High class ice cream without the high price.

I have two big weaknesses when it comes to food: chocolates and ice cream. Put the two together and it is a killer combination as far as I am concerned!

Fairprice Express, the supermarket chain found at Esso petrol stations is running a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" promotion for this particular ice cream:

So, as you might have guessed, I gave in to the triple temptation of chocolate, ice cream and reduced price.

The box has a cute little badge at the bottom left hand corner:

Wah! Environmentally friendly ice cream! Eat with less guilt!

The box opens like a treasure chest. Oooh, that's different:

It is a bit like a Black Forest Cake but without the cake:

After I was done, I took a closer look at the box and found that the ice cream was produced in Germany! Wow! Atas!

Price: $4.90 for two.
----------
Added on 7 August 2017:

Burp.

Hock Lian Seng: Buying on weakness.

In my last blog post on Hock Lian Seng, I said that we could see its share price moving lower and it has moved lower. 

Do I believe that this is the lowest it could go?





Well, I certainly do not know if the stock price will stop declining although I will say that it could have found support. 

We can see this if we draw a trendline connecting various lows. 

Also, the higher low in the CMF gives us a positive divergence against a declining share price.

More likely than not, there will be a host of positive catalysts for Hock Lian Seng's share price to move higher but investors must be willing to wait. 

While waiting, the company's payment of meaningful dividends to shareholders annually will provide some comfort. 

If the dividend per share should be a more conservative 1.5c, with a share price of 26c, we will have a yield of 5.77%.





The weakness in Hock Lian Seng's share price allows me to buy more with a bigger margin of safety and any further weakness will create more opportunities to accumulate.

Related post:
1. Hock Lian Seng: Dividend of 1.8c per share.
2. Hock Lian Seng: Insider buying.

Show Luo and his hair.

I am not a fan of Show Luo, nickname Xiao Zhu (Little Pig), but I was told that he is very particular about his hair. Quite the diva, apparently.

I couldn't stop laughing when I stumbled upon the following photo:

I wonder if EC House can do this for me. I want to be fashionable too.

Had a good laugh?

Whoever is responsible for this, thanks for brightening my day. :)

More blog posts to tickle you:
1. Tea with AK71: Funny!
2. Holey curry puff!
3. A short fairy tale!
4. Male cheerleader brings it on!
5. This kid can dance!

Old Chang Kee: More free curry puffs on the way!

In an interview earlier on in the year, I talked about Old Chang Kee as being a very rewarding investment for me. I also mentioned how a 5c dividend which went XD in January was a pleasant surprise.

Well, Old Chang Kee announced a final dividend of 1.5c for FY2013. This is nice although I will be receiving half of what I would usually receive in absolute amount since I divested half of my investment in the company earlier on in the year.

Amidst rather more difficult business conditions, Old Chang Kee's management has shown a high level of business savvy as they improved production efficiency, closed non-profitable outlets and revised prices last December. As of March 2013, it had a total of 76 outlets in Singapore which is 6 outlets lesser than a year ago.

Net profit improved from $4.51m to $4.98m and EPS improved from 4.75c to 4.96c. These figures are on the back of improved gross profit margin from 60.1% to 61.4%.

What is more impressive is that the $4.51m net profit for the preceding year was based on a 15 months financial year because Old Chang Kee announced a change of its financial year in August 2011.

So, if we were to assume an average net profit of $1.245m per quarter in FY2013, over 5 quarters would give us $6.225m. This means that net profit increased almost 40%, year on year. Impressive!

Business costs are expected to remain high but Old Chang Kee's management have, so far, impressed with their business savvy and with the brand deeply entrenched in Singapore, it is reasonable to expect the company to continue doing well.

At 56c a share, PER is 11.29x. Not cheap but not expensive either. I would say it is fairly valued. What am I going to do now? Wait to receive the dividend and maybe buy some curry puffs tomorrow.

Related posts:
1. Old Chang Kee: Have my curry putt and eat it too.
2. Old Chang Kee: Initiated long position at 26c.
3. Tea with AK71: An audio interview.

What should I do? A letter from a 64 year old retiree.

I am sharing an exchange I had with a reader a few days ago because I think others could possibly be interested in it:

Hi, AK71,

1.        I have been following your blog for quite some time and find your explanation and reasoning of the stock market very interesting.  Not many people are so frank like you that are willing to give an in-depth advice of the financial market.    So far, I did not pen anything in your blog to ask for your advice, as I could not express myself well in writing. 
 

2.        I would like to seek your kind advice to set up a reasonable and proper stock portfolio to earn passive income.  I am a 64 years old retiree and living on passive income from dividends from my 44 stocks in my portfolio.  Overall, I have made a capital gain of about 15 - 20% from these 44 stocks (with some profits and some losses for each stock).    I know that 44 stocks are very difficult to monitor but I do not know how to diversify them.  Each time the market drop, my heart drop too.  At this age, I cannot effort to loss much of my hard earned money, as I do not have time to wait for the market to recover again.
 

3.        I would appreciate your kind professional advice.  Thank you.

My reply:

Hi J,

I really hate to disappoint you but I am not a professional financial adviser. I would suggest that you find professionals and engage their services.

However, what would I do if I were in your shoes? This is the part where I talk to myself. Please ignore me.

First, understand my motivations! I am in my 60s and retired. I am not able to suffer another market crash for more reasons than one. I am interested in a predictable flow of passive income.

Secondly, go through my portfolio of 44 stocks. Compartmentalise the investments into those that match my motivations and those which do not.

Thirdly, keep the investments which match my motivations and think about possibly increasing exposure to these investments when prices are softer. Sell those investments which do not match my motivations at an opportune time and never look back.

Fourthly, money from divestments should go into a dedicated "war chest" to buy more stocks which match my motivations during times when Mr. Market goes into manic depression.

Throughout, I have to understand that this is the general framework that I must keep in mind but being a framework, it will overlook finer details which could influence my decision to invest or to divest in specific instances.

Best wishes,
AK

Everyone has different circumstances and motivations. There is never a universal solution to all problems. If we understand our motivations, we will know what is most appropriate for us.

Related posts:
1. A letter from a 66 year old retiree.
2. A letter from a reader in his early 20s.
3. A letter from a 24 year old fresh grad.
4. Voices, noises and choices.

City Harvest Church: A personal account.

One story I have been following is City Harvest Church's.

I am just so amazed by how so much money was accumulated and how so much money was misused. $50 million!

Just now, I was directed to a personal account shared by someone who used to be a Ministry Member of the church.

The church used peer pressure very successfully to get people to give to the building fund... from getting people to pledge and using testimonies... I remembered people giving their hearts out for the Jurong West building. Never once, were members informed that monies from the Building Fund were used to fund Sun Ho's career, and certainly not about monies being invested in Xtron or Firna.

CHC and its pastors have lost it. They have twisted and traded the gospel for another, and the astounding thing is that, they still believe they are doing the right thing.

Read the full account in Facebook: Assi AK.

Having an extra $1,200 a year!

I like plain white porridge with a bit of ikan bilis for dinner regularly. Last night, for some reason, I was not feeling hungry and, so, the porridge was stored in the fridge.

Today, I brought the porridge and ikan bilis to work. Sprinkle the ikan bilis on the porridge and voila:

For tea later, I will be having my regular oatmeal which is what I usually have for lunch. I have taken to adding soya bean milk to my oatmeal these days to get some extra protein and good taste.

Healthy and money saving meals.

If you have not tried bringing home cooked food to work, maybe you want to consider it. Depending on where you work, you could save up to $10 a day on meals! Just bringing your own food to work half the time could mean saving $100 a month on meals or $1,200 a year.

An extra $1,200 a year in your bank account? Very nice!

Related posts:
1. 7 money habits of AK71's.
2. Home made sandwich.
3. Barley and winter melon.

Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT): 201 lots.

Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT) was my first IPO application in donkey years. So, you can imagine I was somewhat excited.

When I heard that people who applied for 100 to 499 lots would get 80 lots if successful, I was even more excited! I applied for 201 lots!

Apparently, only 7 out of every 50 applicants were successful for the range of 100 to 499 lots. Chances were slim and chances were even slimmer for people who applied for 99 lots or less.

Chances improved markedly for those who applied for 500 to 999 lots. 33 out of every 50 applicants were successful and they would get 374 lots each! Wow!

This was an IPO that favoured the bigger players, it would seem. Be ready to either make a big killing tomorrow or be killed big time. I think the former is more likely.

Congratulations to all successful applicants!

Related post:
Asian Pay Television Trust: IPO

Sex for grades case: Guilty!

On so many occasions, I was simply amazed by how shameless some people are. Take the instance of Tey Tsun Hang, the disgraced NUS law professor. To any reasonable person, what Tey did was quite obviously wrong but instead of showing some shame and admitting his guilt, he insisted that he was innocent which resulted in a trial spanning 5 months.

For someone who knows the law but chose to break it, there can be no leniency. He should be given the maximum sentence of five years in jail and the maximum fine of S$100,000 on each charge, especially when he has shown no remorse.

Read: Sex for grades case.

SPH: A REIT investment.

It was almost a year ago when I mentioned in a blog post that investing in SPH could be better than investing in a retail S-REIT. Then, in March this year, news that SPH could establish a REIT sent its share price rocketing. Yesterday, more details were released and we could see a SPH sponsored REIT by July 2013.

From what is available in the news, SPH will hold 70% of the REIT. This is good news for the future REIT unit holders because a sponsor with a big share of units is more likely to have its interests aligned with those of smaller unit holders.

So, how will SPH shareholders benefit from this? The most obvious benefit is a special dividend of 18c per share, post IPO. A longer lasting benefit is ownership of an SPH with an even stronger balance sheet with NAV increasing and net gearing reducing, both significantly.

In terms of income, post IPO, SPH will receive a 70% share of income distributions from the proposed REIT and will also collect a fee as the manager of the REIT.

For me, as a shareholder, apart from doing nothing and collecting dividends which is pretty much what I have been doing for so many years, I will also look at possibly making an application at the IPO of the REIT.

I like the assets (i.e. Paragon and Clementi Mall). I like the sponsor. I like how the sponsor will retain a 70% stake in the REIT. Next, I will need to know the estimated distribution yield and gearing. If they compare favourably to established retail S-REITs, then, I will be making a beeline for the nearest ATM.

The last I checked, the distribution yield of established retail S-REITs ranges from 4.5% for CMT to 5.2% for FraserCT. Gearing ranges from 30.5% for Starhill Global to 40.9% for Mapletree Commercial.

So, if SPH REIT were to offer a distribution yield closer to 6% and with a gearing closer to 30%, Mr. Market should respond more favourably.

It seems that boring SPH has become a more exciting investment.

Related post:
SPH: Better investment than retail S-REITs.

The mystical art of wealth accumulation!

The wall next to my desk doesn't need a fresh coat of paint because it is pasted over with notes, cards and newspaper cuttings! 

Someone told me that if everyone was like me, the wallpaper companies would go out of business.




Today, I took down some of the "wallpaper" and I found a newspaper article I cut out in the year 2003. 

It was about ST Engineering, a company which I have been a shareholder of for more than 10 years by now.

Here is the article in question:

Today, ST Engineering's stock trades at $4.17 a share and it has been paying out dividends annually without fail since I first became a shareholder. 

I cannot remember how much exactly from year to year but, off the top of my head, an average of 15c annually in dividend per share cannot be too wrong.

This is one investment I have fond memories of and not only because the dividends it paid funded my annual holidays in Japan and Korea for many years in a row.

In case you are wondering, yes, I am still holding on to those shares I bought at $1.55 a piece more than 10 years ago.




What would have happened if I had decided to spend all that money all those years ago on a brand new luxury watch instead of investing in ST Engineering? 

Isn't there something to be said about delaying gratifications and investing for income?

Many times, people are sceptical about what I have achieved. 

Well, they can be sceptical all they want but once they are determined to make an improvement to their personal finances, once they try out some of the ideas I have blogged about, they will see for themselves that the magic that AK has, they have it in them too. 

Suddenly, it isn't so mystical after all.




Remember that AK has done it and you can do it too!

Related posts:
1. The very first step to becoming richer.
2. Do not love unless it is worth the loving.
3. Why a wealthy nation cannot afford to retire?
4. 7 steps to passive income from the stock market.
5. Create more passive income with limited capital.

Teaching young children financial literacy.

In the papers today, I read about two ladies who started a business in Singapore to teach financial literacy to children. 

I think it is a good thing they are doing.

This reminds me of a book which a friend told me about over dinner some time back. 

He said he wanted to teach his son financial literacy but found it difficult. 

I mean how do we talk to primary school kids about passive income without boring them to tears?





Anyway, my friend found a book which did the job and I am now inspired to share the book here with readers who might be in the same shoes as he was.

Buy from BetterWorldBooks.com 

and help fund literacy for the poor.

The sooner children realise it is a good idea to make money work for them, the better off they will be in future. 

Want your children to be financially literate from a young age? 

Give them this book.

The curious case of Mr. Tan Kang Hua.

Today's INVEST section in The Sunday Times profiled Mr. Tan Kang Hua, a 27 year old engineer and avid investor who has had more hits than misses in his journey as an investor. 

It was reported that Mr. Tan often dresses shabbily as he does not want to flash his wealth. 

I guess he does not want to attract any attention. I can empathise with this.





However, accepting an interview by our national newspaper and having photos of him and his family published in full color must attract quite a bit of attention. 

Now, everyone who knows him and even people who didn't would know about him and his wealth. 

Curious why he would want to do this.

It was also revealed that his best investment to date was the first property he owned which was a 3 bedroom condo he bought in 2010 when he was 24 and still in university. 

He sold it off last year for a profit of $300,000 which translates to a ROI of 200%. 

Curious how did he manage to get a loan to buy a 3 bedroom condo when he was still in university.





I wonder if Mr. Tan Kang Hua is a reader of ASSI and if he could help satisfy my curiosity. 

Failing this, could anyone help to answer these questions?




Related posts:
1. Retiring a millionaire is not a dream.
2. Making your first million dollars in real estate investment.
3. Excuse me, are you an investor?

Inexpensive chill out ideas.

Life can be hectic especially in a city like Singapore. In fact, it often is.

Today, I had breakfast in a rather nice setting before going for a stroll in a nearby park.

Oishi!

Green is the most soothing color to the eye.

Breakfast: $6.95.
Newspapers: $0.90.
Visit to the park: $0.00.

Inexpensive, yummy and therapeutic.

-----------
Updated on 1 August 2016.

Visited another park in Singapore today.

Lower Peirce Reservoir. 

I like it and will visit again!

Related post:
What to do in Singapore on National Day?

Is this the start of a bear market? What to do?

There is really no accounting for Mr. Market's behaviour. Just this morning, share prices were still holding up nicely and in the afternoon, they were all much weaker. It reminds me of Singapore's weather in recent weeks, sunny in the mornings and raining heavily in the afternoons.

If we were to comb the internet for possible reasons for the decline in share prices, we would see analysts putting the blame on China's poorer manufacturing data in May and Ben Bernanke's remarks which have been interpreted as a possible earlier tightening of money supply. As far as I am concerned, Mr. Market was itching to take profit and these are excuses.

Ben Bernanke's statement was made public last night and when I read the papers this morning, what really struck me was his statement that the Fed's current monetary policy is providing significant benefits and that "a premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery and causing inflation to fall further." (The Business Times, 23 May 2013, page 18.)

How do you think we should interpret Ben Bernanke's statement?

There is not going to be any change in the Fed's monetary policy, not until unemployment falls meaningfully and inflation is where they want it to be. So, the environment of low interest rates will persist and this bodes well for the stock market.

Now, with the declines in the stock market today, is the bear back? Some people have been waiting for the bear to come back for a long time, staying on the sides with lots of cash. They hope that this is the start of a bear market. Well, is it? Naturally, no one knows.

What I know and would like to remind everyone about is that prices do not go up or down in a straight line. They climb a wall of worries and go down a river of hope. The uptrend is still pretty much intact and pull backs are only normal. Today is another pull back and the worries are China's weaker data and, apparently, Ben Bernanke's statement.

With lower prices, now, we see better value. Of course, this is assuming that there are no material changes which will adversely affect our investments. If the fundamentals are unchanged, a good investment at a lower price offers greater value for money. Then, look at the technicals. If these are benign, we should be buying on weakness.

In a nutshell, if the fundamentals remain good and if the technicals are benign, pull backs are buying opportunities.

For those who are still interested in investing in AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and Sabana REIT, their charts spot long black candles today. Their units are definitely more attractively priced now.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT.

SABANA REIT.

So, what should we do? Prepare a list of the stocks we are interested in. Determine what are the prices we would like to buy at as well as the reasons backing those decisions. Remember, if we cannot convince ourselves why we are buying at a certain price, we really don't have a good reason to be buying.

Have a plan and follow the plan.

Related posts:
1. Have a plan, your own plan.
2. Help! I missed the boat.
3. Risks and rewards: TA and FA.

Intern was slapped for 3 years!

Something I heard on the radio and everyone I know is talking about is how an intern got slapped by his boss. I didn't bother to search out the video to watch it although I agree that it is a deplorable act and that the boss should be punished.

Today, I read an article on how the family of the intern is asking for $100,000 in compensation! Wow! $100,000 for being slapped?

Then, as I read the story, my sympathy turned into amazement!

According to Lianhe Wanbao, the intern joined the firm at Jurong East three years ago as an undergraduate. He was paid $500 a month and not given any benefits or leave days.

When he graduated from university, the intern continued to work for the company under the same pay, still without a contract or any benefits.

The 29-year-old intern who was physically abused by his supervisor was reportedly paid the same salary of $500 per month for the three years he was working at the company located at iHub.

News of the supervisor physically abusing the intern had surfaced online last Friday night (May 17) in a 17-second YouTube video that showed the supervisor hitting him. 

According to an article in Omy, he had interned there for 6 months after graduating, and then continued on without a contract.

He had also received no bonus and would even have his pay docked when he went on leave.

Three years?! OMG! What was this guy thinking? Was he even thinking?

This is really incredible.

Always find a job that pays us what we are worth or more than what we are worth. Being slapped at work not an option.

Related post:
7 steps to passive income from the stock market.

Here is the video:

Ways to reduce income tax.

On 8 March 2013, I blogged about how we could pay less in income tax even as we increase our income. 

So, what can we do to achieve this?





1. Invest to receive non-taxable income.

2. Start a Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account and make annual contributions to reduce taxable earned income.

3. CPF-SA Top Ups will receive income tax relief for the first $7K contributed each year.

4. Voluntary contribution to our CPF-MA will receive income tax relief.

5. Donate to charitable organisations recognised by the government and enjoy 2.5x tax deduction, if we can afford to do so.





The rather generous personal income tax rebate from the government helped me to save 30% in tax payable. 

For seniors who are still working, the rebate is 50%.

So, how much is my income tax for the Year of Assessment 2013?

S$ 1,133.23.

This is probably the lowest I have ever paid in income tax in the last 10 years. 

This is even though my total income for 2012 exceeded S$200,000.

What I have done is humanly possible. 

Compared to many big success stories in Singapore, what I have achieved is not fantastic. 

Unless disadvantaged in some way, anyone who is determined enough can do it too. 

Remember if Yan can cook, so can you?

It is 100% possible to make more money and pay less income tax and there are readers who have been following my blog since its inception who can attest to this. 





If you have experienced this for yourself, please leave a comment and share with us your story.

Of course, there are many ways to pay less income tax and, mind you, I am referring only to the legal ones. 

Nothing illegal here in ASSI. 

Read the comments contributed by readers in my earlier blog post on the topic (hyperlink provided below) and we will get some ideas.

Believe or not to believe?

Related post:
Make more money, do good and pay less income tax.

Cooling measures for cars: Buying pre-owned.

There was a big commotion with regards to how cooling measures for cars would affect the pre-owned market not too long ago. In response, from 6 April 2013, the government lifted the more stringent rules for car loans for 60 days for the purchase of pre-owned cars. The concession will end on 5 June 2013.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that:

"It said it would not be possible to relieve the industry from the impact of the financing restrictions on an on-going basis.

"It said the two-month relaxation of the rules for the pre-existing used car inventory will help the industry adjust to the new conditions."

Dealers said that a period of six months would have been better.

I suspect that the pre-owned market for cars will see harder times from 6 June 2013 once the concession ends.

Why am I blogging about this?

I have a friend who is thinking of buying a pre-owned car and since he does not need to take a loan to do so, I suggested that he should wait till sometime in mid June to start shopping. Prices could possibly soften as the pool of able buyers for pre-owned cars would probably shrink by then.

Related posts:
1. Cooling measures for cars.
2. Cooling measures for cars spurned.

Keeping HDB flats affordable.

There is an on-going debate on whether HDB flats are actually subsidised. Personally, I believe that the flats are subsidised because the government could otherwise sell state land to private developers for much higher prices.


A while back, Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, in an interview, revealed that "every year, hundreds of millions of dollars of losses were incurred by the HDB and that's why MOF has to give the HDB an annual grant, otherwise the HDB will be in the red. Because every unit that we sell, we lose money, HDB loses money."

HDB Singapore pays market rate for its land and construction costs. So, selling flats at below market prices, HDB incurs a deficit.

I blogged about how Mr. Khaw Boon Wan plans to bring down prices of new flats in non-mature estates before to ensure affordability. I wondered if this could lead to HDB resale prices crashing too but, once again, Mr. Khaw assured that a crash will not happen because there will be "distinct differentiation" between cheaper new flats and those built earlier.

I wonder how these cheaper new flats will be different from those built earlier but there is no doubt that subsidies will have to continue playing a big role to keep HDB flats affordable.

Why do we need life insurance?

A picture speaks a thousand words and a video probably speaks a million.

Watch a video capturing The Flying Dutchman's (popular radio DJ) traumatic heart-attack here:
http://sg.sharings.cc/AK71SG/share/LIA

Hopefully, this video will get people thinking about possible unforeseen events and drive home the message that life insurance is a need.

Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT): IPO.

Usually, when people ask me about IPOs and if I would take part, I would answer in the negative.

Subscribing to what Warren Buffett thinks about IPOs and that is IPOs of stocks are almost always bad investments, I have not taken part in IPOs in many years. Warren Buffett is of the opinion that IPOs are rarely undervalued offers.

What about the IPO of APTT? Is this an exception?

Well, APTT will be holding TBC which was a business in MIIF's portfolio and we know that TBC was the crown jewel of MIIF's portfolio of businesses. With TBC removed from its portfolio, MIIF saw its unit price tumbled almost 70% yesterday.

At a unit price of 97c, APTT's distribution yield is estimated to be 7.5% in the first year and this is estimated to increase to 8.5% in the second year. With relatively high yields like these waved around, the IPO has attracted a high level of interest from institutional investors.

Indeed, Dow Jones Newswires reported in an article dated 2 May 2013 that 8 cornerstone investors were secured. These are investors who are willing to commit to holding significant stakes which shows their confidence in the Trust.

In a yield hungry world, investors fed up with a low interest rate environment could push up the unit price of APTT when it starts trading on 29 May 2013. Of course, there is no way of telling if this would happen but look at how Croesus Retail Trust saw its unit price rose 23% on its first day of trading recently and we get an idea of just how things could turn out for APTT. Although not really comparable, it suggests that Mr. Market could be quite happy with distribution yield compressing to just 6.5%.

In case you are wondering about gearing (and you should), APTT's gearing is about 40%, while Croesus Retail Trust's gearing is at 47%.

If a distribution yield of 6.5% is what Mr. Market is willing to accept, APTT could trade at $1.12 per unit. If Mr. Market demands a minimum of 7% yield in the first year, we could see APTT trading at $1.03 to $1.04 per unit. If news that the placement tranche was 3 times oversubscribed by institutional investors is reliable, chances are we will see APTT trading higher.

If you are interested in participating in the IPO, take note to do so by 12 noon, 27 May 2013.

Related posts:
1. MIIF: Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT).
2. MIIF: Lower fair value.

Be a real estate owner the easy way (3).

As a follow up to my last blog post which questioned "Am I trying to be the most popular blogger in Singapore", I decided to Google "Singapore Investment Blogs" to see just how popular my blog might be. Curious, you know.

Well, I saw a link with a pretty face on the first page and, in case you are wondering, no, the face was not mine. Anyway, thanks to that link, this blog post was born. Unexpected, really.

The hyperlink says "Wendy Kwek Official Blog" and, apparently, she is a savvy and well known Singaporean property investor. Well known? I should know her but I don't. I should read up about her and I did.

The first line of the third paragraph in the "About me" section gels with me:

"I like to speak with people to engage and inspire them."

I like that although I am more a writer than a speaker.

"My mission is to help average people create extraordinary wealth through property investments."

Now, this sounds powerful. Pretty attractive too, no doubt.

The archives of her blog show that the blog started in August 2012 but I guess Wendy must have been reaching out to people long before that. She runs the "Property Riches Program" and her last blog post dated 9 April 2013 stated that the program saw its 14th batch of graduates and it was a big group, going by the photograph taken of the class!

Personally, I have not attended any program like this before and decided to do a bit more research online to find out more. I found this:

"Learn How To Own Properties With Little Or NO Money Down From Ms Wendy Kwek"

It was part of an ad on a property related website.

OK, this sounds familiar and I think I blogged about this before.
Read: Be a real estate owner the easy way (2).

Is the claim bona fide? Maybe, I don't know. I have not attended the course by Ms. Wendy Kwek before. So, I have nothing definite to say about it other than the fact that the claim sounds too amazing to be true.

Searching the internet to see if there are ways we can own properties with little or no money down, I came across 4 ways:

1. Borrow money to pay the down-payment
2. Co-Invest with other investors
3. Co-Invest with other investors using Central Provident Fund (CPF)
4. Buy overseas property with no money or little money down

Read the full article at Mr. Propwise: 4 ways to buy properties with no money down.

With even previously sceptical people now thinking that there is only one way for property prices to go which is up because of inflation, it is perhaps no wonder that Ms. Wendy Kwek et. al. are highly sought after by investors.

I took the following from the Facebook of Drizzt, the blogmaster of "Investment Moats":

"A condominium in a good location in Singapore can cost at least a million dollars and with the buyer having to fork out some 30% of the total purchase price, the upfront deposit can be a minimum of $300,000 excluding other miscellaneous charges. $300,000 is a figure that can take quite some time for a person on the street to save up to...

"But with property clubs, with a group of common-minded investors, together pooling a sum of monies for property purchases, the sum of monies an investor needs to fork out will be reduced. Take for example, the same $1 million property, with 20 investors, each investor would just need to fork out $50,000. Should the property price ascend to say $3 million, the $2 million profits would be shared among the 20 investors, this will translate to a profit of $100,000 for each investor! To maximise profits, some of these property clubs will ... purchase overseas properties with prices depressed due to the economic cycle."

 

When I commented that people should consider the possible downside, Drizzt said: "Think there is no downside with inflation the name of the game" which, in his opinion, is what the general public is thinking.

 

If you have owned properties with little or no money down before, perhaps, you could share with us your experience here. I am interested in hearing your experience and I am sure other readers would be interested too especially if we could own an investment property (or a few) with no money down in Singapore.

Related posts:
1. Leverage up and buy investment properties now?
2. Selling a private property just got harder.
3. More cooling measures on the way?
4. Buying a piece of real estate within your means.
5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: 2 are better than 1.

Singapore Police Force - Recruitment.

One thing which most friends and relatives don't know about me is that I wanted to join the Singapore Police Force when I was much younger but my medical status meant that it was a no go. With my degree, I would have been an ASP right away.

Till today, sometimes, I still wonder how I would have turned out as a person if I was accepted.

Anyway, if you are considering a career and if you are a person who values courage, loyalty, integrity and fairness, a career in the Singapore Police Force might just be what you are looking for.

Find out more at:
http://sg.sharings.cc/AK71SG/share/SPF

Plastic hazard in cup noodles!

I bought some Myojo brand cup noodles recently because NTUC Fairprice had a sale. It was $1.30 or $1.40 for two. Cannot remember exactly.

Anyway, in case you buy this, WARNING, do not pour hot water into the container as per usual practice! The smell of plastic was so strong that it was unbearable!

I quickly poured the hot water and noodles into my trusty Tupperware container which I use to bring oatmeal from home everyday. If I didn't have an alternative container close at hand, I would probably have thrown away the noodles, dissolved plastic and all.

No prizes for guessing what I had for breakfast and lunch today. Oh, I also had some very nice cake my sister baked which was a treat!

Myojo noodles are good. I prefer them to Maggi but the use of cheap plastic is really damaging and in more ways than one! Instant noodles lovers, please take heed!

Related post:
Korean noodles for lunch!

Not happy with government? Please emigrate!

I couldn't believe it when I read that the newly appointed Home Minister of Malaysia said that Malaysians who are unhappy with the country's political system should leave the country.

"If these people wish to adopt the list system or the single transferable vote used by countries with the republic form of government, then, they should migrate to these countries to practise their political beliefs," Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Source: The Straits Times online, 16 May 2013.

I don't see how a statement like this is going to help make things better.

The Minister should realise that, like them or not, these unhappy Malaysians are still Malaysians! They have the right to express their desire for change even if the Minister might not agree with them. Simple, isn't it?

How could someone like this be a Minister? He is a Datuk too. Shame on him.

You might also be interested in this:
Take the good with the bad if we retire to Malaysia.

MIIF: Lower fair value with lower income distributions.

With MIIF divesting TBC, unit holders will no longer be getting income distributions twice a year from the Fund in future.

This is because MIIF receives income from TBC in March and September while it receives income from HNE and CXP in September only.

MIIF will have a DPU of about 0.7c in August 2013 which is from the final income received from TBC. A DPU of about 1.2c will be paid out in March 2014 which will be for income received from HNE and CXP.

In future, we should expect only once a year distribution from MIIF for income received from HNE and CXP. Also, do not expect 1.2c to be the norm either as it is expected that the tolling revisions for HNE will adversely affect DPU for the full year starting in 2014.

What would be a fair value per unit for MIIF when it resumes trading?

In recent past, MIIF was trading at about 63c a unit and with an annual DPU of 5.5c, unit holders were enjoying a distribution yield of some 8.73%. For ease of calculation, let us be generous and assume that an annual DPU of 1.2c will be the norm. This would give us a fair value of 14c per unit, thereabouts, in order to have a similar yield. This would mean a decline in price of some 49c per unit!

If this estimate should gel with Mr. Market, unit holders would have been better off selling at 63c a unit prior to the voluntary trading suspension since unit holders are only getting 44.329c per unit from the divestment of TBC either in cash or in APPT units (priced at 97c per unit).

It would also mean that anyone with a purchase price of 58c or lower per unit, prior to the trading suspension, is quite "safe" while anyone with a higher purchase price could lose money.

Of course, there is a chance that APPT could see higher unit price when trading starts and there is also a chance that MIIF might not see its own unit price plunging to 14c per unit. If this should be the case, then, this effort by the management to unlock value for unit holders could be declared a success.

Anyway, now that we have some ballpark figures, we will be able to make some snap decisions tomorrow, if required, keeping in mind that any investment at the right price is a good investment.

See: MIIF dividend guidance.
See: APPT offer price and MIIF APPT units.

Related post:
MIIF: Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT).

Am I trying to be the most popular blogger in Singapore?

Someone asked if I was trying to be the most popular blogger in Singapore. I don't know why she got that impression. Was it something I said or did? Hmmm...

Anyway, I really am too lazy to work much harder on my blog. Blogging is a hobby and I want to keep it that way. I mean I enjoy blogging enough to want to continue doing it but to work hard at it is really a different ball game, isn't it?

For anyone who has the ability and the will to become a popular blogger, there could be many financial advantages. No kidding? Yes, no kidding! There are enough examples out there.

Xiaxue

A blog I visit from time to time belongs to, arguably, the queen of bloggers in Singapore, Xiaxue.

She makes enough money from her blog to do it full time. I was told she makes $XX,XXX in certain months and has a manager to deal with advertisers!

When she got married, she didn't have to worry about most of her wedding expenses. She had so many sponsors!

See:
http://xiaxue.blogspot.sg/2010/03/my-wedding-solemnization.html
(Just scroll to the end of the blog post if you don't want to look at the photos.)

Then, recently, she got her matrimonial home renovated and, again, she had so many sponsors!

See:
http://xiaxue.blogspot.sg/2013/03/home-decor-part-1-living-room-and.html
(Again, scroll to the end of the blog post and you will see what I mean.)

Pretty amazing!

I think part of Xiaxue's success stems from not being a finance blogger in Singapore. Hahaha... I am only half kidding. Want to have more financial rewards as a blogger? Don't do what I do!

If you don't believe what I just said, you just have to search for blog awards in Singapore and there are quite a few annual events out there but you will never find a category at these awards that says "Best Investment/Personal Finance Blog".

Sobering for some.

Related posts:
1. A couple of thoughts.
2. Request for sponsorship.