Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong paid a visit to his ancestral village in China. An astute observer commented that the visit was intended to show that Singapore is a nation of immigrants and that the local people should welcome the new immigrants from China, India and other countries.
My late father came to Singapore from China 70 years ago. I also visited my ancestral village 20 years ago. I understand the sentiment.
I now have many friends who are recent immigrants into Singapore. I support and welcome their decision to make their future and home in Singapore.
But, I have to say these words on behalf of the local Singaporeans who appeared to be resentful of the competition for jobs, homes and space from new immigrants.
There are many things that need to be put right in Singapore. We are seeing the consequences of many decades of the policy of the current Government. They include:
a) A declining birth rate causing by the insecurity and unsatisfactory quality of life in Singapore
b) The burden of National Service faced by male Singaporeans, including competing for jobs
c) The loss of trust in our commercial and government institutions
d) An unjust society; the small people being treated unfairly
e) The loss of pride in being Singaporeans
Some of these issues have been voiced by many people, including me, over the past years. We need to address them and put things right, so that there is greater unity and cohesion among the people of Singapore. If we are confident and strong as a people, we will be able to welcome the new immigrants and help to integrate them into our Singapore society.
Tan Kin Lian
NOTE TO COMMENTORS.
If you wish to give your honest views, please sign off your comment will your real name - so that it carries more weight.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
SCMP:SFC seeks to regulate minibonds
31 Oct 2009
A major regulatory loophole exposed by the Lehman Brothers minibond fiasco is to be plugged under a Securities and Futures Commission proposal that will require all structured products sold to the public to be regulated by it.
Although the SFC is responsible for authorising all mutual fund products, it does not cover structured products such as the minibonds issued or guaranteed by Lehman.
After Lehman's collapse last year, these products became worthless, sparking more than 21,000 investor complaints to the SFC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Minibonds are not corporate bonds, but risky credit-linked notes that were not subject to SFC regulation because under the law, structured products such as minibonds are classed as debentures and fall under the Companies Ordinance.
The SFC yesterday proposed to plug the loophole by changing the law to transfer the regulation of public offerings of structured products in the form of debentures from the Companies Ordinance to the Securities and Futures Ordinance.
So, unless an exemption applies, unlisted structured products, their offering documents and marketing materials will have to be authorised under the SFO before being offered to the public.
"This will allow the SFC greater flexibility to regulate public offers of unlisted structured products by setting out appropriate standards in the new code on unlisted structured products," the SFC said.
The consultation will last two months.
Legislator Chim Pui-chung, who represents the financial services sector, said it was a move in the right direction. "After this proposed law change, the SFC will have the power to regulate these products. This is a good first step but it cannot solve all the problems," he said.
"The SFC will also need to set tough disclosure standards to require investment banks issuing structured products to disclose all the risks to investors.
"All salespeople must also behave themselves by not mis-selling the products. Otherwise, it still may not prevent a repetition of the minibond fiasco."
A major regulatory loophole exposed by the Lehman Brothers minibond fiasco is to be plugged under a Securities and Futures Commission proposal that will require all structured products sold to the public to be regulated by it.
Although the SFC is responsible for authorising all mutual fund products, it does not cover structured products such as the minibonds issued or guaranteed by Lehman.
After Lehman's collapse last year, these products became worthless, sparking more than 21,000 investor complaints to the SFC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Minibonds are not corporate bonds, but risky credit-linked notes that were not subject to SFC regulation because under the law, structured products such as minibonds are classed as debentures and fall under the Companies Ordinance.
The SFC yesterday proposed to plug the loophole by changing the law to transfer the regulation of public offerings of structured products in the form of debentures from the Companies Ordinance to the Securities and Futures Ordinance.
So, unless an exemption applies, unlisted structured products, their offering documents and marketing materials will have to be authorised under the SFO before being offered to the public.
"This will allow the SFC greater flexibility to regulate public offers of unlisted structured products by setting out appropriate standards in the new code on unlisted structured products," the SFC said.
The consultation will last two months.
Legislator Chim Pui-chung, who represents the financial services sector, said it was a move in the right direction. "After this proposed law change, the SFC will have the power to regulate these products. This is a good first step but it cannot solve all the problems," he said.
"The SFC will also need to set tough disclosure standards to require investment banks issuing structured products to disclose all the risks to investors.
"All salespeople must also behave themselves by not mis-selling the products. Otherwise, it still may not prevent a repetition of the minibond fiasco."
Benefit illustration - samples
Here are samples of the benefit illustrations, with an explanation on how to read them. In all cases, the effect of deduction are too high and do not give good value to the consumer.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Investing in a Life Annuity
Here is a chapter from my book entitled "TKL Financial Planning". I hope that you find it useful.
Lawmakers attack bank overdraft fees
Read this article.
Banks in Singapore also have the bad practice of overcharging fees for various services. These fees are much higher than their actual cost of providing the services. They are exorbitant and are intended to reap obscene profits for the banks.
Rechargeable torchlight as gift
I gave the rechargeable torchlight to a friend. He liked it and ordered 10 pieces to be given as gifts to his friends.
Someone came to buy 5 pieces from my office. He came back the following day to buy another 5 more. The rechargeable torchlight sells for $6.50 compared to $27.20 for a branded torchlight with similar functions.
Someone came to buy 5 pieces from my office. He came back the following day to buy another 5 more. The rechargeable torchlight sells for $6.50 compared to $27.20 for a branded torchlight with similar functions.
Underlying problems of capitalism
The economic growth achieved during the past six months of 2009 is unsustainable. The underlying problems of capitalism needs to be solved before the world can see a revival of growth and prosperity. These problems are:
a) wide gap in income
b) insufficient employment opportunities
c) cheating
The wide inequality in come means that a few people are super rich while the majority are poor and struggling to get by. The poor families cannot consume goods or services, which are necessary for economic growth. The super wealthy can flout their wealth, but their actual consumption is limited.
Insufficient job opportunities leads to uncertainty and insecurity. They force more families to increase their savings and have fewer children, in case they lose their jobs. Many people work harder to keep their jobs, leading to fewer jobs for the unemployed.
There is rampant cheating, especially in the financial products. Bad products that rip off consumers are being sold under the regime of "caveat emptor". Many are unregulated investment products, which are actually scams created to cheat people of their money using deception and false promises. Even regulated products are sold using deceptive means, and are used to hide exorbitant charges to enrich the issuer and the marketeers.
If the underlying ills of the capitalist system are not addressed, the global economy cannot have a sustained recovery. As individual countries struggle to take care of their people, they will increase the suffering inflicted on other countries. This could lead to economic and military conflicts.
The measures to address these economic ills include:
a) Fairer distribution of income through minimum wage and high taxation of the super rich
b) Fairer distribution of work by imposing a cap on the working hours, so that more jobs can be created for the unemployed and school leavers
c) Stronger regulation to prevent cheating of consumers and to encourage honest business practices.
d) Return to some measure of protectionism, to reduce the harmful effects of globalization and international competition.
We have to say goodbye to the bad capitalism of the past two decades, and to the excessive greed and dishonesty that thrived during this period, before we can see a better economic and social world. We also have to return to religion.
Tan Kin Lian
a) wide gap in income
b) insufficient employment opportunities
c) cheating
The wide inequality in come means that a few people are super rich while the majority are poor and struggling to get by. The poor families cannot consume goods or services, which are necessary for economic growth. The super wealthy can flout their wealth, but their actual consumption is limited.
Insufficient job opportunities leads to uncertainty and insecurity. They force more families to increase their savings and have fewer children, in case they lose their jobs. Many people work harder to keep their jobs, leading to fewer jobs for the unemployed.
There is rampant cheating, especially in the financial products. Bad products that rip off consumers are being sold under the regime of "caveat emptor". Many are unregulated investment products, which are actually scams created to cheat people of their money using deception and false promises. Even regulated products are sold using deceptive means, and are used to hide exorbitant charges to enrich the issuer and the marketeers.
If the underlying ills of the capitalist system are not addressed, the global economy cannot have a sustained recovery. As individual countries struggle to take care of their people, they will increase the suffering inflicted on other countries. This could lead to economic and military conflicts.
The measures to address these economic ills include:
a) Fairer distribution of income through minimum wage and high taxation of the super rich
b) Fairer distribution of work by imposing a cap on the working hours, so that more jobs can be created for the unemployed and school leavers
c) Stronger regulation to prevent cheating of consumers and to encourage honest business practices.
d) Return to some measure of protectionism, to reduce the harmful effects of globalization and international competition.
We have to say goodbye to the bad capitalism of the past two decades, and to the excessive greed and dishonesty that thrived during this period, before we can see a better economic and social world. We also have to return to religion.
Tan Kin Lian
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