Finance Investment Movement 47

On 1 Apr, SCB sent me an invitation offer to enjoy Exclusive Bonus Interest for four months (Apr to Jul) at an interest rate of 3.5%. Even though other banks or instruments out there had similar deals, I thought to take this up just because it could act like a four month fixed deposit except it's liquid. For users of the esaver account, it usually gave two months promotion each time, using incremental fresh funds as a criteria. So in April and May, the bonus interest came on time i.e the last day of the month. June passed and I awaited the same outcome but did not receive. Maybe it was the weekend and the bank needed a couple of working days to process. I waited till 3 July and decided to contact the online chat. Customer service told me that I wasn’t entitled to June’s bonus since a new cycle of esaver promotion had begun. Since there was no balance increment in my account, it wasn't entitled to earn the bonus portion. This totally deviated from my understanding of the terms and conditions. Obviously, it was a disappointment and I didn't want to argue my case. Without wasting time, I looked for another avenue to park these idle funds and fortunately, HSBC EGA had an offer. Five days later, the Exclusive Bonus appeared. Be hopeful, there is sunshine after the rain. Customer service staff are humans too and they make mistakes.

There’s been not much investment activity as I ponder whether to subscribe to Astrea 8. Share prices have rebounded nicely amid expectations of an interest rate cut. To that, I think it depends on the US election outcome. If Trump wins, I am concerned that inflation would return, thereby keeping rates high. Meanwhile, enjoy what the high yield savings accounts can give.

Tip: Petrolo Torrione 2019, young and approachable, ripen peach with cedar wood, soft tannins

Month of June 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

I took time off on a Friday, aiming to do some activities with the kids before school reopens. The weather looked good so I proposed to go cycling. The younger two were keen while the eldest had to attend school. After fifteen minutes preparation, we drove towards East Coast Park but after considering the crowd situation, the idea got dismissed. So I detoured to Safra Punggol as there was ample parking, breakfast choices and bicycle rental facility. It was already 11am when we finished a simple meal at Heavenly Wang. The sky shone brightly when we began the journey and there was a three hour limit before the bicycle return. I sketched out the plan to the boys i.e Punggol PCN, Paris Ris Park, Changi beach and U-turn with a stop in between for lunch. We looked at the signboards and took off. After an hour, I realized something was amiss. The GPS indicated we were off track and in the direction of Sengkang East. That's odd as we followed the route closely. On backtrack, we had missed the turn towards Paris Ris due to construction reroute. Since it was unlikely to complete the original plan in time, I decided to loop around Coney Island and back to Safra. Once past the island gate, there was no turning back. We had to pick up pace as grey clouds gathered. The path was gravelled, unlike the smooth paved PCN. Under tree cover, we could feel increasing tiny water droplets on our faces. It became a race against the incoming rain and we barely made it into a shelter before the downpour. A heavy lashing for twenty minutes. Once it was safe to continue, we made our way back with half an hour of rental time to spare. Recalling now, we were lucky with the weather. The sun was mostly covered in the beginning and breezy throughout. There wasn't much crowd and we rode leisurely, enjoyed peaceful nature views and fortunately didn't get too far from the start point. The boys stayed calm especially the youngest one who was doing his third and probably longest cycle. More importantly, besides some dirt, there was no injury and we even discovered a great fried rice for our belated lunch!

It's officially half a year gone. How do you feel so far? Has there been any new discovery or just the same old routine? I had been busy like a squirrel preparing for winter. It's not just work. In order to help my son, I started to watch a series of youtube lessons to relearn accounting basics, hoping to tutor him. Associated with that is to utilize Copilot to improve recording of important notes for quick revision. Meanwhile, there's also an upcoming holiday trip and quite some time was spent to research the itinerary. Health wise, more golf practices were taken in while I managed to break 5km run (without stopping). The last time I did this was during army days. Though the pace had slowed considerably, I'm relieved there's been no knee or other joint complaints.

Tip: Duhart Milon 2019, mixed berries, menthol, eucalyptus, better with more time

Finance Investment Movement 46

A colleague, S, left the office to become a stay home mum. For months, S had struggled to make this decision. There's three mouths to feed and they're less than ten years old. Despite her husband being a geospatial engineer and drawing a good salary, cost of living pressures meant that her income was critical to maintain living standards. Yet, it was he who encouraged her to quit. Other colleagues mentioned that they had been having conflicts at home. For a period of time, their children took turns to fall sick and both had to take leave often which caused disharmony at work. In the end, S chose family. I enquired the opinions of her supervisor and heads of other departments. Everyone acknowledged her hardworking attitude and friendly disposition. However, S had probably hit the ceiling in her role as sales manager. Her numbers had not improved for months (maybe even years), there was no drive to meet clients or chase new projects. Over time, she had become more of an administrator and deviated from a senior role model. S was deemed to have stagnated and occupied an awkward position. The company could not reassign nor demote her. Such actions meant a big salary drop. On the day of departure, it was an emotional and tearful one.

Investing is tough work. When do you take profit or cut loss? How much faith to hold onto a position or idea? I thought the working life of S is a great example of a financial journey. It is full of ups and downs. It needs careful nurturing. When a person puts money into an investment eg stock, there's a conviction and commitment. It takes time to prove the worthiness of this initiation. Just like S who first joined the company and grew from a rookie salesperson into her managerial role. For the first ten years, things turned out great as she progressed smoothly with ease. A stock may also be a winner during this period and churn out dividends along with capital gains as a company excelled. Both of these situations met expectations. There's nothing much else to do, right?

S started well and settled comfortably. Too comfortable in fact. That's a mistake. It was in difficult times such as financial crisis and Covid that her sales figures were closely scrutinized, much like how a stock slowly drifts downwards during business downcycle. The realization of this decline caused a dilemma. Is it better to cash out and perhaps take a small loss? Should it allow time to recover? After all, S had been with the company for so long. She basically stopped growing in the last ten years and chose to cruise along. In my opinion, the killer blow occurred when S was somehow unmotivated to reset her thoughts and try new sales approach. Her burden increased with each new kid while she remained in situ. I liken this to a stock with no catalyst when the business environment was unfavorable and expenses continued to increase. Her career was like a tree that decomposed from within. The eventual outcome was predictable.

If a person (or a stock) does not have good foundation and seek improvement, a weak hand will sooner or later be exposed. S had planted firm roots in the beginning but forgot to add some fertilizers along the way. She was clearly lagging, disrupted by work and personal issues, then got squeezed out of the last tiny wiggle room she thought she had. The company witnessed her youth formation, marriage and motherhood but couldn't save her job. Still, she left a sweet encouragement note with a dose of gratitude. I asked her on the next steps. She said to take a temporary break, go for retraining and find a new job that suits her lifestyle. Probed further on the interest areas or preferred jobs, S shrugged and just smiled. In investing, it's important to identify one's risk appetite, goal, product preference and act to achieve it. Then it's about making small changes and adapt accordingly. Otherwise, as the story of S had shown, time could also be an Achilles heel.

Tip: Pastourelle Clerc Milon 2021, fresh violet, inviting and appetizing, light touch on the palate

Month of May 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

What life can give is always a surprise. You won't know what might happen the next day, month or year. One and a half years ago, I met a long lost neighbour, M (mentioned here). Since then, we occasionally had lunch. Well, his father passed away this month. I remember him as a stern person who was constantly out working and provided generously for his family. From young, I only had fleeting moments of interactions with him. As I stayed in the unit above, it was easy for me to frequent his home and that's where friendship with his children (2 sons, 2 daughters) blossomed. So at the wake, I was part sad and part excited. The moment I entered the door, the youngest son, H, immediately recognized, shook my hand and gave me a hug. Then the eldest sister, S, walked over and cheerfully called out my name. In that moment, I instantly felt the reconnection and teared up a little. These were my playmates whom I have not seen for more than 30 years! M gave a wave from his seat as he was busy with several people. Formalities over, H sat with me and we recounted our many wonderful memories. Times where we celebrated birthdays, squeezed into my aunt's car for school drop offs, played catching, travels together, tuition at the same table, snacking and basically goofing around. Midway, I interrupted him and put a finger on my lips as I walked over to a further table where his mum and second sister, L, were at. Both of them looked up when I extended a hand. Auntie B asked what's my surname and I answered. Then, she broke a big smile and L followed suit. "My boy! You have grown so much!" Auntie held onto my hand tightly as she exclaimed. "Yes Auntie B, it's been that long. I have missed you all so much." Again, I could feel a tear about to drop. The wake became a family reunion. I stayed for three hours and spoke to them individually. Previously, when I moved out of the unit, it was to return home to stay with my parents and I don't remember a farewell of any kind. There were no mobile or email contacts at that time. Never did I expect to be reunited with them on such an occasion. Before leaving, all of them shook my hand and told me to keep in touch. For sure, Auntie, my brothers and sisters, little brother is now only a call away.

Over a sumptuous lunch, cousin B revealed he had finally achieved FIRE. His last day of work was two weeks before and been busy packing up for a long overseas trip. As B said, he had not really taken a decent holiday break since he started working. But his situation is quite unique. B's family previously lived in Australia due to his job posting under a local big name company. Then he switched career and joined another local big brand, this time based in Singapore along with his family. Our relationship is as close as it can get, I stayed in his house (the unit mentioned in above paragraph) since baby time, under the foster care of his mother. He and his elder brothers took good care of me and I treat them as my siblings. Obviously, I'm very happy that B's life turned out well and he's probably the envy of everyone. Yet I am a little downcast because deep down, I know the next lunch date would likely be far away. One year ago, B's wife and daughter had moved to Australia (again!) for the latter to further her studies. They bought a house and barring any situation change, B will fulfill his dream of living the rest of his life there. He had planned for this a long time ago, I witnessed from when we were young, he spoke of intentions and with careful spending, investment luck and solid saving, he's earned it. His so called overseas trip is a relocation exercise and although he promised that he has not turned his back on Singapore, the opportunity to catch up would be limited. When lunch ended, after many jokes and laughter, B let out his final secret of the day. Shaking my hand, he said, "Take care, I'm leaving tomorrow night. Come visit me when you can." Bon voyage, I wish you the very best in life, Brother B.

The kids had completed school exams so my wife and I made plans to go to Johor on the eve of Vesak Day with some friends. The guys penciled in morning golf while the ladies could do brunch and shop. A few days before the trip, plans changed. Security at the checkpoints was tightened due to a recent terrorism related incident. Traffic to pass through customs was a big question mark. Rather than cancelling, two couples decided to go in a day earlier. It was a working Monday. I had to finish a meeting, pick my wife up and we were on our way, breezing through Woodlands Checkpoint at 4pm on an acceptable forty minutes jam. The other couple joined us by evening and we went for Mala dinner. Settling down for drinks later at 8pm, a thought suddenly came to us. Immediately, I texted the two other golf flight mates. They must have already finished work and we had spare beds due to a room upgrade. Within minutes, they had responded and decided to make the journey to sleepover with us! We arrived back at hotel around 1130pm and they were having dinner/supper nearby. After a shower, my wife went to bed while I stayed up to open the door for the friend staying with us. I was half asleep while watching television and then jolted up by door knocks. A quick greeting later, I left my friend to do his stuff and headed to bed. A quick glance at the clock showed 1am. The golf kakis were up at 6am and gathered for breakfast. It was then we found out that the two of them arrived so late due to a series of mix up. One, they ate at a place beside what they thought the hotel we were in which had a totally different name. Two, in a rush, they headed to the next hotel which was the right name but the wrong branch location. Three, I had told them to park at level three to facilitate golf bag transfer. Upon reaching the correct hotel, due to confusing signage, they ended up at level four and doubt crept in when they didn't see our cars. Fortunately, they managed to reach our friend in the other room. In total, it took them one hour to go around JB city centre when they were actually seven minutes drive away. The wives laughed so hard after hearing this and one commented, "Next time don't assume... hahahahhhaha."

Tip: Gerard Bertrand Cigalus 2021, explosive scent, delicious honeysuckle and stonefruit

Finance Investment Movement 45

Sometimes, you know an inevitable situation is about to occur. It may take months or years to conclude. Yet, there's nothing you can do or perhaps choose not to intervene. Take for example the recent closure of Thambi magazine store at Holland Village. My last visit was 1.5 years ago (mentioned here). When I was growing up, it's one of the many physical stores that peddled magazines and publications of various types, from sports to politics to fashion. To me, Thambi stood out (from Bras Basah, Kinokuniya or Borders) not that it had an amazing collection but because of its location. A corner away from the bustling world. A gathering spot for both students and working adults. A place where I could stand up reading a magazine while waiting for a friend to arrive or for the rain to pass. The nearby MRT station wasn't even in the plan at that time and even though the journey home took 45 minutes, it was an area I used to frequent. Unfortunately, the arrival of the internet sealed the fate of Thambi, akin to a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. I am one of the many guilty ones who stopped our patronage thereafter. Today, it's become a happy memory, one that I share with my wife.

Financial planning takes a long time. You have to start somewhere, build a portfolio up and let it roll. Similar to Thambi, the key is to have belief and remain steadfast in your work towards financial security. The lesson we can draw is also to prepare for changes and disruptions. Therefore, insurance and emergency funds are the foundation before any foray into other investments. I have put those in place while the SSB plan is still in progress. However, there's a bigger than expected renovation expense that's upcoming which I'm saving up for in the next few months.

Tip: Le Petit Caillou 2016, good nose, young berries, to be enjoyed now

Month of April 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

School just started for my eldest son at SIM. He's enrolled in the Management Foundation Study program which would eventually lead to a diploma and degree. For now, he's keen to get into accountancy. I recall my own study journey with fond memories and wish to be of help later on in finance related topics. The student mix is rather interesting; at least 50% foreigners from a variety of nationalities and they usually have to enroll for a language course previously. For the local males, they had either completed NS or ITE. So, that makes my son the youngest in the cohort. Talk about a small fish in a big pond! Good luck boy, may you prosper in the environment and enjoy the experience.

Was it a surprise when Singapore announced the PM transition decision? My sensing is, the timing is appropriate which gives the incoming PM options to explore. Therefore, depending on internal and external environmental factors, the ruling party could call an election a) as soon as possible if something major happens eg war events escalating to a severe level or b) after the National Day rally and up until next year if required. Meanwhile, the list of candidates to fill the various ministerial positions will be deliberated and careful considerations on which voting areas to deploy them. The objective is surely to win all seats but strategic actions must be taken to account for potential losses to opposition parties. This will be one of the earliest and important tests the incoming PM and his team must pass.

On a drizzly morning, I was on usual duty to send the kids to school. We were travelling on a downward sloping portion of CTE when the car in front of me braked suddenly. In response, I did the same and there was adequate safety distance to prevent a collision. But the driver behind didn't manage to do. My bumper got damaged as it sustained several cuts and scratches. Fortunately, none of us was injured. The next two days, I was trying to negotiate a private settlement with the other party but unable to reach a compromise after a series of checks with our workshops. So I had to file an insurance claim and it's now pending settlement.

In between my business travels, I managed to find time to visit some restaurants. This month, I tried lunch at Capasso and Ling Ling, afternoon drinks at Orh Gao Taproom and dinner at Dosukoi X Donpachi and Kura Oyster Highball Bar. Perhaps it was a lucky month as all of them were really good in their domain. Now, I have a few more places to go during odd hours such as 2pm or even 2am!

Tip: Almaviva 2017, herbaceous fruity notes, decent length, already good yet can wait a few years

Finance Investment Movement 44

I met a friend whose job is to monitor global properties and be involved in his company's decision on whether to invest eventually. It's a national topic of interest and our conversation started and ended without mentioning Singapore in between. So where's his radar pointing towards? First off, we agreed to write off China in the short term as the domestic economy is in a heap of trouble. Next, he felt that Australia's valuation was too high and couldn't justify capital yield returns. The focus moved to Europe and due to its expansive landscape, we spoke mainly on two countries. Germany is a no go. It had missed the opportunity to ride ahead of its neighbours. Since Brexit, this was the place where many financial headquarters were supposed to relocate but didn't materialize. Covid dealt a further blow where the tourist and exhibition sectors got hit hard and still not recovered yet. The car industry, where the Germans are arguably the continental kings, had fallen behind the electric vehicle trend. The top brands were out-competed by the Chinese and Japanese. Unless there's a drastic cut in production costs, it's difficult to see how Das Auto can retaliate effectively. What's left in Europe then is England. The economy is generally seen to be chugging nicely, the Pound is weak and the education industry could always depend on that few branded names. Therefore, it was concluded that London is an investible place and specifically only in student accommodation. Finally, my friend gave a vote of confidence to Japan as well, mainly because the Yen is very attractive and a property asset can be used as a hedge against inflation while borrowing cost will remain low for quite some time.

It so happened that I was asked to go look at industrial property in Johor as my company thought about moving to save cost. To my surprise, prices have increased at least double from my last recollection. Swathes of land were being cleared and there seem a buzz in the area. I met a few agents and the information collaborated. Maybe the Agong effect is about to be showcased.

Tip: Mondot 2019, bushwood with flowers, wakes slowly then presents a medium bodied bouquet

Month of March 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

I was privileged to be invited for lunch hosted by a prominent local businessman. Among the twenty attendees were mostly seniors in my industry and a few of my age group. We were brought to the penthouse level of a building that gave a bird’s eye view of the city landscape and served a proper Bordeaux amid six courses of wonderful modern Chinese cuisine. But to me, there was something even better. Candid sharing by everyone which was facilitated by the host asking simple and direct questions related to business challenges. He wanted to know how well Singapore’s SMEs are holding up. The often heard remarks such as lack of labour, input costs, inflation etc were presented. Those are problems but what are the counter measures, he asked and then added, sustainability mindsets could help to frame everyone’s next business decision better. To that, the older gentlemen became uncharacteristically silent. The bright and airy room suddenly turned gloomy. What an effective comeback, to the point and might have hurt a few resistant souls. He rattled off a few concrete examples from his business operations to complete the story. It felt like a teacher schooling children except the teacher addressed several of his students as elders. I was just taking mental notes and observed the posturing each took. Like the saying goes, there's no free lunch in this world, yet I enjoyed a lunch that was not only free but one that also provided honest feedback and meaningful conversation.

Since my nose operation last June, I was due for a final review. The doctor noted my slight weight loss and recommended to stay away from egg and dairy related products. After a quick scan, he declared himself satisfied and cleared me in a medical sense. It's a relief and what happens next depends on my discipline and luck, hopefully there's no recurrence for the rest of my life.

The National School Games has returned once again. In the sweltering heat, the children competed for honours while parents watched on. I could see the youngest son performing well alongside his rugby teammates and their progress was clear. In fact, most schools showed improvements. However, the local sports scene is poor. With twenty schools in the competition, there were about seven head coaches (excluding teacher in charge) doubling up for referee duties alongside some paid ones. Essentially, one could referee a subsequent game opponent. Some of the coaches even worked for various schools that could potentially meet in a match up. When I asked my son's coach on his view, he lamented that the career as a sports coach was not great and the number of coaches decreased during Covid. He's in his early forties and doing this out of interest. In Singapore, there's only around fifteen full time rugby coaches and this pool is aided by part timers.

Tip: Bourgueil Gauthier Pere and Fils 2020, inky purple, sweet aroma and soft body

Finance Investment Movement 43

We live in an amazing world full of flora and fauna that never ceases to surprise. The number of undiscovered species probably outweigh the current known numbers. I am also constantly bewildered by activities that go around the world. Hundred thousands fans flooded Singapore for a series of concerts. The humanitarian crisis at Gaza has many sympathizers yet no one seems to be able to lend a concrete hand. Nividia rises like a rocket to the moon. America can only produce two presidential candidates close to 80 years old. Together, they form a very odd impression to me. Gold, bitcoin and US stock market converge to hit all time high at the same period. For investors, it's a confusing time amid the differing signals. I believe in staying in the market although circumstances meant that entry timing play an important role.

While I await lower stock prices, money still needs to work. One of the best offers is the Moomoo cash fund subscription promotion. At 6.8% pa return, it's hard to beat. Considering that I had taken part in the previous campaign, therefore it was an easy decision to put fresh funds this round. Another is the HSBC ega which offered up to 4.65% pa with credit card spend. Then there is the latest Tbill yielding 3.78% pa and my CPF along with SRS went into it.

Tip: Chateau Lamouroux 2011, good grip of tannin with earthy undertone, past peak freshness

Month of February 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

After receiving his O level results last month, I was more anxious than my son in going through the options available to him. He had set his mind on doing accountancy which I fully support. There's only one issue. His results put him on the borderline of qualifying for the course offered by the various polytechnics. By right, in the Joint Admission Exercise, it was a straightforward action to simply put the nearest school and fill up the gaps with other less desired courses. Even though this was done, we weren't fully convinced and signed up for the SIM Open House over the weekend. The 1.5h spent provided a different perspective. As the details became clear, we were amazed to find out that a student could go through a diploma in 20 months, complete National Service and return to finish a degree in another 24 months. This meant a time saving of about a year compared to the same cohort but the tuition fees would cost about $10k more. We signed up, submitted the required documents and waited about two weeks for the letter of admission offer. That's now accepted and school starts in April. If things go accordingly, my son would graduate when he reaches 22!

Health wise, it's been a bad month. I fell sick a week before CNY. It was on off fever, body aches and itchy throat. Laying in bed for two days while dosing medicines, it didn't feel like I could recover in time. Then the fever just disappeared one morning and I could participate in the festive visits. But my youngest son got afflicted next and he suffered the same symptoms which meant he had to miss school. The doctor mentioned that a trending viral fever was going around. Covid had caused people to be extra cautious with mask wearing so the general population immunity had decreased. It's made worse by mass gathering over meals so the infection rate was high. This turned out to be true, at least in my family's context, because the next victims were my wife and followed by second son. Till today, they are still coughing or easily fatigued. Hopefully they recover soon.

As per the usual CNY practice, I caught up with relatives not seen over the year. One had transferred to be principal of a special needs institution, one became the head chef at a Japanese restaurant, an aunt had a fall recently and likely needed back surgery, also enjoyed a steamboat lunch with another aunt etc. Many nephews and nieces had grown much since I last saw them. Unfortunately, I don't think they would ever enjoy the close bond I have with my cousins, established over many years of constant meetups since young.

Tip: Sogen Samurai Queen JD, nectarine with strong expression, like tasty spring water

Learning To Be Wealthy And Not Rich

I discovered this book by chance while waiting for a flight at Changi Airport. It caught my eye due to its author, Morgan Housel, whom I read some of his online articles and found them succinct. The book title was the other reason I chose it as I wanted to understand how big an influence that something as intangible as psychology has on a person dealing with money concepts.

Each chapter is quite short, 5 to 10 pages on average, perfect for quick burst of reading whenever I was free. But this took me six months to complete! I went through the book twice. The first round took four months because I was distracted and only touched it sporadically. Yet the topics were attractive enough to go for a second round so that I could really delve in the details. Don't be mistaken, it's not hard science and nothing formulaic.

The topics generally cover areas such as thinking in terms of risks, how a wealthy person behaves, encouragement to save and investing luck. Beneath all these lies the main issue; the individual's approach. While the market economy is a jumble with forces pulling in various directions, the key is to be clear on your own investment journey. The main thing I learnt is to strive for a life on my own terms, having money is just a tool to make it happen. Don't get disheartened when things go a little offside as it should be when events and policies are always unpredictable. This reminded me of the recently announced changes to the CPF SA which has big implications on many people. I took a deep breadth and decided it's time to move on. No point dwelling and better to spend the effort on recalibrating my portfolio.

Tip: Tenuta San Guido Alberto 2014, gum and raisin, chewy tobacco with uplifting nose

Finance Investment Movement 42

It’s been four years since my last visit to China. During these years, from what’s reported and feedback, it seemed China’s economy had taken a huge blow and people were generally downbeat. The property sector is badly impacted, foreign investors are pulling out and government financials are tight. So in my latest business trip, I went about to verify on the ground. My first night in Shanghai gave an indication. I was in Nanfeng City mall to grab dinner. The restaurants were mostly empty, maybe because it was a weekday. In the subsequent days, I spoke to bankers, friends and observed the surroundings. One of them told me the unofficial Shanghai population number had decreased from 11m to 9m. Many businesses had folded over the Covid period. Previously, the local government had pushed out low value manufacturing in order to focus on better quality sectors such as AI and banking. But with business owners relocating overseas, that had caused more damage than intended. Jobs were lost, wages stagnated and that’s affected domestic consumption. The banks are willing to lend but there are no takers. As a result, tax revenues dropped and government payments got delayed. So it’s become a vicious cycle that saps confidence. Worse, the BRI strategy had seen countries defaulting on debts and now appeared fragile with uncompleted projects mounting. Funds are urgently required yet the RMB is being weakened. Within the CCP, the military and appointed minister are being revamped to weed out corruption. The confluence of many factors have projected a certain idea of a weakened China. At the moment, nobody expects things to get better this year.

My opinion is China would require a monumental effort. Fortunately, they have the resources and structure to make quick changes. This might take a few years so I won't be in a hurry to make a bet. Therefore, it's better to play a safe card by putting funds in government bonds, the bluest chips or Etfs with non China focus.

Tip: Cloudy Bay Te Wahi Pinot Noir 2019, remarkable floral nose with good balance, a winemaker's pride

Month of January 2024

Updated finance page.

https://drinkingspot.blogspot.com/p/finance-sharing.html

Without fail, a new year is a much celebrated event as everyone attempts to forget the old and refresh the current state. I was home having dinner with friends and indulged in some good wines, with beef and pizzas complimenting as sides. It's amazing how conversations can flow for hours only to be punctuated by a glass refill. All you need are topics revolving around PTFS (Parenting, Travel, Food and Spouse). My kids were more enthusiastic about remaining awake for the countdown but in the end, none of us made it as we were in bed by 1030pm. I didn't even catch a glimpse of the television entertainment shows. 2024 welcomed me at dawn which hopefully brings a meaningful reset in another year of my mid life journey.

I was seated in a hall, next to my wife, and glanced straight ahead. There was a sea of blue and black. It was noisy as chatters rang out like bass concert music. One can hear it but cannot make out the words. The animated expressions received immediate reactions. Some were delighted faces, fingers cupping over their head, a number of shocked expressions or simply a clenched fist. Then, it was our turn. Seeing the lanky frame of my eldest son at the teacher’s desk, my heart beat really hard. He was about 20 meters away and walked towards us. Then the all important digits appeared. Two seconds later, there was a sense of relief. He had done better than expected for his ‘O’ levels! His decision in May last year paid off as Combined Science result was an A2. I gave a few pats on his shoulder and said, “Well done, Kor. This is great!” Around us, other parents continued their anxious wait. Inevitably, there were a few sobbing students who at that very moment, required no words but just a supportive arm. This was as nail biting as my time.

There were a number of events to highlight this month. The second son went on his 4D3N school adventure camp, came back sunburnt and flat out after canoeing, trekking and staying outfield. Most importantly, his attitude was positive. More good news was in store when the younger sons received their Edusave awards. Hopefully, such encouragement can spur the youngest one in his PSLE this year. My wish is for him to be in the same school as his second brother next year. I made a business trip to Selangor for a site visit and discussion on an old power plant that required maintenance. It's partly coal fired and budget was tight. Being environmentally friendly was not in consideration. Climate change will continue to hang around when state actors are oblivious to certain actions.

I probably over ate due to the following reasons. My family celebrated twice, one for good results and the other for the second son's birthday. My wife and I tried out new restaurants at Angie's Oyster Bar and Grill (for its cheap oyster deal) and Bistro Gaston (for something different). We also dined at past favourites such as Tapas 24 (happy hour drinks), Xiao Long Kan (good for value) and Chingu (bbq craving). Last but not least, the CNY lunches and dinners were in full swing.

Tip: Gallo Signature Cab Sav 2018, medium bodied, juicy and chewy tannin, fine expression

Finance Investment Movement 41

We began the year with financial markets welcoming the latest product entrant by way of the Bitcoin etfs. There's eleven of them approved and trading had already started. Well, this gives legitimacy for fund managers to gain exposure to a previously sidelined market space and I think there's more to come. As I have only a minor position in Bitcoin, it's not impacted me but if Ethereum etf goes the same way, that would be exciting. Finally, after 18 months leaving cryptocurrencies alone, I'm reviewing my portfolio to see if something needs to be done. This segment is going to heat up.

As interest rates plateau and likely to taper downwards, there's anxiety to find a longer term product to lock current rates in. I got a sizable fixed deposit that's about to mature which include Aud. Hoping that some banks come up with a CNY promo and I will be first in line to apply. Meanwhile, I still believe in the narrative whereby the SGD is overly strong against certain currencies and there's still room to exchange more.

Tip: Simon Bize Et Fils Beaune Blanc 2019, delicate white flowers with some zest, uncomplicated