China central bank report raises GDP, inflation forecasts

China central bank report raises GDP, inflation forecasts
Gross domestic product expected to grow by 11.6%, inflation by 4.6%


PROPERTY BUBBLE: China has already raised lending rates five times so far this year, but these have failed to dampen demand for property, as investors continue to favour fixed assets. -- PHOTO: AP


SHANGHAI - THE People's Bank of China's research department has raised its economic growth forecast and said inflation will probably accelerate.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) may expand 11.6 per cent this year, according to the report published in the China Securities Journal, faster than the agency's June estimate for a 10.8 per cent expansion.

Inflation this year will quicken to 4.6 per cent from 1.5 per cent last year and up from the 3.2 per cent forecast previously.

The trade surplus will widen to about US$250 billion (S$373 billion) this year from US$177.5 billion last year.

The forecasts put pressure on central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan to raise lending and deposit rates for the sixth time this year to cap surging asset prices and cool the overheating economy.

The bank late on Thursday raised interest rates on some home mortgages and increased minimum down payments in an effort to cool property price gains.

The rate on loans for second homes and on commercial real estate was pushed to at least 1.1 times benchmark rates that the People's Bank of China did not specify in a statement. Buyers will have to pay not less than 40 per cent of a property's value as down payment, up from 30 per cent.

Until now, banks were barred from charging less than 90 per cent of the benchmark rates for mortgages. Interest rates on loans for first homes are unchanged.

'The central bank may need to raise key interest rates again' to cool inflation, said Mr Tao Dong, chief Asia economist at Credit Suisse Group in Hong Kong.

The government is also concerned that a surge in lending is creating a bubble that will drive up bad loans if it collapses. Investments in real estate development jumped 29 per cent in the first eight months of the year.

China raised its one-year lending rate for the fifth time this year to 7.29 per cent on Sept 14. Those increases have failed to dampen demand for property, as China's economic growth raises incomes and people favour fixed assets amid a 10-year high inflation of 6.5 per cent.

China's economy, the world's fourth largest, expanded 11.9 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than 12 years.

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China plays surge on talk of Beijing easing fund rules

China plays surge on talk of Beijing easing fund rules
Rumours swirl that China may soon let its funds invest in markets like S'pore
By Goh Eng Yeow, Markets Correspondent
SHARES of Chinese companies listed in the Republic soared on an adrenaline rush yesterday, following rife speculation that China would soon liberalise its rules to allow its funds to buy into overseas markets such as Singapore.

This caused several popular China counters such as shipbuilder Cosco and sports wear maker China Hongxin to race to record highs.

Dealers attributed the surge to a report by United States investment bank Merrill Lynch, which said an approved China fund had been given the mandate to buy the overseas-listed shares of firms that derive at least 50 per cent of their revenues in China.

'If this is true, it is something very significant, because when the same thing was allowed for Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index shot up like mad,' said a remisier.

Yesterday's buying sent the PrimePartners China Index, which tracks China companies listed on the Singapore Exchange, up by 6.4 per cent to 280.05 points.

Some individual counters registered far bigger gains. Frozen dumpling maker Synear Food rose an eye-popping 16.9 per cent to $2.07, while soybean products firm Celestial Nutrifoods gained 17.2 per cent to $1.43.
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RED-HOT INTEREST

Since last month, when China said it would allow its citizens to buy directly into the Hong Kong market, the Hang Seng Index has surged by nearly 40 per cent from its August low.

Yesterday, interest in Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong stayed red-hot, rising 2.4 per cent.

Investors are hoping for a similar run-up in Singapore, as Beijing eases restrictions on overseas investments to cool the speculative bubble in the overheated Shanghai market and relieve the upward pressure on its currency.

Such a liberalisation would also mark a big improvement of the scheme, first announced by China in May, to let its banks invest their clients' money in stocks or structured products in Hong Kong through a Qualifed Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme.

Merrill identified the fund as the 'to-be-launched Jiashi QDII fund which will focus on all overseas Chinese equities, including those listed in Singapore, the United States and other markets'. It is one of the seven fund management firms approved by the China authorities under its QDII scheme.

While it has not raised any money so far, the fund is expected to be open-ended and targeted at retail investors investing as little as 5,000 yuan (S$994).

Besides fund management firms, China had also approved 21 domestic banks under the QDII scheme to invest a total of US$16.1 billion (S$24 billion) in Hong Kong shares and structured products.

Merrill said it expects about US$4.8 billion to flow from the mainland into the Hong Kong stock market by next year. 'This would represent about 7.4 per cent of the current free float of Hong Kong-listed China stocks.'

It reckoned China fund management firms would be able to raise US$30 billion in funds by the end of next year, half of which is expected to be earmarked for investing in the Hong Kong stock market. The remainder may flow to markets including Singapore.

'We believe it is time to explore stocks in these markets, including Synear Food, Yangzijiang and Wuxi Pharma,' said Merrill.

Lack of sleep may be deadly, says study

Lack of sleep may be deadly, says study
People who sleep less than five hours are twice as likely to die of heart disease


SLEEP ON IT: People who sleep more than nine hours have a higher mortality rate. -- PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO


LONDON - People who do not get enough sleep face more than double the risk of dying of heart disease, according to a British study released on Monday.

Although the reasons are unclear, researchers said lack of sleep appeared to be linked to increased blood pressure, which is known to raise the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

A 17-year analysis of 10,000 government workers showed those who cut their sleep from seven hours a night to five or less faced a 1.7-fold increased risk of death from all causes and more than double the risk of cardiovascular death.

The findings highlight a danger in busy modern lifestyles, according to professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Warwick's medical school Francesco Cappuccio.

Speaking to the annual conference of the British Sleep Society in Cambridge, he said: 'A third of the population of the United Kingdom and over 40 per cent in the United States regularly sleep less than five hours a night, so it is not a trivial problem.

'The current pressures in society to cut out sleep, in order to squeeze in more, may not be a good idea - particularly if you go below five hours.'

Previous research has highlighted the potential health risks of shift work and disrupted sleep.

But the study by Prof Cappuccio and colleagues, which was supported by British government and US funding, is the first to link duration of sleep and mortality rates.

The study looked at sleep patterns of participants aged 35 to 55 at two points in their lives - 1985 to 1988 and 1992 to 1993 - and then tracked their mortality rates until 2004.

The results were adjusted to take account of other possible risk factors such as initial age, sex, smoking and alcohol consumption, body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol.

The correlation with cardiovascular risk in those who slept less in the 1990s than in the 1980s was clear but, curiously, there was also a higher mortality rate in people who increased their sleep to more than nine hours.

In this case, however, there was no cardiovascular link.

Prof Cappuccio said it was possible that longer sleeping could be related to other health problems such as depression or cancer-related fatigue.

'In terms of prevention, our findings indicate that consistently sleeping around seven hours per night is optimal for health,' he said.

Singapore in top five forex markets: Poll

Singapore in top five forex markets: Poll
SINGAPORE is the fifth-largest centre for foreign exchange trading, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

The average daily foreign exchange turnover in Singapore surged to US$231 billion (S$347 billion) in April, an 84 per cent jump over the same month in 2004 when the BIS survey was last taken, though it still slipped one place.

The poll of foreign exchange and over-the- counter (OTC) derivatives activities found Britain to be the leading trader, the United States second, Switzerland third and Japan fourth.

The survey, which is held every three years, ranked Singapore as the eighth-largest centre in terms of OTC derivatives trading. This is up from 12th place in 2004. Britain led with 42.5 per cent of global sales in OTC derivatives. The US trailed with 23.8 per cent, while Japan and Singapore were the only non-European nations to record sizeable trading in such derivatives.

Mr Ong Chong Tee, deputy managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said the findings affirm Singapore's continued strong growth as a key foreign exchange centre.

'A number of financial institutions have chosen Singapore as their Asian foreign exchange trading hub, and several have been expanding their operations here,' he said.

Best city in Asia to meet? It's still S'pore

Best city in Asia to meet? It's still S'pore
Globally, Republic up to 3rd spot after Paris and Vienna for Mice events, says think-tank
By Lim Wei Chean
SINGAPORE remains Asia's top city when it comes to hosting business meetings and major events.

It also climbed up one rung in the world ladder to third place - behind the likes of first-placed Paris, and Vienna.

This is according to an international report produced by a think-tank in Belgium - which ranked the cities by the number of big events they managed to attract last year.

The report by non-governmental organisation Union of International Association is closely watched by tourism officials around the world, as it is one of the few global indicators as to who is getting the largest piece of the lucrative international meetings pie.

The report also showed that Singapore's share of the meetings business doubled over the last five years.

From doctors gathering to hear about the latest medical innovations to grey-haired retirees travelling to understand more about the art of baking, these are all part of the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions business, also known as the Mice industry.

In Singapore, it is already a multibillion-dollar business: Last year, the Republic had close to three million Mice tourists, and they spent about $4 billion here.

According to the international rankings, Paris ranked at the top of the charts while Singapore pipped Brussels to third spot.

Industry players here say that last year's International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, which brought in 16,000 delegates, played a big role in improving the Republic's stature in the world Mice game.

For the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the latest ranking was the icing on the cake for an already spectacular year for the Mice segment.

According to STB's assistant chief executive for business travel and the Mice group, Mr Aloysius Arlando, this is a strong signal that the 'buoyant outlook' for the industry was set to continue.

And the bookings look promising. For instance, Suntec Singapore - which hosted the IMF meetings - had a total of 1,176 events last year, of which 83 were international ones. Going forward, it expects to host more than 1,300 events this year, of which 107 are international ones.

Its chief operating officer Pieter Idenburg said Singapore is now 'bearing the fruits' of the marketing strategies it embarked upon a few years ago.

STB has stated publicly that the aim is for the Mice segment to bring in $10.5 billion in tourist dollars by 2015.

6 in 10 S'poreans bored with their sex lives: Survey

6 in 10 S'poreans bored with their sex lives: Survey
Findings of the latest Durex Sexual Wellbeing survey put couples here behind their counterparts in China, Malaysia and Thailand


RARING TO GO: Singaporeans say that romance and better communication would help them jump into bed. -- ST FILE PHOTO


MORE than half of Singaporeans yawn between the sheets - not because they are sleepy but because they are bored with their bedroom romps.

This is the finding of the latest Durex Sexual Wellbeing survey, which indicated that only 42 per cent of 1,000 Singaporean respondents - either single or married and aged between 20 and 65 - consider their sex lives exciting.

This puts them behind their counterparts in China, Malaysia and Thailand where, respectively, 64 per cent, 62 per cent and 43 per cent of the respondents report satisfactory sex lives.

The annual survey was conducted in August and September last year in 26 countries from France to Japan.

More than 26,000 people were questioned on health, general well-being, education, beliefs, sex and relationships and social circumstances.

Durex, owned by healthcare company SSL International, is the world's leading condom maker, accounting for 26 per cent of the global US$416 million (S$624 million) market.
Durex findings
Sexually active Singaporeans aged 20 to 65, either single or married, who:

Feel their sex lives lack excitement: 58 per cent
... more

The results, released yesterday, did reveal one area in which Singaporeans scored highest in the world.

Almost nine out of 10 Singaporeans, compared to eight out of 10 globally, have masturbated at some time. Four in 10 do it once a week.

Two-thirds of Singaporeans have sex at least once a week, but 63 per cent of those think that is not often enough.

But less-than-thrilled Singaporeans are not taking things lying down.

Asked to list things that would improve their sex lives, they mentioned more romance and better communication with partners.

For the record, the folks in Greece are the most eager to jump into bed - 87 per cent of them have sex at least once weekly.

Nigerians are happiest with their sex lives, with 78 per cent of them reporting that it is exciting.

The Japanese are the most miserable with just 10 per cent reporting the same.

Best way to give back? Create jobs, says billionaire

Best way to give back? Create jobs, says billionaire
Kenneth Fisher has also willed 80% of his estate to Johns Hopkins for medical research, rather than set up a trust
By Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent


-- ST PHOTO: SHAHRIYA YAHAYA


HE HAD racked up a personal fortune of US$10 million (S$14.96 million) by the time he was 38, so it is no exaggeration to say that Kenneth Fisher knows a thing or two about making money.

The 56-year-old founder and chief executive of money management firm Fisher Investments has used those skills to build a huge business and propel himself into the ranks of America's super-rich.

Last week, he was ranked 271 on the Forbes 400 list of America's richest, with a net worth of US$1.8 billion.

Not bad for someone who had set his sights on a career in forestry - about as far removed from the jungle of high finance as you can get.

Although his father Philip Fisher owned an investment advisory firm, Mr Fisher did not initially aspire to follow in dad's footsteps.

He wanted to pursue his love for the woods and studied forestry at California's Humboldt State University. As fate would have it, a summer job in the forestry services industry changed his mind about his intended career path.
Coming out of the woods
Who he is

Mr Kenneth Fisher, the founder and chief executive of money management firm Fisher Investments, had originally set his sights on a career in forestry.
... more

'I like the forest but it's a poor career, and I would never work for the government because it is too stifling,' said Mr Fisher, who was in Singapore earlier this month for the Forbes Global CEO Conference.

He graduated in 1972 with a degree in economics and worked for his father's company before starting his own, California-based Fisher Investments, in 1979. The company now manages US$42 billion for private clients and institutions.

Mr Fisher has also written four investing books: Super Stocks, The Wall Street Waltz, 100 Minds That Made The Market and The Only Three Questions That Count. The fourth book touches on investor behaviour, and challenges investors to debunk conventional market myths and to 'invest by knowing what others don't'.

'It's what they know that others don't know that forms the basis for what they should do and the bets they take,' he said.

For passive investors who do not want to spend time or energy learning the ins and outs of bonds and stocks, he advises putting money into index funds.

'If you don't want to learn how to beat the market, own it,' he said.

'Put about 45 per cent in the S&P 400 Index (which covers the United States market), another 45 per cent in the MSCI EAFE Index (which covers 20 non-US developed countries) and 10 per cent in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.'

Mr Fisher lives in Woodside, California, with his wife, Sherrilyn, 56. They have three grown sons.


Q How old were you when you started your own company?

A I was 23, too young to know I was too young to do it, so I could do it. If I had known I was too young, I wouldn't have done it. If you think you can't do it, you can't.

In the beginning, I sold research and research services to investment companies in the San Francisco area. My company was just me, and I was contracted to compile literature on a specific subject and sometimes provide financial analysis.

Internet didn't exist then and, in those days, investment companies wanted everything on a certain subject researched and summarised from information gathered from good business libraries.

Over time, I moved towards selling ideas about stocks, and people paid a quarterly retainer for ideas I came up with. In the mid-1970s, I started managing people's money and decided that was what I wanted to do.


Q What do you do with your wealth? Do you believe in giving back to society?

A Most philanthropy is water down the drain... Philanthropy is good, but I don't believe in it unless you know how to do it well.

In my lifetime, I believe it's better to keep the money in the company, and to grow and provide employment opportunities. Fisher employs 1,000 staff.

I don't believe in setting up family trusts or foundations because my sons or grandchildren might have ideals different from mine.

What I've done is to will 80 per cent of my estate to Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, where they can figure out how to use my money for good medical research. In a sense, I really work for Johns Hopkins. That makes it easy for me and I don't have to worry about people sucking up to my grandkids, as I would have if I had set up a foundation.


Q What financial planning have you done for yourself?

A None. I took a chance on building my business, which has paid off, and hence financial planning becomes superfluous. The only thing that really matters is running the company well and estate planning.


Q What's your investment philosophy?

A Global, opportunistic, top-down, thematic, sector and country rotation.


Q Any other investments?

A I own a lot of real estate - 300,000 sq ft of office space - that my company uses. For tax and estate planning purposes, I own it and lease the office space to the company. Forbes' valuation of my office space, which is mostly in California, is US$100 million. The remaining properties are in Washington, London and outside Frankfurt in Germany.


Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

A My family wasn't wealthy when I was young. But by the time I grew up, my father had become wealthy from running his investment business.

I was very frugal, a saver. I did yard work, washed dishes, made deliveries, and saved the income. In college, I did demolition and construction work, and saved the money. My father and mother were both pretty frugal, and that rubbed off on me.


Q How did you get interested in investing and become a money manager?

A My father was in the investment business and when I left college with a degree in economics, before going to graduate school, he said I could come work for him, try it, and if I didn't like it, go back to graduate school.

I worked for him for a year only, because I concluded it wasn't good to work in a father-son mode. But I did like the investing business and went out on my own immediately.


Q Tips to retail investors?

A Be sceptical, question everything, assume most conventional wisdom is mythology and false, and read my new New York Times bestseller, The Only Three Questions That Count. It teaches you to think about investing like a science.


Q What has been a bad investment?

A The first stock I ever bought was in a Florida real estate developer named Killearn Properties in 1971. I was 21 years old. It went from US$10 to 25 US cents in about 18 months, and I had no clue the whole time. I put about US$10,000 in and basically lost it all. Great way to start out because if you like it when you lose, then you will always like it, even when you win!

Then, in 1984, I bought about 3 per cent of a company called Charter Co for my clients, which also went bankrupt and I lost it all. I joined the equity committee for the bankruptcy proceedings just to learn from the inside out what had happened so I'd never make that mistake again. It is actually pretty easy to volunteer for bankruptcy committees, for anyone, and it is a great learning experience.


Q Your best investment to date?

A Rather obviously, it was the creation of my company, which I bootstrapped from sweat equity (slave labour, with me as the company's slave). It effectively had a zero cost basis and made me, according to the Forbes 400 and Forbes Global Billionaire lists, one of the world's wealthiest people.

In terms of a single stock, the best investment was buying into American steelmaker Nucor in 1976. The stock went up more than 100-fold. I led in a client group that bought 1 per cent of the company. It was so long ago, I don't remember the dollars.


Q What are your thoughts on sub-prime mortgage woes?

A They're small in scale and measurably not spreading into a problem. I expect to see the resumption of a bull market by Halloween.


Q And your home now is...?

A A 2,000 sq ft apartment over my company's headquarters. I can get to work in about two minutes.


Q And your car is...

A A red Volvo four-door sedan.

Why men prefer younger women

Why men prefer younger women
It's the drive for more offspring, which also leads women to older men, says researchers
PARIS - TO HAVE the most children, men should find a partner six years younger, and women, a mate four years older, Austrian researchers have said.
The researchers have used evolution to explain why men often prefer younger women and what typically drives women's desire for older men.

Evolutionary pressure - the drive to have more children, in short - is what causes the typical age gap among couples, says the study, which appears in the British journal Biology Letters.

Written by Mr Martin Fieder, an anthropologist at the University of Vienna, and Ms Susanne Huber, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the study explored the theory that men go for younger, sexually attractive women in order to boost their chances of reproductive success, while women prefer older, successful men to provide the resources and security that increase their offspring's chance of survival.

The study was the first to quantify the age difference that results in the most children, said Mr Fieder. 'Nobody has shown before that this has consequences for the number of offspring,' he said. 'We have shown for the first time this is the case.'

The investigators trawled through a Swedish population database, covering 11,500 men and women born between 1945 and 1955, to see the age at which they became parents.

They found that relationships in which the man was four to six years older than the woman produced the most children - an average of 2.2.

When they picked partners of the same age, couples had an average of 2.1 children. The difference is significant in evolutionary terms that accumulates over time, Mr Fieder said.

The findings are the result of a statistical analysis and do not mean that every man can find a woman six years younger and that every woman would find a man four years older.

When the researchers examined couples who split up and mated again, they found that each opted for partners who were younger than the first.

That was especially so for older men, who went for women who were much younger. Women looking for a new mate generally chose a male who was slightly older than herself.

The finding regarding men was expected but that women also traded in for a younger partner was surprising, said Mr Fieder.

He suggested that because women are older when finding a second partner, they look for a younger, more fertile man.

'The age preference for the partner increases individual (reproductive) fitness of both men and women,' say the authors, who speculate that this trait has been acquired through millennia of evolution.

Beijing appoints new chiefs

Beijing appoints new chiefs
Changes set tone for President Hu to consolidate power ahead of party's 17th congress
By Clarissa Oon, CHINA CORRESPONDENT
BEIJING - CHINA'S Communist Party has appointed an associate of President Hu Jintao as deputy party chief of northern Shanxi province in a series of personnel changes ahead of a major leadership reshuffle next month.
It also appointed new chiefs for the northern province of Hebei, the tax administration bureau and the official Xinhua news agency.

Mr Meng Xuenong, 58, was appointed the Communist Party deputy secretary of Shanxi on Thursday, weeks before the party's 17th congress on Oct 15.

During the congress, President Hu is expected to further consolidate power by promoting allies to key positions.

The move marks a political comeback for Mr Meng, a former mayor of Beijing, who had worked with Mr Hu in his power base - the Communist Youth League.

Mr Meng was sacked as Beijing mayor at the height of the Sars crisis in 2003.

He now replaces outgoing Shanxi deputy secretary Yu Youjun, 54, and will eventually also take over Mr Yu's position as governor, said the pro-Beijing Hong Kong daily Wen Wei Po.

Mr Yu is slated to move to an unidentified position in the central government, state media reported yesterday.

Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper also cited unnamed official sources as saying that Mr Yu, who holds a doctorate in philosophy, will be appointed the new Culture Minister.

In other personnel movements, the head of the national defence technology commission, Mr Zhang Yunchuan, 61, yesterday replaced Mr Bai Keming, 63, as Hebei party chief.

On Thursday, vice-governor of central Hunan province and a former senior treasury official, Mr Xiao Jie, 50, was promoted to the position of director of the State Administration of Taxation. Mr Xiao replaces Mr Xie Xuren, 60.

Mr Xie was installed as Finance Minister following the abrupt resignation of Mr Jin Renqing earlier this week. Hong Kong media has speculated that Mr Jin was removed for his involvement in a sex scandal.

The personnel reshuffles have also affected state news agency Xinhua, which has announced the appointment of a new editor-in -chief. Mr He Ping, 50, was promoted from his post as vice-president of the agency on Thursday. He replaces Mr Nan Zhenzhong, who has reached retirement age.

Of the latest round of appointments, it is the handover of the No. 2 leadership position in coal-rich Shanxi province that has drawn the most attention.

Shanxi was rocked recently by a massive slave labour scandal, which prompted some observers to speculate that heads might roll as a result of an investigation.

Police have rescued more than 1,300 victims - including teenagers and the mentally handicapped - all forced to work at brick kilns for no pay and under appalling conditions.

Shanxi's new deputy secretary, Mr Meng, is no stranger to controversy. His removal as Beijing mayor in 2003 was one of several sackings over the poor handling of the Sars outbreak, which officials had initially tried to cover up.

After his mayoral stint, Mr Meng was appointed deputy head of a multi-billion dollar project to divert water from China's flood-prone south to its parched north, Reuters reported yesterday.

'When I look at my backside, I find it is divided into two parts'

'When I look at my backside, I find it is divided into two parts'
CANBERRA - IN THE world of international diplomacy, the best-chosen words or phrases can leave an audience laughing, bewildered or simply lost in translation, an insider has revealed.
Undiplomatic Activities, a yet-to-be-launched book by Mr Richard Woolcott, who ran Australia's foreign service for four years, points to the pitfalls of translating thoughts into different languages.

Take the Australian diplomat in France who tried to tell his audience that as he looked back on his career, it was divided in two parts, with dull postings before life in Paris.

'When I look at my backside, I find it is divided into two parts,' Mr Woolcott quoted the diplomat as telling his highly amused audience.

Ex-Australian prime minister Bob Hawke left his Japanese audience bewildered when he used the Australian colloquial phrase 'I am not here to play funny buggers' to dismiss a trivial and pesky question from lawmakers.

The Japanese interpreters 'went into a huddle to consult on the best way to render 'funny buggers' into Japanese', he wrote.

Their translation: 'I am not here to play laughing homosexuals with you.'

Australia's Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd is regarded as a master of Mandarin. But his language skills were far from perfect when, as a diplomat in 1984, he interpreted his ambassador's speech on the close relationship Australia and China enjoyed.

'Australia and China are enjoying simultaneous orgasms in their relationship,' he apparently told the audience in Mandarin.

Mr Woolcott said the best interpretations sometimes involved no translation at all, like what happened when an Asian minister told a long joke at a banquet in Seoul.

'The Korean interpreter was lost, but did not show it. He uttered a few sentences and the audience laughed and applauded,' he wrote.

After being complimented on his translation skills, the interpreter confessed: 'Frankly, minister, I did not understand your joke, so I said in Korean that the minister has told his obligatory joke, would you all please laugh heartily and applaud.'

Diana's faithful pay tribute on anniversary

Diana's faithful pay tribute on anniversary
10 years after her death, the princess is still an object of fascination


LOYAL FAN: Mr Terry Hutt, 72, from Cambridge, visits Kensington Palace every year on Princess Diana's death anniversary. -- PHOTO: AP

LONDON - MOURNERS gathered in London and Paris yesterday to remember the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, still revered by many around the world as well as remaining an enduring object of fascination at home.
Flowers, photographs and messages were attached to the gates of Kensington Palace, her London residence, overnight, although in far fewer numbers than a decade ago, when a vast outpouring of grief stunned the nation almost as much as her death.

In Paris, where she died in a high-speed car crash alongside her lover Dodi Al-Fayed, a number of mourners gathered and left flowers at the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where the fatal incident occurred.

A memorial service, attended by Queen Elizabeth, Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles, her two sons Princes William and Harry, as well as other royals and celebrities, including pop star Elton John, took place at midday at a chapel near Buckingham Palace.

'To lose a parent so suddenly at such a young age, as others have experienced, is indescribably shocking and sad. It was an event which changed our lives forever, as it must have done for everyone who lost someone that night,' said Prince Harry, who was 12 when Diana died.

'But what is far more important to us now and into the future is that we remember our mother as she would wish to be remembered, as she was: fun-loving, generous, down to earth and entirely genuine,' he added at the memorial service.

Prince Charles' second wife, Camilla, with whom he had an affair while still married to Diana and whom the princess referred to as 'The Rottweiler', declined to attend the service to avoid controversy, although she was invited.

Egyptian millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, father of Dodi, led two minutes of silence yesterday for the couple at his Harrods department store in London.

Mr Fayed, who believes the couple were killed in a British establishment plot, was not invited to the royal memorial service.

Diana, who was 36 when she died in the early hours of Aug 31, 1997, is still remembered as the 'People's Princess' in Britain and elsewhere, and revered by millions of people who never met her.

She was once the most-photographed woman in the world.

Ten years after her death, Diana remains the subject of constant discussion and debate, as well as controversy and speculation, especially over what might have happened had she lived and how exactly she came to die.

An official inquest into the deaths will begin on Oct 2, once again propelling Diana back into the headlines.

In a sign that perhaps, with hindsight, Britons feel that they may have overdone the grieving, a survey conducted by Sky News showed that 55 per cent of people thought the mourning had been excessive.

Helping ex-inmates turn their lives around

Helping ex-inmates turn their lives around
Meal and transport allowances, counselling, job searches are all part of SACA's support services
By Jessica Jaganathan


BACK ON TRACK: Thanks to a grant from the Lee Foundation Education Assistance Scheme managed by SACA, ex-convict Eugene is now doing a full-time diploma course in Sports and Leisure Management at Republic Polytechnic after passing his O levels last year. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM

A PICTURE-PERFECT moment of a family celebrating the first-month birthday of a baby girl was shattered seven years ago when police officers came to take her father away to prison.
Eugene (not his real name) had a difficult past. He was just 14 years old when he was sent to a boys' home after getting involved in gang fights. After that, it was a kaleidoscope of secret society meetings, and eventually a two-year stint in prison for illegal moneylending in 1997.

An attempt to turn his life around failed in 2000 when the 34-year-old, who was working as a salesman, succumbed to greed and stole $10,000 from the company he was working with.

It was then that he was arrested and forced to leave his baby daughter.

'Leaving my daughter behind and not being able to see her growing up was the worst thing that happened to me,' said the man whose past is mirrored in the tattoos blanketing his body.

He finally got his life back on track after passing his O-level exams last year, and getting a place in Republic Polytechnic's diploma in Sports and Leisure Management course. This was made possible through a grant he received from the Lee Foundation Education Assistance Scheme (LFEAS), managed by the Singapore After-Care Association (SACA).

Charity facts
Name: Singapore After-Care Association

What it does/who it helps: Prisoners, ex-offenders and their family members
... more
Established in 1956, SACA is a voluntary welfare organisation that aims to reintegrate former offenders into society.

One way it does this is by providing financial support through meal and transport allowances to tide the former convicts over until they find a job. With 16 paid staff and about 200 volunteers, SACA serves as an after-care support agency for inmates by providing counselling up to six months after their release.

Former drug addict Malik (not his real name) spent more than five years in prison for drug trafficking charges.

'So many changes had taken place in Singapore during the time I was inside. I was feeling so lost when I came out. That's when my case worker really helped me,' he said.

Tapping into Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises' (Score) database of about 1,000 employers, SACA helps former prisoners find jobs as well as obtain education grants from LFEAS.

Last year, out of 11,000 prisoners released from jail, the organisation helped about 2,000. Dealing with clients whose ages range from 16 to over 70, it works closely with the Prisons Department to identify those who need more help than others.

'The ones targeted are the ones deemed to be in greater need or of higher risk,' said Mr Prem Kumar, director of SACA.

Funded by the Prisons Department, National Council of Social Service and Score, the biggest challenge SACA faces is to get the community to embrace former offenders.

Said Mr Kumar: 'The ex-offender has to take the first step, but the second step needs to be taken by the community.'

Even with rehabilitative efforts, one in five of SACA's clients returns to jail. But these numbers are still 10 per cent lower than those who do not receive any help, stressed Mr Kumar.

To reduce these numbers, he expanded the Lee education grant programme in April this year to include focus groups and workshops for those studying. Activities like bowling, movie screenings and community service are also organised to bring these former prisoners together.

Five months after his release from prison in March, Eugene still calls up SACA's counsellors whenever he needs a listening ear, or even if he has problems following schoolwork. He is now spending all the time he gets after classes with his daughter, catching up on lost time.

22 years' jail for robbing and raping two prostitutes

22 years' jail for robbing and raping two prostitutes
Judge calls man's crime 'abominable', also orders maximum 24 strokes of cane
By Selina Lum


STIFF PUNISHMENT: Mohamed Fadzli Abdul Rahim, 28, wept when he received his sentence yesterday.

FACING the prospect of 22 years behind bars and the maximum 24 lashes of the cane, Mohamed Fadzli Abdul Rahim, 28, wept.
The tears came from the man who, with his gang, picked up two prostitutes and robbed them, beat them savagely and then raped them before leaving them bruised, battered and naked or near-naked in lonely places.

Between April and August last year, the former flight supervisor and five others prowled Geylang in search of victims among the 'working girls' in the area.

In sentencing Fadzli, Justice Tay Yong Kwang noted that commercial sex workers were 'no less human beings than you and me' who were also entitled to protection under the law.

'Targeting them in the fashion shown in this case, knowing their vulnerability, is really quite abominable,' said Justice Tay.

The gang not only inflicted indignities and injuries on the two women, he said, but also abandoned them in dark and unfamiliar places. One victim was left naked, the other, clad only in her panties.

On April 1 last year, Fadzli and an accomplice picked up a 27-year-old China prostitute and drove to Geylang Drive, where three others were waiting. She was beaten and robbed by the gang, then raped by Fadzli.

On Aug 12, Fadzli and two others picked up a 36-year-old prostitute from China before robbing, raping and then dumping her along Jalan Sam Kongsi in Tampines.

Fadzli, arrested 12 days later, pleaded guilty last week to one count of gang robbery and two counts of aggravated rape. Two other counts of robbery and one of unnatural sex were taken into consideration.

Pressing for a deterrent sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Shahla Iqbal pointed to the 'cunning' manner in which Fadzli and his gang planned their attacks, as well as the brutality of the attacks.

Fadzli, she argued, was the oldest and the one person in the group who assaulted the women not only physically, but also sexually.

Mr Sunil Sudheesan, Fadzli's lawyer, said his client was very sorry for what he had done and had paid the women $1,000 each as compensation.

He added that his client had a minor role in the assault, and that the other gang members were the ones who orchestrated the robberies.

Of the three teens convicted of robbery, two aged 17 and 18 were sent for reformative training. The third was given probation.

Fadzli's cousin, Mohamad Norhazri Mohd Fauzi, 21, allegedly the gang's driver, has yet to stand trial for robbery and abetting the rapes.

The sixth accomplice is still at large.

Record 951,000 visitors in July and longer stays

Record 951,000 visitors in July and longer stays
$168.3m in hotel room revenue, up by 27.5% over last July; record arrivals from US, Australia and Vietnam
By Lin Xinyi & Leonard Lim


Snapshots of a bumper season
ST PHOTO: ALAN LIM, ST GRAPHICS: VINCENT LEOW AND BONG FORTIN, SOURCE: SINGAPORE TOURISM BORAD

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JULY was the best ever month for Singapore tourism.
Four records were set:


951,000 visitors - the most in a month, beating the previous high of last July by four per cent.

They stayed longer too - 3.6 million days in all, 11 per cent more than last July's record.

Travellers from the United States, Australia and Vietnam set records of their own for arrivals from the three countries.

Plus $168.3 million in hotel room revenue - 27.5 per cent over last July.
VIDEO

Ready, set...F1!
(3:03)
Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang is confident that the industry will continue to grow.

'The tourism sector has been riding a new wave in the last few years,' he said during the ground-breaking of the Pit Building for next year's Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

With 5,883,000 tourists visiting Singapore shores in seven months, the industry is well on its way to its '10.2 million visitors' target for the year which, if fulfilled, will be another record.

July has traditionally been a strong month for tourism, said National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) chief executive Robert Khoo.

Australian tourists head here during their winter season while Americans and Europeans arrive on summer holiday.

Another lure: the Great Singapore Sale.

Visitors from Down Under made a strong showing in July, with their 76,000 visitors making them Singapore's third largest group of tourists, after Indonesians (192,000) and Chinese nationals (109,000).

Natas' chairman of the inbound committee Allen Tsang noted that several business events added to visitor numbers.

In July, the likes of Herbalife Asia Pacific Extravaganza 2007, the World Glaucoma Congress 2007 and the 18th Wonca World Conference on Family Medicine were held in Singapore.

Such business events drew close to 25,000 visitors and contributed at least $40 million in tourism receipts.

Whether tourist or business traveller, it did not matter for hotels here.

A spokesman for the Grand Copthorne Waterfront said: 'The back to back conventions in July contributed to the increase of revenue.

'We had to turn more than 3,100 room nights away. We also had to stop taking reservations as early as one month before the peak period.'

Hotel cashiers were working overtime, going by the latest Singapore Tourism Board numbers. Nine in 10 hotel rooms were booked up and average room rates hit $185 per night - a record for the month of July.

Just two years ago, room rates were averaging $136.

It was also a bumper month for Changi Airport. In July, 3.16 million passengers passed through Changi's aerobridges, the highest ever in a single month this year and 3.5 per cent more compared to the same month last year.

While hoteliers and retailers enjoyed the boom, travel agents have raised the alarm about Singapore literally running out of rooms. Natas' Mr Tsang said the pace at which new hotels are being opened is not keeping up with the growth in visitor arrivals.

And more tourists are expected with Changi Airport's Terminal 3 opening its doors in January, especially given new attractions next year like the Formula 1 and the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel in the Marina Bay area.

The F1 alone is anticipated to bring in 80,000 tourists.

Weighing in on the issue yesterday, Minister Lim said: 'We recognise that our demand is greater than supply. We have not been building sufficient hotel rooms during the difficult years from 1998 to 2003 partly because hotel rates were low and hotel developers and investors did not see the yield and the returns to hotel investments.'

In fact, Singapore will need to double the number of rooms here given that it had 'practically doubled visitor arrivals', he added.

There are 36,000 rooms here now and Mr Khoo estimates that 5,000 more rooms will be available by 2010, with the integrated resorts contributing half of the total.

The industry is also exploring novel accommodation ideas such as floating hotels, homestays and converting existing buildings to hotels to ease the tight room supply.

Mr Lim said that the Government is releasing many sites to put up new hotels and the ball is now in the developers' court.

Since August last year, contracts for nine hotel sites, which should yield about 3,100 rooms, have been awarded. Another 10 sites are available, with eight on the reserve list.

He said: 'They know hotel rates have gone up and will continue to go up at a measured pace.

'We hope they will tender sensibly for the land price and be in the position to build the supply that we need.'

Woman's forex gains turn to woes

Woman's forex gains turn to woes
A FINANCIALLY savvy Tokyo housewife who made 400 million yen (S$5.3 million) trading in foreign exchange markets was fined last Friday for evading tax, a court official said.
Yukiko Ikebe, 60, got a suspended jail sentence and was fined 34 million yen after she used relatives' names to make her gains look smaller and avoid paying tax, public broadcaster NHK said.

'She felt it was unfair to have to pay tax on her gains, when she made losses some years,' NHK quoted the judge as saying. 'She spent the money on kimonos and jewellery.'

Forex trading has become more popular in recent years in Japan, where low interest rates have led retail investors to seek new sources of profit.

REUTERS

Lessons from toilets, transport in Hong Kong

Lessons from toilets, transport in Hong Kong
ON A recent three-week trip to Hong Kong, I noticed many changes there compared to my last trip six years ago.
For one thing, I was impressed by the cleanliness of the toilets in the airport, shopping centres, hotels and restaurants. Most now have automatic, hands-free taps, flush and soap dispensing systems. This is very hygenic as it greatly minimises contact and spread of germs. In addition, hand dryers-cum- hand towels are available in most toilets.

What impressed me most was that most restaurants (fast-food chains like McDonald's included) provide wet tissues for every patron.

To reduce traffic congestion in Singapore, there may be other ways besides increasing the number of ERP gantries. This is one area where we can learn from Hong Kong's efficient MTR system.

It has many stops, and each one comes with many sheltered underground exits (some stations have as many as 10). This makes it very convenient for commuters to reach their destination, rain or shine. Indeed, one need not walk far to reach an MTR stop.

Besides, waiting time for trains is about three minutes, even during off-peak hours.

I travelled in Hong Kong widely during my stay and I realised there are few private cars on the roads compared to Singapore. I mainly saw buses, taxis and trams. The MTR is the most popular choice of transport.

I am not downplaying the strengths of our MRT. In fact, when I was in Hong Kong, I missed the convenience of toilets at every MRT stop. Hong Kong's MTR does not have toilets and the stations have wide platform gaps. But if we can incorporate the merits of others in our own system, we can really be on our way to reaching our goal of having a world-class transport system.


Elizabeth Ng Boon Kwan (Mrs)



I am not downplaying the strengths of our MRT. But if we can incorporate the merits of others in our own system, we can really be on our way to reaching our goal of having a world-class transport system.

Temasek not keen on LSE stake: Source

Temasek not keen on LSE stake: Source
A BRITISH newspaper has reported that Temasek Holdings has approached Nasdaq to buy its 30 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The report in London's The Sunday Times yesterday was based on unnamed sources.

It claimed that Temasek had made the approach in recent days and the deal could lead to a 'full takeover' of the LSE by Temasek.

But well-placed industry sources told The Straits Times that the speculation was unfounded. Contacted last night, a Temasek spokesman would say only that it does not comment on market speculation.

Last Monday, Nasdaq Stock Market said it might sell its stake in the LSE worth £800 million (S$2.44 billion), to bolster its chances of buying Nordic exchange operator OMX and that it was already in touch with interested parties.

Nasdaq said later that it would not sell its LSE stake to a single buyer.

What's in a condo name? More than you can imagine

What's in a condo name? More than you can imagine
Faced with an increasingly strict set of naming rules, developers are forced to get creative with foreign terms, coined-up words
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter


THE NAME GAME: 'If you look at a name, you can tell which era the development was built in. Anything with 'garden' or 'view' is likely to be in the 1980s. If it's 'vale', probably the 1990s, and if it starts with 'The', it's after 2000.' -- Ms Diana Kulik of Sim Lian Land, on how to tell a condo's age from its name.

IF PROPERTY developer Lippo Group had its way, the condominium it is building in Kim Seng Road would be called Trinity rather than Trillium.
But the group's original application for 'Trinity Towers' was deemed too 'religious' by the authorities, revealed Lippo's executive director Thio Gim Hock.

'It was rejected because it had religious connotations. They even said not to bother to appeal,' he said. The three-tower project was renamed Trillium, after the name of a three-petal flower.

Now, as Lippo and other developers gear up to launch a slew of new condos, they are cracking their heads over what to name them. It may seem like a small problem, but unexpected rejections such as the one Lippo received can make the task surprisingly knotty.

Indeed, the name game is so important that Mr Simon Cheong, head of luxury developer SC Global, personally names each of his projects - from the iconic The Boulevard Residence to the latest Marq on Paterson Hill.

Larger developers, such as Frasers Centrepoint and City Developments (CDL), pick names from proposals that sometimes number in the hundreds.

At CDL, the final say for condo names lies with executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng. But suggestions are pooled from all sources, including an occasional staff competition. Even Mrs Kwek reportedly put in her two cents' worth for CDL's latest project, Cliveden at Grange.

The main reason naming a condo is not as easy as just calling it The ABC lies in a surprisingly strict set of rules for building and estate names, outlined by the Street and Building Names Board (SBNB).

For instance, condo names, according to a fairly recent rule change by SBNB, must not end with 'park' - in case the project is mistaken for an actual park.

But more than 100 condos already have that word in their names, including older estates Bedok Park and Clementi Park. To get around the rule, developers have recently taken to using the French word 'parc' instead and putting it in front of the name, such as in Parc Emily.

SBNB also advises against using 'place' and 'link' because the terms are also used for road names. 'Tower' can be used only for buildings of at least 30 storeys, and 'villa' only for landed houses. And 'city' - such as in the 910-unit City Square Residences or the 600-unit Citylights - is applicable only for developments 'on a grand scale', says SBNB.

With more and more words struck out over the years, it is no wonder many developers now find it easier to come up with a whole new one.

This has led to the latest rage in condo-naming: coined words, such as in The Lumos in Leonie Hill and The Marq.

'It's partly because developers are running out of names, and partly because of the new guidelines on naming projects,' said Ms Diana Kuik, executive director of Sim Lian Land. 'It is now a very 'in' thing to do as it gives the project a modern feel.'

Sim Lian's Viz at Holland is a good example. 'The condo is near Holland Village, and there's a lot of buzz and activity in the area,' said Ms Kuik.

'So we combined 'village' and 'buzz' to get 'Viz'. It's short, easy to remember, and hip-sounding.'

But newly coined names are only one of the current trends in a market where condo names appear to come and go in waves of fashion.

In fact, Ms Kuik said it is often possible to distinguish a condo's age from its name.

'If you look at a name, you can tell which era the development was built in,' she noted. 'Anything with 'garden' or 'view' is likely to be in the 1980s. If it's 'vale', probably the 1990s, and if it starts with 'The', it's after 2000.'

Other current naming fads include the almost ubiquitous '@' sign - officially known as the 'commercial at' and unofficially used in every attempt to be trendy. At least 30 condos in Singapore boast this symbol. Almost all are new projects that surfaced after the dot.com boom.

Property watchers have also observed that the recent boom in high-end condos has led to a proliferation of names using 'residences'. Indeed, about half the 50-odd condos in this category - including Marina Bay Residences and The Orchard Residences - are located downtown or in the prime districts of 9 to 11.

A more longstanding trend is foreign words. These have long been de rigueur among developers, who seem to think they add a certain je ne sais quoi (meaning 'an indescribable attribute') to a moniker.

For instance, there are 34 condos here with names that start with 'Casa', the Spanish word for 'house'. Another 21 begin with 'Le' or 'La', the French words for 'the'.

Some projects are named after actual foreign locations, such as Cote d'Azur in Marine Parade, which sits uncomfortably on the tongues of most Singaporeans.

But while foreign names might sound more chi-chi, they are also more chancy.

One developer related the story of how SBNB once rejected a French name for a condo because the word sounded like 'danger' in English.

'We wanted to name the condo 'Perle', which means 'Pearl' in French,' the developer said. 'But the board said it sounded too much like 'peril', so we had to change it.'

Interestingly, while SBNB is sticky on grammatical accuracy in the use of 'Le' and 'La' - they refer to male and female nouns respectively in French - it appears unconcerned about condo names that begin with 'De' or 'D'.

'De' is a French proposition that usually means 'of' or 'for'. It is used as 'D' only if followed by a word starting with a vowel.

But Singapore's condos include such grammatical eyesores as D'Dalvey and D'Hillside Loft. The Straits Times understands that these are considered to be coined words, rather than foreign derivatives, and thus allowable.

As developers try to stay on SBNB's good side, straightforward combinations of road names and numbers are also getting popular. The latest trend is names beginning with 'One', such as One Shenton, which 14 condos have adopted.

But this does not mean developers have no room for creativity, as shown by the unusual 2 rvg and 66 OGR, which stand for River Valley Grove and Orange Grove Road, respectively.

Even if a name does not meet with contention by SBNB, other unexpected circumstances may force it to be changed at the last minute.

Industry insiders, for instance, know that Pharos on the Waterfront was the original name for the CDL condo near the Singapore River that is now called Tribeca. But what they might not know is that the name was changed mere weeks before the condo's launch because CDL discovered that Pharos referred to a lighthouse that had been destroyed by an earthquake.

'We didn't want anyone to make the association,' said CDL general manager Chia Ngiang Hong with a laugh.

At the end of the day, however, a project's name is probably one of the lowest factors on a buyer's list of priorities, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore. 'The product quality and returns potential are the top things people look at. In the final evaluation, buyers almost never consider names.'

Floating condo takes opulence to high seas

Floating condo takes opulence to high seas
S'pore buyers can preview luxury liner as marketing drive makes stop here
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent


GLAMOROUS LIFE: The 219m luxury vessel will offer lots of entertainment, including four restaurants and a casino. Each suite of The Four Seasons Ocean Residences will come with floor- to-ceiling windows, living room areas and master bedrooms with walk-in dressing rooms and bathrooms. -- PHOTOS: FOUR SEASONS OCEAN RESIDENCES

View more photos

DO YOU feel like you have been living too long in one place and are now longing and pining for life on the high seas? Then try splurging some of that hard-earned money on a plush home onboard a luxury liner.
It is a simple - albeit opulence-laden - concept. Your multimillion-dollar home is part of a lavish vessel that plies the world's oceans, calling at exotic ports along the way.

As the shipboard homes are mega-pricey, there is no chance of being stuck at sea with any of the great unwashed with their sub-prime mortgages - and you can always count on a great ocean view.

Singaporeans can check out the concept next month, when Savills International unveils The Four Seasons Ocean Residences - 112 private residences on a 219m luxury vessel with staff and high-end services - at the Four Seasons Hotel here.

The homes range in size from 797 sq ft to nearly 8,000 sq ft. Most are two- and three-bedders, with features that include floor-to-ceiling windows, living room areas, master bedroom suites with walk-in dressing rooms and bathrooms en suite, kitchens, and staff entrances.

Prices range from 2.885 million euros (S$5.97 million), or about 3,500 euros per sq ft, for a 797 sq ft one- bedder to 30 million euros for a 7,860 sq ft four-bedroom, three-storey penthouse.

The liner - due for completion in 2010 - will offer plenty of entertainment, including four restaurants, an 11,000 sq ft spa, a style casino, a supermarket, a wine cellar and a driving range.

There will also be concierge service and an excursion coordinator to arrange for those exotic and expensive tours. Yearly service charges start from 72,000 euros.

The liner will average about 250 days in port a year and sail to places like Antarctica and events such as the 2012 Olympics in London and the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco.

Developer BV International Ocean Holdings, a joint venture between Bayview Financial and Ocean Development Group, picked Singapore as one of the centres to promote the floating condo.

'We are focusing on a very select group of people at the highest socio-economic level,' said Mr Danny Warman, vice-president of Bayview Financial, a privately held United States-based real estate investment and mortgage finance company.

'Singapore definitely has a significant amount of wealth. It's one of the most important financial centres in the world,' he said.

The marketing campaign started in London in May and then moved to New York and South Africa. Singapore will be the first Asian stop.

However, keen buyers can select units only at four global sales events, starting in Hong Kong on Sept 11 to 12. The other ones will be in a city in Europe, the Bahamas and the US.

'The beauty of it is that owners of the residences would be able to travel and explore the world without having ever to leave their home,' said Mr Warman.

Because the developer wants to have 'global diversity' on board, it will also be marketed in places such as Tokyo, Moscow and Mumbai.

There is only one other floating condo liner - The World of ResidenSea, which set sail from Oslo in 2002 with about 70 residents on board. There were reports at the time that it had trouble selling its residences.

More than a decade later, the market has changed, and more of these floating residences are likely to come. Mr Warman said they are selling a new product with strong branding. 'As soon as we sell out this one, we will do another one,' he said.

Jamie Yeo's tip to students: Use blog to improve English

Jamie Yeo's tip to students: Use blog to improve English


COSYING UP: Naval Base Secondary students (from left) Belda Lee and Geraldine Cheng, both 14, take turns to have their photo taken with Star Blogger Jamie Yeo. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

IF YOU have a blog, use it as an opportunity to improve your English and knowledge of the language. That was Stomp Star Blogger Jamie Yeo's advice for 110 secondary school students and teachers who turned up for a Straits Times Media Club workshop at the Singapore Press Holdings auditorium in Toa Payoh on Friday.
The 29-year-old, who is also a presenter with ESPN Star Sports, was a guest celebrity at the monthly event, and made her appearance after Stomp editor Jennifer Lewis gave a lively presentation on the website.

'I like reading blogs but I am also very particular about how they are written,' said Yeo who has been blogging on Stomp for almost a year and spends entire weekends crafting her online entries.

'A blog is a great way to work on your writing skills and expand your vocabulary.'

The one-time radio DJ and TV actress also fielded personal questions during the 45-minute session. Asked about the best thing that has happened to her so far, Yeo, who is married to radio DJ Glenn Ong, said: 'I think it's falling in love.'

The media club workshop is a monthly event organised by The Straits Times for students from secondary schools which subscribe to IN, the weekly magazine distributed to these secondary schools every Monday.

When it comes to religion, give children some space

When it comes to religion, give children some space
Intense religious instruction during kid's upbringing may do more harm than good
By Tessa Wong
LAST Thursday, I took a trip down memory lane with my parents while watching Jesus Camp, a documentary film about an evangelical Christian summer camp for children in the United States.
It was like watching my whole childhood play out on the big screen as I have a similar religious background. Speaking in tongues? Check. Fervent proselytising to strangers? Check. Emotional prayer sessions? Check.

After the film, my parents and I started discussing whether bringing up children with religious traditions was ever justifiable.

They thought so, arguing that such education was not 'brainwashing', but merely teaching children how to be good by bringing them up in the ways of God.

I agreed with them on that count. After all, parents have the right to teach their children moral values, however they see fit, and religion is often seen as the best tool to achieve this goal.

I do not doubt the merits of such an education. I am grateful my parents used Christianity to instil strong moral values in me.

Yet, I feel it can get sticky when parents take things to extremes, as is sometimes the case.

The children in Jesus Camp, for example, were taught they are soldiers at the forefront of a radical 'culture war' in the US between the religious right and liberal left.

They were told, therefore, to support President George W. Bush and adopt conservative views on issues such as abortion and global warming.

This, I believe, crossed that fine line between using religion to teach good values, and indoctrinating a child with political bias.

It also illustrates how bringing up a child in a religious environment, while sometimes beneficial, also deprives him of the free will to choose what he wants to believe.

One may argue that children can exercise choice as they grow up. But with such intense drilling, how many of them actually will?

What is more, being steeped in fervent religiosity at such a young age can sometimes cause much angst and confusion in later years, as it was in my case.

For many years, I was conflicted: There were beliefs I was supposed to subscribe to, and there were the beliefs I gradually developed, independent of Sunday school.

I found I disagreed with the notion that just because something wasn't biblical, it wasn't good.

It also did not help that my early fervent religiosity was induced using slightly unethical means.

My childhood years were an emotional whirlwind. Scenes in Jesus Camp showing anguished children tearfully breaking down at prayer sessions, urged by pastors to repent for their sins, were extremely familiar to me.

Some evangelical Christians justify such pressure. They say it is necessary to teach humility and subservience to God. But I tend to see it as emotional coercion of an innocent child, with any resulting trauma possibly outweighing any good.

While using religion to mould a child is perfectly acceptable, parents should exercise a light touch and give their children room to think independently.

Army captain, 25, collapses and dies after completing 21km run

Army captain, 25, collapses and dies after completing 21km run
By Lee Hui Chieh
COMPLETING the 21-km-long half marathon in 90 minutes, Captain Ho Si Qiu, 25, crossed the finish line at 7am yesterday - and collapsed soon after.
His heart had stopped.

Within 30 seconds, medical personnel were at his side.

They carried him to a medical post nearby and started pumping his chest. A breathing tube was inserted and he was injected with resuscitation drugs.

But they could not revive him.

At 7.23am, he was taken by ambulance to Singapore General Hospital, with cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR administered en route.

At the hospital, doctors again tried - and failed - to save him.

The platoon commander from the Officer Cadet School was pronounced dead at 8.07am yesterday.

The regular serviceman became the latest fit and active person to die suddenly while exercising strenuously.

At least four others have died this year while running, practising taekwondo or working out in the gym.

Among them was teenage triathlete Thaddeus Cheong, 17, who collapsed and died after completing a gruelling triathlon two months ago.

His death resulted in a Sports Safety Committee being set up last month, whose first task was to review current safety measures and recommend a comprehensive safety framework.

It has submitted a preliminary report to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, said the minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, yesterday.

Speaking at a dancesport competition last night, Dr Balakrishnan noted that he did not believe that Capt Ho's tragic death was a case of inadequate medical preparation, equipment or attention.

The organisers of the Singapore Bay Run - formerly known as the Safra Sheares Bridge Run and Army Half Marathon - had 16 ambulances, each equipped with a defibrillator, and 130 medical personnel on standby.

Capt Ho was among the record 70,000 people, including Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who had taken part in the event organised by the Army, Safra National Service Association and the Singapore Sports Council.

Participants in the run, now into its 16th year, could compete in the 12km or 21km events, or run recreationally for 6km or 12km.

A spokesman for the organising committee said that CPR was continuously performed on Capt Ho on the way to the hospital.

Dr Balakrishnan, who had run in the 12km event with his son, said: 'So at this point I would say it would appear that everything possible, that could be done, was done.'

At Capt Ho's home yesterday evening, some 20 well-wishers were sitting with the family in their living room.

The family declined to comment when approached.

One of Capt Ho's colleagues, who did not wish to be named, said: 'He was an exemplary officer, and he was a good man.'

Tit-for-tat safety spats

Tit-for-tat safety spats


SAFE FOR CHILDREN?: A toy vendor hawking her wares in Shandong province. The quality of toys made in China has been in the spotlight. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A NUMBER of made-in-China products have been taken off the shelves recently for safety reasons, while China has hit back with its own list of unsafe foreign imports.

PROBLEMATIC PRODUCTS IMPORTED BY CHINA

Aug 9: China charges that 24 imported gas turbines made by US industrial institution General Electric had caused several big accidents.

Aug 15: China bans the import of three types of biscuits made by Arnott's Indonesia, a subsidiary of US food giant Campbell Soup, saying the biscuits contain levels of aluminium three times beyond the safety threshold.

Aug 21: China announces that it returned 272 heart pacemakers imported from the US in April after quality tests found problems.

Aug 22: China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine says it has found pesticides, poisonous weeds, and dirt in soy bean imports from the US. The beans - crushed for oil and used as animal feed - are the biggest single US farm export to China.


PROBLEMATIC MADE-IN-CHINA PRODUCTS

Aug 1 and Aug 15: US toy giant Mattel issues two separate recalls involving over 20 million Chinese-made toys it says were coated in lead-laced paint and contained small magnets harmful to children.

Aug 18: A chain of Dutch bed stores says it will be recalling more than 1,300 Chinese-made foam mattresses amid fears that they had been sprayed with toxic insecticide.

Aug 19: New Zealand launches an investigation into woollen and cotton clothes made in China after scientists find dangerous levels of formaldehyde.

Aug 22: Chinese-made blankets found to contain high levels of formaldehyde are recalled across Australia and New Zealand.

Wheat hits record price as bad weather prompts inflation fears

Wheat hits record price as bad weather prompts inflation fears


Published: August 24 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 24 2007 03:00

Wheat prices jumped to an all-time high yesterday as panicked buyers rushed into the market amid extremely tight supplies, raising fears of a global food inflation spike.

Canada, the world's second-largest wheat exporter, warned output might be almost 20 per cent below last year as adverse weather damaged the crop as it had done in Europe and Australia.

Japan and Taiwan, which depend on foreign wheat supplies, bought new cargoes in the international market while India launched a large tender to boost its inventories ahead of its peak demand season.

Gavin Maguire, analyst at Iowa Grain in Chicago, said the combination of disappointing production levels and strong demand was pushing up prices. "Wheat buyers are beginning to panic."

In Chicago, wheat for December delivery surged to an all-time high of $7.54 a bushel. Prices have jumped 110 per cent in the past 12 months and have risen threefold since 2000.

Food industry executives warned that meat, poultry and dairy prices would climb in the short term as farmers and processors passed on higher feed costs to consumers.

Alex Waugh, director-general of the UK Flour Milling Association, said the cost of wheat was at an unprecedented level: "Wheat costs for flour millers in the UK now stand some £500m higher than last year. This has yet to come through in wholesale or consumer prices."

The International Grains Council cut its estimate for the 2007-08 wheat crop to 607m tonnes while forecasting demand would reach 614m tonnes, resulting in a further stock drawdown. It said global wheat inventories were at their lowest since 1979.

James Gutman, of Goldman Sachs in London, said: "Buyers are scraping the bottom of the bushel of the inventories."

Beijing replaces top policy thinker

Beijing replaces top policy thinker
Party apparatchik takes over from Zheng Bijian, the man behind 'peaceful rise' theory
By Chua Chin Hon, China Bureau Chief
BEIJING - MR ZHENG Bijian, the influential thinker behind China's 'peaceful rise' policy, has been officially replaced at a top Beijing think-tank by a party apparatchik, sources confirmed yesterday.
The decision, first reported by The Straits Times in June, was formalised earlier this month during an internal meeting involving members of the China Reform Forum (CRF) think-tank.

Mr Zheng's replacement as CRF chairman will be Mr Su Rong, 58, the executive vice-president of the elite Central Party School (CPS), which trains the next generation of Chinese leaders.

Mr Su will retain his appointment at the party school for now while it remains unclear what future role, if any, the 75-year-old Mr Zheng will play, sources said.

The senior scholar is seen as one of the most respected Chinese thinkers in recent years, having helped shape domestic and international opinion on the country's rise.

His thesis of 'peaceful rise'', which proposes a benign scenario for China's emergence as a global power, has since been adapted by Beijing as the framework of official rhetoric.

Mr Su, in comparison, has relatively little experience in research or academia, a point which has irked some scholars at the CRF. Prior to his appointment at the party school, Mr Su was the party secretary of north-western Gansu province.

China's influential Vice-President Zeng Qinghong is said to have presided over this latest personnel switch - one of the many changes expected in the party school and the broader political establishment in light of a major leadership reshuffle later this year.

Mr Zeng himself is widely expected to relinquish his concurrent appointment as president of the party school soon in favour of a younger leader who might be groomed to lead the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country.

Training aside, the party school also serves the crucial objective of helping future Chinese leaders network with young and upcoming provincial cadres as well as military commanders. President Hu Jintao was appointed to head the CPS in 1993 soon after he was earmarked as China's 'fourth-generation leader'.

Some political observers thus expect Mr Hu to name a successor at the upcoming leadership meeting - called the 17th Party Congress - and then tap him to run the party school.

Mr Hu's preferred successor is widely rumoured to be Mr Li Keqiang, the top official of north-eastern Liaoning province. But there has been no clear sign that he has won out over other competing candidates, such as Shanghai's leader Mr Xi Jinping or Jiangsu's Mr Li Yuanchao.

The political uncertainty over the succession issue at this late stage hints at the limits of Mr Hu's power in the ruling party, and analysts expect horse-trading to be done right up to the last minute.

Beijing has not officially announced the date for the Congress, though media reports in recent weeks suggest that it could be held in the second or third week of October.

Maths prodigy, 9, gets into HK varsity

Maths prodigy, 9, gets into HK varsity
A NINE-YEAR-OLD maths prodigy, who won admission to the Hong Kong University yesterday, told reporters he struggled to communicate academically with his own age group.
March Boedihardjo, an Indonesian-Chinese resident in Hong Kong, obtained two As and a B in his A-levels and earned a place in the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).

He will begin his mathematics undergraduate course next month, the university authorities said. HKBU said it has designed a special five-year course for March, leading to a master's degree,

When asked what he does in his spare time, he told reporters: 'I like to read books, but on the weekends I like to go out to play with friends.'

He said they play chess, Monopoly and cards. 'We can play games together but academically, we can't communicate.'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Ng Teng Fong overtakes Khoos as S'pore's richest

Ng Teng Fong overtakes Khoos as S'pore's richest
By Grace Ng
PROPERTY magnate Ng Teng Fong has overtaken the Khoo family to top Forbes magazine's list of Singapore's richest people - with a cool US$1 billion (S$1.52 billion) lead.
Mr Ng, 79, a low-profile billionaire, who controls Far East Organization, was catapulted to the top spot by a 36 per cent surge in his wealth to US$6.7 billion amid the current property boom.

Far East is one of Singapore's major developers and has built more than 700 hotels, shopping malls and condominiums over the years.

A rare female rich-lister, Ms Christina Ong, the managing director of luxury fashion retailer Club 21, which also owns an Apple iPod reseller, was among 12 newcomers to the top 40 list.

She is the wife of Malaysian tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who made the Malaysian list.

Ms Ong was listed by Forbes at No. 36 as an entrepreneur in her own right, having amassed wealth of US$150 million.

Tops on Forbes list
1. Ng Teng Fong,



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Singapore's 40 richest
No. 2 on the list are the 14 descendants of Mr Khoo Teck Puat, the man behind the Goodwood Park Hotel, who died in 2004. They are said by Forbes to be worth US$5.7 billion. This excludes $125 million they recently donated to build a new hospital in Yishun named after their father, and US$32 million to Peking University in China.

Despite this, their wealth - much of it from a stake in Standard Chartered Bank - was up 14 per cent from US$5 billion last year, which was just a tad above Mr Ng's US$4.9 billion at that time.

It was a banner year for all of Singapore's 40 wealthiest citizens, whose collective riches ballooned 14 per cent to US$32 billion.

This figure pips the US$19 billion held by Thai barons but trails Malaysia's top 40, who hold US$43 billion, up from US$26 billion last year.

With sterling economic growth of 7.9 per cent and a 19 per cent surge in the stock market in the year to August, Singapore tycoons with listed interests in real estate, shipping and palm oil did particularly well.

They include Mr Zhong Shen Jian, 48, who controls the mainboard-listed Yanlord Land Group. Mr Zhong, who became a Singapore citizen last year, built his US$2.5 billion fortune by developing luxury residences in his native China. He is fourth on the list.

United Overseas Bank's (UOB) chairman Wee Cho Yaw and his family are No. 3. Their wealth shrank slightly to US$3.3 billion, from US$3.4 billion last year. Their holdings have been partly hit by a 10 per cent drop in UOB's shares since mid-July, due to global concerns about risky home loans in the United States.

Property magnate Kwek Leng Beng of Hong Leong Group and his family took fifth spot with US$1.1 billion.

Familiar names of yesteryear missing from this year's list include Mr Tang Wee Kit, chairman of retailer Tangs, and the Phua brothers who run furniture-maker HTL International. The wealth of these individuals dipped below the price of entry to Forbes' rich list of US$100 million. This was raised from last year's minimum of US$55 million.

Mr Simon Cheong, 50, well known for his upmarket condominium projects, makes his debut on the list at No. 15. His US$480 million fortune is held in SC Global, a high-end residential property developer here, and in an Australian developer AV Jennings.

At No. 32 is entrepreneur Victor Sassoon, 49, who runs a franchise selling Rolex watches in Singapore. He also co-runs the coffee chain Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in 16 countries, and is 'buddies with Paula Abdul, who is a fan of his coffee', noted Forbes.

Keeping rates too low may spur risky investing: BOJ

Keeping rates too low may spur risky investing: BOJ
Although bank keeps rates unchanged, governor's words signal he intends to raise borrowing costs


LOOKING FORWARD: Investors see a 39 per cent chance of the Bank of Japan increasing interest rates next month, according to Credit Suisse Group calculations. -- PHOTO: AP

TOKYO - BANK of Japan (BOJ) governor Toshihiko Fukui said there is a risk that keeping interest rates too low will spur risky investment, signalling that the central bank intends to raise borrowing costs.
'Distortions and the misallocation of resources could occur if interest rates are kept at levels inconsistent with the economy,' he told reporters in Tokyo yesterday, after his board kept interest rates on hold as expected.

'Our policy is forward-looking and we can act when we're confident in our judgment.'

Central banks in Japan, the United States and Europe injected more than US$350 billion (S$535 billion) into the banking system this month, after credit dried up following the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Mr Fukui's comments indicate that he may resume his policy of gradually increasing borrowing costs later this year.

Mr Richard Jerram, chief Japan economist at Macquarie Securities in Tokyo, said: 'If stability returns in the coming weeks, then the BOJ will probably feel comfortable to raise rates in a month.'

Investors see a 39 per cent chance of a rate increase next month, according to Credit Suisse Group calculations based on interest payments.

Mr Fukui said the central bank's policy needs to dissuade investors from making one-sided bets in the currency market. Still, he maintained that monetary policy is based on an analysis of the economy and prices.

'It's highly likely that the Japanese economy will achieve sustainable growth with stable prices,' he said, repeating last month's assessment.

'However, we'll examine upcoming data and financial market movements at home and abroad and will make an appropriate policy judgment.'

Japan's key rate of 0.5 per cent is the lowest among major economies.

Mr Fukui has said the bank needs to normalise policy now that the economy has overcome 15 years of stagnation that followed the bursting of a stock and property bubble in the early 1990s.

He described the tumult as a 'repricing' process and said investors are adjusting from a 'too-loose' judgment of risk. He said the bank will watch whether the correction is orderly and whether the moves will affect economic growth.

'It's not the type of problem that will go away in a few weeks,' he said.

Some analysts said the US Federal Reserve's decision last Friday to cut the rate at which it lends to banks may have made it difficult for the BOJ to tighten credit.

Mr Fukui said the BOJ is not influenced by the policy judgment of other central banks. Each monetary authority views the prospects for growth and prices in its own economy, he said.

'Although Fukui denied the BOJ's policy should be simply affected by other central banks, it's not realistic to expect a BOJ rate hike when the Fed's cutting rates,' said Bank of America senior economist and strategist Tomoko Fujii.

The BOJ's next decision will be on Sept 19, a day after the Fed holds its regular policy-setting meeting. Interest-rate futures show traders are betting the Fed will cut its key overnight lending rate on Sept 18 or earlier.

The European Central Bank this week added more funds to the banking system, while saying it would stay vigilant on inflation, prompting investors to raise bets of a Sept 6 rate increase.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Russia nominates own candidate to run IMF

Russia nominates own candidate to run IMF
in London

Published: August 23 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 23 2007 03:00

Russia challenged western dominance of world international financial institutions yesterday by nominating a surprise candidate, Josef Tosovsky, the former Czech premier and ex-central bank chief, to run the International Monetary Fund.

The nomination pitted Mr Tosovsky against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister, who has the backing of the European Union.

Russia's move ran into immediate trouble when the Czech Republic, which joined the EU in 2004, declared that it was standing by the EU's decision to support the French candidate.

However, Moscow's move shows Russia's increasing international assertiveness and willingness to clash with the west over issues ranging from energy supplies to US plans to site missile defence bases in Europe.

The Kremlin has also raised concerns over US-EU domination of international institutions - an issue that plays well with large developing countries, including China, India and Brazil.

The IMF chief is traditionally selected by European nations while the World Bank head is chosen by the US. But developing nations have long resented this informal arrangement, which dates back the the 1940s.

Alexei Kudrin, Russia's finance minister, said the move was aimed at boosting the prestige of the IMF, which had failed to handle recent financial crises, including the 1998 Russian financial crisis.

"Given the IMF's failures in resolving crises in a number of countries, the IMF needs to raise its prestige", he said. Mr Kudrin praised Mr Tosovsky as a proven crisis manager. He said developing states, including Brazil, India and China, had all expressed support for an open selection process in talks.

Mr Putin has slammed world financial institutions as "archaic, undemocratic and unwieldy" and called for their radical overhaul to reflect the surging growth of developing nations.

The US Treasury department said of Russia's move: "We look forward to working with our colleagues at the fund to select a new managing director. The secretary looks forward to speaking with any candidate."

The French finance ministry said: "We believe that it will not put into question the momentum behind Dominique Strauss-Kahn's candidacy." Mirek Topolanek, the Czech prime minister, said "Mr Tosovsky was not, and is not, the Czech Republic's candidate for this post."

Mirek Topolanek, the Czech prime minister, said: "Mr Tosovsky was not, and is not, the Czech Republic's candidate for this post."

Officials said Russia's move would have no impact on talks over hosting part of the planned US missile defence system.

Few countries yesterday backed Moscow's choice of Mr Tosovsky. Mr Strauss-Kahn, in Beijing yesterday, was reported as saying he felt he had China's backing.

A senior Indian finance ministry official told the FT that as far as he was aware there had been "no conversation" about the nomination and he declined to say whether New Delhi would back Mr Tosovsky.

A senior Brazilian presidential official said Brazil sought reform but was not backing any particular candidate.

Forex volatility puts future of yen carry trade in doubt

Forex volatility puts future of yen carry trade in doubt
in Tokyo

Published: August 22 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 22 2007 03:00

The recent sharp moves in the foreign exchange markets have raised the question of whether the yen carry trade is doomed to extinction.

Many market participants believe the volatility in the forex markets will make yen carry trades too risky for investors in the future. "These are trades that everyone knew were going to come unstuck and they just did," says Mark Cutis, chief investment officer at Shinsei Bank.

The yen carry trade, whereby investors borrow in yen at low interest rates and invest in higher-yielding assets in other currencies, was popular with hedge funds and Japanese retail currency traders as long as market volatility - and therefore foreign exchange risk - was low.

But amid uncertainty about the broader impact of the subprime problem, volatility in the foreign exchange markets has surged, leading many investors to unwind their positions.

"The hedge funds have panicked," says a managing partner at a large US hedge fund. Funds are shying away from risk because "our mentality today is you have no idea what is going to happen in the world".

Whenever the yen has appreciated against the dollar or sterling in the past, Japanese retail currency traders have mitigated the movement by moving in to sell the currency. For example, the last time the yen strengthened rather quickly - during the Chinese market wobbles in March - Japanese currency margin traders happily came back to sell more yen, helping to keep a lid on the currency's rise.

However, this time the unwinding of the carry trade is occurring with such force that individuals, who borrow about 10 times their own funds to trade, have been forced to unwind as they face automatic stop-loss limits, says Tohru Sasaki, chief foreign exchange strategist at JP Morgan in Tokyo.

Many investors were forced to cut their losses once the yen hit Y115 to the US dollar, says Tsuyoshi Ueda, an official at gaitame.com, which provides services to individual forex traders.

Mr Sasaki estimates that of the Y7,000bn ($61bn, €45bn, £31bn) in yen short positions through margin trading, day traders bought back yen to the tune of Y3,800bn in just one week.

Some believe the strengthening of the yen this time will be temporary and that once stock markets stabilise, Japanese individual currency traders will come back to sell.

Individual traders have been calling in to ask whether it is a good time to start selling yen again, says Naoto Minatogawa, analyst at Himawari Shoken, a leading supplier of services to individual forex traders.

Others disagree. They say that, with the Federal Reserve expected to lower rates and the Bank of Japan clamouring to raise rates, the interest rate differential between Japan and the US will shrink.

One big question is what the large number of Japanese investors who have bought investment trusts or uridashi bonds denominated in dollars and other high-yield currencies will do.

So far, these investors, who have generally invested surplus funds, have stood firm. But if US interest rates start to fall sharply and the dollar plunges - as some believe will happen - even those investors could choose to redeem.

The impact of those retail investors repatriating their funds is likely to be much larger than that which has been seen so far.

As one banker says: "Japan is the provider of the world's liquidity. So the unwinding of that will have a big impact."

Japan watches much of the turmoil from sidelines

Japan's credit markets have not been immune to the turmoil that is affecting markets overseas, even though Japanese banks have limited exposure to the US subprime problem, write Michiyo Nakamoto and David Turner.

However, the impact of the credit blockage in the US and Europe has been relatively contained, because Japan does not face the kind of liquidity crisis that has been seen in the US and Europe. Short-term lending rates in the yen have risen, spurred by a search by borrowers for alternatives to raising finance in dollars.

On Monday, the three-month yen lending rate in the London interbank market (Libor) climbed 10 basis points to a 12-year high of 1.0175 per cent.

In the Tokyo interbank market, rates have also risen, though not by as much.

Commenting on the rise in short-term rates for yen borrowing, Akihiko Yokoyama, bond strategist at JPMorgan in Tokyo, said: "If the Bank of Japan allows this situation for a long time, then interest rate costs will deliver a body blow to (Japanese) financial institutions, because most of them are net cash borrowers."

Burma increases price of rationed fuel

Burma increases price of rationed fuel
in Bangkok

Published: August 15 2007 16:31 | Last updated: August 15 2007 16:31

Burma’s ruling military junta unexpectedly raised the price of rationed fuel by as much as 500 per cent on Wednesday, a move likely to drive up the price of food and other essentials and further squeeze the country’s already struggling poor.

The secretive regime gave no warning of the increase or any public explanation for the move. But analysts said the decision to slash fuel subsidies probably reflected a cash crunch as the regime pours resources into showcase projects such as the construction of a new capital city.

“I think they are hard up because of this new capital,” said a Rangoon-based analyst, who asked not to be identified. “I have a feeling they don’t have any money.”

The price of state-rationed gasoline rose from $1.16 to $1.94 an imperial gallon, while the diesel price rose from $1.16 to $2.33, hefty mark-ups in a country where a typical teacher’s salary is just $30 (€22, £15) a month.

The price of compressed natural gas, which the government has promoted as fuel for commercial vehicles, was raised 500 per cent – from 39 cents for a 65-litre canister to $1.94 a canister.

Residents of Rangoon, Burma’s former capital and largest city, said many buses and taxis, caught off guard by the steep increase, remained off the road, while others raised their fares.

The price of rice and other commodities is expected to surge as a result of higher transport costs, further fuelling inflation that independent estimates already suggest is running at 60-80 per cent this year.

“It’s really going to hurt poor people,” said one analyst. “It’s going to be terrible.” Besides running cars, diesel is also used by many families and shopkeepers to run small power generators in the face of blackouts.

In February, a handful of irate Rangoon residents staged a rare and dangerous protest against the repressive military government, blaming it for soaring inflation and long power cuts.

The protest was rare in that it challenged the regime’s basic competence rather than its moral legitimacy. Some participants were detained for questioning the following month but were freed after being given stiff warnings against similar protests in the future.

State-subsidised fuel plays an important role in the survival strategies of many ostensibly “middle-class” families in Burma’s deeply ailing economy. Car owners are allotted two gallons of subsidised fuel each day. But many immediately sell their rations for higher prices on the black market, using profits to supplement paltry government salaries or pensions. “Some people just live on this,” said the analyst.

The rise in the price of rationed fuel is expected to result in higher black market prices for fuel as well.

Burma last raised prices for rationed fuel in October 2005, increasing prices nearly nine-fold.

The Financial Times Limited 2007

First, food. Then toys. And now...clothes

First, food. Then toys. And now...clothes
NZ boy burnt after China-made pyjamas caught fire
By Clarissa Oon, CHINA CORRESPONDENT


UP IN FLAMES: Three-year-old New Zealand Jack Livingstone was burnt last month when his made-in-China pyjamas burst into flames as he sat by a gas fire. -- PHOTO: WAIKATO TIMES

BEIJING - A YOUNG boy in New Zealand suffered burns and underwent a skin graft after his made-in-China pyjamas caught fire early last month.
Three-year-old Jack Livingstone's parents had bought the pyjamas because the label said 'low fire danger', according to his father Mike.

The Warehouse, the largest retailer in the country, withdrew the pyjamas from its shelves over the weekend after a second boy suffered burns.

Besides investigating these two cases, the NZ authorities are also looking into allegations that some made-in-China clothing contains dangerous levels of a chemical.

Scientists in NZ found formaldehyde concentrations up to 900 times above the safety limit in clothing for children and adults.

Formaldehyde is sometimes applied to garments to prevent mildew, but too much can cause problems from skin rashes to cancer.

Made-in-China clothes are the latest Chinese exports to come under scrutiny following concerns over the safety of other exports.

Just last week, United States toy giant Mattel issued its second global recall of 18.2 million toys made and assembled in China because of their excessive use of lead paint.

But the NZ probe is the first time China's important textiles and clothing industry has been targeted.

This sector produced more than 13 per cent of the country's exports in the first half of this year.

China has responded to the recent safety concerns by tightening regulations, but has also hit back at the West.

One official called the furore over Chinese exports a 'new trend in trade protectionism'.

Responding to NZ's moves, a spokesman for China's textile trade chamber of commerce told The Straits Times yesterday the screening of textile imports is an 'accepted international practice'.

The chamber will 'act accordingly' once the results of the NZ probe are out, the spokesman said.

He reiterated official statements that most of China's exports are safe, but appealed to more developed countries to 'raise suggestions' to 'help Chinese companies lift the quality of its products'.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) says it has received no feedback on this issue. Said Case executive director Seah Seng Choon: 'We are certainly concerned and will write to the New Zealand Consumers Association to get more details before deciding the appropriate course of action.'