Bank of China (BOC) Multi-Currency Savings Account Promotion - Up to 1.60% Interest

Enjoy high prevailing interest rates and receive bonus interest upfront with our BOC Multi-Currency Savings Account (SGD) with fresh funds deposit.

Deposit Amount (SGD)	Prevailing Interest Rate (p.a.)	Upfront Bonus Interest Rate (p.a.)	Total Interest Rate (p.a.)
$50,000 to $99,999	0.40%	1.10%	1.50%
$100,000 to $999,999	0.48%	1.10%	1.58%
$1,000,000 and above	0.48%	1.13%	1.60%

Please refer to the website for more details.

Highest Dividend Yields among SGX Stocks with Billion Dollar Market Capitalisation

Have you ever wondered which are the SGX stocks, other than Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS), with the highest dividend yields?

Using the SGX Stock Screener on the SGX website here, we will be able to filter out the high dividend yield stocks with market capitalisation above S$1 Billion. Below is the list of all these stocks with yields of at least 4%.

 

Company Name	Industry	Mkt. Cap.in S$ mm	P/E	Div. Yld.in %	P/BV	Consensus
Asian Pay Television Trust	Media	1,307.50	11.43	9.07	1.03	Buy
China Merchants Holdings (Pacific) Limited	Transportation Infrastructure	1,138.40	10.13	8.02	1.07	-
Venture Corporation Limited	Electronic Equipment, Instruments and Components	2,233.60	16.11	6.21	1.24	Buy
Keppel Corporation Limited	Industrial Conglomerates	15,836.40	8.42	5.51	1.53	Overperform
Sembcorp Industries Ltd	Industrial Conglomerates	7,510.80	9.573	5.16	1.34	Overperform
Singapore Press Holdings Limited	Media	6,606.70	17.85	5.10	1.76	Hold
Frasers Centrepoint Limited	Real Estate Management and Development	5,124.20	9.127	5.07	0.80	Buy
M1 Limited	Wireless Telecommunication Services	3,696.20	21.06	4.87	9.35	Overperform
SIA Engineering Company Limited	Transportation Infrastructure	4,742.10	22.97	4.75	3.75	Underperform
StarHub Ltd.	Wireless Telecommunication Services	7,613.20	20.61	4.59	51.09	Hold
Hong Leong Finance Limited	Consumer Finance	1,175.50	19.49	4.55	0.72	-
Sembcorp Marine Ltd	Machinery	6,265.60	11.19	4.32	2.11	Hold
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd	Aerospace and Defense	11,159.50	20.05	4.23	5.71	Overperform
SATS Ltd.	Transportation Infrastructure	3,467.30	18.86	4.19	2.50	Overperform
Mandarin Oriental International Limited	Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure	2,331.90	20.21	4.09	1.73	Buy

 
* Based on S&P Capital IQ consensus

They are from varied industries and at various P/E and P/B levels, indicating whether the stocks are expensive based on the current price levels as compared to their underlying fundamentals. Which are the ones that you are familiar with and would be willing to invest in for capital gain and dividend yields? Write to us and let us know.

Maybank Foreign Currency Time Deposit Promotion

Enjoy attractive foreign currency interest rates below when you place a time deposit of at least 10,000 units of the respective currencies with Maybank.

Currency	3-Month rates (% p.a.)	6-Month rates (% p.a.)
AUD	2.70%	2.90%
NZD	3.80%	4.30%
USD	0.80%	0.85%

Promotion is available till 31 March 2015.

Please refer to the website for more details.

Budget 2015 : What's in it for You and Me?

The widely anticipated Jubilee Budget was finally out yesterday and will be subjected to parliamentary debate in early March 2015. So, what is the main thrust of the budget and what's in it for you and me?

This budget is one that is focused on preparing the nation for a challenging future while addressing the needs of the middle class and the poor. The "sandwiched class" of middle-income Singaporeans who have young children and have to support elderly parents stand to benefit the most from this budget as they are the main ones feeling the pinch from the rising costs of living. The continued efforts focusing on helping the poor and needy signifies a society that has matured.

BUDGET 2015 AT A GLANCE

Supporting the Middle Class
- 50% personal income tax rebate, capped at S$1,000 for Year of Assessment (YA) 2015
- Lower maid levy for more families with young children below age 16, up from age 12 and elderly parents, halved to $60 a month from 1 May; this translates to $720 savings a year
- Help with childcare and education costs with top-ups to the Child Development Accounts (up to S$600), Edusave Accounts (S$150) and Post-Secondary Education Accounts (up to S$500) of Singaporean children and
- Waiver of exam fees for Singaporeans sitting for national exams in Government-funded schools will be waived from 2015 and covers fees for PSLE, GCE N, O and A levels (savings of up to S$900). Exam fees for full-time ITE and polytechnic students will also be waived.

Strengthening Safety Nets
- Quarterly Silver Support cash payouts of S$300 to S$750 each for the low-income elderly for life
- One-off seniors' bonus of up to S$600 a year
- More cash for lower-income households

Boosting Retirement Savings
- CPF salary ceiling to be raised from S$5,000 to S$6,000
- Higher CPF contribution rates for workers aged 50 to 65
- 1% extra interest on first S$30,000 of CPF balances from age 55 next year, on top of the existing 1% extra interest on the first S$60,000 of savings. This means that the first S$30,000 in Special, Retirement or Medisave accounts can earn up to 6% interest risk-free
- Higher annual contribution cap for Supplementary Retirement Scheme

Encouraging Companies to Grow & Restructure
- More grants for companies to innovate and expand overseas
- Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) extended by 2 years, but at the half the current rate
- Corporate Income Tax Rebate of 30%, up to a cap of S$20,000 on their taxes payable, extended by 2 years
- Temporary Employment Credit extended by 2 years, increased to 1% of wages in 2015
- Planned hike in foreign worker levy to be deferred

Building Skills
- $500 SkillsFuture Credit for Singaporeans aged 25 and above to spend on further education and training from 2016; will be topped up regularly and will not expire. They can either choose to go for a short course with the S$500 or accumulate more credits for more substantial training in the future
- More study awards, course subisidies, internships and on-the-job training

More Progressive Taxes /  Tax Deductions
- Higher taxes for top 5% of income-earners from 2017, with those with chargeable income of more than S$320,000 paying 22% tax, up from 20%
- Tax deductions for donations made this year will rise from 250% to 300% to encourage
- Higher petrol duties; raised by 15 to 20 cents per litre; 1 year road tax rebate of 20% for cars, 60% for motorcycles and 100% for commercial vehicles using petrol to partially offset increase

Infrastructure
- Development expenditures to grow to S$30 billion by 2020, from S$12 billion in 2010
- Changi Airport's new Terminal 5 to be almost as large as Terminals 1 to 3 combined
- Increasing hospital beds and nursing home capacity

How will the budget benefit you and your family? Do you feel that the government should do more in certain areas? Which are these areas? Let us know.

Standard Chartered e$aver Promotion

From now till 31 March 2015, enjoy up to 1.35% p.a. interest, no lock-in period and no minimum deposit, when you bring in incremental fresh funds* (compared to October 2014's average daily balance).

Deposit Balance Tier	Prevailing Interest Rate on Deposit Balance	Bonus Interest Rate on eligible Incremental Balance	Total Interest Rate on eligible Incremental Balance
<S$50,000	0.10% p.a.	1.10% p.a.	1.20% p.a.
S$50,000 to <S$200,000	0.15% p.a		1.25% p.a.
≥S$200,000	0.25% p.a.		1.35% p.a.



Promotion has been extended to 31 March 2015 from 31 January 2015.

Please refer to the website for more details.

ANZ 2 Years Fixed Rate Home Loan @ 1.50% p.a.Promotion

Refinance your property online with 2 years fixed rate at 1.50% p.a. from the ANZ and receive up to S$500 cash credit.

A Fixed Rate Home Loan provides you with the certainty of knowing what your repayments are, and safeguards you against any increase in interest rates. Enjoy potential savings of up to S$10,588 a year if interest rates increase by 1.00% p.a. As we expect interest rates to go up in the near future, it is better to lock in fixed rates now rather than later.

Benefits at a glance:
•	Legal fees subsidy
•	Free private property valuation
•	Free enhanced fire insurance for the first year (Coverage include building, contents, loss of rent or temporary accommodation, personal accident and liability cover)

Please refer to the website for more details.

ANZ has won the Best Home Mortgage Loan Provider - The iProperty People's Choice Award Singapore 2014/15 

Retirement Planning by William Sharpe

For the hardcore technicals among us, I would like to share William Sharpe's blog with you. Even though more relevant in the US context, it is still very interesting to look at retirement income calculations and draw parallels to the Singapore context, especially since retirement planning and CPF Life are such hot topics in Singapore right now.

William Sharpe is an American Economist. He is the STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus at Stanford University, recipient of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and a co-founder of Financial Engines, Inc. Those who did Finance in school will be familiar with him.

Sharpe was one of the originators of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), created the Sharpe ratio for risk-adjusted investment performance analysis, contributed to the development of the binomial method for the valuation of options, the gradient method for asset allocation optimization, and returns-based style analysis for evaluating the style and performance of investment funds.

Please refer to his blog, Retirement Income Scenarios here.