Dear Mr. Tan,
This is to thank you for your speech at Hong Lim Park. I watched it on YouTube yesterday.
I am a German national, who while residing in Singapore some years ago, bought some Hyflux perpetual bonds, which I am partly still holding.
Also myself was considering it to be a strategic company for Singapore.
Additional, the fact that it was a retail bond made me believe that it would be a general safe investment. Most bonds are not available for ordinary people, because of the high denominations of 250k.
How come the few bonds selected to be retail bonds then can be of “high risk” ? How are MAS regulations on this?
How can it be that “high risk” bonds are available via ATM, in a otherwise strict system where the banks require endless of paper to asses your risk profile?
Also I was very disappointed about the no bail out comment of the Minister, the other day.
Wasn’t it Singapore who was bailed out the Swiss bank UBS with 10 billion in 2007?
Wondering how many Singaporean retail investors had their investments at risk at UBS at that time. My guess is none.
Since I am a foreign national I will not participate in any dialog with the government, but this would had been the questions I would had liked to get an answer to.
Once again, thank you for speaking up on behalf of the investors.
Repercussions of Hyflux failure.
ReplyDelete1. SMEs listed on SGX face a liquidity crunch, bond offers to tap equity market for needed funds will dry up. Even Mr TKL said not worth risk of investing in SIA Bond with a measly coupon rate of 3.03%. Note Malaysia's MAS losing in the highly competitive flying business.
2. With needed funds for operation, some listed SMEs with weak balance sheets and cash flow problems may collapse if another much delayed financial crisis hit. Unsophisticated Mum and Pop investors would cry daddy and mummy again.
Thus, many other more Hyfluxes would be suspended.
3. Maybank Singapore is fully corporatized as a local Bank. As the biggest creditor of Hyflux, said to be about 500m, would this jeopardize its balance sheet. DR Mahathir would never allow Maybank.
Malaysia to "bail Out" Singapore side.
Better watch your F.D deposits in Maybank Sing. In Australia an FI also failed, but deposit holders also have insurance scheme, like Singapore. But when the debts finalized, money no enough to reimburse deposit holders, but Australian Govt made up the shortage. The whole process took 15 years to finalize, stressing you before you get back your money, maybe some already collapsed and died by the long stress. In Singapore, have to wait how long?
People have short memories, Minibonds collapse like only yesterday, because many Hyflux bond investors also not Minibond investors at that time. Same story, also approved for sale by our no responsibility Regulator MAS.
So dun spit on Hyflux investors for being being greedy, being too trustworthy of MAS. The scenario of such repercussions is not pretty, much more serious than you think.
Some countries have a "Bail In" law, preventing Govt to bail out distressed countries. This Law can be called a steep hair cut Law, you lose most of investments with steep hair cut, you either take in or leave it. In Singapore we dun need such a law, as bail outs only done by Govt in their own foreign investments, like the 10b bailout for UBS, or a few billions in India's Bharti Telecoms. Pity Temasek have already sold their Hyflux shares long ago, so no bail out.
Pity Hyflux investors, their desalination plant could be legally snatched away by PUB for free.
So dun mock them, dun say it's not my business.