FT FILES (HARD TRUTHS FILES SERIES #001) - FTs and Money Laudering in S'pore

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/new-owner-to-use-s-39m-sentosa-bungalow-as-‘weekend-retreat’.html

Remember Dr Susan Lim’s bungalow at Sentosa Cove which sold for a record S$39 million last month?

Well, the new owner plans to use it only as a weekend retreat.

The buyer was earlier revealed to be Shael Oswal, a 33-year-old Indian citizen in the mining business who moved to Singapore in late 2009 and stays around Grange Road.

In an interview with Indian tabloid Tabla!, Oswal, a father of two, said it would be tedious for his children to travel to school from Sentosa every morning. His nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son are students of Tanglin Trust School.

"It is an investment for weekends,” he reasoned. “I can take the children to Sentosa and when we get tired we can stay there."

When asked if he plans to buy a yacht next, Oswal jokingly told the tabloid he will have to leave that for another time as “already this is a huge investment”.

His mother and wife took up the property search after he decided they needed a place for weekend getaways.

"They saw a few in Sentosa but this one is in a very beautiful location. The sea view is great," Oswal said, before adding that some renovation still needs to be done. He has since entrusted the work to an Italian firm and is waiting for his new house at Cole Drive to be ready in three months.

The hefty price tag for the 99-year leasehold property works out to S$2,448 psf for a land area of 15,929 sq ft. The bungalow reportedly features a spacious living area, five bedrooms and an entertainment room.

Earlier this year, Property Guru reported that the seafront property had previously belonged to Citi Private Bank chairman Deepak Sharma and his well-known surgeon wife Susan Lim, who is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the Singapore Medical Council. The couple married in 2010.

Prior to becoming a Singapore citizen, Sharma was an Indian national.

Sentosa Cove is the only place in Singapore where non-PR foreigners are allowed to buy landed homes.


HARD TRUTHS - CAN YOU TAAHAN HARD TRUTHS???

Hard truths continued....

Within a short period, Prasad became the business ambassador of the government of Ras Al Khimah (RAK), the fourth-largest of the seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All of a sudden, RAK became a most favoured business group with the YSR government, thanks to this graduate from Andhra University, Vizag. Not only does Prasad officially represent the RAK government in his capacity as the director of RAK Investment Authority of UAE, he has also floated a joint venture with RAKEEN, the real estate wing of RAK, called Rakindo. Rakindo, in turn, has a business tie up with Emaar PJSC, another Dubai-based company.

So much was said to be Prasad's reach that in January 2009, when many of the land allotments of the YSR regime were being called into question, he managed to prevail on the state cabinet to clear the allotment of 471 acres of land in Sultanpur on the city outskirts for Ras Al Khaimah for a venture christened Hyderabad Economic City which critics say is nothing but a real estate venture.

Prasad's reach within the state Congress then widened. It is said that thanks to him, K Pratap Reddy, then PCC treasurer and owner of Penna Cements, became a joint venture partner of RAK, and they together set up a cement factory in UAE. H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, crown prince and deputy ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, inaugurated the AED 400 million Pioneer Cement Industries at Al Ghail in Ras Al Khaimah on November 9, 2006.

Due to his RAK link, Prasad grew within the country and internationally as well. Prasad is said to be a key business partner of the DMK government in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. His son Madhu Koneru is the CEO of MEC Holdings based in Singapore and Indonesia. The group's various units include MEC Coal, MEC Infrastructure, MEC Agriculture, and the MEC Foundation. MEC Coal is a JV with RAK government and invests and manages large-scale coal projects in Indonesia.

An upcoming project in the state is the $2 billion aluminium venture in Visakhapatnam district being promoted by the RAK government. Government sources said RAK has no experience in the aluminium related industry but still managed to secure the licence to mine, process and export aluminium in collaboration with minor partner, the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC). Critics of the state government claimed the royalty fixing formula is heavily skewed in favour of RAK as it is expected to generate Rs 6,000 crore a year for the company while the state gets a pittance.

It is because of his proximity to RAK that Prasad was given the selling rights to the villas being promoted by Emaar group. "But I doubt whether the roles played by various key people in the land allotments of the APIIC during the last regime would be probed as it can bring down many big names," said an official.



CRIMINALS ELSEWHERE...FOREIGN TALENTS IN SPORE
HARD TRUTHS - CAN YOU TAHAN HARD TRUTHS?

Apr 17, 2012

Wealthy foreigners can’t ‘buy’ PR status anymore in S'pore

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SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will roll up and put away one red carpet for rich foreigners aiming for permanent residence (PR) here, amid criticism of the influx of immigrants and its impact on asset prices, sources have told BT.

Wealthy foreigners who want their PR application expedited will now have to apply under a different scheme for well-heeled entrepreneurs from abroad who invest in businesses here.

The first programme, known as the Financial Investor Scheme (FIS), will be scrapped by the end of this month, sources told BT. MAS later confirmed that it is putting an end to the scheme.

Since 2004, FIS has allowed high net worth individuals from overseas with net personal assets of S$20mil (RM49.4mil) – and at least S$10mil of assets held in Singapore for five years – to get onto a fast track and apply for PR status through private banks or other financial institutions via MAS.

The minimum sum of S$10mil was already doubled in 2010 from S$5mil, as part of the government’s move to curb the flow of immigrants.

Up to S$2mil of the S$10mil that these wealthy foreigners park here can be used to buy private residential property.

Now that this scheme is being axed, wealthy foreigners can still apply for PR status under the Global Investor Programme (GIP) – a scheme that allows entrepreneurs from abroad to obtain PR.

Unlike FIS, where assets held in Singapore are the main criterion, GIP is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a track record in corporate circles and is a scheme that can boost employment locally.

Banks are understood to have received notices from the central bank recently. No public announcement was made by MAS – which puts banks in a slight fix as clients have to be properly informed, especially if they want their PR applications processed.

Sources told BT that banks have until the end of this month to provide full details to MAS.

“My speculation is that this has to do with the issues surrounding immigration and property prices,” said one market watcher in the banking industry.

A small knock-on effect may be felt by the private banking and wealth management sectors, with DBS Treasures still advertising its services to help with PR applications under FIS.

One source said that the number of private banking clients coming through his bank’s doors as a result of FIS had been minimal. But clients could have applied through several banks if they hold multiple private banking accounts.

Supporters gave $26.6 million to the arts last year

Sum last year is $4.5m more than in 2009; donors receive awards


Published on Sep 28, 2011



Among the donors who received awards last night were Wild Rice supporters (from left) Mr Tan Puay Hiang, Mr Leonardo Drago and Ms Anthonia Hui. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

By Corrie Tan

Arts donors gave more to the arts last year, in line with the boom in the economy.

They gave $26.6 million, an increase of $4.5 million from the $22.1 million given in 2009.

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, announced this on Tuesday night at the National Arts Council's annual Arts Supporter Awards.

These awards recognise individuals and corporations which have contributed between $10,000 and $49,999 in a year to promote and develop the arts.

HARD TRUTHS CONT'D...CAN U TAHAN HARD TRUTHS?

DIARY OF A PRIVATE BANKER:

We meet a private banking neutron bomb
I say, chaps, phew. We have just met the closest thing in international private banking to
highly enriched uranium. This delightfully fissionable bombshell is one Anthonia Hui, a
mighty atom of a private banker who hails from Singapore.

Anthonia (see picture) has certainly caused a chain reaction among all our friends, and
we are still in a totally quivery meltdown after this wonderful lady recently visited Europe.
And we must add that Anthonia, who looks far, far better than most of the supermodels that
walk the catwalks of London, Paris or New York, is still single! Now, if we can only
wheedle her personal Blackberry number out of Warwick, helped by the promise of voting
for his 502nd award...

http://www.alwealthpartners.com/uplo...c/6_press2.pdf

HARD TRUTHS...CAN YOU TAHAN HARD TRUTHS???

http://olamonline.com/careers/meet-our-people

HARD TRUTHS...CAN YOU TAHAN HARD TRUTHS???

http://graduate.math.nus.edu.sg/~g0800878/

Ph.D. candidate
Department of Mathematics, Block S17, National University of Singapore
10, Lower Kent Ridge Road, 119076, Republic of Singapore (map)


NS and WDA SPURS for S'poreans
Degrees, scholarships and PHDs for FOREIGN TALENTS

https://apps-bschool.nus.edu.sg/asp/staffprofile/cv.asp?id=181


NS and WDA SPURS for S'poreans
Degrees, scholarships and PHDs for FOREIGN TALENTS

Din know that Dr. Susan Lim was FBI...