Working and living in a foreign country

I just watched a Japanese documentary show detailing the life of a Japanese lady who married a Peruvian guy in Peru. It was a heart-warming show which narrated how a Japanese lady lived her life in a foreign country for 20 years. We all know that the Japanese is a closely knitted community, so initially it was not easy for a young Japanese lady like her to settle down in Peru. But she managed to overcome the language and cultural barrier, and along the way, fell in love and married a Peruvian guy. Of course, her Japanese parents initially objected to their marriage, but they accepted him after he lived with them for a short while in Japan.

What struck me was that despite living abroad in another foreign country for two decades, her love for her native country remains strong. She still misses Japan very much and what I found admirable was that she has been contributing articles to a Japanese publication all these years because she mentioned that nowadays people go for online news, so she hope to do her part and revives newspaper readership. She is paid 300,000 yen for her efforts, and so has to supplement her income as a local tour guide in Peru. I supposed she is not doing this for the sake of money, but rather out of passion and love for Japan. I have utmost respect for this honorable lady, because although she is not highly educated and does not have a high-flying career, she led a fulfilling life full of warmth and love.

I think "Limpeh is Foreign Trash" has a lot to learn from her. The fellow bragged that he received scholarships in Singapore before, won many sports trophies and is now earning tonnes of money in UK. He gave up his citizenship long time ago and has nothing but contempt for Singapore in his blog. On a daily basis, he launches anti-Singapore campaigns in his blog, fanned online hatred for Singapore and is so proud that he got a massive fan base with three millions page views on record. Apparently he also got issues with his father.

Is he a happy man? Perhaps so. But if I am given a choice, I would definitely choose to live a life like the Japanese lady's and not "Limpeh is Foreign Trash's". And I think "Limpeh is Foreign Trash" will not get it. This is because in his eye, money, career, and awards count for everything. In his world, there is only the blame game, and no love, much less love for his parents and Singapore (he actually blamed his mother for giving birth to him in Singapore and cited Singapore's oppressive system as the reason for his giving up of Singapore citizenship). He hates and blames everything in Singapore, everything, except himself. So he gave up his citizenship and chose to embrace UK. Despite his denial, I think he still cannot find inner peace after giving up his Singapore citizenship all these years.

For me, I am in my early thirties and have spent my entire career in Singapore so far. My job has brought me to countries such as United States, Canada, UK, Germany, China, India and many more. Despite having traveled to many countries, I would like to spend a few years working in another country with my family. It is true that there are a lot of struggles for livelihood in Singapore. However, I would still want to come back to Singapore, because this is still my home. And nothing beats home. This is where I grew up and spent my childhood. There are too many relationships and fond memories for me to give up.  Ultimately, one day when I look back at my life on my deathbed, I want to have pictures of happy memories of my life in Singapore.I don't want to become a grumpy old man like "Limpeh is Foreign Trash" who keep thinking that Singapore owe him something. What is the point?

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Value Investing

Last night, I read the investment book, "The Value Investors: Lessons from the World's Top Fund Managers" for the second time. The Value Investors contains a lot of useful investment insights from successful fund managers and value investors, so I strongly recommend the book to investors, especially newbies. Indeed, hands-on experience is important when it comes to stock investments. But then again, having the right knowledge on security analysis will certainly reduce the learning curve needed for picking the winning stocks.

Investment wisdom
Nobody can claim to beat the stock market consistently but it is important that you learned from your investment mistakes. Three investment wisdom gained from Irving Kahn, one of Benjamin Graham's disciple, is that in order to succeed in picking the winning stocks, you need to have patience, discipline and skepticism. To many, these three traits seemed straightforward, logical and common sense. But when it comes to real life application, many investors (including myself) were guilty of not following these rules. Very often, we would be tempted to invest in certain hot stocks after reading good reviews from analysts. We fear that if we waited on the sideline, the opportunity to buy cheap and make profits would be gone. Therefore, for many investors, greed and fear prevailed over patience, discipline and skepticism. In the end, they bought the wrong stocks and suffered losses because of the lack of research and patience.

The art of investing
"The Value Investor" is an investment-biography book which features interviews of twelve value-investing legends from around the world, learning how their personal background, culture, and life experiences have shaped their investment mindset and strategy. These men, who became strong advocates of the approach despite considerable age and cultural differences, include: Mark Mobius, Irving Kahn, William Browne, Teng Ngiek Lian, V-Nee Yeh, Shuhei Abe and many more. The book's focus is on the investment techniques and approach of value investing. The content is engaging and unravels how these investors, each of whom has a unique value perspective, have consistently beaten the stock market over the years. The book attempts to answer some pressing questions such as “Do these value-investing legends share a trait that allows this to happen?”, “Is there a winning temperament that turns the ordinary investor into an extraordinary one?” and much more.

"The Value Investors" is for individual investors who wish to diversify their portfolio across different asset classes or geographically or wish to understand how they can master the balance between art and science in investing.

For more information, visit: http://as.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118339290,descCd-buy.html

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An ungrateful ex-Singaporean

I was reading one of the postings made by fellow blogger "Limpeh is Foreign Talent". In light of the recent MDA ruling, he was extremely unhappy and ranted incessantly about the government in his blog. I felt compelled to blog down some of my thoughts and feelings.

In his blog, he bragged that he collected two scholarships from the government during his VJC days but chose to study university and worked in United Kingdom instead. Subsequently, he gave up his Singapore citizenship and became a British citizen. Apparently this move enabled him to find jobs in EU nations more easily. But beyond that, he stated that he wanted to make a statement to the government that he is disgusted with the way Singapore is governed and that more highly educated Singaporeans like him would leave the country, resulting in brain drain.

I was not impressed when I read his articles. In fact, I cannot believe his stupidity and naivety. If he thought that Singapore government is going to react just because of his actions, then he is plain wrong. Who cares if egomaniac idiots like him leave the country? If he thought his actions were vindicated, then let me make it known to him that he had let down Singaporeans, instead of the government. His scholarships were paid by taxpayers and could have been awarded to locals who deserved better. In fact, if given a choice, I would rather the government gave the scholarship to foreigners than to ungrateful person like him. This fellow has no integrity at all. After getting his Singapore scholarships, he ran off to UK without even staying in Singapore and contributed nothing to our country. What a waste of tax payers money. To add insult to injury, he still dare to constantly criticize our system in his blog and bragged to online citizens how great his life is now.

To be honest, I wonder how his parents brought him up. This fellow has no moral integrity at all. Obviously his parents did not teach him the value of giving back to society. My father always told me that if I benefitted from the system, I must give it back to the society. One way or another. I am absolutely disgusted with local bondbreakers like him. People like him not only waste our limited resources, but also bite the hands that fed him. How did our society produce such junks like him? Yeah, he could do this to Singapore, I believe, one day, he could also do this to UK. Hope his UK citizenship get revoked one day and let him be an alien.

I am disappointed that there are many online citizens supporting his blog and encouraging his actions. What sort of values are we promoting? True, our government and systems have inherent flaws. But if you had benefitted from the system, and left without contributing to nation-building, then you are in no position to criticize. We are Asians, not Westerners, and there are certain values and code of honours that we should abide. Fundamentally, this fellow has failed as a person. I don't welcome him if he comes back to Singapore.

If I am his father, I would have disowned this ungrateful beast long time ago.


Magically yours

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Beware of Ponzi-like gold scams in Singapore

Published by BullionStar Singapore 

Always remember, caveat emptor (buyer beware) 

It is important for each one of us to do due diligence, in whatever endeavors we undertake. When it comes to precious metals investing, for example, you could not afford to think that just because the investment is sound, it follows that you can’t go wrong.

Look at all the gold exchange-traded funds and mutual funds whose values are derived from gold futures, the physical gold of which does not even exist. If you try to have such paper gold delivered, you’ll be left with nothing. This is why we advocate buying physical gold, the type that is stored in finite supply in your residence, or in our vault.

But even within the physical gold market, we can expect scammers to spring up, finding a way to defraud investors. Here’s a tip: whenever you hear about a certain company, just search on the Web, ‘Company X scam.’ If the search results show a lot of complaining customers or court cases, stay away!

Note, however, that these companies are aware of their Google-savvy potential clientele. The company may have ‘planted’ their own positive reviews that have the search word ‘scam’ in them. But if something is fishy, this will likely be reflected in the volume of negative results. Bottom line: if anything is too good to be true, it probably is.

Interest payments on gold?

At BullionStar, we claim nothing more than that precious metals, which we offer at the lowest prices anywhere, are better to have than any other currency. And because of the inflation-based global monetary system, it is often better to hold stable money like gold and silver rather than most stocks especially during economic downturns. Whatever returns you get from precious metals are derived from the metal itself, not some kind of dividend.

Gold is a one-of-a-kind medium of exchange. There’s nothing like it. But it doesn’t provide annual yields or dividends. Be suspicious if you are ever offered interest payments in exchange for holding your gold. Ask yourself, where is this money used to pay dividends coming from?

The classic Ponzi scheme is one where payments to investors/members are derived from additional recruits who pay into the scheme. In the case of gold scam artists, they’re not making their money by simply selling to gold investors. They’re selling at such above-market prices that they are able to fund their operations.

How gold scammers operate

What happens is that the pricey gold is offered at a small ‘discount,’ that is a discount from their exorbitant prices. You are given the option of the company buying back your gold at full price, that is, at the full exorbitant price. And the money used to buy back the gold from you must be derived from new recruits. Meanwhile, these new recruits buy the ‘discounted’ gold in the expectation of returns from selling it back to the company at a later date.

Such a system is highly impractical and unsustainable. With premiums of around 25% spot price of gold, what happens when you run out of dupes who are willing to buy high? Your ‘dividends’ are obliterated.

You might derive some comfort that you are left with your gold — if they actually deliver the physical gold to you. But then, you could have bought the gold at much better prices almost anywhere else. In addition, such gold is of questionable quality. Looking at the products offered by some of these companies, the bars being displayed are of obscure brands. To whom can you sell these bars in the future? This is important, considering the potential for fraud or counterfeiting of metals. It is always best to buy trusted and reputable brands.

Avoid being fooled

Do not be led by rhetoric that you read off some website’s banner. It is possible that they are making money off people’s growing interest in gold and silver, while not necessarily providing them with good investment options.

Even when something sounds nice and truthful, go by the facts. It’s not enough that a company proclaims the right thing, e.g. bullishness in gold, but that their business model is based on this, and not shady practices.

The scary thing is these scammers are still in operation, in Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, always looking for people who aren’t aware of how a Ponzi scheme could be applied to the precious metals investing sector.

Better options

Make sure you get your physical bullion at the most competitive prices, and that you are ensured of physical delivery. And in the case where you opt for vault storage of your precious metals, make sure a third party can verify the presence of your bullion in the vault.

Apart from improving the regulatory aspect, it is important to instill in people the practice of due diligence before they put their money somewhere.

We at BullionStar hope to help in getting the truth out, and allowing competition to really dictate what businesses last, and which ones disappear from a lack of suckers.

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Civil Service Mid-year Payments

Its that time of the year to collect mid-year bonus for civil servant again! It is heartening to note that the government accepted NWC's recommendation to raise the wages of low-wage workers by at least $60. Not much though, but definitely a step in the right direction to help the low income group who struggle with rising living expenses. As the economy matures, there should be more schemes in placed to ensure that this group of Singaporeans are not left behind.

The Singapore economy grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2013, compared to 3.3% in the previous quarter. The Ministry of Trade and Industry forecasts GDP growth of 1% to 3% for 2013. The global economy is expected to improve gradually this year with modest growth in the US and moderate growth in Asia supported by healthy domestic demand, although the Eurozone is expected to remain in recession. Risks to the global growth outlook remain, such as a potential flare-up of the Eurozone debt crisis and fiscal uncertainties in the US. The overall unemployment rate in Singapore remained low at 1.9% in Mar 2013.

Against this backdrop, the Government has decided to pay a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.4-month.

The Government also supports the National Wages Council’s (NWC) recommendation to grant a built-in wage increase of at least $60 to raise the wages of low-wage workers earning up to $1,000 per month. The Government will give a built-in wage increase to Division IV and III civil servants. This will be in addition to their annual increment in 2013.

Division IV civil servants will receive an additional wage increase of $70 per month. This will benefit around 3,600 Division IV civil servants. Division III civil servants will receive an additional wage increase of $40 per month. This will benefit around 5,600 Division III civil servants. The Civil Service’s NWC adjustments for all Division IV and III civil servants will benefit more than 9,200 civil servants.

The Public Service Division and the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees will continue to work closely to review the salaries of lower-wage workers in the Civil Service, taking into consideration the need to upgrade the value of the jobs and provide for meaningful career progression. This signals the Government’s continued commitment to help raise the salaries of lower-wage civil servants.

The mid-year AVC and the built-in wage increase for Division IV and III civil servants will be paid in July 2013. Illustrations of the revisions can be found in the worked examples below.

The Government will decide on the year-end AVC payment for civil servants after taking into consideration Singapore’s economic performance in the second half of 2013.

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Investing in Singapore Government Securities (SGS)

As a form of risk diversification, it is important for every investor to maintain a portfolio investment consisting of different asset classes such as equities, currency, precious metals, property and bonds. Typically, these asset classes move in opposite directions and therefore smooth out the volatility in your portfolio in different economic scenarios. In the current low interest rate environment, it may be prudent to invest bonds. Below is some of my research on Singapore government bonds - SGS, extracted from the www.sgs.gov.sg. The information below is for sharing and not to be misconstrued as financial advice or recommendation.

What Are Singapore Government Securities (SGS)
Singapore Government Securities (SGS) are marketable debt instruments of the Government of Singapore. These debt instruments take the form of either Treasury bills (T-bills) or bonds, and are considered safe investments, as they are backed by the full faith and credit of the Singapore Government. The terms of issuance for T-bills and bonds are governed by the Local Treasury Bills Act and the Government Securities Act respectively.

The Singapore Government is obliged to pay the holders of SGS a fixed sum of money on the maturity date of the securities. SGS cannot be cashed in before their maturity dates, but investors can always sell them in the SGS market. SGS Primary Dealers are prepared to buy and sell SGS at any time during normal market trading hours.

As the fiscal agent of the Government, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) acts to undertake the issue and management of SGS on its behalf.

What Are The Types Of SGS
T-bills are short-term debt securities that mature in one year or less from their issue date. They are bought and sold at a discount, i.e. at a price less than their face (par) value, and when they mature, the Government will pay the holder an amount of S$ equivalent to the face value of the security. Therefore, the interest earned on the T-bill is the difference between its purchase price and face (par) value. They are denominated at nominal values of S$1,000 and traded at a rate of discount basis. The Singapore Government issues T-bills of 3-month, 6-month and 1-year maturities. 

SGS bonds are longer-term debt securities, which pay a fixed rate of interest (called the coupon) every six months for the life of the securities and then their face (par) values upon redemption on maturity. They are generally not issued at a discount unlike T-bills, and have typical maturities of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years.

The most recently issued SGS bonds in each of these tenors are typically known as the benchmark securities and tend to be more actively traded. Older and more seasoned SGS bonds become off-the-run issues and tend to be less actively traded. SGS bonds are also denominated in nominal values of S$1,000 and traded on a price basis expressed in terms of S$100 principal. 

 
Summary Table on SGS

	T-Bills	Bonds
Issuer	Singapore Government	Singapore Government
Tenor	3 months, 6 months, 1 year	2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years
Interest Rate	Discount	Fixed Coupon
Coupon Payments	N/A	Every six months
Minimum Denomination	S$1,000	S$1,000

Where Can I Purchase SGS
Only Primary Dealers (PDs) in the SGS market are allowed to submit bids at the SGS auctions. However, should you wish to participate in the auctions, you can submit your bids through any of the PDs or Secondary Dealers who will submit bids to the PDs on your behalf.

You may purchase SGS at primary auctions or in the secondary market. 

i) At a Primary Auction 

After the auction announcement, the most convenient way for most individual investors to submit bids for SGS is through the DBS, POSB, UOB and OCBC ATMs. For the weekly 3-month T-bill and fortnightly 6-month T-bill auctions, the application window at the ATM is typically open between Wednesdays 6pm to Fridays 9pm. Individual investors should check with their banks on the exact closing date for SGS application through these channels. Similar to an IPO application, you will need a valid individual CDP account number and your bank account will be debited for the full bid amount at the point of application.

For reopened bonds, the amount debited will be 115% of the bid amount to take into account capital gains and accrued interest, since the market price of the reopened bond is only known after the auction. If the purchase price of the reopened bond is lower (or higher) than 115% of the bid amount, the difference would be credited (or debited) into/from the individual investor's bank account.

After an auction, successful bidders will receive a statement notification from CDP, typically the next business day after the issuance date.

ii) In the Secondary Market 

From 8 July 2011, investors can trade SGS bonds in the secondary market on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). As SGS are custodised with CDP, you may buy SGS bonds through your stockbroker, using the same individual CDP and securities trading account that you have for trading stocks on SGX. Trading SGS bonds on SGX would incur transaction and brokerage costs. For more information, you may refer to http://www.sgx.com/fixedincome/sgs. 

If you wish to buy or sell T-bills in the secondary market, you can approach the branches of any of the SGS dealer banks (typically DBS, OCBC and UOB) to buy/sell your holdings at the most competitive market price available.

Magically yours

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Gold Investment: BullionStar's My Vault

For international and domestic investors seeking a safe haven for their precious metals, BullionStar's “My Vault Storage” offers a convenient, end-to-end solution for the purchase, sale, storage, and delivery of an assortment of bullion products.

Bullion investors assume a considerable amount of risk keeping even a moderate amount of bullion in uninsured storage solutions. Also, the fact that there is more “paper” Gold or Silver in circulation than there are backing of physical precious metals increases the risk of defaults on the commodity exchanges.

By engaging the services of some of the top secure storage facilities in Singapore, one of the safest countries in the world, and with easy to use online system, BullionStar is able to address these concerns with “My Vault Storage”. BullionStar provides the maximum level of security for your wealth by minimizing physical, economic and political risks to your precious metal holdings.

In short, “My Vault” offers you:
- Allocated bullion – no paper promises
- Insured bullion – no risk for you
- Easy-to-use trading interface online
- Buy, sell, or withdraw at any time
- Minimum of two years free storage
- Ownership certificate of physical bullion
- No reporting requirements or ties to foreign governments

BullionStar and My Vault Storage present you stable solutions in uncertain times.

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Dividend Stock in Singapore: Haw Par Corporation Ltd

Many Singaporeans can probably relate Haw Par Corp as the manufacturer of the famous Tiger Balm but how many investors know that it also owns the famous Underwater World at Sentosa? I like this company because it had been consistently giving out dividends for the past 20 years. The company is cash rich, is financially strong and is trading at below net asset value. However, this counter has risen in value so much for the past two years that it is beyond my entry price, which is $4.00. Looks like I have to wait until the next stock market crash to load up this overlooked stock in SGX.

The original business of manufacturing and distributing through Southeast Asia pharmaceuticals under the Tiger Brand names, the best known of which is ‘Tiger Balm’, was founded at the turn of the century. This was subsequently incorporated under the name, Haw Par Brothers (Pte) Ltd and in 1969, Haw Par Brothers Intl Ltd was formed to acquire the main part of that business. The Company took on its present name, Haw Par Corporation Ltd in December 1997.

In the seventies and eighties, it has grown into a conglomerate with diversified interests.
The Group’s core business in healthcare and leisure products promotes healthy lifestyles through its health products, Haw Par’s healthcare products are manufactured and marketed under its established Tiger Balm and Kwan Loong brands. Its renowned ointment Tiger Balm and product extensions are used throughout the world to invigorate the body as well as to soothe away aches and pains.

The Group owns and operates 2 oceanariums - the popular Underwater World oceanarium attraction at Sentosa, Singapore and Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand. A third oceanarium in Chengdu, China, is under construction.

Besides healthcare and leisure products, the Group has interests in investment properties and manages its own portfolio of long term and short term investments in securities.

One of the Group’s primary corporate strategies is to expand its core healthcare and leisure businesses, including product extensions under its own established brands, forming strategic alliances with overseas partners in various key markets and acquisition of suitable businesses. It also aims to manage efficiently its portfolio of investments in properties as well as long term and short term securities to achieve a reasonable return.

Magically yours

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Son of Bedok

One of my readers recently wrote to me and queried my background. It was an interesting email because we found that both of us are working in the same industry (aviation), and share the same passion in investing. I suddenly realized that after blogging for three years, I did not share much about my personal life with my readers. So starting with this post, I am going to share bits and pieces of my background with my readers.

I work in the aviation industry and my job requires me to travel frequently. In fact, I am writing this post in a foreign country now. My job has brought me to many wonderful places, for example, United States, China, Australia, Japan, Canada, India, Spain, to name just a few. These duty trips typically lasted not more than two weeks, so I usually did not have the chance for much sightseeing. Nevertheless, sometimes it feels good to be away from Singapore for a short while, even for work purposes. Singapore is becoming a more and more suffocating and stressful place to live and work in. So once a while, its good to have a "technical break".

Although I travel frequently, I am still a Singaporean at heart. Actually, you can take me away from Singapore, but you can't take away the Singapore in me. Yeah I know, it is corny. I recall during the recent Punggol by-election, the PAP candidate styled himself as "Son of Punggol". He claimed that he was born in Punggol and so actually dared to associate himself as a Punggol boy. Well if he could declare himself as "Son of Punggol", I guess I am not wrong to call myself "Son of Bedok". In fact, I lived in Bedok for more than 30 years, got married and set up my family in Bedok. My childhood friends and family are all here. 

Throughout the decades, I have personally witnessed Bedok from a new town to a dirty mature estate. Currently I live in an area of Bedok which belongs to Workers' Party (Aljunied-Hougang Town Council). Many friends and colleagues asked me whether my estate has become cleaner or not. My feedback to them is that things remain status quo. Bedok is still as dirty as ever. There are still many rubbish lying around, rats and cockroachs lurking at the lift lobbies. The problem doesn't lie with the Opposition Party, but just that Bedok had been maintained very poorly for more than 20 years under the ruling party. Yeah I know the politicians are not going to agree with this statement and will dish out all the statistics and past records to justify their stand. But try telling that to someone who lived in the estate fore more than 30 years. Chances are, you can't change things for the better overnight, especially for a matured estate.

I will continue to live in Bedok for the next 5 years, because of HDB Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). But beyond that, I don't know. Sometimes it is not easy to uproot oneself and forsake the places which you are so familiar with. Yes, the estate is really dirty, does not have any food court and no cinema. But its the people that I will miss if I moved.

Magically yours

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Civil servant buying $10 million condo unit

For many years, bloggers in Singapore had been writing articles on how to become rich through investment on stocks, gold and property. But I think their efforts have been in vain. In one single scoop, the CEO of MDA had provided the alternative answer.

In an article written by Property Guru, it was reported that the CEO of MDA, Ms Koh Lin-Net, bought a 3,477 sq ft four-bedroom unit at Keppel Bay for less than S$10.1 million or around S$2,901 psf. The option to purchase is dated 19 May. You can call me sour grape but $10 million is no peanut. I mean Ms Koh is not even a Cabinet Minister drawing a million dollar salary. No doubt she is a high flying civil servant but given her salary, I wonder how she can afford a $10 million condominium.

Perhaps she was born with a silver spoon. Okay if that is so, I rest my case. Apparently her mother, Ms Koh Lim Wen Gin, also purchased another $10 million unit. Perhaps she is a shrewd investor who has mastered the incredible art of making money work for her. Okay then I rest my case. Whatever it is, this woman is no ordinary (civil) servant, mind you. She has achieved what many Singaporeans (including me) cannot achieved in a lifetime.

Make no mistake, I am not against millionaire civil servants making property investments. But I think they should at least be more discreet and sensitive to Singaporeans' feelings.

Magically yours

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Financial Independence (Getting to Point X)

Below is a press release on Financial Independence (Getting to Point X), a personal finance book. Readers can pick up valuable tips on how to manage personal wealth. 

Written by John J. Vento, an expert with decades of experience helping people of all walks of life realize their dreams of financial independence, Financial Independence (Getting to Point X): An Advisor's Guide to Comprehensive Wealth Management (Wiley; March 2013; 978-1-118-46021-4) arms you with the knowledge and tools you need to get to your Point X—the point at which you no longer have to work for your money but where your money works for you.

Throughout our lives, we will encounter many questions and problems relating to money, but every one of them will fall, in some way, under one or more of the 10 Key Wealth Management issues addressed in this book.

No matter how you define your particular path to financial independence or “Point X,” whether it is an annual income of $25,000 or an estate of $250 million, you need to not only understand but effectively deal with 10 fundamental wealth management issues. They are:

1. Committing to living within your means and conscientiously saving for the future;
2. Understanding taxes and how to effectively minimize your tax obligation;
3. Realistically defining your standard of living, including your net worth and your current cash flow;
4. Managing debt;
5. Insuring yourself and your family in case of extreme illness or death;
6. Protecting your property;
7. Planning for the education of yourself and your children;
8. Investing intelligently and productively;
9. Planning for retirement; and
10. Preserving your estate.

These issues are interrelated, and how you deal with one very often will have an effect on how you treat the others. For example, if you fail to manage debt properly, you will find it difficult to save for a home of your own, your child’s education, or your retirement. Or, if you neglect to properly insure yourself against sickness or premature death, your spouse and family could be wiped out.

Woven into the issues of wealth management is a common variable. Throughout the book, Vento will provide facts and strategies that will focus on minimizing the most significant expenditure--taxes--and help you gain financial freedom. 

Financial Independence (Getting to Point X) is now available nationwide at all major bookshops and popular online e-book retailers. For a list of retailers that are available in your location, visit: www.wiley.com/buy/9781118460214.

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Father's Day

Father's Day is approaching soon. In the past, this date has always held not much significance for me. My family would usually have a dinner celebration for Mother's Day. But not for Father's Day. Its not that my family don't love my Dad or whatever. Its just that its not my family's style to express our appreciation for my Dad in such manner. But this year is different because it will be the my first Father's day without my Dad, who passed away at home a few months ago. I think I haven't really gotten over his death because when he passed away, I was not at his bedside. I was on a business trip in India and could not make it back in time to see him for the last time.

For the past few days, I missed my Dad a lot. I reminisce my childhood times spent with my Dad. He was a hardworking man who spent a lot of time at work, so my siblings and myself don't often get to see him at home. Once in a blue moon, when he was free, he would bring us to amusement parks. I loved those trips because I would get to ride in his 6 wheels Nissan lorry. He would often show me the direction and told me name of this road and that road. He also liked to tell me, with much pride, that he was involved in most of the developmental projects in Singapore during the 90s.

I could not remember many of my Dad's teachings, but the key ones he always espoused were to lead an honest life and to save up for rainy days. My Dad was a thrifty man who unfortunately suffered from stroke at the age of 38 years old. He was not able to work but still had to support my mother, three children and my grandmother. It was a very challenging period for my family. If not for his shrewd investment foresight and savings, I think my family could not have survived those lean times.

Although my Dad has passed away, he left behind a legacy in my family. I would always remember his teachings and would always carry with me fond memories of him in my heart wherever I go. If I could roll back the time, I want to wish my Dad a Happy Father's Day and tell him how much I love him.

Magically yours.

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SGX Stock Update: Biosensors declares dividend payout of USD$0.02

Quick Glance 
1) Net Profit: US$115milliom
2) Cash and cash equivalent: US$614million
3) Net current asset: US$688million
4) Long term borrowing: US$277million
5) Net cash from operation: US$123million
6) Net asset value per share: US$0.72

Performance Summary for FY13  
For the full year FY13, total revenue was US$336.2 million, a 15% increase from the fiscal year ended 31 March 2012 (FY12). Total product revenue was US$278.5 million, a 32% year-on-year increase while IVP revenue rose 35% year-on-year to US$264.9 million, primarily driven by growth in the Company’s DES sales and the consolidation of JWMS’ financial results starting from the third quarter of FY12 (Q3 FY12). CCP revenue was US$13.6 million, a 7% decrease from US$14.6 million in FY12. Licensing and royalties revenue was US$57.7 million, down US$23.1 million or 29% from US$80.8 million in FY12.

Gross margin on total product sales was 81% for FY13, a significant improvement from 73% in FY12 attributable to more favorable geographical and product mix as well as greater economies of scale.
Total operating expenses accounted for 57% of product revenue in FY13, compared to 61% for FY12. In detail, S&M expense was US$90.0 million, G&A expense was US$40.6 million, while R&D expense was US$27.5 million.

 For FY13, despite a US$23.1 million or 29% year-on-year decrease in royalty revenue, the Company’s operating profit still achieved US$123.6 million, a 16% year-on-year increase from the same period last year.

Excluding exceptional items, which comprise a provision for restructuring expenses, fair value adjustment for warrants, realization of translation difference on liquidation of a subsidiary and impairment of goodwill, net profit for FY13 would have been US$111.6 million or basic EPS of 6.48 US cents and diluted EPS of 6.39 US cents. This compares to a net profit of US$101.0 million or basic EPS of 6.69 US cents and diluted EPS of 6.55 US cents, for FY12, after excluding the fair value adjustment for warrants, the one-off non-operating gain of US$279.6 million on re-measurement of the Group’s interest in JWMS in the third quarter of FY12 and the impairment of goodwill.

Including exceptional items, net profit for FY13 was US$115.4 million or basic EPS of 6.70 US cents and diluted EPS of 6.60 US cents, compared to a net profit of US$364.3 million or basic EPS of 24.12 US cents and diluted EPS of 23.63 US cents for FY12.

The Company recently raised approximately US$240 million through the issuance of 4-year fixed rate notes with an interest rate of 4.875%, payable semi-annually in arrear. The Company’s interest expense will increase in future periods as a result of issuing these notes.
 
Financial Guidance for FY14  
For the fiscal year ending 31 March 2014 (FY14), management anticipates total revenue to grow by around 15% over FY13. This guidance is driven primarily by continued product revenue growth, expected commercialization of four new products including BioMatrix NeoFlex, and the newly acquired business of Spectrum Dynamics. The Company expects its royalty income to be similar to FY13. The Company’s practice is to provide guidance on a full year basis only. This forecast reflects Biosensors’ current and preliminary views, which are subject to change. It also excludes the potential impact from foreign exchange fluctuations, or any exceptional events and unforeseen circumstances that may occur.

"Looking ahead, our objective remains to further develop our DES business while seeking new growth opportunities. We are also excited about our CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex. This represents another important step forward for the BioMatrix brand, improving our flagship product with enhanced deliverability," said Dr. Wang. "In the area of M&A, our recently-completed acquisition of Spectrum Dynamics’ assets demonstrates our conviction to prudently expand our product offerings. With the completion, we will now focus on integrating Spectrum Dynamics’ assets with Biosensors’ existing businesses and actively expanding its business potential. We are also continuing to make good progress in our discussions with several other potential M&A targets. All in all, we are excited about the developments taking place in Biosensors which we believe will substantially increase shareholder value."

Dividend  
The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of US$0.02 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2013, based on the Company’s net income for the full year FY13. The Company has approximately 1.72 billion issued ordinary shares (excluding treasury shares) as at 31 March 2013. This recommendation is subject to shareholders’ approval during the Company’s next Annual General Meeting, and the actual dividend payment can only be determined on books closure date.

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Gold as part of your investment portfolio

After posting several articles on BullionStar Singapore, a number of readers had emailed me to query my views on the gold market developments. Generally, I am still confident in the long term prospect of gold due to the emerging middle classes from India and China accelerating gold demand. But more importantly, I believe that every investors should hold gold in their investment portfolio. This is because gold prices often move in opposite direction to stocks and currency. So allocating gold in your porfolio can help to serve as a form of hedge against inflation and enhance your portfolio's performance.

Holistic view on gold investments
Investors should hold a long term view on gold investments and not expect quick returns. They should consider it as a form of diversification to lower risk for their investment portfolio. Very often, I read articles from many writers in The Finance.sg sharing their own stock investments. Many of them pumped in hundred of thousands of dollars on shares, REITs and ETF. Their investment performances were impressive indeed but if the stock market plunged suddenly, large portions of their monies would be wiped off overnight. How many of these investors can stomach such volatilty and ride out the storm? That I don't know but all I know is that every portfolio must be balanced and focusing too much on stocks in your asset allocation is not healthy at all.

Believing in physical gold
Like many gold investors, I only believe in physical gold. In fact, according to London Bullion Market Association, on most trading days, 90% of transactions happened in physical gold and only 10% are in deriative market. Actually this is what is happening in Singapore now. In spite of the plunge in spot gold prices, many people are rushing in to buy physical gold. In a Reuters interview Zane Lim, regional manager of operations at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar said "The paper market is dropping but we are seeing a different story in the physical market. Everybody is buying and no one is selling. We are not seeing any signs of slowing down. People are still thinking it is a good price to go in at,"  He added that most of the bullion dealers in Singapore were sold out.

Magically yours

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Singapore Government moves to regulate online news

Below is a press release announcing government's move to regulate the local online news community. I was alerted to this news by my colleague during lunch and as an avid blogger, I was naturally concerned. Under the new regulatory framework, sites which report local news per week over two months and have 50,000 unique IP addresses must apply for license from Media Development Authority (MDA). And the license does not come cheap, costing $50,000 each.

1. From 1 June 2013, online news sites that report regularly on issues relating to Singapore and have significant reach among readers here will require an individual licence from the Media Development Authority (MDA). This will place them on a more consistent regulatory framework with traditional news platforms which are already individually licensed.

2. Under the licensing framework, online news sites will be individually licensed if they (i) report an average of at least one article per week on Singapore’s news and current affairs ¹ over a period of two months, and (ii) are visited by at least 50,000 unique IP addresses from Singapore each month over a period of two months. Currently, these sites are automatically class-licensed under the Broadcasting Act. When MDA has assessed that a site has met the criteria to be individually licensed, MDA will issue a formal notification and work with the site to move it to the new licensing framework. Please see below Annex for the sites that MDA will be issuing licensing notifications to when the licensing framework is launched.

3. The new Licence provides greater clarity on prevailing requirements within the Class Licence and Internet Code of Practice, and explains what MDA would consider “prohibited content” in the existing Internet Code of Practice, e.g. content that undermines racial or religious harmony. As the sites are already subject to these requirements, no change in content standards is expected to result. The Licence also makes it clear that online news sites are expected to comply within 24 hours to MDA’s directions to remove content that is found to be in breach of content standards. The only other additional requirement is that online news sites are required to put up a performance bond like all other individually-licensed broadcasters, and the sum of $50,000 is consistent with that required of niche TV broadcasters.

4. These updates in the licensing framework are part of MDA’s efforts to periodically review all policies, to ensure they are in line with industry and consumer developments.

Annex: List of Online News Sites which Require Individual Licence

1. asiaone.com
2. businesstimes.com.sg
3. channelnewsasia.com
4. omy.sg
5. sg.news.yahoo.com
6. stomp.com.sg
7. straitstimes.com
8. tnp.sg
9. todayonline.com
10. zaobao.com

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SGX Stock Update: Super Q1 Net Profit Grew 24%

Super Group Ltd is a stock which I like very much and has been tracking for several years now.  The company is a leading instant F&B with market dominance in SE Asia. It manufactures and distributes branded consumer products, primarily instant coffee, instant cereals and instant tea mixes products, for which it maintains top market positions in key markets throughout SE Asia.

1Q13  Results

Net profit increased 24% YoY to S$22.9m from S$18.5m

Sales up 9% YoY to S$132.4m from S$121.6m

Earnings per share up 25% to 3.97 cents

In line with the strategy of focusing on the Group’s core business, the Company entered into a

conditional sale and purchase agreement in May 2013 to dispose its 35.3% interest in Sun Resources Holdings Pte Ltd, an associated company engaging in property development. The total consideration amounted to $26m and will result in a gain of approximately S$16m upon completion. I viewed this as a good development because the group would then be able to focus on it core business and continue to enhance its brand.

The company has strong financial strength and coupled with its strong branding in SE Asia, I believe it can scale new heights within the next decade. Not vested at the moment.

Magically yours 

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GST exemption for Gold and Silver

The following information is extracted from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's e-Tax Guide.

With effect from 1 Oct 2012, the importation and supply of IPM in Singapore are exempt from GST. The supply of IPM which is exported continues to be zero-rated. However, only precious metals in the form of a bar, ingot, wafer and coin which meet certain criteria can qualify as IPM. To provide certainty, precious metal coins that qualify as IPM are prescribed in the GST Act. Precious metals which do not meet the criteria cannot qualify as IPM and the supply of non-IPM continues to be taxable. Examples of non-IPM are jewellery, scrap precious metals, numismatic coins and precious metals which are refined by refiners who are not on the "Good Delivery" list of the London Bullion Market Association or the London Platinum and Palladium Market.

Criteria for IPM bar, ingot and wafer
To qualify for GST exemption, the precious metal must meet all of the following criteria:
(a) It is gold of at least 99.5% purity, silver of at least 99.9% purity or platinum of at least 99% purity.
(b) It is capable of being traded on the international bullion market.
A precious metal bar, ingot or wafer refined by a refiner with the following accreditation/ endorsement is regarded as meeting this criterion:

(i) For gold and silver, a refiner in the current or former "Good Delivery" list of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)

(ii) For platinum, a refiner in the current or former "Good Delivery" list of the London Platinum & Palladium Market (LPPM)

(iii) A refiner who intends to be in the "Good Delivery" list of the LBMA (for gold and silver) or LPPM (for platinum) and is endorsed by the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore. Refiners with such endorsement will be published on IRAS website.

It is based on LBMA and LPPM accreditations because the precious metals produced by refiners with such accreditation are widely recognised by the industry as having the requisite quality to be traded on international bullion markets and they are readily accepted for delivery on many international commodities exchanges.

(c) It bears a mark or characteristic that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing its quality.
An example of such a mark is the hallmark of a refiner in the "Good Delivery" list of the LBMA/ LPPM stamped on the bar, ingot or wafer.

(d) It trades at a price based on the spot price of the metal it contains.

How to determine if a precious metal bar, ingot or wafer qualifies as IPM?
Typically, the following details will be reflected on the surface of the precious metal:
(a) the name of the refiner and/or the refiner‟s hallmark;
(b) the purity of the precious metal; and
(c) the type of precious metal (e.g. gold, silver or platinum).

Criteria for IPM coin
IPM coin is exempt based on criteria similar to those for IPM bar, ingot and wafer. Coins that qualify for GST exemption must be gold of at least 99.5% purity, silver of at least 99.9% purity or platinum of at least 99% purity; and is or was a legal tender in its country of origin. To provide certainty to businesses, coins that can qualify as IPM will be prescribed under the Fourth Schedule to the GST Act. They are:

List of qualifying gold coins  
(i) America Buffalo
(ii) Australia Kangaroo Nugget
(iii) Australia Lunar
(iv) Austria Philharmoniker
(v) Canada Maple Leaf
(vi) China Panda
(vii) Malaysia Kijang Emas
(viii) Mexico Libertad
(ix) Singapore Lion

List of qualifying silver coins  
(i) America Eagle
(ii) Australia Kookaburra
(iii) Australia Koala
(iv) Australia Lunar
(v) Austria Philharmoniker
(vi) Canada Maple Leaf
(vii) China Panda
(viii) Mexico Libertad

List of qualifying platinum coins

(i) America Eagle
(ii) Australia Koala
(iii) Australia Platypus
(iv) Canada Maple Leaf

Coins that are not in the prescribed list cannot qualify as IPM. Examples of non-IPM coins are proof and numismatic coins that are usually traded at prices largely determined by their rarity, finishing and beauty. The importation and supply of such non-IPM coins continue to be taxable.

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An angry comment from a reader

Attached below is a comment from one of my readers in response to my post "Why I don't believe in financial advisor". I feel that there is a need to clarify my position and let my readers know more about my background. I work in the aviation industry and has never worked in the financial sector before. The articles in this blog are a collection of my thoughts and personal experiences. Readers must not miscontrue the articles in this blog as financial advices.

My thinking is that you don't have to be a qualified financial analyst in order to point out the inherent flaws of the financial sector. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can do so. For many years, job titles like "financial advisors" or "financial consultants" have been too loosely used in Singapore by many insurance agents who are only interested in selling expensive whole-life insurance policies. Instead of educating the public on buying term and investing the rest, these FA often hardsell unit trusts and whole-life insurances to unwitting customers. Very often, the customers' interest and needs are not met or aligned at all. To make matter worse, many FA are also not upfront with the commission or fees they are collecting from customers.

My vision is that Singaporeans can buy insurance policies directly from insurers without any middlemen at all. We all know that being a middleman is a lucrative trade because you are just providing a service and earn a commission through the process. But having a middleman often created a tradeoff and the result is that customers ended up paying more. So do away with insurance agents and any third part independent financial advisors. Today, with online technology so advanced, everyone should be able to buy online easily from insurance companies. Why do Singaporeans have to go through FA to buy insurance policies/unit trusts and pay more?

Could you elaborate more about your following statement:

"Financial advisors need to provide value-added services and educate clients on investing. Selling financial products alone will not help clients to improve their investment knowledge at all."

Are you suggesting financial advisers start to operate as equity investment firms that conduct seminars to their clients? I do know of at least a firm that is doing that successfully in Singapore. However the average consumer in need of some basic insurance/retirement planning would all probably have to adopt a DYI approach as fees can cost between $2,000 - $5,000 a year before commissions for a qualified financial advisor who is able to value add by ur definitions.

By the way, have you been a financial advisor yourself? There are certainly inherent problems in the industry that needs to be resolved. Do agree that many FA now are sales oriented however do feel your comments are a bit lopsided.

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Government confirmed that Singaporeans are discriminated in the financial industry

Last week, I read a Straits Times article on "Government to boost pool of local finance experts". Apparently, PM Lee was the guest-of-honour at the official opening of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC). Incidentally, I was at MBFC last month to meet up with Zane Lim from BullionStar Singapore. The office was indeed impressive and I thought that to be able to rent such expensive facility in the business hub, BullionStar must be doing quite well.

In the article, the government announced plans to groom more local talents in the finance sector. The goal is to build up a local core to fill up the specialists and leadership positions. The article did not specify details on how the government is going to implement this initiative and instead stated motherhood statements from the government. Apparently, this move came about after Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin announced in March that the government was tackling discrimination against Singaporeans in the financial industry. I find that this is a very sad case for Singaporeans. The finance sector is supposed to be one of the most well paid industry in Singapore and to be discriminated by foreigners in our own country is a total disgrace. Obviously if Singaporeans migrate to overseas, they can expect to be treated as 2nd class citizens, but to be discriminated in our own land really takes the cake. Foreigners are supposed to add value to Singapore by bringing them their expertise and performing jobs which Singaporeans don't have capabilities. Somehow, this is often not the case, at least at the ground level. We see many foreigners competing with locals for jobs that Singaporeans can actually perform, we see Singaporeans being given the snub because they have National Service liabilities, we see foreign supervisors favoring their own countrymen when recruiting employees, we see Singaporeans being rejected for good paying jobs because foreigners are cheaper, the list just goes on.

Whilst I admit that Singapore needs to anchor foreign MNCs to set up their bases here in order to continue attracting foreign investments, the desired outcome must be to create good paying jobs for Singaporeans. Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of luring foreign companies to invest in Singapore. Far too often, I read or heard of cases of MNCs employing many foreign managers and rank-and-file workers. Singaporeans were often given the cold shoulders because we were deemed too expensive. This is definitely not a healthy development and something must be done to address this negative social trend before it gets out of hand. Already, Singapore is seeing a growing group of PMETs being unemployed in their 40s and 50s. It's high time that government do something drastic to enforce companies to employ more Singaporeans. I hope more can be done to help Singaporeans rather than Singapore's economy.

Magically yours

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Stock Update: Biosensors Receives CE Mark Approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex™

Below is a press release from Biosensors. SG Web Reviews has been monitoring the company for quite sometimes and is of the opinion that Biosensor has a lot of potential to grow. Just like Apple, Biosensors has the ability to cannabalise its older products, which is a hallmark of a forward-looking innovative companies. Not vested in this counter.

Biosensors International Group, Ltd. ("Biosensors" or the "Company", Bloomberg: BIG SP; Reuters: BIOS.SI; SGX: B20), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative medical devices, has announced CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex™, the latest addition to the BioMatrix family of drug-eluting stents (DES). BioMatrix NeoFlex features a new advanced stent delivery system, improving pushability, trackability and crossability. It also has a lower lesion entry profile than its predecessor.

BioMatrix NeoFlex retains the same unique combination of abluminal biodegradable polymer coating, proprietary limus drug Biolimus A9™ (BA9™) and flexible platform which has made the BioMatrix stent family an increasingly popular choice of DES in the global markets where it is available.

The landmark LEADERS trial demonstrated the ‘Gold Standard’ performance of BioMatrix Flex™, and the baton has now been passed to the next generation in the form of BioMatrix NeoFlex, equipped with all the attributes of its successful predecessor, together with improved deliverability.

Results from the final five-year LEADERS data, presented at TCT 2012, demonstrated that BioMatrix Flex significantly reduced the risk of clinical events in the very late phase, and showed a significant reduction in very late stent thrombosis (VLST), compared with Cypher® Select™.

"CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex represents another important step forward for the BioMatrix brand, improving our flagship product yet further with enhanced deliverability ", commented Jeffrey B. Jump, President of Biosensors’ Cardiovascular Division. "Since the launch of the original BioMatrix in 2008, we have been the driving force in biodegradable polymer stent technology: BioMatrix NeoFlex will enable us to retain this position."

BioMatrix NeoFlex will be rolled out in all CE Mark global markets over the coming months.

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Preparing for the worst

If you thought that preparing for the worst is all about buying life insurance policies from your financial advisors, then you were wrong.

My dad passed away early this year. It was unexpected and my family was totally unprepared for his demise. Like many Singaporeans, my father did not plan his estate distribution and left without a Will. So we had some problems trying to close his bank saving accounts. We were also initially unsure how to claim his CPF monies. Thankfully CPF Board wrote to us and informed that he had made a CPF nomination many years ago, so we were able to withdraw his CPF monies within weeks. The lesson learned out of this episode is to have a proper planning for financial matters while you are still around. It is important that you set clear directions on how you want the money which you worked hard for in your life to be distributed according to your wishes after you passed on.

Intestate Succession Act
In the absence of a Will, your assets will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession law. The rules are rather inflexible and sometimes, your estate might not be allocated according to your wish. That is, your money might not go to the people whom you feel need it most. For example, if your wife and children are financially independent, you might want to provide for your elderly parents instead.

Under the Act, in the absence of a Will, your estate will be distributed according to the below:
1) Spouse only: 100%
2) Spouse and child: 50% Spouse and child
3) Spouse and parents: 50% Spouse and parents
4) Brothers and sisters only: 100%
5) Grandparents only: 100%
6) Uncles and aunts only: 100%
7) Government: 100%

Plan ahead to avoid conflicts
Having a Will can certainly minimize unnecessary complications after you have passed on. It is about being responsible to your loved ones and ensuring that the people you care about receive your money in the manner you want them to. Your will must set out your wishes clearly, so it is advisable for you to seek legal advice when preparing your Will. This is to ensure its validity. Planning ahead will not only protect your interests but also reduce the stress on your loved ones. So do plan your estate and make your CPF nominations now. Don't procrastinate. Take action.

Magically yours

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Value Stocks in Singapore: Boustead has 10 Consecutive Years of Dividend

Not many listed companies in Singapore can claim to have more than 100 years of history. Boustead belongs to this handful group of companies. Boustead is a progressive global Engineering Services & Geo-Spatial Technology Group offering an extensive range of specialized engineering services and geo-spatial solutions. Its suite of engineering services is geared to fulfil the demands of specialized engineering fields such as energy-related engineering (for oil & gas / petrochemicals and solid waste energy recovery), water & wastewater engineering and industrial real estate solutions. Under its geo-spatial technology arm, the Group provides consulting services and distribute ESRI geo-spatial technology to major markets across Australia, South East Asia and South Asia.

Dividend History
Although Boustead has no formal dividend policy, it has a tradition of paying dividends linked to long-term net profit growth.  Boustead has achieved respectable growth in dividends over the past ten years, with a compounded annual growth rate of 21% over that period.

Their history of annual dividend payments includes:
1)Ten consecutive years of dividend payments;
2) Growth in the ordinary dividend to 5 cents per share in FY2012 after maintaining the ordinary dividend at 4 cents per share for four consecutive years; and
3) Paying a total of 33.75 cents in cash dividends over ten consecutive years, equivalent to almost 200% of the purchase price of the Boustead share at 17 cents at the beginning of FY2003.

Financial Strength
I like Boustead because it is financially strong with net current assets of $150million and has consistently paid out dividends to shareholders for the last ten years. It is well managed with sound corporate strategies. However, given the current high valuation climax in Singapore market, I would only purchase this stock during market correction.

Magically yours

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BullionStar Singapore's Gold & Silver Products

BullionStar offers brand new gold bars from well-renowned LBMA certified producers. The manufacturers BullionStar works with include Heraeus and PAMP Suisse.
Renowned for 160 + years, BullionStar’s partner mint Heraeus produces gold bars from 1 gram to 1 kilogram

BullionStar is also proud to offer bullion products from PAMP Suisse, one of the world’s leading bullion brands well known for its attractively designed products.

Silver Bars are available in sizes from 31,1 gram (1 troy oz) to 31,1 kg (1000 troy oz). BullionStar offers different LBMA certified brands including Heraeus, PAMP Suisse, Royal Canadian Mint & Johnson Matthey bars.
For a larger investment in silver, BullionStar offers very attractive silver bars in the sizes of 1 kg, 100 oz and 1000 oz.

Even for the astute investor, it might be worthwhile to also consider gold coins rather than only gold bars. Some of the following advantages can be attributed to gold coins compared to gold bars.
- Coins are more suitable in a scenario where precious metals return as money or means of payment.
- Small units carry higher premiums when shortages appear.
- Coins can be sold or consumed individually.

BullionStar carries a wide assortment of different gold coins in different sizes.
Silver coins is the most popular investment in silver. A lot of people choose to buy e.g. a monster box of 500 silver coins rather than a few large bars thus making coins a good alternative also for larger investors. Silver Coins are also a popular gift and due to the cheap cost of silver compared to gold, it is possible to hold a substantial amount of silver for a low cost.

BullionStar offers all the popular brands of silver coins such as Silver Eagles and Silver Maples.

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The Silver Bull Market: Investing in the Other Gold

In The Silver Bull Market: Investing in the Other Gold, Shayne McGuire examines the vital investment considerations about silver alongside the significant drivers of the metal's bull market. Although silver moves closely with gold in financial markets, it differs from its sister metal in that more than half of demand is derived from multiple industrial processes. While its significant reliance on film photography has ended, today silver's industrial demand is driven by technological progress (brazing alloys and solders, smart phones, tablets, plasma panels and new applications like silk-screened circuit paths and radio frequency ID tags); photovoltaics (solar panels); and new medical applications (silver is both biocidal and highly conductive).

Though Warren Buffett disdains gold for its lack of utility, he regards silver differently: in the late 1990s, he purchased 130 million ounces, one-fifth of global production at the time. After outperforming virtually all other investment classes for more than a decade, gold is being reincorporated into the financial system as an asset deserving a position, large or small, in mainstream diversified portfolios. Leaving aside the metal's rediscovered diversification benefits (it tends to go in the opposite direction when stocks go down sharply), gold has risen as a viable investment alternative in today's environment of unhinged global government spending and monetary expansion. While silver has risen as well—even more than its sister metal over the last decade—it has remained gold's shadow investment for important reasons. For one, its smaller market and higher volatility have kept most financial professionals away, as the metal is often regarded as a highly erratic investment best left to speculators. There is also the memory of the 1980s and '90s bear market, precipitated, in part, by the illegal attempt by two wealthy families to corner the silver market, which led to the metal's darkest day, March 27, 1980. While gold has more than doubled in value since its 1980 peak, silver remains substantially below the all-time high it reached more than three decades ago.

Manager of the first gold fund launched within the U.S. pension system and author of two books about gold investment, McGuire, outlines what he regards as 13 key drivers of silver investment for the years ahead, including its deep connection to the ongoing electronic revolution (as a key industrial input), its strong correlation with gold, and its high sensitivity to an increase in potential inflation in the future. He provides an investment history of the metal, which considers the key reasons for its separation from gold in the 19th century, the impact of the decline of film photography, as well as the end of the 1970s bull market. McGuire also thoroughly examines the risks related to silver investment, particularly its higher volatility than gold and its behavior at key financial moments that have affected the investment.

The Silver Bull Market is now available nationwide at all major bookshops and popular online e-book retailers. For a list of retailers that are available in your location, visit: www.wiley.com/buy/9781118383698.

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New CPF & Medisave adjustments higher than inflation rates

Below is a government press release announcing the changes in the CPF Minimum Sum and Medisave Minimum Sum. The increase in the CPF MS represented a 6.5% increase and the Medisave MS represented a 5.1% increase from 2012. Note that both rates are much higher than the core inflation rates in Singapore 2012.

Whilst I understand that the adjustments are necessary to help Singaporeans meet their retirement and healthcare needs, I question the need to peg the adjustments at a rate higher than the inflation rate. Why is there a need to set aside so much money in our CPF Retirement and Medisave accounts? Does it really help and benefit Singaporeans? If so, why set so many restrictions for medical claims from our Medisave accounts? The money in our Medisave Account belongs to us, so why restrict us from using it for medical costs? Obviously I am concerned as I am in my early thirties and at the rate it is going, the Minimum Sums could be half a million by the time I retire. I really hate to think that after slogging for decades, I cannot even touch or smell my hardearned CPF monies.

CPF Minimum Sum
CPF members who turn 55 between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014 will need to set aside a Minimum Sum (MS) of $148,000 in their Retirement Account (RA). The MS for 2012 was $139,000. The MS has been adjusted over the years to account for inflation, longer life expectancies and Singaporeans' rising expectations of their quality of life post-retirement. The MS is targeted to reach $120,000 (2003$¹) in 2015.

Medisave Minimum Sum and Medisave Contribution Ceiling
The Medisave Minimum Sum (MMS) is the amount that a person turning 55 needs to set aside in his old age for his own or his dependants' healthcare expenses and basic MediShield and ElderShield premiums. Regular MMS adjustments are necessary to help Singaporeans meet their long-term healthcare needs. From 1 July 2013,

a. The Medisave Minimum Sum (MMS) will be raised to $40,500 from $38,500. Members will be able to withdraw their Medisave savings in excess of the MMS at or after age 55.

b. The maximum balance a member may have in his Medisave Account, known as the Medisave Contribution Ceiling (MCC), is set at $5,000 above MMS and this would be increased correspondingly to $45,500, from $43,500.

Any Medisave contribution in excess of the current MCC will be transferred to the member's Special Account if he is below age 55 or to his RA if he is above age 55 and has a MS shortfall.

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The BullionStar Review: Good time to buy physical gold?

SG Web Reviews is pleased to conduct another interview with BullionStar Singapore on gold investments.

SWR: Recently, gold prices has dipped quite a lot. In your view, do you think its only a correction or the start of a bear trend for gold?

Many relate the slump in gold prices due to the recovering US economy and news that the Feds are easing on their QE programs. Other factors include China, being a net importer of gold, not performing as well economically as expected and Cyprus selling its gold reserves to clear its debts. However, as investors are dumping "paper" gold in the market, we are experiencing a completely opposite environment here in the physical precious metals market. People are rushing in to buy physical precious metals to take advantage of the low prices right now to the extent that the mints/refineries are not producing enough to meet demands. We are looking at a 6-8 weeks lead time upon ordering and premiums are increasing because of the rise in demand.  With such heavy buying in the physical market, it will only be a matter of time when the investors and traders become bullish on gold again and start to push the price of gold up. 

SWR: A good time to buy gold?
It's always hard to pin point a good time to buy gold. Gold prices were USD 300-500 per troy ounce in the 80s. So does that mean to say we have missed the boat? One thing for sure is that gold has stood the test of time for over 6000 years, no fiat currency has ever manage to do that. Gold has always retained, if not increased, its purchasing power. Having said that, given the recent drop in prices, yes this is definitely a good window to purchase precious metals.

SWR: There are several other online bullion shops in Singapore, like Silverbulion.com and Goldsilvercentral.com, what makes BullionStar.com stands out from the other competitors? How do overseas investors purchase from BullionStar.com?
BullionStar aims to be the premier bullion dealer not only in Singapore, but to the world. With our user friendly website, making purchases for bullion has never been easier and our strong presence on the internet allows to reach out to customers all over the world. At BullionStar, we always aim to provide the best customer service to our clients and offering bullion at the most competitive prices. 

Magically yours

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The Value Investors: Lessons from the World's Top Fund Managers

When I was approached to do a book review on "The Value Investors: Lessons from the World's Top Fund Managers" last year, I was quite hesitant because I don't believe in fund managements. As a self-style investor, I prefer a more hands on approach to investing. Even if I lose my monies, at least I learnt some lessons out of my investment mistakes. However, when I chanced upon a review by another fellow blogger, I changed my mind.

Apparently this book is an investment-biography book which features interviews of twelve value-investing legends from around the world, learning how their personal background, culture, and life experiences have shaped their investment mindset and strategy. These men, who became strong advocates of the approach despite considerable age and cultural differences, include: Mark Mobius, Irving Kahn, William Browne, Teng Ngiek Lian, V-Nee Yeh, Shuhei Abe and many more.

The book's focus is on the investment techniques and approach of value investing. The content is engaging and unravels how these investors, each of whom has a unique value perspective, have consistently beaten the stock market over the years. The book attempts to answer some pressing questions such as “Do these value-investing legends share a trait that allows this to happen?”, “Is there a winning temperament that turns the ordinary investor into an extraordinary one?” and much more.

‘The Value Investors’ is for individual investors who wish to diversify their portfolio across different asset classes or geographically or wish to understand how they can master the balance between art and science in investing.

For more information, visit: http://as.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118339290,descCd-buy.html

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Singapore Dividend Stocks: Making Passive Income

Below is an article from guest blogger, Richard who works as a stock analyst and has 3 years of experience in the stock market. He likes to write articles and hope to share his experiences with investors in Singapore If you would like additional SGX Dividend Stocks data, information or screening tools, please visit website http://sg.dividendinvestor.com, a leading source for in-depth research and analysis for stock investments.

One of the best ways to diversify a dividend growth portfolio is investing internationally. Singapore is an excellent country in which investors can look for the companies that have a stable earnings and long history of dividend growth. There are several reasons behind it such as: Singapore’s companies have benefits of easy access to the world’s second largest economy, China, as well as many other growing economies in Southeast Asia, region, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

DBS Group Holding Ltd (SGX: D05) –

DBS Group Holding Limited is an investment holding company in Singapore. The company operates through its main subsidiary DBS Bank Ltd. This bank is engages in the provision of retail, small and medium-sized enterprise, corporate and investment banking services. The company’s institutional banking provides to its institutional clients the financial services and products. The company’s subsidiary, DBS Bank Ltd had established a wholly owned subsidiary in December 2012.

The company has a market capitalization of 38.26 Billion, EPS is 1.56, P/E ratio is 10.07 and dividend yield is 3.57 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.28.

Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4) –

Keppel Corporation Limited is an investment holding and management company that is based in Singapore. The company is engaged in the marine, property and infrastructure business. It operates in four segments: Offshore and marine, Infrastructure, Property and Investments. Keppel Corporation Limited was founded in 1968.

It has a market capitalization of 20.12 Billion, EPS is 1.24, P/E ratio is 9.04 and the dividend yield is currently 4.03 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.27.

SembCorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96) –

SembCorp Industries Ltd is a Singaporean company that is engaged in the production and supply of utility services, terminal ling and storage of petroleum products and chemicals. The company is operating in four segments. In April 2013, the company opened a woodchip-fuelled biomass steam production plant. In July 2012, its wholly owned subsidiary, sembawang capital, divested its entire 20% shareholding in Arian Engineering Corporation.

SembCorp Industries Limited has a market capitalization of 9.05 Billion, EPS is 0.42, P/E ratio is 12.11 and the current dividend yield is 2.96 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.15.

SMRT Corporation (SGX: S53) –

SMRT Corporation is an investment holding company in Singapore. It is the second largest public-transport company in Singapore and listed in Singapore Exchange since July 26, 2000. It operates in seven segments: Rail operations segment, Bus operations segment, Taxi operations segment, Rental segment, advertising segment, engineering and other service segment. In October 2012, its subsidiary, SMRT investments Pte. Limited incorporated SMRT Alpha Pte. Ltd.

The company has a market capitalization of 2.31 billion, EPS is 0.07, P/E ratio is 21.20 and the dividend yield is currently 4.74 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.01.

Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX: F99) –

Fraser and Neave, limited is Singapore-based Company that engages in the sale and production of beverages like soft drinks, beer and tout and dairy products, printing and publishing, development and investment in property. The company owns a portfolio of reputable brands including F&N, 100 Plus and F&N SEASONS for Beverages, and F&N MANGOLIA, F&N NUTRISOY and F&N FRUIT TREES FRESH FOR DIARIES. It is also engaged in property development, property investment, serviced residences and investment funds.

Fraser and Neave Limited Company has a market capitalization of 13.59 Billion, EPS is 0.49, P/E ratio 19.18 and the current dividend yield is 1.91 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.12.

For further information related to best dividend stocks in Singapore, please visit the site http://sg.dividendinvestor.com/

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