Pete's Write

The recent Nepal-Tibet floods is a poignant reminder of the power of Mother Nature, and also the desperate situation over there, which was what drove me to join a team back in 2012 and 2013 to go over twice to help. I was there to do some social work, and render assistance, and in our second trip, we even manpacked a portable surgical OT complete with ventilation and curtains, kindly donated by a retired engineer friend. Nepal and Tibet are two mountainous regions, with underdeveloped infrastructure, and some of the toughest terrain you can imagine.  For my first trip there, we had to trek for three days, across ridge-lines and ravines, cross fast running rivers, sometimes on fast rope and metal cables and climb up to 3000m and setup the forward base for the porters who will bring in the heavy stuff. Originally the bus would carry everything, but the roads were full of holes and some roads were half their usual width due to the rains, or simple too dangerous. Whilst the hike was to...

The recent slew of measures by the government will affect HDB prices  First the elimination of the waiting period before private property owners can buy HDB  Second the increased chances for young people to own HDB as a result of the higher salary cap and the increase in the number of ballot chances With more eligible people vying for a limited pie, naturally prices will increase and as a result the resale HDB market will also increase too. This double whammy will be most acutely felt by those who don’t fall into the above two groups and now may need to dig deeper to afford a resale or pray for a good ballot as their odds will be reduced relative to the new couples. Then more may turn to the resale market and downstream you may also see an effect on the private property. Singles and those who are looking for a second bite at the BTO and even those downsizing from private will likely pay more.