More private homes expected under govt land sales programme
By Wong Siew Ying | Posted: 14 December 2012 1141 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore will make available for sale sufficient land to build about 14,000 private homes in the first half of next year, the government said on Friday.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said this as it unveiled the Government Land Sales Programme for the first half of 2013 (1H2013).
There will be 12 private residential sites, including five executive condominium (EC) sites, and one site for a mixed commercial and residential development on the Confirmed List.
These sites can yield about 6,900 private residential units, including 3,100 EC units and 33,000 square metre gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space.
MND said most of the private residential sites, including the five EC sites, are located in the suburban areas or in the city fringe where more affordable private housing is expected to be built.
In addition to the sites on the Confirmed List, MND said 19 sites will be available under the 1H2013 Reserve List.
These include 11 private residential sites, one commercial and residential site, two commercial sites, one "white" site and four hotel sites.
"White" sites are those which developers are allowed to decide on a mix of uses for the site and respective quantum of floor space for each use, as long as the total permissible GFA for the whole development is not exceeded.
Sites on the Reserve List can yield about 7,100 private residential units, 281,000 square metre GFA of commercial space and 1,740 hotel rooms.
In all, the programme is expected to yield about 14,000 private residential units, including 3,100 EC units.
- CNA/xq/ir
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, December 14, 2012
More Supplementary Retirement Scheme accounts opened at year-end
More Supplementary Retirement Scheme accounts opened at year-end
By Linette Lim | Posted: 13 December 2012 1928 hrs
SINGAPORE: More Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) accounts are opened in the month of December each year, according to banks in Singapore.
The SRS is a voluntary savings scheme and administered by three local banks.
OCBC Bank said SRS account openings this month can be more than five times that of other months.
As the year comes to a close, financial advisors said more clients are topping up SRS accounts in order to qualify for tax savings.
Launched by the government in 2001, the scheme encourages people to put aside money for their retirement. This is over and above what they have in their mandatory CPF accounts.
The money can only be withdrawn at retirement age, which currently stands at 62, but only half of it will be taxed upon withdrawal.
Wong Sui Jau, General Manager of Fundsupermart.com, said: "It works based on a deferred tax scheme, so for monies that you actually put into the SRS, it will not count towards your chargeable income. I think the biggest benefits is for people in high-income tax brackets, because it allows them to reduce their chargeable income for tax."
The number of SRS account holders is growing at above 10 per cent each year since the scheme began.
The take-up rate for the scheme is modest, relative to the size of the taxable population.
There are more than a million taxable individuals in Singapore as at 2010, according to official statistics.
However, not everyone pays tax as their income could be too low.
Assuming only those with an annual income above $40,000 pays tax, there are around 720,000 tax-paying individuals. Out of this, only slightly more than 70,000 are SRS account holders.
This means only 10 per cent of people who are eligible to open an SRS account have done so.
Wong Sui Jau added: "SRS is not like your CPF ordinary account or special account where you have special interest rates you will receive. The interest rate is no different from what you get if you put it in a bank which almost definitely mean you will really need to invest it because this is money that is going to be locked up for the long term."
Money in SRS accounts can be used to invest in stocks and insurance, and the investment returns are accumulated tax-free.
Still, experts say the SRS is not for everyone. For example, it may not be appropriate for those with many dependents under their charge.
Chew Hock Beng, Associate Director of Financial Advisory Group, Financial Alliance, said: "They probably have to take care of four parents for a married couple, and two to three kids, so a lot of money have been used for expenses."
According to DBS, SRS contributors should make sure that they have adequate disposable income and emergency funds, because premature withdrawals will incur a 5 per cent penalty and will be 100 per cent taxed.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
By Linette Lim | Posted: 13 December 2012 1928 hrs
SINGAPORE: More Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) accounts are opened in the month of December each year, according to banks in Singapore.
The SRS is a voluntary savings scheme and administered by three local banks.
OCBC Bank said SRS account openings this month can be more than five times that of other months.
As the year comes to a close, financial advisors said more clients are topping up SRS accounts in order to qualify for tax savings.
Launched by the government in 2001, the scheme encourages people to put aside money for their retirement. This is over and above what they have in their mandatory CPF accounts.
The money can only be withdrawn at retirement age, which currently stands at 62, but only half of it will be taxed upon withdrawal.
Wong Sui Jau, General Manager of Fundsupermart.com, said: "It works based on a deferred tax scheme, so for monies that you actually put into the SRS, it will not count towards your chargeable income. I think the biggest benefits is for people in high-income tax brackets, because it allows them to reduce their chargeable income for tax."
The number of SRS account holders is growing at above 10 per cent each year since the scheme began.
The take-up rate for the scheme is modest, relative to the size of the taxable population.
There are more than a million taxable individuals in Singapore as at 2010, according to official statistics.
However, not everyone pays tax as their income could be too low.
Assuming only those with an annual income above $40,000 pays tax, there are around 720,000 tax-paying individuals. Out of this, only slightly more than 70,000 are SRS account holders.
This means only 10 per cent of people who are eligible to open an SRS account have done so.
Wong Sui Jau added: "SRS is not like your CPF ordinary account or special account where you have special interest rates you will receive. The interest rate is no different from what you get if you put it in a bank which almost definitely mean you will really need to invest it because this is money that is going to be locked up for the long term."
Money in SRS accounts can be used to invest in stocks and insurance, and the investment returns are accumulated tax-free.
Still, experts say the SRS is not for everyone. For example, it may not be appropriate for those with many dependents under their charge.
Chew Hock Beng, Associate Director of Financial Advisory Group, Financial Alliance, said: "They probably have to take care of four parents for a married couple, and two to three kids, so a lot of money have been used for expenses."
According to DBS, SRS contributors should make sure that they have adequate disposable income and emergency funds, because premature withdrawals will incur a 5 per cent penalty and will be 100 per cent taxed.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
Land parcel in Sembawang receives top bid of S$211.9m
Land parcel in Sembawang receives top bid of S$211.9m
By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 13 December 2012 2126 hrs
SINGAPORE: The tender for a land parcel located at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive closed on Thursday with a top bid of $211.92 million.
The site, measuring 21,718.4 square metres, received a total of eight bids.
In a statement, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the top bid came from boutique developer JBE Holdings, while the second highest bid of S$210.1 million was handed in by FCL Place Pte. Ltd. and Hytech Builders.
Meanwhile, two joint bidders submitted the third highest tender price of S$208.5 million. They were Master Contract Services Pte Ltd & Keong Hong Construction and Peak Square Pte. Ltd. & Low Keng Huat (Singapore) Limited.
The lowest bid of S$184 million came from Mezzo Development.
The site can be developed into an executive condominium housing with around 650 units. It has a maximum gross floor area of 60,811.52 square metres and gross plot ratio of 2.8. The lease term is 99 years.
HDB said the decision on the tender award will be announced at a later date after the bids have been evaluated.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 13 December 2012 2126 hrs
SINGAPORE: The tender for a land parcel located at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive closed on Thursday with a top bid of $211.92 million.
The site, measuring 21,718.4 square metres, received a total of eight bids.
In a statement, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the top bid came from boutique developer JBE Holdings, while the second highest bid of S$210.1 million was handed in by FCL Place Pte. Ltd. and Hytech Builders.
Meanwhile, two joint bidders submitted the third highest tender price of S$208.5 million. They were Master Contract Services Pte Ltd & Keong Hong Construction and Peak Square Pte. Ltd. & Low Keng Huat (Singapore) Limited.
The lowest bid of S$184 million came from Mezzo Development.
The site can be developed into an executive condominium housing with around 650 units. It has a maximum gross floor area of 60,811.52 square metres and gross plot ratio of 2.8. The lease term is 99 years.
HDB said the decision on the tender award will be announced at a later date after the bids have been evaluated.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
Number of licensed moneylenders falls 16% after stricter advertising rules
Number of licensed moneylenders falls 16% after stricter advertising rules
By Lian Cheong | Posted: 13 December 2012 2249 hrs
SINGAPORE: Following stricter measures on advertisements, the number of licensed moneylenders has dropped from 260 to 218 from 31 October 2011 to 31 October 2012.
That's a decrease of about 16 per cent.
Since the ban of print advertisements took effect last November 2011, licensed moneylenders say their business has dropped by 50 per cent.
In August, the Singapore Moneylender's Association sent three proposals to the Registry of Money Lenders suggesting ways to tighten the business of licensed moneylending, and at the same time, to relax the strict advertising rules.
Some moneylenders are hoping that the authorities could allow them to advertise through the Singapore Moneylender's Association, so that the association could help manage and control the advertisements.
Currently, moneylenders can only advertise on commercial websites, such as yellow pages, as well as on the walls, windows and doors of the company's office.
They are also proposing that licensed moneylenders go through a background check to ensure they do not have any criminal records.
The third proposal is for new licence holders to have a minimum paid-up capital of $100,000 to $200,000.
Mr David Poh Cheng Seng, President of the Singapore Moneylenders' Association, said they are discussing the proposal with the Ministry of Law.
"This is our way of strengthening our moneylending market and we have a good reputation among our licence holders. Currently, we don't have any paid-up capital but we are in the pipeline of discussion through the Ministry of Law whether to set the minimum paid-up among our moneylending licence (holders) and also to check our background," he said.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
By Lian Cheong | Posted: 13 December 2012 2249 hrs
SINGAPORE: Following stricter measures on advertisements, the number of licensed moneylenders has dropped from 260 to 218 from 31 October 2011 to 31 October 2012.
That's a decrease of about 16 per cent.
Since the ban of print advertisements took effect last November 2011, licensed moneylenders say their business has dropped by 50 per cent.
In August, the Singapore Moneylender's Association sent three proposals to the Registry of Money Lenders suggesting ways to tighten the business of licensed moneylending, and at the same time, to relax the strict advertising rules.
Some moneylenders are hoping that the authorities could allow them to advertise through the Singapore Moneylender's Association, so that the association could help manage and control the advertisements.
Currently, moneylenders can only advertise on commercial websites, such as yellow pages, as well as on the walls, windows and doors of the company's office.
They are also proposing that licensed moneylenders go through a background check to ensure they do not have any criminal records.
The third proposal is for new licence holders to have a minimum paid-up capital of $100,000 to $200,000.
Mr David Poh Cheng Seng, President of the Singapore Moneylenders' Association, said they are discussing the proposal with the Ministry of Law.
"This is our way of strengthening our moneylending market and we have a good reputation among our licence holders. Currently, we don't have any paid-up capital but we are in the pipeline of discussion through the Ministry of Law whether to set the minimum paid-up among our moneylending licence (holders) and also to check our background," he said.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
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