Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

[Dennis Ng]

Most people in Singapore will retire in their 60s with a fully paid house and probably only S$200,000, definitely NOT enough for a comfortable retirement.

how much CPF do people have? This info is provided by CPF Board and the answer is quite little, only about S$26,700! :

http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/EB ... lances.pdf

If you want to retire with minimum S$1.3 million by age 60 (instead of 62 or 65), then you need to learn how to Master Your Finance and Learn How to Invest into Stocks and Property...the risk is you might end up retiring a multi-millionaire, much more than S$1 million. Can this be done? Of course. How I know? Becos I've done it. I'm age 42 this year but already reached S$3 million, made from saving 20% of my income and growing my savings through Investing into Stocks and Property.

P.S. S$3 million is after deducting Total Liabilities (ie. all the loans I owe, including my House) and excluding the Value of my house, just counting the Cash in bank and my Investment Assets (after deducting ALL loans). And I'm age 42, 20 years before the official retirement age of 62 in Singapore. I'm sharing this info NOT to boast to you, but hopefully, it can inspire and encourage you that you can do the same as well.

My household income of S$6,000 a month is only at 53rd percentile, higher than 46% of households, less than median Household income (50th percentile) in Singapore.o compare your household with the rest of households in Singapore, enter your monthly household income:

http://www.salary.sg/2011/benchmark-you ... come-2011/

Check out http://www.MasterYourFinance.com to find out more about the books I write and the seminars I now conduct to teach you what I apply to become a multi-millionaire by age 42.

The Straits Times
Mar 21, 2012
THE ST INTERVIEW
Retire on CPF savings? Think again
Economist warns there will be little money left after paying for a flat

By Radha Basu

YOUNG graduates, take heed. If you began work recently with a starting pay of around $2,560 and plan to buy a five-room flat by the time you're 30, do not count on your Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings to take care of your retirement needs, warns labour economist Hui Weng Tat.

A new study he has done shows that tertiary-educated Singaporeans who entered the workforce in 2010 with a pay of $2,560 - the pay of many fresh graduates - and go on to buy a five-room flat worth about $560,000 from the Government, could get monthly CPF payments of only 22 per cent of their last-drawn pay when they retire at age 65.

That would be only one-third of what is required to maintain their lifestyle prior to retirement.

An income replacement rate of 66 per cent is the international benchmark of retirement adequacy for homeowners - that is, the amount a retiree needs in order to sustain the same basic consumption patterns he had before stopping work.

Meanwhile, a fresh polytechnic graduate who earns around $1,500 a month and buys a flat worth $310,000 will likely get 45 per cent of his last-earned pay in monthly CPF payments upon retirement.

Prof Hui's projections assume that both spouses work and contribute to the flat payments, that they get regular salary increments, and that their CPF wage ceiling is raised by around $500 per decade - a generous assumption, given past trends. The wage ceiling is the maximum amount of wages on which CPF contributions are payable every month.

After inflation-proofing the CPF salary ceiling - and currently the $5,000 ceiling is not inflation-proofed - he says retirement adequacy could rise to around 40 per cent for the graduate cohort earning $2,560, which still falls short.

'My findings are worrying as they imply that the majority of tertiary-educated people may find it hard to sustain their lifestyles post-retirement if they rely solely on CPF savings,' he says.

He gave an interview in the wake of the recent debate on retirement adequacy in Parliament. His paper was cited by the labour movement's Nominated Member of Parliament Mary Liew on Feb 28. That day, one in four parliamentarians who spoke up asked the Government to relook how CPF funds could be boosted.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured MPs last week that CPF savings were enough for retirement for low- to lower-middle income groups, but added that CPF was not designed to meet the needs of higher-income earners, who often had private savings.

Indeed, Prof Hui's study shows that poorer Singaporeans are better off than the more well-off when it comes to depending on CPF payouts during retirement.

His calculations show that low-wage workers earning $800 should be able to buy a flat worth $120,000 - with the help of Workfare payments and government housing grants - and still get 66 per cent of their last-drawn pay in monthly CPF payments.

But he worries about how the tertiary-educated - those with polytechnic diplomas or university degrees - will fund their retirement needs, as this group makes up the majority now.

'We can't project how many will become high-fliers and be able to fend for themselves no matter what, but we can say that, moving forward, up to two- thirds of each tertiary-educated cohort may not have enough for retirement.'

But surely people know that the CPF is not meant to be the only source of savings, especially since the system shoulders the cost of property purchases and health care as well?

Well, if that's the case, Prof Hui replies, the CPF Board should change its tagline, 'Saving for Retirement'.

'I don't think many Singaporeans know that their CPF savings are not going to be enough to provide for their retirement,' he maintains.

As far as those aged 55 and above today are concerned, he says, it is a 'positive trend' that 45 per cent of them who are CPF members were able to meet the CPF minimum sum last year, up from 36 per cent in 2007.

Current rules require a minimum of $131,000 to be left in CPF accounts for retirement needs.

But he notes that many of those who make the cut include home-owners, who are allowed to pledge their properties up to 50 per cent of the minimum sum.

'What proportion of our current cohort aged 55 and above can meet the minimum sum when they retire, especially if they continue living in their current homes?' he wonders.

Prof Hui, who owns a privatised HUDC apartment which he bought nearly 25 years ago, is uncomfortable with the recent move to encourage older folk to downgrade to smaller homes to fund their retirement needs.

The Government recently announced that a $20,000 'silver housing bonus' will be given to those aged 55 and above who downgrade to a three-room or smaller Housing Board (HDB) flat.

Prof Hui maintains that property is an immobile asset. 'A home is where you build relationships, create memories and forge links with the community around you. Shouldn't it be for life?'

Downgrading and monetising homes need not be the only solution, he argues. Increasing the rate of returns of CPF savings - together with raising CPF contribution rates and the salary ceiling - would also work, especially for higher-income earners.

More radical solutions like reducing the cost of properties upfront - by shortening lease periods, for instance - could also help people build up savings for retirement.

'Why monetise at the end of your lifetime? Why not do it upfront rather than at the back end?' he asks, echoing an argument he first made publicly in the mid-1990s, even before the Asian financial crisis.

However, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament in January that cutting short the lease of new flats to bring prices down may not suit the needs of young couples who form the vast majority of new HDB flat-buyers.

These couples need their first flats to help them upgrade to larger homes or private properties as their families grow.

If their flats have shorter leases, they may have limited prospects of using their flats to buy studio apartments when they retire, he added.

Prof Hui thinks such an argument is untenable in the long run.

The average selling price of a five- room HDB flat - even in non-mature estates - has doubled since 1995. In mature estates, prices have shot through the roof, with new flats under HDB's Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) in Tampines creeping towards the $800,000 mark last year.

'In 15 more years, will we be looking at HDB flats that cost $1 million or more?' he asks.

He agrees that property cycles wax and wane but adds: 'If you study property cycles, the peaks are always higher than what they were before. And that's what, I feel, is unsustainable.'

Future generations would have to work harder - and longer - to afford such flats.

'As long as home-owners seek to make hefty profits from selling their homes, the future of our next generation will be in jeopardy as it will not be sustainable.'

Introducing properties with shorter leases will not necessarily bring about a crash in property prices as existing properties with the remainder of their 99-year or longer leases will continue to be bought and sold.

Soaring property prices will also erode Singapore's allure for immigrants - and blunt its competitiveness for global talent - at a time when immigrants are needed more than ever to combat the twin demographic time bombs of flagging fertility rates and rapid ageing.

'We must think ahead,' he urges. 'Soaring property prices are fine for one generation to cash out. But what about the next and the next?'

Rather than being seen as an 'investment', property in land-scarce Singapore should be reframed as for 'consumption'. 'In many places, home-buyers don't think of how much profit they will make when they buy a house. They are excited instead to have a base to build their lives in.'

Home ownership, having a stake in a piece of the nation, is of course good.

But the key for Singapore is to scale back the zeal for 'asset enhancement' - and change mindsets. 'The purpose of a home, especially in a land-starved country, is to provide a roof over your head. Once people don't expect prices to escalate, half the battle will be won.'

In other nations, he notes, property price escalations act as a 'catalyst for development' as they have vast tracts of undeveloped land.

'In Singapore, we need to conserve land, if we're planning ahead for 50 years. We should think out of the box,' he says. 'And creative use of shorter leases, I believe, would be thinking out of the box.'

But how would he deal with the outcry from existing HDB home-owners who hope to make hefty profits by selling their homes in the booming resale market?

The effect of such a policy, believes Prof Hui, would be no different than if a recession were to hit Singapore. People lose jobs in a recession, properties lose value - and nothing much can be done at the time to stem the tide of misfortune. But people live through it.

Unlike in recessions, home-owners would not lose their homes or their livelihoods - just possibly some of the paper value of their homes.

'Is that such a big sacrifice to make? I don't think so,' he says. 'Especially if it is to ensure our long-term competitiveness and higher living standards for future generations.'

radhab@sph.com.sg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q&A: Minimum wage and foreign worker levy

•You're an advocate of setting a minimum wage. Is that a better option than Workfare?

They are not competing schemes. The way the debate has played out here has pitted one against the other. It doesn't have to be so.

There is no fundamental conflict between a minimum wage system and the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme. Together, they can help taxpayers and employers share the burden of supporting low-wage workers. They are complements, not substitutes.

Placing the full burden of helping low-wage workers on the WIS scheme would not only significantly increase the Government's budgetary outlays but also fail to produce sufficient incentives that spur companies towards productivity improvements.

•But wouldn't a minimum wage increase unemployment rates among low-skilled, low-wage workers, as the unions and the Government have said?

If we raise the salary of all cleaners to at least $1,000, will most cleaners go unemployed and will there be no demand for cleaners? No. You will still need cleaners as demand is relatively inelastic for the majority of these low-wage industries.

The WIS increases workers' wages through a direct government subsidy, while minimum wage does so at the expense of the employer's profit.

A minimum wage can encourage firms to adopt innovative management practices and production methods to achieve productivity gains that can sustain higher wages paid to their workers. It will also help to engender a stronger sense of dignity, respect and pride in employees towards their work, and lower labour turnover as a result of increased loyalty to their employers.


•The foreign worker levy has been raised yet again. Is that working?

Not really. Raising the productivity of the 900,000 foreign workers here on work permits is the elephant in the room which deserves greater attention.

A higher wage levy may not drive productivity increases, if the higher wage cost is passed on by employers to the workers in the form of lower wages.

This could deter qualified and experienced foreign workers from coming. Instead, less productive foreign workers will be recruited here, resulting in lower labour productivity.

[Dennis Ng]

thanks rayng for sharing this wonderful article.

yes, I really agree with what Mr Koon Yew Yoon says.

If you read through the article, you would also realise that I emphasize the importance of some of the things he mentioned, which were also KEY THINGS I teach in my 2-day Secrets to Making Money in Stocks Seminar. (You can take out your seminar notes to verify what I said).

Synopsis of my 2-day Secrets to Making Money in Stocks Seminar is here:
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/web/in ... &Itemid=35

Mr Koon said:

The basic fundamentals for share selection are P/E ratio, NTA, Revenue, cash flow

When to Sell

When to sell? Do not worry about the daily share price fluctuation if you have a target price. Quite often the share you hold can move up rapidly and continues to go up. You must remember that no share can go up indefinitely for whatever reason. Sell when you are not willing to buy at the price or the reason to buy is no longer valid. Remember you must sell so that you can have funds to buy back during correction. If the fundamentals have not changed, the share price will go up again.

These are the key traits to being a super investor that I picked up.

Trait 1: Be a contrarian investor, that is, the ability to buy stocks while others are panicking and sell stocks while others are euphoric.

Trait 3: The willingness to learn from past mistakes

Trait 4: An inherent sense of risk based on common sense

Trait 5: Confidence: Great investors must have confidence in their own convictions and stick with them, even when facing criticism.

Trait 6: Clear thinking. When considering a share, you must try to understand the nature of the company’s business and its inherent difficulties so that you can evaluate your risk exposure.[/color]

Trait 7: And finally the most important, and rarest, trait of all is the ability to live through volatility without changing your investment thought process.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

Sharing an article by Mr.Koon Yew Yoon who is a prominent civil society leader and one of the founders of IJM Corp.
RayNg


How to beat the market and become a super investor
Written by Koon Yew Yin

Risks in doing business:

It is important to stress that all businesses involve risk; hence the selection of shares is also a risky business. This is not the same order of risk as may be involved in going to the casino or betting on the four digits which in 90-99 % or even more of the cases, results in the patron losing his money, if not his pants.

Picking winning stocks means that we pick the companies that can meet the constant challenges of competition, supply and demand, change of fashion and style design, obsolete stocks write off, etc. There are also unforeseen factors such as variation in interest rates, import and export restriction, foreign exchange variation, change in Government regulations, etc. Inclement weather such as flooding affects production as we have seen in Bangkok so that even the most well run of companies such as Toyata and Honda cannot escape it.


Best form of investment

In my view, stocks are the best form of investment. They are tax free, have no management problem, and you can reduce or liquidate all your holdings at any time. There is a classical saying in the market - “You can buy the winning horse after the race”. This means that you can still buy a good share after the company has announced its profit. This does not mean that stocks are entirely risk-free


Fundamentals of Stock Selection

The basic fundamentals for share selection are P/E ratio, NTA, Revenue, cash flow etc. How important are these factors?

The most important criterion is profit growth prospect. Never buy any share if the company cannot make increasing profits. You must buy shares that Fund managers are interested. They are the movers and shakers. Do not buy too much of illiquid shares because it is cheap. It is cheap for some reasons which may keep it at basement prices.

The main reasons why share prices go up include the following:

a. Exceptionally good profit growth prospect

b. Fund managers must be interested, liquidity, publicity etc.

c. Dividends are an important catalyst for moving share prices up

d. Unexpected good news of profit, bonus issues etc. will push up share prices.


When to Sell

When to sell? Do not worry about the daily share price fluctuation if you have a target price. Quite often the share you hold can move up rapidly and continues to go up. You must remember that no share can go up indefinitely for whatever reason. Sell when you are not willing to buy at the price or the reason to buy is no longer valid. Remember you must sell so that you can have funds to buy back during correction. If the fundamentals have not changed, the share price will go up again.


What to Buy

After having seen so many unexpected surprises in the stock market, I consider the safest shares to invest are undervalued oil palm shares. The reasons are:-

a. The production cost for CPO is about Rm 1,300 per ton and the average selling price has been more than double the production cost in the last 10 years or more. The average CPO price for 2011 is more than Rm 3,000 per ton. Which business can offer such big profit margins?

b. The demand and profit are sustainable due to population increase. Moreover, both China and India who are our buyers have been improving their economy. The financial problem in Eurozone and US has little or no effect on our palm oil market.

c. A palm tree will start fruiting after 3 years. It will continue to bear more fruits until it is about 16 years old after that age it will begin to bear less fruits. Only after about 22 years a palm tree needs replanting.

d. The land always appreciates in value.

e. There is good profit growth prospect and sustainable profit

I am obliged to tell you that plantation shares form the major part of my investment portfolio. If you decide to buy, I am not responsible for your profit or your loss.


How to become a super investor?

I started serious investing in public listed shares when I retired from executive work at 50 years old. I was not an accountant nor have I a MBA degree. I was just a civil engineer and I hardly knew how to read a balance sheet at that time.

I started by reading to understand the basic fundamental principles of share selection as practiced by Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch and other great investment gurus. These are the key traits to being a super investor that I picked up.

Trait 1: Be a contrarian investor, that is, the ability to buy stocks while others are panicking and sell stocks while others are euphoric. In 1983 when China declared that they wanted to take back Hong Kong, the people were selling as if there was no tomorrow because the Communists were coming. The Hang Seng Index plunged to about 700. Currently it is around 18,500.

In such a situation at that time, would you buy Hong Kong shares? I did.

Trait 2: Obsession in playing the game and wanting to win. Winning investors don’t just enjoy investing; they live it. They wake up in the morning and the first thing they think about, while they are still half asleep, is a stock they have been researching. They are thinking about selling, or what the greatest risk to their portfolio is and how they are going to neutralize that risk.

They are obsessed in enhancing the value of their holdings. I am that way.

Trait 3: The willingness to learn from past mistakes. Most people would much rather just move on and ignore the dumb things they’ve done in the past. I believe the term for this is repression.” But if you ignore mistakes without fully analyzing them, you will undoubtedly make a similar mistake later in your career.

Trait 4: An inherent sense of risk based on common sense. Most people believe analysts’ reports which are often ‘a buy’ recommendation. It is very seldom they recommend ‘a sell’ because they would lose the business from the company he has recommended ‘a sell’. You must always take any analyst report with a pinch of salt.

I believe the greatest risk control is common sense which is not so common sometimes.

Trait 5: Confidence: Great investors must have confidence in their own convictions and stick with them, even when facing criticism. Buffett never got into the dot-com mania though he was being criticized publicly for ignoring technology stocks. He stuck to his guns when everyone else was abandoning the value investing ship. He was proven right when the dot com bubble bust.

Trait 6: Clear thinking. When considering a share, you must try to understand the nature of the company’s business and its inherent difficulties so that you can evaluate your risk exposure. There are a lot of people who have genius IQs who cannot think clearly, though they can figure out bond or option pricing in their heads.

Trait 7: And finally the most important, and rarest, trait of all is the ability to live through volatility without changing your investment thought process. This is almost impossible for most people to do. When the market makes a severe correction, most people dare not buy more shares to average down or to put any money into stocks at all when the market is plunging. They would begin to doubt their own judgement.

Wishing you a season of happy and profitable investing!

[Dennis Ng]

yes, now you hear it from another person, Andrew Hallam, author of book "Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules Of Wealth That You Should Have Learnt In School" - that it is possible for a person earning a middle class income to become a Millionaire by 40s or younger.

Well, I can speak with 100% confidence that I know this can be done. Why? Becos I've done it. My household income was average S$6,000 from 1993 to year 2008, or in 15 years, total income my household earned was about S$1.08 million. Yet, I managed to reach One Million Dollars (yes, excluding the Value of my House) by year 2008...how did I do it?

I only save 20% of my income but the difference between me and most people is that I know how to Invest and Grow my money, that's how I reached one million dollars by age 39. Now I'm 42, and reached 3 million dollars. I'm sharing this with you NOT to try to boast to you, but share with the Intention and Hope that this can Inspire and Encourage many people to start to learn how to plan and manage your money properly, and most importantly, learn how to Invest to grow your savings.

The good news is if you're willing to learn, I'm teaching. You can read my books and the best way and most comprehensive way to learn from me is to attend the 3 seminars I conduct:"How to Save and Accumulate One Million Dollars" , "Secrets to Making Money in Stocks" and "Secrets to Making Money in Property". - these 3 seminars is the MOST holistic and Complete Financial Education that you can receive in Singapore.

P.S. I agree with most of what he said in the interview except the part about avoiding debt. Guess he didn't learn about the difference between Good Debt and Bad Debt, and he also does NOT know how to use Good Debt (safely and mitigate risks of debt) to become Richer, which I teach in my seminars.

I also don't agree with the "standard recipe" he share 60% stocks, 40% bonds investment portfolio. In fact, I have ZERO invested into Bonds, I Invest into UK Endowment instead, which has Capital Guarantee, (as safe or even safer than some government bonds) and annual returns 4% to 8%, higher than most safe bonds currently. Several of my multi-millionaire sifus also do NOT invest in bonds unless when interest rates are high and start to fall which means bond prices can go up and make capital gains, not just the miserable interest (yield). So he's still teaching pretty much of what is normally taught in most Existing Personal Finance books.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

The Straits Times
Mar 25, 2012
me & my money
Teacher preaches rules of wealth
Canadian educator caught investment bug early in life and wants to share secrets

By Joyce Teo

When Canadian high school teacher Andrew Hallam was in college, he worked at a bus depot during the summer, and met a 47-year-old mechanic who was a millionaire.

The latter suggested to the young man that he should choose a job that he loved doing, rather than choose a job simply because it paid well. And that he could earn a middle-class income and still become a millionaire by his 40s or earlier if he learnt about investing his money.

That meeting piqued Mr Hallam's interest in investing, which has become his lifelong passion.

He even considered getting into money management in his early 20s. 'But it occurred to me that I would benefit at the expense of my clients. Did I want to do the best for my client or myself?' he asked himself. In the end, Mr Hallam, now 41, chose teaching.

He came to Singapore eight years ago to take up an English teaching position at the Singapore American School but has switched to teaching personal finance this year.

He recently published a book Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules Of Wealth That You Should Have Learnt In School.

Having read about 400 finance books since he was 19, Mr Hallam says: 'There are all these academically irrefutable premises but the financial service industry doesn't want you to know them. I want to help people out there.'

He is married to Pele, also a teacher at the Singapore American school. They have no children.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I'm a saver. People on middle-class salaries can amass wealth, but I don't believe they can do it if they are big spenders, especially while they're young.

My wife and I save roughly 70 per cent of our annual income. We invest all that we save, and we spend the rest. I'm not as thrifty as I used to be. I spend most on food (mostly organic fruit and vegetables), travelling and massages. We both enjoy a massage at least once a week.

In order to grow wealthy, I think there's a rule of thumb that applies nicely: Never borrow money to buy a depreciating asset. A car is a depreciating asset. But over time, a house is an appreciating asset. Many people try to look wealthy before they truly have money.

Plenty of people borrow money to buy fancy cars and live an extravagant lifestyle, but most of those people are living well on borrowed time.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I don't know what percentage of our spending we charge to our credit cards. But I do know that I've never paid a penny in interest to a credit card company. Credit card companies hate guys like me!

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I determined my financial planning by asking myself how much money I would need if I wanted to retire in a given year.

I figured out what kind of portfolio I would need to allow for that kind of income, and I made an estimated adjustment to cover the rising costs of living. It's all about cash flow.

Studies have shown that if you have a diversified investment portfolio of, say, $100,000, its real worth is $4,000 a year. In other words, you can sell 4 per cent of your portfolio each year and have a strong likelihood that you'll never run out of money.

This 4 per cent rule is a fairly standard one.

I knew that if I could live off 4 per cent of my portfolio, I would be financially free. That doesn't mean that I would quit work and lie around all day. But it did mean that I could choose to work or not work, in any given year. This can certainly reduce the blood pressure.

I diversify my money across international stocks and Canadian bonds and I rebalance my assets. I have 60 per cent in stocks and 40 per cent in bonds as I want my bond allocation to equal my age.

Most college endowment funds and pension funds do the same with the rebalancing of asset classes but it's not easy for most people to do - psychologically.

I own just three low-cost index funds - a total US stock market index, a global stock market index and a Canadian bond market index.

I have medical insurance, but no other insurance. I think the best insurance of all is to have no debts, and enough money saved to live off it.

Q: What advice would you give to investors?

Two things significantly reduce many people's portfolio returns:

• They often chase 'what has done well lately'. This is one of the worst pursuits an investor can take part in.

Studies show that if a particular unit trust has, for example, returned an average of 10 per cent a year for the past 20 years, the average investor in that fund, for that duration, would have made only 7 per cent a year.

Investors would have added more money when the fund was 'doing well' and they would have added less money or even sold some of their investment when it underperformed. In essence, they would pay a much higher than average price for the units of the fund.

Such behaviour, over the long term, can be the difference between amassing a $500,000 account and a $1 million account. But this behaviour is very common.

• Most people also pay investment fees that are too high. I pay roughly 0.09 per cent each year for my exchange traded funds. But most people in Singapore pay roughly 15 times that amount if they invest in actively managed unit trusts.

Most people still get drawn to a fund because of its strong historical returns, ignoring the academic evidence suggesting that portfolios of low-cost funds, over a lifetime, have much higher statistical odds of outperforming funds with higher expenses.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

I grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. My dad was a mechanic and I was one of four kids. If we wanted something material, after the age of 12, we had to earn the money to pay for it ourselves. My parents bought me underwear and socks until I turned 15. I was really on my own, although I was still under their roof. My parents didn't have a lot of money, but it has worked out well for me.

The Chinese suggest that wealth doesn't last three generations. The generation that works hard and succeeds wants to make life easier for their kids. So they buy things for them and essentially weaken them.

Children of the affluent grow up with expensive expectations. They're typically the same people who borrow money to buy depreciating assets. And this results in the beginning of the end.

I know that if my parents did the metaphorical heavy lifting for me when I was young (by giving me money or buying me things), I would not have developed the financial muscles I have today.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I started to invest when I was 19 years old, after meeting the millionaire mechanic, so I've given myself plenty of time to apply Einstein's Eighth Wonder of the World: compound interest.

Twenty years ago, I started investing a minimum of $100 a month and I increased that every year.

I also read finance books, of which two of the best are The Four Pillars Of Investing by William Bernstein and Common Sense On Mutual Funds by John C. Bogle.

Q: What property do you own?

I don't own any property. I like the thought of buying property when it 'isn't performing well'. For this reason, I wouldn't buy property in Singapore today.

I bought an acre of oceanfront land on Vancouver Island in Canada, during a mini recession in 2002. Property prices hadn't moved much in a decade, so I bought it.

Then when people started piling into property, prices soared and I sold it for three times what I paid, in 2007. It cost just $147,000. I sold it for $484,000.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I bought a 1974 Mercedes-Benz for $3,000 in Canada and then spent another $7,000 restoring it. The car was cheap by Singaporean car standards, but it was my most extravagant purchase to date.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I believe that I'm financially independent now. My portfolio is worth roughly $85,000 a year (based on the 4 per cent rule).

But I have no plans to retire. I love teaching at the American School. You know that you've found the perfect vocation when your job doesn't feel like work. My job is so much fun.

Q: Home is now...

A rented four-bedroom apartment at Dairy Farm Estate.

Q: I drive...

My wife's 2003 Mazda 3.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

---------------------------------

WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

I bought into a Ponzi scheme in 2003. Of course, I didn't know that it was a Ponzi.

My friend told me about Insta-Cash Loans, which paid 54 per cent interest a year. The high interest rate scared me - think of how crazy the investment must be, but what's crazier was I eventually changed my mind.

My friend was collecting his interest every year and travelling all over the world, so after five years, I went to meet the company's head.

I still thought it was a scam but after hearing my friend had collected interest payments of more than $100,000, I invested $7,000. I received interest payments for a while but the party ended in 2006, when the firm went bankrupt.

In the end, I lost money as I had to pay 25 per cent tax on my gains.

Q: And your best?

My best investment to date is my investment in the ideology behind dispassionate rebalancing.

In 2001, 2003, 2009 and twice last year, I rebalanced my portfolio and netted hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit over the past decade as a result.

When the stock markets crashed after 9/11 and when George Bush went to war with Iraq in 2003 (and the markets crashed), the stock portion of my 30 per cent bonds and 70 per cent stocks portfolio all of a sudden dropped to 50 per cent because the market dropped.

So I sold some of my bonds and bought more stock index.

[Dennis Ng]

There was a boy born as the 6th child of a family, and the family was poor and 8 of them live in a 1-bedroom HDB rental flat. His parents were poor and when their youngest child was born, they dreamed that if one day they can even have $10,000, it'll be like a dream come true for them...and they went on to name their youngest child 加万.

This guy shared this family secret with public in his Public seminars and was even scolded by a family member (when he attended his talk)..."Why do you have to tell the public about something which is nothing to be proud about and sharing a family secret?

This guy is me.

I told this family member that I'm telling the story to the public becos I want them to know that regardless of your family background, you can learn to master your finance and reach Financial Freedom by age 39 or even earlier. I hope this real life story can inspire and encourage more people to learn how to master their finances.

And that's why I set up www.MasterYourFinance.com , a Financial Education website which has lots of FREE information/knowledge in Discussion Forum where public can access 80% of the content FREE. Forum membership is only for Paid Seminar Graduates though, who can even ask questions on a daily basis after graduating from my seminars.

[Dennis Ng]

There is Good Debt and Bad Debt.

Good Debt is when you borrow at Low Interest rates to INVEST and manage to get a higher return than the interest you pay on your Loan. eg. buying a property 1.5 years ago paying 1.2% interest and getting 5% Rental Yield and at property price 15% lower than current market prices.

What about Credit Card? Of course it is Bad Debt! Any debt on consumption is bad! Imagine about 12% of people who use Credit Card miss out on repaying their credit card bill and being charged 24% interest for it! Ouch!

The Rich Borrow to become Richer. The Middle Class Borrow to Live and Dress like the Rich and yet Cash Poor! Don't do such a silly thing. Borrow to consume will make you Poorer and Poorer, not Richer.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

The Straits Times
Mar 30, 2012
Slower growth in new credit card accounts
0.26% increase seen last year but existing card holders spending more

By Lennard Ong

THE growth in new credit card accounts slowed last year, but existing consumers have been spending more.

Last year, 606,844 existing and first-time credit card holders obtained one or more new credit cards, up from 605,248 in 2010, according to the Credit Bureau of Singapore yesterday.

This is a 0.26 per cent increase, but a sharp slowdown from the 7.32 per cent increase in 2010.

The fall stemmed from a 0.41 per cent drop in the number of existing credit card holders who obtained new credit cards.

Existing credit card holders make up 82 per cent of the card holders who obtained new cards.

The number of first-time credit card holders expanded 10.05 per cent to 108,977 last year, the highest increase in three years.

Young consumers dominated the market of first-time card holders.

Those between 21 and 29 made up 41.42 per cent of the market, with consumers aged from 30 to 34 comprising 20.64 per cent.

But while card holders seemed less willing to take on new cards, they splurged with their plastic, with the average monthly balance per consumer rising 4.45 per cent last year to $4,807.

Consumers between 45 and 49 topped the spending chart with an average monthly balance of $5,871, while those between 21 and 29 spent the least, at $2,837.

Despite the increase in spending, payments are improving.

Consumers who missed one or more payments on their credit card accounts made up 12.55 per cent of card holders, down from 12.93 per cent of card holders in 2010 and 13.89 per cent of card holders in 2009.

The total number of people with credit cards rose 6 per cent to 1.29 million last year.

The Credit Bureau's executive director, Mr William Lim, said: 'As with all developed markets, the credit card market in Singapore is relatively mature in terms of usage and penetration.

'However, new entrants such as the young, affluent and foreigner segments are helping to create growth, in addition to increasing spending.

'The increased spending in 2011 reflects improved consumer confidence owing to better job creation and probably the popularity of online shopping portals.'

DBS Bank's senior vice-president Ooi Huey Tyng added: 'The increase in the number of new entrants for credit cards can be attributed to many factors, such as growing familiarity with card usage for store and online purchases, as well as increasing acceptance among merchants, including cash-and-carry businesses.

'We have also observed rising demand for a single card that is able to meet the evolving lifestyle needs of today's consumers.'

lenong@sph.com.sg

[Dennis Ng]

Why am I teaching you how to grow your money so that you can be richer? The Rich-Poor Divide is getting wider, my simple plan of how to narrow the divide is to help as many middle class income individuals to reach Financial Freedom, so that together these "Newly Rich" can reach out to help those less fortunate in the society.

If i teach 10,000 people, and they in turn share the knowledge with 100 people, together we can then reach out and help 1,000,000 people. Individually, each of us can do very little, collectively, as a Group, we can achieve alot.

Chinese is perhaps the most powerful language in the world, and Chinese characters are symbols of wisdom. There is logic and history behind the formation of each character, unlike English, which is just made up of combination of 26 alphabets.

For instance knowledge, it only tells you that if you know you have an edge, but it does not tell you how you can can gain knowledge. However, 学问 tells you that to gain knowledge, all you have to do is Learn How to Ask. Ask the right question to the Right person (people with expertise in what we want to learn), and you will gain knowledge.

The following are what I like to share with all of you from what I learned, my seminar graduates, in just not many words, it explain How to become successful and what to do after reaching success.

心想事成
Whatever your mind can Conceive and Believe in, you can Achieve.

德为本，财为末

Having the Right Virtues is the Foundation, when you have the right foundation, money (wealth) comes naturally.

有德此有人

If one have the right values and principles and virtues, one can attract people and resources

有人此有土
Once you have the right people, you would have success in career or business

有土此有财
Once you excel in your career or business, Wealth naturally comes.

有财此有用
Once we have Wealth, we must learn to use it wisely. Use it to groom our children and other people, use it to express our filial piety to our parents, use it to give back to the society, to help those who are less fortunate than us.

[Dennis Ng]

Based on per capita GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), Singapore is 3rd richest country in the world, with per capita GDP of US$ 59,937 (or about S$75,520.62 based on exchange rate of S$1.26).

Is this a true reflection of the 'income" of an average Singaporean? Well the median income per person I think is only about S$3,000 or S$36,000 a year. Looks like Singapore is getting richer, but the wealth is NOT spread evenly, based on the above figures.

And in the 3rd Richest Country in the world, you can see no lack of elderly Singaporeans above age 60 working as security guards, toilet cleaners, dish washers, hawker centre cleaners...and many cannot afford to retire comfortably at age 62 that now government needs to extend retirement age to 65.

While I myself an average Singaporean with average income, after Learning how To Master my Finances, managed to reach Financial Freedom and can afford to retire at age 39, 3 years ago, 23 years earlier than the current statutory retirement age of 62. Do you want to join me or do you want to join those who cannot afford to retire at age 62, well, it's a choice you have to make yourself.

S’pore is third riches​t country: Forbes
March 30th, 2012 | Author: Ng Kok Lim

Singapore, 3rd richest country

Using the latest IMF data, Forbes found Singapore to be the third richest country in the world [1].

While Forbes made use of IMF’s 2010 data, IMF’s 2011 data shows pretty much the same thing, that Singapore has the world’s third highest per capita GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).

But when it comes to nominal (unadjusted for purchasing power parity) per capita GDP, Singapore’s position falls to No. 11. Singapore’s US$ 50,714 nominal per capita GDP gets bumped up to US$ 59,937 when adjusted for purchasing power parity. That’s because Singapore’s price level is deemed to be 0.85 times that of the US’s. Singaporeans only need to pay US$ 0.85 for the equivalent of US$ 1 worth of goods in Singapore.

[racoon12]

Hi Dennis

Happened to remember this may enhanced your goal achievement date and I just do not want to forget to mentioned this to you.Singapore government has this Social enterprise fund that you may want to consider to tap on so that you able to minimise operation cost and maximise the money to help more needed people

http://www.enterpriseone.gov.sg/en/Gove ... s_cef.aspx
http://www.enterpriseone.gov.sg/en/Gove ... 0Care.aspx

CHEERS!

[Dennis Ng]

It took me one hour to write this posting:

与大家分享我读蔡礼旭写的“大学演讲录“他分享的其中一篇故事：

曾经有一个人遇到小天使，小天使说：“我带你去看天堂跟地狱。

他们先到地狱。地狱正好吃午餐的时间。有一排长长的桌子，人面对面坐。当有人喊吃饭了，所有的人只想到自己要赶快抢着吃，都夹起筷子要吃。但是因为筷子是一公尺长，在中途互相之间筷子打架，这么一打，所有的菜都掉地上去了。他们因为吃不到菜开始互相谩骂，开始责怪，那个气氛饭根本吃不下去了。

这个人看不下去了，对天使说：”我看不下去了，你带我到天堂去吧。“

小天使马上带他到天堂，天堂也刚好在吃午餐。桌子还是那一样长桌子，菜还是一样的菜，筷子还是一公尺长。他就纳闷了，但突然有人喊吃饭了，每个人拿起筷子不疾不徐地面带着微笑，夹起菜来往对方的嘴里送，这个你一口，那个给我一口，气氛非常快乐和谐。

其实天堂与地狱就在一念之间：自私自利只有自己，就会冲突不断；而能处处为他人着想，他人也为我们着想，这就是天堂了。

我希望我们课程的毕业生能有无私的爱，为他人为社会着想，我们一起先改变自己，再去改变他人，将我们的家庭与环境变成天堂般，是可以实现的。

吴加万

Sharing a story I read in this book written by蔡礼旭写的“大学演讲录“:

One day, a person met an angel. The little angel said:”let me show you Heaven and Hell.”

They first went to visit hell. It was lunch time in hell. He saw there are rows and rows of long table, with people seated opposite each other. Suddenly, a voice said:”time to eat!” Everybody started rushing for food, afraid that if they are too slow, they may not have food left to eat. They tried to use chop sticks which are 1 metre long to pick up the food to put in their own mouths. But because the chopsticks are too long, they collided and “fight” midway with one another. As a result, all the food dropped to the dirty ground…and could not be eaten. The people started blaming each other, nasty words come out from their mouth…no one has the mood to even eat the rice in front of them.

The person said:”I cannot stand to see this anymore, can little angel please bring me to heaven?”

The little angel next brought him to Heaven. It was lunch time as well. He saw the same rows of long table, the same food, and the same 1 metre long chopsticks, just like in hell. He wanted to ask the angel is this heaven or another hell…just then, a voice is heard:”time to eat!”

What happened next amazed him, the people there did not rush, they smile and happily use their chopsticks to pick up food to feed the person opposite him/her. And those seated opposite did the same, everyone has food, and the atmosphere was joyous and peaceful and tranquil…

The truth is the difference between Heaven and Hell is our Thoughts and Intention. If we are selfish, there’ll be conflicts and struggles, but if each of us think of the welfare of others, that we help other people and in turn other people also think of our welfare and help us, it’ll be Heaven.

It is my deepest hope that ALL Seminar graduates can learn to be selfless, to think of others, to think of the society and to contribute whatever we can. We start by changing ourselves, and through our thoughts and actions, we influence and change our loved ones and those around us. Together, we can make our environment like heaven, together we can make Heaven a Place on Earth.

Dennis Ng

[Dennis Ng]

I'm flattered by Wendy Chow's comments, a friend I was lucky to meet in my trip to China in Jul 2010. During the train journey to attend Huang Ming's seminar in 山东德州, she shared with me her life experiences, which I find very inspiring and encouraging, so I encouraged her to write it into a book so that she can share her experiences and who knows, who she can help to inspire and encourage...

Amazingly, she really did it...I've encouraged many people, but few would really do what I encourage them to do. So kudos for her "Just Do It' Spirit!

Wendy is an amazing lady, she is full of vigour and zest for life and learning, I have alot to learn from her instead.

Life is an amazing journey, while she treated me as a teacher, she is also my teacher in ways that she may not realise. 三人行，必有我师

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

http://wendychow.asia/dennis-ng-%E4%B8% ... 0%E4%B8%87

Dennis Ng – 一心一意造福世人的吴加万
Posted on August 9, 2011

没有Dennis， 就没有我的第一本书：“看我三十六变”

在2010年七月底，Dennis和我搭乘同一座火车前往山东德州参加培训。 同行三小时，Dennis不断地与我谈论到他的写作与出书经验。 经由他的鼓励， 培训回来， 我也很快地完成了我的第一本作品。 这全归功于他。

Dennis行事很低调。 后来，我才知道他开办了许多培训课程。 我找机会报名参加。 这次， 我很荣幸地参加了他的“讲师培训” （Train The Trainers）, 我享受全程。 但是， 非常令我惊讶的是Dennis 先后在讲台上哭了两次。 而每一次的哭都是那么真， 那么感人。。。。。。那是他为世人谋福利的使命感的一股真情流露。我佩服Dennis！ 我很佩服他这么年轻就找到自己的信仰； 我更佩服他毫无保留地把他为他人谋福利的信仰， 时时真心地与人分享并且感染身边的人。

太棒了！ Dennis, 我的良师与益友， 我会向您学习与看齐！

[Dennis Ng]

Local News

日期: 16/03/2012

新闻来源: 新明日报

记者: 林道生


理财专家：未来20年　有4机会从股市赚取4800万


现年42岁的理财专家吴加万说，未来20年，他将拥有至少4次机会，从股市中赚取多达4800万元！

到底这4次在股市赚钱机会，何时会出现？

他说，这4次机会就在每隔四五年就转换的股市周期，也就是一般说的熊市与牛市的轮番更替。

吴加万说，根据过去的历史记录，牛市一般为3到4年，最长不超过5年，熊市一般为一到两年。

他说，在他62岁之前，他将可以利用熊市与牛市轮番更替所提供的投资机会，从股市中赚取多达4800万元。

-认为买房子养老不明智

-春耕秋收才能赚钱

完整报道，请翻阅16.03.2012《新明日报》。

[Dennis Ng]

I had been a Financial Planner for 8 years, and I would say that there are indeed competent Financial Planners who put clients' interests first, but of course this is a minority, perhaps 15% out of 100%?

The main problem with the Financial Planning industry is that consumers are not educated. Furthermore, many are not willing to pay a Fee for Financial Advice, and rather get FREE Financial Advice; and the insurance industry is too "sales focus" and "commission focus", resulting in Financial Planners forced with constant daily "conflict" and dilemma between serving clients' interests and their own interests (commission).

So the best think I think is for consumers to increase their financial knowledge and become Financially Educated, so that they can be in a better position to choose insurance and investment products, rather than just merely depending on what the Financial Planner tell you, which may not be entirely true or in your interests.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

The Straits Times
Apr 8, 2012
Small change
Good financial advice hard to get
Watch out for advisers who put commissions above clients' interests

By Andy Mukherjee

If you think used-car dealers are the ultimate in pushy salesmanship, with glib-talking agents trying to pass off expensive pieces of junk, try getting some financial advice.

A second-hand car may have a few problems with the braking system, and a wily salesperson may just omit to mention them. But it's unlikely you'll go home in a vehicle without brakes.

Finance is different. Products that have been designed with the explicit intention of sending you skidding towards an unpleasant crash are a dime a dozen. Your financial adviser's job is to protect you from getting in harm's way.

If the adviser sees such toxic material in your portfolio when you meet him the first time, he must reason with you and get you to reconsider the risk that you may not even be fully aware of.

Instead, if the adviser takes a look at your portfolio and says to himself, 'This idiot will buy anything I can sell him', then we have the start of a beautiful friendship that will terminate with the adviser sipping white rum on a sandy beach while you file for bankruptcy.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said recently that it would subject the financial advisory industry to a review. The idea is to lower costs for customers and improve the quality of advice. Ask yourself: Why does the MAS have to force the industry to raise its game? Why can't market forces reward good advisers and force out the bad ones?

Well, that's because the market for financial advice does not self-correct.

Since advisers continue to be a part of the supply chain that makes and distributes financial products, their remuneration is from commissions. How does an adviser maximise commissions? By increasing volumes. Advisers who genuinely care about their clients' interests will not nudge them away from low-commission products.

They will also not force them to start chasing every hot trend - regardless of their clients' risk appetite - or churn their portfolio more often than is necessary. As a result, good advisers will earn less commission and be more likely to leave the industry. Hustlers, meanwhile, will thrive.

This is not a problem restricted to Singapore.

Last month, Professor Sendhil Mullainathan, a prominent Harvard University behavioural economist, published a study he conducted with two other researchers on the financial advice industry in the United States.

The study followed a novel approach. Trained auditors were assigned fictitious careers and portfolios and sent to real-life financial advisers. The advice they received was recorded and analysed.

The researchers' conclusion? 'Advisers encourage returns-chasing behaviour and push for actively managed funds that have higher fees, even if the client starts with a well-diversified, low-fee portfolio,' the study notes.

It adds that, in some cases, advisers even push clients towards funds that charge higher fees with little added benefit from portfolio diversification. In short, expected returns for clients will be lower.

This damning indictment of the industry gets more interesting. It appears that, despite delivering inferior advice, the industry is doing a fine job selling its wares to an unsuspecting public. Auditors said they were willing to go back to 70 per cent of the advisers they had visited - now with their own money.

The researchers did not test if changing the incentive structure would change the quality of advice. For instance, instead of sales commissions, what if an adviser made a living purely from fees generated from clients? In the Singapore context, these advisers are the only ones that are allowed to call themselves 'independent'.

If all advisers were purely independent, would the quality of advice get better? Or will the fees become so high that small investors will get priced out and return to the same commission-earning adviser who gives them bad advice now? We don't know the answer but it's worth finding out.

The industry in Singapore is a little jittery about what kind of changes the MAS will thrust upon it, and whether the pace of adjustments required of it will be so rapid as to cause a major shake-up.

Key changes should be gradual to ensure that the financial advisory industry 'will not be severely or negatively impacted', as the Association of Financial Advisers said in a March28 statement.

andym@sph.com.sg

[Dennis Ng]

Today on News Radio 93.8 FM "Living Room" I was asked one of the things I learned from multi-millionaires on investing which is different from what is taught in school. I said, in school, we are taught to diversify between Equity and Bonds.

On the other hand, Real Investors have a very dynamic asset allocation, adjusting our Cash level and various investments as part of our strategy in different stages of a market cycle. For instance, in year 2006, 80% of my wealth was invested into stocks. In year 2008, only 10% in stocks and I had 70% Cash.

2 years ago in year 2010, I had 35% invested into stocks and only had 30% in cash while right now I'm holding 62% Cash, only 9% invested into stocks. That's how dynamic our Asset Allocation can be.

I discovered that what is taught in school might not work in the Real World of Investing, while what I learned from multi-milloinaires about investing, really works and I found myself getting richer as I learn from the Rich.

[racoon12]

Thks that's very important sharing fm my view point. learn smthing.

[Dennis Ng]

Genting Singapore borrow money now even though they are NOT using the money now and have to pay 5.125% interest while waiting.

Genting Singapore is building up Opportunity Fund, this is a Secret of the Rich, all Rich knows the Wisdom of doing so, but it baffles many small shareholders of Genting Singapore, wondering why the company is paying interests on money it does NOT need.

Genting Singapore has S$1 billion net profits and S$3.15 billion debt, even if it pays 6% on its debts, that works out to S$189 million, and its Interest Cover is 6.29 times. So there is really no need to worry about whether Genting Singapore can pay interests on its debts or not.

As I shared many times in my seminars, the average wants to pay off debts, the Rich Borrow money to become Richer.

Until you grasp this truth and follow to do what the Rich do, you would NOT become very rich, as we all have limited financial resources.

Mr Lim also expressed confidence that with the cash in hand, the company could capitalise on any opportunities that may arise. 'I can sleep soundly at night, knowing that with the cash we have, we will definitely be able to earn more than the 5.125 per cent which is the interest cost we pay for this sum of money,' he said.

One shareholder wanted to know why Genting is raising so much money when it had no acquisition target in mind, and yet was paying hefty interest on the funds.

Genting president Tan Hee Teck said: 'They want to see the colour of your money. Let's say hypothetically I want to build an IR (integrated resort) in Japan, the first thing the Japanese government is going to ask you - I say in Hokkien - would be 'Oo lui boh?' (Got money or not?). You can't say that I will raise some money down the road.'

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

The Straits Times
Apr 25, 2012
companies
Shareholders air concerns at Genting AGM
Firm allays fears about its ability to pay interest on $2.3b fund-raising effort

By Goh Eng Yeow

ANXIOUS shareholders of casino giant Genting Singapore yesterday expressed fears over the firm's ability to service the huge interest payments resulting from a recent $2.3 billion fund-raising exercise.

The move dominated questions from the hundreds of shareholders who turned up at the firm's annual general meeting (AGM) held in the luxurious ballroom in Genting's flagship Resorts World Sentosa.

The firm sold a bond-like instrument known as perpetual shares to raise the funds. It is paying a hefty annual payout or coupon of 5.125 per cent.

One after another, shareholders stood up to voice their concerns at the meeting, which lasted for two hours.

One elderly shareholder asked company chairman Lim Kok Thay if Genting would be deferring any payout on the perpetual securities - which give the issuer discretion over repayment of the principal and the ability to defer coupon payments under certain circumstances.

Another shareholder asked if the company's decision to pay out a measly one-cent dividend was to make the perpetual bonds attractive to buyers, since it offered a much higher payout rate in percentage terms than the shares.

But Mr Lim took pains to allay their fears. He said: 'Your board and management are highly confident we can honour all our obligations. Please don't start talking about defaults. We are not a fly-by-night company. In a short span of time, we have grown tremendously. You can see you are the owner of every single brick in this resort.'

He noted that Genting had been given high ratings by credit ratings agencies. 'We have the best credit ratings of any gaming companies in the world, and that includes whatever the American operators can come up with. They are rated as junk. We are investment grade. I can assure you. Please sleep well at night.'

The perpetual securities had been a 'rare win-win situation' for both the company and the investors who bought them. 'It is very rare for both sides to win. We give them very good interest - 5.125 per cent - compared with bank interest which is below 1 per cent,' he said.

In the financial year ended Dec 31 last year, Genting had reported a net profit of $1 billion, revenues of $3.2 billion and borrowings of about $3.15 billion. It is one of Singapore's largest listed firms with a market value of $21 billion and more than 94,000 shareholders.

Mr Lim also expressed confidence that with the cash in hand, the company could capitalise on any opportunities that may arise. 'I can sleep soundly at night, knowing that with the cash we have, we will definitely be able to earn more than the 5.125 per cent which is the interest cost we pay for this sum of money,' he said.

One shareholder wanted to know why Genting is raising so much money when it had no acquisition target in mind, and yet was paying hefty interest on the funds.

Genting president Tan Hee Teck said: 'They want to see the colour of your money. Let's say hypothetically I want to build an IR (integrated resort) in Japan, the first thing the Japanese government is going to ask you - I say in Hokkien - would be 'Oo lui boh?' (Got money or not?). You can't say that I will raise some money down the road.'

A shareholder, who called himself Mr Toh, complained about the proposed one-cent dividend payout. He used a Hokkien expression to suggest that the company must be thinking that one cent is bigger than a bullock-cart wheel.

But Mr Lim noted that there was nothing shameful about the one-cent dividend. 'That one-cent dividend works out to $120 million of your money - $120 million is what this company is paying out as dividend. I am sure if you are embarrassed about it, there will be some charity bodies which will be quite happy to receive your one-cent payout,' he said.

After the meeting ended, each shareholder was given a lunch box to take away.

engyeow@sph.com.sg