www.secondopinion.asia . It is quite affordable and offers an alternative view.

I think it is important to read different views so as to form a holistic view before making any decisions.

Warren Buffet

2007-11-19T06:33:00.000-08:00

bh never chase after soaring markets

boon hui: 10 year money or 5 year money

Jim Rogers on US Subprime and on China Nov 2007

2007-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

Six more hard years tipped for subprime falloutThe US subprime crisis will continue for years to come and America may be facing a permanent decline as an economic power, famed investment guru Jim Rogers said over the weekend.

//-->Benjamin Scent Monday, November 19, 2007The US subprime crisis will continue for years to come and America may be facing a permanent decline as an economic power, famed investment guru Jim Rogers said over the weekend.
"The situation is going to continue to deteriorate," he said in Hong Kong.
"When you have a bubble, it normally takes years to work out all the ramifications."
The subprime crisis is not over, Rogers said.
"I think we have a long way to go before it's finished," he said later at a conference. "When you have a bubble like this, it usually takes five to six years to clean it up."
Rogers said not many people have lost their houses yet despite a credit bubble that allowed Americans to buy a house with no down payment - a situation unprecedented in US history.
But he said many will lose their homes before the crisis is over.
"Inflation's going to get much worse. You are going to have more people losing money. You're going to have more bankruptcies," he said.
On top of his dire prognosis, Rogers said he does not see anything that could be done to save the day.
But, he said, any steps the US authorities take to try and stop a recession will not help the economy anyway.
"Let it happen," he said. "There are these bad elements in the economy that need to be cleaned out."
Rogers said that America's position as an economic power may be starting a permanent decline.
"The United States has certainly peaked," he said.
"America, in [my daughter's] lifetime, will certainly be a shadow of its former self." Rogers has one daughter, Happy, who is four.
China will be the "next great country in the world," following Britain's economic dominance in the 19th century and the United States after that.
He said of the ramifications of a devalued dollar: "You've got to figure out ways to protect yourselves. It's going to change, the world as we know it."
The dollar's decline is getting "very bad," he said.
He predicts many countries are going to stop using the US dollar.
In response to reports that Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are pondering dropping their currencies' pegs to the US dollar, he noted some countries had already done so and expects more to follow suit.
"In 20 years, very few [countries] will have their reserves in US dollars - very few," Rogers said. "You have to be nuts to buy US dollars in the twenty-first century."
Rogers also called on US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to resign for devaluing the greenback.
"All he knows about is printing money, and he's doing it," Rogers said. "He doesn't know about the value of the dollar; he doesn't care about the value of the dollar."
The bow-tied investment sage, who helped launch the Quantum Fund with George Soros, said the yuan could replace the US dollar as the world's reserve currency in 15 years, after it becomes fully convertible.
"I don't suspect the euro's going to last 15 to 20 years from now," Rogers said.
"The yen will never be able to replace the dollar."

Lee Shau Kee turned cooler on markets in Nov 07

2007-11-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

Cooler Lee urges investor caution Henderson Land Development (0012) chairman Lee Shau-kee turned cooler on the Hong Kong equity market for the first time yesterday, warning that investors should be cautious.

//-->Alfred Liu Monday, November 19, 2007Henderson Land Development (0012) chairman Lee Shau-kee turned cooler on the Hong Kong equity market for the first time yesterday, warning that investors should be cautious.
In response to the tumble of Hong Kong shares at the end of last week, Lee said the effects from the mainland's crackdown on underground channels pumping money into Hong Kong have been factored in.
"I am afraid other negative [news] will come. It is so serious these few days. The index may see a further slide, but the drop will only be temporary.
"The [situation] will be stable after a while," Lee told reporters after casting his vote in the district council elections.
He added: "Anyway, investors should be careful and don't buy the shares if they are too expensive; buy them when the prices are low. The stock market is very volatile now and more tightening measures from the mainland may come.
"Investors need to be more careful before buying any stock. Buy more shares if [the index] drops, buy even more when it drops further."
Gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung- sun said on Saturday the benchmark Hang Seng Index will be able to reach 40,000 points by the end of this year, but Lee sees a less-than-rosy outlook for the market.
"It's impossible [to reach 40,000]. I believe it will probably reach 35,000, or about 30,000 points by the end of this year and expect the index to hit 33,000 in two to three months after the New Year," he said.
Yesterday was the first time this year that Lee has expressed negative comments to the public.

Jum Rogers Warren Buffet on China 2007

2007-10-25T06:56:00.001-07:00

Gurus place China betsAs the mainland market continues its bull run, two heavyweights in the world of investing have expressed contrasting views about where they may unlock potential value in the country.

//-->Gita Dhungana and Victor Cheung Thursday, October 25, 2007
As the mainland market continues its bull run, two heavyweights in the world of investing have expressed contrasting views about where they may unlock potential value in the country.
Commodities guru Jim Rogers declared yesterday he is pulling out of all his US dollar assets and buying the yuan. Billionaire Warren Buffett, meanwhile, warned of overstretched valuations of mainland stocks - and urged investors not to lose their shirts.
Rogers, who has consistently been bearish on the US dollar, said the yuan is the best currency to buy, predicting the value of the currency to quadruple in the next decade.
"I don't see how one can really lose on the [yuan] in the next decade or so. It's gotta go. It's gotta triple. It's gotta quadruple," he was quoted by Bloomberg as saying during a presentation in Amsterdam late yesterday.
The yuan yesterday broke through the psychologically important level of 7.5 to the greenback for the first time. It closed at 7.4926, up from Tuesday's close of 7.5047.
Reiterating his bearish view on the US dollar, Rogers said the value of the greenback will further erode.
"I am in the process of - I hope in the next few months - getting all of my assets out of US dollars.
"I am that pessimistic about what's happening in the US," said the chairman of Beeland Interests and former partner of George Soros.
The US dollar has fallen against major currencies as concern mounts over economic growth in the United States, while last month's 50-basis
point interest rate cut has prompted investors to dump US dollar assets.
Meanwhile, billionaire Buffett said although the fundamentals of the mainland economy remains positive, investors should be "cautious about mainland stocks as the market is too hot.
But last week, after his investment vehicle offloaded shares in PetroChina (0857), he noted it was "too soon to have sold the entire stake as the shares had risen since.
"We never buy stocks when we see prices soaring, Buffett told Bloomberg in Dalian, where he was visiting a subsidiary of a company held through Berkshire Hathaway. "We buy stocks because we're confident of the company's growth. People should be cautious when they see prices rising."
The world's second wealthiest man said he was looking elsewhere in Asia to buy large businesses that he understands, but that he was doubtful of finding a good buy in the mainland now that the benchmark index has more than doubled this year.
"If you understand a business and buy at a reasonable price, there's no risk.We've never realized a loss because we understand the businesses that we buy in," he said.
He denied media reports that Berkshire will invest in China Life Insurance (2628).
The CSI 300 index, which tracks major mainland-listed stocks, has jumped more than 170 percent this year. It gained 0.87 percent to close at 5,588.01 yesterday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.21 percent to 5,843.11.
Meanwhile, Buffett, 77, said he was "appreciative of the performance of PetroChina."
Buying PetroChina had been "an easy decision, he said, but he doubted if he can find "another PetroChina, given the high valuation of mainland listed companies."

Jum Rogers Warren Buffet on China 2007

2007-10-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Lee Shau Kee investing

2007-10-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

In this tycoon-dense town, Lee Shau Kee stands out. The richest man in one of Asia's richest cities, Mr. Lee made a real-estate fortune through sheer steely courage.
When there were street riots in Hong Kong during the 1960s, Mr. Lee invested. Whenever Hong Kong's notoriously volatile stock market crashed, he invested. When the local currency nose-dived on news that Britain would return the city to China, he invested. Now, with this prosperous capitalist enclave less than a year away from its return to Communist-led China, Mr. Lee is, well, investing.
"Hong Kong still offers the best ...

Lee Shau Kee 2004

2007-10-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

Over the past few decades, Henderson Land Development chairman Lee Shau-kee has quietly and cleverly spun together a vast fortune, making him one of the richest tycoons in town.
Mr Lee built Henderson by accumulating large swaths of New Territories land, plot by plot, from villagers in the 1970s.
He then engaged the government in a series of talks over land premiums, gauging the timing of Hong Kong's boom-and-boom-again property market almost perfectly, before sweeping into the market with huge residential estates targeting the newly affluent middle class.
After that, Henderson began sprawling across Hong Kong's economic landscape, investing in Miramar Hotels, Hong Kong and China Gas, Hong Kong Ferry and scores of other businesses.
With luck and an uncanny eye for opportunity, Mr Lee parlayed about $10 billion in dividend payouts from his various listed vehicles over 30 years into a $50 billion personal investment portfolio.
It sure beats building factories.
"With stocks, futures and bonds, I can make a billion dollars in a few weeks, unlike with manufacturing, where I have to employ a lot of workers, set up manufacturing facilities and wait years for a return," Mr Lee said.
For the 75-year-old, the focus on stockpiling wealth is now secondary to the need to preserve it. Hence his decision to set up Henderson Financial Enterprises Group, a family trust funded by Mr Lee's personal holdings, earlier this year.
"With 20 to 30 investment projects in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, we can get at least a 10 per cent return. Even 20 per cent," he said.
Unperturbed by economic austerity measures, Mr Lee sees good value in forthcoming mainland initial public offerings, especially in the banking and insurance sectors.
"We are in talks with some companies and the sponsors, trying to clinch deals before their IPOs," he said. "You cannot be wrong if you invest in leading companies in China. If these companies go wrong, that would mean no investment in China would survive."
Mr Lee said with its friendly tax regime, Hong Kong remained an attractive international financial centre for investors.
The exception lay in the estate duty, which he said should be scrapped to ensure super-rich individuals such as Warren Buffett parked some of their wealth in the city.
While the family trust is commanding more of his attention these days, Mr Lee said he was still hands-on in managing Henderson's listed empire.
"I want to turn Henderson into an even bigger company in eight to 10 years," he said.
Asked what the future might hold for his empire, Mr Lee smiled softly. "I'm often asked about the succession process. Fortunately, I just have two sons, not 20. Looking for a successor is not a big problem."
Mr Lee said his elder son, Peter Lee Ka-kit, had taken charge of the mainland business while his younger one, Martin Lee Ka-shing, was involved in the Hong Kong operations.
While Hong Kong is a mature market, Mr Lee said the future for Henderson Group would be Greater China, even though the time was not right for a massive expansion.
He said the mainland business environment would improve over the next five years as it changed in accordance with the closer economic partnership arrangement and the World Trade Organisation, creating a more level playing field.
"With a solid foundation and strong connections, Henderson Group is poised to benefit from these changes," he said.
For now, Hong Kong remains Henderson's focus. The group is building up a war chest for expansion, obtaining a $10 billion revolving credit facility last month.
"It's been a borrowers' market for at least four to five years," Mr Lee said. "The borrowing cost is virtually nothing, so we decided to build up our war chest."
The key project on the agenda is the $24 billion West Kowloon cultural hub, to be built on 40 hectares of reclaimed waterfront.
The company has spent $50 million recruiting international consultants to provide an innovative design for the project, according to vice-chairman Colin Lam Ko-yin.
The group is proposing to build a 150-metre fountain - the world's tallest. It has consulted more than 340 overseas and local arts and cultural organisations about their requirements for an auditorium. Residential, commercial and cultural facilities will each occupy about 30 per cent of the land.
Henderson is competing for the project with a Sun Hung Kai Properties-Cheung Kong joint venture, Swire Properties and a consortium comprising Sino Land, Wharf (Holdings), Chinese Estates Holdings and K Wah Group.
Regarding suggestions that the government release unsold Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats to help resolve the deficit as the property market improves, Mr Lee warned such a move would damage the government's integrity.
A promise was a promise, he said. The government announced it would not flood the market with HOS flats. To do so now would undermine its credibility in the eyes of investors. - by Peggy Sito & Karen Chan SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 3 Sept 2004

HK tycoon Lee Shau-kee says sell at 30,000

2007-10-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lee sets selling point at 30,000For the first time since March, tycoon Lee Shau-kee seems to sense some risk riding the bull market.

//-->Victor Cheung Saturday, October 13, 2007
For the first time since March, tycoon Lee Shau-kee seems to sense some risk riding the bull market.
He indicated on Friday he might consider offloading part of his investment portfolio when the benchmark Hang Seng Index reaches 30,000 points.
Thursday's surge by the HSI above the 29,000 barrier occurred much sooner than expected, Lee said at the Forum on Future Development of China in Guangzhou.
"The stock market has accumulated quite a bit of growth. It's not a nice time to invest further," he said.
Lee reminded people not to engage in what he called momentum buying. He said his motto is always to "buy low" and that is the basis on which he encouraged investors to "seize the opportunity" to do so during this month's volatility.
Insurance and energy stocks remain Lee's favorites, but he urged caution for mainland developer stocks as heavier austerity measures may be put forward next week during the 17th congress of the Communist Party.
Lee, the chairman of Henderson Land Development (0012), maintains his 30,000 target for the HSI before the Lunar New Year in February, along with the 20,000 for the H-share index, that he predicted in late September.
At the same forum, New World Development (0017) chairman Cheng Yu- tung sort of challenged Lee's previous predictions as "too conservative," as Cheng thinks the market is still healthy and stable.
Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) chairman Walter Kwok Ping-sheung also expects the stock market will grow "satisfactorily" in the long term.
Commenting on Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's policy address of this week, Kwok said the 10 mega infrastructure projects announced by the chief executive will benefit the economy as well as foster closer ties with Guangdong.
Cheng said the HK$250 billion worth of development projects will ease unemployment among construction workers, currently at 8.7 percent compared to the overall jobless figure of 4.3 percent.
On Monday's land sale, Cheng said the 68,921-square-foot Aberdeen site on Welfare Road has piqued his interest with its location and seaviews.
He predicts the site, being the first Island plot to be sold this financial year, will attract fierce competition as land prices on the Island has jumped more than 10 percent in the past six months.
Lee said Henderson is among those interested in the site. But he said the supply of hotel rooms is sufficient and warned against building too many hotels for next year's Olympics.
Others at the forum included National People's Congress local delegate Peter Wong Man-kong, Chinese General Chamber of Commerce chairman Ian Fok Chun-wan and Hip Shing Hong chairman Fong Yun-wah.

Wall Street TV

2007-10-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Bottomline: the recent months have been an exercise by Wall Street to fool the public and the average money manager, while they were selling heavily into the uninformed buying. They don’t go through so much “distribution” just for a short term decline.

Remember, when these sophisticated players want to unload billions of dollars of stock, they have to have buyers. They do this by getting their analysts spots in the national media to voice their optimism. They are the Pied Pipers. The analysts probably believe what they say, but it’s the top guys in the office who know what’s really going on.

Stock Market Correction soon?

2007-10-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

BEAR MARKET! Excerpt from the WELLINGTON LETTER, Aug. 6, 07 issue
....................................On Saturday, one editor of a major financial publication said that investors should not worry. He said he stayed invested during the 1987 crash, almost panicked, but eventually stocks got back. And in the year 2000, he stayed invested, and eventually stocks came back. Well, if your investments strategy is to stay with an 80% wipeout as in 2000-20002, then you better have a rich sugar daddy.
What’s worrisome to us is that there is no concern. That’s not bullish, but very bearish. In January 1977, Investors’ Intelligence survey showed that only 3.8% of investment advisors were bearish. However, I was forecasting a bear market. Therefore, I started the WELLINGTON LETTER, just to be able to put it in writing for posterity. A bear market followed and made the WELLINGTON LETTER a sought-after investment publication for serious investors.
On Wednesday, August 1, as some of the homebuilders plunged 30%-40% in price in 20 minutes’ time (yes, that’s correct), one Wall Street guy on TV said not to worry “because the global economy is strong.” Well, that kind of advice will get you to the poor house.
American Home Mortgage (AHM), which was a short sale position in our SMARTE TRADER service, collapsed and is now out of business. Over 6000 employees lost their jobs. Tell them, or the AHM shareholders, about the strong global economy.
Economists talk about the “Goldilocks economy,” describing that’s it’s the best of all worlds. In the fairy tale, doesn’t Goldilocks get eaten by the big, bad bear?
Here is some good advice: when you watch the financial channels, and some analyst starts talking about how good the economy is, especially internationally, just hit the “mute” button. A financial panic has nothing to do with the economy, and everything to do with an implosion of credit. When they talk about how small the sub-prime mortgage is compared to the entire economy, hit mute. When they tell you that the market is wrong, and to hold for the “long term,” hit mute.
You see, none of these arguments have anything to do with a financial crisis.
The Thai currency crisis started in July 1997. First it infected other immediate neighbors. Then the crisis spread. By December it had infected Latin America and other world markets. Many of the largest, best managed Thai companies and banks plunged 90% in price. The crisis was definitely not over in two weeks, which is what the pundits now suggest about the current situation in the U.S.
In fact, I haven’t heard one analyst speaking recently about the problem having spread around the world. Numerous hedge funds abroad have gone out of existence just in the past two weeks. Large investment companies are reporting big losses. The AXA group in Europe has a billion-dollar fund that lost 40% in July. Yet the pundits pretend we are just having a normal market correction.
On August 2, a Federal Reserve governor turned into a public relations voice. He said that the sub-prime mortgage problem is small compared to the entire economy, and will not impact the strong economic fundamentals. I suppose that if he had been on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, he would have said that the hole in the ship was small compared to the size of the ship and therefore there is “nothing to worry about.”
The leaders at the Fed say it’s a $100 billion problem. But experts say it’s at least three times as big.
Current sentiment is not conducive to a durable bottom. CNBC took a survey last week and found that ZERO percent were bearish on the market. Well, that alone should tell you that there is a lot more selling to be done before it’s over. Of course, a brief rally is something else.

Singapore Banks turn cautious on property loans

2007-10-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

Banks are tightening up on the way they lend money for buying homes while the property market is coming off the boil, housing agents report.
With the world's financial markets in turmoil, following a crisis in US mortgage lending to people with bad credit records, bankers in Singapore say that when it comes to assessing home loan applications, the ability of borrowers to pay is paramount.
The trouble in the financial markets, coupled with the 'ghost month' here which makes the third quarter traditionally a slower period for home sales, has led to asking prices easing, especially in the secondary market, agents say.
Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin says: "Banks have definitely become more cautious.
"Just look at The Straits Times classifieds - they're flooded with speculators trying to offload."
Dr Chua reckons that property prices have cooled about 5-10 per cent.
Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng has a different take on the situation; he says prices from actual deals that he has seen have not slipped. "That impression may have come from those ridiculous (asking) prices," he said.
He said the apparent increased wariness of bankers was a reaction to the volatility in the stock market which was affected by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. And bankers' 'natural instinct' is also to be more prudent, said Mr Tan.
Generally, banks continue to finance a maximum of around 80 per cent of the value of a property, despite rules allowing up to 90 per cent funding. And some housing agents say banks have become stricter in valuations and are lending less than 80 per cent of the value of the property.
"Banks control the valuations," said one agent.
The agent said feedback from buyers is that banks can't match the valuations and they have to cough up more cash for the purchase.
Especially at times of rapidly changing prices, the notional value of a property as set by expert valuers can be adrift from what buyers are actually called on to pay.
Banks say they rely on their panel of experts appointed from property consultant firms for valuations. Some also have in-house valuers to provide a view of the overall market.
"In general, we will take the valuations by the appointed valuer as fair value," said Gregory Chan, OCBC Bank head of consumer secured lending.
"However, where new benchmark pricing is concerned, we will take the average. Although valuation is a key component, a borrower's creditworthiness remains the primary consideration in determining loan eligibility and some factors taken into account include income level, credit history and repayment ability."
Helen Neo, Maybank Singapore head of consumer banking, said the bank does not discriminate against high-end properties, especially where purchase price is supported by valuation.
"However, we would take a more conservative stance in terms of loan quantum should the purchase price exceed valuation significantly," she said. "However, for loans amount of $2 million and below, we require the borrower to use our in-house valuer."
A DBS spokeswoman said: "In assessing loan applications, we accept valuations professionally done by reputable certified valuers who are on the DBS panel. In addition, we consider the buyer's ability to repay and the purpose of the purchase."
At DBS's second-quarter results briefing in July, chief executive Jackson Tai said the bank had been taking a 'stringent view' on credit quality and had 'avoided any concentration' in a single development or district.
At the very high end, foreigners make up a significant portion of buyers - and banks have been seeing more of such borrowers.
Edmund Koh, DBS's head of regional consumer banking, said there had been an increase in foreigners taking up loans, from 5.6 per cent of the total new loans book last year to 7.8 per cent for the year to date.
United Overseas Bank executive vice-president Eddie Khoo disclosed last month at the bank's second-quarter results that foreigners account for about 10 per cent of home loans. Overall, too, the bank was being cautious, given the market conditions.
"As you know, property prices are moving up quite rapidly," said Mr Khoo. "But what's good is that we are seeing less than 10 per cent of loans being booked (with) more than 80 per cent financing. We have a good portion of customers putting in more cash and equity in the purchase of property."
Dr Chua said that banks were becoming more cautious in extending property loans to foreigners, especially in cases where prices were sizzling and people were buying for investment.
Anecdotally, he was aware of several cases where people could not get valuations to match their purchase prices.
For the mid-tier segment and if it is for owner occupation, banks are still more relaxed in their loan criteria, Dr Chua said.
Latest official data show that borrowing by homebuyers was up 8.1 per cent in July, accelerating from 6.9 per cent in June.
Mortgage growth had been sluggish for several months despite the Singapore property boom.
In the 11 months to March, mortgage growth in Singapore remained under 3 per cent even though home sales surged.
A key factor for this is the popularity of deferred payment schemes offered by developers, and many of these projects are approaching completion.
Dr Chua expects mortgage growth to reach double digits by the end of the year. UOB and DBS said their Singapore mortgage book grew at 15 and 14 per cent respectively in the first half of this year.
There is little similarity between US lending practices and those in Singapore, where the banks have a good buffer in their exposure to mortgages. Although the Monetary Authority of Singapore eased financing limits from 80 per cent to 90 per cent two years ago, most banks said the bulk of their loans are booked at not more than 80 per cent financing.
They also said that investment properties do not account for more than 20 per cent of total loans.

http://business.asiaone.com

HK Tycoon Li Ka Shing warns of Stock Market Bubble

2007-10-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

Tycoon Li Ka-shing made a rare comment on the stock market recently, alerting investors to a bubble forming in the mainland, where stocks were now priced at an average "50 to 60 times" earnings.
Hong Kong stocks reacted to Li's warning, with the Hang Seng Index sliding nearly 200 points in the morning session. Selling pressure concentrated on both China and property stocks. The benchmark index closed at 20,904.84 points, down 89.77 points, as heavyweights China Mobile (0941) and HSBC Holdings (0005) regained momentum in the afternoon.
A Chinese media report said qualified foreign institutional investors have turned cautious towards the A-share market, with two major investors pulling a total 10 billion yuan from the market. QFII, launched in 2002 to give select foreign institutions access to China stock markets, has received ardent support from the players who have said there was never enough quota.

New Singapore Songs

2007-10-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

Count Money, Singapore
We have a revision of pay tomorrow

Just released, just released

We have a poorer Singapore
We won't receive, we won't receive
You and me, we have to part
With our CPF for a start
We have to show the world that we take less money
We won't receive, we won't receive

There is nothing down the road that we can look for
We were told a dream that we could never try for

There's a spirit in the air
That Seventh Month feeling we all share
We're gonna build a better after-life for you and me
We were deceived, we were deceived

Count money, Singapore
Count money, Singapore
Count on me to give my salary and more
Count money, Singapore

You and me
We'll do our part, give our kidneys and our hearts
We're gonna show the world how to GIRO our body
We can't resist, we can't resist

Count money, Singapore
Count money, Singapore
Count on me to give my life and more
Count money, Singapore

Together Singapore, Singapore X3

We Are Singapore

There was a time when people said
Our CPF won't increase...
But it did

There was a time when we stopped at 2
Didn't seem to need More Children....
But we did.

We've built a nation all confused...
Reaching out together, for hope and sanity

This is my country,
This is my luck,
There's a SDU, to choose my wife
There's a ISD, to guard my life,
We are Singapore, Singaporeans

Singapore my homeland,
It's here that we went wrong
People undecided which rule to carry on
We've been through all the changes,
These fickle policies
Singapore Forever, a ROJAK Company

We are Singapore,
We can endure more
Pull the belts all tighter,
Hear the stomachs roar
We are Singapore,
We can endure more
We're a nation paying fines forevermore

Contributed by Ken Loo

Investment Tips 2007

2007-10-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

invest in SGD fixed deposit to earn about 1.5-2.5% p.a.
invest in SGD government bond to earn 2.5-2.8% p.a. over 10 years
invest in a SGD money market fund to earn about 1.5% to 2.5% p.a.
invest in a large, well diversified, low cost equity fund to earn about 6% p.a. over 10 to 20 years
invest in a single premium endowment policy (to earn about 4% p.a. over 10 years)
invest in a life annuity (if you are above 60 years)

Usually, it is better to invest in equities in a large, well diversified, low cost fund. However, the global stockmarket is at a record high level at the present time. It may be better to wait for the global stockmarket to correct to a lower level before you invest a large sum.
In the meantime, you can invest your savings in the money market and earn a modest rate of return. You have the flexibility to withdraw from the money market fund at any time, without any penalty, and change to another investment.
If you are above 60 years, you can invest in a life annuity to give you a monthly income (say 500 to $2,000) to meet your living expenses over your lifetime. The return from the life annuity is quite satisfactory (say 5% p.a. or more) and can grow with bonus. The remaining savings can be invested in the money market fund to wait for the right time to move into equities.

Sub prime Crisis and Stocks

2007-10-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

September 28, 2007
InsiderPapers Study August Crisis, From First Wave to LastRipple By JENNY ANDERSON

SMART investors love crises. People panic, everything gets out of whack, securities get cheaper, and the world gets more interesting. Academic types also lovecrises because they produce data, which prompts questions and every once in a while produces some answers. August, the month in which everything went awry on Wall Street, offered up fascinating data. The financial world trembled, which it does every so often, and even though everyone seemed to know it was coming, everyone seemed surprised. Two recent papers, one academic and one written for investors, examine the August unwind. They reach similar conclusions about risk (there is more of it)and the cause of the collapse (an unknown multibillion-dollar fund unwinding), but they differ slightly on what it means for the types of hedge fundsthat were most affected. In separate papers, Andrew W. Lo, a professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technologywho just sold his hedge fund, AlphaSimplex, and Clifford S. Asness, the founder of AQR, a $37 billion hedge fund, conclude that the market craziness started when a large multistrategy fund or a proprietary desksuddenly started to dump its positions in early August. That set off a wave of deleveraging, or selling, that in turn caused stocks to do strange things.Specifically, cheap stocks, or value stocks, gotpummeled, and expensive stocks, or popularly shorted stocks, rose. This caused a lot of pain on the street,especially among quantitative hedge funds, or quants. Professor Lo’s research, which builds a very basic quantitative model and then tests what would happen t oit during the August unwind, concludes that the proliferation of hedge funds using similar investment strategies has led to more risk in the system. If this seems obvious, be mindful that a lot of people hav eargued otherwise, and Professor Lo is trying to proveit, not grandstand about it, which is unusual when itcomes to any topic related to hedge funds. According to his analysis, assets in certainstrategies — quantitative and long/short equity, bothof which generally try to buy cheap stocks and sellexpensive ones — have soared and returns haveplummeted (these are data points, not conclusions). From 1995 to 2007, assets in two strategies — equity market neutral (a quantitative model) and long/shortequity — skyrocketed to $160 billion from about $10billion. Over the same period, yearly average dailyreturns of Professor Lo’s portfolio fell to 0.13percent from 1.3 percent. So to achieve the returnsthat investors expected, the professor’s fund had to increase leverage to about nine times from about two times. When the unwind came, all those funds with all that leverage resulted in a lot of panic. “Now that we have so many boats in the harbor, youcan’t whiz by at 50 knots without rocking a fewboats,” he said in an interview. “In the middle of theocean, your wake has no impact, but in a crowdedharbor, a fast exit can cause quite a disruption.”In his paper, Mr. Asness reaches a similar conclusion.“I have said before that ‘there is a new risk factorin our world,’ but it would have been more accurate ifI had said ‘there is a new risk factor in our worldand it is us,’” he writes in his Q&A letter toinvestors. However, he draws a slightly different analogy thanProfessor Lo. Mr. Asness concedes that the harbor ismore crowded, but he argues that the problem was notthat there were too many boats, it was that all theboats raced for the same exit. The upshot: there isstill room for sailing, which in this analogy meansthere is still room to make money. Mr. Asness argues that the spread between expensiveand cheap stocks, what he calls the “value spread,”was not that tight before the August unwind and is nowwider than the historical norm. That means that itshould be easier to make money. “If too much capital had been attracted to these strategies, then that spread should have beentighter,” he wrote. “Since it hasn’t, it is reasonableto believe that the growth in these strategies has atleast been matched by the growth in the behavior thatmakes them work.” Put another way: “The growth in the quants seems to bereasonably balanced by those who want to take theother side of the quants,” Mr. Asness said. In otherwords, there is always someone on the other side,willing to sell cheap stocks and buy expensive ones. So is the harbor half-empty or half-full? Since hedgefunds are not particularly transparent, and no one hasparticularly useful data on them, no one really knows.One thing is clear: the harbor, after the Augustunwind, is less full than it was — a lot of boats havebeen wiped out. “I agree with Andy that these strategies will makeless money going forward,” Mr. Asness said. “But as ofnow they are cheap strategies.” In other words, smooth sailing until the next storm.

Remisier King Peter Lim July 2007 Tips

2007-10-02T03:24:00.000-07:00

Former remisier king in an interview with the Business Times said:
“Today’s bull run can get cut short by a number of things. Just like our recent experience with Sars, … the least expected thing can happen at the wrong time. I got a feeling the next downturn will be very severe.“
"(One) has got to start to think how to exit at the end of 2-3 years - 2009, before the casino starts operating.”
On property prices, he said that the current demand is driving the redevelopment projects - buildings are knocked down to build more apartments - hence explaining the temporary supply shortage. But when these projects are completed, there will be 3 times more apartments.
“When the supply comes out, property prices will drop.”

“A lot of people get it wrong. When the bull market is here, they build debts. Bull market is the time to build cash. Because today’s market turns very quickly. When the market turns, you cannot sell, especially for the property market. You can only sell when things are going up.“

Top paying industries in Singapore

2007-10-02T03:22:00.000-07:00

Financial services - $9,682
Professional services - $8,870
Information & communications (infocomm) - $8,699
Education health & social services - $7,258
Transport & storage - $7,162
Manufacturing - $7,141
Wholesale & retail trade - $7,004
Real estate & leasing services - $6,504
Construction - $5,496
Administrative & support services - $5,398
Arts entertainment recreation & other services - $5,186
Hotels & restaurants - $3,971

Jobs with highest pay increase

2007-10-02T03:21:00.000-07:00

Specialised surgeon - $530/yr
Risk management manager - $416/yr
Advertising copywriter - $325/yr
Chemist - $324/yr
Credit analyst - $285/yr
General Manager - $250/yr
Business management consultant - $210/yr
Food and drink technologist - $194/yr
Training manager - $185/yr
Corporate planning manager - $179/yr
Biologist - $177/yr
Legal officer - $171/yr
Building architect - $155/yr
Computer and information systems manager - $150/yr
Power generation and distribution engineer - $148/yr
Business development manager - $143/yr
Computer operations and network manager - $142/yr
Research and development manager - $141/yr
Aeronautical engineer - $140/yr
Business analyst - $137/yr

Career for Singapore graduates

2007-10-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

Most graduates do not have a solid idea what they want to do when they graduate from NUS, NTU, SMU...etc.
The big secret is this is normal because even successful people sometimes wonder what would have been?

Steps to getting a high salary---

1)Now, you have to know who you are in order to know what jobs suit you. Also, you must FOCUS although please be mindful of the shelf life of some jobs though.

2)The big jump only comes on average after 2-3 years in a certain job. So, try not to hop around every year.

3) Find a mentor to advise you.

4) Be the best in your profession and let it be known.

Insurance Singapore

2007-09-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

One tends to be lost when it comes to insurance planning. It seems so complicated and the temptation is to just buy a life insurance policy from a very persistent agent. Big mistake for most.

Reason is the expected return of a life insurance policy is about 2-3% over the whole term.
If you are thinking so what, i can double the premium i paid in 30 years time and still get money back, think about what if the unfortunate happens and you get $400,000(term) instead of $100,000(life) for $100/month then you will know why.

The reason why term insurance is cheaper is because you pay only for protection. For life insurance, there is a savings component attached to it. It is not hard to get a 5% dividend yield by buying corporate bonds or more for blue chips stocks so why bother about the 2-3%.
However, if you are a spendthirft, do go for life insurance else you will spend it anyway.

Mr Choo, CFA

Stock maket Singapore

2007-09-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Straits times Index has broken record highs recently along with most stock markets in the Asia Pacific.

This has attracted many working class people, aunties, students to 'investing' in shares, warrants...etc. Human loves optimism. We simply love to watch something goes up every day. The hopes of watching yr savings double in one year.

The age old advice of buying low and selling high has changed to buying high and selling even higher! (Not again)

The big open secret about making money in the stock market is to buy a million when no one else wants to buy. ( The late Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat was quoted mentioning this)Be greedy when others are fearful. ( Warren Buffet said this in the 2006 letters)

I would like to warn you that there are unknown unknowns that exist in the financial market that even investment banks cannot model accurately. I will not bother you with the mechanics of the subprime debacle, the liquidity bubble or the carry trade. However, bear in mind that fortunes are made when you acquire quality assets at a very reasonable price! Just look at how much some of the REITs are yielding now. From 8-9% dividend yield to the 3-4% currently.

Mr Choo, CFA