I wish to look for developer who is familiar with Microsoft .NET to work on a project or to work at my office. Preference will be given to a person living in or near Ang Mo Kio. If you are interested, send an email with your resume to kinlian@gmail.com.
If you wish to attend a course, there may be a government scheme to give you a training allowance and work for me after completing the training course.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Private medical practice
Some of the trends in USA may come to Singapore. Read the views of some doctors here.
Great websites
I wish to look for great websites on the following:
- financial education
- education (popular universities)
- travel (great places to visti)
I will put the links in this page:
http://www.easysearch.sg/Links.aspx
If you know of these websites, please send a link to kinlian@gmail.com or post them as a comment. I will put them as links in my portal.
- financial education
- education (popular universities)
- travel (great places to visti)
I will put the links in this page:
http://www.easysearch.sg/Links.aspx
If you know of these websites, please send a link to kinlian@gmail.com or post them as a comment. I will put them as links in my portal.
Modify the COE system
The COE system for allocating licences for new vehicles has been used for more than 20 years in Singapore. It is a crude system that produces the following negative impacts:
- it encourages speculation on the COE prices and lead to price escalation due to fear of further increases
- the motor dealers take advantage of the system to make speculative profits at the expense of consumers.
Is there a better system? I like to propose the following modification to smoothen price volatility, reduce speculation and allow consumers to bid directly:
- have COE bidding for six months (and not monthly)
- the car owner is allowed six months to buy a car (and the COE will start from the date of purchase)
- the car owner needs to pay a deposit of 10% to make a bid and the balance on receiving the COE
- an owner who sells a new car within one year has to pay a levy (to prevent speculation)
Tan Kin Lian
- it encourages speculation on the COE prices and lead to price escalation due to fear of further increases
- the motor dealers take advantage of the system to make speculative profits at the expense of consumers.
Is there a better system? I like to propose the following modification to smoothen price volatility, reduce speculation and allow consumers to bid directly:
- have COE bidding for six months (and not monthly)
- the car owner is allowed six months to buy a car (and the COE will start from the date of purchase)
- the car owner needs to pay a deposit of 10% to make a bid and the balance on receiving the COE
- an owner who sells a new car within one year has to pay a levy (to prevent speculation)
Tan Kin Lian
Unconscionable remuneration
U.S. health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. revealed Friday that it boosted its chief executive's compensation 51% last year. Chief Executive Angela F. Braly saw her total compensation shoot to $13.1 million, from $8.7 million a year earlier. "It's unconscionable," said Mark Weiss, a Century City podiatrist whose policy will jump 35%.. "How much more does somebody need?"
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-wellpoint3-2010apr03,0,3259739.story
Someone complained to me that top executives in life insurance companies in Singapore are getting big salary increases while the bonuses to policyholders are being cut. It is sad that the regulator does not realize that they have a responsibility to protect the welfare of policyholders in getting a fair return on their long term savings.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-wellpoint3-2010apr03,0,3259739.story
Someone complained to me that top executives in life insurance companies in Singapore are getting big salary increases while the bonuses to policyholders are being cut. It is sad that the regulator does not realize that they have a responsibility to protect the welfare of policyholders in getting a fair return on their long term savings.
Electric vehicles for short distance travel
More people are now using bicycles for short trips, e.g. to the MRT station. They have to use pedestrian walkways as there are no separate lanes for bicycles and it is dangerous to cycle on the main roads. Pedestrians have complained about the safety hazard.
Some cyclists have asked for separate lanes to be provided for them. However, this is not an efficient solution. If more people cycle to the MRT station, there will be insufficient parking space for the bicycles and the risk of theft and vandalism. Bicycles are not suitable for rainy days.
A better system is to use small electrically driven vehicles (like a golf cart) on a for time based hiring. The vehicles can be parked in various locations in a town and used by the public (who have to register as members) to move from one station to another. This system requires the initiative of the town council to provide parking spaces and to have separate paths for the vehicles.
Paris is implementing such a system.
Tan Kin Lian
Some cyclists have asked for separate lanes to be provided for them. However, this is not an efficient solution. If more people cycle to the MRT station, there will be insufficient parking space for the bicycles and the risk of theft and vandalism. Bicycles are not suitable for rainy days.
A better system is to use small electrically driven vehicles (like a golf cart) on a for time based hiring. The vehicles can be parked in various locations in a town and used by the public (who have to register as members) to move from one station to another. This system requires the initiative of the town council to provide parking spaces and to have separate paths for the vehicles.
Paris is implementing such a system.
Tan Kin Lian
Investing in Foreign Currency
Some people like to invest in foreign currencies to earn a higher yield. For example, they can earn 3.1% on Australian dollars (1 month deposit) compared to 0.2% on Singapore dollars. However, they have to consider the spread of 1.7% in converting to Australian dollars and back. The higher interest rate is taken away entirely by the spread for short time deposits.
You can reduce the spread to 0.1% by investing in Australian dollars through the forex trading market. For example, if you wish to invest in AUD 50,000 you can buy the same amount in the forex market. Although you have to put in a margin of only 2%, i.e. AUD 1,000, you can keep the remaining 98% of the invested sum in Singapore deposit and enjoy the same investment result.
Credit risk in making advanced payments
Many customers paid a few thousand dollars on spa packages and lose the money when the spas closed down. If you have to pay in advance to enjoy a discount, do not pay for more than three months of services. Do not take the risk of paying for one or two years.
I do not know if the spa closed down due to bad business, or they were set up to deceive the customers. I hope that the authority will investigate if the owners had intended to collect deposits and run away with the money. If money is taken out by the directors for unauthorised purposes, it would amount to cheating. We should not allow this type of cheating to go unchecked.
Tan Kin Lian
I do not know if the spa closed down due to bad business, or they were set up to deceive the customers. I hope that the authority will investigate if the owners had intended to collect deposits and run away with the money. If money is taken out by the directors for unauthorised purposes, it would amount to cheating. We should not allow this type of cheating to go unchecked.
Tan Kin Lian
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