I found a service provider that offers budget roaming.
http://www.sunpage.com.sg/Default.aspx?tabid=73
WEBPAGE
Save while you roam… with SunPage Budget Roaming
Now you can enjoy Huge Roaming Savings up to 90% with SunPage BUDGET ROAMING, a mobile call diverting service.
All you need is an overseas mobile or fixed line number where you can divert your Singapore mobile number to receive incoming calls.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Blue Ocean Strategy
This is a book written by W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.
Some excerpts.
* There are no permanently excellent companies.
* We need to make a positive difference and to replicate it systematically
* We need to create a blue ocean strategy
* Red ocean is bloody competition
* Blue ocean is uncontested market space that makes competition irrelevant
* It grows demand and breaks away from competition
It quotes the example of Cirque du Soleil. Instead of adopting a red ocean strategy to compete with other circus on the same operating model, e.g. use animals, it adopted a blue ocean strategy and created a new type of experience using highly trained gymnasts. It became very successful, and grew the market without having to face any competition.
Some excerpts.
* There are no permanently excellent companies.
* We need to make a positive difference and to replicate it systematically
* We need to create a blue ocean strategy
* Red ocean is bloody competition
* Blue ocean is uncontested market space that makes competition irrelevant
* It grows demand and breaks away from competition
It quotes the example of Cirque du Soleil. Instead of adopting a red ocean strategy to compete with other circus on the same operating model, e.g. use animals, it adopted a blue ocean strategy and created a new type of experience using highly trained gymnasts. It became very successful, and grew the market without having to face any competition.
Wireless@SG
Wireless@SG is a wonderful initiative by the Infocomm Development Authority. It aims to provide wireless connection to personal computers from many hotspots around Singapore. This is provided free to users for the first 2 or 3 years.
However, this initiative faced the following problems:
* many hotels and commercial buildings refused to participate in this intiative
* they want to charge a high rate for access to their hotspots
* the login can be quite complicated as different protocols are adopted by different service providers and hotspots.
I hope that IDA will review this project and find a better way to achieve the original goal.
I suggest a premium service be provided as follows:
* users can pay for their usage
* the rate should be a modest rate (and not a high rate)
* a standard login should be provided (regardless of the hotspot)
Another alternative is to sign to the wireless broadband provided by M1.
However, this initiative faced the following problems:
* many hotels and commercial buildings refused to participate in this intiative
* they want to charge a high rate for access to their hotspots
* the login can be quite complicated as different protocols are adopted by different service providers and hotspots.
I hope that IDA will review this project and find a better way to achieve the original goal.
I suggest a premium service be provided as follows:
* users can pay for their usage
* the rate should be a modest rate (and not a high rate)
* a standard login should be provided (regardless of the hotspot)
Another alternative is to sign to the wireless broadband provided by M1.
A good financial plan - case study
Dear Mr Tan,
I bought $40,000 of NTUC Income shares a few years ago. I am happy with the dividends. Should I keep the shares as my retirement portfolio?
I have been buying unit trusts through monthly regular savings plan. Some of these unit trusts (Asia ex Japan equities and Global equities) were bought since 1999. I have not redeemed any of the units. I plan to keep them for my retirement. The unit trusts have appreciated more than 100%.
Should I reap the profits now and continue investing through regular savings plan in a diversified portfolio comprising core and supplementary funds?
I have transferred my excess funds from my CPF Ordinary Account to the Special Account in the CPF to earn 4% interest. My flat is fully paid for 5 years ago.
REPLY:
You have managed your financial affairs very well and have earned a good return on your investments. Congratulations.
Your experience will be useful for other people. It is a good case study. My views are:
* keep your Income shares, as it gives a good dividend (5 to 7% p.a.)
* keep your unit trust investments (if the funds are large and well diversified)
* check that the expense ratio is less than 1.5% p.a (better, if less than 1%)
* you are astute in transfering the excess funds from orinary to special account in CPF to earn a higher intrest rate.
I bought $40,000 of NTUC Income shares a few years ago. I am happy with the dividends. Should I keep the shares as my retirement portfolio?
I have been buying unit trusts through monthly regular savings plan. Some of these unit trusts (Asia ex Japan equities and Global equities) were bought since 1999. I have not redeemed any of the units. I plan to keep them for my retirement. The unit trusts have appreciated more than 100%.
Should I reap the profits now and continue investing through regular savings plan in a diversified portfolio comprising core and supplementary funds?
I have transferred my excess funds from my CPF Ordinary Account to the Special Account in the CPF to earn 4% interest. My flat is fully paid for 5 years ago.
REPLY:
You have managed your financial affairs very well and have earned a good return on your investments. Congratulations.
Your experience will be useful for other people. It is a good case study. My views are:
* keep your Income shares, as it gives a good dividend (5 to 7% p.a.)
* keep your unit trust investments (if the funds are large and well diversified)
* check that the expense ratio is less than 1.5% p.a (better, if less than 1%)
* you are astute in transfering the excess funds from orinary to special account in CPF to earn a higher intrest rate.
Growth policy: yield of 4.6% p.a.
Mr Tan,
Just to share and seek your view on my following Growth Policy from NTUC Income:
I bought the Growth Policy (10 yr) in 1997 for $3000. It had a guaratneed maturity value of $3,750 and a projected value of $5063.
This policy will mature on 1st Aug 2007. I was told that the finalised amount was $4742.
Should I feel happy that it is more than the guaranteed amount or unhappy that it is less than $300 less than the projected amount?
REPLY
Wow, you got a return of 4.6% per annum for the past 10 years. That is a great return (although it is slightly lower than the original projection).
Many people invested large sums of money in structured products during this period. They obtained a miserable return of 0.2% per year for 5 years. They would be delighted to get a return of 3% (not even 4.6%).
Yes, you can be happy. And send your thanks to the adviser who sold this product to you.
Just to share and seek your view on my following Growth Policy from NTUC Income:
I bought the Growth Policy (10 yr) in 1997 for $3000. It had a guaratneed maturity value of $3,750 and a projected value of $5063.
This policy will mature on 1st Aug 2007. I was told that the finalised amount was $4742.
Should I feel happy that it is more than the guaranteed amount or unhappy that it is less than $300 less than the projected amount?
REPLY
Wow, you got a return of 4.6% per annum for the past 10 years. That is a great return (although it is slightly lower than the original projection).
Many people invested large sums of money in structured products during this period. They obtained a miserable return of 0.2% per year for 5 years. They would be delighted to get a return of 3% (not even 4.6%).
Yes, you can be happy. And send your thanks to the adviser who sold this product to you.
Avoid Roaming Charges
I spoke to someone in the telco business last night. He told me of this service provided by a third party telco:
* you open an account with the third party telco
* when you are overseas, you can get a local SIM card for your mobilephone
* you send a SMS to the telco to give your new "local" number
* they will divert all calls from your Singapore mobilephone to the "local" number
* you pay local call rate for your incoming calls, plus a small charge to the telco
* they also provide an option for you to update the "local" or diverted number through the internet website
This seems to be a good service, and is quite convenient. He will send me the URL of the service provider.
* you open an account with the third party telco
* when you are overseas, you can get a local SIM card for your mobilephone
* you send a SMS to the telco to give your new "local" number
* they will divert all calls from your Singapore mobilephone to the "local" number
* you pay local call rate for your incoming calls, plus a small charge to the telco
* they also provide an option for you to update the "local" or diverted number through the internet website
This seems to be a good service, and is quite convenient. He will send me the URL of the service provider.
Shared Values
Loh Chee Keong wrote in his article "In Search of the Singapore Soul" in Today paper (28 July):
Quote: In 1991, a national committee headed by Lee Hsien Loong, presented five shared values after an extensive study. I doubt many even remember that initiative, let alone what those values were. Unquote.
I searched the internet and found these values to be:
* Nation before community and society before self
* Family as the basic unit of society
* Community support and respect for the individual
* Consensus, not conflict
* Racial and religious harmony
Quote: In 1991, a national committee headed by Lee Hsien Loong, presented five shared values after an extensive study. I doubt many even remember that initiative, let alone what those values were. Unquote.
I searched the internet and found these values to be:
* Nation before community and society before self
* Family as the basic unit of society
* Community support and respect for the individual
* Consensus, not conflict
* Racial and religious harmony
Wireless Broadband
M1 provides a wireless broadband service linked to a notebook or PC. They charge $39 for 5G of data retreival a month. The speed is more than 1.8 M bytes per minute. The cost of 1 M of data is about 1 cent. The cost of retriving 1 M of data is about $3 for the mobilephone.
An alternative is to use Wireless@SG for free internet access. The problem is the limited number of hotspots, complicated login (for some hotspots) and the slow speed.
It is worthwhile to pay for the wireless broadband access, if you are doing work outside of office.
An alternative is to use Wireless@SG for free internet access. The problem is the limited number of hotspots, complicated login (for some hotspots) and the slow speed.
It is worthwhile to pay for the wireless broadband access, if you are doing work outside of office.
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