Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Invitation by Land Banking Company

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Invitation by Land Banking Company

INVITATION TO X GROUP, SINGAPORE

Dear Mr. Tan,
I would like to personally extend a warm invitation to you to visit our office so that I can introduce you an objective insight to X's business model.

With your keen interest to help educate Singaporeans on land investments, I believe this session will provide you with a more in depth understanding of X's expertise in pre-development land investing and what distinguishes and sets us apart as a company from the rest.

REPLY
Thank you for your warm invitation.
I will attend your invitation on the following understanding

1. X will donate $1,000 to the Financial Services Consumer Associatoin
2. The presentation will be for up to two hours.
3. I can bring along three other persons to attend the presentation - they are from the Association and from land banking investors
4. I will keep an open mind to listen to your business model but will be free to form my own independent opinion
5. You will answer our questions transparently.
Let me have your views.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...: kim lian, good reply; June 16, 2010 10:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Divide and conquer? They should open the invite to anyone and not just TKL.; June 17, 2010 12:50 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: An anonymous reader criticised me for asking for the donation of $1,000 to be given to FISCA, which I headed. He said that I should give the money to another charity.

FISCA is a non-profit organisation with the goal to educate the pubic on financial matters, so that they can void being cheated on their investments in bad financial products.

It needs funds to operate. I hope that the public will donate to FISCA and also be its members.

Go to www.fisca.sg.; June 17, 2010 9:36 AM
StFual said...: There is a good description of pre-development land here..
"Pre" simply means before. It does not make the after happen
I suspect we are all in the pre-billionaire stage forever.

If you do decide to go Mr Tan I would hope you ask the very simple question.

If I liquidate my X land plot in 3 years without planning permission what will it be worth on the open market if X is not available or able to sell it to another customer ?

The answer for UK customers of companies that have failed such as UKLI is zero to 3%. That is they have lost 97% or more of their investment value over 3 years. For some the cost of sale and transfer exceeds the value that the land can be sold for so they have just abandoned the land.; June 17, 2010 11:49 AM
StFual said...: There are Land Banking companies that have used their Singapore Quality Certification as "proof" of their credibility.

Taking donations from land banking company X would allow them to say they are a sponsor of FISCA. I would advise you not to do this. Association with a reputable organisation is a key selling tactic of most land banking companies as they have a zero credibility product. The reputation of FISCA will surely decrease by an equal amount.; June 17, 2010 11:53 AM
Anonymous said...: I hope to see what the land banking has to say for itself, and for Mr Tan's independant view on it. I still don't trust land banking though.; June 17, 2010 12:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear Mr Tan,

With all due respect Sir, my suggestion to you to make the donation to a charitable organisation instead of FISCA was never intended as a criticism.

I unreservedly apologies to you if it appears otherwise.

As Stooge mentioned in his above post, my purpose of the suggestion is to avoid any misunderstanding should the Land Banking companies use the donation to FISCA as some form of association or endorsement of their business.

Also, by accepting a donation from a Land Banking company for which we aren't even sure if they are a sound may backfire someday, more so if this is request is initiated by FISCA in return for giving them audience.

I do understanding that running the association entails operating cost and sacrificing your personal time. I am sure many retail investors, myself included, appreciates your selfless effort to spearhead this movement and many will be more than willing contribute to the cost of running this association.

I am not sure if you agree with my line of thought but I am saying all this with good intend and sincerity and never for a moment meant it as an attack on you.

Again, my apologies to you if I have offended you in any way.

Sincerely.; June 17, 2010 1:45 PM
symmetrix said...: Agree with Stooge.

Should FISCA receive a donation from X land banking co, even though it is done transparently, may put FISCA in a compromising position.

I suggest one of the flwg:-

1. Ask X to donate to a local charity of its choice, directly, and make a public statement to that effect. The charity must fall under the Institute of Public Character. Pls do not let the money flow thru the books of Fisca.

2. Forget the money part. Select members of FISCA may attend the presentation and report their findings to FISCA members.; June 17, 2010 5:41 PM
M. Ortgage said...: I like this for giving the Invitation by Land Banking Company. Thank you very much.; June 18, 2010 2:25 AM
Anonymous said...: why not have a press conference to explain to all interested---investors or would be investors; June 18, 2010 9:30 AM
Anonymous said...: I do not think the donation will compromise FISCA's position as there is another condition (no. 4) which allows FISCA to form its' own opinion. The final opinion could be against the company.

Now I do not know whether the company has the ball to accept those conditions.; June 18, 2010 11:27 AM
Anonymous said...: rex comments as follows,

In my opinion receiving dirty money (a thousand, ten thousand, fifty, or one dollar) from dirty industry is going to do more Harm to FISCA, than the Good it does to the dirty sources. It tarnishes FISCA's standing; and it improves the LandBanking dirty industry's image.

rex; June 18, 2010 1:22 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Hi Rex

This company claimed to have a genuine business model. It is not correct to label them as "dirty industry". If they are dirty, why are they allowed to operate in Singapore?

Anyway, my purpose is to make sure that my time is not to be taken for granted. I will keep an open mind and see if they really have a genuine model.

Anyway, they have not accept my "understanding" which is a nice word for "condition". Quite likely, they will decline.; June 18, 2010 1:39 PM
Anonymous said...: rex comments as follows,

uh.. "if they are dirty why are they allowed to operate in singapore..."

interesting question Mr Tan.

Casino is dirty business.
Prostitution is dirty busniess.
Selling minibonds is dirty business.
Selling Time-shares and certain type of MLM stuffs is also dirty business.
Selling cigarettes is also dirty business.

Depends on one's definition of what is "dirty". For me anything that is not value for money and has the potential to destroy your personal wealth, is dirty business. Based on what i had been reading too, landbanking stuffs are highly suspect too.

Within certain limits, Singapore is extremely democratic and sympathetic to certain types of business, they are all welcome because all the above examples increase the ubiquitios Gross Domestic Product.

rex; June 18, 2010 6:34 PM
Anonymous said...: My opinion, is don't fall into the money trap world.
You can attend and be knowledgeable and bombard them with a thousand queries......end of the day, some of their brochures have "Disclaimers"; June 18, 2010 6:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Mr. Tan,
Is has been sometime since you last posted about the invitation from a land company. Was curious how did your meeting with the land investment company goes?; June 30, 2010 3:01 PM