Category Archives: General

Condos switching to LED lights

Posted on 2 Jun 2012 | Comments Off on Condos switching to LED lights

More than 30 condominiums island-wide are making the switch to Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) lights in a move to cut electricity costs and conserve electricity in the long run.

They have signed up under the energy (electricity) management programme headed by the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (AMCIS).

AMCIS is a not-for-profit association that seeks to improve the standard of property management and reduce the cost of managing estates.

Launched in December 2010, AMCIS chief executive Francis Zhan said a dozen condominiums were involved during the trial project and the “results were encouraging”.

Based on the current electricity tariff of 29 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh), a condominium with over 900 units working with the association can save about S$220,000 annually and S$1.1 million over five years, according to Mr Zhan.

He added that an average condominium could “save as much as 60 per cent on electricity cost on lighting”.

The use of LED lights also reduces the consumption of electricity.

An LED light does not require a starter and uses 18 watts, while a fluorescent light uses 44 watts.

An LED light of premium grade can last 50,000 hours, while a fluorescent light only lasts 8,000 hours, said Mr Zhan.

And if the fluorescent light is “switched on and off regularly, it would only have a lifespan of 750 hours”, he added.

Last month, the association called for its second public tender for the supply, installation and maintenance of LED lights in common areas and car park of condominiums and complexes.

Mr Zhan said the association expects to cover at least 1, 000 condominiums over the next two years.

Condominium managements that are interested in joining the programme can contact the association.

Non-members will have to pay a S$300 administration fee annually, while members pay a S$100 entrance fee and an annual membership of S$10 for every 100 units.

Eleven town councils are also in the midst of converting their lights to LED in the common areas of public housing estates, with the Jurong Town Council being the first to kick off the process.

Source : Today – 2012 Jun 2

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Millionaire households in Singapore on the rise

Posted on 2 Jun 2012 | Comments Off on Millionaire households in Singapore on the rise

Singapore, China and India posted the biggest increases in millionaires last year as the Asia-Pacific region countered a decline in wealth in western Europe and the United States, said Boston Consulting Group.

Millionaire households in Singapore rose 14 per cent to 188,000 while those in China climbed 16 per cent to 1.43 million and India saw a 21-per-cent increase to 162,000, the firm said in a report released today. Millionaire households in the US fell by 129,000 to 5.13 million.

Europe’s debt crisis and declining equity markets slowed the increase in global wealth last year with a 1.9-per-cent gain to US$122.8 trillion (S$158.2 trillion) compared with a 6.8-per-cent growth rate in 2010, the firm said.

Singapore had the highest proportion of millionaire households while Hong Kong led the rankings for the percentage of billionaires. Singapore has 17 millionaire households in every 100 with the Gulf states of Qatar and Kuwait, which were less affected by the Arab Spring than other Middle East oil-producing nations, ranked second and third, said Mr Damisch.

“It’s the first significant interruption of growth since the financial crisis,” said Mr Peter Damisch, a partner with Boston Consulting in Zurich. “Emerging markets will play a bigger role in private wealth going forward.”

Global wealth surged at a compound annual rate of almost 11 per cent from 2002 to 2007 before the financial crisis and the indebtedness of developed-market economies slowed growth, according to data.

The firm predicts a growth rate of 4 to 5 per cent over the next five years, driven by wealth creation in emerging markets.

Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, saw an 11-per-cent increase to US$23.7 trillion and will maintain that growth rate to surpass private wealth in Europe over the next five years, Boston Consulting predicted. The region may reach US$40 trillion by 2016, it said.

Boston Consulting expects private wealth in China and India will increase by 15 per cent and 19 per cent a year, respectively, through 2016, with affluent Chinese more than US$10 trillion better off by the end of the period.

Switzerland, which came fourth with 9.5 per cent, was top of a ranking for the proportion of households with more than US$100 million, according to Boston Consulting’s 12th annual wealth management report, which surveyed 63 markets.

The Alpine country had 11 households per 100,000, followed by Singapore with 10 and Austria with eight.

Worldwide investors still increased offshore assets 2.7 per cent to US$7.8 trillion with Hong Kong and Singapore among the beneficiaries. The two biggest Asian offshore booking centres may surpass Switzerland in terms of size in the next 15 to 20 years, according to the report.

The shift in wealth growth to emerging economies poses a challenge for wealth-management firms based in the US and Europe, said Mr Damisch. Finding and keeping talent in these developing markets is a “key success factor” and businesses may need several years of investment before making a profit, the report said.

Source : Today – 2012 Jun 1

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