Grab and Gojek merger rumours

There has been various reports that Grab and Gojek are making progress in talks to merge both companies. 

Based on estimates, Grab is valued at US$15 billion and Gojek is valued at US$10 billion.  The rival companies are both loss-making and are two of Southeast Asia's most valuable start-ups.

Over the years,  Grab has expanded from ride hailing  to food delivery and even to payments (GrabPay). They have expanded rapidly over the years but it remains to be seen whether the various business ventures are profitable. 

Just shortly after Covid 19, when its ride hailing business took a hit, its food delivery business saw increased volumes.  However, that seemed to increase the rate of their cash burn as food delivery was not too profitable a business to be in. 

Both Grab and Gojek refused to comment on the speculation though it was also reported that Grab's CEO Mr Anthony Tan had said in an internal note that they were in a good position to acquire.

Grab's last big acquisition was when it bought over Uber's Southeast Asia business with Uber taking a 27.5% stake in Grab. SoftBank was an investor in both Grab and Uber. 

With any merger,  Comfortdelgro might end up the loser as it has been facing intense competition ever since Grab began its operations.  


Apple Maps Car Spotted Today in Singapore

Was walking along the road today when I saw a Apple Maps car (white in colour) driving about.  

Interesting.  

Didn't know that Apple had a car like this similar to Google.  

In any case, read up a bit and realised that Apple has also come up with a 3D streetview concept like Google Maps called Look Around.  

Though I haven't noticed such a feature on my iPhone yet.  So perhaps it is still being rolled out in phases.  

Singapore Civil Service - Declaration of Indebtedness and Financial Embarrassment

Civil servants or public officers in Singapore are expected to declare their financial standing when they first join and every year thereafter or whenever their  unsecured financial liabilities exceed 3 months salary.

This declaration of indebtedness is meant to ensure that civil servants remain of good financial standing and helps the Public Service know whether an officer becomes vulnerable due to financial embarrassment.  The intention is meant to protect the officer (and by extension the Public Service) and is not meant to penalise the officer.

An officer is considered to be financially embarrassed if he or she has defaulted in repayment of loans, credit facilities and liabilities for 3 consecutive months.

Other situations where one is financially embarrassed also include being an undischarged bankrupt or where one takes a loan outside certain categories.

So this means that if one has not been making payments for credit card bills for 3 months consecutively, one will be considered financially embarrassed.  Or if one has borrowed from a money lender,  one will also be considered financially embarrassed.

So a civil servant must be careful to take only secured loans like housing or car loans. Other loans such as education loan, renovation loan is also allowed.  Unsecured loans like balance transfer or credit cards must be capped at 3 months salary.

A civil servant who is financially embarrassed must declare.


Check out other posts related to the civil service:
3. Credit Checks and Credit Bureau in Singapore (Bet you did not know that your credit report is actually available and compiled by certain agencies)

Civil servants in Singapore, like anyone else, can experience financial difficulties due to a variety of reasons, such as job loss, medical expenses, or overspending. While the job security and steady income that comes with being a civil servant may provide some financial stability, it is still important to practice good financial management and plan for unexpected events.

To avoid financial embarrassment, civil servants in Singapore can take the following steps:

Budgeting: Create a budget and stick to it, to ensure that expenses do not exceed income. This can help to avoid overspending and build up savings for unexpected events.

Debt Management: If necessary, seek help to manage debt and prioritize repayments.

Savings: Build up emergency savings to cover unexpected expenses, such as job loss or medical expenses.

Investment: Consider investing in diversified portfolios to grow wealth over the long term.

Financial Planning: Seek professional advice to develop a comprehensive financial plan that takes into account one's current financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance.

In conclusion, financial embarrassment can have a negative impact on personal and professional lives. Civil servants in Singapore, like anyone else, should be concerned about financial embarrassment and take steps to avoid it, such as budgeting, debt management, savings, investment, and financial planning.



Rental Income or Dividend Income

Which is better? Rental income or dividend income?

Having both rental income and dividend income,  I can say that I actually prefer to collect dividend income.

In Singapore, I don't have to pay taxes on dividends. But I have to pay taxes on my rental income.

Also, rental income is taxed at one's income bracket and that results in a lower yield from whatever rent I collect. 

If using a housing/ real estate agent, one also has to pay the agent commission ranging from 1 to 1.5 months rental.  This alone can be quite significant.

In terms of passiveness,  there is work involved too in terms of finding tenants paperwork, etc.

On the other hand,  dividend income is fairly straightforward.  No taxes,  no hefty commissions to be paid, and relative ease in terms of monitoring (assuming one is buying a good quality income).

This is not investment advice. Purely stating my preference as a very lazy investor.


Still Alive & Kicking

Haven't written in a long while. The last time I logged in to blog was probably 1-2 years back.

Everything is fine.  Just saying hi to all my readers. 

Still alive and kicking!

Starting Pay for Fresh University Graduate

So what is the starting pay for university graduates that are fresh out of university?

In 2017, the median salary for fresh graduates was $3,400. This is as compared to $3,300 in year 2016.

The top gross salary went (not surprisingly) to law degree holders from NUS and SMU, medicine from NUS, and those who did a double degree in business and computing from NTU. These earned  $5,000 per month.

Computer Science and dental surgery ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively at  $4,285 and $4,050.

The survey results are quite surprising I must admit.  But it shows that computing is probably in great demand for a variety of sectors in Singapore's economy.  With the rise of fields such as data analytics, machine intelligence and cybersecurity, these graduates are probably well - placed to take advantage of the digital economy.

The usual suspects of law, medicine and dentistry naturally command a high pay.

New Property Launch: Is Artra worth the buy?

The showroom at ARTRA was packed on Saturday. I will not be surprised if the units are almost 80 of 90% sold.

Besides boasting a really good location just beside Redhill MRT, it also has quite a hefty price.

All units are selling for around $1,5xx psf.

Indicative price:-

Type A, 2 bedroom + Study, from S$1,19X,XXX
Type B, 3 bedroom, from S$1,59X,XXX
Type C, 3 bedroom + Study, from S$1,79X,XXX
Type D, 3 bedroom + Study + Private Lift Lobby, from S$2,09X,XXX


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