2/08/2008

High rental good

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Current.com.au, the Harvey Norman co-founder and executive chairman rent rises of up to 50 per cent in one year, coupled with leases restricted to three years, meant all major electrical retailers there were under pressure. "The rents are just horrendous, and trying to figure out how you can do business is a really difficult thing, because you think 'Well, how do you do this?'" He said all three major players in the Singapore electrical retail market – Courts, Harvey Norman and Best Denki – had the same issues. "We all have the same problem, and probably sooner or later one of the three of us will disappear, and there'll be two of us. Then there's a good chance there'll be one of us." I copied the above extract from a post in Sammyboyforum. The rent hike is getting crazier by the days. A small foodstall in a refurbished aircon foodcourt will cost more than $13k a month in the new towns. Can't imagine what it will cost in town or big shopping centres. And how many bowls of noodles would the stallholder need to sell before he breaks even? But we should encourage the property owners to raise rent faster. Then the effect will be more dramatic. It is like blowing a balloon.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought this is what the government always wanted - a free economy.

Free to the point that they also cannot control, not as much as they can control the other aspects of citizens. Even the minister also cannot control of the price of oil, though he implied he can during one of those election speeches he made.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

with a free economy we can pay our workers world class salaries. then they can afford a better life. and all the great and big companies will be here to pay our workers and make our workers happy.

Anonymous said...

The people in government wants a free economy because they can write their own cheques, so high rental does not affect them. It is a question of how much they want to add to their already world No.1salary to offset whatever cost of living increases.

For businesses that depend largely on the poor peasants, who are already deeply affected by all the cost increases and finding it difficult to make ends meet, how are the shops going to pass on the rental increases to the peasants. There is a limit for everything. But the government will still say the rentals are still affordable compared to erh...you know who.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

ya, read in the ST forum page. they are insisting that the increase in medishield premium will definitely be affordable. affordable to who?

the poor bugger who does not have even $1 for food will find 10c unaffordable.