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7/05/2013
Temasek Annual Report 2013
‘2009 News--Government will be able to issue more securities like bonds, after Parliament approved raising the limit of its borrowings from $250 billion to $320 billion.
This motion to increase the limit was passed yesterday.
Explaining the need for a higher amount, Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua said the Government is close to reaching the current ceiling of $250 billion, with more securities likely to be issued.
There are $234.7 billion worth of outstanding government securities, she said, and the amount is expected to hit $320 billion in the next five years.’
The above was posted by an anonymous blogger as a comment. It is old news but may still be applicable when the next set of bond is due for redemption and wonder how much it would be.
I am no expert in this kind of numbers and I am not going to dig into them to figure out what is or what is not. Maybe Leong Sze Hian might have more to say on this. I think he must be banging away with his calculator at the moment to make sense of what is being published to day.
All I can say is that if Temasek’s net portfolio value is $215b and (if there is a $234.7b worth of bond expiring, hypothetically), the amount with Temasek would not be enough to redeem these bonds. Or maybe some of the bonds will be serviced by GIC. If Temasek is liable fully for this $234.7b, then the 16% annual return is going to be meaningless right? Anyone knows when will the next bond be due and how much would it be? I am just using the numbers as examples for discussion only.
And in order for Temasek to continue to hold on to this $215b, it needs to roll over the bonds by issuing more bonds to the tune of $320b. And this roll over is going to go up annually, while the value of Temasek’s holding may take a long time to catch up, which technically Temasek is operating on a negative asset basis. Tio boh? Please enlighten me that I am wrong and what Temasek is owning now a large portion of it is net profit, less bond redemption.
Oh, there are some economists here. Please help and explain to the laymen what the numbers mean, can?
Singapore Land Office sells land to Temasek Holdings at a "subsidized" price of $X.
ReplyDeleteTemasek sells the land to HDB at a 'subsidized" price of $(X+Y).
HDB leases the land+HDB flat to Sinkies at a "subsidized" price of $(X+Y+Z) for 99 years.
Sinkies resell the HDB lease to "Locals" and Foreigners at the "market" $(X+Y+Z+A) price.
Everybody wins.
Wah so cheap.
What can possibly go wrong?
Make sure don't develop subsidy mentality hor.
So easy, what for we need so many MNCs to build factories here?
No need engineers, accountants and lawyers anymore.
Can close down our universities.
Don't even need the 5 mayors;
The unknown number of Ministers without portfolio inside the Prime Minister's Office.
Do we even need 99 Members of Parliament?
Temasek would make more money by parking the funds to collect interests and save on the salary and overheads it has to pay to maintain the offices and operation.
ReplyDeleteRight, likewise the Town Councils.
DeleteJust let the HDB collects whatever necessary on the economy of scale of all constituencies for the necessary conservancy charges.
No need to have the staff and mayors overheads. Also no excess funds to play the Lehman bros game.
Why not just close down Temasek.
ReplyDeleteHire a foreign talent to do the admin work.
And just buy shares in Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet's company).
Now we get Warren Buffet's talent to invest our Singaporean taxpayer's money.
Instead of you-know-who.
Definite to make more money with Buffett and lower cost. No need waste money on buying talents to lose money.
ReplyDeleteTemasick accounting is in a huge mess. They booked profit but not loss. They booked increase of assets value but not those that went underwater. They all do not want to lose their too highly paid jobs. They will do whatever to cover up their mistakes so they will not lose their jobs.
ReplyDeleteI think bonds issued are made by ministry such as HDB besides TH/GIC etc. They should provide a breakdown of who are/ will be issuing the bonds and for what purpose. Anyway, I think their recent investment in india is very high risk.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would only believe the figures when the account is open and transparent.
ReplyDeleteWOW! The wonders of leverage. Time for the sovereign wealth fund to become a sovereign HEDGE fund.
ReplyDeleteTheNutSack should be recruiting the best gamblers from MBS and Resort World to participate in the new sovereign hedge fund.
I feel tat the th n gic should form a investment supervisory body consist of well known proven rags to riches icon to guide their investment types n portfolio , like chua tian poh , peeter lim , popiah king sam goi , koh boon hwee, ron sim , oliva lum , quek leng beng , wee chow yao , ong beng seng , etc n etc
ReplyDeleteN to give out a small portion of theirprofit, if any , as dividen to singaporeans so as to get blessings from these singaporeans...
Hope is not a stupid ideas this suggestion to them...
Please don't ask any economist. Only two persons can answer this. One is enjoying his million dollar salary and will likely ignore you. The other is Madam Vellama. Beg her to go to court. Ask whether the PM has the unfettered discretion not to tell us about our money.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised at this article. Temasek's portfolio has nothing to do with government debt. The two issues are unrelated.
ReplyDeleteSeah Chiang Nee's Saturday column
ReplyDelete[Old and abandoned]
"There is a growing number of elderly Singaporeans being abandoned by their families in nearby foreign countries."
http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Insight-Down-South/Profile/Articles/2013/07/06/Old-and-abandoned.aspx
To Redbean and all Singaporeans:
ReplyDeletePart 1:
1) To contribute constructively to building this small, tiny but socially stable and economically relatively prosperous nation ( if we can call ourselves one, otherwise we are just another state or country ) does not equate to doing things like those recently happening in Eygpt, HK or even in our neighbouring countries.
Why?
Singapore is a very small place in the scheme of things. The current channels that are in place or in existence I believe are sufficient to bring across messages and views to our authority or those in power without disruption to our everyday lives.
For this current situation --- one where there is peace and everyday activities and lives carry on for almost everyone --- it must be said that it is the contribution of all: the early leaders, the second generation leaders, those in power, netizens, blogger, oppositions ( it must be said that many in the past had risked almost everything to do it ), the elites, the educated, the middle class, the ordinary folks, the young and old, the earlier generation of our grand parents and parents etc etc.
2) I must qualify that in my whole life till now, I am just an ordinary Singaporean and I am saying all these in my personal capacity and humble but sincere and honest opinion. Till now, I have not and I am not a member of any party. I am just speaking as an ordinary Singaporean in the interests of Singapore as a whole.
I do have my own family, my deepest sorrows in my journey in life thus far on this small island, my deepest disappointments with certain things that happened. I also have my share of success in certain points of my journey thus far including some that probably many would not have reached or experienced before.
In a journey, sometimes, it is the ups and downs along the way that form the most meaningful part than the destination itself.
Frankly, I have my fair share of working 18 to 20 hours a day to build up something I believe in during my younger days in my twenties.
I have my fair share of raising my kids till now almost on our own with very minimal parental support. I am in the system. How can I not know the pains, the sorrows, the anguish, sufferings, the difficulties, the frustrations that many had experienced and are experiencing now. How do I not know the way the elites do, say and act in such "insensitive and arrogant ways" that " really piss people off".
3) In our personal lives, whatever that we do often have minimal repercussions.
But once done on a bigger stage, that is a total different ball game.
I believe in being rational. Especially when it comes to dealing with other people's lives and the repercussions and consequences that come with it.
On a bigger stage, then we must ask what is or are the objectives that we are trying to bring about?
It must not be just “a, b, c” and that is about it. Millions of livelihood and probably even history would be changed and/ or affected though we are a small entity globally.
It must be at least along the line of “a, b, c, .... x, y, z, aa, bb, cc, ..... xx, yy, zz, aa1, bb1, cc1, ....xx1, yy1, zz1 .......” etc.
Have we thought carefully and thoroughly what our objectives are or would be now, 10 years down the road and 20 and much further so that at least we ensure that our future generation inherit a sound place and system to build on ........
To Redbean and all Singaporeans:
ReplyDeletePart 2:
4) Objectives:
Doing things in a bigger stage is like bringing a life or a few lives into this world between a couple and more than that .......
It is not just the simply the pregnancy stage and labour or giving birth ....... and that's it! This is just the beginning! The journey would be far, far ahead .......
Can we give a good or better life to them in not just one, two or five years but 20, 30 years down the road and further ....... ?
What are the objectives that we seek and can deliver ..... :?
Sustainable Economic Growth?
Social Stable?
Good and Fair Education and opportunities?
Better Jobs and Employment for everybody?
Welfarism for the Poor and Old?
Minimum Wage policy?
Strong Defence?
Sound, Honest and Capable Civil Service?
Caring and Sustainable Social Policies?
100% or almost 100% Home Ownership?
Full or almost Full Employment?
Stable and Relatively Strong Currency and exchange rate?
Sustainable Healthy Trade Balance and even Surplus?
Reasonably Good Healthcare System?
Blissful Golden Years?
Racial Harmony?
Equality?
More Equitable Distribution of Income?
Continuity?
Self-Renewal?
Sound, Friendly and Sustainable Relationship with Foreign Powers?
Sustainable and mutually beneficial Bilateral and Multi-lateral Trade Agreements?
Long Term Survival and Prosperity?
Demography?
Birth rate?
Etc etc ..............
5) Now!
Who want to kee chiu and volunteer they for sure they can deliver ?
Anyone ....... ?
This is like bring baby or a few babies into this world and much more than that ......
It is not a game!
It is a life long responsibility, beyond and more ..........
Shouldn't we take a step back, think about what we can really deliver before we even attempt anything ?
Remember, it is not just about “a,b,c” and that's it!
It is about “a, b, c, .... x, y, z, aa, bb, cc, ..... xx, yy, zz, aa1, bb1, cc1, ....xx1, yy1, zz1 .......” etc.
I am sure Singaporeans are one of the smartest people in the world going by many empirical studies and statistics.
If there is a group of capable, honest, sincere, talented and caring people who can do that and deliver, Singaporeans would be the first to grab ........... , tio bo? Mai tan liao ....... !
Any around? Kee chiu. One hand, two hands also can. Kee kah also can if sitting down and hands caring a baby ....... ! Happy?
Very simple lah.
ReplyDeleteSuppose someone (eg Sinkie PR) wanted to buy your HDB flat for $2 million.
So of course it is worth $2 million lah.
And who is RB to say your HDB flat should be only $400K and not $ 2M?
$ value is created people mah. Especially foreigners who are very rich and want to come here to buy.
So now do you know why we need so many foreigners? To create $ value for PAP govt as well as Sinkies, tio bo?
Perhaps the bonds are to be issued to reclaim more land? The dutch can create a land (Flevoland) twice the size of singapore. If we have so much land, 6.9m population is not a big issue lah.
ReplyDeleteThe Dutch created a mass of free islands into Indonesia.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps the bonds are to be issued to reclaim more land?"
ReplyDeleteThere is already plenty of empty land in Singapore.
It's all hidden in plain sight.
And you need a car to see it.
Example: Dempsey Hill.
But the land in Dempsey will not be released to build more housing for the elderly.
Why?
Because it will bring down property prices in Orchard Road.
"Perhaps the bonds are to be issued to reclaim more land?"
ReplyDeleteWe will only reclaim more land IF the subsequent increase in land area does not affect property prices.
Do you seriously think we reclaim more land to benefit Singaporean citizens?
Another boleow issue.
ReplyDeleteWhat has Temasek Annual Report got to do with the People.
It is not as though the People get to share any of the profits.
Close your eyes and dream that the money belongs to the people. Yes, just dream on. But do not be disappointed when you wake up!
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to ask in Parliament what is the purpose of GIC and Temasek other than being fund managers for our nation's reserves. Oops, please forgive me if I say something wrong. Please tell me that I am wrong and the money in these two funds are not the nation's reserves and have nothing to do with the people.
ReplyDeletePlease tell the people the money in these funds are not for them but to pay the fund managers handsomely for their hard work in growing the funds by wise investments. Nothing to do with fund injections.
Please don't tell the people where the funds get their money and mandate from.
Ng Kok LIm's latest
ReplyDelete[Eating at hawker centres doesn’t show we are enjoying good life]
"I refer to the 7 Feb 2013 Straits Times letter
'Yes, we are enjoying the good life' by Mr Rajasegaran Ramasamy [1].
Mr Ramasamy should understand that
eating at hawker centres doesn’t necessarily imply a good, affordable lifestyle
but could instead be a necessity born out of working ever longer hours
or even working 2 jobs to cope with ever increasing cost of living
leaving little time for cooking.
This is a view supported by Makasutra founder Mr K F Seetoh [2] who said:
• more people tend to work longer, they have no time to cook and they eat out
• when stress levels increase, there is also the natural desire to want to hang out over a cheap, simple comfort meal "
http://trulysingapore.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/eating-at-hawker-centres-doesnt-show-we-are-enjoying-good-life/