SG Wealth Builder

Make money. Build Wealth. Preserve Wealth

Year: 2014

Gold; Bitcoins 

BullionStar calls for a clear regulatory framework regarding Bitcoin

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Below is an article published with permission from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. SG Wealth Builder believes that no matter what assets you invested in, the only way to make money and become rich is to adopt a contrarian approach. Gold witnessed a major correction since last year and the price has become stagnant ever since. Investors should seize the opportunity to accumulate now before gold becomes expensive again.
BullionStar was set up in the fall of 2012 in the light of a GST exemption coming in to place in Singapore. Offering a wide range of precious metal products, and the ability to store the purchased products in one of the safest jurisdictions in the world, we have seen substantial growth in a very short period of time.We believe in making it as easy as possible for our customers to buy and store almost any amount of gold and silver whether your a small saver or large investor. We have achieved this by offering a one-stop end-to-end solution for purchasing and storing gold, silver and platinum at very competitive prices. We offer a wide assortment of physical bullion products including our unique Vault Gram® solution which offers a low threshold for anyone that wishes to start saving in physical precious metals.
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Gold 

Why Singaporeans should invest in gold bullion

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This week, an article by Reuters reported that gold jewellery exports by India is expected to grow by 25% in the year to March 2015. This is an impressive figure given that last year, the Indian government raised the import duty to a record 10 percent and also make it mandatory for merchants to export 20 per cent of the imported gold. In Asia, various data released by gold analysts indicated that China and India will continue to be the leading consumers for gold. The key reason for Asian’s fascination for gold is because the Chinese and Indians understand the value of gold as a means to preserve wealth.

Over in Singapore, the government is beginning to appreciate the role of gold bullion in the investment fraternity and has been implementing policies to develop Singapore as a metal trading hub for gold. In 2012, the government removed 7 percent GST from investment-grade precious metals, hoping to spur Singaporean’s demand for gold.

BullionStar CEO

As a result of this policy shift, many gold dealers, such as BullionStar, has set up shop in Singapore. For many international and domestic investors seeking safe haven for their precious metals, Singapore is considered one of the best choices because of its reputation for being a safe country with low crime rate.

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Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

How to become rich through property auctions in Singapore

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Many Singaporeans want to make money and become rich quick but very few bother to acquire the investment knowledge needed to build wealth. Recently, there was an online article in Yahoo Singapore which illustrated how a Singaporean managed to afford a HDB flat despite having little investment knowledge and drawing an average salary. Apparently, he shared that the landed property was bought for a low price because it was a bank fire sale. He further shared that bank sales can be a good source of deals and revealed that he made a profit of $850,000 after selling it in 2011.

After reading the article, I was really impressed by how he built his wealth and was also heartened that he unselfishly shared his money secrets to Singaporeans . Unfortunately, there were many cynical and negative remarks given by readers in the Yahoo website. Many of them were jealous of his achievement and took the chance to throw brick bats at government policies that restricted them from becoming rich through property investments. Usually these naysayers are those people that would never ever become rich because they don’t appreciate good advices given to them for free.

Singaporeans must realize that to become rich, you must adopt the habits of rich people and arm yourself with knowledge.

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salaries 

Civil Service Mid Year Bonuses

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 Mid-Year Annual Variable Component of 0.5-month for all civil servantsIn addition:

Division IV officers to receive a wage increase of $70 in monthly salary, and
Division III officers to receive a wage increase of $30 in monthly salary, over and above their annual increment in 2014.

The Singapore economy grew by 4.9% on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2014, unchanged from the growth recorded in the preceding quarter. Global economic growth is expected to improve in 2014, supported by continued recovery in the US and the Eurozone. The overall unemployment rate in Singapore remained low at 2.1% in March 2014.

Against this backdrop, the Government has decided to pay a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5-month.
The Government also supports the National Wages Council’s (NWC) recommendation to grant a built-in wage increase to raise the wages of low-wage workers. 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 2014.

Division IV civil servants will receive a built-in wage increase of $70 in their monthly salaries. This will benefit around 3,500 Division IV civil servants. Division III civil servants will receive a built-in wage increase of $30 in their monthly salaries.

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SG Wealth Builder
Career management; investments 

Why you should not quit without a job in Singapore

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Recently I read that one of the fellow bloggers has resigned without a job. When I saw his article, I immediately commented to him that doing so was a terrible career move. Obviously people resigned for various reasons. The push factors could be because of bad bosses, poor company culture, lack of motivation to work or being overlooked for promotion. Whatever the reason it might be, you should never quit without a job, unless you are cocksure that you are going to be your own boss. Ten years ago, I made this career mistake, so now, I am going to share my experiences to young folks who feel like quitting from their jobs. Read on before you take the plunge.

Ten years ago
I resigned from my first job almost ten years ago, after deciding that I had enough of the stressful manufacturing environment I was in. As a young engineer, I could not imagine spending the rest of my career doing the mundane stuff I was doing. The pay was not bad, but not good enough for me to do over-time every week. So after quitting, I was very relieved and ready to venture out to another new job. I went for a few job interviews and the first question that the hiring bosses asked would be why I resigned from my previous company without a job.

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Personal finance
Money management; personal finance 

Singaporeans’ misconceptions on the CPF System

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Last Saturday, there was a protest against the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, drawing almost 3,000 people at Hong Lim Park. During the protest, the speakers demanded amongst many things, a better CPF interest payout, the allowance to draw out their CPF savings at 55 years old and to be able to opt out of CPF Life. The protest highlighted certain misconceptions on the CPF System which I find worrying for fellow Singaporeans. Obviously most Singaporeans don’t understand how to manage their monies.

Higher returns, higher risks

According to the CPF website, an additional 1% interest will continue to be paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances, with up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account (OA). The additional interest received on the OA will go into the member’s Special Account or Retirement Account to enhance his retirement savings.
Personal finance
If a member is above 55 years old and participates in the CPF LIFE scheme, the additional 1% interest will still be earned on his combined balances, which includes the savings used for CPF LIFE. Savings in the Special and Medisave Account (SMA) currently earn either 4% or the 12-month average yield of 10-year Singapore Government Securities (10YSGS) plus 1%, whichever is the higher.
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Book review; investment 

The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lesson from the Greatest Traders

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Being a value investor, I buy shares of growth stocks at a price below or near it’s intrinsic value. Even though I am not a trader, I believe it is important to keep an open mind and understand the insights and strategies of traders. This is because  whether you like it or not, there will always be speculators and traders in the markets. Their behaviors and actions will invariably affect market performances and impact the way you make money in the markets.

In The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lesson from the Greatest Traders by Jack Schwager, I realized that there are many relevant investment principles that are useful for investors and wealth builders. For example, to be a successful trader, you need to manage your ego and develop a set of trading methodology that best suits your character. The important thing to note is that losing money is part of process and you can never win all the times. This principle is applicable to investing as well. Most traders and investors lose money in the stock market because they try to avoid losing money. On the other hand, professional traders who become rich from stock market understand that they have to take losses in order to win the game.

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Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

How much are you saving on property by riding the North-South MRT?

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SG Wealth Builder is pleased to form a partnership with SRX Singapore Property to bring you the latest information on how to build your wealth through property in Singapore. Below article is based on information provided by SRX Research and readers must not interpret it as a form of financial advice. Check out how to be a successful wealth builder in Singapore.

Yesterday, you moved into a 1,000 square foot condo in Novena.

Today, you board the North-South line for your office at Raffles Place.  For every minute you are on the MRT, you have saved $81,479 on the purchase of your home compared to someone who has purchased a comparable unit within a kilometer of Raffles Place.

$81,479 a minute.

For the first time in your life, you wish you had a longer commute.  In your case, Novena is 11 minutes from Raffles Place.  You saved a total quantum of $896,269 by living within a kilometer of Novena MRT.

$896,269.  Not bad for an 11 minute commute.  And, think of how productive you were in those 11 minutes.  You probably read the Today paper and answered your emails.

Or, perhaps, you listened to some music while you dreamed of how you’re going to spend the $896,269. 

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Money management; personal finance 

How to get your CPF monies before you turn 55

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Recently, there are a lot of debates on the merits of CPF Minimum Sum (MS) Scheme. Many Singaporeans are upset that the CPF MS has increased yet again and there are certainly anxiety among Singaporeans who are concerned whether they are able to retire comfortably. This has prompted Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin to come out and defend the CPF system.Well, let us be clear what CPF MS is all about. According to the CPF website, “The CPF Minimum Sum (MS) Scheme provides members with a monthly income to support a basic standard of living during retirement. For members who are unable to set aside the full MS in cash, their property bought with their CPF savings will be automatically pledged, for up to half of their MS. Members may also join CPF LIFE with their MS so that they may have a stream of income for life. Alternatively, they may continue to keep their MS with the CPF Board to earn 4% interest per annum currently. The interest rate is revised yearly.”
The reason why many Singaporeans are disgruntled over the rising CPF MS is because they thought that their savings would be locked in their CPF account forever and their money could not be extracted early or prematurely.
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Gold 

BullionStar: The Chinese Gold Rush continues

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Below is an article published with permission from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. SG Wealth Builder always believe that every wealth builder should have bullion in their portfolio. Over the long run, the outlook for gold is still bright, especially in Asia context.
 While 2013 was an exceptional year for gold demand in Asia, with shortages of minted physical gold bullion products and gold itself, according to some, 2014 continues to show robust gold demand according to the World Gold Council’s Q1 report.At BullionStar, we can testify about the growth in gold demand that we have seen in the last year. Whereas investors in the Western economies have shunned gold because it carries no yield or return on investment, regional physical demand in South East Asia has been very strong and is spurred by other factors.

Asian Gold Mindset
The Asian mindset to gold is different from in West says Managing Director of the World Gold Council, Mr. Albert Cheng, at the presentation of the World Gold Council’s publication “Q1 Gold Demand Trends” to which BullionStar was grateful to be invited. Many Asians view gold as a conservative way of saving.

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Manulife US REIT
Career management 

Important skill

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In my previous posting, I highlighted that the most important skill that every employee must acquire is the ability to sell. You can be a sales manager, engineer or accountant in your organization but no matter what your job scope is, it is important to know how to profile yourself and be seen as able to sell your ideas effectively to your colleagues.
But then again, to be successful in our careers, what other skill-sets are needed? Recently, BBC wrote to me and asked me to write an article on what is considered to be the most important skill. I thought hard about it and decided to blog down some of my thoughts with regard to the skill indispensable for people just entering into the workforce.
Singapore economy
Many people claim that they understand the importance of prioritizing their work but not many know how to practice it effectively. For fresh graduates just entering the workforce, mastering the art of work prioritization is of utmost importance. This is especially so in Singapore context, where employees are expected to multi-task and take on additional assignments not related to their core duties. Those with positive mindset may treat such challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
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Career management; investments 

Jobstreet.com: Singaporeans not ready for retirement

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The following article is published with permission from Jobstreet.com, a leading online job site presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam. The survey done by Jobstreet.com revealed that Singaporeans are financially not ready for retirement. I am not surprised by the results of the survey at all because in general, I find that Singaporeans tend to procrastinate or avoid planning for their retirement. Many Singaporeans don’t appreciate the importance of building wealth early on in their career journey and the worst thing is that many of them are lazy or cannot even be bothered to study the art of making money. Singaporeans have to wake up to their idea that if they chose to work for others, which is nothing inherently wrong, then they must learn how to invest to ensure that they can enjoy their retirement.

With the increase in life expectancy in Singapore, senior workers are considering to postpone their retirement beyond the country’s statutory minimum retirement age of 62 years old. JobStreet.com recently conducted a survey to find out if employers in Singapore are willing to accommodate them. Responses were gathered from 150 employers and 1,400 Singaporean workers aged 40 years and above .

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Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

Property Cooling Measures Freeze District 9

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SG Wealth Builder is pleased to form a partnership with SRX Singapore Property to bring you the latest information on how to build your wealth through property in Singapore. Below article is based on information provided by SRX Research and readers must not interpret it as a form of financial advice. Check out how to be a successful wealth builder in Singapore.The below data vindicated the principles that Property Soul has been trying to highlight in her book ““No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth through Properties”. Before you decide to buy a second property, ask yourself whether you want to live in it or rent it out for investment purposes. It is important that you are clear of the purpose because the consideration factors for buying a house for living and for investment purposes are very different. No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets To Building Wealth Through Properties is available now in major bookstores such as Popular, Kinokuniya and Times.

If you want to see out how impactful the government’s cooling measures, look no further than District 9.

According to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), the median Transactions-over-X Value (T-O-X) for District 9, which consists of Orchard, Cairnhill, and River Valley, was NEGATIVE $130,000.
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Gold; silver 

The risks of Silver

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In many of my previous articles, I have always encouraged Singaporeans to buy precious metals such as gold and silver bullion as a means to build up wealth in Singapore. This is because I have always believed that wealth is more secure in the long run when invested in physical bullion than in the current stock market, which I think is long overdue for a massive correction. But the perennial question is: is it worthwhile to buy silver or gold bullion? How do you build wealth with silver and gold bullion? To answer this question, it is important that Singaporeans understand the risks involved in silver investments.

Many novice investors thought that prices of silver tend to go in tandem with gold. This is not true and history has validated this point. During the Great Depression in the early 1930s, many people were buying gold to preserve their wealth, resulting in surging gold prices. But surprisingly, silver demand declined sharply during that period. Also, during the Civil War in America during 1860s, silver fell while other commodities like steel and rice soared. So the gist is that unlike gold, silver should not be mistaken as a form of wealth preservation during turbulent times.

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Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

Property Investment: Location. Location. Location.

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SG Wealth Builder is pleased to form a partnership with SRX Singapore Property to bring you the latest information on how to build your wealth through property in Singapore. Below article is based on information provided by SRX Research and readers must not interpret it as a form of financial advice. Check out how to be a wealth builder in Singapore!What are the three most important factors in determining the value of a home?  Location.  Location.  Location.
This is a very old real estate joke that has survived the years because there is so much truth in it.

Another piece of advice that has persisted through time is buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood you can afford.
Both of these ideas point to the fact that location is by far the most important of all the factors that determine the value of a home.  While the quality of a building and its interior impact price, it is the location that ultimately drives the value of a home.

For example, savvy buyers and investors are combing through Geylang in search of bargains that will rise in value as the area upgrades.  They see opportunities to buy at a dip in the price.

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Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

Cooling Measures Property Sale? Yes!

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SG Wealth Builder is pleased to form a partnership with SRX Singapore Property to bring you the latest information on property trend in Singapore. Below article is based on information provided by SRX Research and readers must not interpret it as a form of financial advice.

Many Singaporeans want to make money and become rich quick but very few bother to acquire the investment knowledge needed to build wealth. Check out how to be a wealth builder in Singapore!
In the world of shopping, it’s easy to spot a sale.  Big, bold red-lettered signs plastered all over stores’ windows, proclaiming huge discounts and savings!
But it’s not so simple in real estate.   To find a good deal, one needs to put in hard work and analysis.  To make matters worse, you must be brave enough to act before the herd mentality kicks in and recognizes the good deals, bidding the prices up.  It takes courage to buck the trend.
In February 2009 when the SRX Price Index (private, non-landed) was down 26% from the pre-financial crisis peak, there were some buyers who went into the market.
While the rest of the market was in a state of panic, these buyers did their homework. 
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Book review; investment Career management 

The New Retirementality

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http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118705122.htmlHave you ever wondered how to build your wealth effectively in Singapore? One of the latest additions to my blogroll was “Growing your tree of prosperity”. The author of that blog, Christopher Ng had apparently made enough money to quit from his engineering job and retired at the young age of 39. However, money is only one side of the equation. He is currently busy studying for a law degree to prepare himself for a second career in life. His story inspired me and resonate the teachings in Mitch Anthony’s The New Retirementality (ISBN: 978-1-118-70512-4)Originally written to get the attention of baby boomers, who were approaching 55, author Mitch Anthony started a revolution by showing people why they need to have a new attitude about retirement – a “new retirementality”. More than a decade later, many people are facing a very different retirement reality than previous generations – failing pensions, an endangered social security system, and inadequate savings. They have been forced to face the reality of a retirement that may never happen, or one that will take place much later in life than ever expected.

While most books focus on a “number”, this reliable resource shows readers that attitude is also an essential part of the equation.

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Stocks 

Why some Singaporeans are destined to be poor

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Whenever I flip through The Strait Times, there are so many get-rich quick seminars advertisements on forex trading. It seems that the advertisers are targeting the growing aspirations of middle-class Singaporeans seeking to build their wealth quickly through forex trading. These seminars are often marketed as “enrichment classes” with catchy tag lines such as “Mr X makes 2,000% profit in one month, so can you!” or “Mrs Y turned $2,000 into $50,000 in three weeks, so can you! Also, during the seminars, the modus operandi is to highlight the opportunity to retire young and the chance to earn extra income. The organisers would use hard-selling tactics and misled people into the false impression that the trading techniques can produce good money. In return, consumers had to pay thousands for these seminars or buy their in-house trading software.

I do not have the figures on the profile nor the number of Singaporeans who attended these forex trading seminars, but I suspect that many Singaporeans had already lost a lot of money from forex trading. This is a worrying trend which I think Singaporeans need to be aware of. Firstly, forex trading is a form of high risk activity as you are betting the future movement of currency exchange rates.

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Book review; Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices 

Property Soul: Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth Through Properties

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Many Singaporeans are obsessed with property investments but not many have been successful. Some have made a windfall, while many have lost a lot of money. Those who have become rich through property investments are reluctant to share their experiences and prefer to keep a low profile. This is understandable as who would want to reveal their secrets to building wealth? Therefore, I was a bit skeptical initially when Property Soul asked me to do a book review on her newly launched book “No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth through Properties”. I thought that she must be a property agent trying to market her services through publishing a book on real estate investments. But after a phone chat with her, I realized that I was wrong.

Property Soul was a Hong Konger who relocated to Singapore in 1998 (she subsequently converted to Singapore citizenship). She bought her first private property for rent in 2002 and within 4.5 years, managed to build up a portfolio of 5 properties. By 2008, her total investment value doubled. She sold 4 of her properties in 2010 and 2011 and made a handsome profit of 80 to 120 percent.

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Career management personal finance 

More PMETs retrenched in Singapore

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Recently, I saw an article in The Straits Times which reported the increasing trend of local PMETs being laid off in Singapore. It brought home the hard reality that professionals and skilled workers are no longer safe from being made redundant in their jobs. From the perspective of a wealth builder, it also reinforced the belief that in order to sustain in this dynamic economy, it is very important to build a solid personal finance foundation and master niche skill sets.

I always encourage young people who just entered the workforce to build up their own emergency funds as soon as possible. Life is always unpredictable. You never know when you will lose your job or encounter personal crisis. Having an emergency fund can help to provide short term security against market uncertainties. It allows you and your family to carry on life as per normal whilst you embark on the recovery journey. Without this sum of money as interim support, you have no choice but to borrow from friends and relatives. Personally, I don’t like to, and have yet, to borrow from my friends and relatives.

Of course, having this emergency fund is only one of the key elements of the personal finance framework.

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AEM share price
Stocks 

The right time to invest in SMRT?

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To become rich from your stock investments, you must do your research first before you invest. The following analysis covers one of the listed companies, SMRT, the largest rail operator in Singapore.

In recent years, every time the Singapore railway system broke down, it was like a nail to the counter’s coffin. Due to the service disruptions, SMRT stock price has plummeted at a frightening rate from $1.74 in 2012 to $1.02 in March 2014. Speculators must have lost a lot of money in this counter. This is not surprising because to invest in SMRT, you need to hold a long term investment horizon.

Fundamentally, even though SMRT has a monopoly in the public transport system, its business model is heavily dependent on government policies, and because of this, investing in this company is not so often straight-forward.

SMRT

On 24 April 2014, SMRT share price rocketed 21% on rumors of CEO Desmond Kwek’s submission of new financing framework to Singapore government for the company’s assets. The increase was the biggest ever one day gain for the stock. I reckon that the CEO had to do something drastic to reverse the destiny of SMRT. In January 2014, the company reported a set of dismal results for the third quarter.

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CPF top up
Money management; personal finance 

Facing death

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When you are facing death, what is the last thing on your mind? In a recent radio report by UFM100.3, it was revealed that two thoughts commonly fill the mind of dying people. On their death beds, most dying people worried that they would become a financial burden to their families and many were concerned on how their families could cope financially after their passing on.

As a wealth builder in Singapore, I think the survey was quite accurate because when facing death, probably you would not be thinking of how much money you have in your bank accounts nor would you be concerned about the assets that you would leave behind. Very likely, it is the thought of not being able to see your loved ones again that made the pain of death so unbearable.

Are they going to suffer as a result of your prolonged stay in hospital? How are they going to cope if you are the sole breadwinner? These are perhaps some of the worries that most dying people have in their last journey.

facing death

Death is an inevitable journey that everyone would go through and everyone is equal, regardless whether you are rich or poor. Yet most people refused to think or prepare for it.

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SembCorp Marine
Entrepreneurship 

Opportunity

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Opportunity is like a ball. Sometimes when the ball is passed to you, you may not have ample time to think and execute the ideal actions. A professional player will grasp the opportunity and went on to score crucial points. Mediocre ones will let opportunity slip.

Recently, I chanced upon www.data.gov.sg, a useful website for entrepreneurs and Singaporeans to search and access publicly available data published by the Singapore Government. This website contains many wonderful data and apps, such as Activtify, EduChoices, etc. Besides government data and metadata, data.gov.sg also offers a listing of applications developed using government data, as well as a resource page for developers.

Stock investing

In today’s context, whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee or full-time investor, data is important to help you forms important decisions. Those who are able to analyze the situation will seize the opportunity to grow wealth, build wealth and create wealth.

Take for example if you are choosing the university courses to enroll, the website is able to provide valuable data for you to crunch. If you are an investor, you would be interested in the health of the economy and business sentiments. If you are an employee, you may be interested in the data on job vacancies in the market.

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Gold; career management 

BullionStar: Job Opportunities and Bitcoin Payments

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The following newsletter is from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices.We are excited to have released a number of new products lately.
Heareus Silver Bars 
The Heraeus Silver Bars are very attractively priced. The 10 oz Heraeus bar is actually comparable in price per oz to larger bars and significantly cheaper per troy ounce compared to 1 oz coins. We currently have Heareus bars available in 1 oz, 5 oz and 10 oz.

Singapore minted Gold Bars
These gold bars are unique as they are the only gold bars minted with Singapore themed design. We currently have three different motifs in stock – the 50 gram Singapore Orchid gold bar, the 100 gram Marina Bay Sands gold bar and the 100 gram Merlion gold bar.

Chow Tai Fook Gold Bars
We have limited pieces of the beautiful .9999 Chow Tai Fook gold bars. They have the popular Chinese creatures such as the dragon, phoenix and horse exquisitely etched into them. These gold bars are easily sold at a much higher premium at Chow Tai Fook retail stores.
We have the 50g dragon, 100g horse, 112g dragon & phoenix and 200g horse gold bars.

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Investments 

Hotel Investment Opportunities for Singaporeans

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Brisbane Targets Singaporean Hotel Investors

Hotel investors, operators, developers and financiers from Singapore are being targeted in an on-going campaign to provide more hotel rooms in Brisbane each year for the next decade.
An active approach to attracting hotel investment has reaped rewards for Brisbane with more than 500 additional hotel rooms either available or coming on line this year, but many more are needed.
Speaking at the launch of the updated Guide to Hotel Investment in Brisbane, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said more investment in hotel rooms was needed to attract high spending visitors.
The Lord Mayor outlined opportunities for hotel operators, investors, and developers keen to establish a footprint in the city.
“Due to a shortage in internationally-recognised, full-service hotel room supply, Brisbane is forgoing about 121,000 visitors a year,” Cr Quirk said
“The shortage is causing the market to defer an estimated 278,000 room nights every year — about 14 per cent of current demand.
“This deferred economic benefit is largely contributed to the lack of hotel supply which in turn is hampering Brisbane’s ability to attract major events and conferences. This lost visitor expenditure equates to about 1100 jobs and AUD$114 million in economic activity that would otherwise exist.
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Career management; investments 

Internship Opportunities with Thomson Reuters

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For many years, aspiring local finance bloggers have been lamenting on how difficult it is to obtain jobs in the Singapore finance sector. There were also many young Singaporeans writing to me on how to get into venture capitalist, investment banks, fund management companies. In Singapore, while our local institutes of higher learning have been churning out finance graduates with good academic results, most of these graduates lack working experiences and track record in investments. So there has always been a gap in the investment industry. With this in mind, SG Wealth Builder is pleased to collaborate with TrakInvest to bring you the Thomson Reuters Challenge. Winners get to work in Thomson Reuters Singapore as interns! TrakInvest is a completely free virtual trading platform that allows users to hone their investment skills and at the same time earn money through monthly competitions.
 

THE THOMSON REUTERS INVESTMENT CHALLENGE

2 students with the best investment portfolios will win an internship each with Thomson Reuters Singapore.*

 
TrakInvest and Thomson Reuters are pleased to announce “The Thomson Reuters Challenge” The online stock market challenge will be hosted on the TrakInvest (“TI”) platform and 2 winners will get the opportunity to intern with Thomson Reuters Singapore for a period of 7-10 weeks.
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personal finance
Career management 

Tan Kin Lian’s career advice for young Singaporeans

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I used to enjoy reading Tan Kin Lian’s blog because it contains a lot of useful tips on life insurance and personal finance practices. In fact, he inspired me to set up this blog to share my thoughts on career and wealth building journey.

Somehow, after his failed presidential election in 2011 (he garnered the lowest vote of  4.9%), he became more vocal against the Singapore government. Out of ten articles, five of his articles would criticize government policies. Tan’s style of writing has also become more cynical and self-righteous. His articles have become such a huge turn-off to me that I did not follow any more since 2011.

However, in one of his rare articles on career advice, “How to build a long-lasting career“, I think there are some good take away which I would like to share with my readers.

Tan Kin Lian wrote that to be successful in your career, you need to choose a job that fits your skill set. Whilst I agree to this statement, this context may not be applicable to fresh graduates who lack working experience and relevant skills to prospective employers.

career

In order to embark on a long-term career, you must first work in a specific industry.

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Career management 

You Are Not Making Enough Money

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The following article is from Guest Blogger, Mike AdamsSales Performance Consultant, Corporate Fixer & Coach in Singapore. In one of my previous articles, I wrote on the importance of learning the art of selling in order to become a successful entrepreneur. This article resonates my thoughts that to be rich and successful in life, you must learn the rope of selling.I don’t know how much money you make but I am telling you, its not enough. You might make $100k a year or a $100k a month – it doesn’t matter, you and I need to make more.

If you are in sales and therefore have the ability and vehicle to write your own pay cheque, your duty is to go out and expand your income. Why? While it looks like the world economy is rebounding post 2009 it is in no way, shape or form back to boom times. Governments are struggling to find their feet and control debt and the government is not going to repair the world economy – business will! And it’s the sales people in businesses that can make this happen.

There is plenty of money in the markets; we just have to get it moving.

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career
Money management; personal finance 

Singaporeans are self-centred and money-face

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There was an online article written by a foreigner who described her experiences living in Singapore. Not too long ago, she came here with high expectations of Singapore and our culture. After some time, she was indeed happy with her life here, until she became pregnant recently.

She complained that nobody gave up the reserved seats in the train. Once, when she almost fainted at the train platform, nobody came forward to help her. She felt disappointed by Singaporeans’ lack of empathy and compassion.Being a local and having lived in Singapore for 34 years, I can concur with her that Singaporeans are basically self-centered and very money-face.

Life

When her article was published, a lot of Singaporeans came forward to dispute her views and threw brick bats at her. Many claimed that what she wrote was based on an isolated incident and argued that it was unfair to judge us based on that single incident. Many also threw up lame excuses to justify our lack of compassion. There are very few locals who supported her views and many just dismissed her accusation as baseless.

When we come across such an article, instead of doing self-reflections, we are always quick to go into defensive and denial mode.

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Gold; Book review; investment 

Right on the Money

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http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118856228.html

There are many online articles on how one should invest physical gold and silver, but very few people actually revealed their experiences on the precious metals. So it is refreshing to read Doug Casey’s experience on bullion investments in his book, “Right on the money:  Doug Casey on Economics, Investing, and the Ways of the Real world with Louis James”. The book contains forty interviews Doug had with Louis, touching on topics such as investments, assets, gold, real estate and ethics.

My favorite chapters are from Chapter 9 to 14 under the segment “The Art of Investing”. In these chapters, Doug shared his candid thoughts on physical gold and silver. Interestingly, even though he made his fortune through speculation, he actually advocated investors to avoid trading physical gold. In fact, he urged investors to accumulate it as an asset on a consistent basis. Even though the interviews were held in 2011, I believe his views remained valid today because he was convinced that gold would go higher and that he saw any form of correction as opportunity to buy. He viewed the US government as the greatest danger to Americans today and labelled Bernake “as zero experience in the real world”.

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