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Chitchat Bond investors in Spore be careful

Singapore millionaire, 77, joins bondholders in workouts

SINGAPORE — Mr Jerry Tan, a 77-year-old retired Singaporean businessman, was among dozens of bondholders in the city who joined forces last week to submit their demands as more companies seek to restructure debt payments.

“The only way to put ourselves in a position of some strength is to come together as a group,” said Mr Tan, who said he owns more than S$8 million of notes. “The whole bond market is really bad and you can expect a lot more defaults. The authorities should step up to protect investors and Singapore’s reputation as a major financial centre.”

Tan was among a crowd of housewives, former traders and entrepreneurs who gathered outside a trustee’s office to deliver a demand for immediate payment on S$100 million of notes issued by shipping trust Rickmers Maritime, which is seeking a debt-equity swap. A separate group issued a similar notice of acceleration on S$125 million of bonds sold by Malaysian oil services company Perisai Petroleum Teknologi, after talks ona reorganisation broke down.

Three defaults in the past year and at least seven restructuring proposals have shaken Singapore’s reputation as an Asian finance hub, prompting the government to tighten oversight of private banks and aid businesses caught up in a global oil and shipping slump. The city is also reeling from a penny-stock crash, the worst quarter for home prices in seven years and the highest bad loans since 2009.

“For financially-savvy investors, they need to know what they’re buying into and not just look at the yields,” said Mr Benedict Koh, a professor of finance at Singapore Management University. “In workout situations, they must acknowledge that a haircut is inevitable, get some independent advice and decide whether the discount is fair or too deep.”

Singapore’s high net-worth individuals rose 27 per cent between 2009 and 2015 to 103,600, according to Capgemini SA, becoming major buyers of higher-yielding notes. While their ranks include former traders and executives, many were classed as wealthy investors based on the apartments they live in rather than their ability to absorb losses. Local-currency junk bonds fell 1.9 per cent last quarter, according to an IHS Markit index, the most in data going back to June 2012.

REGULATORS RESPOND

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said last month it is working to boost investor safeguards by year-end, while the government plans to enhance legal provisions for debt restructuring.

Rickmers isn’t expected to revise its debt-equity swap proposal despite the bondholders’ action, Mr Soeren Andersen, chief executive officer of Rickmers Trust Management, the manager of the trust, said on Sept 28. Its 8.45 per cent notes were quoted at 35 cents on the dollar, according to DBS Bank Ltd. prices.

“So far, the company’s proposals have been most inequitable to bondholders,” said Mr Jeffrey Sia, a retired trader who owns less than S$1 million of Rickmers bonds. “We will stand united to protect our interests.”

Perisaiis offering an alternative proposal to bondholders after its plan to defer repayment of its S$125 million notes was rejected by bondholders on Monday, the day the notes were due. Investors that pool their holdings beyond a 25 per cent threshold are allowed to make demands for immediate repayment. Perisai shares tumbled a record 28 per cent in Kuala Lumpur.

“Yes, it’s our responsibility that we bought the bonds but the company can’t just brush us aside,” bondholder Cheng Fong Kiew said on Monday, after rejecting Perisai’s deferment plan.

Investors holding 25 per cent of Pacific Andes Resources Development’s S$200 million in defaulted 2017 notes, trading at 15 cents, are getting legal advice amid restructuring. Swiber Holdings missed payments on S$460 million of bonds and the oil services provider said any liquidation outcome would return 2 cents on the dollar for unsecured creditors.

“Bondholders were treated very roughly” in recent cases, said Mr Lee Ka Shao, a former hedge fund manager who now runs a family office in Singapore. “If bondholders are not in the know, they could be easily ran over because there is no platform for them to group and there is no process for going through a fair restructuring.” BLOOMBERG

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-millionaire-77-joins-bondholders-workouts
 
what happened to singapore market if so many oil n gas firm bankrupt?
 
Only the paranoid survive.


Sporeans can be too trusting. Even our banks have been cheated. They are too used to handling honest Sporeans:D



https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/uob-suing-over-inflated-housing-loans-020000587--sector.html

UOB suing over inflated housing loans


Mon, Feb 29, 2016 10:00 AM SGT

Singapores High Court has allowed United Overseas Bank (UOB) to proceed with legal action against two property agents, five individuals and Lippo Marina Collection (LMC), a subsidiary of Lippo Group, reported The Straits Times.

The defendants are being sued by the bank for their alleged failure to disclose the lavish furniture rebates offered by the developer to buyers of 38 apartments at the Marina Collection condominium.

UOB claims that because they were not informed about the rebates, they granted a higher loan amount to the condo buyers. Otherwise, they would have cut the mortgage quantum.

For example, the buyer of a $5.98 million unit was given a furniture rebate of $1.78 million. But the purchaser got a bank loan of $4.79 million, which is higher than the actual sales price of $4.2 million.

The bank also alleged that the distorted prices for the 99-year leasehold units infringed on the mortgage rules introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It also claimed that the buyers do not have the financial capability to repay the loans, as 37 of the 38 loans are already in default.

Countering UOBs claim, LMC said the responsible parties in a housing loan agreement are solely the buyers and the bank. In addition, it had no knowledge of the misrepresentation of the actual sales price.

The two property agents also jointly denied the accusation that they conspired to deceive the bank. They said UOBs vice-president of housing loans at the time was cognisant in all matters relating to the buyers mortgage applications. Hence, it cannot be said that the bank was not aware.
 
Our gov't & local banks are no saints. They can be play dirty & act innocent:o

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/singapore-refutes/2981094.html

Singapore refutes Indonesia claims of attempts to 'thwart' tax amnesty scheme


JAKARTA: Singapore has refuted claims made by Indonesian media this week alleging that several of its banks have lured Indonesian clients into leaving their assets in the country instead of repatriating them home, using a special scheme.

In a joint statement on Saturday (Jul 23), Singapore's Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the claims of policies being implemented in Singapore to "thwart" Indonesia's tax amnesty programme were untrue.

“Singapore has not cut tax rates, nor changed our policies in response to Indonesia’s Tax Amnesty Programme," the statement said.

"We subscribe to internationally agreed standards for combating money laundering and for exchange of information. If there is any case of suspected cross-border tax evasion, concerned authorities can approach Singapore – we have assisted and will continue to assist in line with the international standards."

"We have no interest in sheltering illicit tax monies," a statement from the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta added.

On Thursday, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla was quoted in local media as saying that every country wanted to survive, and the claims being circulated accusing Singaporean banks only "proves what people always say that most of the money stashed in Singapore comes from Indonesia".

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro reportedly said that Singapore's rumoured bank scheme was a move to "challenge" Indonesia, but he was confident that Indonesian taxpayers would repatriate their assets back to their own country.

He added that he is not afraid of the move by Singaporean banks, reportedly telling Indonesian media on Tuesday that he is “not afraid of Singapore which is just a small country”. He had previously said the amnesty is expected to draw about 165 trillion rupiah (S$16.9 billion) for the government.

Indonesia kicked off its tax amnesty programme on Jul 18. It grants special personal income tax rates to tax evaders who declare their past earnings between this month and next March. People and companies that declare their earnings and pay the special taxes will not be penalised for having failed to declare them before.

SINGAPORE BANKS SUPPORT TAX AMNESTY PROGRAMME: PRIVATE BANKING INDUSTRY GROUP


“Singapore banks support this tax amnesty programme from Indonesia,” said Ms Tan Su Shan, co-chair of MAS's Private Banking Industry Group. “Tax amnesty programmes can be a useful tool for individuals to regularise their tax affairs with their respective tax authorities.”

She added that in the case of the Indonesian tax amnesty programme, Indonesians should seek proper tax advice and determine if and to what extent the programme applies to them, based on the details that have been announced.

“Banks in Singapore will provide the necessary support for their clients who participate in the programme,” she added.

SINGAPORE SMALL, BUT RESPECTED AND SUCCESSFUL: SHANMUGAM

In a Facebook post on Saturday (Jul 23), Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said he does not understand why there is “this constant attempt to put us down; and taunting us that we are small.”

His remarks came after Indonesia’s Finance Minister was quoted saying to Indonesian media that he was “not afraid of Singapore which is just a small country”.

Mr Shanmugam wrote that Singapore is good friends with Indonesia in the last 50 years. Both countries have cooperated on many matters, and both countries benefit from these good relations. “But every now and then, someone in Indonesia will tell us that we should know our place, a little red dot,” he wrote.

“Yes, we are a little red dot. We may be small. But we are respected and successful. And our people lead meaningful lives. And we don’t live in fear of anyone else,” he added.

Indonesia Minister taunting us, saying Singapore is small.
-------------------------
We are good friends with Indonesia in the last 50 years. We have cooperated on many matters.

Both countries benefit from this good relations....
 
Wait till the Indo smoke you out and you will know what it is to lead a meaningful life.
 
Sporeans can be too trusting. Even our banks have been cheated. They are too used to handling honest Sporeans:D



https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/uob-suing-over-inflated-housing-loans-020000587--sector.html

UOB suing over inflated housing loans


Mon, Feb 29, 2016 10:00 AM SGT

Singapores High Court has allowed United Overseas Bank (UOB) to proceed with legal action against two property agents, five individuals and Lippo Marina Collection (LMC), a subsidiary of Lippo Group, reported The Straits Times.

The defendants are being sued by the bank for their alleged failure to disclose the lavish furniture rebates offered by the developer to buyers of 38 apartments at the Marina Collection condominium.

UOB claims that because they were not informed about the rebates, they granted a higher loan amount to the condo buyers. Otherwise, they would have cut the mortgage quantum.

For example, the buyer of a $5.98 million unit was given a furniture rebate of $1.78 million. But the purchaser got a bank loan of $4.79 million, which is higher than the actual sales price of $4.2 million.

The bank also alleged that the distorted prices for the 99-year leasehold units infringed on the mortgage rules introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It also claimed that the buyers do not have the financial capability to repay the loans, as 37 of the 38 loans are already in default.

Countering UOBs claim, LMC said the responsible parties in a housing loan agreement are solely the buyers and the bank. In addition, it had no knowledge of the misrepresentation of the actual sales price.

The two property agents also jointly denied the accusation that they conspired to deceive the bank. They said UOBs vice-president of housing loans at the time was cognisant in all matters relating to the buyers mortgage applications. Hence, it cannot be said that the bank was not aware.

Indeed, Suzhou industrial park anyone?
 
Heeton Holdings
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/heeton-holdings-sells-ilivgrange-for-95-million

Heeton Holdings has sold its upmarket iLiv@Grange condominium off Orchard Road en bloc in a deal that values the property at $95 million.

The price - which works out to $1,623 per square foot on net saleable area - is lower than its asking price of $110 million to $120 million last year. The company had tried to sell the Grange Road property en bloc on two previous occasions, initially asking for $129 million to $135 million in late 2013.

Heeton had not sold any of the 30 units at the 16-storey project, which was completed in October 2013.

It had total debt of $369.26 million, and cash and cash equivalents of $11.17 million at June 30.

HTONSP 5.900% 02Jun2017
Issue Size SGD 60,000,000
 
Metech International Limited (Formerly Centillion Environment & Recycling Limited)

As lending conditions tighten while the stock market stays depressed, waste management firm Metech International looks set to become the first listed company here to issue bonds on a crowdfunding platform.

Metech is seeking to raise $2 million by selling unrated junk bonds with a two-year tenure and 8 per cent coupon rate, to be paid out quarterly each year, it said on Tuesday. Half the principal will be repaid after the first year but the firm can repay the full sum then if it wants, without incurring a penalty. Late payments will incur a 12 per cent interest rate.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/metech-to-issue-bonds-on-crowdfunding-site
 
.... but the firm can repay the full sum then if it wants, without incurring a penalty. Late payments will incur a 12 per cent interest rate.[/url]/QUOTE]

So in other words they don't have to pay bond holders after half the principal has been repaid:confused:

Is this legal in Spore or anywhere else:confused: What if the company decides to close shop like some of the car companies in Spore, where the owners disappeared with their clients money?
 
So in other words they don't have to pay bond holders after half the principal has been repaid:confused:

Is this legal in Spore or anywhere else:confused: What if the company decides to close shop like some of the car companies in Spore, where the owners disappeared with their clients money?

Caveat emptor
 
Rickmers Trust Management, the Singapore-listed trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime, has called an extraordinary general meeting on October 31 where noteholders will vote on a revised proposal for the restructuring of the company’s debt. If the deal is not approved, then a second resolution will be put forward to propose the winding up of the company.

http://splash247.com/rickmers-maritime-tells-investors-put-wind
 
for me, i stick to index ETF.
ETF - low costs, no sales charges, no commissions...

no fanciful manager or whatever. just follow the broader economy growth.

all these bonds, structural notes, all meant to make money for some bankers
 
Bonds are for Ah Peks and Ah Sohs .............

Adapting to a slow day, so slooowww I almost fell asleep at the trade station:

S2@23863@932hrs, S2@848@935, S2@902 @940, S2@901 @ 941

CCB somebody disturb me didn't cover @ best possible time

B2@852@1132hrs, B2@848@1133, B2@838@1135, B2@835@1135

Profit = HKD 14,100 Could have got out at least one hour earlier if not for that SOB who disturbed me, off for lunch!

S2@23834@1303, S2@829@1306, S2@825 @1309 Zzzzzzzzzz .......
Oi Wake up wake up! B2@803@1412, B2@808@1412,B2@809@1413

Profit = HKD 6,900

S2@820@1434, S2@814@1441, S2@821@1450
B2@773@1505, B2@763@1506, B2@768@1507

Profit = HKD 15,100

Go out for some exercise!

S2@840@1607, B1@831@1623, B1@824@1627

Profit = HKD 1,250

Total Profit for Day = HKD 37,350 not taking into a/c commissions on max exposure of 8 contracts and 100% all winners, not like yesterday net loss for day of HKD 5K on so many unnecessary contracts traded.

BTW Lengkok means what arh?

[video=youtube;XVJFy0V0mh8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVJFy0V0mh8[/video]
 
Bond holders who have turned their noses up at two issuers seeking to defer payment or cut into their principal are fast realising how difficult it is to assert their rights. Their frustration is now centred on DB International Trust, the trustee appointed to represent the interests of bond holders in Perisai Petroleum Teknologi and Rickmers Maritime.

According to e-mail correspondence produced by bond holders, DB International Trust had required a deposit of US$54,000 (S$74,100) and an indemnity form signed by holders of at least 25 per cent of the $125 millionnotes in order to serve the acceleration notice on Perisai.

DB later reduced the deposit to US$10,000 after bond holder objections, with the balance to be funded subsequently.

In the Rickmers case, holders of its $100 million bonds had twice requested DB to put out notices to individual investors in order for them to connect at independent meetings to discuss the appointment of their own financial adviser. Both requests were rejected by DB, which said in e-mails that it had been told by the Central Depository (CDP) that any requests for the list of holders and nominees must come from the issuer.

A Singapore Exchange spokesman clarified yesterday that the CDP will request documentation from the trustee to verify that it is empowered under the Trust Deed before providing the list of note holders.
http://www.straitstimes.com/busines...ond-holders-of-troubled-firms-turn-on-trustee



An unfortunate gentleman with a distressed bond just shared this standard reply from our regulators: The issues raised in your feedback are commercial matters, we regret that we were unable to assist as such matters should be discussed between the issuer and its bondholders.

looks like our regulators will not OT for these investors.
 
Strong $SGD is expected to weaken as the recession starts to bite.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...y-makers-to-skip-easing-saving-tools-for-2017

Singapore Seen Holding Monetary Policy, Saving Tools for 2017


Singapore’s central bank will probably refrain from easing policy when it meets this week, saving its ammunition for next year as the city-state’s economic outlook deteriorates.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the currency as a tool to manage the economy rather than interest rates, will maintain policy, according to 20 of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The central bank eased twice in 2015 and again at the first of this year’s two scheduled meetings in April, when it shifted to a neutral stance of zero appreciation for the local dollar.

Growth and inflation in the export-oriented nation hasn’t slowed enough to justify further action, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. The MAS is set to reserve its firepower for next year, when the city-state is likely to feel more pain from China’s slowdown and the slump in oil prices that has hurt the local marine and offshore industry.

“We’re not in a recession right now, but that might change by early next year given the global outlook,” said Vaninder Singh, a Singapore-based economist at RBS who correctly predicted the MAS’s moves at the last two gatherings. “Once the meeting is behind us, once people start positioning for April, that might start to push the Singapore dollar lower.”

The local dollar is set to depreciate to S$1.39 versus the greenback by the middle of next year, a level last reached in March, according to the median of analysts’ forecasts. The currency has weakened 2 percent since end-June to S$1.3751 at 8 a.m. Tokyo time on Tuesday as traders bet the Federal Reserve will lift U.S. interest rates in December. The Singapore dollar tumbled 6.6 percent last year, its biggest drop since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The authority guides the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies and adjusts the pace of appreciation or depreciation by changing the slope, width and center of a band. It refrains from disclosing details of the basket, the band, and the pace of appreciation or depreciation.

The central bank will probably lower the center of the band in April, a move that’s usually reserved for “seminal moments” such as the onset of the global financial crisis in 2009 and the SARS epidemic in 2003, RBS’s Singh said. Only two economists surveyed, including Michael Wan at Credit Suisse Group AG, predicted the authority would adjust the center of the band this week.

Economic Headwinds

“Even if MAS easing doesn’t come in October, they will eventually have to do so given the structural economic changes and headwinds facing the economy,” Wan said. “The bias and risk are definitely for the currency to be weaker.”

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said last month the economy is “in for a tough period, and it will last for a while,” in comments reported by the Business Times. Growth this year will be at the lower end of the government’s forecast of 1 percent to 2 percent, he was quoted as saying.

In an unscheduled statement in January last year, the central bank said it would seek a slower pace of appreciation for the Singapore dollar against its trading basket. It left policy unchanged at the first of its two regular meetings in April last year, before “slightly” reducing the slope of appreciation again at its October gathering. It unexpectedly eased in April, adopting a policy last used during the 2008 global financial crisis, as economic growth in the Asian financial hub ground to a halt.

Inflationary Pressure


Growth probably stagnated in the third quarter, with gross domestic product posting zero expansion on an annualized basis compared with the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Compared with a year earlier, it probably slowed to a 1.7 percent increase from 2.1 percent in the second quarter.

The central bank said in July that the core inflation measure, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, will probably continue to rise.

A decline in local interest rates, with the three-month Singapore interbank offered rate at the lowest level in more than a year, has “done some of the easing work” for policy makers, said Khoon Goh, the head of regional research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. The Singapore dollar is set to weaken to S$1.40 at the end of the year on expectation of further stimulus in 2017, he said.

“Economic and inflation developments have not deteriorated sufficiently for the MAS to contemplate further easing at this stage,” said Goh. “Maintaining the neutral policy stance and leaving the re-centering option on the table gives the MAS some flexibility.”
 
Ho Bee Land to issue maiden SGD-denominated bonds
The Singapore-based real estate developer is likely to announce its maiden SGD bond issue in the coming days.

Ho Bee Land plans to tap the bond market for the first time since it launched its S$800m MTN programme back in May 2010. The management, together with its bookrunner DBS Bank Ltd, met bond investors yesterday to discuss its upcoming maiden issuance.It is likely to have a 5-year tenor with a target issue size in the region of between S$150 and S$200 million.
 
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