Friday, October 31, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Lower bonus expectation in finance industry: Survey

Lower bonus expectation in finance industry: Survey

TODAY reports: Of the 696 professionals polled, only 42 per cent are looking forward to an increment to their bonuses, down from last year’s 50 per cent.

SINGAPORE: Fewer professionals in the financial industry here are expecting a bigger annual bonus this year, a survey has found, with the sector’s performance seeing some pullback in recent times amid market and geopolitical uncertainties.

Of the 696 professionals polled by eFinancialCareers in Singapore between September and October, only 42 per cent are looking forward to an increment to their bonuses, down from last year’s 50 per cent.

The survey results come at a time when the finance and insurance sector reported a 5.5 per cent on-year growth in the second quarter of this year, down from the first quarter’s 5.7 per cent and last year’s 10.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, the latest data by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shows.

But Mr George McFerran, eFinancialCareers’ director for sales and marketing, said: “Results from the survey are not a reflection of the health of the financial services industry, but indicate that professionals have more realistic expectations when it comes to bonus payout. We’ve often seen a mismatch in the past.”

LONG TERM CAREER PROSPECTS

The Government is, however, cautious about Singaporeans’ long term career prospects in the financial sector, which has halved its hiring since 2012, from about 10,000 new jobs annually in 2010 and 2011. New technologies have further transformed banking operations, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said in June during the anniversary dinner of the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore.

Reflecting this trend, the latest MAS data also reveals slowing employment in the sector this year, from 2,400 new jobs in the first quarter to second quarter’s 1,300 new jobs.

“There is a driving force that is transforming activity across all financial markets and that is technological change,” Mr Tharman had said in June. “Our financial sector has significant opportunities ahead of it… but growth will demand deeper skills and expertise, rather than a large expansion of jobs.”

Against this backdrop, the Government is setting aside about S$60 million this year for training programmes, in a bid to enhance Singaporeans’ banking expertise for an increasingly sophisticated and challenging industry.

-TODAY/cy

- wong chee tat :)

Scheduled Maintenance - POSB

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iBanking01 Nov 20141300hrs to 2359hrsSystem Maintenance
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Passbook Update--
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Automated Teller Machine (ATM)9th Nov 20142:00 AM - 5:00 AM
Few ATM’s will not be available intermittently due to maintenance.
Cash Deposit Machine---
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That dreadful pimples

Oh no!... Lots of pimples popped out today! Maybe I ate too much heaty and oily food these few days. And I should start to drink more water and more veggies.


- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Hot day!

Rained yesterday and the weather was cooling. But today, the heat is on! The sun is shining!

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Monday, October 27, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Nice cool weather

It rained the almost the whole afternoon and the weather is super cooling!


- wong chee tat :)

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Hot day!

Hot afternoon! I should drink more water!


- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum




- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum




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Om Mani Padme Hum




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Om Mani Padme Hum



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Om Mani Padme Hum



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Om Mani Padme Hum



- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum




- wong chee tat ")

Om Mani Padme Hum



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Om Mani Padme Hum



- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum




- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum



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Om Mani Padme Hum




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Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


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Om Mani Padme Hum




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Friday, October 24, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum



- wong chee tat :)

Office space prices up, but retail space prices soften slightly in Q3: URA

Office space prices up, but retail space prices soften slightly in Q3: URA

In the past three months, vacancy rates for office space declined, but the opposite was true for retail space, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said on Friday (Oct 24).

SINGAPORE: Prices of office space increased by 1.6 per cent in the third quarter of the year, while rental prices of office space rose 2.6 per cent in the same period, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (Oct 24).

In the same period, the vacancy rate of office space fell to 8.4 per cent, compared to 9.6 per cent at the end of the second quarter. The URA said that this was in part due to a 47,000sqm decrease in the stock of office space in the third quarter, compared with a 1,000sqm decrease three months prior. It was the largest quarterly decline since 1992, according to consultancy Knight Frank.

Occupancy rate remained healthy at 91.6 per cent in the third quarter. The amount of occupied office space increased by 50,000sqm (nett) in the third quarter, compared to the 22,000sqm (nett) increase in the previous quarter, the URA said.

RETAIL PRICES DIP

Prices of retail space declined by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, following on a decline of 0.3 per cent in the previous three months. The increase of rental rates of retail space also slowed, rising by 0.1 per cent in the past three months, compared to the 0.6 per cent increase in the second quarter of the year.

The amount of occupied retail space increased by 15,000sqm (nett) in the third quarter, while the stock of retail space increased by 52,000sqm (nett) in the same period. As a result, the islandwide vacancy rate of retail space rose to 6.5 per cent at the end of third quarter, up from 5.9 per cent as of end-June.

Knight Frank said the islandwide occupancy rate of 93.5 percent in the third quarter was the lowest since the first quarter of 2011.

Analysts said retail rents could face downward pressure next year. Chestertons’ managing director, Mr Donald Han, noted: "Moving into 2015, we expect rentals to come under pressure mainly because tenants are more worried about their bottomline, more concerned about overall operating cost and labour cost, and we expect margins to be affected.

“Retailers are probably unable to pay higher rents come renewal. We probably will see rentals correcting 1, 2 per cent, but those development that are in the Grade A, prime retail malls will probably not see too much reduction in terms of rental."

OFFICE RENTS

CBRE Research said the average rent for Grade A office buildings in Singapore is S$10.95 per square foot per month, which is still some way off its record high.

Mr Desmond Sim, head of research for Southeast Asia at CBRE Research, elaborated: “The previous peak was in 2008 and we are likely 9.3 per cent off that peak. In our forecast, we do not see rents start to match that peak. At that time, GDP was doing relatively well, 6 to 8 per cent.

“What we see now is that GDP is pretty much controlled. Demand from financial institutions is also very limited."

NON-FINANCIAL SECTORS TO DRIVE DEMAND FOR OFFICE SPACE

Looking ahead, analysts expect non-financial sectors to continue to drive demand for office space. But they said some banks may be looking for room to grow, especially if they see substantial growth in the wealth management and renminbi clearing business.

Office rents have already gone up by over 7 per cent in the first three quarters of this year. For the whole of 2014, office rents are likely to increase 10 per cent, and analysts expect a similar pace of growth in 2015, with most of the rental growth seen in the first half of next year.

Meanwhile, office supply will remain tight next year, before new buildings like Marina One are completed in 2016.

INDUSTRIAL SPACE SEGMENT MOST CHALLENGING

Analysts said the industrial space segment will probably be most challenging - when compared with retail and office. Latest numbers from JTC showed growing weakness in multiple-user factory space, with prices falling 1.8 per cent on-quarter in the third quarter.

Knight Frank said: "Going forward, price depreciation for factory space is likely to continue in the coming quarters with the high supply of both factory and warehouse spaces. Demand for strata-titled factory units is likely to be reduced in the short-term, with the market's general expectation of further price moderations in light of the cautious manufacturing sentiment.

“We view that the rents would continue its decline in the coming quarters well into early next year. While this trend would pose greater challenges for the landlords, this would potentially benefit SMEs (small and medium enterprises) who are eager to have find industrial space at more available locations."

- CNA/es/ms

- wong chee tat :)

HDB resale prices down 1.7% on-quarter in Q3

HDB resale prices down 1.7% on-quarter in Q3

The number of resale transactions rose by 2.8 per cent from 4,389 cases in the second quarter to 4,513 cases in the third quarter, HDB says.

SINGAPORE: Prices of resale flats fell by 1.7 per cent on-quarter in the third quarter of 2014, while the number of resale transactions rose 2.8 per cent, according to the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

HDB on Friday (Oct 24) announced that the Resale Price Index (RPI) fell from 195.7 in the second quarter to 192.4 in the third quarter. Resale transactions increased from 4,389 cases in the second quarter to 4,513 cases in the third quarter.

The number of subletting transactions rose by 5.5 per cent from 8,455 cases in the second quarter to 8,923 cases in the third quarter. The total number of HDB flats approved for subletting rose by 1.5 per cent from 47,015 to 47,707 units.

Since January this year, a total of 18,178 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and 3,383 balance flats under the BTO and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises have been launched. HDB said it is on track to launch 22,400 BTO flats for the whole of 2014.

Another 4,290 BTO flats in Sembawang, Sengkang, Tampines and Yishun will be launched in November, HDB said. An additional 3,000 flats will be offered in a concurrent SBF exercise.

- CNA/cy


- wong chee tat :)

Private property prices down for fourth straight quarter

Private property prices down for fourth straight quarter

Prices of private residential properties fell by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter following a 1 per cent decrease in the previous quarter, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said.

SINGAPORE: Prices of private residential properties in the third quarter fell by 0.7 per cent from the previous quarter – the fourth consecutive quarter of decline, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (Oct 24).

The price decline was observed across all segments of the private residential property market, URA said. Prices of non-landed properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) declined by 0.8 per cent from the previous quarter, following the 1.5 per cent decrease in the April to June period. Prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) declined by 0.4 per cent, the same rate of decline as in the previous quarter. In Outside Central Region (OCR), prices declined by 0.3 per cent, after the 0.9 per cent decline in the previous quarter. Prices of landed properties declined by 1.8 per cent, following the decrease of 1.7 per cent in the previous quarter.

Rentals of private residential properties in the third quarter fell by 0.8 per cent from the previous quarter, compared with a 0.6 per cent decline in the April to June period.

LAUNCHES AND TAKE-UP

Developers launched 1,294 uncompleted private residential units excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs) in the third quarter, lower than the 2,843 units in the second quarter, URA said. A total of 1,531 private residential units (excluding ECs) were sold by developers during the quarter, compared with 2,665 units in the previous quarter.

No new EC units were launched for sale during the quarter. Developers sold 162 EC units in the third quarter, compared with the 154 units sold in the second quarter.

RESALES AND SUB-SALES

The number of resale transactions fell to 1,288 in the third quarter, down from 1,389 transactions in the previous quarter. Resale transactions accounted for 43.6 per cent of all sale transactions during the quarter, compared with 33 per cent in the second quarter.

There were 136 sub-sale transactions in the third quarter, down from 158 transactions in the previous quarter. Sub-sales accounted for 4.6 per cent of all sale transactions in the quarter, up from the 3.8 per cent recorded in the April to June period.

SUPPLY IN THE PIPELINE

As at the end of the third quarter, there were 74,496 uncompleted private residential units (excluding ECs) in the pipeline, compared with 76,014 units in the previous quarter. Of this number, 28,120 units remained unsold. Adding the 14,131 upcoming EC units, there are a total of 88,627 units in the pipeline.

Another 8,550 units (including ECs) will soon be added to the pipeline supply, the URA said.

- CNA/cy


- wong chee tat :)

Scheduled Maintenance - POSB

Scheduled Maintenance - POSB

ServiceScheduled Maintenance DateExpected DowntimeRemarks
iBanking25 Oct 20141000hrs to 2200hrs- System Maintenance
- iB trading services
- Online Equity Trading
1400hrs to 2359hrs- System Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading
1705hrs to 1710hrs- System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
26 Oct 20140000 hrs to 0400 hrs- Credit Card Payment New: Pay Other Banks' Visa and Mastercard bills New: Make Payment, Add Payee
- Send Money to an Overseas Visa Card (Visa Personal Payments) New: Send Money, Add Beneficiary
0000hrs to 1850hrs- System Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading
0120hrs to 1600hrs- System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
Cards & unsecure Loan application forms / Vickers form--
-
mBanking--
-
Paylah--
-
iB Application--
-
iB - Trading Services--
-
--
-
D2Pay--
-
Phone Banking--
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NETS--
-
Passbook Update--
-
Automated Teller Machine (ATM)--
-
Cash Deposit Machine---
Coin Deposit Machine---
Cheque Deposit Machine---
POSB Print---
AXS D-Pay---
Token Registration26 Oct 20140030hrs to 0400hrs
downtime


- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Monday, October 20, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Thanks!

Thanks!

Dear readers,

A big Thank You for reading & supporting this small humble blog of mine. Please feel free and continue to visit this humble blog often!

Thank You readers once again!

Thanks Nuffnang for all your help! =) Thanks Google, Yahoo! and other search engines and crawlies for your help too!

What's next?

I will need to make some incremental changes to this humble blog and of course continue blogging!


- wong chee tat :)




Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Friday, October 17, 2014

Raining

The weather now is quite cooling because it was raining almost the whole afternoon. The haze is gone. Good time to sleep!

I shall sleep early then! Good night all!

- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum


- wong chee tat :)

Scheduled Maintenance - POSB

Scheduled Maintenance - POSB

ServiceScheduled Maintenance DateExpected DowntimeRemarks
iBanking18 Oct 20142300hrs to 2359hrsSystem Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading(OET)
19 Oct 20140000hrs to 1030hrsSystem Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading(OET)
0130hrs to 0135hrs
System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
0920hrs to 0925hrs
System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
25 Oct 20141000hrs to 2200hrs- System Maintenance
- iB trading services
- Online Equity Trading
1400hrs to 2359hrs- System Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading
1705hrs to 1710hrs- System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
26 Oct 20140000 hrs to 0400 hrs- Credit Card Payment New: Pay Other Banks' Visa and Mastercard bills New: Make Payment, Add Payee
- Send Money to an Overseas Visa Card (Visa Personal Payments) New: Send Money, Add Beneficiary
0000hrs to 1850hrs- System Maintenance
- Online Equity Trading
0120hrs to 1600hrs- System Maintenance
- MCSA Funds Transfer, and Portfolio Enquiry
Cards & unsecure Loan application forms / Vickers form--
-
mBanking--
-
Paylah--
-
iB Application--
-
iB - Trading Services--
-
--
-
D2Pay--
-
Phone Banking--
-
NETS--
-
Passbook Update--
-
Automated Teller Machine (ATM)--
-
Cash Deposit Machine---
Coin Deposit Machine---
Cheque Deposit Machine---
POSB Print---
AXS D-Pay---
Token Registration--
-


- wong chee tat :)

Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum

- wong chee tat :)

Thursday, October 16, 2014