Movie Review : Tulpan

It’s been a long while since I had the luxury of a relaxed weekend to sit back and catchup on a film, I have alot of them waiting to be digested especially asian films . This latest one I watched is directed by a Kazakh film maker. A dramatic documentary of a sheep and goat herding family surviving and thriving in the harsh landscape of Kazakhstan. Asa (pictured),has come to live with his beautiful sister Samal, and her gruff husband, the herdsman Ondas, and their children.Asa is desperate to establish himself in the sort of life that Ondas and Samal have, he wants to marry Tulpan, the daughter of a neighbouring family but she won’t have anything to do with him.

What is most memorable to me about him , is our similar dreams to built a home out in the desert for  the family. I would not consider living in the desert, but my dream home as got to do with the sand as well =D

Dreams and wishlists aside, the brilliant aspect of the film is it’s christian theme,Some of the lyrics of the original soundtrack came from Psalm 137 of The Bible – “River of Babylon”  by Boney M a hit back in 1978. Asa also a shepherd who eventually finds his lost sheep.

This one deserves 5 stars and shall become one of my top film recommendations.

Backpacking over Land Sea & Air

My over land,sea,air to korea is finally updated, check it out here.
This was the best road trip I’ve planned since my  melbourne to sydney one back in 2006. Probably the last one I’ll do, as it’s pretty exhausting physically and mentally.

Trying to meet the schedules of different modes of transport is a very daunting task, at the same time juggling for time to sightsee and book accomodations.
In the future , I’ll be flying direct and on booked tours. Thank God I came back in one piece!

Reminisce

Was flipping through some of my old stuff, some photos some scribblings. Everything that one does everyday defines the past of our future. As I look back and laugh at the many chapters in this journey that we call life, I stand in awe of the many many inspirational mentors that have crossed my path  as well as the many numerous setbacks that have humbled me. One can achieve anything if he sets his mind to it, even for a nerd like myself to become a pretty boy in half a year is an amazing feat.  And I look forward to one more amazing race which I shall embark on a month of backpacking to vietnam/china/korea!/japan(hopefully). Sidenote: I could be a korean idol haha seriously , perhaps because I’ve been watching alot of k-drama this days. I think the latest craze over korean culture has just about to begin in singapore.

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/News/Transcripts/Prime+Minister/Seoul+keen+on+cultural+centre+in+Singapore.htm.

Are we singaporeans seriously lacking in identity. I remember a chinese folk story of a man who forgot how to walk after trying to imitate the walking gaits of others.

Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) ?

A friend asked me about DPS scheme,  he was sent a form to signup with great eastern. I was surprised that there is another insurance company underwriting the CPF DPS scheme other than NTUC , which is what I have.

I decided to find out more.

http://ask-us.cpf.gov.sg/

Q:      What is Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) ?      
 A:     

The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) is an affordable term insurance scheme that provides insured members and their families with some money to get through the first few years should the insured members become permanently incapacitated or pass away.

Currently, DPS is administered by two insurers, Great Eastern Life and NTUC Income. The scheme is extended to CPF members who are Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents, between age 16 and 60, when they make their first CPF contribution.

DPS is an optional term insurance which covers CPF members for a maximum sum assured of $46,000 up to age 60.  The coverage is worldwide.  The DPS benefit will be paid out if the insured member passes away or becomes permanently incapacitated such that he or she can no longer work.  

Q:      How do I apply to be insured under DPS ?      
 A:     You may do so by submitting your application to Great Eastern Life or NTUC Income directly.

 Q:      If I opt-out of DPS now, can I apply to be covered at a later stage?      
 A:     Yes, you can apply to be insured at a later stage with any of the 2 insurers directly. Your application will be assessed based on your health condition then.

DPS is a death and disability term insurance (worldwide coverage). You are randomly assigned either Great eastern or NTUC , you can write-in to either companies to switch.

In terms of premiums or coverage, both are the same , however there is a subtle difference in terms of the claims process.

http://www.wallstraits.com/community/viewthread.php?tid=2952
I wrote this letter to Straits Times Forum on Saturday. Today, despite NTUC Income, Great Eastern and CPF Board came out with some explanations, they covered some of what I share in this letter, however, they did not cover the potential problems for a person who did not make a nomination if he/she is insured with NTUC Income.

 Here is my letter:

 Recently, Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) caused a big uproar when it pointed out in an article published in Straits Times on 23 March 2006 that people who are covered under Great Eastern Life for the Dependent Protection Scheme (DPS) would need to draw a Will while those covered with NTUC Income need not. 

 While I applaud CASE for highlighting some of the potential problems, as a Certified Financial Planner, I also worry some of the inaccuracies in the information given might actually do more harm than good. Firstly, an insurance company is allowed to pay up to $150,000 in claims to a proper claimnant without a Will. Thus, if your only insurance policy is DPS with Great Eastern Life, you need not unduly worry at all as the sum assured under DPS is less than $50,000 or 1/3 of the said $150,000. If you have not written a Will, under DPS with Great Eastern Life, the rightful beneficiaries goes according to the Intestate Succession Act.

 In actual fact, people who are covered under NTUC Income for DPS have more to worry instead. 

 Because NTUC Income falls under the Cooperative Societies Act and as a policyholder, the only way for you to name a beneficiary for your NTUC Income insurance policies including DPS is to fill up a nomination form. If you have not filled up a nomination form, even if you have written a Will, the distribution of the insurance proceeds of the NTUC Income DPS would not be taken care of by the Will, since NTUC Income falls under the Cooperative Societies Act. 

 NTUC Income would pay the insurance proceeds to your legal representatives, absolving them of any legal liability in payment of the insurance proceeds. However, the issue of who are the rightful beneficiaries is still debatable and can be subject to complicated and protracted legal disputes. 

Furthermore, even if people insured with Great Eastern Life for DPS switch to NTUC Income and make a valid nomination, this does not really solve the problem of not having written a Will. Why? Because for most Singaporeans, DPS is not the only asset they have. A typical Singaporean is also likely to have some separate insurance policies; many Singaporeans also have invested their CPF into CPF Investment Scheme; many Singaporeans were also given New Singapore Shares; many also have savings and deposit accounts with banks; many also have invested in Unit Trust and structured deposits; you might also have other moveable assets such as a car, jewellery etc. 

 Do you know that all the abovementioned assets would go to your estate as well including the DPS insurance proceeds. Thus, if you have not written a Will, in the scheme of all things considered, the DPS insurance proceeds might only be a small part of your total estate that would be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act.

 Thus, the real problem is many people in Singapore have not written a will because they do not know the importance of doing so and the potential problems of not writing a Will. Many parents with children below age 21 are also not aware that in the event that both of them die leaving behind orphans, the question of who would be the guardians of their orphans would also be left open with serious consequences. Thus, all the problems we mentioned can be solved by writing a Will. The focus of the parties involved, including Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board should be on educating the public and highlighting the importance of writing a Will to ensure your estate is distributed according to your wishes, including deciding on the guardianship for your children while you are alive

Looks like I better go dig up my NTUC forms and make a nomination soon

Chindia

Old itches are hard to scratch, since pulling statistics from Walpha is as easy as counting 123, I’m back to comparing india and china again.

This time focusing on population demographics. I’ve looked at the total population and age distribution as well as life expectancy

However from the median age, one can straight away deduce that india has a younger population than china. ie 25.1 years compared to china’s 33.6 years.

Population Distribution

India| child | adult | elderly | all
male | 16.48% | 32.59% | 2.464% | 51.54%
female | 15% | 30.74% | 2.725% | 48.46%
all | 31.48% | 63.33% | 5.188% | 100%

China | child | adult | elderly | all
male | 10.68% | 36.95% | 3.808% | 51.45%
female | 9.421% | 34.96% | 4.171% | 48.55%
all | 20.1% | 71.92% | 7.979% | 100%

31.48% of 1.17 billion indian children > 20.1% of 1.31 billion chinese children

We know that human captial is a economic resource, however young children needs to survive until they become economically productive adults.
and India’s life expectancy is much lower than that of china by 3.6 yrs. So the question remains , does india have more economic potential than china?

Wolfram|Alpha

Demographics of Vietnam and Singapore Compared

Finally!Accessible statistics for everyone, the population density and life expectancy of singapore are noted with interest. Both are ranked 4th in the world,  soon-to-be world no. 1

Land of Small-waists and Big-hats

Back from a refreshing 1 week break to vietnam HCMC (me with big waist small hat). Our airticket was booked last year at the cost of S$160 for a return trip, which cost about the same or even cheaper online if I’ve booked even a month back! Nevertheless despite the tight schedule that I had to manage, it was a fruitful vacation.

If thailand is the land of smiles , vietnam could be the land of small waists. Besides the beautiful vietnamese people , the landscapes are fanastic as well , ontop of the layered french boulevard inspired city .

During the trip it made me curious about why vietnamese are so healthy, did their low calorie diet of pho noodles and rice-paper rolls contribute to their slim profiles. I decided to do some research online to find a food consumption per capita for vietnam and singapore. However the only indicators that are avaliable from the economist are food production, which might not equate to consumption. I did come across data from the world health organisation regarding calorie consumption , but it was an aggregate figure for various countries. I would assume that vietnam is within the group of developing countries, it has the lowest overall consumption.

Source: WHO/FAO "Diet, Nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases"

Review : Candlesticks Tactics day 1

I’m glad to see Collin and Rebekkah again. This time they have grow from a two person a year back double to 4 now, I noticed so has Rebekkah’s tummy as well. God bless her baby and her team. I think in this recession presents a good opportunity for start-up businesses. I must say they do give value for money , even stuff outside the candlestick syllabus are covered.

3 Ps of Trading

1. Price Management
   • E – Entry Price ( Trigger )
   • T – Target Price  ( Potential Profit )
   • E – Exit Price ( Stop loss)
   • T – Time Frame
2. Position Management
   • Risk Reward Ratio = Potential Profit/ (Stop loss – Trigger) > 3 : 1
   • Position sizing = Total amt willing to lose / ( Stop loss – Trigger )
3. Psychology Managment
   • Take Half Profit when hit Target Price or 10 % proft
   • Ride other half profit

Volume Vs Price action

1. Super Volume /\ + Price /\ = Reversal
2. Volume /\ + Price /\ = Bullish
3. Volume \/ + Price /\ = Bull Weakening
4. Volume /\ + Price \/ = Bearish
5. Volume \/ + Price \/ = Bear Weakening

Moving Averages

1. 200ma = Long Term Investors
2. 50ma = Banks / institutions
3. 20ma = Traders

Sequence of Stop loss tiggers

1. Initial Risk Stop
2. Break even stop
3. Trailing stop (from previous day low)
4. Time stop

Check Fibbonaci sequences.

Anyway , adapted from mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. 
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. 
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. 
It was never between you and them anyway.

Short break : Quick thoughts , CMT

FairPrice sub-underwrites CapitaMall rights issue CapitaMall Trust (CMT) – Singapore’s largest supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice has agreed to spend as much as $22.1 million to buy up to 27 million rights units in CMT if the issue is not fully subscribed. The sub-underwriter arrangement comes under a standby purchase agreement. The 27 million units represent about 1.8 per cent of the rights units that have been offered by CMT and, if fully allocated to NTUC FairPrice, will raise its substantial stake from 6.35 per cent to 7.3 per cent. This also assumes that the groceries retailer fully subscribes for its own entitled rights shares. As a sub-underwriter, NTUC FairPrice will receive a fee of $332,100, or 1.5 per cent of the price for the 27 million rights units. The standby purchase agreement was inked between NTUC FairPrice and the joint lead managers and underwriters.

Interesting development, smart move by NTUC to get value and suck some money from big rival likes cold-storage/carrefour through the dividends of trust units, and perhaps even out-perform their competitors,since technically buying into CMT will offset their own rents. Although I’m not a NTUC union member, I’ve a NTUC linkpoints subscription through the use of my Fairprice Plus Visa. Hope in the near future I will be able to exhange linkpoints for capitalmall shopping vouchers instead of the crappy metro ones presently. Provided their value is not inflated since capitaland is paying staff bonuses in terms of captialand vouchers. haha