Jul 20, 2011
Car-sharing back in the fast lane
High car prices make scheme an attractive option again
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

Mr Roberto Tan, a business development manager, has been a Car Club member since 2004. The 39-year-old usually uses the service two to three times a month. -- ST PHOTO: RAJ NADARAJAN

CAR-SHARING is riding a new wave of popularity as lofty certificate of entitlement (COE) prices once again put car ownership beyond the reach of many.

The three players here all cite membership shifting to a higher gear.

Car Club, the biggest outfit here, has almost doubled its fleet since it was hived off from NTUC Income early last year.

The company, part-owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, will have 161 cars by next month - up from 145 today and 83 in March last year.

About 60 per cent of the fleet are new cars and membership has grown from 2,100 to 2,510.

Director and shareholder Lai Meng said the company plans to expand its fleet to 400 cars and have 11,000 members by mid-2013.

WhizzCar, a subsidiary of Popular Rent A Car, is also benefiting from the revival. 'We've seen a 15 per cent rise in member applications,' said general manager K.K. Ho. 'We used to get 30 to 40 a month on average; now we get 50-plus. The rise in car prices has made people think twice about buying a car.'

WhizzCar plans to add three sites to its current 33 'within the next two months', putting up to three cars per site. Its current fleet stands at 85.

Another player, Kahshare, has 50 vehicles and recently added three 'ports' - one in Jurong and two in Punggol - making 19 in all.

'We are currently getting five to eight new members a month,' said operations manager Choong Tat Soon. 'We believe that as our network expands and car-sharing becomes more accessible, membership will continue to rise.'

Car-sharing members pay a membership fee to join. They pay time and distance-based charges for the use of the car but these are often lower than rental car rates. Bookings are usually done online and members often access the cars via special smart key cards.

Car-sharing has gone on a roller- coaster ride ever since insurance giant NTUC Income introduced the concept here in 1997.

Its fortunes rose as car cost was driven up by soaring COE premiums in the 1990s, and dived when premiums plummeted in the mid-2000s.

In 2007, transport group ComfortDelGro pulled the plug on its CitySpeed car-sharing scheme.

A year later, Honda Motor quit a similar scheme using exclusively petrol-electric hybrid Civics. Some of the cars have since been taken over by Kahshare.

And early last year, Income pulled the brakes on car-sharing as part of its revamp to focus on its insurance business.

Now, with car COE premiums having more than quadrupled from three years ago, pushing the cost of a modest 1.6-litre Japanese sedan past $100,000, car-sharing is on a roll again.

'The challenge is for us to get the HDB to see car-sharing as a scheme that can help manage the current parking crunch by discouraging car purchases by low-usage drivers,' said Mr Lai.

'There were a few occasions when we were requested to vacate a carpark to create parking space for two or three individual car owners.'

Operators have also lamented at the lack of governmental support since former transport minister Mah Bow Tan first mooted the idea 15 years ago. In fact, there was a recent suggestion that car-sharing actually intensified the usage of a car, making it a high-mileage vehicle like a taxi.

Mr Lai conducted a study on 65 cars in Car Club's fleet to evaluate if this was true. It turned out that the average annual distance was 20,700km - in line with that of a private car.

'Each shared car serves 25 drivers compared with one or two drivers for a private car,' he added, noting that car-sharing members use public transport regularly. 'They do not use a car when there is a cheaper alternative.'

A typical user is Mr Abdul Jalil Zakaria, 47, who has been a Car Club member since 2002 when it was known as Car Co-op. 'The best thing about car-sharing is the flexibility, in terms of where and when I can get a car,' the airline control room officer said.

'I live in Pasir Ris where there are three Car Club locations. In nearby Tampines, there are four or five. So it's very easy for me to get to a car.'

The only times he fails to get a car are when he books at the 'last minute, on a weekend'.

christan@sph.com.sg

Moneylending: Tell us and we'll probe, replies registrar
[2011] 19 Jul_ST

Title: Moneylending: Tell us and we'll probe, replies registrar
Source: Straits Times
Author:


Legal News Archive

WE REFER to Mr Anthony Lim's letter ('Tactics were similar to those of loan sharks'; last Wednesday).

The Registry of Moneylenders strictly regulates and inspects the operations of

licensed moneylenders to ensure compliance with the Moneylenders Act and Rules, and will not hesitate to take

enforcement action against moneylenders who breach the law. Errant moneylenders could face warning, suspension, non-renewal or revocation of licence and, where there are even more serious breaches of the law, prosecution.

Borrowers, on their part, should take note of the terms and conditions of a loan, and should also carefully assess their own ability to service the loan, before entering into a loan agreement.

The Registry has made available on our website a guide to borrowers listing the factors to consider when obtaining a loan. The guide is in the Moneylending section under IPTO Services at www.ipto.gov.sg

Mr Lim stated that he was informed by the moneylender about the terms and conditions of the loan, including the repayment terms and forfeiture clause.

As we are unable to assess from these facts alone whether any breach of the Moneylenders Act and Rules has occurred, we would be grateful if Mr Lim can contact the Registry of Moneylenders at ipto_romp@ipto.gov.sg so that the Registry may obtain further details.

Alice Tan (Ms)
for Registrar of Moneylenders
Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office
Singapore

Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.

Jul 17, 2011
special report: expat divorces
Unhappy endings
Expat divorces are on the rise here, and can get nasty because of cross-border legal issues
By Lydia Vasko

In a flat cluttered with furniture bought for more spacious living and happier times, Christine prepares to leave Singapore and the wreckage of her 20-year marriage behind.

Divorce was inconceivable when Christine - legal reasons prevent her real name from being used - arrived here from her native Belgium with her husband and son in 2007.

She had quit her full-time job as a securities credit controller, bid farewell to friends and family, and moved across the world to support her husband of 16 years.

He promised she would be treated like a princess. But four years later, his affair with a local woman and the devastating legal battle it triggered proved otherwise, with Christine left high and dry.

Expatriate divorces are on the rise in Singapore. Last year, 144 divorces involving expats were recorded here, up from 110 in 2009. Many expats still prefer to file for divorce in their home country where laws are often more favourable towards the non-working spouse.

However, other matrimonial-related claims such as maintenance orders, child custody agreements and personal protection orders are filed and enforced here.

When Christine, 50, first called women's advocacy group Aware (Association of Women for Action and Research), she was at the end of her tether. Her husband had taken a surreptitious trip to Belgium just after their 18th wedding anniversary in March 2009 and filed for divorce there without her knowledge.

When he returned to Singapore, he cancelled her credit cards, blocked her from their mutual accounts, took the car and his clothes, and walked out.

In a panic, she took a friend's advice and went to Aware's legal clinic where she was advised to file for maintenance - a court-ordered monthly allowance - from her husband.

But with no money and no options for legal aid as an expat, the Flemish- and French-speaking Christine had to file without a lawyer and defend herself in court in a language she has trouble understanding.

She won her case for maintenance, thanks to her experience in accounts and copying 15kg worth of documents from his office.

Without those papers - copies of his contracts, phone bills, tenancy agreements and expenses - she would have had no way of holding him financially responsible.

'Everything was in his name... Everything in there saved me,' she said.

Yet while she won maintenance, Christine is still dependent on her husband until the divorce is finalised in Belgium. Her rental flat, dependant's pass and allowance all come from him thanks to the maintenance order without which she would have been forced out of the country without her son.

Leaving Singapore, she runs the risk that he will violate their agreement and stop sending maintenance payments which are difficult to enforce from Belgium.

But with her nerves frayed, she is too emotionally drained after two hellish years to stay. Her son is now 18 and heading to university, her beloved dog died a month ago and her flat, she said, is falling apart. 'It's time for me to go.'

Her nightmare is becoming more common as divorce rates among expats rise, leaving firms specialising in international family law struggling to keep up with demand for their services.

Ms Franca Ciambella, managing director of Consilium Law Corporation, said one reason is that more expats now fulfil the three-year residency requirement to qualify for divorce under Singapore courts.

'I think it's increasing because expats stay in Singapore longer,' she said. 'Whereas before a lot of expat assignments were for two years, now more are staying three years or more.'

She declined to give exact numbers but said: 'Unfortunately, we get dozens of (divorce-related) calls every week and new clients all the time.'

Ms Wong Kai Yun, who has been practising family law for 16 years, has seen an increase in expat divorce cases which mirrors the increase in the expat population here.

Since starting her firm, Chia Wong LLP, in 2008, her expat cases have gone from one or two to five cases a month. She now handles up to 30 divorce-related expat cases a year.

'Expat divorces have the same issues as a local divorce - division of assets, maintenance and custody - but they're always more complicated due to inter-jurisdictional issues. You need to sort out applicable international laws, and which is the appropriate forum to file the divorce in,' she said. 'Then you must deal with the practical issues - cost of living, dependant's passes, how to effect cross-border access, and enforcement because not all countries allow judgments from another country to be carried out just like that.'

Expat divorces can get particularly nasty given that marriage licences, assets and salaries can be in multiple jurisdictions. Also, one spouse is often completely dependent on the other for financial support.

When an expat moves here, the company sponsors the employment pass. The expat, typically male, then sponsors his wife and children as dependants on his pass, which he can cancel at any time.

'When the marriage breaks down, the man is really in a powerful position to affect the family's stability in Singapore,' said Ms Poonam Mirchandani, partner at Mirchandani & Partners, which specialises in international family law. Her firm has similarly seen a spike in expat cases - matrimonial troubles account for 60 per cent of its case load, up from 20 per cent five years ago.

That power imbalance really hit home when American Nhu Pham, 37, moved here from Copenhagen in 2007, leaving a six-figure salary and a decade-long career in shipping, to marry a fellow American based here.

'I'm a very independent person so that was a big sacrifice for me. But I was promised a fairytale,' she recalled.

Lured by love and the luxury of expat life, she arrived on the wings of a whirlwind romance only to find that reality fell far short. Within a year, they sought counselling.

She said: 'Without an income, I really was crippled. I had to rely on him to give me an allowance. I felt like I was 13 asking my parents for an allowance again.'

Such situations are not uncommon. 'He's the economic power, the financial muscleman,' said Ms Mirchandani. 'He starts dictating terms and begins to control the amount of allowance he gives.'

Ms Pham, who has a bachelor's degree in English from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, and over a decade of work experience, said her efforts to find work were futile.

'I've sent out over 200 applications. I am highly qualified and I'm just astounded that I can't find work here.'

She blames this on her unstable residency.

'Because expat wives are seen as temporary or not serious about working, employers aren't interested.'

By January 2009, her marriage had fallen apart and Ms Pham had been out of work for over a year.

Hoping to end the union amicably, she asked her husband for 'something to start my life again'.

Insulted by his initial offer of a $5,000 lump sum which she felt was too low, Ms Pham saw a lawyer who informed her of her entitlements. Her husband 'flipped his lid'. An argument ensued during which the police were called. After that, their relationship deteriorated.

When their home's lease expired, her husband moved into a two-bedroom condo unit in Robertson Quay, leaving Ms Pham to fend for herself. 'I had nowhere to live.'

Because they are here on a dependant's or long-term visit pass, spouses going through divorce have trouble renting a place here. Even if they can somehow afford the rental, 'landlords don't want to enter into a tenancy agreement with a person who doesn't have an income', said Ms Mirchandani.

After moving into a friend's apartment, Ms Pham filed for maintenance. For 10 months, she survived on help from her family and her pre-marriage savings, most of which went to pay for her $50,000 legal bill.

'I didn't know how long my money would last. I would go to the store and wonder if I really needed toothpaste. I had to account for every dollar that I had.'

Her dependant's pass was eventually cancelled.

'I can't tell you the months that I wasn't able to sleep because I didn't know what my options were,' she recalled.

Now on a long-term visit pass sponsored by a Singaporean friend, Ms Pham is grateful for friends and her college degree, both of which supported her successful application to stay.

The dependant's pass ploy is becoming more common in the expat divorce wars. Expat wives, like foreign wives of Singaporean men, are on long-term social visit passes that are dependent on their husbands for renewal every year.

'They are in a similar situation where they have limited resources and very little help,' said Ms Arati Mali, an Aware counsellor and direct services executive for the past three years.

'The difference is that expats tend to be more educated and aware of their rights, but that does not mean that they have less to lose,' she added.

'The thing that works against foreign wives is that they may have a family to support at home for which they got married. So they're stuck, whereas expat wives can often turn to their families for help.'

Aware has received six calls from expat wives about cancelled dependant's passes in the past year, a debilitating situation made worse by the fact that these women often have children they are forced to leave behind.

'It's a very distressing situation for the woman,' said Ms Mali. 'She left everything she had in her home country and now, years later, she has to go back without career, without family, and without the children and she has no choice because she has no money.'

Even when the woman can fight the cancellation of her dependant's pass, she still cannot afford to stay here without her husband's financial support.

Ms Mali told The Sunday Times: 'There are even expat husbands who block credit cards so their wives cannot even afford to go back home.'

Women stuck in this legal and financial hole are advised to go to their embassy, which usually assists in their repatriation, but that might mean having to leave their children behind - but not always.

'My husband tried to push me through the gutter,' said Christine. 'Well, two years later, I'm still here. And I'm going to walk out of Singapore with my son. I'll walk out with my head held high.'

vlydia@sph.com.sg

I will share some Buddhist articles that I come across. Feel free to contribute if anyone come across interesting articles.

由土星人张贴 @ 2011-07-13 07:53:24

一位禅师的临终忏悔 2011-07-13 07:53:24

那个禅者，是我多年的好友，得了不治之症，在禅坐中面对死亡，参悟死亡。作为好友，临终前我经常去看他，聆听他的教诲。我每去，他总在端坐，消瘦的脸上带着微笑。我们坐下聊天，他说：“我一生被虚名所误。虽然外面看着风光，出了书，有人跟着我学佛，可我知道，自己并没有真正开悟，也没有明心见性，现在想来，聪明反被聪明误。”他说得很诚恳。我说：“古来宗师，不是也有临终开悟得道的么？”他说：“那是大修行，放下万缘，一灵炯炯，不是我这种聪慧的小根器，我一生太聪明，太有才，太有情，因此有太多的放不下。”我又问：“那你最近如何用功？我每次来，你都在禅坐，我不忍心打扰你，在外面念佛，为你祈祷。”
　　禅者淡然一笑，说：“谢谢。生死大事，何时死，乃至来生何处投胎，我还是知道的。”我说：“这就是大修行啊，你都知道你何时死，投胎何处，你还没开悟？”禅者有点赧然，说:“这只是功夫，与开悟没关系，更与明心见性没关系。我出生到三岁，就能记忆投胎的因缘，长大后学佛来求证这因缘。我此生很早就知道自己‘生从何来’，一生的修行只为完成‘死向何去’，现在能知道死期，不过是预知时至而已，‘死向何去’，我也知道了，不过还是那句老话：‘再入轮回做众生’，我的内心已经没有对死亡的恐怖，这点粗浅修行离得道或开悟或见性还远着呢。”
　　“那你最近如何用功？”
　　禅者说：“一心忏悔那些业障，从内心净化。我是一个将死之人，要在临死前，把内心清理干净，这几月我一直在忏悔。忏悔我造的业，忏悔我做过的错事，忏悔自己没能真正尽孝，忏悔自己曾经伤害过朋友、亲人，忏悔曾经说了很多妄语，在修行上，未得言得，未证言证，自负轻狂；忏悔自己曾经口是心非，说了不少是非，惹了不少麻烦，给他人带来了不少伤害；忏悔我对爱过我的女人带来的心灵上的伤害；忏悔自己的无知对同修带来的误导……”禅者说了那么多可忏悔的事情，说时还会流泪。他对我说，“一个人，在临终前的大忏悔，就是‘放下包袱，轻装上路。’”说到这句，他笑了。谁都知道“上路”意味着什么。
　　他要我找来一个农村人洗衣服用的大铁盆，要我帮他把平生的文稿搬来，足足有一米高，要我当着他的面烧了。
　　帮他烧？我不忍心，说：“这可是你一生的心血啊，多少出版社找你要书稿，为何要烧？不是很好吗？”我不干。他说：“你不烧，那我自己烧。这些没有价值的东西，不烧何用？我没有得道，那些知解宗徒的文字，到头来都是魔障，我自己是清楚的。烧了书稿，以免贻误后学，以免增我罪过。没有真正明心见性，所谈所说尽是野狐禅啊，你想让我堕落地狱吗？”他沉静地说：“我一生说法讲经，辩论是非，因为没有得道，没有见性，说了妄语和见地不正的话，报应在身，得病在口腔、食道、胃。”他的脸越来越消瘦，因为坐禅，精神尚好。
　　我和他一本一本地烧他的作品，包括他的日记，不少还是用毛笔写的，字迹工整。大冬天，我们以书稿取暖。看着他的淡定与超然，我很感动，也想，我死前，要像他一样，烧尽自己所有的日记、文稿，不留那些杂碎，干干净净，毫无牵挂地离开。我的念头一动，他笑了，说：“别学我，学我没出息。”
　　我来过多次，禅师都说在忏悔业障，忏悔过恶，他对我说：“口业最难忏悔，这一生中，我讲经说法，口出妄语，说人是非，口业大如山岳。”他叹口气说，“尽管口业深重，我还是要忏悔清净了再死。看来，我比预期的日子要晚死一月，这一个月专门忏悔口业。修道学佛的人，口头禅也造业啊，何况我口业不净，说是非，争曲直，谈邪见，不知这一个月能否忏悔清净。等我忏悔清净了，就是我要走的日子。”作为多年亦师亦友的人，我还是难过，问他：“你要走了，有什么话作为对我最后的忠告？”
　　禅者说：“我知道你的未来之路，但不能说破，说破就是害你。未来的路在你心中，你如果能在夜里静坐内观，也会知道的。我这一生的经验，能告诉你的，就是：没有得道、没有开悟见性前决不为师，为师就害人，误人子弟即误人性命，果报严重，我的报应就在你眼前，所以，决不好为人师；
　　其二，你开悟见性，还要保任修行，修出更大的本领后再出来弘扬佛法，即便你有了弟子，记住，不要接受他人供养，决不剥削弟子，江湖上的事情我见多了，很多老师把弟子当仆人马仔使唤，那个罪过很重；
　　其三，不要轻视任何不懂佛道的人，哪怕他们见解幼稚、错谬，都不能笑人，我这一生笑了很多见解错谬的人，结果自己遭到报应，每一个没有开悟的人都是未来佛，一旦开悟就是大师，你怎能嘲笑大师？这道理我懂，但习气、傲气使然，给自己招了不少祸端，最近一月所忏悔的，就是我曾经轻视过他人；
　　其四，你以后去参访他人，哪怕外道宗师，也不要带着成见去参访，不要比较谁高谁低，人间有无数菩萨化身教诲，外道中何尝没有菩萨教化？不要带分别心和成见，你一心聆听，内观，内智自生，生而不住。我过去好辩论，好争斗，口诛笔伐，结果自己得了咽喉癌、食道癌，罪孽深重啊。”他说着眼泪流下来了，是忏悔的泪，是悟达的泪，也是教诲的泪。他用泪眼看我，“记住了？”我说，“记住了。”我这十余年来也有一点点虚名，来拜师的人偶尔有，我深记禅者之戒，从来没有收过“徒弟”。有人给我磕头，我就赶快跪下给他磕头。这都是禅者的教诲。
　　一个月后，他说：“我要走了，还是投生西北吧，西北穷一点，但人厚道，佛道的根源甚深，不像江南人，拿佛道赚钱，也不像东北人，骨子里并不敬佛。我就投生西北，咱哥俩有缘，三十年后，还能再见，那时你是大哥，我是小弟，你可要帮我。”我们都笑了。我说：“我向你学禅时不上进，你踢过我，那时该我踢你啰。”他说：“踢恨点，争取在你一踢之下，我当场开悟。”
　　他真的在认定的那天坐化，肉体火化。我分取了他一点骨灰，来京时还带着，有一年，我发现窗外长的竟然是海棠，秋海棠，这才想起他的那首临终诗：
　　海棠风过蝉魂香，寥廓青天是故乡。
　　再来求道道安在？康宁福寿非吾望。
　　我恍然大悟，就把他的那点骨灰撒在窗外的海棠树下。窗前原先有棵松树，看了两年，小区的物业把松树移走，种了海棠，大概有五年了，夏天，海棠叶茂，无数鸣蝉在海棠叶下歌唱。海棠花红的深秋，蝉声已息，夜是那么安宁，安宁得让人猛然间不太习惯没有“蝉嘈”的夜晚，“禅嘈林愈静，鸟鸣山更幽”。蝉鸣声不断，显出深林般的寂静。我家住在一个叫“康宁居”的小区。《尚书》把“福、寿、康、宁、善终”当成人生的五福，那个禅者不求人间的五福，只求大道。
　　他最后一次显露神异，预言了我未来的居处，他的骨灰会渗进海棠树枝。他说这些都是无常的，离大道、离见性还很远。就他这样的修行还是没有了脱生死，没有开悟，没有见性。写这篇文章时，禅者已经坐化十多年了，想想自己的修为，惭愧啊。那个禅者是谁？我不愿意说出他的名字，他把一生的文稿焚毁，不希望有人记住他。我相信，总有一天，我会在茫茫人海遇见他的，不论是否认出他，我们总会有缘遇见，尽未来际，会遇见他，在那个了无分别的本地风光里会回遇见他。

Oh wow! This officially proves that Singaporeans are all filthy rich! How can one afford a BMW easily? Simple, just cough up $150,000 or more!

Jul 14, 2011
BMW takes No. 1 spot in half-year sales
Costly cars forge ahead, driven by high COE prices
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

BMW has pulled ahead of all other car brands to emerge as Singapore's bestseller in the first half, and given its wide lead over Toyota, the German marque could clinch the year's top spot - its first ever.

According to data just released by the Land Transport Authority, 2,479 new BMWs were registered in the first six months - nearly 500 more than Toyota's 1,986. Arch rival Mercedes-Benz was third with 1,943 cars.

The German brands continued to dominate the top 10 list in the first half while the once mighty Japanese struggled to stay in the race amid soaring COE prices.

Certificates of entitlement - meant to limit car ownership and hence the number of vehicles on the road - are put up for bidding twice a month.

Because of a shrinking supply, COE premiums have risen to near-record levels. Premium for cars up to 1,600cc is $55,989 now and that for cars above 1,600cc is $68,501 - more than four times their respective levels just three years ago.

High COE prices dampen sales of cheaper cars with thinner profit margins because sellers are often outbid by those with fatter profits. Also, as one car dealer put it, 'wealthier buyers would not feel the higher prices as much'.

Hence, Porsche was among the top sellers this year and, up till May, was in 10th spot.

By June, it was overtaken by Volvo - but only by 12 cars. The Swedish make was among the few which managed to better its performance from the corresponding period in 2010.

Commenting on the first-half tally, Mr Say Kwee Neng, managing director of BMW agent Performance Motors, said it was too early to predict who will be No. 1 this year.

'Our numbers are encouraging but the race ends on Dec 31,' he said. 'It'd be foolish to take our competitors for granted. The second half may hold surprises for everyone in the trade. We don't know how the economy will pan out.'

Last year's race ended with Toyota taking top place (its ninth consecutive year), followed by BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

But for now, the biggest casualty by far are off-peak cars. Only 426 units were registered in the first six months - 80 per cent down from the same period last year, and merely one-tenth the figure of the year before.

High COEs have also made these cars - which can be used between 7am and 7pm on weekdays - less attractive. This is because the $17,000 tax break that comes with each car becomes a smaller saving as car prices climb.

'Our off-peak car sales have plummeted, for obvious reasons,' said a spokesman for Hyundai agent Komoco.

Squeezed out by the tight COE supply, buyers have taken a new shine to older cars. In the first six months, 34,620 used cars changed hands, up from 25,550 in the same time last year.

The figure was also higher than transactions for the whole of 2009.

Looking ahead, industry players do not expect the situation to change much in the second half.

COE supply for the next six-month period starting next month is likely to remain flat overall, with certain categories gaining and others shrinking further.

Category A (for cars up to 1,600cc) is likely to see a small quota increase but traders do not expect premiums to dip significantly.

COE supply is determined largely by the number of cars scrapped in the immediate preceding six-month period.

In the last two months, there was a minor surge in the number of 10- and 20-year-old cars taken off the road. Observers said this was because owners no longer found it worth their while to keep these cars because of high premiums.

A car's COE lasts 10 years but can be renewed for a further five to 10 years. To do so, owners must pay a prevailing quota premium, which is a three-month moving average of COE rates.

'What's most serious is the Category B (cars above 1,600cc), which we think will see a 17 per cent drop in supply,' said Mr Ron Lim, general manager of Nissan agent Tan Chong.

Traders are already bracing themselves for this premium to breach $70,000 in the next tender next week - which may set the stage for premium brands to widen the lead they have over mass-market makes.

christan@sph.com.sg

Has anybody else noticed that since this morning prices on sgx are quoted to 3 decimal places or is it just me seeing things

STOCK QUOTED ON SGX

I've been musing about this issue for quite awhile.

Has Singapore become more expensive to live in than other first world countries?

Let me do a simple comparison of the 2 big ticket items, namely, Car and Property, for Singapore versus UK-excluding London.

for the motorcar, a Toyota Vios in Singapore costs S$89,000
A Toyota Yaris (a Vios equivalent) in the UK costs £11,495 (S$23,000)

Insurance is roughly the same.
Petrol is S$1.95 for RON 95 here, £1.25 (S$2.50) in the UK.

For Property, the average Singaporean stays in a 4 room which he bought for S$250,000 to S$350,000. In the UK, a 1,500 sq ft Semi D costs in the region of £150,000. (Manchester suburb)


someone over at hardwarezone forums, who is living in the UK, has done a detailed comparison of day-to-day living costs here
From what I've gleaned, it seems day to day stuff in the UK is actually also cheaper than Singapore! Not to mention one of the biggest costs, healthcare, is pay for by taxes in the UK.

Wages wise, I shall take a medical doctor as an example.

A houseman here earns S$3,800 per month, after bonus, is somewhere in the region of S$50,000+. This is subject to an income tax band of 7%. A houseman working in the NHS earns £30,000, not including bonuses. This is subject to income tax band of 20%.

A consultant in public service in Singapore earns in the region of S$150,000, subject to 15% income tax (effectively S$127,500) , whereas a consultant in the NHS earns £100,000, subject to 40% income tax. (Effectively £60,000- S$120,000).

Not to mention that the working hours are alot more in Singapore...


This is just a simple comparison; but could it be that Singapore's cost of living has caught up, or indeed exceeded other first world countries?

Jun 25, 2011
Australian gambling addicts play on
Self-bans tough to enforce as casino patrons need not give identification
By Jonathan Pearlman, For The Straits Times

SYDNEY: An Australian scheme that allows gambling addicts to ban themselves from casinos has run into problems, with hundreds of problem gamblers defying their own bans.

Australia requires all gambling venues - including the country's 13 casinos and thousands of clubs and pubs with poker machines - to allow people to ban themselves. A ban must be for a minimum of three months but can be imposed indefinitely.

Only one state, South Australia, allows a gambling addict's family members or friends to request a ban.

Thousands of Australian gamblers with serious addictions have requested self-imposed bans.

But the ban is virtually impossible to enforce. Patrons can walk into casinos without needing to provide any identification. To nab a self-excluded gambler, the casino's security staff is obliged to look through a photo database and spot a match.

At Sydney's Star City casino, 2,194 people put themselves on the blacklist. Between 2006 and last year, 1,249 people were caught breaking their own bans. The vast majority were asked to leave the casino but were not prosecuted for the breach that carries a fine of about A$1,000 (S$1,300).

In Sydney and Melbourne, only about 10 to 20 people a year are fined, and only after multiple breaches.

The bans and fines are set by each state. In New South Wales, if a casino fails to remove a self-excluded gambler, it can be fined up to A$2,200.

Addicts claim the bans are easy to avoid and observers agree.

'People will go to extraordinary lengths to gamble,' said Dr Charles Livingstone, a gambling expert at Monash University. 'I have heard of people disguising themselves - men dressing up as women,' he said. 'But mostly they get away with it by walking through the door and not being challenged.'

The biggest obstacle to enforcing the ban is that 80 per cent of problem gambling in the country involves addiction to poker machines. Machines are far harder to police than table games such as roulette where staff can keep an eye out.

A study last year by the Tasmanian government found that 60 per cent of gamblers who had excluded themselves from venues broke their own bans. And 52 per cent said they attended other venues to gamble.

Most breaches were undetected, the study found. 'Most self-excluders were detected only after having already breached multiple times,' it said.

But the study also found most gamblers believed a ban was helpful even if it did not put a total end to their addiction.

'Most found it to be helpful in reducing their gambling, even if they did gamble while self-excluded,' the study said.

Federal Senator Nick Xenophon, who has been campaigning to reduce the number of poker machines and allow gamblers to 'pre-commit' the amount they are willing to lose, described self-exclusion as a joke. 'It doesn't work and the industry knows it,' he told The Sun Herald.

Last year, Australian gamblers lost more money per capita than people in any other country, shedding A$1,220 each, according to data collected by H2 Gambling Capital. Much of it was in New South Wales, home to almost 100,000 poker machines, half Australia's total.

Dr Livingstone said self-exclusion was a tool to help people manage themselves rather than the responsibility of the venue. 'It does provide moral suasion for an individual to be more disciplined about what they are doing,' he said. 'But it is very hard to implement.'

jonathanpearlman@hotmail.com

Is it just me? Can't these "surveys" simply STOP measuring how RICH people here are? It's getting to be extremely disconcerting and makes us seem like we are so focused on wealth and materialism!

Jun 24, 2011
Asia-Pacific overtakes Europe on the rich list
Ranks of high-net-worth individuals in region increased 9.7% last year

THE number of wealthy people in Singapore surged 21.3 per cent last year to more than 99,000, thanks to bumper returns from real estate and equities.

Hong Kong did even better, outpacing the rest of the world with its number of wealthy residents shooting up 33.3 per cent to 101,300.

In fact, the ranks of the rich expanded so much in the region last year that the number of wealthy people in the Asia-Pacific has now outstripped that of Europe, according to an annual report compiled by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini.

Asia-Pacific's population of high-net-worth individuals grew 9.7 per cent to 3.3 million last year, with their wealth gaining 12.1 per cent in value to US$10.8 trillion (S$13.4 trillion).

Europe's number rose 6.3 per cent to 3.1 million, with their wealth expanding 7.2 per cent to US$10.2 trillion.

High-net-worth individuals are people with investible assets of US$1 million or more, excluding their primary residence.

'Asia-Pacific's continued strong performance cements the region's strategic importance to every wealth management firm with global aspirations,' said the head of Asia-Pacific wealth management at Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, Mr Michael Benz. 'Now the world's second-biggest high-net-worth individuals market in terms of population and wealth, it is more pertinent than ever for the wealth management industry to keep enhancing their service to this diverse region.'

According to the report, six out of the 10 economies with the highest growth in high-net-worth people last year were in the Asia-Pacific.

The number of wealthy people in Vietnam grew by 33.1 per cent, making it the second fastest in terms of growth in the world, behind Hong Kong.

Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India all saw their wealthy populations rise by more than 20 per cent.

However, North America is still home to the biggest population of the world's rich, with the number of high-net-worth individuals there growing 8.6 per cent to 3.4 million people last year. Their wealth expanded 9.1 per cent to US$11.6 trillion.

More people joined the ranks of the wealthy as stock markets, commodities and real estate turned in healthy performances, said the report.

The wealthy in different regions had varying asset allocation strategies.

In Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, the super-rich particularly liked real estate - property accounted for 31 per cent of their aggregate portfolio at the end of last year. The global average was 19 per cent.

Investors from North America were more bullish on equities and kept 42 per cent of their holdings in stocks.

Japan's super-rich were the most conservative in the world, and held 55 per cent of their aggregate portfolio in fixed income and cash or deposit vehicles.

Investors from developed markets also cashed in on the higher interest rates offered by some developing economies.

Meanwhile, international bond markets grew, 'as investor confidence returned to financial markets, providing more demand and liquidity for financial institutions, corporations and governments looking to issue debt', the report noted.

Some of the added wealth also came from hedge funds - the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index finished last year up 11 per cent and above pre-crisis levels.

'Hedge funds had experienced hefty redemptions and sharp declines in asset values during the crisis but net inflows started to pick up significantly in the second half of 2010,' said the report.

yasminey@sph.com.sg

Hi moderators,

Thanks for setting up this forum for us to exchange ideas!
Please consider my suggestion to setup a section / library, where forumers can upload analyst reports published by the brokerages. Anyone who is interested in the company can have quick and direct access to the detailed info.