Hyflux A wise finance minister
A few years ago, I read a statement from the Australian finance minister that he wants to keep interest rate high to give a fair return to retirees who depend on investment income for their retirement needs.

That was a wise finance minister.

When the retirees can invest in fixed deposits and get a good return, they do not need to invest in risky investments that the are not familiar with.

In Singapore, the retirees gets less than 1% on fixed deposit interest. Many of them are forced to look for unfamiliar investments to earn more, such as Hyflux perpetual securities or the mini-bonds and other structured products during 2008.

 They were not aware that they were taking too much risk that they cannot afford to take.

Singapore tries to sell government savings bond, but they limit the amount that is available each month. It is too troublesome for the retirees to apply and get only a small percentage of their application being allocated. 

A wise finance minister would allow each retiree to invest say $100,000 in savings bond and not subject to availability each month.

We need a wise finance minister who can look into the needs of our retirees.

Tan Kin Lian

 

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