DBS in hot soup in India because of LVB?

The hottest topic today must be the long queue of Indian companies waiting to sue DBS Bank. Every concern Singaporeans, every thinking Singaporean is raining cold sweat if you know the consequences of this turning bad. My email and sms have been flooded with messages on the legal suits taken in India, not in Singapore, against DBS Bank. I would be feeling more secure if they were to sue in Singapore courts. But in Indian courts, tough.

Many are at the point of being hysterical on the fear of huge losses by DBS Bank, and at the way things are looking, it is a bottomless pit. To the concern and thinking Singaporeans it is not just our reserves being affected, their pockets would also be affected. See that? The big hole must be patched somehow, and who is going to pay for it? If you are still blur, then you are a perfect daft Singaporean.

OK, before this drama becomes too melodramatic, before doomsayers got carried away, I would like to give Singaporeans a big confidence booster. No need to worry lah. Why? Everything is under control. Such a big decision cannot be made like between Muthu and Ah Seng in the backlane, ai mai, eh sai beh sai, and deal done. 

Many very clever people must be involved in studying this merger before they said yes. No due diligence, cannot be lah. 

One best sign to know that all is well is that no one in the govt has said anything to the contrary or trying to sound out to the people, to prepare the ground, that DBS or Singapore is in deep shit. This is another way of saying, if no one complains, then there is no problem. In this case if the PM and all his ministers and MAS and DBS did not sound worrying, then all is fine. Opposition MPs also never make noise. You know they sure make a lot of noise if something is foul. If they also keep quiet, then must be ok lah. See no one ask question about this. See how many questions they asked about climate change and you know what is more important.

My logic good right?

Then DBS is not a fly by night company that was born yesterday. DBS has many years of experience in this type of merger, even advising companies about merger. How can DBS not know what it is doing. Gupta is the best banker in Singapore, maybe the whole world. And he came from India, born in India, just a few years ago he was still an Indian citizen. His contacts would have told him if got problem. He could smell them too. He is not paid millions to fumble in such a simple merger of two banks. Any small banker would be able to do it quite easily, especially to protect from unknown and unlimited liabilities. There would be a standard checklist of do's and don'ts.

And DBS have a lot of damn bloody smart and damn bloody shrewd lawyers.  These experts would be there first on the ground to assess the situation and to make sure the ground is safe before saying ok to put in hundreds of millions into the deal. Please don't suggest the damn bloody smart and shrewd lawyers were sleeping or did not know their job. They are experts in such things, many years of experience, not the first time working on such a case.  Ignorant lay people no need to worry too much. Leave it to the experts in DBS and the govt. Singapore is in good hands. Cross my heart.

Still not convinced? I guarantee you DBS and Singapore would not lose a single cent in this merger. Gupta already said LVB would be profitable in a year or two. Trust him. He is the best bank manager Singapore can find and afford to pay. Not to worry.

Yes, I guarantee. If DBS India becomes DBI, I lose and I will buy you kopi. See, putting money where my mouth is. Trust me, not to unduly worry over this and have sleepless night. Everything is fine, will be fine.

Remember, DBS is the best bank in the whole world.  You mean they could be duped so easily by the Indian govt into such a scam? Come off it. Don't let your imagination goes too wild. I bet all the Sues would be thrown out of the Indian courts. DBS would pay for the best Indian lawyers to fight these spurious lawsuits. No need best Indian lawyers from Singapore, no need Davinder. And in India, DBS can pay them in rupees some more. Cheap, cheap.

And we have a trump card still not use yet. If all else fails, send Chok Tong. He is India's man and the Indians would give him face. He looks so handsome in his Indian dress. What you call that he used to wear? When Chok Tong goes to India, all problems become no problem.

Have a good sleep and get on with your life. No need to worry unnecessarily....And we have so many top officials, ministers and MAS and DBS chiefs, all Indians, can talk in same language and understand the Indians and the game they are playing. How can anything go wrong? Por lah.

PS. Please excuse me if I made too many mistakes. I wrote this after downing half a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Cheap cheap one, offer from Fairprice.

Widespread sanctions are evil and must not be allowed

 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's foreign minister spoke out on Tuesday about "alarming developments" in Myanmar but said he did not support widespread sanctions on the country in response to a coup there as these could hurt ordinary citizens....

Imposing broad sanctions against Myanmar would hurt its population, where poverty was rife, Balakrishnan said, adding he had conveyed this point in discussions with Western counterparts, including Germany.   Vivian Balakrishnan in Yahoo News

Countries that imposed indiscriminate widespread sanctions on a country are more evil and irresponsible than the country they imposed sanctions on. The people of North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and many others in Latin America, Africa and Asia are still living in poverty because of the evil Americans and the wicked West imposing sanctions on them, some for several decades, leading to poverty and immense suffering of the people that are innocent and did not have anything to do with their govts. Further, every country has a right to choose their own system of govt and this is not an excuse to impose widespread sanctions on them. Communism is as good as Democracy if well managed for the good of the people. Democracy is more evil than Communism if practised for the benefits of the few elites.  The bottom line on good and evil is not ideology but evil men in charge.

The evil Americans are responsible for the millions of people living in poverty in countries sanctioned by them by their wicked lies and for political reasons.  When is the UN going to stand up for these suffering people? When is the UN going to stand up against the evil American Empire and stop them from destroying the lives and economies of nation states?

Reckless indiscriminate sanctions like what the Americans have done to Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela. Iran and many other countries are evil to the core. It affects the entire population that had nothing to do with the political leaders or politics. The evil Americans must be stopped from their cruel and wicked acts to impoverish hundreds of millions of people around the world. They are going to include Myanmese as their next target.

To the evil Americans, they have been waiting eagerly for this opportunity to exert their imperial agenda to control Myanmar and to raise tension in the region, meaning wars and more business for their war industry. The main purpose of their dominance is to control and abuse the world, inciting wars and making every country fighting and killing each other, economy destabilised and dysfunctional and at the mercy of the Americans.

While some Asean countries are opening their big mouth to shout at Myanmar, they should also shout at the Americans and the West from imposing nation wide sanctions against the people of Myanmar.  They should raise this at the UN and remove all the wicked sanctions against other countries imposed by the evil Americans. The aggressive behaviour and gangsterism of the Americans cannot be condoned and cannot be allowed to be repeated in Myanmar. 

Look at what they did in Iraq, Syria and Libya! Keep the evil Americans out of other countries' domestic affairs. Tell the Americans to save themselves first from the Covid19 pandemic and the racial division in their own country.

Do not allow the Americans to use this as an excuse to destroy the lives of the Myanmese and turn the Asean region into another hotbed of wars, instability and white terrorism.

DBS In Hot Soup In India?

 DBS In Hot Soup In India?

It certainly looks like DBS, with an original Indian Chief at the helm, has got itself into very hot and spicy Indian curry soup.

UOB Kay Hian has released a report on 19 Feb 2021, suggesting that DBS would be suffering from “more headaches from lawsuits in India”.

DBS plunges itself into the Indian Ocean of deep troubles when it went ahead to acquire the failing Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) in India last November.

It was a like a shot-gun marriage initiated by the Central Bank of India. to force DBS India to merger with LVB in order to rescue LVB from certain collapse.

Immediately after DBS India merged with LVB, Religare Finvest Limited (RFL) of India filed a petition with the Delhi High Court to make DBS India a respondent in its ongoing lawsuit with LVB, on the ground of the merger of the two banks (‘Firm petitions court to make DBS responsible for LVB’s embezzlement of S$130m of its FDs‘).

Prior to DBS’ acquisition of LVB, 2 employees of LVB were already arrested last year for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of RFL’s fixed deposits from the bank.

A total amount of some Rs 729 crore (S$132 million) belonging to RFL was alleged to have been embezzled by the 2 senior LVB staff.

In fact, RFL reported the matter to the Indian police back in 2018.

It was alleged that the staff colluded with external parties in siphoning off RFL’s fixed deposit money from the bank.

Subsequent investigation is said to have uncovered grave irregularities and severe violation of regulations at LVB.

The claim amount by RFL has swelled to Rs 900 crore (S$164m) due to compounding of interest.

The next hearing of the case is scheduled to be heard next Thursday (25 Feb).

There are also other similar cases still outstanding. How many more such claims against DBS will there be? Your guess is as good as mine.

Maybe CPIB should make an investigation into the background of how this funny deal was negotiated and who were those involved?

What will be the implications to Temasek Holdings?

SSO

Covid19 vaccines - Who are the irresponsible countries?

 As of today, two of the major vaccine producing countries are hoarding all the vaccines for themselves and their closed allies. The USA and UK are hoarding hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines for their own people, Americans first, British first. This has created a world shortage for the vaccines for the developing and poorer countries. No money no talk. Got money also have to queue. Even the European countries, hard core allies of the Americans, members of Nato, are being left out in the cold.  Germany, France and the rest of the European countries are still not getting their vaccines. And the irresponsible Americans and British are saying they would offer to them and the rest of the world after they have met the demands of their own people. Only the excess would be shared to the rest of the world. When would this happen? For now, only token amounts were given to a few select countries while USA and UK took the bulk, leading to world shortage and delays in delivery to those that paid cash out front for the vaccines.

On the contrary, the country that they have smeared as being irresponsible, China, has been distributing vaccines to more than 50 countries around the world. From east European states of Serbia, Hungary, to Nato country like Turkey and countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and South East Asia. China is now shouldering the world's demand for Covid19 vaccines on its own, sharing the vaccines to countries that desperately needed the vaccines but unable to buy or get them from the two so called 'responsible' countries, the USA and UK. Both have been paying lip service that they would help the rest of the world, only after helping themselves, and that would take at least a year or more. How irresponsible are these hypocritical countries?  All about themselves and still got the cheek to smear China as being irresponsible. The Americans and Brits would only share their vaccines when they have a surplus, leftovers!

In the meantime more and more countries are turning to China for help to get their vaccines. They know that the evil Americans and Brits would not sell to them until their own needs are met. And the developing countries would be down at the bottom of the waiting list, money not enough to pay the rogues a ransom for the vaccines. China is offering them the vaccines at very affordable price, some at friendship prices. And China is ramping up its production of vaccines to be able to spread them to the rest of the world that cannot get the vaccines from the two biggest producers, the USA and UK. 

How irresponsible are these Anglo Saxon powers? When the world needs them, when the world is dying, they are only thinking of themselves. Countries of the world must open their eyes and see who are the irresponsible ones that would turn them away in times of trouble, in a pandemic. 

When the world needs leadership to tackle this pandemic, the Americans and Brits are only caring for themselves. The European states are giving up and are turning to China for help. Unfortunately the use of vaccines has been turned into a political issue.  They cannot use Chinese or Russian vaccines without the approval of the Americans and NATO. They need the approval of the Americans to buy vaccines from China and Russia and if no approval is given, their people die. This is how tragic the Europeans are today, at the mercy of the evil Americans that dictate whether they live or die and cannot say no to the Americans.

The rest of the world, the developing countries, are in a way better than the Europeans. They don't need the blessing and approval of the Americans to buy vaccines from China or Russia. The queues for Chinese vaccines are getting longer and longer, but the wait is anytime faster than waiting for the leftovers, so called surplus, from the USA and UK that may come a day too late.

Who are the irresponsible nations in the world? Many are dying, waiting for the vaccines, vaccines that did not come in time. Good luck to the Europeans while they wait for the Americans and Brits to offer them when the two had had enough.  When would that day come?

Who is saving the rest of the world from Covid19?

PS. Believe it or not, the Americans are more caring about the imaginary 'genocide' in Xinjiang fabricated by them than the 500m infections and 500,000 American deaths due to Covid19, and the numbers are growing. They are so caring about the Muslims in Xinjiang, but keep on killing the Muslims in the Middle East and letting Americans killed by the virus or die because of snow storm.

Americans are really 'great' people.

USA, a country of fake news and lies and fake press freedom

 More glaring evidence about how fake the Americans are in their freedom of the press, fake news media, champions of human rights, abuses of power. Read what John Swinton, Chief of Staff of NYT said below and slap yourself if you have been a blind believer of American lies. 

Shame on you, lying journalists, hypocrites. And shame on you, gullible unthinking believers of white lies.

John Swinton on the independence of the press

Variations on the quote below have been misattributed as a response to a toast, by John Swinton, as "the former Chief of Staff at the New York Times", before the New York Press Club in 1953. However, research reveals that Swinton (1829-1901), after moving to New York, wrote an occasional article for the New York Times and was hired on a regular basis in 1860 as head of the editorial staff. Afterward holding this position throughout the Civil War, he left the paper in 1870 and became active in the labor struggles of the day. He later served eight years in the same position on the New York Sun and later published a weekly labor sheet, John Swinton's Paper.

The remarks were apparently made by Swinton, then the preeminent New York journalist, probably one night in 1880. Swinton was the guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft. Someone who knew neither the press nor Swinton offered a toast to the independent press. Swinton outraged his colleagues by replying:


There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.

There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.

The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press?

We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.

Despite the misattribution, the quote raises the issue of whether there is not continuing truth in Swinton's remarks, and whether some candid journalist might not be able to fairly say similar things today. Anyone who has associated closely with journalists can hardly avoid finding a ring of truth in such words, and the best evidence lies in the actual product of journalists and how well, or how poorly, it both agrees with and covers what actually happens, especially involving such things as corruption and abuse of power.

Source:  https://constitution.org/2-Authors/jroland/pub/swinton_press.htm