4/05/2013

Another botch deal, another US$600m down



‘The govt of Singapore, well, they lost the most….over $600 million. It just went poof…. Tisman Speyer and BlackRock lost a lot of people a couple of billion dollars, walked away from it unscathed and went into the next deal without anyone calling them out on their colossal mistake….’ NPR.org

The deal was to buy a middle class housing estate, The Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in NY Manhattan, switch the land control tenants with new tenants paying market rentals. Pretty neat, pretty profits and pretty good deal. The deal was stopped by the courts and money of the investors went poof.

There must be many such good deals that are going around for clever investors to pick up, just like the rotten banks during the 2008 financial crisis. Many were great deals with great promises of big profits and were picked up quickly only to turn out as lemons. No free lunch. Too good to be true.

Thought such good deals will catch the laypeople on the streets, like the gold investment schemes where the returns are more or less guaranteed and in double digits. I am also looking for such good deals to invest my $2.

Did Singapore lose $600m? I don’t think so. Every botch deal a few hundred millions, how much can we afford to botch and botch? But then $600m is really peanuts compared to the tens of billions lost during the financial crisis. Ten of such bad deals only cost $6b and it will take 100 deals to hit $60b.

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/03/175511949/the-botched-ny-real-estate-deal-that-lost-other-people-billions

They can afford to walk away because it's 'Other People's Money'.
Our PM can talk about continuing meritocracy for Singapore when it's 'Other People's Money' that the SWFs lost, so long as it's our own people running them.

Saycheese

Anonymous said...

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Darkness 2013

Anonymous said...

Everything sweep under the carpet and forgotten. Just like how innocent investors were cheated by the big boys in selling the toxic product approved by MAS

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

No worry lah, they made more than they lost. Net net made billions still. I want to type what Darkness type above at 2:24.....

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH BURP...HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...BURP.........HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...PENGSHAN ALREDI!

Darkness 2013

Anonymous said...

AiyaI 600 million just two F35 jets so buy 10 instead of 12 lor

Anonymous said...

thats the reason they never open the books for public inspection - afraid of public scrutiny. this world is full of lies. people must learn to stop voting for propaganda party.

Anonymous said...

Cheap Cheap.
Only 1% of the $50 bn real budget surplus in 2012.
No sweat lah.

oldhorse42 said...

Well it seemed like good deal and it worked in singapore: kicked out the rent controlled tenants and replaced them with quality tenants who pay market rents that can be adjusted upward periodcally.
What went wrong?

Anonymous said...

What ? Losing $600 millions again ?

Quick , Quick, ShittyTimes, Please put more Sex case corruption into front headline again for all newspaper for damage control with juicy headline "Do you DIY ?".



Anonymous said...

$600 millions loss ?

Just a peanut. Just sell a land in SinCity and sold it to the highest foreigners bidders for billions to recover. It is not like this is new to us. If people complain, just use ShittyTimes to say that Singaporeans is xenophobic. Problem solved.

Where China gave Hong Kong away more than century ago, sincity does it in bit by bit so that no one will notice. Brilliance ?

Redbean,
What do you think ?

Anonymous said...

Time to increase CPF minimum sum..haiz

Anonymous said...

Where is Ah Tan when he's MOST needed?

--------
He said the past twelve months have been the most fulfilling and inspiring of his professional life.

He cited events such as the Istana Open Houses, award ceremonies, charity fundraisers, community events and even interactions on Facebook, where both he and his wife Mary, had the opportunity to meet Singaporeans from all walks of life.

Million $ Prez role for the above????

Anonymous said...

$600 million can pay Lee Hsien LOONG for 200+ years. But he'll run Singapore down long long before then

Anonymous said...

$600 million? Not much what?

One peanut is $600K, so that is just about 1000 peanuts.

What's the problem? Bad deals have been plaguing red dot so often, it is becoming the norm. Just like the MRT breakdowns and floods. No big deal!

Anonymous said...

nothing to worry lah. just sell a few sentosa houses to cover asses. moreover can take back after 99 years. only here got such good deal and big time morons who bought those houses.

Anonymous said...

to make sentosa houses more attractive to morons, throw in a few free citizenships as a bundle deal.

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

Anonymous said...

phua pei yau sew,

It's no wonder wealth doesn't last three generations.

As usual no head rolls, nobody gets fired, such cavalier behaviour at the highest level.

Anonymous said...

They went round the world to pick the best gamblers, pay them like themselves or more, only to gamble with our money big time.

Anonymous said...

Redbean,
why are so like that ? Losing billions and millions by PAP is the norm not the exception for this greedy useless party, and the news is only interesting if PAP did not lose money. Everytime, we hear the brutal truth of PAP losing money which is the usual modus operandi of PAP, we are so tired of listening it anymore, so inform us only when PAP did not lose money. Not losing money might be one in every 50 years for PAP.

Anonymous said...

"They went round the world to pick the best gamblers, pay them like themselves or more, only to gamble with our money big time."

when win, gamblers take all the money, when lose, lesser mortals bear all the loss. Best job in the world.

Anonymous said...

Why you people take it so likely when lose money? Not that when they make money we got a share. The problem is that when they lose money, all of us suffers. More taxes, our CPF kicked further down the road, never to be seen, and more.

Don't think it does not matter or does not affect you.

Anonymous said...

How come the 'walking dead the 2nd' in the Istana did not do anything?

On second thought, don't expect the walking dead to do much.

Anonymous said...

House of cards, unraveling, ivory tower must come tumbling down, inevitable, but too slow, sigh.

Anonymous said...

They meet the people occassionally as were publized and their more frequent oversea trips to meet foreign dignitaries were similarly reported. Question is, why are Sinkies expecting him to look into something he himself was incharged and incurred similar losses before he became President!

Daft Sinkies Indeed.

Maybe those Sinkies can go and ask him when he goes to attend services at the church. At the place of worship, a truthful answer should be forthcoming.

Raymond said...

It's called investment. You win some, you lose some. The only important number is your net profit/loss.

virgo49 said...

Right you win some, you lose some but it's seemed that they are losing their shirts, pants, underwear, panties and even the Kotex.

Anonymous said...

Seah Chiang Nee's Saturday column

[Singapore looks to ties that bind]


"FOR a few days last week,
Singapore’s prime minister left behind his troubles at home
to face a tricky foreign policy matter that his father once excelled in.

Lee Hsien Loong paid his 2nd visit to the U.S. in 6 years
that was evidently aimed at deepening Singapore’s strategic ties with Washington
at a time of rising tensions in Asia.

While Hsien Loong was in America,
former PM Goh Chok Tong arrived in China for a 7-day visit,
where he met the new Chinese leader Xi Jinping.


Hsien Loong’s visit probably has another purpose.

Singapore is reportedly on the verge of making a decision
to buy America’s F-35 fighter jets to upgrade its air force.

The order could be for 12 F-35Bs..

Reuters quoted industry and US sources as saying
Singapore may buy up to 75 F-35Bs eventually.


Although Hsien Loong became PM 8 years ago,
this is his 1st real test of his diplomatic skill
in a major foreign policy without Cabinet guidance from his father.

This visit – and the consequences – will determine
if he could succeed in steering Singapore through the intensifying rivalry of China and the United States."


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/4/6/focus/12933031&sec

Anonymous said...

Wow!
75 F35 Fighters
to protect 7.5 million population
and a 750 square kilometre rock.
Life in Sin is super precious and worthy.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

If the money is not your own to begin with, why the fuck should you even CARE how much you lose?

@saycheese 214:

The money is not "other people's". In fact no one (human being) owns that money. That money belongs to The State. The State is an artificially created entity made "legal" by a few important pieces of legalese paper, some oath taking, and some ink from the signatures. The State is NOT HUMAN, but it can OWN stuff.

Please don't get into the false claim that the money in the SWF is "our money". It is not YOUR money. You have no claim to it. If you don't believe me, why don't to try "withdrawing" $10 to buy a burger and fries :-)

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