‘Leaders must be able to take criticism, acknowledge mistakes’: PM Lee

[skyleon]

New property cooling measures announced: Higher ABSD rates, tighter loan limits


0 5 Jul 2018 07:21PM (Updated: 06 Jul 2018 09:48AM)



SINGAPORE: The Government announced on Thursday (Jul 5) that it is raising Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and tightening loan-to-value (LTV) limits on residential property purchases, in an effort to "cool the property market and keep price increases in line with economic fundamentals".

The move comes several days after official data showed that private home prices had risen to its highest point in four years in the April to June quarter, with analysts predicting that prices could soon recover to 2013 peak levels.

​“The government has been monitoring the property market closely. We are very concerned that prices are running ahead of economic fundamentals," said Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development on Thursday.

"There is a large supply of units coming on stream and interest rates are going up. We want to avoid a severe correction later, which can have more destabilising consequences. Hence we are acting now to maintain a stable and sustainable property market,” he added.

The ABSD will be raised by 5 percentage points for citizens and permanent residents (PRs) buying second and subsequent homes, and by 10 percentage points for entities, said the the finance and national development ministries, as well as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a joint release.

There will be no change in the rates for citizens and PRs purchasing their first residential property.

An additional ABSD of 5 per cent, which is non-remittable under the Remission Rules, will also be introduced for developers purchasing residential properties for housing development.

Authorities said that for purchases jointly made by two or more parties of different profiles, the highest applicable ABSD rate will apply.

However, full ABSD remission will continue to be provided for joint purchases of the first residential property by married couples with at least one spouse who is a Singapore citizen, they added.

Married couples with at least one Singapore citizen spouse who jointly purchase a second home together can continue to apply for an ABSD refund, as long as they sell their first home within six months after the date of purchase of the second property, or by the issue date of the Temporary Occupation Permit or Certificate of Statutory Completion of the second property - whichever is earlier.

The new rates are effective Jul 6, but there will be a transitional provision for cases where an Option to Purchase (OTP) has been granted by sellers to potential buyers on or before Jul 5.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...limit-10502710



Somehow this never surprise me . The government is very good at collecting more revenue from its citizens and residents . Looks like Singapore will be having another budget surpluses . So you still want to vote for PAP ???

[MiloGoaSiewDao]

Can still a lot of ofo bikes around.

[JoesephToh]

Looks like more people will be sibeh tulan with the PAP government .

[skyleon]

Huge backlash from Singaporeans after Government raises stamp duties and tightens loan limits in attempts to control surging property prices


By Obbana Rajah -
July 6, 2018

Yesterday, the Singapore government announced adjustments to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits on residential property purchases.

In a joint statement, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said that the ABSD for Singaporeans and permanent residents who are buying their second or subsequent property will be raised by five percentage points with effect from Friday, July 6.

These changes come after an increase of about 9.1 per cent for private residential prices over the past year.

New property cooling measures introduced by Government to calm market euphoria


Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development, said the government has been monitoring the property market and he added, “We are very concerned that prices are running ahead of economic fundamentals. There is a large supply of units coming on stream and interest rates are going up. We want to avoid a severe correction later, which can have more destabilising consequences. Hence we are acting now to maintain a stable and sustainable property market”.

These changes leave many unhappy, especially amidst rising water prices and electricity tariffs.

The most common gripe of people being that while ABSD rates have increased, the changes might not be effective enough for those able to afford second or third properties in the first place. Singles also feel discriminated against, as married couples can “apply for a refund of ABSD, as long as they sell their first residential property within 6 months after (a) the date of purchase of the second residential property, or (b) the issue date of the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) or Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC)”, while singles are unable to.



continue reading here : http://theindependent.sg/huge-backla...operty-prices/


Angry for what ? You are the ones who voted for the PAP Government .

[skyleon]

New cooling measures: The show has just begun

Published on 2018-07-06 by The Online Citizen


by Property Soul

What a roller-coaster week for Singapore’s real estate market.

It is a surprisingly well-coordinated good show put up by the Singapore government, complemented by the parts played by different stakeholders in the industry, with an unexpected ending of the cooling measures announcement.

The show leading to the announcement

Day 1: URA Q2 Estimate and PropNex IPO

The show kicked off on Monday when URA showed an increase of 3.4 percent in its flash estimate’s of 2nd Quarter 2018 private residential property price index.

The media reported the good news and the analysts cheered for another good year for the property market.

In the meantime, PropNex raised S$40 million in IPO which was 24.6 times oversubscribed by the public, despite controversies over transfer fee and revenue discrepancy.

Day 2: Government Land Sales

The next day saw URA awarding the 99-year Hillview Rise site to Hong Leong Group which paid the top bid of S$460 million and promised to deploy a few innovative technologies to boost productivity. This echoed with last week’s GLS announcement that four new residential sites and seven more on the reserve list will be launched.

Day 3: MAS Warning

On Wednesday, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief Ravi Menon made use of the occasion at the MAS annual report media briefing to deliver his speech on “there is euphoria in the Singapore property market”, specifically warning developers, individual buyers and banks “to be sober, to be balanced and exercise good judgement”.

Day 4: New Cooling Measures

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta told the audience at a luncheon that “MAS is getting nervous, And also, from my understanding is the URA” and “it’s something to keep an eye out on”.

The time was finally ripe to push the new cooling measures to the market in the evening, with raising of 5 to 10 percent for Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) and lowering of 5 percent for Loan-to-Value (LTV).

Desperate developers rushed to open yet-to-be-ready showflats. Some offered 5 percent discount until midnight. Desperate buyers under panic attack of FOMO flocked to Riverfront Residences and Park Colonial showflats for last minute shopping.

Day 5: The Aftermath

Shares of developers, property agencies and local banks tumbled. Analysts who were euphoric earlier this week changed their tone 360 degree to moan for worst possible scenarios under the new cooling measures.

Like I said in my earlier blog post “Singapore property game: The winner takes it all”, “a game is fun when everyone can take turns to play”.

In this case, I am not sure whether “all the players have equal chances of winning” or “whether it is a fair battle for all”. But at least, it is a fun game to play for the obvious winner.

Adding a Singapore stop to the Cooling Measures World Tour

From last year, there are property cooling measures countries around the world have with the slap of foreign buyer taxes and lending restrictions, Including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and China. Last week Hong Kong just imposed new vacancy tax on developers’ unsold units.

But unlike the red-hot property market in these countries, Singapore’s private property prices have yet to fully recover to reach historical high, while foreign buyers (including foreigners residing in Singapore waiting for their PR) only account for 6 percent of total private sales transactions last year.

Is it necessary to join the world’s party of cooling measures, when Singapore shares have just dropped over 10 percent, and stage a 4-day show to give the market another big shock – if not for the preparation of the coming election?

Though we all understand that, in a well-governed country like Singapore, the only two real complaints by the citizens are MRT breakdowns and private home prices not coming down.

We need players to stage a show

Our government decided that the show must go on. And it won’t be such a good show if not for the voluntary participation of different players.

Did the URA figures indicate that the market is looking up?

Well, it depends on how you interpret the data. A 3.4 percent increase this quarter could imply that growth has slowed down from the 3.9 percent climb last quarter.


continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...as-just-begun/

[nitecrawllerr]

Not just pte properties but HDB prices had skyrocketed too!

[NaturalSprings]

With a twitch of the nose, those bastards can control everything

[AdamWest]

When families of the famiLEE want to buy property, the prices will go down.

When families of the famiLEE want to sell property, the prices will shoot up.


Simple as that

[found09]

Originally Posted by skyleon

oBike's usage of customer deposits to fund operations 'unethical': CASE


04 Jul 2018 09:20PM (Updated: 04 Jul 2018 09:30PM)


SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing operator oBike’s usage of its customers’ deposits to purchase bicycles and fund operations is “unethical and unacceptable”, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said on Wednesday (Jul 4).

As of 5pm on Wednesday, CASE had received 1,044 complaints from consumers asking for a refund of their deposit with oBike after the operator’s shock announcement last week that it was ceasing its operations in Singapore.

The majority of the complaints were lodged within the last week, CASE said.

“Since the announcement that oBike would be ceasing operations, CASE has engaged oBike together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA). We were informed by oBike that consumers’ deposits have been used to purchase the bicycles and fund their operations,” CASE said in a statement.

“CASE has communicated clearly to oBike that this practice is unethical and unacceptable, as the refundable deposit acts as surety for consumers to be responsible when using the bicycle-sharing service, and should not be used for other means.”

CASE said that using these deposits to purchase bicycles and fund its operations means oBike would be hard-pressed to provide refunds without new sources of funding.

Under oBike’s terms and conditions, riders would have to pay a deposit before they could use an oBike. The operator is contractually required to refund the deposit back to the rider's account when requested.

“The deposit was never intended to be used as prepayment for future services,” CASE said. “As such, the deposit ought to have been placed in a separate account to allow oBike to refund consumers when required. The deposit should not be used to purchase assets and/or fund other operating expenses.

“We put forth our position to oBike that they should honour their contractual obligations to consumers.”

oBike announced last Monday that it would wind up its operations in Singapore, citing difficulties in meeting LTA’s new requirements, which were implemented to tackle indiscriminate parking.

Since then, hundreds of worried customers have sought to get back their deposits, which adds up to US$4.6 million (S$6.3 million) in total, while oBike scrambles to retrieve its fleet of 70,000 bicycles that have been left abandoned in public areas islandwide.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...-case-10499488

,
CASE very ethical meh? Need to be a member then they help us, also money faced ma, same same lah

[cadby]

Originally Posted by MiloGoaSiewDao

Can still a lot of ofo bikes around.

How to steal , teach leh ?

[skyleon]

S’porean man’s comeback response sums up new ABSD situation

We love a good complaint.

By Tan Xing Qi | July 8, 2018


If you are a Singapore citizen or Singapore permanent resident buying your first residential property, the new Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates that took effect on July 6, 2018 won’t affect you.



Here are the changes at a glance:


As you can see, the 5 per cent hike only affects:

•Singapore citizens buying second (now 12 per cent), third and subsequent residential property (now 15 per cent);
•Singapore permanent residents buying second and subsequent residential property (now 15 per cent)
•Foreigners buying any residential property (20 per cent)

But anyhow, people were still spooked.


Which led to this:

Which honestly was quite a scene. We’ve never seen condominium units sold with such Hello Kitty-esque queues.

Back to the new ABSD rates.

As with any rates that are going north, people are bound to get triggered, because it conveniently fits into the narrative of hard times and how rising prices are hurting the hardworking people of Singapore looking for a better life.

Sure.



continue reading here : https://mothership.sg/2018/07/absd-rate-july-7/


Really Singapore got so many rich people that can afford 2nd and 3rd properties ???

[skyleon]

Straits Times: Election may come as early as in 2019

July 8, 2018



According to state media Straits Times, about 30,000 civil servants have been appointed as election officials and training is underway. The state media then hinted that the election may come as soon as 2019, as the previous election in 2015 was held 11 months after the training:

“
“For the 2015 General Election, public servants were called up for training about 11 months before the polls. The timeframe was about 18 months for the 2006 General Election and about 31 months for the 2011 polls.”

There are however good reasons for the ruling party PAP to call for early elections. A GST tax increase in 2021 would be uncomfortably near a 2020 election, and deal significant damage to the ruling party supporter base.

The considerable success of 70% majority in GE2015 for the PAP hinged upon Lee Kuan Yew’s influence. Singaporeans voted sentimentally as a tribute to the first Prime Minister, disregarding unsound policies, legalised corruptions and poorer quality of life.


Back in 2015, Singaporeans discarded rationality but this time it may not be the same. The ruling party PAP now has a high chance of losing governance as this presents itself as Singaporeans’ only alternative to stopping a 2% GST increase. Furthermore, there isn’t anyone in the current ruling party that Singaporeans feel endeared to.

Despite spending millions marketing himself on social media and public relation events, Lee Hsien Loong has more a villain image in the eyes of Singaporeans. His father’s last will to demolish 38 Oxley Road was denied through Lee Hsien Loong’s abuse of premiership powers, and his siblings now openly criticises him. The “dishonourable son” – as Lee Wei Ling called his Prime Minister brother – preserved the family house and dismantled his family links, and even go as far as prosecuting his nephew Li Shengwu and sending his brother on exile after accusing him of falsifying the last will of Lee Kuan Yew.

Most Singaporeans have called out for Lee Hsien Loong to respect Lee Kuan Yew’s will, but the dictator Prime Minister wanted the house to serve as a memorial and symbol of influence for his own legacy. This ironically turned out to be another election issue, as displacing Lee Hsien Loong out of power is the only alternative of honouring Lee Kuan Yew’s last will.

From within the PAP, there is also increasing dissenting voices who became disillusioned with Lee Hsien Loong’s leadership. Some openly expressed their dissatisfaction, like Teo Ser Luck who gave up his ministerial position and former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong who publicly commented that Lee Hsien Loong’s succession planning is too late. Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP MP, openly contested against his ruling party-appointed candidate in the 2011, and several former comrades of Lee Kuan Yew like Kishore Mahbubani condemned the foreign policies of Lee Hsien Loong.

Like Malaysia’s Najib Razak, Lee Hsien Loong keeps his men obedient by stuffing money into their pockets. Each Minister is paid at least S$1.1 million and the entire cabinet is the most expensive in the world at S$53 million a year. As his nephew Li Shengwu succinctly put in, the ministers’ and MPs’ generous paycheck is dependent on them not criticising the Prime Minister. Chances of any “change from within” is hence non-existent.


continue reading here : http://statestimesreview.com/2018/07...ly-as-in-2019/


I wonder if the opposition parties are getting reading for the next election or not ?

[skyleon]

Why is the cost of producing water never ever disclosed?


Protected July 8th, 2018 | Author: Contributions


I refer to the article “PUB focuses on squeezing more value out of each drop of clean water produced” (Straits Times, Jul 4).

It states that “A significant chunk of the $435 million that has gone into water research and development (R&D) here has gone into making water treatment processes less of a drain on electricity.

But both these water treatment methods require plenty of energy. Between five and 17 times more electricity than that used to treat rainwater is needed to produce water through desalination or treatment of used water. The latter also produces sludge, which is ultimately landfilled.”

As to “PUB said that meeting future water demand with today’s technology will see PUB’s electricity requirement go up four times to 4,000 GWh a year, with the amount of sludge generated doubling to 600,000 tonnes a year by 2060.

“It’s thus more sensible to invest in making these taps more efficient and cheaper for both domestic and commercial water users here” – why is it that arguably, a very significant piece of information may be missing – what is the cost of producing water and what are the financials?

When the 30 per cent increase in the price of water was announced in Parliament last year – there was also no financial information, like cost, revenue, profits, etc.



Leong Sze Hian


continue reading here : http://www.tremeritus.net/2018/07/08...ver-disclosed/

[skyleon]

MOE to collect $8-10 million a year from car parking charges


By Jewel Stolarchuk -

July 9, 2018

In responding to Mr Leon Perera’s question, the Education Minister revealed that his Ministry expects to collect $8-10 million a year from car parking charges.

Mr Perera a non constituency member of parliament asked the Minister for Education what is the estimated annual revenue that will be derived from the imposition of parking fees for teachers in schools.

The Minister, Mr Ong Ye Kung responded in writing saying:

“The estimated revenue from car park charges collected by our 360 primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges is estimated to be $8-10 million a year. The revenue will be retained by the schools.”

A huge public uproar ensued after Ministry of Education (MOE) reviewed its carpark policy for schools. With the review, teachers at all national schools and junior colleges will have to pay when they park their vehicles on the school premises starting from 1 August.

To park in uncovered lots, teachers will have to pay for $75 a month during the school term and $15 a month during the school holidays in June, November and December. While, those who wish to park in sheltered lots, have to pay for $100 a month during the school term and $20 a month during school holidays.

For motorcyclists, they will have to pay $13 a month at uncovered carparks during school term and $2 during school holidays. While they have to $14 during school term and $3 during school holidays to be able to park their vehicle in sheltered carpark.


continue reading here : http://theindependent.sg/moe-to-coll...rking-charges/

[skyleon]

Workers' Party takes down 'misleading' video which impllied PUB had S$5.3b surplus


09 Jul 2018 10:46PM (Updated: 10 Jul 2018 10:25AM)




SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) has taken down an online video which it said had given the impression that national water agency PUB holds a S$5.3 billion surplus, after Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Monday (Jun 9) that the video was misleading.


On Jun 4, WP had put up a video on the rising cost of living in Singapore. The video had text which stated that PUB’s capital reserve "increased from $3b in 2007 to more than $5b in 2016", WP secretary-general Pritam Singh said in a Facebook post on Monday.

“The video and the text create the impression that the PUB hosts a $5.3b surplus. Minister Lawrence Wong has clarified this is not the case. I have instructed that the video be taken down in view of Minister Wong’s clarification,” wrote Mr Singh.

In replying to a parliamentary question filed by MP for Holland-Bukit Timah Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Wong had explained in Parliament on Monday that the capital reserve in PUB’s account does not represent surplus funds it has at its disposal.

Instead, the capital reserve is money that is already invested in the water agency’s property, plant and equipment.

Mr Wong noted that WP's video had questioned why the water price increases were necessary when PUB's capital reserve had gone up from S$3 billion to S$5.3 billion over the last decade.

He said that the party interpreted the capital reserve as a hoard of cash surplus that the Government is keeping in PUB's account. This, Mr Wong said, is "completely inaccurate and demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of accounting fundamentals".

"I hope this clarification will set the record straight. I also hope the Workers' Party will refrain from distorting the facts to mislead the public," said Mr Wong.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...b-had-10513954