I tried to tender my resignation yesterday. This was an extract of how the conversation went more or less (not in the exact words): It was so ridiculous I think I can remember this forever....What a classic!
LG: I would like to transfer to China office (ie I do not wish to work for you directly anymore)
Boss: Oh We only send the best people there. I dont think you are up to mark yet. So I like to keep you here to train you. You still got a bit to learn. If you go to China, its a lot worse than here. Not sure if you can handle..
LG: I know but I still like to try. If I cant get to go China in this company, I may have to look for alterative options to get me there.
Boss: (getting the point and getting agitated) ya then maybe you should. But please let me know your decision ASAP, because there are others who want your current position. (???) However I would like you to spend the weekend to cool down and rethink your decision..
Saturday, March 27, 2010
WOM guide
If you are lost as to where to go for food in HongKong, heres a great website!
http://www.womguide.com/hot-features/all-about/dai-pai-dongs-the-future
http://www.womguide.com/hot-features/all-about/dai-pai-dongs-the-future
Pear Salad
Real Simple!
Pear (soaked in salt or white wine or vinigerrette)
Rocket
Pine (mixed with Honey)
Baby Spinach
Cos
Pear (soaked in salt or white wine or vinigerrette)
Rocket
Pine (mixed with Honey)
Baby Spinach
Cos
Monday, March 15, 2010
Gyms in China
Saw this programme the other say called Sun Tzi: Art of Business
This guy trying to improve his gym business in China, Shanghai or something. Not doing so well. You would think that in a big city with expatriates gyms will be hot....Apparently indoor gyms(eg California sort) are not popular with the Chinese. Chinese girls have this fear that gymmming will make you big.....
Probably bad market timing and he gotta hang in there for a while before the Chinese change their mindset
This guy trying to improve his gym business in China, Shanghai or something. Not doing so well. You would think that in a big city with expatriates gyms will be hot....Apparently indoor gyms(eg California sort) are not popular with the Chinese. Chinese girls have this fear that gymmming will make you big.....
Probably bad market timing and he gotta hang in there for a while before the Chinese change their mindset
and you say air pollution in HK is bad?
Expatriates choosing between HK and Singapore to work often quote HK as having bad air pollution.
What about Singapore? For the past few weeks in Feb and March, I have been waking up and sleeping to a choking burning smell in the air. It gets so bad that I cannot sleep without aircon.
One less brownie point for Singapore!
What about Singapore? For the past few weeks in Feb and March, I have been waking up and sleeping to a choking burning smell in the air. It gets so bad that I cannot sleep without aircon.
One less brownie point for Singapore!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Is Jack Neo to be condemmed?
People do wrong all the time, like telling lies or changing the facts to get what they want, especially in the office environment. They often reassure themselves and revalidate themselves by saying 'as long as I dont murder and kill' its ok. I used to think like this too until someone told me that God's expectations are very high. To him a wrong is a wrong, 'telling lies' are in the same leauge as 'murder' to Him.
Its really hard to live up to His expectations!To put it in another perspective, take the recent Jack Neo affair scandal. Here we have a married celebrity director whose affair with a young model was revealed. Public went into a hate frenzy, hurling abuse and literally rotten tomatoes at him. Well are those who prosecuted him really angels who have done no wrong themselves? As long as you have told a lie before you have sinned and that sin is no lesser than Jack's. Jesus came across a prostitute who was being stonned by villagers. He said 'Let those who have not sinned throw the first stone', and the villagers were dumbfounded.
Its really hard to live up to His expectations!To put it in another perspective, take the recent Jack Neo affair scandal. Here we have a married celebrity director whose affair with a young model was revealed. Public went into a hate frenzy, hurling abuse and literally rotten tomatoes at him. Well are those who prosecuted him really angels who have done no wrong themselves? As long as you have told a lie before you have sinned and that sin is no lesser than Jack's. Jesus came across a prostitute who was being stonned by villagers. He said 'Let those who have not sinned throw the first stone', and the villagers were dumbfounded.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Are Christians do gooders
People often see Christians as do-gooders who are not supposed to do any wrong. If they read through every single page of the Bible, they may find that a Christian's behaviour is not so simple. They are also taught to protect themselves. Thus Jesus tells the 12 disciples:
'I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves'
Which is why people tend to misunderstand when Christians make small 'unChristian like' actions which may not be in line with their impressions, such as swearing or agressive behaviour. The thing is, Christians are also human and are subject to the different emotions of fear, anger, laughter, joy. What is more important is the big picture of how Christians try to lead their lives with integrity and honour. 1 Peter 2 says:
'Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.'
People may misunderstand, but at the end of the road, only God judges.
'I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves'
Which is why people tend to misunderstand when Christians make small 'unChristian like' actions which may not be in line with their impressions, such as swearing or agressive behaviour. The thing is, Christians are also human and are subject to the different emotions of fear, anger, laughter, joy. What is more important is the big picture of how Christians try to lead their lives with integrity and honour. 1 Peter 2 says:
'Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.'
People may misunderstand, but at the end of the road, only God judges.
How to get that bank loan if you are an SME- some tips
Standard Chartered's SME Banking chief Phang Yew Kiat sets out dos and don'ts
Mr Phang outlined what he termed the 'seven Cs' that go towards making a successful bank loan application.
They comprise the character of the owners, who must be reliable, transparent and have good personal credit histories; the condition that the business is in, including its financial health; its capacity for growth; the commitment of the owners to the business; control over the day-to-day running of the business; the collateral that is being put up for a loan; and whether SME bosses exercise common sense when assessing risks and investment opportunities.
He added that commercial banks would be reassured if an SME had managers working alongside the main boss, and would be particularly impressed by a professional set-up with many talented individuals.
Apart from securing adequate financing, SME bosses needed to attract top talent if they wanted to continue to grow, Mr Phang told The Straits Times.
'Very often, SME owners like to bring in people who listen to them on how to execute instructions. But there comes a point where you won't be able to grow if you don't have talented people who can effectively make decisions when you're not there,' he said.
Conference speaker Wee Chin Chuan, a director at Oriel Management Consulting, said banks tended to steer clear of firms with poorly drafted business plans which failed to articulate how cash was to be generated and repaid.
He pointed out that companies reduced their chances of a loan approval if they flooded multiple banks with applications.
'This gives financial institutions the impression that the company is hungry for money, and could be in trouble... It should only market to suitable financial institutions, and could get advice on this from consultants or the Enterprise Development Centres,' he said.
Mr Phang outlined what he termed the 'seven Cs' that go towards making a successful bank loan application.
They comprise the character of the owners, who must be reliable, transparent and have good personal credit histories; the condition that the business is in, including its financial health; its capacity for growth; the commitment of the owners to the business; control over the day-to-day running of the business; the collateral that is being put up for a loan; and whether SME bosses exercise common sense when assessing risks and investment opportunities.
He added that commercial banks would be reassured if an SME had managers working alongside the main boss, and would be particularly impressed by a professional set-up with many talented individuals.
Apart from securing adequate financing, SME bosses needed to attract top talent if they wanted to continue to grow, Mr Phang told The Straits Times.
'Very often, SME owners like to bring in people who listen to them on how to execute instructions. But there comes a point where you won't be able to grow if you don't have talented people who can effectively make decisions when you're not there,' he said.
Conference speaker Wee Chin Chuan, a director at Oriel Management Consulting, said banks tended to steer clear of firms with poorly drafted business plans which failed to articulate how cash was to be generated and repaid.
He pointed out that companies reduced their chances of a loan approval if they flooded multiple banks with applications.
'This gives financial institutions the impression that the company is hungry for money, and could be in trouble... It should only market to suitable financial institutions, and could get advice on this from consultants or the Enterprise Development Centres,' he said.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Why do Singaporeans love mature estates
Why do Singaporeans choose mature estates to live over new towns? The answer is simple but some policy makers still do not get it.
We want to be close to the city where most of our offices are!
I thought one simple solution to this complex problem would be to decentralise the the city centre and have satellite CBDs in other regional centres like Punggol, Changi. Then people whose offices are near there are likely to move there. We have done it for Tampinese, but few years ago the government suddenly decided to recentralise the CBD again.
Now they are starting to decentralise again to Paya Lebar and Jurong. Well I can only hope they stop changing their minds!
We want to be close to the city where most of our offices are!
I thought one simple solution to this complex problem would be to decentralise the the city centre and have satellite CBDs in other regional centres like Punggol, Changi. Then people whose offices are near there are likely to move there. We have done it for Tampinese, but few years ago the government suddenly decided to recentralise the CBD again.
Now they are starting to decentralise again to Paya Lebar and Jurong. Well I can only hope they stop changing their minds!
conficting policies?
(from the Straits Times today)
Long wait for flats a hurdle
I REFER to last Friday's report, 'Baby bonus? Look into costs instead: Chiam', in which opposition MP Chiam See Tong said a more holistic approach is needed to tackle fertility trends.
We are a newly married couple with a combined income of about $6,500. A major obstacle we face is obtaining a flat we can pay for with our Central Provident Fund contributions, which will free us to set aside enough cash to have children.
Only two options are available to us: buying resale or build-to-order (BTO) flats. Resale is out of the question for reasons that are obvious: prohibitive prices. The second option, BTO, is a poor system for couples who want to have children for two reasons:
First, the current generation of university graduates usually start work when they are about 25 years old. By the time they decide to apply for a BTO flat, they will already be in their late 20s or early 30s.
Factor in five more years of waiting before they move into their new home and couples can start having children only when they are in their early to late 30s. How does the Government expect us to have more children if such circumstances force us to start a family so late?
Second, about 95 per cent of BTO flats are allocated to first-timers, mostly newly engaged or married couples. This ensures that most couples will start having children only after they move in, which is about five years later - when they are most likely over 30 years old.
If policymakers want Singaporeans to have more children, they should make housing available to us much earlier, preferably by the time we are 30. The point about the current low rate of fertility is not that my generation does not want to start a family early. It is the difficulty in obtaining a flat that makes it hard for us to start a family early. An earlier start will give us more precious time to plan for a larger family.
The Government can make it easier for us to buy a resale flat by offering the means to offset the cash-over-valuation component, or by increasing our housing grant.
Jason Zheng
Long wait for flats a hurdle
I REFER to last Friday's report, 'Baby bonus? Look into costs instead: Chiam', in which opposition MP Chiam See Tong said a more holistic approach is needed to tackle fertility trends.
We are a newly married couple with a combined income of about $6,500. A major obstacle we face is obtaining a flat we can pay for with our Central Provident Fund contributions, which will free us to set aside enough cash to have children.
Only two options are available to us: buying resale or build-to-order (BTO) flats. Resale is out of the question for reasons that are obvious: prohibitive prices. The second option, BTO, is a poor system for couples who want to have children for two reasons:
First, the current generation of university graduates usually start work when they are about 25 years old. By the time they decide to apply for a BTO flat, they will already be in their late 20s or early 30s.
Factor in five more years of waiting before they move into their new home and couples can start having children only when they are in their early to late 30s. How does the Government expect us to have more children if such circumstances force us to start a family so late?
Second, about 95 per cent of BTO flats are allocated to first-timers, mostly newly engaged or married couples. This ensures that most couples will start having children only after they move in, which is about five years later - when they are most likely over 30 years old.
If policymakers want Singaporeans to have more children, they should make housing available to us much earlier, preferably by the time we are 30. The point about the current low rate of fertility is not that my generation does not want to start a family early. It is the difficulty in obtaining a flat that makes it hard for us to start a family early. An earlier start will give us more precious time to plan for a larger family.
The Government can make it easier for us to buy a resale flat by offering the means to offset the cash-over-valuation component, or by increasing our housing grant.
Jason Zheng
Monday, March 08, 2010
heard from the grapevines
'if you want to know the truth, just ask a kid. Kids dont lie'
'The Toyota has a computer, and like all computers they will fail some day'-Steve Wozniak, Apple co founder and Toyota driver
'The Toyota has a computer, and like all computers they will fail some day'-Steve Wozniak, Apple co founder and Toyota driver
More on Indo and stuff
Had a business lunch with some business colleuages and clients from Indonesia today, and learnt more about the country and some business lingo talk, haha:
Indonesia
During the great recession, the country was one of the few in Asia that did not go into recession. One may ask why when most of Indonesia's people are already not so well off, until I was told that the domestic market in Indonesia is huge, which means they do not have to depend on other countries to survive. No wonder people keep telling me that Indonesia has so much potential, if driven in the right direction. The richest man in Indonesia sells clove ciggerates at a couple of dollars per packet. These ciggerattes are not exported aggressively to other countries and mostly serve the locals. Well this an example of the power of the locals. If you can capture just the local market you be a rich man if you do the right business.
The Indonesian government do not often turn their policies around suddenly, unlike China, where one day they can suddenly tighten credit policies and the next day they can let go their policies depending on where the country want to go. The central chinese government can do whatever they want and say and the rest has to follow. In this aspect you can say that the Indo government is more stable than the chinese, and businesses in Indo can flourish with more ease.
How to talk business: Small talk:
-'How are the interest rates these days, mortgage rates, bank saving rates, etc'
-'sweet spot'
-'capture the share of mind'
-'good problem'
-'market accepts it'
-'wear the right hat'
-'agree to disagree'
Indonesia
During the great recession, the country was one of the few in Asia that did not go into recession. One may ask why when most of Indonesia's people are already not so well off, until I was told that the domestic market in Indonesia is huge, which means they do not have to depend on other countries to survive. No wonder people keep telling me that Indonesia has so much potential, if driven in the right direction. The richest man in Indonesia sells clove ciggerates at a couple of dollars per packet. These ciggerattes are not exported aggressively to other countries and mostly serve the locals. Well this an example of the power of the locals. If you can capture just the local market you be a rich man if you do the right business.
The Indonesian government do not often turn their policies around suddenly, unlike China, where one day they can suddenly tighten credit policies and the next day they can let go their policies depending on where the country want to go. The central chinese government can do whatever they want and say and the rest has to follow. In this aspect you can say that the Indo government is more stable than the chinese, and businesses in Indo can flourish with more ease.
How to talk business: Small talk:
-'How are the interest rates these days, mortgage rates, bank saving rates, etc'
-'sweet spot'
-'capture the share of mind'
-'good problem'
-'market accepts it'
-'wear the right hat'
-'agree to disagree'
Saturday, March 06, 2010
HDB flats: Facts and Myths
haha this is worth recording.
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan spent some time in Parliament yesterday addressing popular misconceptions about Singapore's public housing market.
MYTH: There are not enough HDB flats to meet demand.
HIS RESPONSE:
The HDB released 13,500 new flats last year and will release another 12,000 or more this year. This is more than the total number of flats in Clementi or Jurong East (about 23,000 flats each).
The massive oversubscription rates for new flats are misleading. That is because half the number of flat applicants choose not to book a flat when invited to do so. Many say this is because they could not get a flat of their choice, yet in recent selection exercises, one-third rejected flats on the first day of selection, when all the flats were available.
Some first-time buyers have complained that they have tried repeatedly to get a flat to no avail. But when the HDB reviewed 477 such cases in the last six months, it found only 29 appeals (6 per cent) were genuine.
CASE STUDY: Mr C complained about his lack of success in getting a flat. The HDB's checks found that he had submitted four applications, three of which were in highly popular mature estates. In six months, he consecutively rejected three offers of flats: one offer of 121 flats in Punggol/Sengkang because he had been 'targeting a unit in Buangkok'; another offer of 143 flats in Punggol because 'the units left are facing the mosque'; and a third offer of 14 flats in Serangoon, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Tampines and Woodlands because these were not his 'choice' flats.
MYTH: HDB flats are unaffordable.
HIS RESPONSE:
On top of the CPF Housing Grant of $30,000 or $40,000, there is an Additional Housing Grant (AHG) for lower-income families of up to $40,000. As of Jan 31, the Government disbursed more than $330 million in AHG to more than 20,000 families.
The median house price is 5.8 times the median household income in Singapore. In comparison, the ratio is 7.1 in London and 19.8 in Hong Kong.
The average mortgage payment for new flats in non-mature estates sold in 2009 was 22 per cent of monthly household income. This is well below the affordability benchmark of 30 per cent to 35 per cent.
Four out of five Singaporean new flat buyers service their housing loans from CPF savings, without any cash payment.
CASE STUDY: Mr and Mrs S, with a $4,500 monthly income, bought a four-room flat in Punggol for $297,900. They received $10,000 in grants and took a concessionary loan of $268,100 (90 per cent of the price) from the HDB. The couple's monthly instalment is $1,073, or 24 per cent of their income. They can use $1,035 from the CPF to service the mortgage and end up paying only $38 monthly in cash.
MYTH: PRs push up prices.
HIS RESPONSE:
The median cash-over-valuation (COV) paid by permanent residents have been the same as the median COV nationwide for the last two quarters.
Cases of PRs paying high COV are the exception. Of 37,205 resale transactions in 2009, 58 cases had COV exceeding $70,000. Of this, only eight (14 per cent) involved PRs.
MYTH: Private property owners push up prices.
HIS RESPONSE:
Their number is not large enough to push up prices. Of the 58 resale transactions last year with COV exceeding $70,000, only 11 cases (19 per cent) involved private property owners.
MYTH: Subletting of HDB flats is rampant.
HIS RESPONSE:
Of the 682,000 flats that have fulfilled current Minimum Occupation Period requirements, only 3 per cent are sublet. This suggests most flat owners are buying their flats for occupation, and not rental
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan spent some time in Parliament yesterday addressing popular misconceptions about Singapore's public housing market.
MYTH: There are not enough HDB flats to meet demand.
HIS RESPONSE:
The HDB released 13,500 new flats last year and will release another 12,000 or more this year. This is more than the total number of flats in Clementi or Jurong East (about 23,000 flats each).
The massive oversubscription rates for new flats are misleading. That is because half the number of flat applicants choose not to book a flat when invited to do so. Many say this is because they could not get a flat of their choice, yet in recent selection exercises, one-third rejected flats on the first day of selection, when all the flats were available.
Some first-time buyers have complained that they have tried repeatedly to get a flat to no avail. But when the HDB reviewed 477 such cases in the last six months, it found only 29 appeals (6 per cent) were genuine.
CASE STUDY: Mr C complained about his lack of success in getting a flat. The HDB's checks found that he had submitted four applications, three of which were in highly popular mature estates. In six months, he consecutively rejected three offers of flats: one offer of 121 flats in Punggol/Sengkang because he had been 'targeting a unit in Buangkok'; another offer of 143 flats in Punggol because 'the units left are facing the mosque'; and a third offer of 14 flats in Serangoon, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Tampines and Woodlands because these were not his 'choice' flats.
MYTH: HDB flats are unaffordable.
HIS RESPONSE:
On top of the CPF Housing Grant of $30,000 or $40,000, there is an Additional Housing Grant (AHG) for lower-income families of up to $40,000. As of Jan 31, the Government disbursed more than $330 million in AHG to more than 20,000 families.
The median house price is 5.8 times the median household income in Singapore. In comparison, the ratio is 7.1 in London and 19.8 in Hong Kong.
The average mortgage payment for new flats in non-mature estates sold in 2009 was 22 per cent of monthly household income. This is well below the affordability benchmark of 30 per cent to 35 per cent.
Four out of five Singaporean new flat buyers service their housing loans from CPF savings, without any cash payment.
CASE STUDY: Mr and Mrs S, with a $4,500 monthly income, bought a four-room flat in Punggol for $297,900. They received $10,000 in grants and took a concessionary loan of $268,100 (90 per cent of the price) from the HDB. The couple's monthly instalment is $1,073, or 24 per cent of their income. They can use $1,035 from the CPF to service the mortgage and end up paying only $38 monthly in cash.
MYTH: PRs push up prices.
HIS RESPONSE:
The median cash-over-valuation (COV) paid by permanent residents have been the same as the median COV nationwide for the last two quarters.
Cases of PRs paying high COV are the exception. Of 37,205 resale transactions in 2009, 58 cases had COV exceeding $70,000. Of this, only eight (14 per cent) involved PRs.
MYTH: Private property owners push up prices.
HIS RESPONSE:
Their number is not large enough to push up prices. Of the 58 resale transactions last year with COV exceeding $70,000, only 11 cases (19 per cent) involved private property owners.
MYTH: Subletting of HDB flats is rampant.
HIS RESPONSE:
Of the 682,000 flats that have fulfilled current Minimum Occupation Period requirements, only 3 per cent are sublet. This suggests most flat owners are buying their flats for occupation, and not rental
Mar 6, 2010 HDB rules change
RESALE FLATS
Buyer had to occupy the flat for one year or 2.5 years, depending on how it was financed, before being allowed to sell it.
NOW
The minimum occupation period is 3 years for all
HDB CONCESSONARY LOANS
PREVIOUSLY
Only those upgrading to bigger flat could get HDB loan for a second time
NOW
Downgraders buying smaller flats are also entitled to a second loan
QUOTAS FOR PRS
PREVIOUSLY
There were no quotas for non-Malaysian PRs buying flats in HDB blocks and neighbourhoods.
NOW
There is a 5% limit on these PRs in the neighbourhood, and 8% for individual blocks. Buyers must also meet the ethnic quotas.
Buyer had to occupy the flat for one year or 2.5 years, depending on how it was financed, before being allowed to sell it.
NOW
The minimum occupation period is 3 years for all
HDB CONCESSONARY LOANS
PREVIOUSLY
Only those upgrading to bigger flat could get HDB loan for a second time
NOW
Downgraders buying smaller flats are also entitled to a second loan
QUOTAS FOR PRS
PREVIOUSLY
There were no quotas for non-Malaysian PRs buying flats in HDB blocks and neighbourhoods.
NOW
There is a 5% limit on these PRs in the neighbourhood, and 8% for individual blocks. Buyers must also meet the ethnic quotas.
Being Ng Teng Fong
Singapore's wealthiest private unlisted developer Ng Teng Fong passed away on 2 Feb 2010. One wonders how such an egnimatic and low profile persona can be where he is today. Some stories about him which diffrentiates him from the rest of us I suppose:
Despite his fortune, he had a reputation for leading a frugal and unostentatious lifestyle. Though he controlled at least a quarter of Singapore's housing market, Ng lived in the same house he'd had for 30 years, and used to take his own lunch on the airplanes.
He could see ahead where others could not: First to go into Orchard Road Singapore, First to go into the old Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong
His first foray was in a estate in Serangoon Gardens.???
In fact, Mr Ng was so passionate about his business that he not only worked 18 hours a day, but also reportedly would take a penlight along when he went to the occasional movie with his wife so that he could do his planning and calculations in the dark.
‘If you want to be in the property business, it is not possible to invest in every region.
‘You open the map. If you can’t see the place (because it’s too small) but only the name, that’s the place to invest in…Singapore and Hong Kong are the best examples.’
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
According to Forbes (2007),[1] there were only two Indonesians who were listed among world's billionaires. Mikhael Santoso (and family) with the net worth of US$ 1.9 billion was ranked in the 538th, while Robert Budi Hartono (and family) was ranked in the 664th with total net worth of US$ 1.5 billion. Both billionaires made profit from kretek (clove cigarettes) companies through Gudang Garam and Djarum brand names, respectively.
2008 Indonesia's Billionaires
Rank
Name
Net worth (US Dollars)
Age
1
Hartono & family
6.8 Billion
68
2
Eka Tjipta Widjaja & family
3.8 Billion
85
3
Sudono Salim & family
3.04 Billion
93
4
Putra Sampoerna & family
2.42 Billion
60
5
Rachman Halim & family
2 Billion
61
6
Sukanto Tanoto & family
1.43 Billion
58
7
Eddie William Katuari
1.21 Billion
57
8
Prajogo Pangestu
1.2 Billion
57
9
Murdaya poo & family
1.1 Biliion
67
10
Hary Taniesoedibjo & family
1.1 Billion
43
11
Martua Sitorus
1.1 Billion
48
12
Arifin & Hilmi Panigoro
1.05 Billion
63/53
14
Hashim Djojohadikusumo
1.05 Billion
54
15
Peter Sondakh
1 Billion
56
Source: Globe Asia (2008).[3]
[edit] State officials
Below is the list of the names of Indonesia's 12 richest state officials and their net worth.
Name
Title
Wealth
Aburizal Bakrie
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
$9.2 billion
Murdaya Poo
Member of Indonesian House of Representatives
$1.1 billion
Jusuf Wanandi
Vice-General Secretary of the Golkar Party
$304 million
Jusuf Kalla
Vice President of Indonesia
$145 million
Hamengkubuwono X
Sultan of Yogyakarta
$143 million
Fadel Muhammad
Governor of Gorontalo
$16, 638, 186
Fahmi Idris
Indonesian Minister of Industry
$9, 423, 488
Zaulkifli Nurdin
Governor of Jambi
$6, 543, 216
Bun Bunan EJ Hutapea
Deputy Governor of Bank of Indonesia
$5, 927, 470
Fauzi Bowo
Governor of Jakarta
$4, 410, 803
Meutia F. Hatta
Indonesian State Minister for Women's Empowerment
$4, 271, 758
Ginandjar Kartasasminata
Indonesian Chairman of Regional Parliament
$3, 246, 939
Budiarsa S.
Member of Indonesian House of Representatives
$2, 147, 909
Ratu Atut Chosiyah
Governor of Banten
$1, 978, 968
2008 Indonesia's Billionaires
Rank
Name
Net worth (US Dollars)
Age
1
Hartono & family
6.8 Billion
68
2
Eka Tjipta Widjaja & family
3.8 Billion
85
3
Sudono Salim & family
3.04 Billion
93
4
Putra Sampoerna & family
2.42 Billion
60
5
Rachman Halim & family
2 Billion
61
6
Sukanto Tanoto & family
1.43 Billion
58
7
Eddie William Katuari
1.21 Billion
57
8
Prajogo Pangestu
1.2 Billion
57
9
Murdaya poo & family
1.1 Biliion
67
10
Hary Taniesoedibjo & family
1.1 Billion
43
11
Martua Sitorus
1.1 Billion
48
12
Arifin & Hilmi Panigoro
1.05 Billion
63/53
14
Hashim Djojohadikusumo
1.05 Billion
54
15
Peter Sondakh
1 Billion
56
Source: Globe Asia (2008).[3]
[edit] State officials
Below is the list of the names of Indonesia's 12 richest state officials and their net worth.
Name
Title
Wealth
Aburizal Bakrie
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
$9.2 billion
Murdaya Poo
Member of Indonesian House of Representatives
$1.1 billion
Jusuf Wanandi
Vice-General Secretary of the Golkar Party
$304 million
Jusuf Kalla
Vice President of Indonesia
$145 million
Hamengkubuwono X
Sultan of Yogyakarta
$143 million
Fadel Muhammad
Governor of Gorontalo
$16, 638, 186
Fahmi Idris
Indonesian Minister of Industry
$9, 423, 488
Zaulkifli Nurdin
Governor of Jambi
$6, 543, 216
Bun Bunan EJ Hutapea
Deputy Governor of Bank of Indonesia
$5, 927, 470
Fauzi Bowo
Governor of Jakarta
$4, 410, 803
Meutia F. Hatta
Indonesian State Minister for Women's Empowerment
$4, 271, 758
Ginandjar Kartasasminata
Indonesian Chairman of Regional Parliament
$3, 246, 939
Budiarsa S.
Member of Indonesian House of Representatives
$2, 147, 909
Ratu Atut Chosiyah
Governor of Banten
$1, 978, 968
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Vietnam's opportunity for retailers
According to the consumer survey done by AC Nielsen Vietnam in November 2008, Vietnamese consumers prefer to shop in modern retail centres than traditional markets. Another survey conducted by Saigon Marketing Newspaper in 2008 also reveals that around 50% of the consumers in Ho Chi Minh City are purchasing goods in supermarkets while only 15% buy products in traditional markets. The reason is that modern retail centres are becoming more convenient since they are opened for longer hours, have more diversified products, hygienic space and fixed pricing.
In addition, Vietnam has strong fundamentals. In particular, the dominance of youth in Vietnam, an important driver of economic growth, as well as the retail market. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam Census 2009 Report, about 66% of Vietnam’s population is between 15 and 59 years of age. This is its largest spending group and it is expected to fuel the retail market growth.
The rate of urbanisation provides an engine for the retail market. In 2009, 29.6% of the population in Vietnam lived in cities. This works out to close to one million of rural-urban migrants per year. The high rate of urbanisation implies strong long-term demand for all property types including retail.
The number of mid and high income people has also been growing rapidly. As at end December 2009, about 17% of Vietnam’s population makes US$250 to US$435 per month and higher (Savills Retail Market Report 4Q09). The number of mid and high income people has been increasing quickly and it is expected to reach 25% in the next couple of years.
The rate of urbanisation provides an engine for the retail market. In 2009, 29.6% of the population in Vietnam lived in cities. This works out to close to one million of rural-urban migrants per year. The high rate of urbanisation implies strong long-term demand for all property types including retail.
The number of mid and high income people has also been growing rapidly. As at end December 2009, about 17% of Vietnam’s population makes US$250 to US$435 per month and higher (Savills Retail Market Report 4Q09). The number of mid and high income people has been increasing quickly and it is expected to reach 25% in the next couple of years.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Warren Buffet
Warren E. Buffett was considered the second-wealthiest person in the United States in the early 2000s and the only one to have made his money through stock investing, as president and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Holdings, the most expensive and profitable listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Buffett, a deceptively shy and self-effacing man, sustained a reputation as the most astute investor in the United States for half of the twentieth century. He had become a genius at value investing and in the critical discernment of corporate talent and management. Conservative to a fault where money was concerned, he sustained a liberal, almost libertarian image in public life. Investors who followed his lead all became comfortably well off or even extraordinarily wealthy. His every investment was founded on an obligation to his investors to outperform every performance indicator.
Laying the Foundation
Buffett created Berkshire Hathaway in 1969, after shutting down his 13-year-long partnership with a select group of seven recruited investors (from among his family and friends). This group, formed in 1956, put in a total of $105,000, of which only $100 was Buffett's. By 1962 the group's capital had grown to more than $7 million, more than $1 million of which belonged to Buffett. He charged a fee of only 25 percent of profits above 6 percent, and he would forgo his fee if his performance did not exceed the return on government bonds, which yielded the same 6 percent.
Buffett alone had authority to make investments for the partnership, and he would answer no questions regarding them. New investments were allowed only once or twice annually, and he broadened his investor base as his profits grew, bringing in 90 more limited partners from throughout the nation at $100,000 each. (Laurence Tisch of Loews and CBS put in $300,000.) Buffett incorporated the group as Buffett Partnerships Limited and opened an office in Kiewit Plaza. This location would endure as the headquarters for what was to become Berkshire Hathaway, the most successful investment company in history. Within 10 years Buffett had assets of $44 million, of which nearly $7 million was his. In 1969 he determined that further suitable investments were unavailable and began to liquidate the partnership. By then the assets had grown to $104 million; Buffett's share came to more than $25 million. He had always said that someday he would be wealthy, but for Buffett this was only the beginning.
Buffett had become a master at arbitrage investing, taking large positions in stocks of companies that his research showed to be ripe for mergers, liquidations, or takeovers. He used margin borrowing to gain leverage, which helped him establish partnership positions that put him on corporate boards, where he could exercise influence. Undervalued companies were a specialty, as they proved vulnerable to large investments that enabled him to exert pressure for control. This was his key to gaining control of Berkshire Hathaway, which was to become the keystone of his rise to financial power.
He was joined in his enterprise in 1962 by Charles Munger, who became virtually an alter ego. Munger was possessed of a brilliant mind and a rapier wit and tongue, and the two became partners for over 40 years. During the years of the Buffett Partnership, they invested in a group of stagnant knitting mills that were slowly withering in New England. This was Berkshire Hathaway, which consisted of a struggling milling entity in the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Buffett examined the books of the company and began to discern greater value than was evident at first glance. The long history of the fabric industry in New England and the resolute men who had shaped it intrigued Buffett. He set about quietly purchasing blocks of shares as the stock began to slide. An internal fight between relatives over the future of the company played into his hands.
He visited the main plant in New Bedford and was shown the operations by Kenneth Chace. Chace was open and candid and shared with Buffett forty years' worth of corporate statements regarding the company. Buffett continued buying the stock both directly and through brokerage houses, and he saw in Chace a man who was virtually the model of the kind of business personality that interested him. Buffett invested in companies, but he always made sure that he was investing in the right kind of people. Chace was offered the presidency of the company as soon as Buffett took controlling interest. When he liquidated his original partnership, Buffett kept 29 percent of Berkshire, which would become the foundation of his new enterprise, the holding company Berkshire Hathaway.
The Boy Becomes the Man
When he was asked how he had discerned any value in his investments, Buffett said simply that he read thousands of annual reports and corporate statements. Value Line, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's were the core of his studies, followed by corporate publications. Buffett saw the library as the true basis of anyone's education; the fact that it was cheaper than the cost of attending college warmed his conservative heart even more. Buffett did not like to spend; he was a gatherer and a holder. His childhood was replete with stories of youthful enterprise, beginning at the age of six, when he bought six-packs of cola for 25 cents and then sold individual bottles for 5 cents each. He scoured golf courses for lost balls, which he then sold individually and by the dozen. When his father went to the U.S. Congress, Buffett took over several paper routes conveniently confined to large apartment houses. He kept careful records of all his customers, and when someone did not renew a subscription, he was quick to remind them and even to sell them a competing newspaper.
Buffett was grateful when his father, who had served four terms in the U.S. Congress, lost one of his campaigns, and the family left Washington, D.C. His father was a staunch conservative and a member of the John Birch Society, which was dedicated to combating liberal, socialist, or communist tendencies in society. His father always asked whether legislation "would add or subtract from human liberty." When he returned to Omaha, he put the young Warren to work in his brokerage office, chalking prices and quotations. With his mathematical mind, he enjoyed the job immensely, and the experience was to serve him well in his future career.
Back home in Omaha, Buffett used $1,200 saved from his paper routes to buy 40 acres of land, which he leased out to a farmer. He also developed a keen interest in horse racing. The statistics involved with weights, speed ratings, pace, past performance, and breeding variables intrigued him. He formed a partnership with a friend to print the "Stable Boy's Tip Sheet," sold at Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack. He and a partner also went into the pinball machine business, which generated a nice profit. His first venture into the stock market was at the age of 11, when he bought three shares each of Cities Service stock for his sister and himself at $38 and saw it drop to $27 and then climb to $40, at which point he sold, garnering a profit after costs of $5. The same stock then began to climb, reaching $200. This was a lesson to Buffett about staying in the market.
Foundations of Learning
While Buffett admired and loved his father, he tried to stay clear of his mother, who was given to rages that traumatized her children. To keep out of her way, Buffett spent more time in his father's offices. He was fascinated by numbers and money, especially how money could grow through compound interest. The notion of compounding interest never ceased to intrigue and delight him. He could compute and project interest rates off the top of his head in mid-conversation. His lifelong guiding credos were "Number One: Never Lose Money!" and "Number Two: Never Forget Number One!"
Buffett entered the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 and, after two years, determined that the instructors knew less about finance than he did. He returned to Omaha and finished undergraduate work at the University of Nebraska. Buffett then applied to Harvard graduate school but was denied admission. In the meantime, he had read what was to become a classic, The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham. Graham taught at Columbia University, and Buffett determined to go there to study; he soon became a Graham disciple. Graham believed that profits could be generated through ownership of stocks that were undervalued on the market. His concept was that stocks of companies that were well managed, sound, and grounded in a belief in their product could and should prosper as investments. Buffett's penchant for research and analysis, joined with a dogged conservatism about money, made him a natural believer in the Graham principles. He sought a job in Graham's investment firm, Graham and Newman, but was rejected. Graham was Jewish and was dedicated to providing openings in finance to Jewish students, who had a limited presence in investment houses. So Buffett went back to Omaha to sell stocks for his father.
In 1952 he married Susan Thompson, a student and friend of Buffett's sister at Northwestern University. In the early days of their marriage, he attempted to run a gas station, which did not succeed. In 1954, however, Graham relented and hired Buffett. He stayed with the firm for two years and became immersed in the Graham formula for money management and investments. Then Graham retired and closed down his company, but by then Buffett had generated a net worth of $140,000 and a wealth of knowledge and confidence about value investing. At the age of 26, he returned to Omaha and set about forming his own company, the Buffett Partnership.
Philosophy
His experience, combined with a reputation for honesty, hard work, and an encyclopedic knowledge of securities and finance stood him in good stead. Buffett possessed an ability to fuse self-interest with a desire to have his investors do well. He did not believe in stock tips, preferring instead that investors do the work, as he did, to find a stock worthy of investment. He believed that all stewardship of funds demanded an accounting and that leaving money at rest was unconscionable when there were opportunities to put it to work.
His personal ethics and business acumen played out in private and in public. He once took umbrage when Boys Town of Omaha continued to plead poverty and exploit orphaned and homeless children to gain contributions, which Buffett found were simply hoarded by the home. He forced an exposé in the Omaha papers that compelled the home to change its practices. As a money manager, he insured that all investments made by Berkshire Hathaway returned cash to the headquarters in Omaha. He had a basic instinct about the capability of people and required only that they submit a monthly financial statement and, in the event of bad news, to report it immediately. His company moved to gain control of Borsheim Jewelry, Scott and Fetzer, Blue Chip Stamps, GEICO and General Reinsurance, Western Financial, the Omaha Sun Herald, See's Candies, the Omaha Furniture Mart, Executive Jet, and the Buffalo News as well as taking large stakes in Salomon Securities, Coca Cola, McDonald's, and International Bridge. He was always wary of getting a reputation as a liquidator or parasite bent on draining a company of its assets. Only the Buffalo News acquisition, through the auspices of Blue Chip Stamps, bore the heavy handprints of a take-no-prisoners capitalist assault.
Buffett and his personal newspaper agent from Omaha, Stanford Lipsey, sought to gain a monopoly on newspapers in the city of Buffalo. He made no secret that challenging the Buffalo Courier-Express's right to control publication of a Sunday edition would inevitably cause that paper's demise. The Sunday edition was the lifeblood of the Courier, a morning paper. The Buffalo Evening News was constrained as an evening paper with no Sunday edition. The message Buffett gave to the unions at both papers was that their influence and numbers were to be severely curtailed and that their best interests would be served by agreeing to publication of a weekend edition by the Evening News. The unions understood their position, and the collapse of the Courier soon followed. Buffett, in his triumphant, though hardly his finest, hour, coldly told the existing unions, which had assumed they would be rewarded financially for their help, that the workforce made no worthy contribution to production of profits, given the solitary control of the market by the new Buffalo News.
Economic Discipline
Buffett's foremost strength was loyalty. He possessed an unyielding faith in his system, and his investors placed great faith in him in return. His admonition "Don't sell B-H stock!" was a watchword never to be taken lightly. His own children disappointed him by selling some of their stock when they could more easily have borrowed against it as collateral. He encouraged his investment partners to hold on to their stakes through good times and bad. Though he insisted on complete control over investment decisions, he also believed that business leaders had to provide an accounting to investors. He despised the practice of doling out options to executives and board members. To him, this was virtual charity. He also did not care for dividend distributions, which represented an inability of the managers to usefully devote the funds to the company's growth.
From his first investing experience in Cities Service to the creation of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett stayed the course of his convictions. By the early 2000s, he and his wife controlled almost 39 percent of Berkshire Hathaway, some $40 billion in value. Wealth as a way to fund personal expenditures was insignificant to Buffett. It meant more to him to have the ability to buy without actually making a purchase. He continued to live in the house that he had bought for $31,500. He owned just one car, a Lincoln Continental. His only luxury was a personal jet; though he named it Indefensible, he justified having it by pointing out that commercial aircraft had become uncomfortable for him after he became well known.
In a speech at the Wharton School of Business (April 21, 1999), Buffett laid out four rules for investment: 1. Understand the business in which you are investing. Look for businesses within a circle of personal competence. 2. Look for sound, fundamental economics. Seek out companies that have a sustainable economic advantage, one he called "a castle with a moat around it," using Coca Cola as an example whose brand name has endured for generations and which could not be bought even for millions of dollars. 3. Find competent leadership. Honest, capable, hardworking leaders are needed to lead companies with a sustainable economic advantage. His instruction to Berkshire Hathaway managers was to "Widen the moat. That keeps the castle valuable." 4. Buy at the right price if you want an investment to pay off. He explained how he had gone through company after company in Moody's investment manuals, searching for those that had large cash values yet were selling at low percentages of that value.
Social Concerns
Buffett did not like to give money away, which meant that he was losing it. His tastes were simple; he ate hamburgers and drank cherry Coke, and he loved to use baseball metaphors in his talks about investing. He gave over $1 million dollars to keep minor league baseball in Omaha. He also helped Grinnell College in Iowa purchase (for $13 million) a public radio station. Two years later, to Buffett's dismay, the college sold it for $48 million dollars. His wife was prone to take up causes in poor neighborhoods and pushed him to donate to them. He did so reluctantly, and inevitably his better sense proved correct, as the money ended up being wasted, in his view. He also supported the formation of a liberal magazine in Washington that proceeded to fail. Abortion and birth control were two of his wife's special projects, as was the welfare of the homeless and street youths. The two formed a group called the Glide Foundation as a vehicle to channel money to that cause. In the early 2000s it seemed that a Buffett foundation would be the eventual beneficiary of his wealth, but Buffett preferred not to think about it.
Laying the Foundation
Buffett created Berkshire Hathaway in 1969, after shutting down his 13-year-long partnership with a select group of seven recruited investors (from among his family and friends). This group, formed in 1956, put in a total of $105,000, of which only $100 was Buffett's. By 1962 the group's capital had grown to more than $7 million, more than $1 million of which belonged to Buffett. He charged a fee of only 25 percent of profits above 6 percent, and he would forgo his fee if his performance did not exceed the return on government bonds, which yielded the same 6 percent.
Buffett alone had authority to make investments for the partnership, and he would answer no questions regarding them. New investments were allowed only once or twice annually, and he broadened his investor base as his profits grew, bringing in 90 more limited partners from throughout the nation at $100,000 each. (Laurence Tisch of Loews and CBS put in $300,000.) Buffett incorporated the group as Buffett Partnerships Limited and opened an office in Kiewit Plaza. This location would endure as the headquarters for what was to become Berkshire Hathaway, the most successful investment company in history. Within 10 years Buffett had assets of $44 million, of which nearly $7 million was his. In 1969 he determined that further suitable investments were unavailable and began to liquidate the partnership. By then the assets had grown to $104 million; Buffett's share came to more than $25 million. He had always said that someday he would be wealthy, but for Buffett this was only the beginning.
Buffett had become a master at arbitrage investing, taking large positions in stocks of companies that his research showed to be ripe for mergers, liquidations, or takeovers. He used margin borrowing to gain leverage, which helped him establish partnership positions that put him on corporate boards, where he could exercise influence. Undervalued companies were a specialty, as they proved vulnerable to large investments that enabled him to exert pressure for control. This was his key to gaining control of Berkshire Hathaway, which was to become the keystone of his rise to financial power.
He was joined in his enterprise in 1962 by Charles Munger, who became virtually an alter ego. Munger was possessed of a brilliant mind and a rapier wit and tongue, and the two became partners for over 40 years. During the years of the Buffett Partnership, they invested in a group of stagnant knitting mills that were slowly withering in New England. This was Berkshire Hathaway, which consisted of a struggling milling entity in the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Buffett examined the books of the company and began to discern greater value than was evident at first glance. The long history of the fabric industry in New England and the resolute men who had shaped it intrigued Buffett. He set about quietly purchasing blocks of shares as the stock began to slide. An internal fight between relatives over the future of the company played into his hands.
He visited the main plant in New Bedford and was shown the operations by Kenneth Chace. Chace was open and candid and shared with Buffett forty years' worth of corporate statements regarding the company. Buffett continued buying the stock both directly and through brokerage houses, and he saw in Chace a man who was virtually the model of the kind of business personality that interested him. Buffett invested in companies, but he always made sure that he was investing in the right kind of people. Chace was offered the presidency of the company as soon as Buffett took controlling interest. When he liquidated his original partnership, Buffett kept 29 percent of Berkshire, which would become the foundation of his new enterprise, the holding company Berkshire Hathaway.
The Boy Becomes the Man
When he was asked how he had discerned any value in his investments, Buffett said simply that he read thousands of annual reports and corporate statements. Value Line, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's were the core of his studies, followed by corporate publications. Buffett saw the library as the true basis of anyone's education; the fact that it was cheaper than the cost of attending college warmed his conservative heart even more. Buffett did not like to spend; he was a gatherer and a holder. His childhood was replete with stories of youthful enterprise, beginning at the age of six, when he bought six-packs of cola for 25 cents and then sold individual bottles for 5 cents each. He scoured golf courses for lost balls, which he then sold individually and by the dozen. When his father went to the U.S. Congress, Buffett took over several paper routes conveniently confined to large apartment houses. He kept careful records of all his customers, and when someone did not renew a subscription, he was quick to remind them and even to sell them a competing newspaper.
Buffett was grateful when his father, who had served four terms in the U.S. Congress, lost one of his campaigns, and the family left Washington, D.C. His father was a staunch conservative and a member of the John Birch Society, which was dedicated to combating liberal, socialist, or communist tendencies in society. His father always asked whether legislation "would add or subtract from human liberty." When he returned to Omaha, he put the young Warren to work in his brokerage office, chalking prices and quotations. With his mathematical mind, he enjoyed the job immensely, and the experience was to serve him well in his future career.
Back home in Omaha, Buffett used $1,200 saved from his paper routes to buy 40 acres of land, which he leased out to a farmer. He also developed a keen interest in horse racing. The statistics involved with weights, speed ratings, pace, past performance, and breeding variables intrigued him. He formed a partnership with a friend to print the "Stable Boy's Tip Sheet," sold at Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack. He and a partner also went into the pinball machine business, which generated a nice profit. His first venture into the stock market was at the age of 11, when he bought three shares each of Cities Service stock for his sister and himself at $38 and saw it drop to $27 and then climb to $40, at which point he sold, garnering a profit after costs of $5. The same stock then began to climb, reaching $200. This was a lesson to Buffett about staying in the market.
Foundations of Learning
While Buffett admired and loved his father, he tried to stay clear of his mother, who was given to rages that traumatized her children. To keep out of her way, Buffett spent more time in his father's offices. He was fascinated by numbers and money, especially how money could grow through compound interest. The notion of compounding interest never ceased to intrigue and delight him. He could compute and project interest rates off the top of his head in mid-conversation. His lifelong guiding credos were "Number One: Never Lose Money!" and "Number Two: Never Forget Number One!"
Buffett entered the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 and, after two years, determined that the instructors knew less about finance than he did. He returned to Omaha and finished undergraduate work at the University of Nebraska. Buffett then applied to Harvard graduate school but was denied admission. In the meantime, he had read what was to become a classic, The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham. Graham taught at Columbia University, and Buffett determined to go there to study; he soon became a Graham disciple. Graham believed that profits could be generated through ownership of stocks that were undervalued on the market. His concept was that stocks of companies that were well managed, sound, and grounded in a belief in their product could and should prosper as investments. Buffett's penchant for research and analysis, joined with a dogged conservatism about money, made him a natural believer in the Graham principles. He sought a job in Graham's investment firm, Graham and Newman, but was rejected. Graham was Jewish and was dedicated to providing openings in finance to Jewish students, who had a limited presence in investment houses. So Buffett went back to Omaha to sell stocks for his father.
In 1952 he married Susan Thompson, a student and friend of Buffett's sister at Northwestern University. In the early days of their marriage, he attempted to run a gas station, which did not succeed. In 1954, however, Graham relented and hired Buffett. He stayed with the firm for two years and became immersed in the Graham formula for money management and investments. Then Graham retired and closed down his company, but by then Buffett had generated a net worth of $140,000 and a wealth of knowledge and confidence about value investing. At the age of 26, he returned to Omaha and set about forming his own company, the Buffett Partnership.
Philosophy
His experience, combined with a reputation for honesty, hard work, and an encyclopedic knowledge of securities and finance stood him in good stead. Buffett possessed an ability to fuse self-interest with a desire to have his investors do well. He did not believe in stock tips, preferring instead that investors do the work, as he did, to find a stock worthy of investment. He believed that all stewardship of funds demanded an accounting and that leaving money at rest was unconscionable when there were opportunities to put it to work.
His personal ethics and business acumen played out in private and in public. He once took umbrage when Boys Town of Omaha continued to plead poverty and exploit orphaned and homeless children to gain contributions, which Buffett found were simply hoarded by the home. He forced an exposé in the Omaha papers that compelled the home to change its practices. As a money manager, he insured that all investments made by Berkshire Hathaway returned cash to the headquarters in Omaha. He had a basic instinct about the capability of people and required only that they submit a monthly financial statement and, in the event of bad news, to report it immediately. His company moved to gain control of Borsheim Jewelry, Scott and Fetzer, Blue Chip Stamps, GEICO and General Reinsurance, Western Financial, the Omaha Sun Herald, See's Candies, the Omaha Furniture Mart, Executive Jet, and the Buffalo News as well as taking large stakes in Salomon Securities, Coca Cola, McDonald's, and International Bridge. He was always wary of getting a reputation as a liquidator or parasite bent on draining a company of its assets. Only the Buffalo News acquisition, through the auspices of Blue Chip Stamps, bore the heavy handprints of a take-no-prisoners capitalist assault.
Buffett and his personal newspaper agent from Omaha, Stanford Lipsey, sought to gain a monopoly on newspapers in the city of Buffalo. He made no secret that challenging the Buffalo Courier-Express's right to control publication of a Sunday edition would inevitably cause that paper's demise. The Sunday edition was the lifeblood of the Courier, a morning paper. The Buffalo Evening News was constrained as an evening paper with no Sunday edition. The message Buffett gave to the unions at both papers was that their influence and numbers were to be severely curtailed and that their best interests would be served by agreeing to publication of a weekend edition by the Evening News. The unions understood their position, and the collapse of the Courier soon followed. Buffett, in his triumphant, though hardly his finest, hour, coldly told the existing unions, which had assumed they would be rewarded financially for their help, that the workforce made no worthy contribution to production of profits, given the solitary control of the market by the new Buffalo News.
Economic Discipline
Buffett's foremost strength was loyalty. He possessed an unyielding faith in his system, and his investors placed great faith in him in return. His admonition "Don't sell B-H stock!" was a watchword never to be taken lightly. His own children disappointed him by selling some of their stock when they could more easily have borrowed against it as collateral. He encouraged his investment partners to hold on to their stakes through good times and bad. Though he insisted on complete control over investment decisions, he also believed that business leaders had to provide an accounting to investors. He despised the practice of doling out options to executives and board members. To him, this was virtual charity. He also did not care for dividend distributions, which represented an inability of the managers to usefully devote the funds to the company's growth.
From his first investing experience in Cities Service to the creation of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett stayed the course of his convictions. By the early 2000s, he and his wife controlled almost 39 percent of Berkshire Hathaway, some $40 billion in value. Wealth as a way to fund personal expenditures was insignificant to Buffett. It meant more to him to have the ability to buy without actually making a purchase. He continued to live in the house that he had bought for $31,500. He owned just one car, a Lincoln Continental. His only luxury was a personal jet; though he named it Indefensible, he justified having it by pointing out that commercial aircraft had become uncomfortable for him after he became well known.
In a speech at the Wharton School of Business (April 21, 1999), Buffett laid out four rules for investment: 1. Understand the business in which you are investing. Look for businesses within a circle of personal competence. 2. Look for sound, fundamental economics. Seek out companies that have a sustainable economic advantage, one he called "a castle with a moat around it," using Coca Cola as an example whose brand name has endured for generations and which could not be bought even for millions of dollars. 3. Find competent leadership. Honest, capable, hardworking leaders are needed to lead companies with a sustainable economic advantage. His instruction to Berkshire Hathaway managers was to "Widen the moat. That keeps the castle valuable." 4. Buy at the right price if you want an investment to pay off. He explained how he had gone through company after company in Moody's investment manuals, searching for those that had large cash values yet were selling at low percentages of that value.
Social Concerns
Buffett did not like to give money away, which meant that he was losing it. His tastes were simple; he ate hamburgers and drank cherry Coke, and he loved to use baseball metaphors in his talks about investing. He gave over $1 million dollars to keep minor league baseball in Omaha. He also helped Grinnell College in Iowa purchase (for $13 million) a public radio station. Two years later, to Buffett's dismay, the college sold it for $48 million dollars. His wife was prone to take up causes in poor neighborhoods and pushed him to donate to them. He did so reluctantly, and inevitably his better sense proved correct, as the money ended up being wasted, in his view. He also supported the formation of a liberal magazine in Washington that proceeded to fail. Abortion and birth control were two of his wife's special projects, as was the welfare of the homeless and street youths. The two formed a group called the Glide Foundation as a vehicle to channel money to that cause. In the early 2000s it seemed that a Buffett foundation would be the eventual beneficiary of his wealth, but Buffett preferred not to think about it.
Warren
I finally caught Warren Buffet on TV today in my apartment in Jakarta. He is much more hyperactive than I imagine him to be. 79 years old, but fast talker, quick thinker, makes people think and go 'hmnnn thats right'. Although after hearing him talk and talk it gets a little boring after a while, cos he just goes on and on about economics.
But among all the mish mash that he is saying, what I take away from him is his buying philosophy, which has always been more or less the same:
-Be patient
-Look for the lowest prices and huge profit margins or high potential/brand equityeg coca cola, Acme brick, which cost a few cents to make
-Buy a product you understand and be prepared to wait at least a few years. eg he could not see ebay and you tube coming, but he could understand coca cola
-In the same industry, always try to compare between the 'same' products eg why coca cola and not pepsi?
-The person at the top has to be a good manager
When stock prices drop, dont panic and open your eyes wider
I note that although he appears to be the guru, he has a partner called Charlie, who is the silent guy and the guy who checks and balances him. I always feel that if you wanna do business or anything, doing it alone is not the way. You need a partner, 2 is good but 3 may be a crowd.
But among all the mish mash that he is saying, what I take away from him is his buying philosophy, which has always been more or less the same:
-Be patient
-Look for the lowest prices and huge profit margins or high potential/brand equityeg coca cola, Acme brick, which cost a few cents to make
-Buy a product you understand and be prepared to wait at least a few years. eg he could not see ebay and you tube coming, but he could understand coca cola
-In the same industry, always try to compare between the 'same' products eg why coca cola and not pepsi?
-The person at the top has to be a good manager
When stock prices drop, dont panic and open your eyes wider
I note that although he appears to be the guru, he has a partner called Charlie, who is the silent guy and the guy who checks and balances him. I always feel that if you wanna do business or anything, doing it alone is not the way. You need a partner, 2 is good but 3 may be a crowd.
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