Search the Community

let's start a new thread ... Part II was started in 2012 to 2022 (10 years cycle) ...

Hi All, Have been seeing PI selling Welcab models for Estima, Sienta etc. But any idea if there is any after-market installer for welcab facilities ? To be specific, for a Toyota Wish. Thanks in advance. Cheers ...

Was planning to go Shilin Night Market @ Turf Club tmr night. Then I saw this report https://mothership.sg/2019/04/shilin-night-market-singapore-crowds/. The q looks terribly long. Wonder anyone went there tdy? Maybe can give some comments whether worth going anot.

New type of condom called Spray On Condom and they looking for TESTERS Got a video on it too but in german ....... Can look at this link http://www.gizmag.com/go/6534/

Up to 600 Thai vendors when Bangkok's Chatuchak market comes to Bukit Timah If you’re a frequent visitor to Bangkok who can’t get enough of its famous markets, especially Chatuchak, you’ll be happy to know that we’ll be getting a version of it in Singapore next year – albeit for a limited period. Chatuchak Night Market Singapore will take place from Feb 4 to May 3, 2020, at The Grandstand on Turf Club Road in Bukit Timah. The market will open Tuesdays to Sundays from 4pm to 10.30pm. The 40,000 sq ft space can hold up to 272 stalls that will provide F&B; retail such as handicrafts, fashion, home décor and antiques; as well as services from a mix of Thai and local vendors. According to Imran Mohamad, who is part of the organising team, 30 to 50 Thai vendors will be brought in every week on rotation to make up the 600 from the country that will be selling their wares throughout the duration of the market. One such vendor is Rooftop Barbers Studio, a certified master barber who will be providing artisan gentlemen haircuts. There will also be several hundred seats for visitors who want to enjoy the street food and drinks on the premises. Visitors will enjoy free parking and free shuttle services from locations in Clementi, Toa Payoh and Sixth Avenue to the market. This is the first time that Chatuchak market’s brand will appear outside of Thailand. The local version is the brainchild of Keith Tay, founder and director Chatuchak SG, who used to run a boat noodle business in Singapore. Another famous Thai market export has already hit our shores; Artbox recently held its third iteration in Singapore in mid-November with over 300 regional and local curated entertainment acts, retailers and artworks by visual and expressive artists.

https://mothership.sg/2020/08/singaporean-fresh-grad-funeral-parlour/ What it's like for a S'porean fresh grad, 22, who found herself working for a funeral parlour PERSPECTIVE: It is a tough market for job seekers in Singapore, as many companies have implemented hiring freeze policies, amid the current Covid-19 pandemic. Natasha Wee, a recent graduate from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), spoke to Mothership about how she landed a job as a funeral director assistant, and how she values the unexpected opportunity that she was given to work in an industry that is far from a conventional one. Wee has been working at Harmony Funeral Care since July, 2020.

I just realized that Suzuki Solio is no longer in the new car price list and the car was not present at the car show in Expo. I thought Solio was just launched end of last year? Anyone knows?

Bye bye LG phones, but I won't miss you... https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/lg-first-major-smartphone-brand-withdraw-market-14558912

Breakfast was not bad, had chunky red snapper porridge for main course but started with some fruits and a fritter So my trip will be starting from the south of Taiwan in the city of Kaohsiung then will move to Taipei Friday evening. So, when I arrive at Taoyuan Airport (near to Taipei) I have to take their High Speed Rail (HSR) to the Kaohsiung in the south. But before that I need to get to the Taoyuan HSR Station, by bus Follow the sign to go to the bus station at B1 level, just outside the glass door go to number 12 kiosk for bus number 705 and pay just $30 Inside the bus Train ticket $1,980 (non-reserve seat cost $1290, standard reserve seat costs $1330) from Taoyuan station to Zuoying Station (this is the name of the HSR station for Kaohsiung) Here comes the train https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vKVaVpHMl0 Inside the train

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/pig-dna-found-cuttlefish-and-prawn-balls-nus-researchers Jialat man, no doubt it is not marked as Halal but how can we have food that is labelled differently from what it is.... the only one which I can accept so far it “bird’s nest” which you buy at Pasar Malam, we all know that is actually jelly la... hahaha

Manhattan Fish Market has been accused of denying a mother in Singapore a Mother’s Day promotion offer because the woman has no husband. According to a June 5 Facebook post by Mellissa Seah, the incident occurred at the Manhattan Fish Market outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 1. Seah wrote that she came across a promotion where mothers are entitled to a free Manhattan Fish ‘N Chips with every purchase of a main dish. Staff allegedly said, “Your family is not complete” Seah thought that this was a good deal and wanted to dine at Manhattan Fish Market with her mother. However, when Seah asked about the promotion, the eatery’s personnel allegedly told her that her mother did not qualify for it. The staff allegedly said, “You’re not entitled to this because your family is not complete,” and “The father is missing”. Seah clarified that her family is incomplete “not by choice”, but did not elaborate: Seah also wrote that it was “disappointing that a brand like MFM still has the mindset that a Complete Family Unit is one that is made up of Father, Mother and Child”. She ended her post by saying that she is proud to be part of an incomplete family, and she will never patronise Manhattan Fish Market again.

A fire broke out at Thailand's famous Chatuchak weekend market on Sunday (June 2) night, resulting in two injuries and damage to 200 shops. The fire, which started near Gate 1 of the market, was reported at around 9.15pm, and the blaze was brought under control by firefighters around one hour later, according to the Bangkok Post. About 20 fire trucks were deployed to the scene in Chatuchak district, The Nation reported. Witnesses said they saw flames and heard sporadic explosions. According to the market's website, Gate No. 1 is located near sections of the market that sell mostly books and collectibles, as well as food shops and cafes.

more like propose … since they can't really launch anything … (disclaimer : this post is not politically motivated) SDP launches housing programme: Non-open market flats to solve the problem of depreciating value of HDB flats Under the programme proposed by SDP, administrative, material, and labour costs will still be included in the price of new HDB apartments, but the land cost will not, resulting in considerably lower prices Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) launched its housing policy on Saturday, April 6, with the proposal for Non-Open Market (NOM) flats to be introduced to the public housing system to address HDB’s 99-year lease crisis. At at the SDP office in Ang Mo Kio, the party’s leaders explained that NOM apartments are those which do not include land costs in their price. The policy, entitled Housing A Nation: Holistic Policies For Affordable Homes, was presented by Party Vice-Chairman John L. Tan, and Treasurer Bryan Lim. They explained that this programme would address the problem of the depreciating value of HDB flats because of the 99-year lease of the land. At the launch, Mr Tan said, “Depreciating values, especially of ageing flats, mean that owners cannot depend on their flats as a nest-egg. The problem is compounded by the fact many Singaporeans have depleted their CPF savings to pay for their flats.” Under the programme proposed by SDP, administrative, material, and labour costs will still be included in the price of new HDB apartments, but the land cost will not. This will result in considerably decreased prices for flats, for example, 2-room apartments would cost around S$70,000, and 5-room flats could cost lower than S$240,000. Bryan Lim pointed out that “As the name implies, however, flats bought under this scheme will not be allowed to be re-sold in the open market,” and that people who wanted to sell their flats would have to sell them again to the HDB. He pointed out that for public housing, the Government should not make a profit from citizens, and that citizens should not use their HDB flats for capital gain. He asserted that as a social good, public housing must be utilized for meeting the ends of the people, and not for profit for either the government or homeowners. According to a statement from the SDP, under the NOM scheme, Singaporeans would only take 9-15 years to pay off their housing loans, given a 3 percent interest rate and using no more than 20 percent of gross income. The SDP says that this reduces the burden on citizens buying homes and that it would free up funds for greater retirement savings. Part of the SDP’s proposal is for existing homeowners to convert their flats under the NOM scheme, which would entail the Government giving back the difference between “between the original price of their flats (as purchased from the HDB) and price of an equivalent NOM flat subject to a cap,” the press statement said. Afterward, the difference would be credited to the homeowner’s CPF or would go toward existing housing loans. “The NOM scheme essentially gives Singaporeans an added option of buying a home at a greatly reduced price. First-time HDB buyers can choose to buy an open market or non-open market flat.”

http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/third-virtual-mobile-telco-enters-market?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&xtor=CS1-10 Zero1 eyes slice of the pie with aggressive pricing for unlimited mobile data plan Irene Tham Senior Tech Correspondent A new virtual mobile telco wants to challenge the status quo by introducing an unlimited mobile data plan at rock-bottom prices. Starting today, Zero1 will be pre-registering customers on its website for the $19-a-month plan that will be launched next month. This price is for the first 3,000 registrations. After that, it will cost $29.99 a month. The plan comes with 200 minutes of local talk time and 200 SMS messages. Even at the higher price, it is one-third the current market price. Zero1 is the third virtual mobile telco to enter Singapore after Circles.Life and Zero Mobile. Virtual telcos do not build their own physical mobile networks, but lease them wholesale from one of the existing telcos. Zero1 leases from Singtel. Zero1's CEO Stuart Tan said the low price requires it to manage the surfing speed of heavy users in a way that will not slow down that of other users on the network. Specifically, the download speed for high-definition videos will be capped after the first 3GB of data allowance is used. This limit, Mr Tan claims, will not reduce the speed of many other services including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp calls. Zero1 hopes to sign up 50,000 subscribers - about 1 per cent of the post-paid market - in its first year of operation. It plans to set itself apart from rivals by offering free voice roaming via its Zero1 app, slated to be launched in June. With the app, subscribers will be able to call and receive calls from any Singapore mobile or landline number for free while roaming overseas. ST_20170913_VCDATA13_3411919.jpg Related Story Unlimited mobile data: It's back but can it replace home Internet? This is done using call-forwarding technology Mr Tan developed, patented and launched early last year. The technology is embedded in a device called Qongle, sold for $199. It helps travellers avoid expensive roaming fees, ranging from 35 cents to $6 a minute depending on the destination country, or inconvenient workarounds to reduce roaming rates such as buying a SIM card in the destination country. Qongle's technology is now embedded in Zero1's backend systems. Mobile data roaming rates will apply but the rates will be announced later. In June, the firm will also launch tiered data plans and value-added services such as music and live concert streaming on virtual reality platforms. Zero1, which received its operating licence from the Infocomm Media Development Authority late last year, has raised a few million dollars from private investors. They include Zone Telecom, a telephony and networking services firm that belongs to the Hong Kong-listed e-Kong Group conglomerate.

in the previous episode, house of Tan did a quick flip from 60 to 90 mil. Now I wonder how much higher it can go. But filpping and earning the profit, is it still taxable ? or once you pay the stamp duties already done deal liao ? Since you cannot happy happy redevelop , how to get more from this kind of property ? THE House of Tan Yeok Nee, a gazetted national monument alongPenang Road, is back on the market, a year after it was last transacted. Its owner, a special purpose vehicle of ERC Holdings, is believed to be looking at a price of over $100 million. It purchased the freehold property at slightly over $60 million last year. When contacted, ERC chairman Andy Ong said he was selling the asset as it has "reached its investment objective". "We usually make property investments with a five to seven-year investment horizon. But in this case, we have reached the expected price sooner than expected because of macro-economic factors such as liquidity, and strong investment demand for Singapore commercial property. On top of that, this is a one-of-its-kind property: It is the last remaining traditional Chinese courtyard house in Singapore." The House of Tan Yeok Nee is named after a wealthy Teochew businessman who built it in the 1880s. It was restored in 2000. The property sits on land of about 32,000 sq ft and has a strata area of about 58,000 sq ft. Its net lettable area is about 23,000 sq ft, but Jones Lang LaSalle, which is marketing the property, said there is potential to increase this to around 36,000 sq ft through reconfiguration of void areas and use of courtyard space. Currently the property is fully leased to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The lease runs out in 2015. "Subject to approval from relevant authorities, there is potential for alternative uses including a flagship office building, specialist retail, hospitality or F&B usage," JLL said in its release yesterday. Anthony Barr, JLL's national director (investments), said: "This is a rare opportunity to acquire an asset for commercial use in a prime location in the Orchard Road precinct. House of Tan Yeok Nee is a unique asset that offers owner occupiers or investors the ability to leverage off the building's prominence and historical significance." The tender for The House of Tan Yeok Nee will close on July 5. ERC boss Andy Ong has been in the news over a dispute with Sakae Holdings, where he was formerly non-executive director. Earlier this month, Sakae dropped two legal actions against Mr Ong after it secured rights to jointly control a special bank account holding tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of Bugis Cube, among other things. But Sakae said it will continue to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Mr Ong's public relations firm, Financial PR Pte Ltd, and another action against him for breach of his duties. ERC Holdings through a special purpose vehicle also owns Big Hotel along Middle Road. The hotel began trading earlier this month and last Saturday, all 200 rooms which had been opened by then were fully taken, said Mr Ong. The 16-storey hotel has 308 rooms with sizes ranging from 11 to 50 sq metres. The average room size is 15 sq metres. "We're rushing to open the rest of the rooms by the end of next week," said Mr Ong. The hotel is currently offering a promotional room rate starting from $128 per night. Graduates of ERC's diploma and degree courses in hospitality management are among the hotel's employees. ERC Holdings is an education, property and hotel group. Mr Ong, its chairman, owns more than 70 per cent of ERC. When asked if he was willing to sell Big Hotel, Mr Ong replied: "We have received a lot of enquiries. Let's see what happens." In terms of his pricing expectation, Mr Ong said this will be at least at the valuation. The freehold hotel was valued recently at $240 million, which works out to nearly $800,000 per room. ERC converted Big Hotel from the former Prime Centre, which it bought in late 2010 from Hong Leong Group. It paid $103 million for the building and pumped in another $30 million retrofitting the 16-storey building.

Hey bros, need some ideas. Sick of the same old thing. my aim is to gather a list of major hawker centres WHERE there are good food for weekday lunch. 1) Kallang Airport 2) Amoy market 3) Duman Food centre 4) Marine Parade Food centre 5) Golden Mile FC 6) Maxwell market 7) Bedok Centre 8) Bedok South opposite TJC any others? Please note that i'm not asking to name all the hawker centres. I'm asking for those worth visiting for lunch Thanks!!!

Recently, I saw an influx of almost new low mileage Mazda 3 in the market with fabric seats. The mileage is low, so don't seem to be PHV push out from Uber or Lion City Rentals. "la long" from Eurokars? :-)

I heard from my coleague that there is a fish market in Pontian which sell fresh seafood at very reasonable price. The market opens in the afternoon, 1pm if I heard it correctly. But, KNN, the coleagues are evasive when I asked for direction and always say they either follow the direction from their uncle or just sit a car and dunno the way. Searched thru Google but can't find anything on it. Has anybody here been there before? Could you share where it is?

As a single man (below age 35) in Singapore, basically i cannot do anything with local property. Not rich enough for Condo XD I am hoping to get a decent HDB once I get married later, so as to get some government grants... Hence I am wondering are there brothers here who have participated in overseas property purchases? I have went through the numerous adverts in Straits Times of property purchases in overseas in countries as diverse as Australia, UK, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia etc.. (I wonder why not much of USA property), and is a little skeptical. Someone wrote to the Straits Times forum last week mentioning how many of these property companies tend to "collapse" with many investors burnt with money owed to banks, or even better, the land in mind does not even get developed at all... Are there proper ways to look for properties to buy in overseas market? I am actually thinking of Cambodia, then again..... I do not mind learning and doing research, but with so much scams and "big canon fairies" around, hard to know which knowledge is decent.... Any bros or sisters here with advice or experience to share? =D I was thinking of Capitaland's The Ascott Limited - Somerset Norodom in Phnom Penh Price start from $1xxk which is cheap but i wonder how reliable is the rental guarantee they are offering though. Anyone has experience ? Location any good? From http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascott-to-manage-1st-international-serviced-residence-in-cambodia According to the news "Somerset Norodom Phnom Penh is part of a 28-storey mixed-use development located in an exclusive district surrounded by Norodom and Monivong boulevards. Embassies, foreign banks, multinational corporations and government agencies are within the vicinity, along with many F&B outlets. The property offers a range of studio to two-bedroom apartments, with facilities including a playroom, gymnasium, sauna and residents’ lounge." Somerset Norodom Sales page ; http://conversion-page.com/cambodiapropertyinvestment/

Hey folks, dunno why suddenly have so many wedding invitations for this Nov and Dec. Any of you know what's the current ang pow rate for the following? (1) Wedding dinner (hotel) (2) Wedding dinner (restaurant) (3) Solemnisation (hotel) - first time I heard of such thing (4) Church wedding Tks in advance.

Is there anyone out there who can install power/electical tailgate for my Grandis & Harrier ?

Hi, I was involved in a accident months back, and had my car total loss. I was compensated market value by insurer. I noticed that the car is back in the resale market. Is this legitimate?

Hi guys, just a few sites for your reference with regards to fake ICE stuff.. this one is with reference to fake focals in our neighbours up north.. http://www.focal-fr.com/counterfeit.htm http://www.focal-fr.com/COUNTERFEITING/malaysia.htm

Hi guys, Anyone saw this? Whole market gone in flames!!!!! Also heard boom sound! Unfortunately I just came out of jungle, still using no-camera phone. Passed by but can't take photos. NPNT I know. Anyway I hope no one was injured. Anyone staying this area and got pictures, pls contribute. Thanks.

HONG KONG—Chinese financial regulators this year slashed red tape and laid out the welcome mat for global bond investors, hoping to lure fresh cash into the country’s $9 trillion market. But new players have been slow to accept the invitation, wary about lingering ambiguity over the rules and how they will be enforced. “There are still too many layers of regulation,” said Jean-Charles Sambor, deputy head of emerging-market fixed income at BNP Paribas Investment Partners in London, which manages $1.2 billion in assets. Mr. Sambor said he is interested in China’s domestic bond market, but isn’t buying yet. Cautious investors cite a wide range of ongoing concerns, from uncertainty over tax treatment to the depth of the government’s commitment to liberalization. Foreign bond buying has picked up since the liberalization took effect earlier this year. Between February and June, the most recent month data is available, foreign investor holdings jumped 15% to 764 billion yuan ($115 billion), according to the People’s Bank of China. That is still just 1.3% of the market, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Among the new Chinese bond investors is Robert Simpson, a fund manager at London-based Insight Investment, which manages £499 billion ($662.73 billion) and bought a small batch of government debt this summer. “It’s a market that we wanted to be at the forefront of,” Mr. Simpson said. Yet Mr. Simpson said his firm is “taking our time to build up our expertise.” The PBOC didn’t respond to requests for comment. The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, an industry body that helps oversee the bond market, declined to comment. The changes in China, the world’s third-largest bond market, are part of Beijing’s push to open up the country’s financial system and expand international use of the yuan, while steering domestic borrowers to seek funding from markets rather than bank loans. The bond-market liberalization follows a similar opening of the country’s stock market, where foreign ownership reached $90 billion in June, about 1.5% of the domestic market. Until this year, global fund managers had to apply for permission to buy bonds, and their purchases were limited by quotas governing how much they could buy. They could use only U.S. dollars or yuan parked outside of China’s mainland. In some cases, investors could only repatriate a capped amount each year, or had to keep their money inside the country for up to one year. The few foreign investors who were granted easy access included central banks, sovereign-wealth funds and multilateral lenders such as the World Bank. Advertisement ‘There are still too many layers of regulation.’ —Jean-Charles Sambor Now, a wider range of investors has access to Chinese bonds, including commercial banks, insurers, securities firms, mutual funds, pensions and charities. Instead of seeking regulators’ approval to invest, they can just register before buying. Regulators also lifted investment quotas and eased restrictions on repatriation, as well as limitations on the types of currencies that could be used. China’s bond market remains undeveloped compared with the U.S. and other advanced economies. It is a relatively small source of domestic credit in the bank-dependent economy, and the pool of investors is concentrated largely among the country’s banks. Some investors consider Chinese yields attractive, with the benchmark 10-year government bond returning 2.8%, compared with 1.6% for U.S. Treasurys, and negative yields in Japan and parts of Europe. But gauging risk is tricky, due to grade inflation by local raters, who classify more than 90% of corporate debt as investment grade. There are still boundaries for foreigners seeking to enter the market. Investors can’t buy and sell by themselves, but rather have to work through an approved settlement agency in China to register, trade and repatriate money. By contrast, foreigners can buy bonds in emerging markets such as Thailand and Malaysia simply by placing orders with a broker. China’s bond market also appears to be off limits to the likes of hedge funds. The PBOC said in its liberalization announcement that only “medium-to-long-term institutional investors” were qualified to register. Many foreigners remain fearful that when things get tough, regulators will find ways to clamp down on trading. During last summer’s stock-market crash, Chinese authorities allowed thousands of listed firms to freeze stock trading, forcing locals and foreigners into holding positions while the market fell. “There is a risk of policy reversing with some kind of capital controls being imposed,” said Luke Spajic, head of portfolio management in emerging Asia at Pacific Investment Management Co., which manages $1.5 trillion in global assets. “It could happen. Policy has been in flux.” Some investors also worry about taxes. China’s Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation say foreigners need to pay a 10% levy on interest earned from bonds. But Chinese bond issuers don’t withhold this tax, and the regulator hasn’t spelled out who should be collecting it. The tax authority hasn’t clarified whether foreigners must pay any capital gains tax at all. “One regulator (the PBOC) has opened up its market, but investors are still waiting for another regulator (the tax authority) to come up with rules pertinent to that development,” said TieCheng Yang, a Beijing-based lawyer with the London law firm of Clifford Chance LLP.