your biggest worries?

Spike in fees excessive?

Letter from Leow Zi Xiang

I AM writing to highlight the spike in fees for the upcoming Preparatory Course to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations, which is administered by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) for law degree-holders seeking to be called to the Singapore Bar.

Last year, the fees totalled about S$4,500 for Singaporeans but this year, they have ballooned by over 40 per cent to more than S$6,500.

I understand that there is a modified syllabus this year, but even then, surely the increase is excessive.

Fresh graduates no longer enjoy the benefit of student loans and have yet to earn a salary.

For some it is a struggle to come up with the necessary funds.

The SILE is a statutory body performing a public function and should not be seeking to profit from the exercise of its duties.

Have the costs of administering the course really increased by so much?

More pedestrian crossing chaos

Letter from Chua Kim Choo

I OFTEN see cyclists competing for space with pedestrians a the junction outside Khatib MRT Station.

The cyclists assume they have the right of way and speed across the junction.

The other evening, I saw a few riders on motorised bicycles speeding past the pedestrians, almost knocking down a few as they zig-zagged among the pedestrians crossing at the junction.

Whenever the pedestrians did not give way, the cyclists would give them a nasty look. I hope the relevant authority takes a firm stand on this before serious accidents occur.

So, what are a cyclist’s rights?

Letter from Edward Goh

THE letters from Kwee Chong Yeo and Edwin James Fawcett on June 6 relate incidents between cyclists and pedestrians/joggers. It seems that, in each incident, both parties reckoned they had the right of way.

Let me share an incident involving a cyclist and myself as a motorist, on the morning of June 10.

I was driving along Yishun Ave 7 and approached a slip road that turned left into Sembawang Road.

I noticed a cyclist to my right crossing the traffic light junction on Yishun Ave 7, and I thought that he would stop when he reached the zebra crossing at the slip road.

So I drove on — but then suddenly realised that the cyclist had sped up and was going to zip across the zebra crossing.

I had to step on the brakes.

I wound down my window and said to the cyclist that he should have stopped. To my surprise, he said that I should have done so.

I realised that this cyclist thought he had the right to use a pedestrian crossing, despite the fact that he is not a “pedestrian” and was certainly going at faster than walking speed.

Should I fault him, or has there been no clear indication for cyclists from the Land Transport Authority?

I would appreciate it if the LTA clarifies what are the rights of cyclists, be it on footpaths, jogging tracks, the road or at pedestrian crossings.

I am sure it would help save lives or at least prevent injuries.

Bring back 3-tier families

Be it under the same roof or in the same block, live close to our elderly to take care of them

Letter from Peter Loon Seng Chee

Our society is now a very practical one, premised on what use someone is to us.

The irony is, we rush our kids to A-class wards and ask for C-class beds for the elderly.

QUESTION  OF  WHEN

If this pattern of growth is to reverse, as the government wishes, the growth of investment must fall well below that of GDP.

This is what happened in Japan in the ’90s, with dire results.

The thesis advanced by Professor Pettis is that a forced investment strategy will normally end with such a bump.

The question is W H E N.

In China, it might be earlier in the growth process than in Japan because investment is so high.

Much of the investment now undertaken would be unprofitable without the artificial support provided, he argues.

One indicator, he suggests, is rapid growth of credit.

This, too, is reminiscent of Japan as late as the ’80s, when the attempt to sustain growth in investment-led domestic demand led to a ruinous credit expansion.

As growth slows, the demand for investment is sure to shrink.

At growth of 7 per cent, the needed rate of investment could fall by up to 15 per cent of GDP. But the attempt to shift income to households could force a yet bigger decline. From being an growth engine, investment could become a source of stagnation.

The optimistic view is that China’s growth potential is so great that it can manage the planned transition with ease.

The pessimistic view is that it is hard for a country investing half of GDP to decelerate smoothly.

I expect the transition to slower economic growth and greater reliance on consumption to be quite bumpy. The Chinese  government is skilled. But it cannot walk on water. The water it is going to have to walk on over the next decade is going to be choppy.

Watch out for the waves.

Th e Financial Times Limited

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at The Financial Times, London.

PROBLEM OF INVESTMENT-LED GROWTH

The first is that it is a middle-income country.

Economists increasingly recognise a “middle-income trap”.

Thus, sustaining rapid increases in productivity and managing huge structural shifts as the economy becomes more sophisticated is hard.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are almost the only economies to have managed this feat over the past 60 years.

Happily, China has close cultural and economic similarities with these east Asian successes. Unhappily, China shares with these economies a model of investment led growth that is both a strength and a weakness.

Moreover, China’s version of this model is extreme.

For this reason, it is arguable that the model will cause difficulties even before it did in the arguably less distorted case of Japan.

Premier Wen Jiabao has himself described the economy as

“unstable, unbalanced, unco-ordinated and ultimately unsustainable”.

The nature of the challenge was made evident to me during discussions of the 12th five year plan at the China Development Forum 2011 in Beijing in March.

This new plan calls for a sharp change in the pace and structure of economic growth.

In particular, growth is forecast to decline to just 7 per cent a year.

More important, the economy is expected to rebalance from investment, towards consumption and, partly as a result, from manufacturing towards services.

The question is whether these shifts can be managed smoothly.

Professor Michael Pettis of Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management has argued that they cannot be.

His argument rests on the view that in the investment-led growth model, repression of household incomes plays a central role by subsidising that investment.

Removing that repression — a necessary condition for faster growth of consumption — risks causing a sharp slowdown in output and a still bigger slowdown in investment.

Growth is driven as much by subsidised expansion of capacity as by the profitable matching of supply to final demand.

This will end with a bump.

Investment has indeed grown far faster than GDP. From 2000 to last year, growth of gross fixed investment averaged 13.3 per cent, while growth of private consumption averaged 7.8 per cent. Over the same period the share of private consumption in GDP collapsed from 46 per cent to a mere 34 per cent, while the share of fixed investment rose from 34 per cent to 46 per cent.

Professor Pettis argues that suppression of wages, huge expansions of cheap credit and a repressed exchange rate were all ways of transferring incomes from households to business and so from consumption to investment. Mr Dwight Perkins of Harvard argued at the China Development Forum that the “incremental capital output ratio” — the amount of capital needed for an extra unit of GDP — rose from 3.7 to one in the ’90s to 4.25 to one in the 2000s.

This also suggests that returns have been falling at the margin.

Is it conceivable that this colossus could learn that spectacular success is a precursor of surprising failure?

The answer is: YES.

SINGAPORE  in  SAME  Ivy LEAGUE ? ? ? ?

How China could yet fail like Japan

Why the transition to slower economic growth and greater reliance on consumption will be bumpy

Martin Wolf

Until 1990, Japan was the most successful large economy in the world. Almost nobody predicted what would happen to it in the succeeding decades. Today, people are yet more in awe of the achievements of China. Communist party.

Is it conceivable that this colossus could learn that spectacular success is a precursor of surprising failure?

The answer is: YES.

Japan’s gross domestic product per head (at purchasing power parity) jumped from a fifth of United States levels in 1950 to 90 per cent in 1990. But this spectacular convergence went into reverse: By last year 2010, Japan’s GDP per head had fallen to 76 per cent of US levels.

China’s GDP per head jumped from 3 per cent of US levels in 1978, when Mr Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening up” began, to a fifth of US levels today.

Is this going to continue as spectacularly over the next few decades or could China, too, surprise on the downside?

It is easy to make the optimistic case.

First, China has a proved record of success, with an average rate of economic growth of 10 per cent between 1979 and last year. Second, China is a long way from the living standards of the high-income countries. Relative to the US, its GDP per head is where Japan’s was in 1950, before a quarter century of further rapid growth.

If China matched Japan’s performance, its GDP per head would be 70 per cent of US levels by 2035 and its economy would be bigger than those of the US and European Union, combined.

Yet counter-arguments do exist.

One is that China’s size is a disadvantage: In particular, it makes its rise far more dramatic for the demand for resources than anything that has gone before. Another is that the political effects of such a transformation might be disruptive for a country run by a

It is also possible, however, to advance purely economic arguments for the idea that growth might slow more abruptly than most assume.

Such arguments rest on two features of China’s situation.

Wine investors see R E D

Cheow Xin Yi

cheowxinyi@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE —

According to an automated reply sent to investors who emailed the company, the Singapore branch of PLA is “currently in the midst of handling a legal issue pertaining to our business partner in Hong Kong”.

The email added its Hong Kong office chief executive and director is “suspected of fraud”, and the firm’s Singapore and Malaysia branches have reported the matter to “relevant authorities and are cooperating with the police and related departments” to resolve the issue.

“With sincere apologies, we are unable to officiate any liquidation or new investment at the moment ... We seek your kind understanding if your liquidation payment has been delayed,” said the email.

The email did not name the director in question, who is reportedly missing as Hong Kong authorities investigate a case which could involve more than 400 investors and alleged losses of HK$50 million. The wine investment circles here refer to the man as “Christopher Koo”.

When contacted, a Singapore police spokesman said: “It is inappropriate to comment on police investigations, if any.”

Investors MediaCorp spoke to have expressed frustration at the uncertainty. One of them, who only wanted to be identified as Francois, said his only point of contact is his PLA broker, who told him to “wait” pending internal and external investigations. The French national said he has invested about S$29,000 in wine portfolios through PLA since 2009.

Although the lights were switched on when MediaCorp visited PLA’s Ngee Ann City office on Monday, no one answered the door when this reporter rang the doorbell.

Some investors have turned to legal experts for help. Lawyer Sean La’Brooy, from Wee, Tay & Lim LLP, was approached by about 20 PLA investors on Monday and he is now “exploring legal options” with them. Other investors have held preliminary talks with provisional liquidators and asset recovery firms.

It is believed there are between 100 and 400 PLA investors in Singapore, with investment amounts ranging from between S$7,000 and S$160,000.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received one complaint since March regarding PLA, but the consumer body’s executive director Seah Seng Choon said the consumer body does not oversee investment-related matters.

Wine investments are also not regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, noted Mr Seah.

A check with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) showed PLA as a S$300,000 paid-up limited exempt private company which was incorporated in 2005.

The records list a Mr Woo Kuan Yong as a director. When MediaCorp visited his flat on Wednesday, Mr Woo told MediaCorp that he was asked by his step-son, Mr Eldric Ko, to “register the company” but he has never been to the firm’s office.

Mr Woo’s wife said she last spoke to Mr Ko, who had called from Bangkok in April.

She added that subsequent attempts to contact him on his Singapore mobile phone have been unsuccessful thus far.A week after news of a police probe into an alleged investment scam involving Premium Liquid Assets’ (PLA) Hong Kong office hit the headlines in the territory, Singapore investors of the locally-incorporated wine investment company are also searching for answers about their investments.

Jaffar admitted that he had last consumed “ice” just a day before his arrest.Taxi driver Jaffar Kassim could have surrendered it to his company’s lost-and-found department: A green haversack that he had found lying on the floor near a Changi Airport drop-off point on Feb 19.

Shaffiq Alkhatib

Sim Lian Group

executive director Kuik Sing Beng— Prices of flats released under the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) latest Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) have raised eyebrows among some analysts.

‘BTO applicants’ profiles justify higher income ceiling’

Ong Dai Lin

dailin@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

In last month’s Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise, more than half of the first-timers had applied under HDB’s Fiance-Fiancee Scheme and had a median age of 27. For the other first-time applicants, who are already married, their median age was 34.

“There is therefore justification to revise the HDB income ceiling, giving the rising ages of applicants,” Mr Khaw wrote on his housing blog.

CEILING  RAISED  on  OLDER AGE  rather than  HIGHER  INCOME  ? ? ? ?— His predecessor had announced the review and, yesterday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan gave the numbers to suggest that the income ceiling for new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will, indeed, be raised from the present S$8,000.

Mr Phua said the farm, which receives about seven to eight tour groups a day and has a restaurant for corporate functions, will remain open till the end of next year.— Residents in Woodlands could see greater interest in their properties, while Singapore’s largest orchid farm in Mandai will have to relocate, following the latest plans for the 30-kilometre Thomson Line (TSL) that will start running by 2018.

If the proposed Rapid Transit System Link between Singapore and Johor Baru goes according to plan, the two lines will be integrated at the TSL’s northern-most terminal station.

 

Expat alleges overcharging by Boat Quay seafood restaurant

 

Forum Seafood along Boat Quay which charged $1,107.32 for a lunch for two persons. (TODAY Photo)

SINGAPORE: Company director Ian McArthur could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the bill for lunch with his friend on Wednesday: It came up to $1,107.32, including S$348.80 for a 1.6kg lobster and $564 for a 3kg crab.

The Scot, who has been working here since last October, told TODAY: " I thought, ’It must be wrong. I can’t believe this.’"

Mr McArthur then approached the staff of Forum Seafood Village — a restaurant at Boat Quay — seeking an explanation. He was told that those were the market prices.

But Mr McArthur told TODAY that the staff did not inform them how much the crustaceans weighed or the total cost before cooking the food. " It wasn’t just the price. We feel that we were misled that’s why we were upset about it," he added.

Apart from the king crab and lobster, Mr McArthur and his friend had a plate of fried rice and four glasses of beer.

Alleging that he was " grossly overcharged" , Mr McArthur filed a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) on Wednesday against the restaurant, seeking a S$900 refund.

But Mr Vincent Hoh, a restaurant employee who served Mr McArthur, said he told the diners the crustaceans’ weight. When asked if he told the diners the total cost of the crustaceans, Mr Hoh replied he did not.

Forum Seafood Village manager Jo Chia said the restaurant does not usually inform diners of the total price of their seafood, unless diners ask for it.

Said Ms Chia: " We tried to tell customers (the total price) but some guests say it’s too troublesome and tell us not to bother them."

Some patrons have also commented that, by informing them of the total price, the staff would be suggesting that they could not afford it, Mr Hoh said.

Ms Chia pointed out the restaurant’s seafood prices are listed clearly — according to cost per 100g — at the restaurant’s entrance and on the menu. " Our prices are market prices. We won’t overcharge our customers," she said.

Ms Chia said the restaurant’s owner is overseas and has not decided on its course of action with regard to the complaint.

Forum Seafood Village, which operates two outlets along Boat Quay, charges S$21.80 per 100g for the Australian lobster and S$18.80 per 100g for the king crab, after discounts. The usual prices were S$32 and S$25 per 100g for the lobster and king crab, respectively.

A check with neighbouring restaurants found one restaurant charging S$18.80 per 100g for the Australian lobster and another charging S$10 per 100g for Alaskan King Crab.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, CASE said it has received 12 complaints for overcharging by food and beverage outlets in the first five months of this year. There were 27 complaints last year, up from 15 in 2009. —

TODAY

S’poreans donate S$250,000 to help teen who lost legs in MRT accident

 

Nitcharee Peneakchanasak all smiles at the airport.

SINGAPORE : Thai teenager Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, who lost both her legs after falling onto the MRT tracks in Ang Mo Kio two months ago, will be getting a sum of S$250,000 for her medical rehabilitation expenses.

The sum of money has been contributed by a group of anonymous Singaporean donors.

Nitcharee, who returned to Thailand on Monday, has plans to walk again with prosthetic legs, which are expected to cost around S$150,000.

A Singapore Red Cross statement said that a cheque for the S$250,000 will be presented by Singapore Red Cross (SRC) chairman Tee Tua Ba to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, executive vice—president of the Thai Red Cross Society, in Bangkok on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a Singaporean living in Hong Kong wants to settle Nitcharee’s hospital bills in full.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, learnt of her plight from a Channel NewsAsia report on Monday. After watching the story on the channel, the benefactor made contact with Channel NewsAsia’s Hong Kong bureau to find out how he could help pay her bills.

One of Nitcharee’s legs was severed when the train hit her, and the other was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated.

Nitcharee had been in Singapore for about a month before the incident, learning English at a private school.

She had stayed with a family friend in Ang Mo Kio.

On the day of her departure, a smiling Nitcharee was able to wheel herself into the Budget Terminal in an electric wheelchair, a gift from the Rotary E—Club of Singapore.

Strangers at the airport’s departure hall posed for photographs with her, and some gave small gifts and donations.

Rotary E—Club of Singapore president—elect Christopher Bek said Nitcharee’s road to recovery will be an expensive one.

Her treatment in Singapore cost about S$50,000.

Her 56—year—old father, Mr Peneakchanasak, an insurance agent, has told reporters that he rejected SMRT’s compensation offer of S$5,000 and has engaged a lawyer to ask for " fairer" compensation.

Nitcharee, who comes from Trang, in southern Thailand, plans to continue her treatment at the Sirinthorn Centre near Bangkok.

— CNA/ms

---

SINGAPORE  MSIHAP  has  nO  accOUntabIlIty  ? ? ? ?

every recovery is done by STRANGERS ? ? ? ?

Most S’poreans expect to have less than S$150,000 in CPF on retirement

 

Singapore's night skyline

SINGAPORE : People in Singapore who plan for their retirement will have about S$153,000 in retirement savings and investments, according to a survey by HSBC.

Those who do not plan — 28 per cent of individuals — will retire with a smaller amount of about S$80,000.

The Future of Retirement survey said about 76 per cent of those with a retirement plan rely on life insurance to finance their retirement.

Not surprisingly, these people also have a more positive outlook and fewer worries about retirement.

However, more than half — 59 per cent — of the respondents feel that they are under—insured, slightly higher than the global figure of 55 per cent.

The 2011 report, " The Power of Planning" , is the sixth in a series and is based on interviews with more than 17,000 people in 17 countries.

The Singapore report was based on views of 1,046 respondents from the republic.

Finances are at the top of most Singaporean’s minds when it comes to retirement — 55 per cent cited concerns about the need for more savings as people are living longer.

65 per cent of Singaporeans are concerned about the prospect of unforeseen events derailing their retirement plans.

29 per cent — the highest in Asia — are also concerned about costs of caring for older parents.

The majority of Singaporeans — 65 per cent — expect their CPF lump sum to be below S$150,000 when they retire.

According to the study, Singaporeans estimate that they will need an average monthly retirement income of S$3,000.

Commenting on how Singaporeans can save for their retirement nest egg, CEO of HSBC Insurance, Walter de Oude, said if a 65—year—old has S$150,000 in his CPF account, he can expect to receive about S$1,400 every month from CPF Life.

In order to receive a monthly income of S$3,000 during retirement, he will have to supplement his CPF savings with another investment.

— CNA/al