Author: Charles Tan
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Malaysian economy? Always watch ‘Services’ and ‘Manufacturing’
I have written about this two or three times. It’s okay, let’s repeat one more time since this time it was announced during a Bank Negara Malaysia press conference by none other than the Bank Governor herself. She said, ‘domestic demand is anchor and driver of growth.’ Period. Without any doubt, the just announced 6%…
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Haunted Properties and Avoiding One.
Some time back, I wrote about this before. Buying HAUNTED properties? Today I read the same topic again, in propsocial.my and it has many Malaysian examples! My wife and I have never watched haunted movies together in a cinema before. I have watched a couple with my friends during secondary school days but these days I…
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200% profits in one year. POSSIBLE?
I do not invest in anything which is not regulated, no matter how high the returns may be. Truth is, if the returns are so very high, these companies do not need to get you and me. They would have gotten government’s statutory funds to invest in them. Much easier, simpler and faster and everyone…
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Property 2015 ‘slowing further’ – Moody’s.
Last year, REHDA Penang said 2015 would be a slower year where property transactions are concerned. Of course they were referring to their member’s predictions. In fact for primary properties, unless the developers are willing to re-plan and somehow roll out more affordable ones, the demand will continue to be weak. It has reached the…
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PLEASE be more lenient in development charges – REHDA Penang.
A sobering piece of news about the state of property transactions in Penang. During a press conference, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chapter chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said that 2014’s overall property transactions were 20% lower than 2013. Nevertheless any Penangite friend you have would tell you that the prices did…
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Planning and Investing for you and your family
This article first appeared in January 2015 Edition of Ivory Living. When I learnt that my wife was pregnant with our second baby, I was ecstatic! I told her that we must do the same for the new baby as per what we have given our first baby. We must plan for their future. There…
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6% growth 2014. Strong domestic demand.
Finally, the number is out and the number is a good one. 6% growth in 2014, higher than even 2013. Yes, higher growth than when Ringgit was much stronger compared to today. Yes, higher growth despite all the ‘awesome’ news reports by many analysts. Yes, higher growth despite everyone saying the economy is not doing…
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MRT Line 2 – Pandan no more, Bandar Malaysia instead.
MRT Line 2 alignment has been given conditional approval. Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT) said that it will be planning an initial tendering process by year-end. All the stations would be revealed soon, second quarter of 2015. Proposed route going into Pandan has been changed to Bandar Malaysia instead. This will complement and…
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Property 2015: Gloom, Boom and Doom
This article first appeared in the January 2015 edition of Property Hunter magazine. Many are still buying. Even more are waiting by the side. Real estate agents are complaining that servicing a buying customer needs lots of patience these days. Even my lawyer friend said that the number of transactions have really slowed down for…
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Undervalued is slow. Speculating is fast.
If we buy undervalued stocks (shares), its prices would soon reflect its business. This is a famous quote from Warren Buffet. I think he is a minority because majority of the investors cum speculators today are thinking of ‘quick money’, ‘fast money’ and when someone buys today, the thinking would be that it will go…
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Average Bonus 1.4 months. Do what with it?
In its annual survey of the employers and employees in Malaysia, JobStreet.com has revealed that the average bonus payout is 1.4 months. Of course, there are companies paying higher and there are companies paying lesser. In terms of increment, there’s a little mismatch between the expected from the employee and the planned from the employer. 54%…
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Same mortgage rates into 2016
Would you be happy if your mortgage payment(s) remain the same throughout 2015? I think I would be happy. For those on the borderline who kept shouting that they needed help, they should also be happy. In fact, I think the ones who are neutral would be those who are debt free and out all…