6,000 Indian companies operating in Sin

It is reported that there are 6,000 Indian companies operating here, the largest group of foreign companies, outdoing our traditional partners like the US, Malaysia, Japan and China. This explains why the whole of Changi Business Park is probably filled by Indian companies.
 
How do these companies contribute to Singapore and its economies and what is the balance sheet in favour of Singapore? For sure, they will have to pay for the rentals in the park and the utilities and corporate taxes. The staff will also add up to the demands for housing, sales and rentals, and consumption of goods and services.
What about FDI? What percentage of FDI is contributed by this huge presence relative to other foreign companies? How many good jobs are created for Sinkies? What kind of goods and services are these companies providing with their huge presence? What is the value add from these companies to the economy in skills and technology transfer to Sin?
 
Are these companies in the likes of Rolls Royce, Panasonic, Thomsons, and the big names of Europe, America and Japan? Are we having quantity or quality investments from these FDIs? Or do they qualify as FDIs?

Lily Neo felt helpless

Lily Neo wrote in her facebook that she felt very down after failing to help her residents to get back their money held captive in the CPF. Many have reached 55 or going to and are in desperate need of money only to see their money in the CPF. The money is their but not for them to touch. The impatient is turning into anger and desperation.

And many thanks to the govt for the many schemes to help the people with their life savings. And the govt is so proud to declare to the people that it is helping them with their money. As more and more Sinkies get to and pass 55, the number of disgruntled people is rising daily. On the other hand there is not a single word of sorry, of apology or remorse from the govt, but sheer arrogance that the people can just be ignored.

Now why would a population of several million people, and tens of thousands of aggrieved oldies finding themselves so helpless, so in need of money but not able to use their money? And at most there are less than 80 MPs to deal with. Even then, not all 80 of them are in favour of keeping the people’s savings out of their reach.

The decision is likely to be the brain child of a handful of politicians who are so aloof and dismissive to think that the people elected them to do anything they want to the people. Could the people change their fate and take back their money by simply voting out the govt? Is it really so difficult to do such a thing when their core interests are at stake? Howe Yoon Choong was forced to step down after he tried to extend the withdrawal age of the CPF. What had happened since was much more obnoxious. And on top of this there are many very serious issues that the people are unhappy about.

Why not change the govt in the next GE? It is so easy to vote out a govt in a GE if the people decided to do so. Is the CPF such an intolerable issue to break the camel’s back? Why would the people work for a life time and rudely awaken to find the hard truth, that they have no right to take back their life savings as promised? Why would the people feel that they cannot do anything about it? And why does the govt think that they can change the rules of the CPF and they can get away with it? And the schemes to hold back the CPF savings of the people are getting more and more audacious and unacceptable with total disregard of the people’s feeling, objection, disapproval and protest. The frustration is festering and growing.

Maybe it is true, once the people elected other ordinary citizens to be the govt, they ended up as servants and slaves to these ordinary people who are now called the govt. The helplessness is not only in Lily Neo. The helplessness is in all the citizens, young and old. Why save?

Stock broking, a new reality

Trading on SGX dived to a low of $914m daily after the recent penny stock crash. Superficially it is still a big number to generate a decent income for the brokerages and the remisiers. But what is real? My guesstimate is that 90%, could be more, of the daily trades are done by computer traders and house traders which generates zero commission. Assuming that this is true, the balance 10% or $90m, to round up the number for ease, would generate at max $450k at 0.5% or $270m at 0.3%.
 
Using an average of $350k, the broking houses’ share would be $210k or $10.5k per house (assuming that there are 20 houses). The average monthly intake would be less than $230k for one brokerage.
 
In the case of remisiers, the share of commission is $140k. Assuming there are 3000 remisiers, the daily income per remisier on the average will be $40. Multiply this by 22 days, the monthly income of an average remisier is about $1000.
 
The numbers are frightening and a pittance from the heydays. Is this sustainable for an industry of 20,000 people? Is this sustainable for a regionable stock exchange, a financial centre? Is this what we call a vibrant stock exchange?
 
Or is this the intensive ward for the critically ill? How long can this last before the patient breathes his last breath?

Murdoch, Monash, Curtin, RMIT …not recognized

I was shock to hear this little piece of news. I have had colleagues from these reputable universities and they are not recognized today. And that is not all, only 8 Australian universities are recognized here, ANU, Melbourne, WA, Adelaide, NSW etc. Parents spending hundreds of thousands to send their children to Australia better go and reconfirm this news and not to waste their precious savings on a piece of crap. I am still not convinced that this is true. Can someone please confirm that this is not true.
 
The news becomes even more ridiculous and nauseating when thousands of universities are recognized under CECA. Holy cow, who are those people that made these decisions? Did they sign the agreement under the influence of toddy or poppy flowers or kamasutra?
 
No, it cannot be. Out super talents cannot be as silly as this. If this is true, stupidity will take on a different meaning.

Overloading?

This is what a train in Pakistan looks like. And it is what our SMRT train can aspire to be in the future. It speaks volumes about full capacity, profitability, discipline, tolerance, ingenuity, integration and quality of life. 

Now who said Singapore can support a population of 6.9m in 2030? Don't believe in that fool. He does not know what he is talking about. And who is the other fool who said Singapore can support a population of 8m! Another foolish thought.

Look at the photo carefully, Singapore can easily take in 20m if we are willing to live happily and closely together in harmony. And no need to worry about body odour. Our nose would be desensitised by constant exposure to people compressed together.

And the shareholders of SMRT will be the happiest people, all laughing to the bank. Quick, load up on SMRT shares.

Photo credit to China Daily.

The Thailand impasse continues

The Yellow Shirts claimed victory over the Red Shirts. In this latest protest, the initiative was with the Yellow Shirts. There was a deliberate inaction among the Red Shirts. They were there but confined themselves to the sports stadium to avoid a bloody clash. The victory claimed by the Yellow Shirts is a victory of urban over the rural people. How genuine is this victory in terms of the real support of the Thai people for or against the govt?
 
Bangkok is only a small fraction of Thailand. Can the Yellow Shirts count on the rest of the country as their base and supporting their cause to remove the govt? The Yingluck govt is on the defensive. Did they know something that the public is not privy to, that the Yellow Shirts have bigger backers and would not back down in a street confrontation?
 
Is the street protest a tyranny of the minority or a true reflection that the majority of the Thai people wanted a change of govt? Suthep has called for a democratically elected govt to step down to be replaced by a non elected govt. Would Yingluck go for break and move her govt to the north where her support base is and cause a temporary division of Thailand between the rural Thais and the urban Thais? Would Thailand’s unity survive or would there be a divided Thailand, a kind of a republic in the north and a monarchy in Bangkok and the south? Is this the moment for the Thais to make a forced choice?

Foreigners are shitting everywhere

The smell of foreign shit is everywhere, some disguised as pinky shit by their possession of a newly minted pink IC. Sinkies have been sodomised for so long and finally wakening up with a sore exhaust pipe.
 
There are just too many foreigners here in mid and top management positions not through merit but by screwing the daft Sinkies, with fake degrees, discriminations, favouritism and tribalism. Sinkies are being elbowed out of good jobs while foreigners are taking over, many at CEO positions. The cry to protect the interests of Sinkies is getting louder by the days but no one is listening. There is now a call to nationalize good jobs for Sinkies. Sinkies are not fighting for jobs on a level playing field in their home country. They are being cheated in their home country. If this goes on they will be cheated of their country soon.
 
Many countries have a ruling that the HR departments must be headed and run by the citizens, in Malaysia, in Indonesia and many other countries. Their govts will do everything to protect their citizens. Their govts will not betray their people. It is inconceivable for any govt to betray its own people by hiring foreigners to replace them. And this is even more sickening if it happens in a democratic country where the govt is democratically elected by the people. Can you believe that a democratically govt elected by the people will screw its own people and betray them? Never is the word. It must not be allowed to happen.
 
The govt needs to look at this seriously, to impose new employment regulations and for a start, all HR must be manned by Sinkies. No buts, no delays. This is an urgent matter that affects the welfare and well beings of Sinkies. The Sinkies must demand that the govt acts on this immediately. No more one year later nonsense. The jobless and discriminated and cheated Sinkies cannot wait any more.