This & that....and what's between!

Clearer picture

bigfatboybro — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:06:42 +0000

An interesting article I read by Ms Teh of BT. She’s quite sharp and has certainly given me quite a fair amount of insight thinking fodder. So here goes………

THE world is a very complex place so to get a better understanding of things sometimes, one has to break down a complex issue into a simple representation of it.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a colleague. The e-mail has made its rounds a few times and I vaguely remember having seen it before.

But the human mind is such a curious thing that what one comes across will only resonate if one’s mind happens to be open to the idea at that point in time.

Previously, I found that posting interesting but it didn’t lead me to any particularly enlightening moment.

But this time round, against the backdrop of a booming Asian economy and the hunt for the next big idea to cash in on, that e-mail has taken on a new light.

Here’s how it goes: ‘If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

There would be 60 Asians, 12 Europeans, five Americans and Canadians, eight Latin Americans and 14 Africans;

Of these, 49 would be female, 51 male;

82 would be non-white; 18 white;

89 heterosexual; 11 homosexual;

33 would be Christian, 67 would be non-Christian;

Five would control 32 per cent of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens;

80 would live in substandard housing;

24 would not have any electricity (and of the 76 per cent that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night);

67 would be unable to read;

Only one would have a college education;

50 would be malnourished and one dying of starvation;

33 would be without access to a safe water supply;

One would have HIV;

One near death;

Two would be near birth;

Seven would have access to the Internet.’Among the statistics, the ones that jump up at me are how 60 are Asians, 80 are living in substandard housing, 67 can’t read, only one has a college education and 33 would not have a safe water supply.Housing needsThe first number points to what the market has come to a consensus about – that the growth is in Asia. The other statistics point to where in the Asian markets companies can make money.

For example, housing is one of the most basic human needs. As countries like China and India develop, and income of the people increase, the demand for more comfortable housing will rise. A company which caters to that need and which is in the market at the time when that need explodes is likely to do well.

So if one buys that argument, then one company which is serving that market need is Sunshine Holdings. The company is a Henan-based property developer specialising in mass market residential and commercial properties.

According to Guo Yinghui, chairman of Sunshine Group, whom I met this week, the plan is to have 60 per cent of Henan’s 97 million population living in the urban area by 2015. Currently, the proportion is about 30 per cent. Meanwhile, economic progress has raised the per capita disposable income of urban residents in Henan province by 9.5 per cent a year to 7,705 yuan in 2004, from 4,094 yuan in 1997.

Sunshine now is building up its land bank in anticipation of the demand. This week, it issued convertible bonds of US$32 million to Forum Asian Realty Income, a real estate private equity fund managed by Forum Partners in the US. Sunshine’s advantage is its knowledge of the local market.

CapitaLand, too, recognised the potential in the mid-tier market in second-tier cities. Last month, it announced that it had agreed to buy a 29.8 per cent stake in a Henan developer for 601 million yuan (S$119 million). Of course, the market can be booming but if management is not up to par, a company will not do well. The numerous awards and certificates won by Sunshine speak well for it.

However, recent questionable claims and accounting practices by China companies like China Food Industries and Biotreat may cause investors to doubt China companies more.

When asked, Mr Guo was frank enough to say: ‘It’s common (for such things to occur in a market that is transitioning into a market economy).’ And when asked how investors can tell whether a company is telling the truth or not, he said: ‘There’s no way of telling.’ But he added that companies which have laid out their long-term plans are likely to be genuine.

Education

Other shocking statistics from the e-mail – assuming they are correct – is the fact that some 67 per cent of the world are still illiterate and that 99 per cent per cent do not have a college education.

Given that education is the biggest income equaliser, many parents in more progressive emerging countries will want to give their children the best education their money can buy.

Catering to this demand is Raffles Education, which has built for itself an enviable footprint across Asia – from China to Vietnam, South-east Asia to India. Its success is nothing short of phenomenal. Group profits have grown more than tenfold in five years – to $32.3 million last financial year from less than $3 million in 2001. Investors who bought into the then Raffles LaSalle would have seen their money explode by a factor of more than 90. In other words, $10,000 invested in Raffles LaSalle nearly five years ago in early 2002 would have a market value of some $1 million today if one had reinvested all the dividends paid back into the company.

And the growth is not over yet, says Raffles Education’s chairman and chief executive officer Chew Hua Seng.

The establishment of Raffles University will significantly boost the profit per student of the group. A number of its colleges which were established in the last one to two years will begin to contribute more significantly.

‘We now have 8,000 students. It’s not inconceivable to have 50,000 students in 10 years,’ said Mr Chew. Meanwhile, its existing network is already looking attractive to Western education groups keen to expand into this region.

The reputation and brand name built up by Raffles Education, its relationships established in China, and the market knowledge of its staff appear to be a big enough moat to ensure its continued growth.

Safe drinking water will also see great demand. But as can be seen from many of the water treatment stocks, the barriers of entry may not be great enough.

Final thoughts

Now back to the e-mail. It said: ‘Looking at the world in this condensed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education is evident . . .

‘If you woke up this morning with more health than sickness, you are luckier than the million that will not survive this week.

‘If you have never experienced a war, the loneliness of imprisonment, agony of torture or famine, you are happier than 500 million people in this world.

‘If you are able to go to church, mosque, temple or synagogue without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are happier than millions of people in this world.

‘If there is a meal in your refrigerator, if you are dressed and have got shoes, if you have a bed and a roof over your head, you are better off than 75 per cent of the people in this world.

‘If your parents are still alive and still married, then you are a rarity.

‘If you have a bank account, money in your purse, you belong to 8 per cent of the well-provided people in this world.

‘So work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, sing like nobody’s listening, be surprised like you were born yesterday, tell the truth and you don’t have to remember anything, and live like it’s heaven on earth.’

Indeed.

Sambal! For your Nasi Lemak.

bigfatboybro — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 09:09:48 +0000

Got this off the paper last weekend. Thought I will save it here so others looking for this recipes will be able to use it. Here goes….

Ingredients:

20-25 dried chilli

2 large fresh chilli or 10 chilli padi

1.5 Tbsp assam (tamarind)

15 shallots

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp of belacan

200 ml water to soak assam

200 ml of oil

3 Tbsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

Optional ingredients:

1 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies) or

Half cup dry shrimps

Procedure:

1. Soak dried chilli in water for 30 minutes then drain.

2. Soak assam in 200 ml water until the pulp dissolves. Stain and set aside.
3. Grind dried chilli, fresh chilli, shallots, garlic and belacan into a fine paste.

4. Heat oil in a wok or sauce pan over medium heat until oil is very hot. Add paste and stir vigorously into hot oil.

5. Reduce heat and solowly fry paste until it darkenes to a deep red-brown, thickens to a jammy consistency and the oil seperates out. This should take 10-15 minutes.

6. Stir in sugar, salt and assam liquid, this will thin the paste. Fry for another 2-3 minutes until mixture is glossy again.

7. Adjust seasoning to taste.

8. Let mixture cool and keep in air tight containers in the fridge.

Optional:

1. Soak ikan bilis or shrimps in water for 10-20 minutes, drain away water and let ikan bilis or shrimps drip dry in strainer. Ikan bilis is ready for deep frying when completely dry. Dried shrimps need not be complete dry prior to deep frying.
2. Deep fry ikan bilis/shrimps after heating up oil but before frying chilli paste. Deep fry ikan bilis/shrimps until it is slightly golden brown or fragrant.

3. Remove all ikan bilis/shrimps and heat up oil until very hot and continue with step 4 of main recipe.

4. Stir in ikan bilis/shrimps after chilli mixture is ready before cooling down cycle.

Serving Suggestion:

1. Chilli may be eaten with plain rice along with a fried egg (sunny side up) and some sliced cucumber or a fruit salad.

2. Chilli may also be used as a bread spread if optional ingredients are used.

Savings & Debts

bigfatboybro — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 04:26:42 +0000

There’s simply too many of us not planning for our financial future. You plan for the day in the morning but not for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I read in the local papers recently about some chap in his mid 50′s committing to buy a new apartment, earning $1700 a month but using $1600 of it to finance his new home purchase! He has no additional funds for his kid’s education and barely enough left over to put food on the table. Talk about living on the edge!

I learnt the hard way about planning for my financial future. Basically, I nearly spent myself bankrupt when I was younger. Today, after much heartaches and help from my wife & family, I can say that my financial position is better, but still not perfect. What I learnt, I want to share with others who may be in my ‘former’ shoes.

To start it off, you will need to STOP SPENDING! I know it’s hard, especially when there’s a new Ipod model coming out once in a while and a new phone model which you must have coming out every quarter. Bottomline, it is still only one word, discipline. You must set yourself the goal of getting out of financial hardship and be sure to stick to this goal. NEVER get distracted by the new toys or new fashion which will come and tempt you.

With every single cent not spent, SAVE IT! It may not be much but a little can accumulate to a lot over time. Always remember, you will need emergency cash. An emergency will always turn up when you least expect it. The level you need will depend but it is recommended that you keep at least 3 month’s salary worth of it. If you have this much, you should be able to survive on this cash even if you lose your job.

The other area of concern will be debts. Let me state that not all debts are bad. Experts say that a little debt is actually good as it means you are using your finances wisely. By using your debts to make the money work harder for you, this is good! Debt is bad if you have too much of it! Buying a house when you are nearing retirement age with zero savings is a big NO-NO!

To demonstrate how much debt can cost you, just look at a simple credit card debt. Say you spent $2,000 to get that new top of the line Duo-core Powerbook! You charge it to your credit card because you have no savings to pay for it and so you roll-over your monthly repayments for this purchase by paying only the minimum sum of $100 per month. The following shows you how much you’ve paid in total:

As you can see, over a period of 26 months, you have paid a total of about $580 of interest for this purchase. This is an astounding 29% of interest! Even if you were to split this amount over a period of 2 years, it is still a whopping 15% per year! So beware when you buy on credit! Now you know why the credit card companys will never want you to cut their card up and will gladly waive your annual membership fee when you complain!

Personal Finance 101 (Summary)

bigfatboybro — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 04:19:07 +0000

What is financial planning? It is the science, some say art, of planning for your future money needs. Some says I don’t have any money so I don’t need to plan. I believe this group of people needs financial planning most! When you don’t have enough resources, that’s when you should plan so that you don’t waste these resources. The resources may be water, land, oil or in this case, money. Rich or poor, you need to plan on how to use money!

To start, most financial planners will want to do the following:

Identity your current financial health.
Identify your risk profile.
Identify your investment goals.
Consult with the you to design a suitable budget to allow you and your family to survive.
Based on the budgeting, get sufficient protection for you and your family in the event of unexpected accidents.
Design and implement a suitable investment plan based on your risk profile and investment goal.
Continue to monitor for you the implemented plan and adjust the plan for any changes in the market.

That’s it! Sounds simple but trust me, anything and everything can happen!

As this point, if someone who claims to be a Financial CONsultant and will like to help you ‘spend’ your money, check if he or she follows the above steps to help you. If they just want you to buy something, beware!

Oriental Chicken Soup

bigfatboybro — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:42:43 +0000

Part 1 of ingredients:

1 whole chicken, approximately 1-1.3kg (2-3 lb)

Water, 2-3 litres (1-1.5 gallions)

Part 2 of ingredients:

i) 3-4 pieces of dried scallops, or

ii) 50gm of Jin Hua Ham, or

iii) bone of Virginia ham or other smoked ham, or

iv) Handful of Fructus Lycii (gou qi zi, 枸杞子), 4-5 dried dates, 4-5 slices of Radix Angelicae sinensis(dang gui)

Steps

1. Clean the chicken throughly, remove all innards and de-skin the bird if required.

2. Stuff part 2 of ingredients into hollow of chicken.

3. Simmer chicken in water for between 2-3 hours. Fragerance will emminate within 45mins of cooking. The resulting soup is a clear broth.You can get the chinese herbs from your local Chinatown’s chinese medicinal store or groceries store. The herb’s names are pronounced in mandarin.

Do you know #1

bigfatboybro — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:39:35 +0000

Do you know that what cost you $50,000 today will cost you cost to $82,000 in 20 years time? That is the work of inflation, which is measured today at a conservative 2-3%. Inflation gauges the rise in prices for basic life sustaining items. What it mean is that the same dollar you have today will buy you less flour or less rice tomorrow than compared to today.

Imagine if the inflation rate rises even further, to say 5%, the same $50,000 required will now be about $132,000 in 20 years time! This is why everyone should start planning for their finances.

Bear market over? It is time to buy?

bigfatboybro — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:17:00 +0000

Given the recent ups and downs in the local and regional market, it is quite difficult for the man on the street to know if the worst of the storm is over. Analysts are urging all to buy on weakness. Nay sayers are telling everyone to just wait it out. So who’s right?
I hold the view that it is time to buy. Depending on your investment goals, prices of certain ‘value’ stocks have already hit bottom and are even going up. If you are accumulating for the long run, this dip is certain to bring a smile to your face. Blue chips like SPH & SMRT have already fallen by at least 5% since their last high, giving them an enhanced dividend yield of between 6%-9%. This is certainly higher returns than if you kept the money in the bank! Given that these blue chips retain or even maintain their values, it is definately better than fixed deposit rates. Sure it is risky but so is crossing the road in Shenton way!

So what’s stopping you? Bern…Fern….Bernam…Bernanke, that’s right, Ben Bernanke, the current Federal Reserve Chairperson? Interest rate hike? Look, you have to understand, what goes up must come down, then again, what is down must bounce back up again, that’s economics.

This is what I see, businesses reporting profits amidst warnings that things MAY slow down, but it hasn’t happened yet. Wages are steady, jobs are still being created. Banks are making tonnes of money raising interest rates. So what? Continue working, ask for that raise but use your money to pay off your loan and stop borrowing to finance that trip to Germany for the World Cup. It’s cheaper to subscribe to SCV! Reduce your liabilities! Make your money work harder for you but before that make sure you don’t spend it all first, save it!!

Introduction: My First Blog

bigfatboybro — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 04:40:24 +0000

Hi all,

Welcome to my Blog. As the site says, I will cover money and computers. Occassionally I will inject some other points of interest as well. As I plan out my real first entry, hang tight!