Archive

Martin Lee

Fighting Investor-Rights Abuses in China

May 23, 2012 by Martin Lee
Yesterday, I read an article on Barron that had an interview with a guy called Dan David who used to be an investor in US-listed China stocks. When Dan first read research reports that were pretty negative about some of these companies, his initial impression was that they were wrong. So he decided to set [...]

in Categories: Investing

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Coffeeshop Talk: My CPF and Me

May 22, 2012 by Martin Lee
The CPF scheme is a scheme that most Singaporeanse do not fully understand. This is not surprising given the complexity of the numerous rules and the regular changes to them. The CPF board is organizing an information session on the CPF scheme that seeks to answer some basic questions on the CPF. Questions like: “How [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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MAS Raises Concerns About Perpetual Bonds

May 18, 2012 by Martin Lee
I’m finally fully recovered from my HFMD and would like to thank everyone for all your well wishes. I would like to resume normal posting activities today by highlighting this recent article warning about perpetual bonds. The spate of sale of perpeture bonds to the public in this year has MAS raising some concerns about [...]

in Categories: Shares and Derivatives

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The Irony of CPF Approved Investments

May 4, 2012 by Martin Lee
Under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS), we can use the money in our CPF account to invest into certain instruments. One of these includes shares listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). In considering the inclusion of shares under CPFIS, the CPF board uses the following criteria: The shares are offered by a [...]

in Categories: Investing

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Financing a Local Tertiary Education For Your Child

May 3, 2012 by Martin Lee
Are you ready to finance your child’s local tertiary education? If your child is enrolling into a local polytechnic or university soon, you may be wondering about your financing options and whether to take an education loan. CPF is organising a talk to cover on this topic. You may wish to come with your child who [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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Investing in Trees and Animals

May 2, 2012 by Martin Lee
There have been more and more kinds of alternative investments like trees and animals being sold to the public in Singapore. Some of these investments promise investment returns of 10-20+% p.a, and a few of them even come with “capital guaranteed” tags. It’s always a mystery to me how growing plants and rearing animals can [...]

in Categories: Featured, Investing

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My Feedback to the Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR)

April 30, 2012 by Martin Lee
Ever since MAS announced that they would be doing a major revamp of the financial advisory services sector, the industry has responded with many views. Most of the current incumbents are against moving towards a fee-only model, while some consumers supported the move. I have added the links to some of these views at the [...]

in Categories: Business

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Higher Gas Bills from Next Month

April 27, 2012 by Martin Lee
City Gas said yesterday that the gas tariff for households would be increased by 3.3% from 1st May 2012. This translates to an increase from 21.45 cents to 22.16 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). While 3% might not sound like a lot, gas rates have actually gone up from 17.99 cents per kWh last year [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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Sale of Unit by Suntec REIT’s Manager

April 26, 2012 by Martin Lee
There was an article in the Straits Times which mentioned that minority shareholders were upset with the bulk sale of Suntec REIT’s units by their manager. Minority shareholders are upset that this unloading is depressing the share price of Suntec REIT. How it came about is because the manager is paid 80% of its management [...]

in Categories: Investing

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Solving the COE Price Escalation Problem

April 25, 2012 by Martin Lee
It was reported that our March inflation figures (measured year on year) was 5.2%. Part of this increase was attributed to a sharper increase in Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices, which led to higher car prices. We all know that a declining COE supply had led to a huge increase in the prices of COEs. [...]

in Categories: Market Review and Trends

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Launch of OCBC Cashflo Card

April 23, 2012 by Martin Lee
OCBC recently launched a credit card with an inbuilt interest-free instalment plan for any purchase, anywhere. This is the first card of its kind in Singapore. A typical credit card only gives you interest-free on your purchases up till your statement due date, after which you will have to settle the outstanding balance in full [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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iProperty.com International Property Expo 2012

April 19, 2012 by Martin Lee
The iProperty.com International Property Expo will be held this coming weekend from 20th April 2012 (Friday) to 22nd April 2012 (Sunday) at Marina Bay Sands Expo Exhibition Centre, Hall A. The timing of the expo will be from 11am to 8pm each day. The expo will feature renowned local and international property developers alongside exclusive [...]

in Categories: Property

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Genting Perpetual Securities Results

April 18, 2012 by Martin Lee
As at the close of the Genting Perpetuals  Public Offer at 12.00 p.m. on 16 April 2012, valid applications in respect of S$731,339,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Securities at the issue price of 100 per cent. under the Public Offer were received. All applicants who submitted valid applications for the Securities under the [...]

in Categories: Shares and Derivatives

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Extension of Tax Reliefs for CPF Cash Top-up Scheme

April 17, 2012 by Martin Lee
Come January 2013, you will be eligible to clam tax relief for cash top-ups made to the CPF accounts of your parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law. Currently, the scheme allows for a tax relief of up to $7000 for cash top-ups made to either your immediate family members which includes one’s spouse, siblings, parents and grandparents. Top-ups using [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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Morgan Stanley Loses Pinnacle Appeal

April 13, 2012 by Martin Lee
Morgan Stanley have failed again in their bid to get their Pinnacle lawsuit case heard in Singapore. Previously, a group of investors had sued Morgan Stanley for their role in arranging the Pinnacle notes, a product which failed during the 2008 financial crisis. Morgan Stanley wanted the case to be heard in Singapore and had [...]

in Categories: Investing

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Medical Subsidies for PR to be Reduced

April 12, 2012 by Martin Lee
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced an overall reduction of healthcare subsidies for permanent residents (PR). MOH will be reducing the healthcare subsidy for PRs for inpatient services i.e. Class B2 and C wards, day surgery and specialist outpatient clinics in the restructured hospitals. The reduction will be less for those earning less than $3200 [...]

in Categories: Personal Finance

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The Gold Guarantee in the News

April 11, 2012 by Martin Lee
The Gold Guarantee, a company that had a gold buy-back with discount scheme similar to companies like Genneva Gold and The Gold Label, made its way onto the front page article of the Business Times recently. Of course, all of us know what happened to The Gold Label. Anyway, since The Gold Guarantee started in July [...]

in Categories: Shares and Derivatives

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Genting Bonds for Retail Investors

April 10, 2012 by Martin Lee
After Genting launched a perpetual bond issue that was only for institutional or high net worth investors last month, they have decided to launch one for retail investors too. Up to S$500 million of perpetual subordinated capital securities at an issue price of S$1 will be offered to the public in Singapore. Each bond will have a minimum [...]

in Categories: Shares and Derivatives

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