Archive for May, 2008
24 hours to report all accidents to insurers
Written by Kelvin on May 27, 2008 – 9:55 am -| May 27, 2008 |
| From Sunday, motorists who don’t inform insurers in time will forfeit part of their no-claims discount or even insurance cover |
| By Christopher Tan |
| FROM Sunday, motorists must report all accidents - no matter how minor - to their respective insurers within 24hours or part of their no-claims discount (NCD) will be docked.Worse, their insurers might not cover them if a claim is filed against them.
This tough stance is the latest attempt by the insurance industry to curb runaway claims, which drove motor underwriting losses to a five-year high of $103.2 million last year. The picture continues to look bleak this year: In the first quarter, motor-underwriting losses hit $35.3 million - nearly treble that for the same period last year. Insurers reckon inflated claims are a major cause. These claims are often filed well after an accident. Although it has long been a legal requirement to report all accidents, this is the first time insurers are insisting on a 24-hour timeframe so ‘fresh information’ is at hand. Insurers also believe people are less likely to lie or have less chance to collaborate with workshops to submit inflated claims within the first 24hours of an accident. In announcing the new step, the General Insurance Association (GIA) - which represents about 30 motor insurers here - said yesterday that car owners will lose 10 percentage points of their NCD if they do not comply. NCDs are given annually to motorists who have not made accident claims, up to a maximum of 50 per cent of their annual premium. So a motorist who pays a premium of $500 after a 50 per cent NCD and does not report an accident to his insurer within 24hours would have to pay $600 the next time he renews his policy. Motorists with no NCD will not suffer this penalty, but the GIA warned that those who do not comply with the new rule are in breach of policy terms and an insurer would have the right to refuse their claims. GIA president Derek Teo said drivers must report an accident even if there is no visible damage to the vehicle. ‘You may have shaken hands with the other driver and parted in good faith but, in real life, he could well file a claim against you months later,’ Mr Teo explained. To make reporting convenient, all insurers will have 24-hour hotlines. When a motorist calls, he will be told which workshops he can send his vehicle to. He must then take his vehicle to it within 24 hours or by the next working day. The GIA will launch a public education programme to tell motorists what they must do in an accident. The drill includes exchanging particulars with the other parties involved, taking note of identity card and contact numbers, home addresses and names of insurers. Motorists are also advised to take photos of the vehicles involved in the accident whenever possible. Most crucially, they must avoid unauthorised tow truck or workshop representatives, who often tout at the scene of an accident. Mr Teo said he is ‘pretty confident’ the new scheme will reduce inflated claims ‘because for the first time, we have the support of all insurers’. This being so, he is hopeful there will be little need for premiums to rise. Past efforts to curb contentious claims include the setting up of independent damage assessment centres (Idac). But most insurers found the scheme was either not cost-effective or plainly ineffective. The latest plan has the support of other quarters. Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon said it will ‘go a long way in minimising the need to resolve claims and other disputes’ between consumers and insurers. Automobile Association of Singapore senior manager Leslie Wong added: ‘We can look forward to a more open and fair system…where the interests of all parties, especially the motorist, can be better safeguarded.’ |
Posted in General Insurance | 1 Comment »
Are dividends always good?
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:26 pm -Business Times - 19 May 2008
Shareholders could be better off if excess cash could be used in other ways to enhance value, writes JASON LOW
WITH the bears coming out to play for the past few months, investors have increasingly been looking out for safe harbours to put their money into. Inevitably, high dividend yielding stocks readily come to mind, as investors look to them for security and the potential double rewards that it may bring - dividend income and capital gains. The question then is: Are dividends always good?
To answer the question, we probably have to understand some basics.
Dividends are usually cash paid back to the shareholders as a share of returns that the business or company made in the last financial period. The dividend yields paid out by companies vary across the different industries. The best dividends usually come from companies that create their own products.
Altria, formerly Philip Morris, famous for its world’s best selling cigarettes brand, Marlboro, was also very well known for its high dividend payments to its shareholders. A sum of US$1,000 placed in Philip Morris back in 1957, with its dividends reinvested, would have grown to almost US$4.6 million today, according to Jeremy Siegel’s 2005 book, The Future for Investors.
The good
Reinvesting the dividends paid out by the companies not only enables an investor to increase his holdings but also to compound his returns.
In his book, Mr Siegel said: ‘Long term investors who reinvest their dividends will find that the bear markets not only are easier on their portfolio but also can enhance their wealth.’
He continued: ‘If the price of the stock falls more than its dividend, and this almost always happens during market decline, then the dividend yield will rise. And a higher dividend yield is a ticket to higher returns.’
Investors who reinvest their dividends and accumulate more shares during the bear markets will eventually recoup the price loss because the lower price allows them to own more shares than they would be able to buy if the stock had not declined. Consequently, the value of these extra shares will surpass the magnitude of the stock price declines, making these investors better off overall.
For example, assuming one buys Wal-Mart at US$58 per share and thereafter, during a market correction, Wal-mart shares trade lower at US$42. With the dividends being reinvested at the US$42 price, it enables the investor to accumulate almost 30 per cent more shares than he would have had the price not declined.
In the long run, if the investor consistently reinvests the dividend he receives from Wal-Mart and in the process accumulates more shares, the value of his additional shares obtained will more than make up for any stock price declines the company suffers and greatly enhance future returns when the market recovers.
Hence, dividends not only give the investors constant liquidity and cash inflow, it also protects the investor in a bear market and enhances his potential returns during market recovery, given that the investor reinvests his dividends.
The bad
For large growth companies like those in technology and medical sectors, however, investors might generally not prefer to receive dividends since pursuing growth requires money and the availability of funds has a direct impact on the scale of the growth projects the company can pursue. If a company does not expect to grow and has excess money, it makes sense to pay dividends to its loyal shareholders. However, a company pursuing growth and expanding its empire will want to use the money in its coffers to continue its dominance and therefore should not be expected to pay out any dividend.
Another worthwhile place that the excess money can go to is in the repurchasing of the company’s own shares. Using earnings to buy shares instead of paying them out as dividends will reduce the number of outstanding shares of the company, thereby adding value to the remaining shares. Earnings per share will correspondingly increase and this will usually drive up share prices.
Instead of paying out its excess funds as dividends, companies may want to use them for reducing its debt. This is mainly because the company is constantly incurring interest expense on its debt. Therefore, it may serve the company’s shareholders better if the company were to reduce its debt and correspondingly lower its interest expense incurred.
Another scenario when dividends are bad news stems from the belief in a stock-market timing model called the Dividend Dip Indicator. This model recommends avoiding stocks when corporations are raising the dividends.
Consider two companies, each paid $1 dividend per share. The next year, one company leaves it unchanged while the other raises its dividend to $1.40 and then cuts the dividend back to $1 the year after. The latter company’s shareholders would seem to be better off because over the three year period, they received a higher payout than the shareholders of the former company. But in reality, the shareholders of the latter company are likely to suffer as the market in general will be likely to be taken aback by the dividend reduction and as a result, the company’s share price is likely to drop.
It is common knowledge that the management of companies only raises dividends if they are certain that they are able to sustain it in the long run and that the increase in their profits is not temporary. Consequently, the number of dividend increases tends to rise only after the economy has been in good shape for a considerable period.
Chances are that by the time the management acts on dividends, the market has already discounted the good news of the economy. And since the economy is cyclical, a good time to sell is usually when all the good news is absorbed by the market, that is, when companies raise their dividends. Thus, it is apparent that based on this counter intuitive model, dividends may sometimes be bad news for the investor.
So it’s not always good to head for dividend-yield stocks. Investors should always weigh all pros and cons before making their investment decisions.
Posted in Investments | 1 Comment »
Food and beer make a gastronomical pairing
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:20 pm -Business Times - 17 May 2008
By CHRISTOPHER LIM
‘WINE goes great with food; it’s just that beer with food is even better,’ declares Archipelago brewmaster Fal Allen with gusto. While that is a fairly contentious statement, to say the least, it does highlight the fact that it’s certainly easier to pair food with beer than wine, and that’s exactly what more bars and restaurants are doing.
The secret good news to experimenting with different beers and food is that there are no real disasters. Some beers will, of course, complement certain dishes better than others, but you’re not governed by the delicate balance of acid in wines that can result in some pretty awful tastes when you light on an unfortunate combination. So, fiddle with abandon, and you’ll eventually discover a pairing you like.
Archipelago’s Allen suggests a few rules of thumb. ‘Look for similar taste characteristics between the beer and the food,’ he advises. ‘If there are acidic flavours in there, look for a light beer with something like that,’ Mr Allen adds. This would mean that light wheat beers often go well with seafood and dishes with a bit of fruit and spice. Conversely, red meat and game generally go better with dark ales and stouts.
An obvious alternative to blind experimentation is to go with a set menu that’s been collaboratively assembled by a chef and a brewmaster. On April 29, The Pump Room microbrewery and bistro at Clarke Quay organised its first beer pairing dinner, which was a one-night-only affair.
Starters were smoked pork and vegetable terrine, and beef consomme with caramelised onion ravioli, paired with the Lager and Wheat Ale, respectively. A pair of seafood dishes - black mussels in tomato, garlic, chilli and white wine, and assam fish curry - went with Bohemian Lager and India Pale Ale (IPA). And the main course of venison pie with macadamia nut polenta was served with the appropriately nutty Scottish Ale.
The stout-vanilla flute dessert was an excellent illustration of why it’s a good idea to have both a brewmaster and a chef work on the pairings. It was basically Pump Room’s stout with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and consultant chef Karl Dobler advised guests to wait until the ice cream melted before digging in. ‘If you don’t let it mix completely into the beer, the stout will be overpowering,’ said chef Dobler. But Pump Room brewmaster Alex Chasko waved away the suggestion with a smile, saying: ‘You can wait for it to melt if you want but it’s really not necessary.
In this case, Mr Chasko had it right since his stout isn’t particularly strong, and the contrast between its bitterness and the ice cream’s sweetness made this stout float an even better match than root beer and ice cream. Hopefully, the stout-vanilla flute will eventually be added to the regular menu. But chef Dobler’s sensibilities were on the money when he diluted the assam fish curry. Even the robust IPA was drowned out by the dish’s spicy tamarind and chilli seasoning.
‘I do think beer goes better with food than wine,’ Mr Chasko says. ‘Part of it is personal preference, but it’s also about the various processes we have to work with that let us make very different beers, whereas in wine you’re basically restricted to crushing grapes and storing them,’ he adds.
While it helps to have the brewmaster involved with food pairings when you’re dealing with microbrewed beers, the same doesn’t necessarily apply to established Belgian beers, which have proven their suitability with food for years.
Fine-dining bistro Brussels Sprouts, at The Pier, has beer-pairing promotions such as an excellent braised lamb shank with gibelotte sauce and 330ml of Affligem Dubbel for $36. And more down-to-earth Ooster’s, at Far East Square, has beer recommendations for all of its entrees, such as Stella Artois with fish and chips, and Leffe Brune with Boeuf Brabancon. Relish, at Cluny Court, also has specific Belgian beer recommendations to go with its gourmet burgers, which gives a whole new spin to beer and burgers.
If you’re wondering what food to pair with Guinness, however, John Galvin, marketing manager for Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore, has suggestions for both the milder draught variety found in places such as Harry’s and Irish Pubs, and the hardcore Foreign Extra Stout variety preferred in local coffee shops.
‘The rich, creamy and smooth taste of Guinness Draught works very well with Oxtail stew, grilled meats, beef rendang, Hokkien Mee and Char Kway Teow,’ he says. ‘Guinness Foreign Extra Stout in contrast, with its stronger, slightly sour taste, blends better with spicy and rich food such as sambal stingray,’ Mr Galvin adds. How’s that for Singapore-specific pairing advice?
People will have to become more adventurous before there’s sufficient demand for beer-pairings to truly become widespread. For example, only a handful of people showed up for The Pump Room’s $85++ dinner, which is probably why there are still no plans to do hold another one.
Posted in What to Eat? | 1 Comment »
Having food & fun
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:15 pm -Business Times - 17 May 2008
BT checks out three places that will please your palate as well as tickle your funny bone
Tampopo
177 River Valley Road, #01-23/24,
Liang Court Shopping Centre.
Tel:
Tampopo Deli, #B1-16.
Tel:
JAPANESE family restaurant Tampopo has raised its culinary game - and not just because it moved up recently from its basement location at Liang Court Shopping Centre to a more prominent space on the ground floor.
In its previous guise, it was a landmark destination for casual dining, popular among locals and Japanese expats for an extensive menu featuring simple, good-quality dishes and specialty items such as sushi, ramen and black pig tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) - all at decent prices.
The all-new Tampopo has all this and lots more, including a new-fangled automated delivery system. The restaurant opened a few weeks ago, and the main difference is a larger, spruced-up space and a section with booths built around a conveyor belt system that delivers food directly to your table.
The system is a step up from the more conventional auto-delivery system and was developed in Japan about 18 months ago. It is available in only a few restaurants in Japan. Tampopo owner Takaaki Takagi read about it in a newspaper and persuaded the manufacturer to let him install it here, making Tampopo the first restaurant outside Japan to use it.
Takagi then tied up with a local company to develop bilingual software for the Singapore market. The functions may be basic, but the system allows diners to order via individual touch screens on their tables, and the specific orders are dropped off via conveyor in double quick time. At the moment, the screens are only connected to the sushi kitchen - orders for other items are still taken manually and delivered by service staff.
‘This is a test case, never used before in a family-style restaurant,’ says Takagi. ‘We are still monitoring the impact but we may be able to save about 30 per cent of manpower compared to a similar-size restaurant without the system.’
The ramen at Tampopo has always been good, but it just got a lot better, thanks to the introduction of noodles made from a special high-quality Japanese flour from a supplier in Ebetsu city on Hokkaido. The previous ramen supplier was also from Hokkaido, but used flour from the US.
According to Mr Takagi, the noodles are in such short supply that they aren’t even available in most Japanese cities. ‘The supply is limited and usually only available in Ebetsu,’ he says. ‘The manufacturer had to get special permission to export. Before, our noodles were high standard - now, they are super standard.’
Indeed, a sampling of the shoyu new Hokkaido version (made with seafood and pork bone stock, $13.80) lived up to the advance billing. Tampopo offers a few different versions of ramen, but the quality is uniformly excellent. The noodles are firm and chewy, with a distinct flavour. Ramen lovers in Singapore have apparently given the thumbs up to the new version, says Takagi.
Meanwhile, Tampopo Deli, a small cake and dessert counter in Liang Court’s basement, is also attracting attention with its Super Light Cheese Chiffon Cake ($5.80 per slice, $48 per cake). The counter was originally meant to supply desserts to the main restaurant but has now attracted its own set of fans. In a market where finding your own culinary niche is key to success, Tampopo is blazing a trail on both the food and fun concept fronts.
By Geoffrey Eu
Bird’s Nest Cafe
160 Orchard Road,
#01-13 Orchard Point.
Tel: 6836-6218
IT may seem bizarre for a restaurant to have part of its dining space decorated to look like a cave for nesting swifts, but for the owners of Bird’s Nest Cafe, it made perfect sense. The six-month-old restaurant is the only place in town with a menu based entirely on bird’s nest, so they merely wanted to emphasise the point.
The decor could be construed as being a little tongue in cheek, but the owners are certainly serious about making a culinary statement through bird’s nest. The cafe, tucked away in a small space in Orchard Point, is a prototype concept and hopefully the first in a chain of much larger bird’s nest restaurants in China and other parts of Asia.
Next month, a much larger enterprise, the Imperial Bird’s Nest Restaurant, will open in a central location in Shanghai. The restaurant is part of an 8,000 sq ft dining complex that will also include a Western restaurant, the Boston Bar & Grill, which will serve steaks and Boston-style seafood.
‘It fits in with the common theme we have within our company,’ says Bernard Tsai, executive director of Starcap, an investment group whose companies in aesthetic medicine and medical tourism, art galleries and food and beverage are focused on lifestyle-related pursuits. ‘We want people to not only enjoy the food but stay healthy - they will have nice complexions and all the things bird’s nest is famous for.’
He adds: ‘We decided on a concept where we combine bird’s nest with high-end food like abalone. Then as we put it together, we thought it would do well in China. The smaller cafe-style outlet in Singapore is a franchising model, while the company will own all the bigger restaurants - linked with our other companies, we will have a full set of high-end products.’
Signature dishes at Bird’s Nest Cafe include braised whole abalone with bird’s nest ($88 per person), double-boiled golden melon with seafood and bird’s nest ($68) and cod fish noodle with bird’s nest and teriyaki sauce ($16.80). There’s also a dim sum combination dish with items like siew mai and har gau with bird’s nest, and pan-friend carrot cake ($7). The bird’s nests are sourced from Indonesia and premium items like abalone come from Australia.
Those who want even more can buy packaged bird’s nest products at the cafe. One kilo of the stuff will cost somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000. ‘We’ll even cook the products for you, any way you want,’ says Mr Tsai.
By Geoffrey Eu
Cheeky Chocolate
233, Upper Thomson Road
Tel:
IT all began with a dream. Aaron Choy’s dream may not be of the Martin Luther King Jr calibre, since it was about chocolates, but it has certainly given him the vision and drive to set up his own cafe and chocolaterie.
‘Being a guy, I don’t even like chocolates that much, although my girlfriend loves them,’ admits the 25-year-old. But he had a dream sometime last year about selling chocolates, and it was so vivid, at a time when he was looking for a job, that he’s been spurred to fulfil it.
Cheeky Chocolate - which opened just two weeks ago - is the result of months of brainstorming for the new graduate, who had studied business in New York. ‘Because the chocolates that are available in Singapore tend to be quite straightforward and mundane. I wanted to sell chocolates with more meaning and emotion to them - because we eat chocolates when we’re happy or sad; and give them as gifts for special occasions,’ he explains.
As a result, his chocolates have names like Happy Hazelnut and Dark & Sexy, instead of just chocolate with hazelnut and dark chocolate; all made with Valrhona chocolate, and priced at an average $2.20 a piece. For the business, Mr Choy took a few crash courses in chocolate-making, but when he finally got the shop in Thomson Road, he realised that he needed to sell more than just chocolates to survive.
‘Even if I sold 300 pieces of chocolate a day, it won’t be enough!’ he says, so Cheeky Chocolates - a bright and cheery cafe - also offers crepes and sandwiches on their menu.
He has hired a young chocolatier to focus on creating chocolates (and desserts), and also a very decent chef who made yummy savoury crepes (check out the Shrooms version which features mushrooms) and an excellent chocolate-drizzled waffle.
Cheeky Chocolate is cheerfully decorated as well, as Mr Choy wants to make the concept welcoming for all kinds of customers, from young families to teenagers to older folk. ‘Looking at the Thomson Road area, it’s mainly residential, so it might be quieter during the day but we get a lot of business at night,’ he says.
For that reason, Cheeky Chocolate offers its full food menu only from 6pm daily, while the chocolates will be available for sale from noon.
Mr Choy’s plan is to have a chain of Cheeky Chocolate shops, but for now, it’s all about making sure his first eatery solidifies.
By Cheah Ui-Hoon
Posted in Places to Eat | No Comments »
Raffles Med, int’l insurer in health plan tie-up
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:09 pm -Business Times - 17 May 2008
Schemes let insured access clinics, hospitals globally
By GENEVIEVE CUA
RAFFLES Medical Group has tied up with Bupa International, one of the world’s largest international health insurers, to offer co-branded health plans for mobile executives.The partnership is with Raffles subsidiary International Medical Insurers (IMI), which offers group and individual health plans. The bulk of IMI’s 70,000 clients or members are insured under its group health schemes. About 10-15 per cent are in individual schemes.
IMI has secured a life insurance licence, which allows it to offer long-term health plans that are guaranteed renewable. The firm plans to enter the Shield market this year.
On international health plans, IMI general manager Dr Yii Hee Seng said: ‘Demand is increasing, as growing affluence in the region has made transnational mobility more common. We want to provide customers with peace of mind and the flexibility of having insurance coverage anywhere in the world.’
Through Bupa’s plans, the insured can have access to a global network of 5,500 hospitals and clinics. Treatment can be on a cashless basis unlike most other insurance plans, where the patient must pay upfront and seek reimbursement later.
Bupa International global sales director Tim Slee said Asia accounts for 10-15 per cent of the group’s international business. ‘But in terms of the percentage growth, it’s the fastest-growing region.’
Bupa and IMI plan to launch new plans for individuals next year. Dr Yii said: ‘The plans will be more modular offerings. People will have the ability to build their own solutions.’
On whether Bupa’s plans are guaranteed renewable, Mr Slee said: ‘The way Bupa operates is we don’t use those words in our contracts. But in our years of business, Bupa has never refused to reinsure an existing member if (he or she) was not acting fraudulently.’
Posted in Medical | No Comments »
Singaporeans, suit up to skydive in Sentosa soon
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:05 pm -Business Times - 16 May 2008
EXTREME sports enthusiasts and adventure seekers will soon be able to experience the adrenaline-pumping sport of skydiving at an affordable price, when the world’s largest vertical wind tunnel opens in Sentosa during the second quarter of 2009.
The skydiving simulator, iFly Singapore, is slated to open to members of the public aged three years and above and will cost $40 for a half-hour experience in the wind tunnel.
Built by Singapore franchise SkyVenture Singapore, iFly Singapore will cost at least $16 million and measures five metres in diameter with a flying height of 17 metres.
Flyers can expect to see the view of the South China Sea and Sentosa’s Siloso Beach while in the transparent wind tunnel.
Managing director of iFly Singapore Lawrence Koh said: ‘As the public has no access to a parachute drop zone in Singapore, iFly Singapore will offer anyone from amateurs to professionals the chance to skydive in a safe, realistic and affordable indoor setting.
‘The simulator will play a key role in promoting this unique sport in Asia while attracting world-class skydivers and international skydiving events to Singapore.’
New state-of-the-art technology such as electronic coding wrist bands to recognise flyers’ profiles and real-time video and photo uploads will be incorporated into iFly Singapore.
Latest innovations in safety such as electronic sensors and biometric security locks will also be used to ensure the safety of the flyers.
Sentosa’s latest attraction is expected to draw more crowds to the island and diversify the activities available to its visitors.
‘Interactive, high energy, thrilling are buzzwords among many people of different ages now. iFly Singapore will certainly score well in Sentosa’s vibrant, sporty zone on Siloso and add a new pulse to the adventure scene on the island,’ commented Goh Lye Whatt, director of property, planning and development in Sentosa.
Posted in Sunny Singapore | No Comments »
Mrs Lee Kuan Yew suffers brain haemorrhage
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 4:02 pm -Business Times - 16 May 2008
MRS Lee Kuan Yew suffered a massive brain haemorrhage on Monday and was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after a scan at the National Neuroscience Institute, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement last night.
The statement said the haemorrhage stabilised after two days of monitoring and treatment. Mrs Lee, 87, was transferred to a general ward on Wednesday.
‘Currently, she remains in a serious condition, although she is able to recognise family members,’ the statement said.
Kelvin - I sincerely wish Mrs Lee and her family peace and comfort…
Posted in Sunny Singapore | No Comments »
4 bungalows sold for $5.5m each
Written by Kelvin on May 22, 2008 – 3:55 pm -Business Times - 15 May 2008
$22 million transaction works out to $1,128 psf of built-up area
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
AMID the current quiet residential market, some deals are still being stitched up.All four strata bungalows in a freehold cluster housing development near Eng Neo Avenue were snapped up at $5.5 million each at a preview on Friday last week by a European with a Singaporean wife.
The $22 million transaction works out to $1,128 psf of built-up area. ‘The units were bought partly for the buyers’ own use and partly for investment,’ said Jerry Tan, managing director of JTResi, the sole marketing agent for Quartet on Vanda. JTResi previewed the development over a ‘champagne supper’ at its premises on Club Street May 9 evening and the four units were sold during the course of the evening.
The bungalows, which are expected to be completed early next year, are being developed by Stanley Quek’s Region Development on a 12,300 sq ft site at Vanda Crescent off Dunearn Road. Each two-storey unit has an attic, a basement and a swimming pool. Built-up areas range from 4,844 sq ft to 4,919 sq ft.
‘The market is not as dead as people may perceive it to be. For better quality developments that are priced sensibly, there will be buyers,’ Mr Tan said.
Dr Quek is also developing a couple of conventional bungalows on the next-door plot which will come on the market soon, Mr Tan revealed. Each two-storey bungalow will have an attic and have a land area of about 5,000 sq ft.
JTResi, a seven-year-old boutique residential property consultancy, has also been quietly doing resale and leasing deals at The Grange, which received its Temporary Occupation Permit a couple of months ago. ‘About four weeks ago, we sold the penthouse at The Grange for $11 million to a Singapore PR who is from mainland China,’ Mr Tan revealed. The deal for the 4,400 sq ft duplex unit worked out to just under $2,500 psf and the seller had bought it from the developer for about $6.8 million in 2005, according to Mr Tan.
JTResi also recently brokered leasing deals in the development at a monthly rental of $15,000 for a three-bedroom apartment of 1,765 sq ft below the penthouse, and four-bedroom, pool-facing unit on a low floor at $16,000.
The Grange comprises two freehold blocks of 19 and 23 storeys.
Cushman & Wakefield last month also brokered the sale of a four-bedroom unit on the 17th floor of The Grange for $6.2 million or $2,692 psf. The buyer is a Singapore PR who is believed to have invested in other luxury apartments here.
The seller had bought the unit (in the subsale market) for $4.15 million or $1,801 psf in late 2006. ‘The vendor made a cool $2 million profit after holding the asset for 1.5 years. Due to the run-up in prices in the last 12 months, some vendors have made enough ‘paper gains’ to realise a decent profit even if they sell at today’s prices,’ said Cushman managing director Donald Han.
Mr Han estimates The Grange unit his firm sold recently might have fetched just under $3,000 psf had it changed hands last year when sentiment was stronger. ‘Generally, there’s support for prime residential properties which appeal to foreign investors and where yields are fairly attractive,’ he added.
Posted in No Specific Topic, Real Estate in Singapore | No Comments »
Planning for Hospitalisation Expenses Coverage in Singapore
Written by Kelvin on May 18, 2008 – 1:30 am -Are you concerned about the high medical costs in Singapore, where Hospitalisation & Surgical Expenses is concerned?
How do you pick the appropriate cover? Is owning a ‘Shield’ Plan sufficient? Does your Hospitalisation Plan cover on a ‘First-Dollar’ basis? Given a choice, would you like to have the choice to decide to go to a Private or Government Restructured Hospital? Again, if given a choice, would you like to be able to decide to stay in a Single-Bedder without worrying about the costs?
Do browse the attachment included and should you need more information, do call
Happy Holiday!
Posted in Medical | No Comments »
Kitchen helpers
Written by Kelvin on May 17, 2008 – 3:27 pm -Business Times - 10 May 2008
There are certain gadgets that chefs simply can’t do without in their kitchen. They rely on these high-technology aids to churn out their culinary masterpieces. BT Weekend checks out some of them
By GEOFFREY EU
WHEN Janice Wong was a student at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, she never used electrical appliances. That’s because her instructors insisted on a culinary foundation where everything had to be prepared the old-fashioned way - by hand. All that changed during training stints at top restaurants like Les Amis here and WD50 and Room 4 Dessert in New York, where she was introduced to the kind of fancy kitchen apparatus that brings tears of joy to equipment-deprived young chefs.Nowadays, Wong, 24 - who opened the 2am Dessert Bar in Holland Village about seven months ago - creates inventive desserts with a slew of kitchen gadgets. She is representative of a new breed of chef, both professional and amateur, who are taking their cue from avant-garde celebrity chefs and turning to technology (new and old) to come up with their own style of cuisine.Wong swears by her trusty Pacojet, an innocuous-looking, multi-purpose food-processing gizmo from Switzerland that is used to make smooth and creamy mousses, sorbets and ice-creams directly from deeply frozen ingredients. At a retail price of $6,000, the Pacojet doesn’t come cheap. But Wong - and increasingly, others like her - rely on it and other high-tech kitchen aids to make culinary magic.‘Once you start using these machines you’re spoiled and you don’t look back,’ says Wong, who also has in her culinary arsenal a blast freezer, a dehydrator, a vacuum packer, a variety of siphons and a smoking gun (a single or double-chamber device that is used to give a smoky aroma to food items). ‘With these machines, you can play with flavours and be adventurous, without any hassle.’
According to Heng Cheng Fatt of Ruiter Far East, which distributes the Pacojet, Microplane graters, Bamix hand-held blenders, Thermomat low-temperature ovens and a host of other items, more chefs are adapting to changes in technology. ‘When I first started doing this 20 years ago, nobody wanted a vacuum pack machine (which is necessary for sous-vide cooking, where ingredients are sealed in packets and cooked in water at low temperatures) - now, they all need one,’ says Heng.
A chef and his favourite kitchen implements are seldom parted - just ask Jimmy Chok, owner of The Academy Bistro and a popular chef-for-hire at private homes. Chok uses a variety of non-stick cookware - he favours the premium Danish brand Scanpan - at home and in the restaurant. ‘They are durable and consistent - they are very good heat conductors and distribute heat very evenly,’ says Chok. The non-stick pans have a 10-year warranty and range in price from $139 for a 20 cm frying pan to $429 for a 32 cm saute pan with a heavy-duty glass lid.
A great variety of cooking and kitchen gadgets are available here these days, so BT went shopping for some chef’s stuff - and came back with a few interesting discoveries.
Razorsharp
315 Outram Road,
#01-03 Tan Boon Liat Building.
Tel:
THE first thing any serious cook buys for themself is a chef’s knife, and many of the best blades can be found here. ‘Any craftsman takes pride in his tools, and a good one will always look for good tools - you are looking for balance and quality of steel,’ says David Lim, managing director of Razorsharp. The company carries brands like Wusthof and Kyocera, and also specialty makers from Japan such as Hattori and Kasumi, whose top-of-the-line carving knives, made from Damascus steel, cost about $2,000 for a 24 cm chef’s knife.
Ruiter Far East
Block 5, #03-14
Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2A.
Tel:
RUITER carries the popular Microplane graters, which are sold at places like CK Tang and Shermay’s Cooking School from $48 to $139. Ruiter also carries products such as the Pacojet and the $350-and-up Bamix mixer, a super-duper kitchen helper that is endorsed by the likes of Gordon Ramsay.
Smeg
APS Lifestyle Gallery,
9 Muthuraman Chetty Road,
APS Building Level 1 & 2.
Tel:
ITALIAN kitchen appliance company Smeg’s habit of working with well-known architects has resulted in products such as a slick six-hob cooker designed by Renzo Piano. Other eye-catching products include a colourful range of retro, 50s-style dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators.
Miele
167 Penang Road,
Windland House II, #B01-01.
Tel:
VISITING pastry superstar Pierre Herme held two master classes here during the recent World Gourmet Summit, where he worked with Miele’s latest in oven technology - a 90cm built-in beauty from the H5000 series that boasts a host of special features and functions. ‘Ultimately,’ says Vincent Bourdin, Valrhona’s regional pastry consultant who assisted Herme with translation duties, ‘Miele has taken the performance of professional kitchen equipment and shrunk it down into a home-size kitchen appliance.’ The 90 cm oven will be available in a couple of months.
Metadesign
42 MacTaggart Road,
#01-01 MacTaggart Building.
Tel:
IF you like your Espresso just so but are not equipped with barista-like ability, there’s always Lavazza BLUE, or Best Lavazza Ultimate Espresso, a handily compact coffee maker (designed by Pininfarina) that uses a capsule system so every cup you make is guaranteed to be consistent in quality. ‘It’s user-friendly, yet you still get premium quality coffee, ’says Roberto Albreschi, sales manager of local distributor Metadesign. Two types of capsule coffee machine are currently available, priced at $1,400 and $2,000. Each capsule costs $1.20.
Alessi store at Xtra
9 Penang Road,
#01-01, Park Mall.
Tel:
290 Orchard Road,
#04-45 Paragon Shopping Centre.
Tel:
CUTE kitchen gizmos always go down well in the gift department, and some of the cutest around can be found in the form of Alessi’s ‘Chin Family’, a salt and pepper set, egg cup and pepper grinder, among other things, designed to look like members of the same Oriental family. Equally colourful items can be found at Blue Canopy, where figures atop a dishwashing brush and cheese grater from the French company Pylones are dressed in national costumes. There’s also a kitchen timer that will keep the kids occupied when it’s not being put to culinary use.
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