TheFinance.sg » Martin Lee

Fighting Investor-Rights Abuses in China

Martin Lee — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:52:33 +0000

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 up his own investigation team in China to prove the doomsayers wrong.

What he found out however, was that fraud was pervasive and out in the open. Things like:

Facilities that were supposed to be there were not operating.
Staff count of supposedly 1500 people …

Coffeeshop Talk: My CPF and Me

Martin Lee — Tue, 22 May 2012 04:44:10 +0000

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 much goes into my CPF accounts?”
“What can I use my CPF savings for?”
“How can my CPF help to achieve my retirement goals?”

Join them for a cup of coffee, and get a better understanding of your CPF savings and how …

MAS Raises Concerns About Perpetual Bonds

Martin Lee — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:29:48 +0000

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 them.

Companies like Singapore Post, Mapletree Logistic Trust and Olam had sold perpetuals earlier this year, with some being sold to individuals via private banks. It was mentioned that some of the private banks had even offered leverage facilities to their clients in order to …

The Irony of CPF Approved Investments

Martin Lee — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:50:33 +0000

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 company that is incorporated in Singapore;
The shares are listed on the SGX MainBoard; (Previous SESDAQ companies transferred to Catalist will continue to be included under CPFIS while new companies listing on Catalist will not be included until further assessment by CPF Board.)
The …

Financing a Local Tertiary Education For Your Child

Martin Lee — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:54:34 +0000

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 is intending to pursue tertiary education.

Register early (click here) to avoid disappointment. Seats go fast and are available on a first come, first served basis.

Date : 23 May 2012
Time : 07:30PM to 9:00PM (Registration starts from 06:45PM)
Venue : 6 Shenton …

Investing in Trees and Animals

Martin Lee — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:44:16 +0000

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 give such high guaranteed returns after you factor in all the marketing costs to promote such investments to the public. I don’t even see real farms making such returns on their capital.

Those who are old enough might remember the
ostrich scams that hit …

My Feedback to the Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR)

Martin Lee — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:35:28 +0000

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 end of this post.

And below is the feedback that I sent to MAS for FAIR.

It’s not as lengthy (and entertaining) as the
one wrote by my colleague Wilfred Ling, but it carries some of my thoughts on the current remuneration scheme and …

Higher Gas Bills from Next Month

Martin Lee — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:59:39 +0000

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 to 22.16 cents per kWh now. This is a whopping 20%+ increase.

Every quarter, gas tariffs are reviewed based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). At the rate things are going, inflation is going to eat all …

Sale of Unit by Suntec REIT’s Manager

Martin Lee — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:55:37 +0000

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 fees by the issuance of Suntec REIT units.

Mr Yeo See Kiat, chief executive officer of ARA Trust Management (Suntec), the manager of Suntec REIT, said the units were sold to fund the operations of the REIT manager, such as rent and salaries.

Last year, …

Solving the COE Price Escalation Problem

Martin Lee — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:25:40 +0000

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.

Surely there is a better way of improving the current COE system? This is one area that the government can tweak to reduce the cost of living in Singapore.

My friend Chan Tau Chou suggested
implementing some kind of balloting system to control the …

Launch of OCBC Cashflo Card

Martin Lee — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:48:51 +0000

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 or incur interest.

The OCBC Cashflo card helps customers manage their cash flow by automatically dividing their credit card purchase amounts into three or six equal interest-free monthly payments, when they charge any amount above S$100 to the card.

As an added feature, customers have …

iProperty.com International Property Expo 2012

Martin Lee — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:27:40 +0000

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 and specially packaged pre-launch developments and new launches.

There will also be lineup of seminars presented by industry experts. Unfortunately, the expo website has not been updated and I couldn’t find the list of speakers and their topics.

For more information of the expo …

Genting Perpetual Securities Results

Martin Lee — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:22:49 +0000

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 Public Offer will be allocated all or a proportion of the Securities for which such applicants have applied for. The allocations are as follows:

Range of principal amount of Securities applied for under the Public Offer (S$’000) : Amount Allocated (S$’000)

5 : 5
…

Extension of Tax Reliefs for CPF Cash Top-up Scheme

Martin Lee — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:17:40 +0000

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 the money in one’s Ordinary Account is not entitled to the tax relief.

Note: To qualify for tax relief for cash top-ups for spouse/siblings, spouse/siblings must not have annual income exceeding $4,000 in the year preceding the top-up (e.g. salary or tax exempt income …

Morgan Stanley Loses Pinnacle Appeal

Martin Lee — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:48:26 +0000

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 tried to appeal an
earlier decision that said the case should be heard in the US.

The US Court of Appeal rejected Morgan Stanley’s appeal.

With this decision, the path is now clear for the investors to try to establish their case against Morgan Stanley.

…

Medical Subsidies for PR to be Reduced

Martin Lee — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:56:09 +0000

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 a month but the cut will be more severe for the higher income bands.

As a example, at a subsidy of 59%, a person would need to pay 41% of the bill. If the subsidy is cut to 39.5% (a drop of 19….

The Gold Guarantee in the News

Martin Lee — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:54:29 +0000

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 last year, it has managed to sell almost 2 tonnes of gold.

You can read the entire article about The Gold Guarantee here:

New gold player emerges with ’buyback offer’ (Business Times)

Genting Bonds for Retail Investors

Martin Lee — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:45:47 +0000

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 subscription of $5000, with increments of $1000.

If the demand is good, Genting can increase the size of the offer by another $200 million. On the other hand, if the amount raised is less than S$100 million, Genting can choose to cancel the public offer.

The …