Casino: Promises not kept

A blogger had said that the promises given by the government on the two casinos were not kept. Do you agree with this view? Go to www.easyapps/sg/sgep/latest.aspx.

IPO of GIC Fund

Mr. Tan,
I found the prospectus of the IPO document in MAS Opera.  I will not be commenting on it as I don't have the stamina to go through the 540 page doc.  Looks like it is primarily China and Japan properties.  GIC supposedly said that they are positive properties so I am not sure why they sell the portfolio.  Maybe they have better use of the funds? By the way, it is not a REIT structure.  Dividend payment at managers discretion.  My hunch is that GIC is looking to make management fees from other than the Singapore Government.

Choosing the right mortage

Read these tips.

Advice given in my book on Financial Planning

• Property should be within 5 years of family income (less cost of employing a maid)
• Repay the loan within 25 years
• Monthly repayment (including withdrawal from CPF) to be less than 25% of family income 

My advice is - buy a lower price property that you can service comfortably. It can be smaller or outside of the prime areas. If not, rent a property.

Telemarketing calls

Telemarketing calls can be irritating. It can also incur cost to the consumer who is overseas. Here is the experience of a consumer who ask for the calls to be stopped and for the roaming charges to be reimbursed.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx.

Robberies in the early morning

Read this message from the Police. I suspect that there is an increase of crime due to the large number of foreigners in Singapore and the difficult economic situation affecting some groups of people. I wonder if the losses of customers visiting the casinos also contribute to this situation?

www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx

Subscribe to SGE portal and TKL website

You can follow these instructions to subscribe to Singapore General Election Portal using Google Reader.

www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx

Subway on the street

New York City has introduced a new concept of uses buses that can travel fast and have short waiting time to load and unload passengers. They are using the concepts of the subway - prepaid fares and dedicated bus lanes. The cost of this system is less than 1% of the subway system. It can be implemented in a short time (compared to years to build a subway line). The bus service Bx12 in New York has proven to be successful. It is well received by commuters and has fast travelling time. Source; New York magazine.

Read www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx