[h=2]GIC investing in student dormitory[/h]
July 6th, 2014 |
Author: Contributions
RMIT Village, North Melbourne
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Australia’s Macquarie Capital said Wednesday they have formed a joint venture that bought a majority stake in an Australian student accommodation group.’ AFP. This news was reported about a month ago.
GIC, our SWF, one of the biggest in the world, is investing money to build dormitories for students in Australia. I can’t remember whether it was GIC or Temasek that invested in the ill-fated childcare that went bust and burnt a big hole in the fund’s pocket. Oops, apologies, just a tiny hole only, smaller than a kacang puteh.
There are some commonalities in the two investments. Both by Singapore’s world class SWF managed by the finest talents money can buy. Both involved education and students, only difference is one is bigger than the other. Let’s hope and pray that the commonality stops here.
One thing for sure, investing in the education of children is a noble thing to do. And the cost would not be as big as investing in world class banks. So it is a very safe investment and any losses would be kacang puteh at most.
This is prudence at the highest level, small risk investments. May I suggest investing in food courts, hawker centres and pasar malams, all national institutions, to the world market? These are low cost investments but with potentials to be Singapore’s Kmart or MacDonald and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Can tap on low cost engineering from India and low cost labour too to make these investments even more competitive?
They said branding makes a world of difference. Brand these products with the names of GIC or Temasek would definitely raise eyebrows and make them great household names.
Oh, talking about dormitory and labour, how about investing in dormitories for our 2 million foreign worker and talent population? There is a critical mass to make the venture worthwhile and also help to solve our social problem of not providing quality living environment for these people that came to help turn Singapore into a world class city.
Chua Chin Leng aka redbean
* The writer blogs at [url]http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com[/URL]
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Australia’s Macquarie Capital said Wednesday they have formed a joint venture that bought a majority stake in an Australian student accommodation group.’ AFP. This news was reported about a month ago.
GIC, our SWF, one of the biggest in the world, is investing money to build dormitories for students in Australia. I can’t remember whether it was GIC or Temasek that invested in the ill-fated childcare that went bust and burnt a big hole in the fund’s pocket. Oops, apologies, just a tiny hole only, smaller than a kacang puteh.
There are some commonalities in the two investments. Both by Singapore’s world class SWF managed by the finest talents money can buy. Both involved education and students, only difference is one is bigger than the other. Let’s hope and pray that the commonality stops here.
One thing for sure, investing in the education of children is a noble thing to do. And the cost would not be as big as investing in world class banks. So it is a very safe investment and any losses would be kacang puteh at most.
This is prudence at the highest level, small risk investments. May I suggest investing in food courts, hawker centres and pasar malams, all national institutions, to the world market? These are low cost investments but with potentials to be Singapore’s Kmart or MacDonald and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Can tap on low cost engineering from India and low cost labour too to make these investments even more competitive?
They said branding makes a world of difference. Brand these products with the names of GIC or Temasek would definitely raise eyebrows and make them great household names.
Oh, talking about dormitory and labour, how about investing in dormitories for our 2 million foreign worker and talent population? There is a critical mass to make the venture worthwhile and also help to solve our social problem of not providing quality living environment for these people that came to help turn Singapore into a world class city.
Chua Chin Leng aka redbean
* The writer blogs at [url]http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com[/URL]
