The Sports Hub was supposed to have been completed earlier. Now it will be ready by 2015, a few years behind schedule. The delay was due to financing problems faced by the developer.They were not able to raise the funds during the financial crisis and had to stop work.
I have always considered that public infrastructure and facilities should be owned by the state. The funding of these assets should not be privatized, as this would bring along a host of problems, such as the rate of return to be allowed to the investors on the monopoly. In this particular case, the financiers, i.e. the banks, had to deal with the problem of the viability of the project and the financial standing of the asset owner and hub operator.
If the state owns the assets, they will also have to deal with these issues. But, there is now a culture in Singapore to avoid taking the responsibility to make the hard decisions and to pass the them to the private sector and the market and let them find a solution.
A problem does not get solved when it is made by complicated or passed to people who have less resources to handle them. The private sector has to deal with all of the viability and operational issues, and also have to worry about raising the funds and, unlike the state, it does not have a AAA credit rating.
A better approach is for the state to own the Sports Hub and to lease it to the operator at an annual fee. I hope that the lesson of the Sports Hub will be learned and that the funding of mega-projects are not outsourced to the private sector in the future.
Tan Kin Lian
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
US Congress inquiry into the Financial Crisis
The US Congress is conducting an inquiry into the cause of the financial crisis. Here are some questions to be asked.
Authorities act on money lenders
Parliament has passed the Money lender's Amendment Bill. Singaporeans can now celebrate. With this new law, the Police can now take action on this menace - the vandalism committed by loan sharks against the properties of the borrowers, and against innocent neighbors whose flats were vandalized by mistake.
It appears that in this law abiding country, there was no law against vandalism in the past - that the Police were powerless to act against the loan sharks and vandals under the existing law. Surely, this cannot be the situation in Singapore?
More worrisome is my feeling that the Police did not act, because they were waiting for a decision at the top level, that this problem needs to be tackled. It seems that we have now developed a culture in Singapore to avoid responsibility and initiative, and to wait for the "boss" to decide for us.
Tan Kin Lian
It appears that in this law abiding country, there was no law against vandalism in the past - that the Police were powerless to act against the loan sharks and vandals under the existing law. Surely, this cannot be the situation in Singapore?
More worrisome is my feeling that the Police did not act, because they were waiting for a decision at the top level, that this problem needs to be tackled. It seems that we have now developed a culture in Singapore to avoid responsibility and initiative, and to wait for the "boss" to decide for us.
Tan Kin Lian
Magic of the Shape Quiz
View this powerpoint to learn how the shape quiz can give you hours of fun, keep dementia away and train a flexible mind. You can buy the Shape Quiz at www.easysearch.sg (Internet Shop)
Rechargeable torchlight for use in hotels
I sent this brochure to a hotel owner. They are interested to try it.
Investment principles for 2010 and beyond
Read this article in Market Watch.
Principles
1. The markets are a dangerous place. They are little more than legalised casinos.
2. Fear and greed drives the markets.
3. Technical analysis does not work.
4. Stay liquid and diversify
Advice
a) Never invest with money that you may need in an emergency
b) Money that you may need should be in a saving account, to be used in an emergency
c) Investments are always priced at watch they are worth
d) Actively management funds rarely beat the benchmark
The 4th principle is useful and has to be read many times.
Principles
1. The markets are a dangerous place. They are little more than legalised casinos.
2. Fear and greed drives the markets.
3. Technical analysis does not work.
4. Stay liquid and diversify
Advice
a) Never invest with money that you may need in an emergency
b) Money that you may need should be in a saving account, to be used in an emergency
c) Investments are always priced at watch they are worth
d) Actively management funds rarely beat the benchmark
The 4th principle is useful and has to be read many times.
Adapting to the competitive school environment
Dear Mr. Tan,
My son attended an Elementary School in America when he was in First Grade and Second Grade. He enjoyed school very much and was very participative in class as the teachers would encourage the pupils to speak up even though they may not give the right answers at times.
We returned to Singapore when he was in Primary 3 and he continued to enjoy schooling and did very well in school. He was then posted to the best class in primary 5 and 6. It was a very competitive class and the students are rather conscious with their marks and grades for everything they did. My son was under a lot of stress and began to lose confidence in himself. He constantly feels that he is not good enough and started to worry too much about examinations. We have always assured him that we would be proud of him no matter what grade he gets. Learning to him is no longer fun but a competition for higher marks.
Fortunately, he did reasonably well in PSLE and is now in Secondary One. He is making new friends and is adapting well to the new environment. We can see that he is gaining his self confidence slowly and we are glad that he is enjoying school again.
My son attended an Elementary School in America when he was in First Grade and Second Grade. He enjoyed school very much and was very participative in class as the teachers would encourage the pupils to speak up even though they may not give the right answers at times.
We returned to Singapore when he was in Primary 3 and he continued to enjoy schooling and did very well in school. He was then posted to the best class in primary 5 and 6. It was a very competitive class and the students are rather conscious with their marks and grades for everything they did. My son was under a lot of stress and began to lose confidence in himself. He constantly feels that he is not good enough and started to worry too much about examinations. We have always assured him that we would be proud of him no matter what grade he gets. Learning to him is no longer fun but a competition for higher marks.
Fortunately, he did reasonably well in PSLE and is now in Secondary One. He is making new friends and is adapting well to the new environment. We can see that he is gaining his self confidence slowly and we are glad that he is enjoying school again.
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