Daily Archives: 2 Oct 2009

Singapore’s S$500m International Cruise Terminal breaks ground

Singapore hopes to ride the wave of growth in the cruise industry with a new International Cruise Terminal which broke ground on Friday.

The facility at Marina South, costing S$500 million, comes as global demand for the cruise market is estimated to hit 27 million passengers by 2020 – a two-fold growth within a decade.

The cruise industry is still sailing smoothly despite the economic downturn. Global cruise passengers are expected to number 13.5 million this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association based in the US.

Asia Pacific accounts for 7 per cent of the world’s cruise market and Singapore wants to become a cruise hub.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) expects to welcome its one millionth cruise passenger by year-end – the highest in 10 years. In the first half of this year, passenger arrivals grew 20 per cent on-year to 540,000.

At the groundbreaking of the International Cruise Terminal, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said: “Since the Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront commenced operations in 1991, Singapore’s cruise passenger throughput has been rising steadily as evidenced by the average annual growth rate of 12 per cent in the last five years. Continue reading

Latest Housing Loan Package from HSBC

HSBC HOME LOAN PROMOTIONAL RATE Oct 2009

HSBC’s Key advantage :
No Lock in package at very attractive rate (based on transparent index – sibor)

What  is  Sibor?  Sibor  is Singapore Inter Bank Offer Rate, rates at which banks lend in wholesale money market.

HSBC  applies  3  month Sibor rate, as published on Business Times on the  1st  business  day of loan start month for a period of 3 months, following  which  the  rate  will  be re-set to the most current rate again.

Completed properties
For HDB Loan : Minimum $100k
For Private Residential Property : Minimum Loan : $200k

Package 1:
HSBC Loyalty Package :
Year 1: 3mths sibor + 1.20% = 1.88% *
Year 2: 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78% *
Year 3: 3mths sibor + 1.00% = 1.68% *
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-set every 3 mths.

Package 2:
Standard spread
Standard All year : 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78%*
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-set every 3 mths.

Applies to both package :

  • Repayment terms: No lock in penalty
  • For partial repayments : For 1st year of loan, required to leave balance of $100,000 after repayment (subject to 1 mth’s notice)
  • For full repayments: No penalty for full repayment of loan (subject to 3 mth’s notice)

Special benefits for HDB and completed private property:

  1. Legal subsidy 0.5% of loan amount, capped at $2500 (subject to refund is loan is fullyredeemed during 1st 3 years of loan)
  2. Free 1 year fire insurance
  3. Free valuation (only for private property)
  4. Cancellation fee if loan is not utilized after acceptance : 1.5% ofcancelled loan amount

Uncompleted Properties (Building Under Construction – BUC)
For Private Residential Property : Minimum Loan : $200k
Standard All year : 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78%*
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-setevery 3 mths.

Special benefits for uncompleted property (BUC):

  1. Legal subsidy 0.5% of loan amount, capped at $2500 (subject to refund is loan is fully redeemed during 1st 3 years of loan)
  2. Free 5 years fire insurance, start from TOP
  3. Free valuation (for private property only)
  4. Cancellation fee if loan is not utilized after acceptance : 0.75% for selected projects only (check with HSBC)
  5. Other projects : 1.5%

Repayment terms:

  • For partial repayments : For 1st year of loan, required to leave balance of $100,000 after repayment (subject to 1 mth’s notice)
  • For full repayments : No penalty for full repayment of loan (subject to 3 mth’s notice)

Source : HSBC – 2 Oct 2009