A Singaporean's View

Profiteering from GST

Published July 29, 2007 money 1 Comment

A student care centre was severely warned for trying to profit from the GST hike when it raised its prices from $270 to $280 when the difference would only be $5.40. I’m surprised that this is the only case so far? I think it would be very difficult to identify who are the ones that are trying to profit from the GST hike.

I’ve come across shops where prices have already gone up, some marginally higher while others a sharp increase. The thing is that they don’t cite GST as the reason for the hike. They quote reasons like higher rentals, overheads etc, when you ask them. I believe that’s nothing wrong right? Just trying to do business. So I was thinking, what if the student care centre cited other reasons for the hike? You couldn’t warn a business for raising prices due to rising overheads right?

I believe GST profiteering is more rampant than we think. Just that its not so obvious. Just like any other policy, we’ll get used to it after awhile. Once upon a time, I used to mentally add 10% to my calculation while dining to get a rough estimate of my bill. Now I just add 20% for safe measure. Initially I told myself I would stop dining out so often, but apparently, I still do so, more so in fact. The frustrating thing to me is that I have to pay the mandatory service charge when I feel I didn’t really get good service. But that’s another post. Have a good Sunday.

First comment on the blog

Published July 28, 2007 personal Leave a Comment

My blog just got its first comment barely half an hour ago. Thanks George. I really would like to encourage those of you reading my blog to leave a comment. This would also encourage me in trying to put up more quality content and views. I’ll try to make my postings as honest as I can, so I hope nobody gets pissed off with me or anything. We can have different views, its ok!

Thanks to all who have been reading. I hope to build up readership over time as I obviously didn’t start this blog too long ago. Have a great weekend!

$500 Credit Card

Published July 28, 2007 money 2 Comments

When Citibank introduced their new Clear Card with a $500 credit limit and no minimum income requirements, it sparked a debate – would it encourage more people, especially students, to get into debt?

Most believe so with the assumption that the younger ones are not responsible enough to manage their own finances. With more spending ability, they might spend beyond their means. I believe its only natural because really, how many of us when we were students were very good with money? If you don’t earn your own money, its hard to appreciate it. I believe the bank knows that, though they advertise about convenience, rewards, card discounts etc, what they really want is to earn interest off these cards. Its always the bottom line. If its not going to make a profit, why bother having such a card. To such a major bank, the risks are minimised. Its only $500, so the financial impact of a bad debt would not be that great, unless a huge volume of customers can’t pay up (unlikely).

Having said that, I am of the opinion that this card does have its benefits. Maybe students should probably stick to debit cards though, I probably wouldn’t trust myself with a credit card if I were younger. The card does have its advantages:

* Using a credit card, you use the bank’s money first. In event of dispute or fraud, if they deem you innocent of negligence, the bank may waiver at their discretion all charges. If you are using a debit card hence your own money, the bank has little motivation to pursue the matter.

* A short term interest-free loan facility. For example, you see something on offer, at a great price, but your pay only comes next week and today is the last day. You could buy it on credit and make sure you pay it off as soon as you get the statement. As long as pay within 25 days after receiving the statement, no interest is charged.

* Some online transactions require credit cards only and specifically mentioned debit cards are not allowed. Really, I’ve seen them before.

Can you think of any other advantages?

A tip for credit card users is to make it a habit to pay off the credit card bills once you receive the statement. Delaying could cost you a late charge of $40-$45. The best would be to get internet banking where you could monitor all transactions online and make payment without waiting for the statement. I’ve heard many cases where people get slapped with a late charge and then call the bank claiming they never received the statement. Bank then gives waiver as goodwill etc. But hey, save yourself the trouble, take it into your own hands. Anyway, Citibank charges you a dollar more to send you the paper statement now.

Unless parents monitor what their children are using with the credit card, I don’t encourage them holding one. I think its too much responsibility for them unless they are deemed to be very responsible. A debit card would just do fine. If you’re a working adult, but don’t qualify for the $30,000 per annum requirement, this $500 card would be useful. If you do end up in debt, what to do? Since you’re working, $500 shouldn’t be a problem, just suppress the urge to go on another shopping spree.

So would this card harm our society? I doubt so. It all really comes down to being responsible. $500 will hardly destroy anyone’s life. Parents could easily bail their children out. I wouldn’t be surprised the local banks follow suit soon in having a $500 card of their own.

Singapore freezing

Published July 27, 2007 weather Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but these few days have been extremely cold with the rain and such. Weather forecasts also predicts storms tomorrow and Sunday, even Monday. What a wet weekend. I remember the highest rainfalls come in December and April. Though we have no wet and dry seasons, the drier months are usually February and July. But apparently, just like most places, the weather seems to be getting more unpredictable. In fact its flooding in Britain now.

Its freezing in the office, and with a window view of the rain, its really hard to stay focus on work! I’m constantly thinking how nice it would be to be having my afternoon nap now. And the rain doesn’t seem to be subsiding anytime soon but let’s hope it clears just in time for National Day.

Have a great day ahead, and stay awake.

Follow NDP ’07 with 9 camera angles

Published July 26, 2007 national day Leave a Comment

This year’s NDP parade will be different from years’ past. I know of some people who already got pretty bored with it since its usually the same old stuff. I can remember the ones recently that stayed in my memory, the year SARS hit us and the one with PM Goh’s final NDP. Apart from that, nice but not a lasting impression.

This year’s parade will not be at the National Stadium as it is being torn down. Maybe its a blessing in disguise. This year it will be held at the Marina Bay area. Less seating capacity but because the surroundings are more open, you could probably get a glimpse of it standing somewhere. If you’re staying home (like I am), no fret, you can catch it on TV or online at www.straitstimes.com. On the ST website, you have the option of viewing any of 9 cameras trained on the action.

Australian daredevil stunt bikers will entertain the crowd as early as 4pm (before the pre-parade segment… so this is the pre-pre-parade segment?). The AH-64 Apaches will also make their debut in this year’s parade. Seems like all the action is doubling. The Red Lions Parachuting team will be jumping twice and there will be two fireworks finale totalling 6 minutes. Another item to watch are the Navy Divers. Finally, they get to share the limelight with the Commandos.

So do be proud of being Singaporean, and celebrate come August 9th. No country is perfect so let’s not take what we have for granted.

Be on the first A380 flight

Published July 25, 2007 aviation Leave a Comment

It will be a milestone for aviation when later in the year, when the Airbus A380 makes its first commercial flight with Singapore Airlines. Its scheduled to be somewhere in October, on the Singapore to Sydney route. Its unlikely that Airbus that will delay delivery of the aircraft at this stage, but if it does, a lawsuit seems very likely to follow. If you want to be part of this momentus event, its not impossible to join in if you have loads of spare cash.

Singapore Airlines is organising the A380 First Flight Charity Auction. Seats for the flight will be auctioned on eBay and all proceeds will go to charity. Every passenger will also be given a personalised ceremonial certificate to confirm that they were part of this first ever A380 commercial flight. It will indeed be an aviation milestone as the double-decker jumbo A380 will become the world’s largest commercial aircraft marking a new chapter in aviation history.

Singapore Airlines has also secured partners for the charity. ExxonMobil Aviation will donate fuel for the flight. eBay will subsidise the fees and charges for the auction, and PayPal will rebate part of their earnings from fees and charges to charity as well.

The proceeds will go to:
* One-third to Singapore’s Community Chest
* One-third split between the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, both in Sydney
* One-third to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

If you are keen on being part of this flight, you can sign up to be notified about news pertaining to the auction at singaporeair.com/a380.

Taxi woes

Published July 20, 2007 public transport Leave a Comment

I don’t think this will be last entry about getting a taxi here. There are countless letters appearing on the Straits Times forum page and other papers about how difficult it is to get a taxi. I wish I don’t have to join and give my 2 cents worth, but sometimes you get so frustrated you need to say something. And that’s what moves people to write those letters and voice out – frustration.

One thing to note is that we must be grateful that our taxi drivers will use the metres and generally the vehicles are clean. In fact, I can actually overlook the fact that the taxi companies are constantly looking for ways to raise fares, citing reasons just as fuel costs, maintenence costs, still cheaper than Hong Kong etc. People hate prices being raised, its natural. I believe people may grumble but life goes on. The problem is getting a taxi in the first place. We become frustrated and start to rant on about all things relating to the taxi industry.

Here are some of the issues I have faced:
1) Taxis disappear during off-peak hours and re-appear again during peak hours.
2) Taxis again disappear only to re-appear when the midnight surcharge kicks in.
3) Taxis ply the road but appear “busy”, “on call”, or “changing shift” or simply won’t stop for you because they are waiting to pick up phone bookings.
4) You make a booking, but after waiting and waiting, the taxi doesn’t show up.
5) You get a taxi, but the driver evicts you from the vehicle claiming your destination is out of the way from where he’s heading.

I didn’t even want to elaborate on rude drivers as I believe you’ll find them in every industry and its not nice to stereotype all drivers as rude. Based on my experiences, I believe you share them too, its not difficult to see why we get frustrated. I’m no economics genius, neither do I have all the financial statements of the taxi companies but off the top of my head, I am thinking:

1) Help out the taxi drivers, lower their rentals to encourage them not to wait for phone bookings to maximise their revenue.
2) Lower rentals may also mean more might consider this as a profession.
3) Waive ERP charges for taxis entering the CBD.
4) Raise flag-down rates (this may be unpopular).

Raising the rates is to encourage taxi drivers to pick up passengers who flag them down. I don’t think they would scrap phone booking charges so I won’t even bother talking about it. The thing I am trying to say is that, sometimes I don’t blame the drivers. If I were one, in this environment, I would also calculate how I could maximise my revenue. Its not easy and I can feel for them. No wonder service comes secondary.

I would like to end off saying I have met many nice and considerate taxi drivers and I applaud them for their good service and encourage them to keep it up! Meanwhile, here’s a tip, if you’re late, don’t take chances, just take the train. Any experiences of your own getting a taxi? Leave a comment.