Uncker Kok Song has concern on sustainability of the U.S. debt has reached the tipping point. Nobidy know when the crisis is going to unfold de woh??!

[k1976]

Ray Dalio says gold, non-fiat currencies will be stronger stores of value as U.S. debt mounts​

PUBLISHED FRI, SEP 19 2025 6:13 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, SEP 19 2025 6:13 AM EDT

Anniek Bao@ANNIEKBYX@IN/ANNIEK-BAO-460A48107/
WATCH LIVE

KEY POINTS

• Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said Friday that gold and non-fiat currencies will become stronger stores of value as major currencies face devaluation risks amid mounting debt pressures globally.
• "We are going to see non-fiat currencies become more important store of wealth and money," said Dalio, urging investors to diversify their assets with around 10% of their portfolio in gold.
• U.S. President Donald Trump's massive tax bill is expected to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Ng Kok Song, founding partner and chairman of Avanda Investment Management, said on the same panel that the sustainability of the U.S. debt "has reached the tipping point. We do not know when the crisis is going to unfold."

He also noted that the fiscal risks were not unique to the U.S. but also seen in countries like France, Japan and China.

While the greenback has depreciated against other major currencies this year, with the dollar index tumbling over 10%, those currencies have also weakened in value relative to gold, Dalio said, noting that gold has become the second largest reserve currency globally.

 

[KingFook Sr]

The crash, when it happens, will not be pretty.
Be prepared.
.
Balance with some (or more) RMB assets.

 

[k1976]

Any samsters attend?

 

[k1976]

Once touted as future of construction in Singapore, high-tech precast factories struggling​

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Workers assembling steel that has been cut to length into a cage-like structure, which serves as a reinforcement for precast components.

ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

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Insight

Summary

• Precast components are concrete parts of a building like walls and bathrooms that are made off-site, delivered to and assembled at construction sites.
• High-tech factories with automated systems were set up here to make such components and boost construction productivity.
• But firms that run these factories say they have struggled to turn a profit, citing storage bottlenecks, competition from Malaysia and changes to government policies.

AI generated


Published Sep 20, 2025, 05:00 AM
Updated Sep 20, 2025, 09:30 AM

SINGAPORE - Some weeks in an industrial area in Singapore, a public road fills up with as many as 20 illegally parked trailers loaded with building components.

These concrete components are meant for a construction site, where they will be stacked like “Lego pieces” to build homes and offices.

But contractors who ordered them have refused to take delivery because of building delays.

 

[k1976]

The factory that makes these concrete parts – known as an integrated construction and prefabrication hub (ICPH) – leaves them outside on the road at the risk of fines because it is cheaper to store them there.

“We used to get fined quite often (for the illegal parking),” said an executive from the ICPH, who added that the fines typically amount to about $100 per trailer.

“But we figured it was cheaper to be fined than to try and rent land on a temporary occupation licence, given how expensive and scarce land is here.”

Dealing with delivery bottlenecks and finding room for storage are some of the various challenges that come with running an ICPH here.

These multi-storey, high-tech factories use automated systems to produce precast components – concrete parts of a building like walls, facades, bathrooms and household shelters that are made off-site, delivered to construction sites and assembled there.

ICPHs can produce precast components two to three times faster than traditional open precast yards, where workers manually pour concrete into moulds.

 

[k1976]

But despite an ongoing construction boom, firms that run these ICPHs – which can cost over $100 million to build – say storage issues, competition from Malaysia and changes to government policies have made it difficult to turn a profit.

Their struggles illustrate some of the difficulties Singapore faces in boosting productivity in construction, which has long been dependent on foreign labour.

Despite an ongoing construction boom, firms that run integrated construction and prefabrication hubs are facing various challenges.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Business losses​

ICPHs were first launched in 2012 under the Government’s push to improve productivity in the construction sector and develop the local supply of precast components.

The Government had planned to have 10 of these facilities here by 2020.

But it has fallen short of its target, with only six ICPHs built here so far.

Industry enthusiasm to run these facilities also seems to have waned.

An ICPH in Kaki Bukit Road 6 had until recently been vacant for nearly two years, after two consecutive operators were wound up. A new operator was appointed in 2025, and the facility is expected to be operational by the end of the year, said a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) spokeswoman.

The last known public tenders for ICPH sites – for two such facilities in Jalan Gali Batu – were released by BCA in December 2019.

In response to queries, the BCA spokeswoman said there were no bids for the land tenders when they closed in 2020.

She added that this coincided with the economic uncertainty arising from the onset of the pandemic, which generally led businesses to be more cautious with major investments.

The integrated construction and prefabrication hub in Kaki Bukit Road 6 had until recently been vacant for nearly two years, after two consecutive operators were wound up.

 

[k1976]

Asked if BCA intends to call any new tenders for ICPHs, or whether it has put such tenders on hold, the spokeswoman said the authority is monitoring the demand and supply of precast closely, and will work with other government agencies and the industry to release additional land resources if needed.

When ICPHs were first launched, precasters said they had the confidence to shell out hefty sums to build these factories because the gains they promised – greater productivity, fewer workers, better quality control and more efficient land use – dovetailed with the Government’s plans to transform the construction sector.

But some of them, such as Mr Lim Siew Howe from Greyform, a subsidiary of local construction giant Straits Construction Group, are less sanguine now.

“I think we might even go 30 years without breaking even by the end of our lease, if we’re just talking about the ICPH part of our business,” said Mr Lim, Greyform’s chief executive.

Besides operating an ICPH, Greyform also operates a precast plant in Malaysia and a smaller open precast yard in Singapore built on land it had acquired on a short-term lease from the Government.

A mock-up of a prefabricated bathroom unit at Greyform's ICPH in Kaki Bukit.

ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Precasters declined to share specifics when asked about their losses, citing business sensitivities, but four of them told The Straits Times that their production output in 2024 was below capacity by between 20 per cent and 50 per cent.

 

[k1976]

Competition from non-ICPHs​

Another issue that ICPHs raised was competition from across the border.

In Malaysia, open precast yards have lower overheads and more storage space, and can price their components 15 per cent to 20 per cent lower than ICPHs here, said Mr Ang, who is also general manager of sales at R3 Precast, the precast arm of HL Building Materials.

The firm’s ICPH in Pulau Punggol Barat, which it runs as a joint venture with Malaysia’s Sunway Construction Group, began operating in 2023.

There is also competition from Singaporean firms that operate conventional precast yards here. Some of these firms maintain a small operation in Singapore, while producing the bulk of their components at large open yards in Malaysia, said Mr Ang.

They do this to qualify as HDB-approved suppliers, because the agency requires its precasters to have a presence in Singapore, big or small, he added.

There are 14 HDB-approved precast suppliers, and they operate 21 precast plants here in total, including the six ICPHs, said the Housing Board.