3/02/2018

The taxi trade - how to make money from the stupid

The statestimesreview has an article with this headline, ''ComfortDelgro wasted S$642 million acquiring Uber''. The reason given by the article is that ComfortDelgro drivers were introduced to Uber's dynamic pricing software but after a while most of them gave up using it, thus making the purpose of acquiring Uber totally wasted. This may be a simplified way of looking at the acquisition which would include things like gaining market share, disruptive technology and buying over a competitor. There must be very good reasons to spend $642 million to buy over a company, uppermost must be the bottom line.

So, with the acquisition of Uber, and maybe Grab will be the next target, ComfortDelgro could eventually be the major taxi service provider, again, with the biggest market share of the business. Sounds pretty logical. The acquisition of Grab, hypothetically, could cost another $500 million or thereabout. This would mean a total outlay of a billion dollar to stay on top, to regain the market share. The big question is how to make a billion dollar of profit and how long would it take to make this sum just to square the book?

Let's look at the business again. Before Uber and Grab, there were X number of customers and a handful of taxi companies, maybe 5. So with Uber and Grab, there will be 7 taxi companies but the number of customers would still be X. With the acquisition say of Uber and Grab, the number of taxi companies would be back to 5, ie ComfortDelgro/Uber/Grab becoming one company, and the number of customers is still X, caveat from new citizens. See the stupidity in the logic of acquiring Uber and Grab?

The pie is the same. Before and after, the pie is still the same. But by letting Uber and Grab to operate in the same market, the pie is shared by more players. The acquisition would mean technically the number of players will be as before but the pie is still the same. So, by allowing Uber and Grab to come in and to be bought over by ComfortDelgro, Uber and Grab made the money and scoot off, leaving ComfortDelgro with a billion dollar hole in the pocket, just to retain market share for the same piece of pie, or to return to square one. This analogy is hypothetical of course.

So, after Uber and Grab, another GrabU taxi operator may set up business again, the story could be repeated with ComfortDelgro buying over the new company, and GrabU would walk away with another few hundred millions. This musical chair game could go on and on and the stupid will keep paying and paying just to retain market share which is still X.

The same formula is being repeated in the telco business. Have Starhub and M1 been bought over by SingTel or the govt to maintain market share? And a new player has come into the market in Circles.Life. This telco needs not make profit. Just go for market share and eventually some stupid would make an offer to buy it over for a few hundred millions. And Circles.Life can walk away laughing to the bank. And the circus can be repeated all over again by other telcos and taxi operators.

It is so easy to make money from the stupid. And the stupid did not know why. This is an exercise to identify the stupid. Give you some clues. Who is the biggest loser? Who create the situation for the loser to lose without knowing why? The best part, some stupid would be thinking that they are fighting against competitors and very clever to buy over the competitors to retain their share in the market?

Hundreds of millions were wasted all for nothing. To gain market share that was there but given away only to be bought back by the hundreds of millions?


64 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good morning, RB,
Totally agreed.
Should be billion instead of trillion.
Thanks

Virgo49 said...


Just listen to Mr Lim Tean's speech criticising the Budget 2018. SInkieland, where got Innovations, only depend on Internal Economy of slaughtering her own people.

Plus, may I add just on Commission's basis on most businesses. Shipping Logistics for example on paper commission earnings of providing services for others.

Have Media Cocks and SPH have own News journalism and broadcasting and in the end both lost millions.Have so many Tele operators bidding at high prices to feed the World Scoundrels of World Sports and passed the buck to the consumers.

In the end, all in the Red and consumers suffered for their blunders.

LPPL.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Thanks, amended.

Anonymous said...

$642 million is too low. Uber should have bargained for More. Maybe around $900 million or one billion $US.

Stupidity never can be cured, especially coupled with greed, pride and arrogance.

Anonymous said...

Redbean, this shows how not innovative or creative r these stupids to retain the market share. The stupids r the elites & got the cheek to raise prices & gst taxes. Sooner or later many innovative disruptive tech will cut across many industries eg cleaning, screwty, delivery, retail, training providers, telcos etc will all be sold to the stupids & these stupids r happy to maintain its market share after paying the tech astronomical sum of monies --stupidity has no cure in this little red dot.

Goh said...

Market share of X can actually be increase to x plus plus by bringing in more FTs.
Who knows one day ub may sell to gr or whatever n del can eventually buy all share n future.
That time Taxi no longer need to depend on plying on the road and can use app and del can increase the fare again .
Thereafter everyone will aspire to be taxi uncles and proud to boast about their future 10 k income .
But who cares.I would like to see more taxi n ph competing on the road as I can travel easily with cheap cheap fares.
With more taxi n ph,one no longer need but car and can cut down car populations.

Wishing all a happy chap go meh.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

It's early days yet. Uber, Grab, Lyft and other ride share platforms are not even 10 years old. They are disruptive technologies...no track record means you can't really make predictions on how this is going to evolve.

In many cuntries, you have push back from the State-created old monopolies aka the TAXIs.

People are unaware of the fabulous govt "trick". They know about it, but it has never occurred to them that it is a trick, pulled out from thin air.

I am of course referring to govt LICENSES. They cost nearly $0 to produce---just an entry into a database, and the issuance of a piece of paper (sometimes laminated), and sometimes there is also a physical symbol like a badge, medallion or number plate.

Create licenses for $0 and sell them (monopoly) at monopoly prices to the no-choice-pay-lah people. Taxi, law, medicine, driving, business, import-export, passports, I...and in Singapore, the hated COE. ($0 to produce, $90k+ to BUY)

So a disruptive tech comes along one day, and obliterates the Taxi monopoly. All those expensive taxi licenses and medallions effectively are now near worthless. Govt monopoly under attack.

It is really funny, and downright infuriating: In Singapore, Comfort delgro OWNS Uber. In Perth, Australia, Comfort-Delgro owns Swan Taxis and they have lobbied the govt to impose a TAX on passengers to BAIL OUT cab medallion owners who've paid up to $300k or more for their taxi licenses.

So in one market, Comfort and Uber are one, and in another market (free money form the taxpayer) they are enemies.

Better laugh lah. If you get angry, you can go insane because to any normal person, the shit is just too much.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

In the market, early days is the most chaotic where many actors are all vying for dominance. There are multiple, and multiple-sided conflicts, alliances and they all change usually rapidly.

It's difficult or downright impossible to predict how it turns out and which companies and tech will dominate the space.

You can lose alot of money. But if you're lucky, your initial bet could multiple itself in several orders of magnitude. For e.g. think of Bitcoin at $1 or less, then consider Bitcoin at over $15k. That's 4 orders of magnitude in "value appreciation".

So sorry lah Comfort. You lost. Get the fuck over it. It's only money...dirty paper with pictures of dead people on them

Suckers Are Made Everyday said...

Temasek Holdings held about 40% to 49% of Uber's shares. That means out of ComfortDelgro's $642 million, some $300 million went to Temasek Holdings?

Anonymous said...

8.02 am anon. You are very intolerant. I think you likely the guy that boast a lot about yourself being very knowledgeable etc. In reality you are probably the guy when your garage door is open, you have one tiny Canon that rest on two flat tires. You need to grow ip man! Else to wake up, like other anons suggested, may be you can ask to be sodomised so u can wake up earlier?😀😀😀

Anonymous said...

This uber thing is a signal of sinkieland s decline. Its the elites cash rich response. Ou liuee mah. The real fact is sbs is declining. It owns comfort. Roughly, readers can see on the road, how often they see blue taxi? In the past guarantee frequency was far higher than now. First present citizens are not cash rich comparing to past, take buses and often broke down mrt are only options. Second, rental cars are cheaper to hire, some ads put half the price of the rental of comfort. If readers dont know, years back one day rental was 140. This was too high bc when comfort was a coorperative, its rental was far less than 140. Readers can see the biz is changing fast.

Car rental companies are new small scale comforts lah. These rented cars can be used for jalan jalan with charbor or fetching own children to schools. They are cheaper in rental per day. They can rely on Uber to get income by paying 10% to Uber.

Comfort tries to buy market share by taking over Uber? Cannot be. Softbank spent about USD1 billions for about 10-15% of Uber. Sinkieland got money meh? However, Comfort must use Uber s flexible booking to increase its own drivers number.

Instead of exploiting on high rental, it must come down with its rental. In the past, its objective was to beat the "big car rental rich owner" yellow top "tua chia zhu". It branded it self for taxi driver to be their own car owner: politically right for those old uncles believed they were exploited by "tua chia zhu". But u ask the drivers if they really own the comfort taxi. The new "tua chia zhu" is in trouble with too many taxi real vehicles parking not being driven on the road. Hey coe can last only 10 years.

Therefore this Uber thing exposed the complacency sinkieland elites has been wasting voters time. From taxi fleets expansion, to cash rich, there was no improvement on booking systems. They used radio and put up 20ft containers as stations for bookings.

New GPS started when the son took over, through the 20 years, there were software sold 20 years ago enabling small company to track delivery trucks all over island using GPS. Can zoom at the particular truck if idling. Readers should be very concerned how the time was wasted. Is Uber softwar something very high tec? Use your brain. If 20 year ago, there was software on this island helping company to track delivery trucks using GSM network, Uber is not a high tec work. Why cash rich taxi company cannot innovate one simple software while its kaki are telco companies singingtel yamwant or starhope? They are just collecting cash from the fleets drivers and passengers both are goodus and feeling that the elites are working hard.

Readers want to know why time of 20 years was wasted with empty spins? That was period when foreigners IT took over the locally trained IT men and women, sending these locals middle aged with tremendous experty in IT experience into driving comfort taxi as drivers. Did the foreigners IT help these transport companies in taxi, mrt, buses to improve tracking when GSM 4G was already using? The secret was: they hired fake IT professionals with low salaries or over paid high salaries.

Uber comes in to beat these cash rich companies on sinkieland to wake them up. Will they wake up? Depending on voters. Time is running out if the keep voting batches of elites only talking but cannot do something real except hiring cheaper, from sunny land, as solution.

Anonymous said...

If Singapore really has more than $1 trillion in reserves, and these are invested solely in risk-free US 30-year Treasury bonds, that would yield more than $30 billion in yearly income as the 30-year yield is currently above 3%, and likely to rise further.

No need any portfolio manager skills. No need pay hundred of millions in salaries and bonuses. No need to risk or squander taxpayers' money. More than adequate to meet budget needs that take care of Sinkies' welfare.

Anonymous said...

Mr Redbean, this post of yours has just shown you have no sense for business. Yes there are only X passengers in the taxi market. By taking over Uber and Grab would result in a greater portion of X, rather than a smaller portion of X before the acquisition. Leave the clever people alone, they sure know what they are doing. You are surely a poor businessman.

Anonymous said...

All vehicles or motorises wheelchair accident r
Contributing growth to hospital.no choice really.

Virgo49 said...

Right Anon 11.08

You sure just as smart as the small businessmen in Sinkieland.

Have ten trucks for logistics services for X number of cargo.

Met overheard and profits for these ten trucks.

Then for same X tonnage of cargo, invest in another 10 trucks just to have the same X tonnage of cargo.

Very wise and smart. No wonder Sinkieland became Sinking Land

Cheers

Anonymous said...

Re: 11:08

You are just a rotten nut. You think you have business acumen. Like the politicians, the ministers and civil servants you are totally devoid of any business sense. That's how they lost the people's money of hundreds of billions of dollars in buying American or Wester toxic assets. But they don't feel the pain because they are always gambling with OPM ( Other People's Money ) , in this case the tax payers' money. But they don't care because there is a perennial nests of funds to rob from CPF, COEs GSTs, and other never ending sources of tax.

Rotten nut must be a mole of the governing elite

Wake up Singaporeans and stop being robbed by the pretentious and totally lack of conscience politicians.

Remember ministers and politicians pay is never enough and that is what they claim.

Virgo49 said...


Should be just as SAME and not Small businessmen. Invest another 10 trucks just to corner the markets of competitors out of market not knowing the that the tonnage of cargo does not increase with your extra capacity.

Throwing good MONIES on bad.

In no time, bleed into RED.

RED Alert.

Anonymous said...

The elites are good at "problems" that can use OPM to paper over?

When it comes to many (real) problems, their OPM modus operandi falls flat ...?

Since 1984, after th3 final old (fart's) guard (GKS foreed) stepped down, GoaLaonomics and subsequently TakBonomics have been running peesai to the ground ...?

The writings are all over the walls?

For example, look at the explanations they used for every screwed up or non-performance?

And they think they are super "geniuses" to "cook" up lame excuses for the various failings?

With GoaLaonomics & TakBonomics firmly rooted in peesai garmenmenance, it is a pale shadow of its zenith before 1985?

Anonymous said...

In the end, who pays for all these stupidity? You and I and everyone who takes another cab ride from the taxi companies after splurging a billion dollars on the deals with the winners laughing all the way to the bank.

Virgo49 said...

Hi Anon 11.35.

The Ministers and MPs supposedly in the plan to have 9% increments.

Now TCH said Hold Back.

Just imagine just reported surplus which is DONT know true or fake news and they want to have 9% increase. Wah piang multiply by millions. Much much more than the Total for All.

Cats out of the Bag.

Also Goldfish eyes mentioned of an extraordinary "windfall" of the Surplus. What's windfall also DONT dare TO disclose.

Wah they also like us bet on the USA Lotto of one trillion? ?

Thought we only gain png bet on lotteries!!

They also bet and have this surplus Windfall? ?

Anonymous said...

11:08am
U r correct. Comfort is stuck with 17000 cars if fewer are renting from it each day, the cars each about say $100,000 will have to write off: $1700,000,000. This kind of money should be borrowed from banks.

Uber software was unable to help the drivers. This was a fault on pricing daily rental. Comfort should bring down the rental to small car rental company level, eg $50 per day. U will see the market for comfort pick up as Uber software is an added advantage.

Comfort must do it fast to make adopting Uber as non optional and free of charge ie Comfort taxi drivers should not pay 10% to Uber.

These implementation problems will sort out when the comfort shareholder realize their drivers are getting lesser and lesser daily. They will have to slash prices on rental and Uber rental charges.

There are other taxi drivers being offered to drive taxi at $1800 fixed pay per month. Is this new fleets foolish to compete with the fixed X market share? This new fleet must be thinking Comfort is such an inflexible dinosaur, its new fleet can capture a large part of share.

Anonymous said...

Now most pressing issue is ala Xi Jin Ping extension beyond 2 terms aka hold office until 80+ yo like Ronald Reagan?

Dotard also will be almost 80-yo if he serves 2 terms?

What is wrong to stay till mid 70s if the newbies are not ready or clown unsuitable for the post?

Think about it?

Is this not the best BET for (Kiasi, Kiasu) majority sinkies?

What is the pt of changing leaders bc of some artificial guidelines?

Deng Xiao Ping became PRC supreme leader in 1976 at the age of 73 ...?

When he visited old fart in 1978 in peesai, he was 75 ...?

When he embarked on the southern trips in the early 1990s, he was already in his late 80s?

Even when he crushed the dissidents in 1989 tiananmen, he was already 85/ 86?

So to serve until mid 70s should be the norm than an aberration?

Anonymous said...

There seems to have some strong demand supporting Comfort Delgro price around $1.99/2.00 today even as risk aversion prevails in the markets on fears of accelerated US rate hikes and increased prospect of a China vs US trade war.

Do you think we can buy Comfort around $2.00 for a rebound targeting $2.14 after this current round of risk aversion subsides?

Gods Are Never Fair And Just! said...

The low taxes image of Singapore projected by irresponsible or mischievous people is a myth.

In monetary terms what are you subjected to if you are a nusinessman, a citizen, or permanent resident of Singapore;

1. Income tax.

2. Business profits tax.

3. CPF as a tax; arbitraged the average investment return of 7% per annum over the 2% or 3% payout into near lifetime or infinity for every contributor.

4. 150% car import tax.

5. COE 10-year licence tax.

6. Car park & ERP taxes.

7. High water tariffs.

8. High electricity charges.

9. Conservancies and town council charges.

10. Education fees; school fees, uniform group contributions, ECA activities, tour & travels, tuition fees which mostly cannot be avoided.

11. Near monopolistic/oligopolistic telecom, TV, newspaper charges.

12. Property tax and rental income tax.

13.Stamp duties - aplenty.

14. Over-inflated HDB lease property prices (thru high land costs transfer pricing though land is still own by govt). Govt has effective 100% land ownership in Spore via law of Land acquisition Act. HDB is 99-yr rental not sales contracts.

15. High medical charges in hospital in monetary terms & queuing time in public hospitals. Dreadful if serious & chronic diseases like cancer….will bankrupt the patient.

16. For citizens and 2nd generation PR, cheap NS labor & reservist 15 yrs or 1 mth per yr time taken away … big opportunity costs to time & employment dis-advantage with 2.5 million foreigners introduced by govt esp from 3rd world countries.

17. Govt with GLCs control & keep rental mkt at high price.

18. Licences' fees for almost every business or free-lance self-employment.

19. The most silent killer - GST of 7%, a very regressive taxation system taxing even unborn babies, but deceptively propounded by irresponsible con-men as a "progressive" tax. The fruit of the lies is in the eating.

Everything and everyone is squeezed from the balls to the neck, except the govt with monopolistic self-determined pays, bonuses & profits structures assured through passing laws.

Citizens are subject to the most competition in the world. On the other hand, Government officials and ministers enjoy almost zero competition and assured non-competitive, fat and bloated pays, perks and annual bonuses.

Anonymous said...

There is also a tax on tax - the GST imposed on the 30% water tax (and the price of water also raised by a whopping 30% recently)

Anonymous said...

Monthly maid levy also increased from $265 to $300 !


The next consumption tax hike they may target could be petrol tax, again !

Gods Are Never Fair And Just! said...

20. Levies for foreign workers, maids and executives.

21. Carbon tax.

22. Road tax and motor insurance.

23. High medical costs / bills.

24. Compulsory annual insurance premiums, such as property/fire insurance, maids insurance, workers insurance, Medishield Life, Eldershield Life, etc.

25. Childcare centre' fees for children from 2 to 6 years old.

Anonymous said...

Brace yourself for coffin tax !

Anonymous said...

4D also a form of tax.owesef tax owesef

Anonymous said...

You are welcome

Gods Are Never Fair And Just! said...

26. Cigerattes and tobacco tax.

27. Alcohol, wine and spirits taxes.

28. Petrol, Gas and Diesel taxes.

29. Fees for Birth Certificates, Passports, Identity Cards, Work Passes, MRT & Bus Cards, etc.

30. Gambling with the government as a form of payi v regular weekly or daily tributes to the government's or semi-govt gambling outlets.

31. Fines aplenty, such as car- illegal parking fines, overdue parking fines, chewing gum fines, mosquitoes breeding at or near your home fines, jay-walking fines for crossing the road, littering fines, smoking at public places fines, overloading your vehicles fines, traffic offences fines, hawking fines, begging fines ( begging is illegal in Singapore - that's why Prof Tommy Koh declared in the United Nations General Assembly that Singapore has no beggars!), noise fines, and many other fines. That's why Singapore has also been known as a "Fine City"!

Anonymous said...

How about prostitute services tax? Can augment tax revenue.

Anonymous said...

By letting current structure remain status quo, GoaLaonomics and its succeeding (even more cmi) garmenmance TakBonomics can be taking to further extreme extreme ...?

Such thing abt this buy that for more than 1/2 billions and much more buy high in tens of billions US$ and sell at tiny fraction can run rampant and unabated ...?

Then implosion can happen faster and the younger generations can start anew (if ever)?

Anonymous said...

The chn have a saying:

"Short pain better than lo(ooooo)ng pain"?

Let it happen (implode) & get over with it ...?

Anonymous said...

Is it not torture (for JINXkies) to be slowly being cooked?

One sharp pain will allow the frogs (JINXkies) to jump and propel from the gradually boiling pot, no?

Otherwise many frogs (JINXKIES) will be ckd & end up dead meat?

Anonymous said...

Given the taxes #1 to #31, where is the moron anon who said previously UK has lower gst than peesai?

Trying to smoke the kongcum daft lao ah pek/ lao ah ma oldies in msn?

DARE TO COMPARE item for item #1 to #31?

With various countries in the whore?

Dun practise Hsian Tao and compare apple with oranges and try pull wool over the eyes and smoke the daft oldies in msn ..., be a real man and compare apple to apple and not ah quaman walk like seesee ...?

Anonymous said...

*Should be uk has higher gst than peesai ...

Anonymous said...

Latest tfr 1.16 ... 2nd lowest on record ...

Which kongcum couples want to start famiLEE when only doom and gloom await their descendants?

Anonymous said...

Despite 70% voting record in ge 2015, sinkies voted with their feet (read corks ...?) as far as confidence in their future is concerned?

So the cat is out of sinkies bag ...?

Anonymous said...

Already said when come to real problem, cannot solve de ..., no?

Need elaborate anymore?

Squander 1/2 billion here tens of billions there, (world) #1 ..... tiok bor?

Anonymous said...

Need ah long san to hold the fort as lo(oooo)ng as possible while sinkies try make as much as possible and run road before implosion, isnt that what many sinkies have in common (in their HEARTS & MINDS)?

Anonymous said...

2:27pm
Descendants will have future. Go to China to settle down. China now offer Taiwanese employment opportunities on 31 professions. Sinkies young graduates can tap the vehicle. If they prove as descendants of some china villages, they get 5 yr PR and need only to go HK to stamp upon expiry.

If they are baba, go to North to Malacca. Sinkies has no real jobs creation programs. Heng ah has said making the "cake big", but seems too late, the manufacturing is shrinking fast. Good ones run away.
S$ is adjusted too strong for exports. Salary level is pushed too low for citizens resulting foreigners retailers also run off. Employment in these 2 main sectors are shrinking thanks to ahlong s liberal immigration policy.
Ahlong is still clinging on, Heng ah and the rest have no cures liao. Waiting for bankrupt.

Anonymous said...

Singapore government ministers were told on Thursday their salaries will stay frozen despite a recommendation for an increase, but there was little sympathy in the city state for the world’s best paid politicians.

The announcement only served to remind many Singaporeans of the sky-high compensation awarded to their public servants.

Ministerial salaries in the financial hub are the highest on Earth, with an entry-level minister paid SGD1.1 million and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earning an eye-watering SGD2.2 million.

The issue has long attracted public anger, and the government responded to criticism by slashing salaries after a 2012 review.

Lee’s salary is the highest of any elected head of government in the world. The US presidential salary is US$400,000 but billionaire Donald Trump has pledged to donate it.

Read more at: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2135327/singapore-ministers-pay-stay-frozen-public-chides

Anonymous said...

AnonymousMarch 02, 2018 2:48 pm
//Descendants will have future. Go to China to settle down. China now offer Taiwanese employment opportunities on 31 professions. Sinkies young graduates can tap the vehicle. If they prove as descendants of some china villages, they get 5 yr PR and need only to go HK to stamp upon expiry. //


Tq vm

Xi Jin Ping wan sui wan sui wan wan sui

Ah long san minus infinity infinity sui

Anonymous said...

Within less than 3 years old fart sold salted eggs, already so pathetic situation ... agree?

Now gng png new airport tax, woo bor?

Lsw in his eulogy said ye ye build great institutions?

But what happened?

Publicly said his frens advised him to run?

So in the end, are the institutions great or no great?

If great, why lsw and family rr?

Can explain pls (Dr LSY, Phd (Micro)Economics, Stanford University?)?

Anonymous said...

Aiming at building economic development and adding value to Andhra Pradesh.


A delegation from Singapore led by Director of Economic Development Tan Siew Ling, Director of Institutional Development Eric Tan Huck Gim and others paid a goodwill visit to Visakhapatnam Port Trust on Thursday.

They were received by VPT Deputy Chairman P.L. Haranadh, who made a presentation on the functioning, traffic projections, environment management initiatives and capacity augmentation and modernisation plans of the port.

Mr. Haranadh explained to them on how they were handling the cargo in a mechanised environment by providing covered storage facilities, using sewage treatment plant for industrial purpose, investment potential and opportunities in exploring exports and imports from the port. Ms. Ling said their visit was aimed at building economic development and adding value to Andhra Pradesh.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/singapore-team-visits-port/article22902235.ece

Anonymous said...

Nowadays the elites use lower pri (1) math to account abt policies and outcome, ... yes?

Very Jiat Lat ..., now elite also sama sama ahgongkia bortakchay dunno calculus?

Use some calculus lah like dy/dx, marginal change etc lah ... otherwise citizens start doubting minionsters can swim or not?

Anonymous said...

A mussel calamity has befallen the Republic's northern shores.

Since 2016, a new species of mussel that could have come from as far away as the Americas has been spreading rapidly along Singapore's northern coast, clogging up nets in fish farms and displacing the Asian green mussel native to Singapore, as they compete with the local molluscs for space.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/mussel-calamity-shellfish-from-the-americas-carpeting-singapore-shores-could

Replace that with "foreigners" and local molluscs with "Sinkies", and 2016 with "2004"

Anonymous said...

2:55pm
Salary anger continues because the immigrants 2.5 millions bring no new jobs. Citizens lose jobs. They made alot when the GDP surged to 15.2%. Their salaries/bonuses are based on GDP. The overall citizens lost far more beside jobs, inflation was 5.5% at chronic state that time.
Now the sluggishness on job markets due to 2.5 millions immigrants is irreversible.

Irreversible job market makes citizens hopeful becomes hopeless upon graduation. Sluggishness will pro long. Ah long wants to do it passes 70yr old will make these youngsters mad. His salary will be the talking point round the world for a long long time.

Anonymous said...

4:03pm
Faced with inflation went up, they adjusted S$ up. It was close to S$1.2 to one USD. Many exporters especially small businesses without much experty failed their exports. Some MNC left this place brought along with their hi tec manufacturing. Hollowed the manufacturing. But retailers faced low purchasing power caused by to inflation. The swee swee trapped the salary kept saying productivity needed to go up before cleaner could get $100 adjustment. They kept increasing the headcounts on ah neh, they told public productivity was declining. Only fools listened to their stories after a long while.

Anonymous said...

If they are really so good and making so much money, there is no need to rob the people's life savings in the CPF.

Any garment resorting to robbing the people's life savings has lost its moral authority and the trust of the people.

Anonymous said...

How to make money from the stupid --- oh you mean sinkies.

Yeah, comfort delgro is not the only stupid ones ... there are over 3 million others even more stupid.

Anonymous said...

Sinkies can also be known as Suckerkies or Vampire-Victims.

Rat Race Cooking Pot Society said...

The moral of the Singapore Story is NEVER to have highly intelligent people elected to govern you; the average Joe next-door with a calling would make a better natural leader than self-enriching natural aristocats who can even catch a single rat.

Rat Race Cooking Pot Society said...

Correction:

The moral of the Singapore Story is NEVER to have highly intelligent people elected to govern you; the average Joe next-door with a calling would make a better natural leader than self-enriching natural aristocrat who has to depend on father's name to make a living.

b said...

Many countries are no longer practising capitalism but cronyism. They are milking the people by their monopolies e.g. singtel, starhub, m1 own by same group of elites. They will want more migrants and they will raise taxes or gst to create more jobs for more migrants so they can sell more lines.

Anonymous said...

Basically, fundamentally and realistically, Sinkieland is run and controlled with iron-grip by Li Sian Tau and his Domineering Engineering Empress Dowager,

The couple controls all the country's money, businesses and livelihood of everyone in the island. But because of the subtle approach, and behind the scene manipulations, the public generally do not realise it. Only those who bother to analyse deeper and those close to the family know exactly what the hell have been going on.

The recent desperate displays of tax increases and efforts to "rob" the people of their life-long CPF Savings through unscrupulous compulsion forcing people to pay for insurance premiums which they do not want or need, are signs that there is a serious need for money either to cover- up over-spending and/or critical heavy losses in gambling-investments by both TH and GIC. That explains the urgent need to ensure, by hook and by crook, the Elected Presidency is not elected and a totally-controlled puppet, subservient and docile.

During Prata Man's time, he had revealed that the Reserves had already been dipped in 53 times. How many times the Reserves was dipped in during KFC's time, he did not reveal.

Anonymous said...

The cries & sufferings on the ground are thunderous ... (not unlike the ceaseless deafening thunders this evening in many parts of peesai)?

Karma will exact its deserving revenge on those evil serpents ...

And devour them inch by inch in eternal hell ...

For now they will suffer torments in sleepless nights and nightmares infested dreams ...

No amount of pain inflicted on them can atone the sins & 3vils they committ3d yesterday, today and will be committing tmr ...

Anonymous said...

What I cannot understand is this. There are Singaporeans crying for the release of their CPF. On the other hand there are Singaporeans who are investing into their CPF account even when they have exceeded their minimum sum. I have been told that the CPF account gives the best % returns on investment. Right?????

Anonymous said...

Only the (70%) daft pour their QUAH Cha Png into a scheme that they have no control over the withdrawals & the "goal posts" can be shifted without any mean of the contributors to have even 0.0000001 % say in it?

A scheme that provides even 1,000% returns but the terms can be amended at any pt in time without any say by the contributors is as good as ......... ?(fill in d .......?), much less a few % return ...?

Only daft with stupidity that cannot be cured (or those pretending to be stupid) will say they cannot understand (& try to pull wool over others eyes)?

Ruthlessness & Unscrupulous World of the Crafty said...

@750 am:
"What I cannot understand is this. There are Singaporeans crying for the release of their CPF. On the other hand there are Singaporeans who are investing into their CPF account even when they have exceeded their minimum sum. I have been told that the CPF account gives the best % returns on investment. Right?????"

There are many people (majority) of the contributors who wanted all their life-long savings returned to them at Age 55 and their accounts closed for good after that. This was the original agreement and promise by the government when the CPF Compulsory Saving Scheme was passed by Parliament into Law.

There are people (few greedy idiots) who put in more money into their CPF Savings SPECIAL Account to earn 4% interest per year instead of 2.5% per year.

There are two COMPULSORY INSURANCE Schemes which siphoned between $800 to $2000 premiums per year from the CPF Accounts and deplete their savings continuously, surely and persistently without respite. Once their CPF Accounts have been emptied, they are forced to top up or else they can be charged and go to jail. In addition, for those who are self-employed, if they do not too up their CPF Medisave Account, they CANNOT renew their Vocational Licence. That means they would be forced into JOBLESSNESS and their LIVELIHOOD Life-Line CUT-OFF!

You understand now?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I rather take out all my money in the CPF, with no interest, with the money in the pocket to use when I want it than even 10% or 100% interest when the money is not for me to use, locked up forever.

It is like a bird in hand is better than a hundred in the bush.

Money in your pocket is your money. Money in other people's pocket is not your money.

Anonymous said...

This new Circles.Life telco company is waiting to be bought over for a few hundred millions. It does not need to make money but slashed prices to gain market shares. When it has snatched enough customers from the other telcos, even losing money, some stupids would come knocking at his door offering him a few hundred millions to buy over his market share.

This is the strategy to make money from the stupids, not from the subscribers.

Virgo 49 said...

Anon 7.50

The Bank interests rate is pin and manipulated by those who want to have you put your MONIES in their scheme for just a mere few percentages more. EPF in Matland paid 6.5 and above interests.

Whereas the Sovereign Funds earned double or triple the amount by your CPF savings and just pay you 2.5 Max 4. Where the surplus go??

Once you put it, if goes to Special or RA, then any figures above your MS will be at RA and be proportional withdraw only month by month with your CPF Life if any. Unlike FDs can take any time and lapse the deposits.

Like RB said MONIES in your pockets better than in others.

A case of a elderly man who wanted to buy a wheelchair for himself had to beg the Board to release some to him.

Begging for your own MONIES just to buy a necessity for your own.

If you have the withdrawn MONIES, is there a need to beg??

This is PAP style to make you have your own MONIES and same time Coned to be grateful to them.