The Clift at Mccallum Street - Singapore - District 01-08

The Clift at Mccallum Street - Singapore - District 01-08

Clift is a metaphor is located the central business district for the modern life the heart.

The compact housing unit 43 towers summon by the Japanese world famous super design seek the life not ordinary soul.

Is located Telok Ayer and the Mccallum street junction,the Clift surmounting existing space traditional concept.

Its neighbor including the concrete skyscraper likely capital tower and the SIA building, the inn comprehensive nature is transformed from protects the store house and enable to have the fame to hawker.

This is a family likely does not have other. It unconventional completely is providing unprecedentedly is comfortable it in the theme the method.

The life style facility for example hot spring saunas, the massage, Jacuzzis and the infinite edge which inspires plunges the basin and the glass conclusion wall, provides pants for breath from the company world request.

The recent product reported has highlighted the product has controlled in this region the new benchmark price. Clift is your front opportunity to an oneself new housing room unit in this region.

Name : The Clift
Developer : Natwest Development (pte) Ltd
Tenure : 99
Property Type : APT
Expected Completion : 2011
Site Area: 19,578 sqft
Location: 21 McCallum Street
District: 01
Total Units: 312 (1 Block of 43 storey)

Unit Types:
1 Bedroom - 505sf - 560sf
1 Bedroom Loft - 753sf - 807sf
2 Bedroom - 775sf - 818sf
2 Bedroom loft - 1065sf

Facilities:(The Clift)
outdoor dining area
The Chamber with a jacuzzi
Elevation at 31st storey with alfresco lounge
hot jacuzzi
25m lap pool lounge on the 10th storey
water features
Cabana lounge with DJ console and bar
Launderette Snack Bar equiped with washing and drying facilities
fully equipped gym
cover parking facilities.
sleek glass-walled sauna
plunge pool
private massage parlour

Real Estate Properties of Singapore buy , sell, rent, invest,

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com ( email me )

http://www.hotvictory.com

Microsoft, Yahoo tie-up could jolt Google in Asia -TOKYO

Microsoft, Yahoo tie-up could jolt Google in Asia  -TOKYO
 
TOKYO - A SUCCESSFUL Microsoft bid for Yahoo could slow the growth of their common rival, Google, in Asia, where the world’s biggest Internet search engine still lags behind local players.
For Microsoft, whose MSN portal has been struggling to gain market share in Asia, the deal worth around US$41 billion (S$57 billion) would open up opportunities to cooperate with top Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.com and Japan’s top search engine, Yahoo Japan.

Yahoo owns 39 per cent of Alibaba’s parent and a third of Yahoo Japan.

The two American companies, however, are at a stand-off after Yahoo’s board rejected Microsoft’s unsolicited offer, saying it undervalued the company.

‘If I were Google, I would be looking for acquisitions or more tie-ups in Asia to help secure better market share,’ said Ichiyoshi Research Institute analyst Hiroshi Naya.

In Japan, Google is outnumbered nearly three-to- two in users by Yahoo Japan, according to Nielsen Online, and it comes a distant second to Baidu.com’s near two-thirds share of the search market in China.

Analysts say the big ‘if’ for a merged Microsoft-Yahoo hoping to keep Google from the No. 1 spot will be whether Microsoft can learn from Yahoo and adapt to local markets with their language and cultural barriers, to expand the merged company in Asia.

With their early entries, Yahoo Japan and Alibaba have already cultivated strong ties with local users. Besides leveraging on their dominance in Asian Web markets, Microsoft may be able to link up with Alibaba on advertising and online trading, said Mr Liu Bin, an analyst at Beijing-based research firm BDA.

But while Yahoo Japan and Alibaba are entrenched in their home markets, that does not mean their approaches will work as newcomers in other Asian markets.

Yahoo Japan, which also provides broadband Internet services, might find it hard to replicate its model across Asia, while Alibaba’s business model caters to manufacturers in China, analysts said.

‘It’s not necessarily the same dynamics outside China. They won’t really have that scale that’s reinforcing them now in China,’ said IDC analyst Claus Mortensen.

REUTERS
Source : Straits Times - 08 March 2008

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China lifts ban on foreign investments in stock market -SHANGHAI

China lifts ban on foreign investments in stock market -SHANGHAI
 
Beijing lets in first overseas investor in a year in bid to boost slumping market
 
SHANGHAI - CHINA has reopened its stock market to fresh investment from abroad with its first approval for a new foreign investor in more than a year, state media reported yesterday.
In their latest move to bolster the slumping market, regulators have given the green light to an unnamed sovereign wealth fund to invest under China’s specially designated foreign investor plan, the official Shanghai Securities News said.

‘To encourage qualified overseas funds to invest in China’s capital market for the long term, a foreign government fund has recently been granted the QFII qualification,’ said foreign exchange chief Hu Xiaolian.

China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme was suspended last month, as regulators tried to deflate a market that was soaring wildly, pushing many companies’ valuations to 60 times earnings.

China had flagged yesterday’s reported move when it said in December that it planned to triple the amount of money foreign financial institutions could collectively place in the local stock market to US$30 billion (S$41.6 billion).

China’s stock market was already falling in December. It has slumped nearly 20 per cent this year, battered, like most overseas markets, by a host of fears that centre on a United States-led global economic slowdown.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has plunged nearly 30 per cent from its record peak of 6,124.044 points on Oct 24 last year to its close of 4,300.52 points yesterday.

Investors worry struggling prices could be hurt further by massive new equity supplies, including an issue planned by the country’s second-largest life insurer, Ping An, that could raise up to US$17 billion.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission in late January resumed approving the launch of domestic mutual funds for stock investments, after suspending approvals since last September.

It has also publicly criticised excessive corporate fund-raising, warning firms against ‘maliciously seizing’ investor money.

The latest official moves reinforce the view that China’s stock market remains a policy-dominated market, used by Beijing to aid fund-raising by state-owned firms and as an investment channel for an increasingly wealthy population.

Minister of Finance Xie Xuren told a news conference the ministry would seriously study a proposal that the government lower the stock trading duty to boost the market.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Source : Straits Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Mortgage war breaks out as DBS and UOB offer new rates -Singapore

Mortgage war breaks out as DBS and UOB offer new rates   -Singapore

Banks focusing on specific targets, waging battles without fanfare

By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent 
NEW OFFER: DBS has a package with a rate lower than Maybank’s 7.74 per cent, which sparked the industry’s latest mortgage row. — ST FILE PHOTO
 
THE mortgage war finally erupted, as Singapore banks responded to a dramatic rate cut by Maybank three weeks ago - with one even offering a zero per cent package.
That attractive deal comes from United Overseas Bank (UOB), which has relaunched a package with a teaser first-year rate at rock-bottom.

DBS Group Holdings has also rolled out new rates on several packages, including a fixed-rate deal that claims to be the lowest of its type here in Singapore.

Unlike the fanfare that marked the rate war in 2003, though, the battle now is focused on specific targets and is being kept under the radar.

Banks are quietly offering promotional rates on a case-by-case basis and tend to target clients with loans of well over $300,000. While the market for new mortgages has softened, banks are still busy.

‘A lot of customers are looking to refinance their loans taken less than a year ago, when interest rates were much higher,’ Mr Bryan Ong of mortgage consultancy bcgroup.com.sg said.

Maybank sparked the war with an aggressive three-year, fixed-rate package at 1.68 per cent for the first year. This promo, which ends on Monday, has sent customers ‘rushing to submit loan applications’, said Maybank consumer banking head Helen Neo.

About 80 per cent of the applications were for buying private properties with an average loan size of about $675,000. Maybank is now ‘reviewing the rates’.

Other banks have not taken the move lying down. Most have tacitly matched - or undercut - Maybank’s rates.

DBS has a new three-year, fixed-rate package with an aggregate rate of 7.64 per cent - lower than Maybank’s 7.74 per cent. It offers a 1 per cent cash rebate in the first year.

UOB has revived its FirstZero Home Loan - a three-year, fixed-rate package available ‘only for a limited period’. The bank launched this in 2003, but it was quietly taken off the market last year amid interest rate volatility.

FirstZero is now back with a zero per cent rate on the first year, 3.6 per cent on the second and 4.5 per cent on the third, making a three-year aggregate rate of 8.1 per cent.

It has hefty penalty charges and a three-year lock-in period.

Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) actually moved before Maybank, cutting its three-year, fixed-rate package from 3.58 per cent to 2.98 per cent in January. It also cut its two-year package by 0.55 of a percentage point to 2.88 per cent.

DBS countered this week with a 2.88 per cent average annual rate for a three-year package and a 1 per cent cash rebate on the first year.

This three-week promotion is only for customers with loan quantums of at least $300,000.

OCBC Bank had not joined the fray, with chief executive David Conner saying last month that a mortgage rate war was unlikely.

OCBC said ‘from time to time, it offers loan packages with promotional rates that are highly competitive compared to other players’.

The most popular packages now are those linked to transparent rates, like the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) or swap offered rate (SOR), comprising the Sibor plus a bank’s lending costs.

These are official, regularly published industry rates customers can check to see how their packages are structured.

Riding on this interest, DBS has just cut by half its rate for its 12-month, two-year, Sibor-linked loans to 0.5 per cent for the first year.

Nearly 80 per cent of Stanchart’s new customers in recent months have taken up its package offering SOR plus 0.5 per cent for the first year.

The SOR has dropped from about 3 per cent last year to about 1.5 per cent currently.

Stanchart’s head of consumer banking, Mr Ajay Kanwal, said: ‘With the interest rate environment expected to soften further, customers of SOR-linked packages will benefit even more.’
Source : Straits Times - 08 March 2008

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New office for volunteer centre - and it’s rent-free - Singapore

New office for volunteer centre - and it’s rent-free  - Singapore
 
THE National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the national body which promotes giving, was recently on the receiving end of a gift - a new home in the heart of town.

Property developer Far East Organization gave it 16,000 sq ft of office space on the fourth floor of The Central, the office and shopping complex on the banks of the Singapore River.

NVPC’s chief executive Mrs Tan Chee Koon told The Straits Times: ‘We feel very blessed to get this gift, especially now when office rents are so expensive. It’s like receiving manna from heaven.’

A space crunch in the city in the past year has sent prime office rents through the roof.

With its new home, the NVPC saves about $20,000 a month, which is what it was paying to rent some 9,000 sq ft within the Ministry of National Development Building in Maxwell Road.

Far East Organization, having already maxed out its quota of space for retail and other purposes in the complex, decided at the planning stage to turn the space over to a community or civic group rather than let it stand empty, said its spokesman.

Far East identified the NVPC as its beneficiary, on the grounds that its activities would add ‘vitality and a sense of community’ to the building.

It also gave the agency $1 million to kit out the space to meet its needs.

Far East did not put a dollar value to its donation. However, it was reported to have sold an entire office floor at the 99-year leasehold development at $3,050 per sq ft last year.

An existing government scheme allows mall owners to build more retail space than they were originally allotted if they donate office space rent-free to civic and community groups.

But Far East’s move falls outside this scheme, because it is not gaining extra retail space by doing this.

This makes its gift truly altruistic, said Mrs Tan.

The NVPC, which moved into The Central last December, is occupying only a third of the 16,000 sq ft.

Its auditorium and meeting rooms are available to charities to use for their meetings and other events for a nominal fee, said Mrs Tan.

The NVPC office has a new name to go with its new address too: It is now called The Giving Place.
THERESA TAN
Source : Straits Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Property developer an early donor to philanthropic cause - Singapore

Property developer an early donor to philanthropic cause  - Singapore

Foundation, set up to pool money from the rich, has received pledges of $6m so far

By Theresa Tan 
——————————————————————————–
Million-dollar SMS to Simon Cheong: $1 million needed to start a new community foundation for charity.
His immediate reply: Yes.

PROPERTY developer Simon Cheong was having dinner two weeks ago when he received an SMS from a friend asking for $1 million.

The text message said that the money was needed to help start the Community Foundation of Singapore, which was set up to boost philanthropy among the growing number of millionaires in the Republic.

The 50-year-old, one of Singapore’s richest men, had an immediate reply to the SMS, which came from Mr Stanley Tan, chairman of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC): Yes.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Cheong, the chairman and chief executive of SC Global, said: ‘I am deeply honoured to be asked to help in this good cause.

‘I feel strongly that since society has made it possible for me to succeed, it’s only right that I give back.’

Mr Cheong - who is said to have a US$480 million (S$665 million) fortune - is the first of those with deep pockets to pledge $1 million to the Foundation - an initiative announced by the Government on Wednesday.

The Foundation, to be spearheaded by the NVPC, will pool together donations from those who are rich, but not wealthy enough to justify the administrative cost of starting their own foundations.

The new Foundation has already received $6 million in pledges - Mr Cheong’s $1 million and another $5 million from a company that declined to be named.

Another firm is also ’seriously thinking’ about donating $5 million, said the NVPC’s Mr Tan.

The Government will also pump in $10 million to help get the Foundation going and to cover its operational expenses.

The Foundation will hire banks to invest and grow the donations it receives, and donors can decide which charities or causes they want to give to.

Alternatively, donors can let the Foundation decide how best to donate their money.

Mr Tan hopes to find 50 individuals who will give $1 million each and 10 companies that will give $5 million apiece.

The Community Foundation will start disbursing its funds once it gets $50 million in donations, said Mr Tan.

Saying he hopes this will be done by the second half of this year, he added with a laugh: ‘I’m going to make many calls and (send) SMSes.’
Source : Straits Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Four more airlines to shift to Singapore Changi Terminal 3

Four more airlines to shift to Singapore Changi Terminal 3

FOUR more airlines will join Singapore Airlines at Terminal 3 from March 26. China Eastern Airlines, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and United Airlines will move their operations there from Terminal 1.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is facilitating the shift by conducting trials to prepare the airlines for full operations at the new terminal, CAAS said in a statement.

They have been undergoing integrated trials since February, involving passenger check-in, baggage handling, staff familiarisation and ‘live’ commercial trial flights, to test the actual passenger departure and arrival processes.

The trials help ensure the airlines can establish, integrate and test their systems and procedures in a real-life environment ahead of their actual shift to Terminal 3. They also give the airlines’ staff a chance to familiarise themselves with the new terminal.

Other preparatory measures include letting everyone know about the start of operations by the four airlines at Terminal 3. This includes updating airport directories and signs within terminal buildings, as well as distributing circulars and vehicle decals to ground-transport service providers such as coach and taxi drivers to generate awareness.
 
‘CAAS is working hand-in-hand with our airline partners to facilitate their shift from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 to ensure that all aspects of their operations are carried out smoothly,’ said CAAS director-general and CEO Lim Kim Choon.

The four airlines operate a total of 148 weekly flights from Singapore to 12 cities.

Source : Business Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Visitors to star in tourism brand campaign - Singapore

Visitors to star in tourism brand campaign - Singapore

They get a chance to show off their video and win big prizes
By WEE JUN KAI

THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will launch its Global Brand Media Campaign today, an extension of the Uniquely Singapore brand campaign’s second phase.
 
Calling all tourists: The Travelpod, a mobile video booth stationed along Orchard Road, will offer tourists a chance to share their personal experiences of Singapore via 30-second video clips 
Unlike previous campaigns which involved celebrities and personalities, this time tourists are the ’stars’.

Using the new ‘Travelpod’, a mobile video booth now stationed along Orchard Road, tourists will get a chance to share their personal experiences of Singapore via 30 second videos.

The videos, subject to guidelines ’similar to online photo-sharing sites like Flickr’, will be uploaded to the National Geographic website. Selected video recordings shared by visitors at the Travelpod will also be made into commercials and shown pan-regionally, in April 2008, via the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the National Geographic Channel (NGC).

Aside from video recordings done at the Travelpod, visitors may also upload similar videos of their own or even videos taken during their visit to Singapore onto the National Geographic website.

Written testimonials of their time in Singapore can also be submitted to the BBC website.

STB, BBC and NGC will jointly select one grand prize winner from each channel where each winner will receive a free trip to Singapore among other attractive prizes.

Suggested topics include Singapore culture and night life, though users do not necessarily have to limit themselves this way, or even to give positive comments.

Winnie Pua, director, brand management, at the STB, said: ‘This campaign attempts to uncover the layers of what defines a unique personal experience in Singapore. By learning from visitors their interpretation of the brand, we can ensure the Uniquely Singapore brand remains fresh, relevant and meaningful for each visitor, encouraging top-of-mind destination recall as well as to invite potential visitors to make a visit to discover their own unique personal experiences here.’

Details of the Global Brand campaign and Travelpod can be found at www.visitsingapore.com

Source : Business Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Porsche to participate in F1 Grand Prix - Singapore

Porsche to participate in F1 Grand Prix - Singapore

By IAN POH
SUPERCAR maker Porsche yesterday announced details of its participation in September’s Singapore Formula One Grand Prix carnival.
‘As with all other F1 races worldwide, it will be supported by the Carrera Cup.’
 
- Christer Ekberg 
Porsche Asia-Pacific MD 
 
 
Singapore will host a leg of this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season as a prelude to the F1 race.

And next Friday, March 14, a one-day event called Porsche Pit Stop Singapore will be held to boost public interest in the Porsche brand and motorsport in the lead-up to the Carrera Cup race.

Porsche said it is delighted to support the F1 carnival. ‘As with all other F1 races worldwide, it will be supported by the Carrera Cup,’ said Porsche Asia-Pacific managing director Christer Ekberg. ‘For many of us, it is a dream come true.’ In the March 14 Porsche Pit Stop, organised with the Porsche Club Singapore and Porsche distributor Stuttgart Auto, a convoy of 100 Porsche cars will travel from Dempsey Road to the Padang along Orchard Road.

As part of the display, Porsche will officially launch its new Cayenne GTS here. The car can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds - 0.5 seconds faster than the Cayenne S. Porsche also emphasised the importance of responsible driving and is keen to advocate public awareness in the light of speed-induced euphoria and its flashy new car.
 
General manager of Stuttgart Auto Alison Ong said: ‘As we speak of the thrills and passion in motorsports, we must remain constantly mindful of the paramount importance of safety and responsibility on the road as on the race track.’

Porsche also has Traffic Police support for its Porsche Kids Driving School as a highlight of the Pit Stop event. The school is aimed at children aged five to 10. Participants will be put through basic theory and practical lessons in pedal vehicles.

Source : Business Times - 08 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Eve of S’pore GST hike emerges top shopping day

Eve of S’pore GST hike emerges top shopping day

MasterCard data shows June30 last year beating traditional period
By IAN POH
SINGAPOREANS last year made the most of their spending power and splashed the cash before the two percentage point Goods and Services Tax (GST) increase kicked in.
According to MasterCard data, the two consecutive Saturdays before the hike were the highest spending days in Singapore in 2007, at least for its cardholders.

‘Traditionally, the top spending days for MasterCard holders in Singapore are during the holiday shopping periods such as Christmas. Last year was, however, an exception because of the GST increase,’ said TV Seshadri, vice-president and senior country manager of MasterCard Singapore.

‘Singaporeans are always out to get the best deal and take advantage of the privileges their MasterCard cards offer. So many consumers decided to bring forward their big-ticket item shopping and make those purchases before the GST hit 7 per cent.’

MasterCard’s data showed that on June 23 last year, spending by Singaporean cardholders increased 66 per cent compared with their average daily expenditure. This is 15 percentage points higher than the corresponding statistic for all MasterCard holders worldwide, for the same day.

For the following Saturday, June 30 - the day before the GST hike took effect - the increases were 106 per cent and 71 per cent respectively, giving a whopping 35-point difference.
 
The data also indicates that this expenditure went into long-term purchases. On June 23, the goods categories which registered the biggest increases in spending versus average daily spending were education (525 per cent) and clothes including fashion and accessories (191 per cent).

On June 30, the categories of interior furnishing inclusive of electrical appliances (315 per cent), clothes (180 per cent) and education (450 per cent) topped the list.

In Singapore, eight out of 10 of the top spending days in 2007 were Saturdays, and two Fridays. June 30 was the top spending day of the year.

Source : Business Times - 08 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com