Search the Community

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/household-incomes-rose-in-2022-income-inequality-fell SINGAPORE – Median household income grew in 2022 and income inequality fell when compared with 2021, figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Thursday showed. Among resident employed households, monthly household income from work grew by 6.1 per cent in nominal terms, or before adjusting for inflation, from $9,520 in 2021 to $10,099 in 2022. Median monthly household income from work rose 0.2 per cent in real terms, or after adjusting for inflation, in 2022. Household income from work includes employer Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions. From 2017 to 2022, median monthly household income from work of resident employed households increased 2.9 per cent cumulatively, or 0.6 per cent per annum in real terms. Such households have at least one employed person, and the household reference person – previously referred to as the head of household – is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. Taking into account household size, median monthly household income from work per household member rose from $3,027 in 2021 to $3,287 in 2022, an increase of 8.6 per cent in nominal terms, or 2.6 per cent after adjusting for inflation. From 2017 to 2022, median monthly household income per household member grew by 11.9 per cent cumulatively, or 2.3 per cent per annum in real terms. Rise in income for all but top earners Households across most income deciles saw increases in average household income from work per household member after adjusting for inflation. In 2022, the average household income from work per household member of resident employed households in all income groups rose in nominal terms, with the increases ranging from 5.3 per cent to 15.6 per cent. After adjusting for inflation, households in the first nine deciles saw real income growth of 1.1 per cent to 10.1 per cent, while those in the top decile saw a real income decline of 1.3 per cent. Between 2017 and 2022, the average household income from work per household member of resident employed households in the first nine deciles rose 1.5 per cent to 3.0 per cent per annum in real terms, while that in the top decile recorded a decline of 0.4 per cent per annum in real terms. The decline experienced by the top decile was because of a larger increase in household size from 2.26 in 2021 to 2.34 in 2022, compared with households in the other deciles. This, coupled with higher inflation experienced in 2022, contributed to the decline in their real household income in 2022. More money distributed through government schemes Resident households, including households with no employed person, received $5,765 per household member, on average, from government schemes in 2022. This was higher than the $5,257 received in 2021, due to the one-off and transitionary measures in 2022, as well as enhanced schemes, to cushion the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) rate increase and higher inflation on cost of living, said SingStat. Resident households living in one- and two-room Housing Board flats continued to receive the most money from the Government. In 2022, they received $12,189 per household member, on average, from government schemes, close to double the amount received by resident households living in HDB three-room flats. The Gini coefficient based on household income from work per household member – before government transfers and taxes – fell to 0.437 in 2022, from 0.444 in 2021. The Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality. A Gini coefficient of zero occurs when there is total income equality, and a coefficient of one means there is total inequality. After adjusting for government transfers and taxes, the Gini coefficient in 2022 fell from 0.437 to 0.378. “This reflected the redistributive effect of government transfers and taxes,” said SingStat. Nonetheless, this is still slightly higher than the Gini coefficient of 0.375 in 2020, which was the lowest on record. The report, Key Household Income Trends, 2022, is available on SingStat’s website.

ok ... going to order chai peng ... peng only ... no vege no egg .... is $5K still the new poor ... should be $6K liao now ...

It's the end folks. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/lta-cuts-vehicle-growth-rate-to-zero-9335560

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-GDP-grows-6.1-in-2019-slowest-rate-in-29-years?utm_campaign=RN%20Subscriber%20newsletter&utm_medium=daily%20newsletter&utm_source=NAR%20Newsletter&utm_content=article%20link&del_type=1&pub_date=20200117190000&seq_num=7&si=%%user_id%% China GDP grows 6.1% in 2019, slowest rate in 29 years Sliding birthrate, tariffs and weak manufacturing investment remain a drag CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer January 17, 2020 11:06 JST Updated on January 17, 2020 13:48 JST Demand for key Chinese exports such as cellphones and PCs was sluggish in 2019. © AP SHANGHAI -- China's gross domestic product grew at the slowest pace in 29 years in 2019, as weaker exports, investment and consumer spending weighed on the economy. The 6.1% expansion marked a slowdown from the 6.6% growth seen the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. Growth in the last quarter of 2019 equaled the 6.0% logged in the July-September period. The bureau said China will remain vigilant of mounting downward pressure from a global economic slowdown and domestic structural issues. The downward trend will not be helped by a sliding birthrate, rising unemployment and problems in the banking sector. The 0.5 percentage point decline in the growth rate from the previous year is the biggest since a 1.7 point year-on-year slowdown in 2012. The rate of growth in 2019 was lower than the median 6.2% expansion forecast by economists surveyed by Nikkei, but within the 6% to 6.5% range set by the government. "Economic activity picked up last month, helping to avert a further slowdown last quarter," Julian Evans-Pritchard and Martin Rasmussen wrote in an emailed note. "External headwinds should ease further in the coming quarters thanks to the 'Phase One' trade deal and a recovery in global growth. But we think this will be offset by a renewed slowdown in domestic demand, triggering further monetary easing." Total retail sales of consumer goods including e-commerce slowed to 8%, from 9% in 2018, while fixed-asset investment including infrastructure and factory construction decreased to 5.4% from 5.9%. Final quarter growth holding steady reflects the effect of fiscal stimulus, and respite from the trade war cease fire, said Zhu Chaoping of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. China also unveiled data on Friday showing the nation's population growth rate (births minus deaths) falling to 3.34 per thousand in 2019 -- the lowest since 1961, and down from 3.81 the previous year. The decline in the fertility rate in an aging society is another headwind for economic growth. The moderation in full-year growth reflected lower demand for Chinese goods, which has been dampened by the trade war with the U.S., and weaker global electronics orders, according to Rajiv Biswas, Asia chief economist at IHS Markit. Exports for the year totaled $2.498 trillion, up 0.5% -- much slower growth than in 2018, largely due to a drop in shipments to the U.S. Demand for key Chinese exports such as cellphones and PCs was sluggish. Exports of products subject to higher U.S. tariffs, such as furniture and textiles, also slumped Despite a "phase-one" deal reached between Beijing and Washington on Wednesday, which will see the U.S. lower tariffs on $120 billion of Chinese goods in return for Beijing buying $40 billion worth of American farm goods, economists remained downbeat on China's growth outlook this year. "While businesses and investors can afford to breath a sign of relief, after a difficult 2019, we still see risks to the China outlook as mainly weighted to the downside, given the fragile nature of the trade truce and the risks that still stalk China's financial markets," according to Tom Rafferty at the Economist Intelligence Unit. More than 20 economists surveyed by Nikkei forecast a median 5.9% expansion in 2020, with many expressing concern local governments' worsening fiscal positions and lackluster manufacturing investment. "The pace of growth is expected to edge lower to below 6%, as ongoing structural reforms in the Chinese economy and the continued impact of [the] remaining U.S. tariffs of 25% on $250 billion of Chinese products remain a slight drag on the growth outlook," said Biswas. More fiscal stimulus could be on the way, as the government said during a high-level economic work meeting last month that it will prioritize "stability" to mitigate rising domestic risks. "Consumer spending has yet to pick up the baton from investment as an engine of growth," said Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics. But the truce in the trade war with Washington may bring some temporary relief for business confidence, according to Fitch Ratings, which on Friday raised its outlook for GDP growth in 2020 to 5.9%, up 0.2 percentage points.

Think its not shared in this forum yet.... For those who is waiting for durian to drop.... think got to wait long long.... http://transport.asiaone.com/news/general/story/vehicle-growth-rate-cut-025-05-cars-hit-1m-mark-lta The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) quota for November 2014 to January 2015 will be 11,932. Bidding under this quota will start with the first COE bidding exercise in November 2014. The COE quota consists of the following components: a. Provision for 0.5 per cent per annum vehicle growth based on the vehicle population as at 31 December 2013; b. Replacement COEs for vehicles deregistered in the preceding three-month period of July to September 2014; c. Adjustments for changes in the taxi population, expired COEs, and over-projection of vehicle deregistrations in 2008/2009. 3. The next quota announcement for the bidding period of February to April 2015 will be made in January 2015. More new Category (CAT) C vehicles registered without COE bidding, under the Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) The number of replacements under the ETS has increased significantly since the enhancement of the ETS in March 2014. While the total number of deregistrations has not increased significantly, the replacements under the ETS have more than tripled, from about 20 per cent before the enhancement to 70 per cent in the third quarter of 2014. This means that more CAT C COEs are being made available directly in the market, rather than through the bidding system. While this leaves fewer CAT C COEs available for bidding, it also means that potential buyers can obtain new vehicles coupled with a ready COE, without needing to bid for a new COE through the open bidding system. Thus, the CAT C quotas for the quota period from November 2014 to January 2015 are also substantially lower. It is not, however, indicative of the total number of new vehicles that may be purchased and registered in that quarter, as many more COEs may be made available through direct registrations under the ETS. Nonetheless, COE quotas for bidding may be higher in subsequent quarters as deregistrations increase, based on the age profile of the existing CAT C vehicle population. Looking ahead: Ensuring the sustainability of Singapore's transport system With 12 per cent of Singapore's total land area already taken up by roads, there is limited scope for any further expansion of the road network. Priority for road growth will be given to serve new development areas and to facilitate bus movements to bring about a better public transport experience. The latter supports ongoing efforts to improve the quality and connectivity of our public transport network, which is set to undergo significant expansion over the next few years. Therefore, it is not tenable to keep to the same rates of vehicle population growth as before. Already, the number of vehicles on our roads is drawing near to one million. In view of this, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will lower the vehicle growth rate. From February 2015 to January 2018, the annual vehicle growth rate will be lowered from the current 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent. This will be reviewed again in 2017. The lower vehicle growth rate is not expected to substantially impact the COE supply as this is determined mainly by the number of vehicle deregistrations. This is especially so in view of the generally rising trend of deregistrations in the coming years, as the COEs of many old vehicles expire. Reduced rate of contribution to CAT E To maintain a more stable supply of COEs in each COE category under a lower vehicle growth rate, the contribution rate to CAT E will also be reduced from the current 15 per cent to 10 per cent from February 2015 onwards. Currently, 15 per cent of COEs from deregistered vehicles in each vehicle category, CAT A to D, form the COE quota for the Open Category (CAT E). CAT E COEs can be used to register vehicles from any COE category. This provides structural flexibility for the vehicle mix to evolve over time according to market demand. This reduction will return more COEs from deregistered vehicles to their respective categories. The immediate effect on quotas available for each vehicle category is expected to outweigh the reduction in vehicle growth rate. - See more at: http://transport.asiaone.com/news/general/story/vehicle-growth-rate-cut-025-05-cars-hit-1m-mark-lta#sthash.BQvj31y8.dpuf

Almost half the growth rate of past 10yrs! Look at the chart... New population target

http://newnation.sg/2013/03/singaporeans-b...gapores-growth/ Singapore

Sounds familiar? http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?StoryId=8321 Bernie Madoff's recent Ponzi scheme has drifted out of the world’s headlines. However, there is another even more costly and widespread scheme — "Ponzi Demography" — that warrants everybody’s attention. While it may come in many guises, Ponzi demography is essentially a pyramid scheme that attempts to make more money for some by adding on more and more people through population growth. While more visible in industrialized economies, particularly in Australia, Canada and the United States, Ponzi demography also operates in developing countries. The underlying strategy of Ponzi demography is to privatize the profits and socialize the costs incurred from increased population growth. The basic pitch of those promoting Ponzi demography is straightforward and intoxicating in its pro-population growth appeal: “more is better.” However, as somebody who has spent a lifelong career as a demographer, including 12 years of service as the director of the United Nations Population Division, I find that more is not necessarily better. As has been noted by Nobel laureate economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen as well as many others, current economic yardsticks such as gross domestic product (GDP) focus on material consumption and do not include quality-of-life factors. Standard measures of GDP do not reflect, for example, the degradation of the environment, the depreciation of natural resources or declines in individuals’ quality of life. According to Ponzi demography, population growth — through natural increase and immigration — means more people leading to increased demands for goods and services, more material consumption, more borrowing, more on credit and of course more profits. Everything seems fantastic for a while — but like all Ponzi schemes, Ponzi demography is unsustainable. When the bubble eventually bursts and the economy sours, the scheme spirals downward with higher unemployment, depressed wages, falling incomes, more people sinking into debt, more homeless families — and more men, women and children on public assistance. That is the stage when the advocates of Ponzi demography — notably enterprises in construction, manufacturing, finance, agriculture and food processing — consolidate their excess profits and gains. That leaves the general public to pick up the tab for the mounting costs from increased population growth (e.g., education, health, housing and basic public services). Among its primary tactics, Ponzi demography exploits the fear of population decline and aging. Without a young and growing population, we are forewarned of becoming a nation facing financial ruin and a loss of national power. Due to population aging, government-run pensions and healthcare systems will become increasingly insolvent, according to advocates of Ponzi demography, thereby crippling the economy, undermining societal well-being and threatening national security. Low birth rates, especially those below replacement levels, are considered a matter of national concern. Without higher fertility rates and the resulting population growth, the nation, it is claimed, faces a bleak and dreary future. So Ponzi demography calls for pro-natalist policies and programs to encourage couples to marry and to have more children, which will lead to the promised sustained economic growth. In addition to financial incentives and other benefits for childbearing, appeals are also made to one's patriotic duty to have children in order to replenish and expand the homeland: “Have one (child) for mum, one for dad and one for the country.” In addition to measures to increase fertility levels, Ponzi demography also turns to immigration for additional population growth in order to boost companies' profits. The standard slogan in this instance is “the country urgently needs increased immigration,” even when immigration may already be at record levels and unemployment rates are high. Among other things, increased immigration, it is declared, is a matter of national security, long-term prosperity and international competitiveness. Without this needed immigration, Ponzi demography warns that the country’s future is at serious risk. Another basic tactic of Ponzi demography is a pervasive and unrelenting public relations campaign promoting the advantages and necessity of an increasing population for continued economic growth. Every effort is made to equate population growth with economic prosperity and national progress. "Economic growth requires population growth" is the basic message that Ponzi demography wants the public to swallow. No mention is made of the additional profits they reap and the extra costs the public bears. Attempts to question or even discuss Ponzi demography are denigrated and defamed to such an extent that concerns about population growth become radioactive. Politicians, journalists and environmentalists, for example, choose by and large to sidestep the entire issue. When confronted with environmental concerns such as climate change, global warming, environmental contamination or shortages of water and other vital natural resources, the advocates of Ponzi demography typically dismiss such concerns as unfounded and overblown. And they claim there is no scientific basis, or they obliquely stress “innovation,” ingenuity and technological fixes as the only appropriate and workable solutions. Many are complicit with Ponzi demography or at least tacitly support its goals. Few politicians, for example, are able to resist promises of campaign financing, the appeal of increased numbers of supportive voters, prospects of increased tax revenues and the political backing of pro-natalist and pro-immigration lobbyists and special interest groups. Many environmental groups are also reluctant to take up or even touch the volatile subject of population growth, especially those that have been burned on this issue in the past. Such groups fear possibly offending some members and donors, which might undercut their organizations and efforts. Despite its snake-oil allure of “more is better,” Ponzi demography’s advocacy for ever-increasing population growth is ultimately unsustainable. Such persistent growth hampers efforts to improve the quality of life for today’s world population of nearly seven billion people as well as for future generations. Moving gradually towards population stabilization, while not a panacea for the world’s problems, will make it far easier to address problems such as climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and development, human rights abuses and shortages of water, food and critical natural resources. Fortunately, most couples around the world have chosen — or are in the process of choosing — to have a few children rather than many and to invest more in each child’s upbringing, education and future well-being. Nations need to make the same vital transition with respect to their populations. The sooner nations reject Ponzi demography and make the needed gradual transition from ever-increasing population growth to population stabilization, the better the prospects for all of humanity and other life on this planet.

so more FTs/FWs will mean higher growth? I think this logic is flawed it's true that many SMEs suffer when the foreigner supply is tightened but during the good times, when these SMEs expand, they employ more foreigners so actually we are becoming a nation that is addicted to FTs/FWs... we (our economy) cannot live without them once the supply is reduced or cut, we suffer like drug addicts this, obviously, is not the way to go the govt must explore ways to switch our main economy model to keep us going for the next 20 years no use to keep "reminding" (or brainwash) us that we need FTs/FWs

SINGAPORE: Taxi fleet growth rate during August 2012 to December 2013 will be capped at 2 per cent per annum. The 2 per cent growth is in line with taxi ridership growth since 2003. The Land Transport Authority says this rate will be applied on individual taxi operators based on their respective fleet sizes. Since 2003, the taxi population has been growing at an average of 4.3 per cent per year. But despite the growing taxi population, commuters are still complaining about not being able to get a cab when they need one. To address these complaints, the government is taking steps to improve taxi availability. After January 2014, taxi operators will be required to meet new taxi availability standards before they will be allowed to expand their fleet. The biggest taxi operator in Singapore, ComfortDelGro, says the taxi fleet growth rate of 2 per cent will contribute to the long term sustainability of the industry. It has been expanding its fleet at an average of 1.8 per cent annually over the last three years. However, smaller operator Prime Taxi said that there will be very little room to expand with the two per cent growth rate. The operator is hoping the government can level the playing field. Otherwise bigger companies would have an advantage, it said. In a statement, Prime Taxi said there could be a review in the policy to maintain the competitive spirit in the market. Prime Taxi said it has been growing its fleet by 25 per cent on-year, and that expansion should depend on market demand. The operator also voiced concerns over whether there will be enough taxis to service the industry, should tourist arrivals increase by a million or two million per year. Prime Taxi said there has to be a transition period for taxi companies to tweak their business model to cater to the government's objectives. The two per cent growth rate cap comes on the back of last week's announcement that taxis would be removed from the bidding process for Certificates of Entitlement (COE). Operators wanting to expand their fleet can no longer get COEs from Category A used for small cars. Instead, the quota will come from the Open Category, usually used for luxury cars. But taxi operators will pay the prevailing quota premium (PQP) of Category A, which is the moving average of COE prices in the last three months. Each operator's COE quota depends on its fleet size, and takes into account the two per cent growth rate. Lower COE quota numbers for a five-month period also kicked in this month, so dealers do not think that the development will help cool COE prices. "Even with taxis out of Category A, the impact will not be great because (of) the small numbers of COE being allocated from August till next year February," said Raymond Tang, honorary secretary of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association. Meanwhile details for the first open bidding exercise for COEs in August are out. The total quota available for this tender is 1,670. There will be 421 COEs for Category A cars (1,600cc and below), 350 COEs for Category B (1,601cc and above) and 456 for Category D (Motorcycles). 260 COEs will be available for Category E (Open Category) and 183 for Category C (Goods Vehicles and Buses). The tender opens on Monday, August 6 at noon, and closes on Wednesday, August 8 at 4pm. - CNA/wm

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy will experience growth slower than in the last 10 years. This, against the backdrop of a more developed economy, internal resources constraints and fierce competition from the region. But Singapore needs to strive for growth to improve the collective well-being of its people. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this at the Economic Society of Singapore's annual dinner on Friday evening. Since 2003, Singapore's economy grew an average 6.3 per cent per year. Mr Lee said: "Singapore cannot avoid slower growth in the next decade and beyond. This is natural because we are now more developed and we are also running up against land and labour constraints, especially as we reduce the inflow of foreign workers. "Plus competition is fiercer, not only from hundreds of millions of hungry workers in the emerging economies, but also from new technologies that will transform industries all over the world." Mr Lee noted that some Singaporeans may desire slower growth, but deliberately slowing growth beyond Singapore's economic potential could have irreversible consequences. "For Singa

http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=4880 The annual vehicle population growth rate will be lowered from the current 1.5% to 1.0% in 2012, and then to 0.5% in 2013 and 2014. For 2012, the 1% p.a. growth will be front-loaded, with the current 1.5% p.a. growth rate maintained for the first half of the quota year (February 2012 to July 2012), followed by 0.5% p.a. growth rate for the remaining half of the quota year (August 2012 to January 2013). Overall, the growth rate for the new 3-year quota period is therefore 1.5% p.a. for the first 6 months, followed by 0.5% p.a. growth rate for the remaining 2.5 years. According to the LTA, the current annual vehicle population growth rate of 1.5% has outstripped the average annual road growth of about 1% in recent years. As road growth is expected to slow down to about 0.5% p.a. on average over the next decade, it is not sustainable to maintain the vehicle growth rate at 1.5%. The lower vehicle growth rate will be more closely aligned to the pace of road growth going forward. The lower vehicle growth rate is not expected to have a large impact on the COE supply in the next few years, especially in the context of an expected uptrend in vehicle de-registration numbers. The annual vehicle population growth rate will be reviewed after three years, and the COE quota for the COE bidding period from February 2012 to July 2012 will be announced in mid-January 2012.

I cant imagine what will be the COE like in the coming future.... SINGAPORE: Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew has said that Singapore's annual vehicle growth cap would be cut further from next year. Mr Lui did not say how much lower it will go. The quantum, he said, would be announced in October. Mr Lui said this in an interview with the local media ahead of the opening of the new Parliament sitting next week. The annual allowable vehicle growth rate now stands at 1.5 per cent. One way Singapore manages its vehicle growth population is through the vehicle quota system. Under it, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) determines the number of new vehicles allowed on the roads. It takes into account the prevailing traffic conditions and the number of vehicles taken off the roads permanently. The last time the quota was cut was in 2009, when it was halved from three per cent to 1.5 per cent. Explaining the reason for the upcoming cut, Mr Lui said one consideration is the fact that Singapore's road network will be considerably scaled down in future. "In the recent decade, I think the roads have grown by about one per cent and going forward, we think it probably will grow only about 0.5 per cent per annum, this is the road network," Mr Lui said. "You can't allow it (the vehicle quota) to grow at the rates in past years simply because the road networks are not expanding as what we have done before. "And there is also a limit to what we can do with regard to congestion pricing. So it's really trying to find a balance to these two measures". Mr Lui ruled out the possibility of a zero-per cent population growth for vehicles. "It is a combination of both ownership measures as well as usage measures that is most ideal," he said. "You could theoretically bring it down to zero or even below zero but I think it will bump up against the aspirations of some who want to own a car. "Notwithstanding whatever it is, we try to improve on the public transport system and there are those who feel that they really need a car. "They have elderly, sickly parents around and it is a lot more convenient, so we understand all that." One expert said any drastic cuts would not make sense given that the average speed on expressways last year was about 62 kilometres per hour (km/hr). It was 28 km/hr along arterial roads and within the CBD. In 2002, the average speed on expressways was 64.8 km/hr. It was 63.3 km/hr in 2010. Along arterial roads and within the CBD, the average speed was 24.6 km/hr in 2002. In 2010, the speed improved to 28 km/hr. Associate Professor Anthony Chin, director of the Economic Executive Programme at the Singapore Centre for Applied and Policy Economics, said: "Are we saying that 62.3 km/hr is not acceptable? That we have to cut ownership? "Secondly, do we understand usage behaviour well enough to just go for this blatant cut in the ownership?" "It's not just a question of ownership but it's the usage, because we are now tackling the usage problem -- congestion is a usage problem. "You can own cars but if everybody uses it at the same time, at the same location, well, you don't need a professor to tell you that you will get traffic congestion because you are just loading it into the system." Assoc Prof Chin added: "At this particular moment, the road speeds seem to be acceptable, unless you are saying that in the future, that this road space will not grow by one per cent and you don't do anything, you don't do any traffic management, you don't do any of these policies that would affect the behaviour of the motorist. "Then I would agree that you would have to cut -- that makes sense, does it not? If the space is not going to grow by so much and you want to maintain these speeds, then of course something's got to give." Industry players said the cut in vehicle growth will very likely push up car prices. Tan Chong Motor general manager of sales and marketing Ron Lim said: "Based on vehicle population numbers of 925,772 as at end-August 2011, 1.5 per cent vehicle growth would translate to 13,887 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs). "Thus, every 0.5 per cent cut will translate to 4,629 fewer COEs. "Given the total COE number to be released is dependent on the growth allowed and the replacement of deregistered vehicles, even if we assume de-registration numbers remain constant, as per numbers from January-June 2011, every 0.5 per cent cut in the population growth will translate to a cut in COE numbers by around 10 per cent compared to the current COE quota. "This situation occurs due to the already record low number of COEs released currently. "All these only point to higher COE prices which will further impact purchases, causing further delay in people replacing their vehicles, thus, not addressing the whole purpose of curbing vehicle population growth. "As the reduction of COEs will be across the board, businesses will also be impacted due to higher operating costs from commercial vehicles. "Thus, overall, this will mean an even tougher time for the auto retail industry and eventually higher ownership cost to car buyers and business." But there is some good news for motorists -- evening Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) surcharge at some gantries such as along the CTE, Chinatown and Boat Quay areas may be tweaked. Mr Lui said the tweak will involve the timing of evening ERP, not doing away with the surcharge. He said: "This is something I have asked LTA to study -- whether it's possible to tweak the timings a little bit during the evening period. "Frankly, I think there are some drivers who are prepared to pay a certain amount for ERP in order to have a smoother drive home, particularly in the evenings. "There are some who would say, 'why should I pay?' I think there is room for some re-look into the evening peak ERP, not to do away with it, but to tweak the timings." Details will be announced in October. -CNA/wk

An old article I came across in another forum. My apology if this has been posted before. Bernie Madoff's recent Ponzi scheme has drifted out of the world

The allowable growth rate was cut from 3% to 1.5% back in 2009. The 1.5% growth rate will be due for revision for 2012 onwards. What is your take on the new growth rate? increase? stay the same? decrease? My view is decrease..maybe to 1% or lesser.

Wif so many dead bodies found lately, RadX muz be in the 42% growth segment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SINGAPORE: Latest figures from Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) reveal that the high-end credit card segment has weathered economic downturn to expand by a third in the last two years. It's one of the fastest growing segments in the Singapore credit card market today. CBS figures show that the number of affluent cardholders in Singapore has expanded by 30 per cent from 2008 to 2010, and by 27 per cent from 2009 to 2010. In 2010, there were more than 23,000 affluent cardholders compared to just some 18,000 in 2009. These elite cardholders make up about 2 per cent of the credit card population. CBS used two criteria to define affluent cardholders: a total monthly credit card balance of S$10,000 or more, at least three times in the year; and full settlement of the balance immediately or by the next payment due date. CBS statistics also show that the wealthier the cardholder, the more rapid the growth of that cardholder segment. For instance, the big spenders with an average monthly card spend of more than S$40,000 grew by 44 per cent in 2010. Within the group with an average monthly balance of more than S$40,000, the super-affluent pie - cardholders who spent more than S$50,000 - shot up by 42 per cent, while the high spenders with a balance of S$44,000-50,000 grew by 48 per cent. CBS' study also threw light on the profile of these affluent cardholders: They are predominantly male, with females making up only 20 per cent of the elite group. The average age of an affluent cardholder is 46 years old. At 3.1, the affluent cardholder has a higher number of average banking relationships than the general population, which has 2.8 average credit card banking relationships. Mirroring the trend for mass market credit cardholders, affluent female cardholders are also less loyal than their male counterparts. They hold 3.7 banking relationships compared to the latter's 3. Responding to the findings, The credit bureau's executive director, William Lim, said the rise of the affluent cardholder segment is a result of the rapid growth of wealthy individuals in Singapore and the region in the last two years. It can also be attributed to banks pulling out all stops to court and serve this elite group with more creative credit card programmes and personalised services. The affluent and emerging affluent group thus represents strong growth potential for card issuers. - CNA/cc

bla bla bla... ...some analysts say the population must continue to grow, otherwise the housing market will risk an oversupply situation in the next three years... bla bla bla http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1130711/1/.html what you guys think?... there are some major grey area here...

From CNBC Published: Wednesday, 4 May 2011 | 9:53 PM ET By: Jenny Chan Vheng Yern CNBC Asia Pacific Liyana Dhamirah, 24, her husband Fazli bin Mohd Jailani, 31, and their three young children lived in a tent on the beach in Singapore for four months in 2009 when their Housing Development Board flat was repossessed as they were unable to service their mortgage loan. Household incomes in Singapore have grown only 21% in the past decade, compared to real GDP growth of 72% in the same period. The Singapore government provides subsidized housing via the Board to its citizens. Liyana and Fazli now share a rented flat with another family. "It's unfair. I'm a Singaporean, yet I'm not benefiting at all from how rich Singapore has become." Liyana and Fazli earn a combined S$800 ($652) a month but have been unable to make ends meet. "Sometimes I can't even afford a S$1 ($0.80) ice cream cone for my kids," says Fazli, a former mechanic apprentice, who is now unemployed and depends on the income from his wife's online handmade trinkets business. Singapore, which goes to the polls on Saturday, reported sterling growth in the first quarter of this year. The economy expanded 23.5 percent quarter on quarter and 8.5 percent over the previous year. This was on the back of an unprecedented growth of almost 15 percent in 2010. But not everyone in this island nation of 5 million people is celebrating. Irvin Seah, an economist at Singapore bank DBS says, "Plainly, not everyone has benefited equally from the economic growth that has occurred over the past decade." Median household incomes have grown only 21 percent in the past decade, compared to real GDP growth of 72 percent in the same period, according to government statistics. In 2010 when GDP expanded by 14.5 percent, household incomes rose on average just 0.3 percent after adjusting for inflation. "In any capitalist society where profit maximization is key, this gap will widen unless we get heavy government intervention.

I live in the north in YCK area. I think the roads in singapore is not that bad and we can support more vehicles. The only problems are the expressways, namely CTE and PIE. I think if they bothered to build the N-S expressway announced in 2008, it would solve a lot of problems as the traffic from woodlands and AMK gets routed into another expressway away from CTE. Having another NS expressway will remove the Jam at the PIE CTE junction as there is another way towards the city. The problem is that the government just collect money from CTE ERP for soo many years but never did anything, until recently.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1080183/1/.html Move to have zero vehicular growth to tackle road jams "imminent" By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid | Posted: 09 September 2010 1928 hrs SINGAPORE: Congestion on Singapore's roads has renewed calls for more aggressive measures to curb the vehicle population. One solution is to have zero vehicular growth, a point raised by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at a dialogue with grassroots leaders recently. Observers said implementing such a move is imminent as Singapore roads are nearing maximum capacity. Singapore's vehicle population has grown to about one million. With limited land, vehicle growth rate has been set at 1.5% for the next two years. But, is this sustainable? Dr Lim Wee Kiak, chairman of Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said: "We should maintain our current fleet of vehicles, not to increase further. Perhaps, given a chance, Ministry of Transport should consider a reduction in vehicle number rather than (an) increase. "We are looking at a reduction in growth, but what I will like to see is to reach the zero (growth) faster. In Parliament, we have been pushing for some sort of a zero growth, if not, even a negative growth to counteract the excess over the last few years. "They should release (fewer) COEs compared to the number of vehicles taken off the roads so that there is actually a reduction in the number of vehicles in Singapore." The reduction in COEs will mean higher car prices. Is this likely to get more people on public transport? "I will still strive to get a car, even if the price is high," said a member of the public. "I still want to own a car," said another. "If you are holding a certain position, you may need it (car) for the image," said a third. "I will give up my car, if the transport in Singapore is able to achieve the coverage.....(such that) we can go anywhere conveniently," said a fourth. Such reasons are why many say aggressive measures are needed to convince people to take public transport. One suggestion has been for public transport operators to offer fare discounts for travel during off-peak hours, as this is likely to tackle the problem of overcrowding in trains. Dr Lim Wee Kiak said that with discounts, more people would consider spreading out their travel. "So there would be spaces for everyone," he said. Buses must also become a more reliable alternative, said Associate Professor Lee Der Horng from the Department of Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He said: "We must take some very aggressive approach. What we have to do is, other than the MRT, we have to pay more attention to the buses. "Can we provide more full-day bus lanes? Can we give higher priority to public transportation vehicle like the bus? Can we improve the level of bus service, have cleaner buses, newer buses, faster buses, safer and more comfortable (bus travel)?" Meanwhile, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it will conduct a review in 2012 to determine an allowable vehicular growth rate. It also said that even if the growth rate is reduced to zero, there will still be a need for usage measures to effectively manage demand for roads. - CNA/ir

I just read on zaobao, our annual gdp growth for the past ten years is 5% on average. But out of this 5%, only 1% is due to productivity improvements, the rest is all FT import..... Then WHY is our ministers pegging their salary to the GDP growth??? That I believe is really wrong. More than HDB pricing, etc, where there is no clear right/wrong/good solution. GDP growth only has meaning for its citizens if it improves the lives/salary of itz citizens. I have long suspected that our GDP growth is meaningless and the actual salary/lifestyle of the poor middle clasee has not improved in the past 10 years. If all our government did to improve our GDP is by importing foriegn talent... are those mega minister bonus which are pegged to GDP justified???? I think pay structure is VERY impt. Bankers are pegged to short term profits, so they are encouraged to take huge risks to improve short term profits. If we pegged our minister salaries to GDP, all our ministers will do is just import more FT to boost GDP. Surely there must be a better yardstick. How about median salary of citizens?

STB developing new blueprint to boost tourist growth By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 October 2009 2050 hrs SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is developing a new road map for 2020. It is also looking for ideas from the public. Singapore's tourism industry has taken a hit with the economic downturn. Latest figures showed tourist arrivals from January to August fell 9.2 per cent over the same period last year to 6.23 million. There was one silver lining though - the rate of decline has slowed since June. The STB had previously set as its 2015 target 17 million visitor arrivals and S$30 billion in tourism receipts. But it now said that would be a challenge. Looking forward to 2020, the STB has put together a steering committee to chart strategic directions for the future of an industry that contributed 5.8 per cent to GDP last year. Five taskforces have been set up to look into specific areas - Business, Enrichment, Lifestyle, Marketing plus Travel and Hospitality. Industry leaders heading these taskforces know they face an uphill task. Dennis Foo, co-chair of Lifestyle Taskforce and CEO of St James Power Station, said: "... very exciting years ahead, with the two IRs (integrated resorts). But the big challenge is really to have the right software - essentially, it's the people. Hospitality is about people." Loh Lik Peng, co-chair of Business Taskforce and director of KMC Holdings, said: "A lot of it is looking ahead and seeing the growth opportunities in markets like China, India, Indonesia. "If you look at the wealth creation in those countries, the size of the middle class and the people who will travel for work and will want to come for events in Singapore or hold a conference here will increase exponentially. "We want to position ourselves so that we get a fair share of that market. We don't want to be marginalised by their own capital cities." About 70 per cent of Singapore's visitor arrivals are from Asia. For its new road map, the STB wants to tap on ideas from the public through this website. The public can submit their ideas over the next four months. STB's chief executive, Aw Kah Peng, said: "Everyone who has a good idea, who can contribute, we want to hear them. If we can take even a small number of these ideas and turn them into something that works for us, that will be tremendously powerful." The new road map and targets are expected to be ready by March next year. - CNA/ir It's funny to see this comment. Hospitality is about people. Sometimes ppl forget to see themselves in the mirror. imo, st james got the worst service standard among all clubs. Lol. sulky and impatient wait staff, long wait, bouncer who thinks they own the world, hard selling promoters etc. how can someone who cant even manage a club's service standard be managing a stb project to attract more tourist? it just make my day. lol

I REFER to last Saturday's article, 'More cars on the roads - COE system not working to plan'. The article concluded erroneously that the certificate of entitlement (COE) system is not working as planned. As a result, there are more cars on our roads, and the roads are more crowded than they otherwise would be. This is categorically not the case. Since the introduction of the COE system in 1990, the vehicle population has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.7 per cent from 1990 to 2007, which is within the prescribed rate of 3 per cent per annum. The vehicle population at the end of last year is therefore not larger than it should be, based on the allowable growth rate of 3 per cent per annum; in fact, it is smaller. The COE system has therefore been effective in keeping the growth of the vehicle population within the prescribed limit, even though the growth rate on a year-to-year basis may fluctuate. The roads are crowded not because the COE system is not functioning as intended, but because at 3 per cent per annum, vehicle growth significantly outstrips road growth at 0.5 per cent, thus making it untenable to continue at this rate. That is why the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will reduce the vehicle growth rate from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent per annum from Quota Year 2009, that is, May next year, as announced in the Land Transport Masterplan. This rate will be reviewed after three years to assess whether a further reduction is necessary. Geoffrey Lim Deputy Director, Media Relations Land Transport Authority Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Sto...ory_292872.html

just wonder any bro out there does this. I'm happy part of mine will go to SPCA. yours??