Straits Times has reported today that the government will soon offer a new type of bonds in the market in the second half of the year.
Coined the Singapore Savings Bonds, being first of its kind, is different from the current SGS bonds which offers fix interest rates every year. It offers a step up interest starting with a smaller rates that rises over year. (Refer to the diagram in the newspaper article below)
Photo: Straits Times
The new bonds will be offered at a 10 years tenure linked to the long-term SGS Bonds Rate with no penalty for early redemption.
The minimum amount to invest is $500, with additional multiples of $500 up to a certain cap.
This roll out would really benefit the risk-adverse investors as it open up an alternative investment other than fixed deposits.
To sum up the features of the Singapore Saving Bonds:
Modern technology optimized our shopping experiences by letting us purchase items online. Now it is our job to maximize our hard earned money by choosing the right credit cards to shop with. Here is a list of the best credit cards available in the Singapore market…
Take it from Beyonce as girls truly run the world – virtual shopping world to be exact!
With DBS Woman’s MasterCard®, you can earn rewards points 5x if you shop anywhere online. Also, you can get S$40 worth of Qoo10 discount coupons every month or complimentary access to selected True Yoga and True Fitness Centres! Go crazy with these privileges by using the DBS Woman Mobile App. The annual fee of S$161 is waived for a year.
With over 120 free card designs to choose from, OCBC Frank Card proves to be a stylish companion to your online shopping. It gives you 6% rebates on every online purchase you make up to a cap of S$60 a month. If you exceed that, you will enjoy unlimited rebates of 0.5% on all other purchases. You can easily track your spending and rebates by going to OCBC Online.
The good news is that you can get 10% off hotel bookings by booking online through Expedia.com.sg, 10% off regular-priced items on The Travel Store, 10 off purchases on GoBuyLah.sg, and 15% off purchases on Ruedusucre.com. Also, the annual fee of only S$32 is waived for 2 years!
How does Citibank welcome its new rewards cardholders? Well, with complimentary shopping vouchers worth up to S$100 of course. Enjoy shopping vouchers from Havaianas & CommonThread, Dockers®, Headline Seoul, New Look, Max&Co., Victor York, and more. The Citibank Rewards Card allows you to earn 10x reward points when you shop online. Aside from this, gives you discounts to several online shops.
Want to know more? Here is the concise list of their current online shopping offers…
Blue Nile: 10% off on all purchases of standard jewelry products storewide.
HipVan: 15% off on the site’s items
IN GOOD COMPANY: 10% off storewide
Klareti: 7% off on regular priced items storewide
Luxola: 25-40% off depending on spending
Menlook: 10% off with minimum spend of S$150
Modajar: 10% off storewide
Rakuten: 10% off on the site’s items
Reebonz: 7% off on all purchases
ShopBack: 20% rebate on the site’s items
Victor York: 20% off storewide
ZALORA: 25% off on the site’s items
Fret not about the annual fee of S$193 because it is waived for a year.
Grocery shopping can be costly at times especially because businesses are becoming more competitive in their prices. And if you were to use a credit card, be sure to indulge on all of its rewards by paying the bill in full each cycle. That said, here are the 5 Best Credit Cards For Your Grocery Shopping in Singapore…
Do you want a card that allows rebates on your daily spending – all year round? Well then, say hello to the OCBC 365. It has rebates from grocery shopping, telecom bills, petrol, and dining. Waived for 2 years, the annual fee is S$161. Get 3% off on supermarkets islandwide, on recurring telecom bills (e.g., SingTel, StarHub, and M1), dining on weekdays, and on all your online spending (e.g., travel, movie tickets, and fashion).
Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR/Foreigner): S$80,000
ANZ Optimum World is an all around card with a touch of personalization. It gives you the decision to select your preferred category for a calendar quarter wherein you can earn 5% cash back and 1% cash back on all other spending. You can choose to have grocery, dining & leisure, travel, and shopping as your category. The best things is that there is no minimum spend and no limit on your total accumulated rebate! The annual fee is S$180, waived for a year.
As the name implies, Citibank SMRT Platinum Visa will give you good savings for your public transportation. Surprisingly, it is also good for grocery shopping. Get up to 7% savings on Fairprice, Sheng Siong, and Giant. Just pay an annual fee of S$161, waived for 2 years.
NTUC Plus! Visa will give you a whopping 10% off from all the items at FairPrice and FairPrice Online. What’s more? You can save up to 5% off at Unity, 3% off at Popular bookstore or Bata shoes, and 18% off at Esso fuel stations. All you have to do is pay an annual fee of only S$39 – waived for 2 years!
Does 10% rebate at groceries and pharmacies sound tempting? Then, UOB Delight Card is perfect for you. Enjoy up to 10% off at Cold Storage, Jason’s, Giant, Market Place, and Guardian. To qualify for this, you must have a minimum spend of S$100 a month and pay an annual fee of S$87. Buying in bulk? Get a free home delivery at selected Giant Hyper with minimum S$150 in a single receipt.
Being a “poor” undergraduate student with little income is not a problem anymore! With credit cards that have a credit limit of S$500 offering tons of rewards on shopping, dining, travel, and more…here are the four Best Credit Cards For Students in Singapore:
Live Fresh Visa card is designed especially for tertiary students who want to manage their spending comfortably while still enjoying its rewards. The DBS reward points are accumulated for every S$5 charge on your card. It can be exchange with a wide range of shopping, dining, and travel deals. It has no minimum income requirement and the annual fee of S$64.20 is waived for 5 years!
Maybank’s eVibes card is available for tertiary students or working adults aged 18 to 30. Its credit limit allows clients to spend within their means. With a S$0 annual fee and S$0 minimum annual income required, it is really an ideal credit card for every student. Although there is a quarterly service fee of S$5 but it is waived when you pay using your card once every 3 months.
Get 1% of cash rebates for everything you purchase! And, easily track your expenses online at any time.
Are you a student wanting to indulge your bountiful appetite and thirst for films? Then, Manhattan is the right card for you. Enjoy 15% off your total bill at Harry’s Bar and Restaurant or S$1 off per movie ticket plus a free popcorn combo set at the Cathay Cineplexes. What’s more? You get .25% cash back for all retail spending, 20% off from items at Nature’s Farm, and 15% off from items at Oroton. Aside from these benefits, the annual fee of S$30 is waived for the first year and there is no minimum income required.
Dreaming of having free entry to Zouk and 1-for-1 drinks at wine bar one of these days? Or how about having exclusive deals at good restaurants such as db Bistro, Shin Kushiya, and The Chop House? Dream no more students! With Citi Clear card, you will be pleased with benefits in dining, clubbing, petrol, shopping, and more.
Dining
10% Citi Rebate at Starbucks
5% Citi Rebate at Burger King
Entertainment
Free entry and 1-for-1 drinks at Zouk
10% off total bill at Wala Wala Café Bar
15% off ala carte food menu at Beer Market
Petrol
10% discount at Esso stations
Shopping
6% cash rebate at Tangs
Worry not about your qualifications because there is no minimum income required and besides the annual fee of S$29.96 is waived the first year. Best of all? Upon application, you get S$30 Havaianas or CommonThread voucher.
Take control of your financial future and join many others in the SMART Investment & International Property Expo. With over 11 years of organizing investment expo in other parts of Asia, SMART Expo has invited hundreds of industry experts in their fields to provide useful advice and motivational talks to investors.
This year, Singapore will be its first stop in Asia, followed by Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai in later parts of the year.
There are different seminars held in this 2 days event, so whether you are someone who is looking for investment opportunities or one who wants to learn more about investing, you will definitely benefit from the insights shared by these quality professionals.
Property investment
If you have been following the news, you would have been aware of a slew of currency swings that are happening in the market.
The U.S. Dollar has been appreciating ferociously against other major currencies like the Euro, GBP and AUD.
Fortunately, the Singapore Dollar has strengthen against a basket of currencies. With a stronger S$, it makes properties investing abroad attractive as it costs less in dollar terms. This has been reported in the Straits Time recently and some of the overseas properties in Malaysia, Australia and Britain are popular among Singapore’s investors.
Some economists says that the central bank will likely keep its stance of letting the Singdollar appreciate against other currencies in the April meeting, albeit at a lower pace. This could be a good opportunity to leverage on for property investors.
If you one who plans to buy a retirement property or a weekend home to retreat to across the Causeway, look forward to Mike Chau’s seminar on “Why is Landed Property the Preferred Investment Choice in Iskandar, Malaysia for 2015?” on 28 March 2015 from 13:00 to 13:45. Mike is the managing director of eBizway Research Sdn Bhd and has invested in the Iskandar since 2008.
With the decline of the Aussie dollar, parents who are planning to purchase a property in Australia for their children who wishes to study or work abroad may find it a better deal now. Christian Numa from LK Property Group will share with you some tips and hindsight on how and why you should invest in properties in Melbourne – the World’s Most Liveable City. And Omar Butt from Find My Work Space will talk about the burgeoning marketing for flexible workspaces in the city.
You should also not missed Vina Ip’s talk on “Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth Through Properties” on the second day of the seminar. Vina is a founder of Property Club Singapore, and she blogs at PropertySoul.com where she shares her property investing experience on how she grows her wealth from one to five property in 4½ years. In 2014, she published a book “No B.S. Guide to Property Investment.” and was sold out in Kinokuniya and Times bookstores within 8 weeks.
If you are already planning to invest in some properties, there is a good selection of overseas properties that you can check out during the event.
There are many other seminars conducted by senior level industry experts giving their expert advice on property investment and how to succeed in the property market. If property investment is what you are interested in, check out the seminar’s timetable here: http://www.smartexpos.com/2015/MarSG/timetable.html
Personal Finance & Investment
Who say the SMART Expo is all about talks on property investments? For keen and young investors, look forward to some of the talks from renowned traders and professionals as they show you how to detect market trends, basics of assets allocation and how to create an ideal portfolio.
Jeff Sun is a professional trader and specialises in high probability trading strategies in index futures and equities trading of Singapore and US shares. He will show you his hindsight on proper risk and money management strategy and how to turn your portfolio into profits every month using some trading principles.
With over 15 years of experience in stocks, 11 years with options and futures and 8 years in Forex and CFDs as a full time investment manager, Terrence Tan will give you an overview on how to create a profitable portfolio yourself and how to achieve financial freedom without the need of experts.
For new investors, learn how to diversify your portfolio with Calvin’s enriching talk on “How To Setup Basic Asset Allocation“. Find out how each investment vehicles can make up an ideal portfolio from the experience of a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) holder. It is also worth mentioning that Calvin has managed deal size of over US$2 billion dollars as an investment banker in New York. He is now the managing director and co-founder of DrWealth.com.
Feng Shui and Fortune Telling
If you are a believer on Feng Shui, don’t miss the talk from Grandmaster Chang Qing Yuan where he share with you some Feng Shui Tips and Forecast for the year 2015. Being an expert in the fraternity, Grandmaster Chang is known for his practice of “Finger Divination” which allows him to accurately predict current and future issues of an individual. He also boasts the likes of looking at the fortunes and Feng Shui of some of the millionaires and billionaires in China and Taiwan. Grandmaster Chang will speak in the first day of the seminar, from 12pm.
If you are heading to the Expo on the second day, there is also a Feng Shui and Astrology talk by Master Trainer Kevin Foong. Kevin Foong is the founder of Kevin Foong Consulting Group and is devoted to using the “Four Pillars of Destiny 子平八字” to provide Life Readings.
Besides Feng Shui, you can also get your fortune told by Chinese Masters on both days of the event. Get a brief consultation to find out more about your future wealth prospects, health and how the interior design of your house affects Feng Shui.
Whether you are a seasoned investor or someone who wants to gain some insights from the professionals, there are so much activities and events to look forward to.
There will also be a lucky draw conducted during the events, and you can win exciting prizes such as digital cameras, watches, vouchers and gift cards.
