DESPITE its conservative stance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) investment portfolio suffered a net loss of $9.2 billion for the fiscal year ended March, it revealed yesterday.
Like the other two managers of Government assets - Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) - the central bank was rattled by the turbulence in the financial markets.
So heavy were its losses that they wiped out about 80 per cent of MAS' combined gains of $11.29 billion in the preceding two profitable years, said the Authority, which invests all of the official foreign reserves. "For this financial year, there will be no contribution to the Consolidated Fund, nor return of profits to the Government."
Last year, after enjoying a net profit of $7.44 billion, the statutory board ploughed 18 per cent or $1.34 billion into the Consolidated Fund, which comprises all revenues of Singapore not allocated to specific purposes by any written law; it also returned profits of $2.53 billion to the Government.
Will the MAS' non-contribution this year crimp national expenditures? When asked, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance said: "In estimating our revenues and planning our expenditures for FY '09, we have already taken this into account. Hence, our expenditure plans will not be affected."
Thankfully, the months since April have been rosier. "With the broad-based upturn in financial markets after the close of the financial year, the valuation of MAS' foreign assets has improved and more than half of the losses have been recovered," managing director Heng Swee Keat told the media.
"The extent of loss has been mitigated as we raised the liquidity profile of our portfolio in the early part of 2008, in the face of greater uncertainties," he added. This could have included converting investments into cash.
Arguably, the losses could have been greater if not for the MAS' investment approach: It is conservative, compared to Temasek's higher-risk-higher-return style and GIC's slightly conservative stance, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said in May.
MAS, said Mr Heng, invests largely in "highly liquid assets with a large proportion in bonds, with small exposures in equities - and almost all of these are invested in developed markets in the US, Europe and Japan".
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Rent now, pay later
Reserved: Far East Organisation has set aside 45,000 sq ft of space in 6 of its malls, such as ORchard Central, for prospective tenants. (PHOTO: Far East Organisation)
Far East scheme gives tenants space in return for shares
FANCY setting up shop in a mall and being able to defer rent for up to three years?
An initiative by Far East Organization will soon allow eligible tenants to have their pick of shop spaces from six of its malls, in exchange for shares that can later be redeemed or converted.
A total area of 45,000 sq ft equivalent to the space of more than 40 five-room flats has been set aside at Central, Far East Square, Orchard Central, Pacific Plaza, Square 2 and West Coast Plaza under the rental-equity programme.
The scheme was announced yesterday morning before Orchard Central's soft-launch party. The mall will hit 85 per cent tenancy by September, said Far East retail-management director Susan Leng.
Asked if the programme was designed to ramp up occupancy rates, Mr Eddie Yong, executive director of Far East's investment properties, rubbished the suggestion.
Mr Yong, who is also chief executive of the organisation's corporate-real estate business group, said: "We're allocating only 5 per cent of rental space in six malls to the scheme."
Tenants under the programme are assessed according to criteria such as the potential of their businesses and how it can enhance the mall's offerings.
The initiative is aimed at retailers and prospective tenants who may be put off by the uncertainty over the economy.
Mr G.L. Yap, Far East's executive director of property services, said: "This programme came about partly because of the economic situation around the world. We know that there are quite a lot of people who are hesitant to start because of the uncertainty that lies ahead."
Mr Yong added: "We see lowering the entry barrier for prospective tenants who have exciting brands or concepts as our part in a proactive partnership."
Mr Don Lim, 50, owner of eatery Don's Pies, is considering the possibility of using this scheme to expand his business.
He said: "This programme is very good. For a business to start up, there's equipment that needs to be bought and everything costs money. With rents being high everywhere nowadays, you can't do anything."
Mr Lim set up his first shop nine years ago in Far East Square before relocating to China Square Central two years ago.
"There would be no Don's Pies if not for Far East. They charged me very low rent for my 240-sq ft shop with an 80-seat al fresco area when I first started," he said.
Far East is expected to allocate a total of almost $19 million in rental income to the programme over three years.
Friday, July 3, 2009
One-week closure cost Butter Factory $250,000
IT CLOSED for a week, one of the first businesses to be hit by the Influenza A(H1N1) virus.
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| QUEUE: Outside The Butter Factory last night. |
And when The Butter Factory re-opened last night, the crowds were back.
The lines started forming at 9.40pm and quickly grew to about 200 people just before 10pm, the club's opening time.
They were waiting to get their temperatures checked and their hands stamped before heading to the club's rooms.
Said Hui Jun, 20, a business student at the Singapore Institute of Management: 'We had dinner at Suntec to celebrate a friend's birthday so we thought we'd walk here to continue the celebrations.'
It was also ladies' night last night.
But in the one week that it was closed, the popular nightspot estimated that it lost $250,000.
The alarm bells first went off when the Ministry of Health (MOH) contacted executive chairman of the club Tay Eu Yen two Sundays ago to inform her about the third H1N1 cluster, made up of the club's patrons.
One day later, a member of her staff also tested positive. The club then decided to close for a week.
I'The club was disinfected from 6am to 6pm last Tuesday and the MOH said we did not have to close. But we wanted to be socially responsible - hence the decision,' she said.
According to MOH's website, there are currently 43 confirmed cases in the cluster. To her knowledge, six of the club's 80 staff have tested positive as of yesterday .
Ms Tay said that the club has stepped up the number of temperature checks for staff from once every day ( before the club opens) to two or three times a night, (mainly during breaks).
They have also implemented temperature checks for all customers upon entering the club, with the help of a hand held non-contact thermometer.
Staff are also being given one 1,000mg vitamin tablet each before they start work. There are hand sanitisers within easy reach for both staff and club patrons.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Butter Factory reopens its doors Clubs confident H1N1 won't hit business hard
POPULAR dance club The Butter Factory the only club to shut its premises in the wake of an Influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak reopened its doors yesterday after one week.
The closure came after an employee contracted the virus. The club's premises then underwent a 12-hour-long disinfection process.
But, despite the fact that 43 cases have been linked to Butter to date, its management is confident that business will not be seriously affected.
Executive chairman Tay Eu-Yen told my paper yesterday: "Most people felt we made the right move (by closing) and have said that they will come back.
"Singaporeans are well-informed about the situation, so I don't think they are being reckless (by continuing to club)."
The three-year-old establishment, which moved to its new One Fullerton premises in March, has taken a cue from other outlets in implementing new measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Apart from increasing the frequency of temperature checks on its employees which number up to 80 from once to twice every six-hour shift, it will also conduct temperature screenings at the door for all clubbers.
Ms Tay said: "We are also looking into dividing our operations team into two, so that they will have minimum contact should one team fall ill."
Club operator LifeBrandz, which has 10 nightspots under its management, including Clarke Quay's Zirca and Lunar, is also confident that it would not see a dip in crowd numbers.
The company's chief executive, Mr Bernard Lim, said: "Clubbers are still going out on week nights and weekends to unwind and have a good time.
"They are appreciative of the precautionary measures taken at our doors and, to many of them, life still goes on, albeit with some precautions taken."
Attendance has been "healthy" at all 10 LifeBrandz establishments, with "business operations in full swing", he said.
Only "a handful" of patrons with fever have been turned away since LifeBrandz clubs implemented temperature checks last Friday.
Over at Zouk in Jiak Kim Street, business has been steady. Fewer than 10 people have been refused entry for showing signs of illness, since the same measures were introduced last Tuesday.
Ms Mari Muramoto, Zouk's marketing manager, said: "We have not seen a significant drop (in customers) so far.
"With measures in place, we are operating all the planned events and activities as usual, and we hope those measures will help to maintain a consistent (level of customer) attendance."
Besides temperature checks on everyone entering the premises from customers to suppliers and contractors posters on basic preventive measures provided by the National Environment Agency are also displayed prominently on the premises.
LifeBrandz's Mr Lim is optimistic.
"The situation is not like Sars when many businesses were affected at the outset. I believe it will not be as severe as Sars even if the situation worsens," he said.
因出现传播群而休业一周 Butter Factory重开后客似云来
被列为传播群的夜店Butter Factory, 为策安全暂停营业一周后，昨晚重开大门，照旧迎来大批夜猫子光顾。
尽管如此，夜店的防疫工作并不放松，工作人员在入口处为每个顾客测量体温，确保没有感冒发烧症状，才能入场。夜店也采取为员工量体温、为场所消毒等预防性措施，确保顾客能玩得安全，玩得尽兴。
Butter Factory执行总裁郑尤妍（30岁）受询时说：“凡是体温超过37.5度的顾客，我们将谢绝他们进入，这是为了顾全其他顾客的健康。”
不过，工作人员还是会先让无法“通关”的顾客在一旁休息，再测量体温。
对于第一次无法“通关”的顾客，他们似乎都很惊讶自己“发烧”，不时用手测探自己的体温。“过关”的朋友则在一旁建议他们放松或喝水降低体温，显然都不想被拒于门外，失望而归。
映彤（19岁，学生）是其中一名差点被拒于门外的顾客。
她第二次量体温，终于过关，在另一端等待的朋友也为她松了口气。
她告诉记者，虽然这拖慢了入场的时间，但夜店为了顾及大家的健康，这些措施是无可厚非的。
她是和相熟的朋友一起来玩，不会有太多顾虑，但会注意个人卫生。
曾光顾Butter Factory的纪勇（19岁，学生）并不觉得量体温会增添麻烦，顾客反而会对夜店的安全更具信心。
昨晚捧场的也不乏第一次到Butter Factory的年轻人。
陈文瑞（23，待业者）是为了支持朋友前来的，原来当晚夜店举办一个音乐性质的比赛，朋友是参赛者之一。
虽然知道Butter Factory是传播群之一，但她认为，病毒在任何地方都可以传播，不一定只在夜店，所以娱乐和生活还是应该如常，不会因此避而远之。
夜店每周三至周六营业，平均每晚有超过1000人进出。
据记者昨晚在现场观察，夜店在10时开店营业前，外面就出现人龙，顾客陆续前来，相信甲流对生意的冲击不大。
位于浮尔顿1号的Butter Factory目前是本地第三大传播群，病例有43起，其中6名病患是夜店职员，他们目前已康复，很快将能回返工作岗位。
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Oil extends losses on economic concerns
Oil slipped further in Asian trade Monday as investors continued to worry about the state of the US economy, the world's biggest energy user, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, dropped 13 cents to 69.03 dollars a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for August delivery sank 24 cents to 68.68 dollars.
Both contracts closed lower Friday.
"Oil pricing is under pressure from concerns regarding the weak oil demand in the US," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
Crude fell at the end of last week during US trading hours after official data released Friday showed spending by American consumers rose a weak 0.3 percent in May from April, supported mainly by a massive government stimulus.
The personal savings rate shot up to a 16-year high, indicating consumers were wary of spending amid rising unemployment and plummeting home values, the data showed.
The report by the Commerce Department is widely watched because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity and is considered key to recovery from the severe recession that began in December 2007.
Crude prices have spiked in recent weeks, boosted in part by the weak US dollar which means lower oil costs for purchasers using foreign currencies.
New unrest in oil-producing Nigeria was another factor that saw crude rising above 71 dollars at one stage during intra-day trading Friday, analysts said.
"Oil markets continue to monitor developments in Nigeria. In recent weeks, militants have attacked oil industry infrastructure in Nigeria," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Nigeria, once Africa's leading oil producer, has seen its oil production affected by militants who claim they are fighting for a fairer share of the black gold's wealth for impoverished communities in the Niger Delta.
The African country now produces about 1.8 million barrels of oil a day compared with 2.6 million in 2006.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Butter Factory shuts for a week
Cleanup follows confirmation of worker's H1N1 infection.
POPULAR nightspot The Butter Factory at One Fullerton will shut its doors for a week to disinfect its 8,000-sq ft premises, after an employee was confirmed to be infected by the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.
The male server, who is in his 20s, is among the nine infected people in the Butter Factory cluster. There are 194 H1N1 cases here to date.
The shutdown is expected to cost the premier club $250,000.
One of Butter's co-owners, Ms Tay Eu-Yen, told my paper yesterday: "It's voluntary. We want to make sure our staff and customers remain safe and healthy. It's about social responsibility."
The $3,000 cleanup was already in full swing on Monday, with hygiene consultants disinfecting the club over 12 hours.
All 70 employees have been placed on home quarantine until it re-opens next Wednesday. Those who break the quarantine must report their activities to the management. Full-time staff will still be paid, while part-timers will not be rostered for duty this week.
Marketing executive Christina Ong, 23, a fan of the club, said: "A week may be a bit much, but we know we'll be safe once the club re-opens."
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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