EcoHouse Group placed on the Investor Alert List (IAL)

Another one has emerged:

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has placed EcoHouse Group - an overseas property development firm which specialises in the construction of investor-funded housing for Brazilian families - on its Investor Alert List (IAL).

The IAL is a list of unregulated entities that may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or authorised by MAS.

Since September 2011, EcoHouse has attracted more than 1,500 local investors, with a total investment sum of S$65.55 million, to its Brazilian property development projects. 

Source: The Business Times, 7 July 2014.

"The Company's CEO had invited investors to keep their minimum capital outlay with EcoHouse for three years rather than one and receive immediate 20% returns.  Although investors were under no obligation to accept the longer term, there was reportedly an overwhelming response to the offer. The investment was also supposedly endorsed by several prominent local property websites and investment group."

Source: SGPropTalk

EcoHouse sounds like a great business. Simplistically, imagine giving back 20% of $65.55 million to investors and keeping $52.44 million to be utilised in one way or another.

We must always ask:

1. Where is the source of income?
(How is income being generated?)

 2. Is that income source sustainable?

If someone borrowed $100 from us and gave us a return of 20% upfront, promising to return to us the capital in full 3 years later, we would effectively be lending him $80, not $100. Upfront, we would be taking back $20 of our own money, not his. We haven't made any money.

Whether that $80 would come back later or not is anyone's guess. What? It was supposed to be $100? Oh, my apologies. I have misunderstood. $100 is it.

(Frankly, it doesn't matter whether it is $80 or $100 to AK since the money might never come back.)

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