Finance

by ValueChampion Being a landlord can be a lucrative side business. However, if you’re not careful, renting out your investment property may be much more trouble than its worth. Renovations, accidental structural damage and noncompliant tenants are among the top fears of landlords. With the number of HDB rental applicants increasing 55% between 2011 and 2017, we can surmise that more …

by ValueChampion With HDB flat resale prices stagnate, we looked into ways that homeowners could boost their properties value based on different budgets. In recent months, HDB flat resale values have remained sluggish. Whether this is caused by fears of 99-year leases ending or by cooling measures, it is not a great sign for homeowners. Because these homeowners can’t affect the …

Orchard Road is in line for a revamp, says Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Trade & Industry Chee Hong Tat at ITB Asia 2018 on 17th October. As part of the latest strategies to attract tourist to Singapore, Mr Chee said that plans are being made to transform Singapore’s famed Orchard Road into more than just a shopping …

UnionPay International announced on Thursday that the number of UnionPay cards issued outside the Chinese Mainland has exceeded 100 million. The volume of transactions made with these overseas-issued UnionPay cards has grown by over 40% during the first three quarters of this year. In some markets outside mainland China, over 90% of the transactions made with locally-issued UnionPay cards happen …

by ValueChampion Minterest has ambitious goals as a young startup. The business hopes to connect underserved businesses with a variety of loan products in order to boost Singapore’s economy. So far, the company is off to a good start, raising more than S$30 million in crowdfunded business loans for local SMEs. Founded in 2016 by three experienced finance professionals, Minterest seeks to empower …

Our Prime Minister said home ownership is Singapore’s key national policy. A high homeownership rate of 90 percent has improved the lives of Singaporeans significantly. It allows us to enjoy the fruit of the country’s economic growth. It also gives us a stake in the country and something to fight for. Did our leader have to emphasize this if all …

by SingaporeLife Here’s a sobering fact. The Life Insurance Association of Singapore (LIA) 2017 Protection Gap Report found that Singaporeans require an average of 3.1 times of their annual income to adequately meet critical illness (CI) protection needs. This is after accounting for hospital and treatment fees covered by Medisave. Why are Singaporeans hesitant to acquire enough CI cover? Could it be because of …

by ValueChampion After hearing crowdfunding horror stories, such as the SME that cheated investors out of S$6.9 million, individuals may be hesitant to invest using crowdfunding platforms. What do these investors need to know in order to safely earn high returns without losing their funds to fraudsters? Earlier this year SME director Choy Peiyi was sentenced to 10 years in jail for creating …

Reuters reported yesterday (16 Oct) that Temasek Holdings is buying Israeli cybersecurity technology and services provider Sygnia. Financial details were not provided but a source with knowledge of the deal, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that Temasek is paying US$250 million. Sygnia, which has offices in Tel Aviv and New York, will maintain its operational independence while …

Straits Times reported today (16 Oct) that its parent Singapore Press Holdings has reported a 19.7 per cent fall in net profit for the year. Net profit fell $69 million to $281.1 million for the 12 months to Aug 31, it said. But it added that this was due to huge one-off gains in the last financial year. If one-offs …