Budget airlines stimulate more frequent travels in Asia

It has been just eight years since Singapore's first budget carrier, Valueair, took off. Now there are many budget airlines in and out of Singapore offering many quick weekend holidays in nearby countries with a relatively reasonable price. Just to name them: Tiger Airways, Jetstar, Firefly, Lion Air, Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, etc. And the boom of low cost carriers is fueling a travel boom in South East Asia which in turn is fueling more investment in budget airliner business. The travel boom is also fueled by many online resources such as TripAdvisor.

"Our flights to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are hugely popular and following our initial entry to these cities, we have steadily increased capacity as demand has grown" says a Tiger Airways spokesman. Budget airliner Tiger Airways alone fly from Singapore to Bangkok 35 times a week and 20 times weekly to Ho Chi Minh City. Another budget airliner, Jetstar, flies 3 times a day to Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Low fares are definitely a big draw. These cheaper flights do not only attract leisure travelers but many business travelers also fly on budget airliners to cut costs significantly. And as the popularity of the budget airliners increased they have started to cover less popular cities such as Kochi in India, Davao in Philippines and Daka in Bangladesh.

Since these airliners usually offer discounts on selected days, there is a rising trend to buy a very deeply discounted ticket in the far future and then take holidays when these times nears. This way, you can travel to nearby South East Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam cheaply and many times in a year:

"Low fares are known to simulate more frequent travel and first time travel. The low-cost carrier market is still growing in Asia where it is just over 20 per cent, compared to more mature markets such as United States and Europe where penetration is around 50 per cent" says a Jetstar spokesman.

Source : The Straits Times

Backpacking to flashpacking: Flashpacking hostels of Singapore and South East Asia

Backpacking is a developed industry with a long history now and something more sophisticated is emerging from the concept: flashpacking. Flashpackers are still budget travelers but requires some more from the hostel they stay like more privacy even in a dormitory room. So new flashpacker hostels offering something between hostel and hotel. These hostels offer more central locations, better customer service and a clean and modern place compared to classic backpacker hostels.

Here are some cool flashpacker hostels from Singapore and South East Asia:

Matchbox The Concept Hostel - Singapore


We have written about Matchbox before. Founded by Magdalene Wan, this first flashpacker hostel of Singapore is located in one of the most beautiful streets in Singapore, Ang Siang Road. They offer private pods for $45 SGD per night which is a quite reasonable price in Singapore where hotels are the most expensive in Asia. The place is just next to Club Street and is walking distance away from China Town. The main luxury Matchbox Hostel offers is a great privacy in a dorm by pod style beds.

Matchbox The Concept Hostel in Singapore

Matchbox Concept Hostel - Singapore

Five Stones Hostel - Singapore


Five Stones is another centrally located hostel from Singapore. this boutique hostel is only 3 minutes away from Clarke Quay MRT and very near to Boat Quay and Clarke Quay riverside nightspots. Prices start from 30 SGD for a bed-night in a 14 bed mixed dorm. The hostel also offers private rooms: a standard private double room costs $100 SGD per night and a deluxe private double room costs $105 SGD per night. Quite expensive for a hostel room but still very competitive with the hotel rooms you can find in this central location.

Five Stones Hostel in Singapore

Wink Hostel - Singapore

This flashpacker hostel also offers pod style beds, double pod beds and single pod beds. The hostel is founded by Heng Chong Boon, a private investor, and Cheryl Ou, who was previously operating a small backpacker hostel named Habitat. Like other flashpacker hostels this hostel is to satisfy the need for an accommodation budget, backpacker oriented but still private and a little luxury. The hostel is housed in a three-storey historic shophouse with a Chinese baroque façade in Chinatown just right next to Chinatown MRT station.

Wink Hostel in Singapore

Wink Hostel - Singapore

HQ Hostel - Bangkok, Thailand

HQ Hostel Bangkok is a boutique budget accommodation for backpackers and budget travelers located in the middle of Bangkok's city center. The hostel offers great variety of accommodation options from beds in 10 bunk bed rooms (380 THB - 12 USD) to a room with a queen size bed for 2 people with bathroom (1700 THB - 55 USD). The hostel is founded by four like minded young travellers and designed by Knot. The location is quite nice, near Silom and Sala Daeng Station.

Ryokan@Muntri Street- Penang Malaysia


Ryokan Chic Hostel at Muntei Street is Malaysia's first flashpacker hostel which was opened in April 2010 in Penang’s Unesco World Heritage Site. This Japanese-themed hostel is in Jalan Muntri, George Town. The hostel offers four-bed dormitory, four- and six-bed mixed dormitories and a luxury double room ensuite. The rooms and public areas such as bar and business centre offer free WiFi connection.

The group will open two new boutique flashpacker hotels this year — Ryokan@Damansara Utama and Ryokan@Ipoh. Unlike the sister property in Penang, these will not have dormitories though they will maintain the Japanese-fusion look and hi-tech features.(Source : Flashpacker lodgings)

Backpackers Hostel Ma May - Hanoi Vietnam

Ma May is located in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter and is close to Hoan Kiem Lake, delicious street food stalls, cheap Bia Hoi (fresh beer) shops, around the corner from all the late night bars of the Old Quarter. The founders have previously converted a diplomat's house to Vietnam's first international-style hostel on Ngo Huyen Lane and has one more hostel in Huey. Ma May offers a wide range of accommodation options from mixed dorm double bed for $9.00 / night to private room with a super-sized double bed for $40.00 / night.

Source : JetStar Asia Magazine

From Singapore to Tianjin by cool airlines

Singapore Airlines' new long-haul budget carrier Scoot may have a dump name in English but it has chosen a cool name in Chinese : Ku Hang (cool airlines). Scoot will be the first airline directly flying from Tianjin to Singapore. Tianjin is a coastal city in China which is half an hour high speed railway ride from Beijing. According to The Straits Times, Singapore investors have a cumulative investment of 5.1 billion SGD in this coastal city and looks like a natural choice. But its relative proximity to Beijing can attract cost conscious travelers from Beijing to fly to Singapore or Singapore to Beijing will have cheaper alternative flights with Scoot. There will be four flights per week on this flight and the flights will start in the second half of 2012.

Scoot's Chief Executive Campbell Wilson says Tianjin is a start and Scoot will also fly two other secondary Chinese destinations later this year. Scoot has previously announced Singapore - Sydney and Singapore - Gold Coast budget long - haul flights. These 2 flights will take off by June 2012. Scoot will charge on average 40% less than a normal full service airliner on the same route.

Long haul budget airliner is a new concept successfully executed by AirAsia X and to and extend JetStar but it will take time to see whether Scoot will be successful or not. When budget airline concept first took off Singapore Airlines did simply skipped the train by concentrating on premium flights.

The airline has a web site named Flyscoot from where you can buy tickets and check promotions and latest news.

HDB is launching 8,000 flats in March 2012

HDB is launching 8,000 flats today through a joint BTO and Sale of Balance Flats exercises. This is announced in the blog of National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan[1]. The flats will be offered both in mature and non-mature estates. There are 1,220 units offered alone in Bukit Batok as 3-room to 5-room flats. HDB has launched 3,923 new BTO flats recently in in January in Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines.

With the wide range of flats offered, Mr. Khaw says flat buyers will be able to apply for one that best meet their needs, and in an estate of their choice but strong demand for the completed/near completed flats and flats in the mature estates is expected. In this new launch there are new rules kicking in like tripled quote for second timers in non-mature estates. This means second timers will have 3 times the chance to grap a unit in the non-mature estates.


Accordint to Today online, 1220 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats will be offered in Bukit Batok; 860 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats will be offered in Bukit Panjang; 670 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats will be offered in Clementi; 640 3-room and 4-room flats will be offered in Geylang; 410 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats will be offered in Bedok; 180 studio apartments will be offered in Toa Payoh and 130 studio apartments will be offered in Bukit Timah.[2] 4,153 units are new flats in 8 BTO projects and 3,825 are Sales Balance Flats in 26 towns and estates[3] Next launch will be in May 2012, and HDB will be offering 4,640 BTO flats for sale in Choa Chu Kang, Kallang Whampoa, Punggol and Sengkang[3].

Mature estates like Clementi and Bukit Batok will most likely be popular and oversubscribed thanks to their proximity to MRT, amenities and a perceived profit potential when they are sold after 5 years of Minimum Occupancy Period in resale flat market.

Since 2011, HDB has its policy about launching new BTO flats in mature estates. Before, HDB was not offering any new flat in mature estates and the only way to have a flat in a mature estate was going to secondary market. Since HDB has announced that there will be more flats launched in mature estates, resale HDB flat market started to slow down by COV value declines.

Newly-completed Build-To-Order flats at the Edgefield Plains - Source : Straits Times

HDB was building approximately 8,000 new units per year between 2002 - 2010 period and now this single launch is almost equal to the size of a yearly launch in that period. Since current sky high and severely unaffordable prices of resale HDB flats are largely due to under-supply, one can expect the prices of resale flats go down dramatically when these new flats hit the market in the next 7 years. As 2011, 5 years after 2006, the launch of least number of HDBs in a year,  saw sky high HDB prices, 2018-2019 will probably see a reversed price trend. Although these dates may look far in the future now, already softening prices of resale HDB flats thanks to decreased demand and a second economic crisis can carry one to this far future without so much capital gain in a second hand HDB. I am writing this because many buy a resale HDB with a very handsome future sales profit in mind. Those with this mind set should be careful. If prices goes up in a past tight supply high demand environment, it is not surprising to see them come down in a large supply low demand environment.

[1] - A Bumper Launch To Support Strong Families With Babies
[2] - 8,000 new flats to be launched today
[3] - Meeting Diverse Needs – HDB’s Bumper Launch of 8,000 Flats

The desire to change jobs is very high in Singapore and Greater China

Unlike many developed countries where companies try to keep their talented employees with defined career enhancements, training and meaningful pay increments, in Asia, or at least in Singapore, the only meaningful way to enhance ones career and get a meaningful increment is to change job (does anybody really wonder why Singapore's productivity is creeping?). This is probably why according to Christine Raynaud from MRIC says "the desire to change jobs is very high and the search for career enhancement the key motivator for all respondents across all markets”.

39.5 % of Singapore respondents are seeking to make a job change in the next 12 months according to 2012 Greater China Region and Singapore Talent Environment Report produced by the MRI China Group. This is higher than Taiwan (38.1%), Mainland China (33.2%) and Hong Kong (15.5%). Only 17.8 per cent of employees surveyed in Singapore said they are not looking for a new job in the next 12 months.

The job seekers are looking for better compensation so to keep talent that must be addressed. But besides that people stay in their company because of the career development opportunities, the company culture and a good work/life Balance.

For Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan based professionals compensation is a stronger motivator to change job. According to the survey, Hong Kong residences are the most money focused but they also want a work-life balance! Taiwanese put extremely high importance on the leadership and strategic direction of their prospective employer while Singapore residences prefer job security compared with respondents from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Work life-balance, which is virtually non existing in Asia thanks to very long working hours, remains a key motivator to move to a new role. According to the survey, confidence in the leadership and strategic direction of the prospective employer becomes more important than work/life balance compared to 2010; must probably thanks to the uncertain economic times ahead.

The survey also found that:

• "A good company culture, across markets and generations is defined primarily as a company that has a clear vision for the business and that supports promotion on merit."
  
  
• "Health and benefits are also key components of work/life balance and of attraction, considered in Mainland China to be as critical as compensation."
  
  
• "About 40% of respondents are willing to relocate overseas, primarily to North America and Europe, with Shanghai being the top destination in Asia."

Source : Singapore, Taiwanese, and China Top Talent Equally Willing to Relocate, But Not So Hong Kong Professionals

Source : 2012 MRIC Greater China Region and Singapore Talent Environment Report

Trans fat restrictions from May 2012

Singapore residents eat out a lot in coffee shops, hawker centres and food courts. Actually, according to the 2010 National Nutrition Survey, 1 in 2 residents in Singapore eat out in these places every day! Food here are cheap and if you have a dinner here, you do not spend your evening by cooking and then washing the dishes. Actually, around the HDB estate I leave, hawker centres and coffee shops are always full and many elderly people eat nearly all their meals in these places instead of cooking.

One reason for the popularity of these outside eateries is the prices: food may be very cheap in these places. But eating here comes with its price : food in hawker centres and coffee shops as well as food courts are very unhealthy! Although the ingredients they use here may not be against any health law, the mix and the content of the outside food is unhealthy. Most stalls around my neighborhood as well as around my workplace offer food floating in a fat pool! Eating out so often exposes Singaporeans to too much trans fat whose consumption increases the risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of LDL cholesterol and lowering levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

Trans fat naturally occurs in animal-based fats in small amounts and these were once the only trans fats people consumed. But the largest amount of trans fat consumed today is created by the processed food industry as a side effect of partially hydrogenating unsaturated plant fats, generally vegetable oils. These partially hydrogenated fats have displaced natural solid fats and liquid oils in many areas, the most notable ones being in the fast food, snack food, fried food, and baked goods industries. They can only be made by cooking with a very high heat, at temperatures impossible in a household kitchen.[1]

How much trans fat is unhealthy? Actually every bit of trans fat is unhealthy since it is not essential for humans and have no known benefit to health and every increment in its consumption increases the risk of coronary heart disease. They are there in your food and very popular among restaurants and hawkers just because they are cheaper, help the restaurants to shorten deep-frying, as they can resist higher temperatures and can be used for longer than most conventional oils before becoming rancid. But there is a very high cost everyone else pay, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally and is projected to remain so. It has no geographic, gender or socio-economic boundaries. Every year, heart disease and stroke causes as many deaths as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and diabetes plus all forms of cancer and chronic respiratory disease combined. Everyday, 15 people die from cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) in Singapore. Cardiovascular disease accounted for 31.9% of all deaths in 2010. This means that 1 out of 3 deaths in Singapore is due to heart disease or stroke.[2] Actually, heart disease epidemic which has started in mid 20th century owes its strength most probably to the wide spread use of trans fats.


Trans fats are used in every country but they probably are most dangerous in Singapore where people on average eat out much more than the people in other countries where hawker food is not popular at all. For this reason from May 2012, new limits of trans fat usage will be mandated to all supermarkets, cooked food outlets and food makers in Singapore. All cooking oil will be allowed to contain only 2 gr of trans fat per 100 gr. Some outlets are already doing better. For example fast food chain McDonalds says that they do not use any trans fat here in Singapore.

But as we have written above, any amount of this fat is harmful so the best way to avoid exposing your health to it is to reduce the number of times you eat outside, especially in hawker centers and food courts. According to Health Promotion Board, 30 percent of people here eats more than 2 gr of daily limit. These people eat out a lot and eats a lot of commercially baked and fried foods.


[1] - Wikipedia, Trans-fat
[2] - Singapore Heart Foundation

44 per cent of Singapore professionals are actively looking to relocate to another city

According to the survey of Human Resource consultancy MRI China Group, 44.2 per cent of 325 professionals polled in Singapore were actively looking to relocate to another city. Percentage of Hong Kong professionals looking for a greener pasture somewhere else was much lower at 29.4 per cent. According to the survey which has been conducted in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, Hong Kong professionals were the happiest to root in this vibrant city. On the other hand Taiwan based professionals were the most eager to move with more than half of 294 professionals polled, 51 per cent, were actively looking for relocation. Actually the report's title summarizes the findings :

Survey also answers which foreign countries are the most popular among Singaporean professionals. Australia and New Zealand were by far the most popular destinations. More than half of the Singapore based relacation seekers have said they want these countries as destination. Europe is the second most preferred destination (47 %) followed by ASEAN (46 %), Shanghai (45%) and Hong Kong (45%).

On the other hand Singapore tops the preferred destinations among Hong Kong based professionals who are actively looking for overseas jobs. Reason? Obviously money, especially the current strong Singapore dollar and low-tax environment are the draw. It is also less than 3 hours of flight.

Having an overseas work is a great enhancing experience for a professional and it looks very good in ones resume. Overseas job markets are also much larger and deeper than what Singapore can offer.

The survey finds a correlation between the place of overseas education and the preference of respondents choice of destination abroad. Also, half of the respondents from Hong Kong and Singapore were not
born locally.

Source : Singapore, Taiwanese, and China Top Talent Equally Willing to Relocate, But Not So Hong Kong Professionals

COV of resale flats falling and effecting mass market private property market

Cash-over-valuation (COV) requested by resale HDB flat sellers is falling as resale HDB market is weakening in 2012. According to The Business Times report based on PropNex Realty data, median COV across all flat types fell by between $3,000 and $6,000. The median COV across all flats now is around $25,000, $10,000 less from $35,000 of the last quarter of 2011.

The decline in the COV requested for resale flat reflects the demand and supply side factors reining in the HDB resale prices:

1. HDB has increased the new BTO flat release rate from 8,000 units per year of 2002 - 2010 period to 25,000 units per year in 2011 and 2012. Before this, many first timers were going to resale HDB market after repeated failures to grap a new flat from HDB.
   
   
2. HDB has increased the minimum household income treshold for BTO flats to 10,000 SGD per month from 8,000 SGD per month and for Executive Condominium flats to 10,000 SGD per month to 12,000 SGD per month. Before this increase, families earning between 8,000 to 12,000 were forced out to resale HDB market. Now they can also buy directly from HDB.
   
   
3. HDB has recently increased the quote reserved for second timers, who create a long waiting list to buy directly from HDB. Now number of second timers turning to resale HDB market will also go down.
   
   
4. Another demand source for resale HDB flats, Singapore PR intake is also significantly reduced since 2009. In 2008, 79,000 PR applications were approved; in 2010 the number was 29,000.
   
   
5. The popularity of executive condominiums have recently increased and this popularity is probably stealing demand from resale HDB market. Although EC's are more expensive then resale HDB flats, the price difference is quite narrow and EC's have full condo facilities and better finishing than HDB flats.
   
   
6. Enbloc sale or collective sale of Singapore properties is slowing. This is important since many cash rich resale HDB flat buyers are from this segment. Many buy another private flat but many of these lucky people who sell their private property in a collective sale with a very high price, called en bloc millionaire, also buy resale HDB flats and do not mind to pay high COV with the amount of money in their pocket. As enbloc sales slow, there are less of these type of demand.
   

HDB resale prices has doubled in the last 5 years thanks to a record low supply of new BTO flats completed by HDB between 2002 and 2010. In 2011, the HDB resale prices has increased 10.7 per cent to a record high and severely unaffordable region. 2011 was 5 years ahead of 2006, the year when least number of new BTO flats were completed (5 years is the minimum occupancy period for new flats) so supply of new flats for resale market was lowest in 2011.

Declining COV prices of resale HDB flats have an interesting effect for private property market. Lower COV means less cash for resale flat owners, one of the main source of demand for mass market residential private property, to buy private flats:

"The lower COV made it hard for people upgrading to private property since they will have less cash on hand, noted Chua Char Hoon, head of Asia Pacific Research at DTZ. HDB upgraders constitute an important source of demand for mass market private projects." 

Source: The Business Times, HDB upgraders between a rock and a hard place, March 26th 2012

635 sq ft 3-bedroom condo unit

It looks like Singapore is catching up with the Hong Kong standards of being squeezed. And it also looks like persistently ultra-high private property prices are damaging Singapore's private property stock irreversible as sizes of flats are shrinking in response to high land and property prices. Developers are squeezing more units onto the expensive land they buy and flat buyers are trying to minimize the overall cost by squeezing themselves or their tenants into shoe-boxes. The Staits Times recently reported that a 3 bedroom condominium unit in Bukit Batok project Natura at Hillview Terrace is only 635 sq ft, setting a new low in Singapore property market.

Size does not matter for many as long as the unit is affordable; 32 units of 603 sq ft and above 3 bedroom flats of the Roxy-Pacific developed Treescape in Telok Kurau are all sold out. But Natura is still something of a new kind since Treescape was a butique development while Natura is a full facility condominium.

1 bedroom or studio units called shoe-box apartments are recently popular mostly because majority of the Singapore population cannot afford larger private units. They are also currently fetching high rental prices mostly above 2,500-3,000 SGD per month and above. But it was unheard up to now that a mass market private property project in Singapore have shoe-box 3-bedder. A typical 3-bedroom unit occupies 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft space in Singapore.

Mr.Ken Yeo from Macly Group predicts that most of the owner occupiers who go for such smaller units are either singles or childless couples whose proportion in Singapore is steadily increasing. These units are also popular as rentals since many expats without housing package demand them and rental HDB units are still in tight supply.

Floor Plan of 3-bedroom 635 sq ft shoe-box flats in Natura@Hillview
Source : The Straits Times

Although these small units are common and almost the norm in many large cities like Hong Kong, there are still many large units going much cheaper in terms of rental prices compared to private shoe-box units. You can easily rent a large 4 room public flat in a central location with a valid work visa and for around 2,500-2,800 SGD per month and below while a shoe-box private unit which you will uncomfortably squeeze in will cost more than 2,800 SGD per month to rent. So, although these shoe-box units are needed and will be popular in the future, they will probably fetch much less rental prices when the supply crunch of rental public housing units are solved in the near future. 

Singapore Property News Update March 2012

COV of resale flats falling and effecting mass market private property market


Cash-over-valuation (COV) requested by resale HDB flat sellers is falling as resale HDB market is weakening in 2012. According to The Business Times report based on PropNex Realty data, median COV across all flat types fell by between $3,000 and $6,000. The median COV across all flats now is around $25,000, $10,000 less from $35,000 of the last quarter of 2011.

The decline in the COV requested for resale flat reflects the demand and supply side factors reining in the HDB resale prices. Read more: COV of resale flats falling and effecting mass market private property market


Resale HDB flats are severely unaffordable


Property Guru reveal what is known to everyone on this island; resale HDB flats are severely unaffordable according to the metrics of Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.
Source : HDBs more unaffordable than private homes

Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) bites foreign demand for property


In November 2011, the non-permanent resident (PR) foreigners have bought 385 private property units including new sales, resales and sub-sales and had 16.5% share in the market. In December 2011, new cooling measures targeting foreigner property investment kicked in as Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. And in January 2012, foreigners bought only 53 units and their market share plunged to 6.5%.
Source : Foreign buyers retreat as December stamp duty bites


Geylang's property boom


Geylang, the red-light district in Singapore, is having its building boom thanks to its proximity to the city center. According to a report by The Straits Times, almost 1,900 new residential units spanning over 25 projects will be completed over the next three to four years. Many of these units are recently very popular shoe-box apartments.

Geylang will be sandawiched between city center and in-progress Paya Lebar Business Hub and investors are probably counting on young Singaporeans and expats who would work in these 2 locations. These 2 developments as well as in-progress new sport hub will probably change Geylang in a better way.

Foreigners snapped up around half of the units sold at Reflections at Keppel Bay recently

It looks like water-front luxury developments in Singapore are still popular among foreigners bought three out of the six units Reflections at Keppel Bay with an average price of S$2,100 psf over the past two-and-a-half months. 

Keppel Land has rolled out Telok Blangah water front project 969-unit Caribbean in 2004 and Reflections @Keppel Bay in 2011. They have still 3 more pilots to build water front projects, one is on the Keppel Island.  Keppel Land is set to roll out its third waterfront project  in the area which will yield 360+ units.
Source : Keppel: Waterfront homes still appealing to foreigners 

BTO launch near DBSS site upsets some DBSS buyers

Last january, HDB has announced a 670 units BTO project in Clementi, right next to the DBSS (Design, Build and Sell Scheme) project Trivelis. Until recently, all BTO projects were launched in so-called non mature estates but since 2011, HDB has started to release BTO projects in mature estates where only EC or DBSS projects were built before. 

DBSS have better designs and finishing than BTO flats, which usually require an expensive renovation just after it is bought. But many buy DBSS not because they are better but they are better located. And BTO flats are much cheaper than DBSS project flats, they are expected to be 25 per cent cheaper in the Clementi BTO  project, compared to Trivelis. 

At Trivelis, a three room flat costs from 375,000 SGD to 470,000 SGD while a four room flat can cost between 530,000 SGD to 670,000 SGD.

Some buyers are upset because they have just locked themselves into an expensive deal where there is now a cheaper alternative but analyst warn that those who plan to drop out from DBSS project may risk staying in Clementi at all since BTO project in Clementi will be very popular and oversubscribed thanks to the popularity of the mature Clementi estate.

Singapore condominium prices fell in first Quarter of 2012


Although resale prices of landed private properties has edged up in the first quarter of 2012, prices of ccondominiums fell, according to the latest estimates released by DTZ. High end condominium prices fell 0.8 per cent in Q1 2012, mainly attributed to the new property cooling measure of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. This can be seen in the  districts 9, 10 and 11 property prices which fell worst.

But the flood of new private properties under construction is also creeping into the market slowly and DTZ notes that this is also becoming a big factor effecting the property prices:

"It noted that competition from uncompleted projects was also a big factor, with an average of 2,200 units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), being launched in the first two months of this year. In comparison, around 1,510 condo units were launched each month in 2011."
Source : Condo prices down but landed home prices edge up

Buying electronics from Hong Kong is cheaper compared to Singapore

For many in Singapore, Hong Kong is the place to buy branded and luxury clothes, bags and shoes since they are cheaper to buy from Hong Kong instead of Singapore. So when someone heads to Hong Kong for anything, he/she usually carries a shopping list from friends and family to buy these items. But this shopping list should also include electronic gadgets since they are also much cheaper in Hong Kong compared to Singapore says Tan Chong Yaw in Digitial Life (The Straits Times). Savings can be as much as 35 per cent and for some expensive items like Canon EOS 1D Mark III, it can be 4,000 SGD+.

This is actually a known fact for many Singaporeans visiting Hong Kong regularly. They buy main stream consumer electronics, camera lenses, smart phones, and tablets from Hong Kong. You can check the prices in Hong Kong from a web site named price.com.hk before heading there so you can decide to buy something from Singapore or Hong Kong. Since not all items are cheaper or even available in Hong Kong, it is wise to do some online check before heading there.

Singapore Dollar has appreciated in recent years against other currencies as a MAS policy to keep inflation tamed. Since 2009, Singapore Dollar appreciated to a level where it is 20 per cent stronger than 2009 levels. And although this has made Singaporean products more expensive for outside world, outside world became cheaper for Singaporeans.

Hong Kong is relatively near to Singapore and a flight from here to Hong Kong would take less than 3 hours. The destination is popular in Singapore, one in every seven Singaporeans visited Hong Kong last year!

Below is a sample price comparison taken from DL The Straits Times, March 21st 2012 edition:

Gadget	Singapore List Price (SGD)	Hong Kong List Price (HKD)	Hong Kong List Price (SGD)	Savings (SGD)
Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S	688	3698	610	78
Apple iPhone 4S 64 GB	1238	6688	1104	134
Apple new iPad Wi-Fi 16 GB	658	3888	642	16
Nikon D3X	13888	64800	10692	3196
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II	3699	18980	3132	567
Canon EOS 1D Mark III	12799	49800	8217	4582
Canon EOS 600D 18-55 mm kit	1199	6680	1102	97
Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM	3599	19980	3297	302
Canon PowerShot S100	699	3680	607	92
Sony Playstation Vita Wi-Fi	399	2280	376	23
Sony Vaio Z VPCZ228GG	3999	22980	3792	20

Singapore's productivity problem

Productivity, or lack of productivity, is one of the most important problems we face while working in Singapore. It is the reason we work hell a lot (1 in 5 Singapore employees work more than eleven hours daily: survey) and get exhausted. Of course, if you compare Singapore to other countries in the region, Singapore is very productive. But if you compare Singapore to the countries of the league where she thinks she is in, first world countries, it has very low productivity. In fact it looks like productivity in Singapore barely made out of third world. But this problem is not unique to Singapore, as we will see, other Asian countries we think of as "developed" are not that developed when it comes to productivity.

What is Productivity? In economic terms, productivity is defined as the value of output produced by one unit of input, but for the man on the street it is how much work a person has done in a given time. Singapore’s productivity growth has averaged just 1 per cent in the last decade. Its productivity in manufacturing is
55 to 65 per cent of that in the United States and Japan.In retail, it is 75 per cent of that in Hong Kong and just one-third that of the US. In construction, the situation is even worse. [1]

To show how productivity is creeping here, we will display 2 charts from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. First one is average annual hours worked in 2010. Average annual hours worked is total number of hours worked in an economy by the number of persons employed. Of the countries covered, average annual hours worked are highest in Singapore and the Republic of Korea at well over 2,000 hours! Norway worked the fewest hours on average. In general, European countries have a lower number of average annual hours worked compared to  the non-European countries. Average annual hours are lowest in Norway and Germany. The European country with the highest level of average annual hours worked is the Czech Republic, followed by Italy.

So Asian employees work much more than the European ones and get the top spots in terms of hard work.  The picture is almost reversed when it comes to what is produced in those harded worked hours. Second chart below shows GDP per hours worked in 2010. Norway has the highest level of GDP per hours worked among the countries covered; approximately 25 per cent higher than the next highest ranked country, The United States and roughly three times the level of the Republic of Korea, last in the list.

While Singapore had the highest levels of GDP per capita, it has relatively low level of GDP per hour worked. The difference is related to Singapore having the highest average annual hours worked per employed person and the highest employment to population ratio of all countries covered!

[1] - Singapore's productivity problem

Singapore Job market and salary outlook 2012

Robert Walters has just released their Salary Survey 2012 which includes detailed summary of 2010/2011 and outlook for 2012 in different industries. The survey in Singapore covers accounting & finance, banking & financial services, engineering, HR, IT, sales & marketing as well as supply chain, procurement & logistics and also includes a table of minimum and maximum salaries for various job titles in these industries. For the Singapore job market outlook for 2012 Robert Walters say:

"Going into 2012, we anticipate initial prudent hiring as employers across all industries gauge market sentiment before making any recruitment decisions. We expect cautious hiring across most industries in the first quarter

in 2012 in line with typical hiring trends, with recruitment activity picking up in the second quarter

after bonus payouts and when economic conditions improve. There is likely to be an influx of engineering, HR, secretarial support, IT and sales and marketing roles for candidates specialising in the FMCG, IT and telecommunications and industrial sectors, due to continuing growth in these areas."

Here are some highlights from the report for various industries:

Accounting & Finance

Robert Walters expect employers to remain cautious and to continue to focus on replacement hiring in 2012. They expect salary levels to increase marginally in 2012. But Aerospace and pharmaceutical domains can be exception where investment and growth is still continuing. 

Candidates will expect at least a 20% increase to their salaries when moving roles but will be disappointed since employers are unlikely to be able to match these expectations. So, Robert Walters expect actual increments to be around 12-18% this year.

Banking & Financial Services : Front Office Banking

Robert Walters foresee job movement to be minimal unless there are great improvements in the global economy at large, with a slowdown in the Asian economies being a concern. Overall, salary levels for 2012 are likely to remain similar to 2011. 

Within the corporate and commercial banking sector,  recruitment is likely to be restricted to replacement and business-critical roles with a reduction in growth hires while across transactional banking, they expect hiring to continue sporadically in 2012:

Trade finance has been on the rise within this space, with institutions focusing on intra-regional transactions across Asia, (as opposed to those based in the United States and Europe). In keeping with this trend, implementation professionals are likely to be in demand, particularly those who are able to develop and structure revenue-generating products such as foreign exchange, liquidity and short-term investments.

Some growth can be expected within investment management in 2012 due to the overall global interest in Asia. In wealth management, we expect institutions to move into 2012 with caution, scrutinizing the quality of each appointment. Bankers with strong AUMs will always be highly sought-after. Priority banking firms are expected to be more aggressive than private banking institutions in adding headcount.

Banking & Financial Services : Middle & Back Office Banking

obert Walters expect restrained recruitment activity in the first half of the year during when institutions will reduce recruitment levels to optimize costs. Banks will be looking for professionals with strong product knowledge, a demonstrable track record and excellent communication skills, preferably with competency in another major Asian language.

Good news is that according to the paper, banks are increasingly appreciating the cost of replacing experienced employees and therefore putting more effort into retaining their top talents. 

Banking & Financial Services : Finance

Robert Walters expect recruitment activity to continue and  salary levels to remain stable in 2012 because due to their critical nature, finance roles are unlikely to be off shored to lower-cost locations which they have seen for a number of production roles in 2011. 

RW anticipates steady demand for financial controller positions and process improvement professionals will also be in demand.

Engineering
Unfortunate for engineers who are looking for a new job in 2012, RW predicts a slower growth as large multinational companies start implementing head-count freezes due to an uncertain economic environment. Many organisations are expected to focus on maintaining and preserving their existing revenue and customer base until the market experiences a period of growth again.

Human Resources

RW anticipates hiring to remain consistent in Singapore in human resources despite global market uncertainty. They expect overall salary levels to remain stable but average salary increases for job movers should remain at around 15%. RW expects HR generalists and business partners to receive higher salaries in 2012 due to the demand for these candidates.

Information Technology
RW thinks the outlook for IT jobs in Asia will be better than Europe and North America and IT hiring levels remain relatively strong.  In 2012, Project developers, project managers, solutions architects and technical architects will remain sought-after. Average salary increase expectation should be around 15% for job movers in 2012, talent retention will be a key challenge for IT companies.

Minimal Invasive Techniques for repairing aneurysm

Rupture of aneurysm on a major blood artery is a dead sentence and discovering and fixing the blood vessel before a rupture is very important. Just a few years ago the only way for fixing aneurysm, abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of an artery due to weakness in the wall of the blood vessel, was open surgery but with the introduction of minimum invasive methods, sometimes a few needle punctures are needed to access the artery, even the sickest patients who may have not survived the open surgery can be helped now. This is important since many patients with aneurysm tend to be elderly people with other serious health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.

Aneurysm is a silent killer. If it occurs near the surface, the patient may feel pain and swelling and a throbbing mass is often seen. Unfortunately, aneurysms within the body or brain often cause no symptoms.[2] Risk factors for an aneurysm include diabetes, obesity, hypertension, tobacco use, alcoholism, high cholesterol, copper deficiency, and increasing age.[citation needed] Some types are the result of congenital, or inherited, weakness in artery walls.[3]

The death rate during the repair of a ruptured aneurysm by endovascular surgery is less than 50 per cent of repair by open surgery. There are now dedicated medical teams in many Singapore hospitals specialized in aneurysm and treatment of this condition with minimal invasive techniques. For example, Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has a dedicated team led by vascular surgeon Benjamin Chua and interventional radiologist Manish Taneja performing complicated aortic aneurysm surgery. And since March 2011, they have had about 35 patients who have undergone minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery. 22 of these patients required complex work using custom made stent grafts or special techniques:

"Of the 35, three had ruptured aneurysm. Of the three, two had infected aneurysms. One had a gall bladder infection and the other had tuberculosis, which caused the aneurysm to be infected. The oldest patient was 84 years old and the youngest patient was 17 years old. All are doing well"[1]

Aneurysm repaired by stents - Source Singapore General Hospital

SGH has a hybrid operating theatre combining high quality imaging with full surgical facilities. This makes endovascular surgery easier. This hybrid operating theater set up enables a vascular surgeon performing minimal invasive procedure to switch to open surgery easily and provides high quality X-ray imaging facility for complex endovasvular procedures. Such a centre is set up in December in National University Heart Centre Singapore (NUHCS).

[1] - Shoring up a weak vessel, The Straits Times
[2] - Aneurysm
[3] - Aneurysm

Fail : Singapore Tourism Boards Get Lost and Find the Real Singapore advertisement

"Hey you Auzzie, you think Singapore got no tradition, get lost", tells the aunty and the epic advertisement failure (in my opinion) goes on with several bold "get lost" statements. I am talking about Singapore Tourism Board's new destination marketing campaign in Australia from Thursday 8th March 2012. The advertisement is shown in cinema screens in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and will also be supported by digital, experiential, PR and social media activity rolling out over the coming months.

Get lost may mean "to become lost; to lose one's way". But it also means "Go away!; Stop being an annoyance!". And the context of the advertisement and the way it is told in it unfortunately reminds me the second meaning. As Mr. Brown says in his blog article Singapore Tourism Board tells Aussies to "Get Lost", "get lost" means the same in Australia as the rest of the world and with our tiny size, I am not sure if it is possible to get lost here either. As someone in youtube commented "You think this is going to make aussies want to visit Singapore? Get lost. "




Get Lost and Find the Real Singapore

Turkish food supplies store in Singapore

A month ago a friend of mine have visited me and brought me cheese and olive for breakfast. Cheese is very expensive in Singapore and finding olive to eat in breakfast is very difficult. When my olive finished, I have started to look for ways to buy good cheese and olive. Luckily, a Turkish friend of mine, made me aware of this little Turkish shop in Singapore, which is importing food from Turkey to Singapore with reasonable prices. Today, he took me to their store in Pasir Panjang Road. Straits Marine Supply Pte. Ltd. warehouse is walking distance away from Pasir Panjang MRT Station on the Circle Line (the address is 100G Pasir Panjang Road 118523). I have bought some cheddar cheese, olive for breakfast, spaghetti and red lentil. Next time, I will go for a big shopping to buy olive oil, tahini (sesame paste), more cheese, etc.

The cheese prices looked very OK to me. A 1 kg whole fat classical white cheese is 15 SGD which is much expensive in a market. I have received a comprehensive price list you can see below.

For a list of Turkish Restaurants in Singapore, you can take a look at Turkish Restaurants in Singapore post.

STRAITS MARINE SUPPLY PTE LTD
OFFICE: 8 SHENTON WAY #38-02 SINGAPORE 068811 TEL: (65) 6248 3108 / 6248 3107
WAREHOUSE: 100G PASIR PANJANG ROAD TEL: (65) 6472 1241
		FAX: (65) 6221 3975
EMAIL: info@straitsmarinesupply.com / ship@straitsmarinesupply.com
	PACKING	PRODUCT DESCRIPTION	BRAND	UNIT PRICE
CHEESE	300GM	GOUDA CHEESE	YORSAN	$7.00
	300GM	MIHALIC CHEESE (TRADITIONAL)	YORSAN	$6.00
	500GM	ANTEP CHEESE	YORSAN	$8.00
	500GM	ORGU CHEESE	YORSAN	$12.00
	500GM	SEPET CHEESE	YORSAN	$10.00
	600GM	SMOKED CHEESE	YORSAN	$12.00
	750GM	GOCMEN CHEESE (TRADITIONAL)	YORSAN	$8.00
	800GM	ERZINCAN TULUM CHEESE	YORSAN	$14.00
	500GM	TULUM CHEESE (TRADITIONAL)	YORSAN	$10.00
	500GM	LABANEH CREAM CHEESE	YORSAN	$6.50
	500GM	LOR CHEESE	YORSAN	$4.00
	400GM	WHOLE FAT KASHAR CHEESE	YORSAN	$7.00
	2KG	WHOLE FAT KASHAR CHEESE	YORSAN	$25.00
	1KG	URFA CHEESE * TRADITIONAL	YORSAN	$19.00
	1KG	YORUK CHEESE	YORSAN	$12.50
	1KG	WHOLE FAT EZINE CHEESE	YORSAN	$20.00
	1KG	WHOLE FAT CLASSIC WHITE CHEESE	YORSAN	$15.00
	1KG	IZMIR TULUM CHEESE	YORSAN	$20.00
	1KG	WHOLE FAT WHITE CHEESE IN ROUND TIN	YORSAN	$15.00
	1KG	WHOLE FAT WHITE CHEESE	YORSAN	$12.00
	10KG	WHOLE FAT WHITE CHEESE	YORSAN	$85.00
	17KG	WHOLE FAT WHITE CHEESE	YORSAN	$145.00
FIG	250GM	DRIED FIG	TARIS	$3.00
OLIVE	370GM	BLACK OLIVE PASTE	TARIS	$5.00
	500CC	GREEN OLIVE SCRATCHED EDREMIT TYPE	TARIS	$7.00
	1KG	BLACK OLIVE GEMLIK TYPE	TARIS	$14.00
	1KG	GREEN OLIVE STUFFED WITH PEPPER	TARIS	$11.00
	1KG	GREEN OLIVE PITTED YAMALAK TYPE	TARIS	$10.00
	10KG	GREEN OLIVE YAMALAK/ MEMECIK TYPE	TARIS	$60.00
	10KG	GREEN OLIVE SCRATCHED	TARIS	$65.00
	10KG	BLACK OLIVE EDREMIT TYPE	TARIS	$60.00
OIL	1LTR	EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL	ORKIDE	$10.00
	2LTR	EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL	TARIS	$24.00
	1LTR	PURE OLIVE OIL	ORKIDE	$7.00
	2LTR	SUNFLOWER OIL	ORKIDE	$6.50
	5LTR	PURE OLIVE OIL	ORKIDE	$33.00
	5LTR	EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL	ORKIDE	$45.00
	18LTR	SUNFLOWER OIL	ORKIDE	$50.00
TEA	200GM	BLACK TEA BAG 100'S	CAYKUR	$4.00
	400GM	ANADOLU FILIZ BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$7.50
	400GM	ORGANIC HEMSIN BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$15.00
	400GM	ORGANIC RIZE BLACK TEA CAYKUR	CAYKUR	$13.00
	500GM	ALTINBAS BLACK TEA CAYKUR	CAYKUR	$8.50
	500GM	SPECIAL RIZE BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$11.00
	500GM	RIZE TURIST BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$5.00
	500GM	CICEGI BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$6.00
	1KG	RIZE TURIST BLACK TEA	CAYKUR	$9.00
	40GM	PLAIN - GREEN TEA BAG 20'S	CAYKUR	$3.00
	40GM	MINT - GREEN TEA BAG 20'S	CAYKUR	$3.00
	40GM	LEMON - GREEN TEA BAG 20'S	CAYKUR	$3.00
	40GM	APPLE - GREEN TEA BAG 20'S	CAYKUR	$3.00
	40GM	BALM - GREEN TEA BAG 20'S	CAYKUR	$3.00
TEA SET	6'S	TURKISH TEA SAUCER	P.BAHCE	$8.00
	6'S	TURKISH TEA GLASS SMALL	P.BAHCE	$6.00
	6'S	TURKISH TEA GLASS BIG	P.BAHCE	$9.00
COFFEE	250GM(TIN)	TURKISH COFFEE M.EFENDI	M.EFENDI	$8.00
	500GM(TIN)	TURKISH COFFEE M.EFENDI	M.EFENDI	$15.00
FRUIT POWDER	5KG	APPLE FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
	5KG	LEMON FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
	5KG	ORANGE FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
	5KG	ROSEHIP FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
	5KG	KIWI FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
	5KG	PEACH FLV DRINK POWDER	SNOWY	$30.00
SPARKLING WATER	200ML×24	MINERAL SPARKLING WATER	ULUDAG	$10.00
WATER	1.5LT X 6	NATURAL SPRING WATER	PINAR	$4.00
	0.5LT X 12	NATURAL SPRING WATER	PINAR	$4.00
	1LTR	TURNIP JUICE	TARIS	$3.00
	1LTR	HOT TURNIP JUICE	TARIS	$3.00
KETCHUP	740GM	KETCHUP	TAMEK	$3.30
	740GM	HOT KETCHUP	TAMEK	$3.30
PICKLE	720GM	MIXED PICKLED VEGETABLE	TUKAS	$3.50
	720GM	PICKLED CUCUMBER	TUKAS	$3.50
	370GM	HOT PEPPER PICKLE (YELLOW SMALL PEPPER)	TUKAS	$3.00
	370GM	JALAPENO PICKLE	TUKAS	$3.00
	720GM	VINE LEAVES IN BRINE	TAMTAD	$4.50
TOMATO SAUCE	700GM	TOMATO SAUCE	TUKAS	$4.00
PASTE	720GM	TOMATO PASTE	TAMEK	$3.30
	720GM	PAPRIKA-HOT PEPPER SAUCE IN GLASS BOT	TUKAS	$4.30
	720GM	PEPPER PASTE IN GLASS BOT	TAMEK	$3.90
	720GM	HOT PEPPER PASTE IN GLASS BOT	TAMEK	$3.90
	830GM	TOMATO PASTE	TAMEK	$3.30
	830GM	PEPPER PASTE IN TIN	TAMEK	$3.90
	830GM	HOT PEPPER PASTE IN TIN	TAMEK	$3.90
	5KG	TOMATO PASTE	TAMEK	$15.00
VEGETABLE	720GM	MIXED VEGETABLE	TAMEK	$3.30
	720GM	OKRA IN BOTTLE	TAMEK	$4.00
	720GM	OKRA	TAMEK	$4.00
	720GM	GREEN BEAN	TAMEK	$3.00
	830GM	GREEN PEA	TAMEK	$2.80
	830GM	MIXED VEGETABLE	TAMEK	$3.30
READY MEAL	500GM	STUFFED VINE LEAF	TAMEK	$3.00
	500GM	STUFFED EGGPLANT	TAMEK	$3.00
	500GM	STUFFED PEPPER	TAMEK	$3.00
	500GM	SPECIAL STUFFED EGGPLANT	TAMEK	$3.50
	500GM	WHITE BEAN IN OIL	TAMEK	$3.00
	500GM	RED BEAN IN OIL	TAMEK	$3.00
	500GM	JUMBO BEAN IN OIL	TAMEK	$3.00
	560GM	ROASTED EGGPLANT - HOT	TAMEK	$4.00
	560GM	ROASTED EGGPLANT - NORMAL	TAMEK	$4.00
	720GM	ROASTED RED PEPPER	TAMEK	$4.30
BOILED BEAN	830GM(TIN)	BOILED RED BEAN	TAMEK	$3.00
	830GM(TIN)	BOILED WHITE BEAN	TUKAS	$3.00
	830GM(TIN)	BOILED CHICKPEA	TAMEK	$3.00
VINEGAR	250ML	POMEGRANATE SAUCE	TARIS	$8.00
	250ML	POMEGRANATE SAUCE	GESAS	$4.00
	500ML	APPLE CIDER	TARIS/ GESAS	$2.50
	500ML	LEMON SAUCE	TARIS	$1.80
	1LTR	GRAPE VINEGAR	TARIS	$4.00
PULSES	KG	RED LENTIL	ARBEL	$3.00
	KG	GREEN LENTIL	ARBEL	$3.50
	KG	WHITE BEAN 9MM	ARBEL	$3.50
	KG	BULGHUR	ARBEL	$2.50
	KG	FINE BULGHUR	ARBEL	$2.50
	KG	BALDO RICE	ARBEL	$3.50
PASTA	500GM	VERMICELLI PASTA (TEL SEHRIYE)	ARBELLA	$1.80
	500GM	BARLEY PASTA (ARPA SEHRIYE)	ARBELLA	$1.80
SPICE	1KG	SUMAK	TEKINOGLU	$10.00
	100GM	SUMAK	TEKINOGLU	$2.00
	100GM	BLACK CURRANT	TEKINOGLU	$1.50
	500GM	DRY MINT	TEKINOGLU	$6.00
	100GM	DRY MINT	TEKINOGLU	$2.00
	500GM	THYME	TEKINOGLU	$7.50
	100GM	THYME	TEKINOGLU	$2.00
	1KG	CUMMIN SEED	TEKINOGLU	$10.00
	100GM	CUMMIN SEED	TEKINOGLU	$2.00
MOLASES	800GM	GRAPE MOLASES	TUNAS	$7.70
TAHINI (SEAME PASTE)	350GM	TAHINI/ SESAME PASTE	TUNAS/ GESAS	$4.50
	600GM	TAHINI/ SESAME PASTE	TUNAS/ GESAS	$7.00
	5KG	TAHINI/ SESAME PASTE	TUNAS/GESAS	$35.00
JAM	380GM	SOURCHERRY JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	STRAWBERRY JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	APRICOT JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	ROSE JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	FIG JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	QUINCE JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	ORANGE JAM	TAMEK	$3.50
	380GM	ROSE JAM	GESAS	$3.00
	800GM	APRICOT JAM	TUNAS	$4.80
	800GM	ROSE JAM	TUNAS	$4.80
	800GM	ORANGE JAM	TUNAS	$4.80
	800GM	FIG JAM	TUNAS	$4.80
	800GM	RASPBERRY JAM	TUNAS	$4.80
	900GM	ROSE JAM	GESAS	$5.00
COLOGNE	300ML	LEMON COLOGEN	TARIS	$5.00
	80ML	LEMON COLOGEN-SPARY	TARIS	$3.50
	200ML	LAVENDER COLOGNE	TARIS	$8.00
	80ML	LAVENDER COLOGNE-SPRAY	TARIS	$3.50

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