Tea with AK71: Singapore is going strong.

Have you noticed how packed the malls are these days?  The fastfood joints are packing in the crowd even on weeknights.  Even the Econ Minimart near my place is crowded in the evenings.  What's happening? 

Singapore's economy is powering ahead and would probably take the number one spot as the country with the highest growth rate this year.  It is all very impressive but one wonders how much longer this level of growth could continue for.

The feel good factor has affected everyone for sure and two articles in Yahoo! Singapore, placed side by side, show consumer confidence alive and kicking here.

Serangoon condo sells like hotcakes
By Angela Lim – July 29th, 2010

Units at The Scala, in five residential towers, are between 472 and 2,142 sg ft each and range from one to four-bedroom apartments. They were sold at a whopping average price of S$1,150 per sq ft (psf), setting a new benchmark price for the area.

Demand for the remaining 300 units of the 99-year leasehold project near Lorong Chuan MRT station was so strong that organisers had to resort to balloting to decide who entered the showflats first.

Read article here.

Mad rush for Apple’s iPhone 4
By Ewen Boey – July 30th, 2010

SingTel’s iPhone 4s were available at their store at Marina Bay Sands, while M1 and StarHub had their launches at Paragon and Plaza Singapura respectively.

The M1 queue at Paragon was by far the longest as it snaked around the basement of the shopping mall, while customers at Starhub’s Plaza Singapura had to register first before joining the queue.

Read article here.

Should we start thinking like a contrarian? There is a saying in Chinese which translates to say "in times of peace, think of the potential pitfalls". Enjoy the good times but stay cautious.