Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

yes, it's true. When I got to know Mr Sam Goi Seng Hui in the 90s while I was working in the bank, his company was very small then, yet at that time he already had big plans, saying that he wants to be the Popiah King in the world...of course, later he really reached this goal.

His company is known as "Tee Yih Jia" 第一家, you can sense he wants to be the No. 1 just by the company name alone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tee_Yih_Jia

Once again, it shows that the first person that needs to believe is yourself. No one can achieve anything great without a strong self belief.

I say he's Singapore's Warren Buffett becos few people noticed that he made very wise decisions in investing into stocks (companies). For instance, recently he bought JEL Corp at 1.6 cents, now the share price is 9 cents (less than 1 month later).

Actually, JEL Corp is just one of many stocks which he made more than 500% returns in last few years.

Imagine, in 90s, he has less than S$10 million, now in year 2012, he's a Billionaire (at least S$1.2 billion according to Forbes) and ranked the 12th Richest Persons in Singapore.

Thus, learning how to choose and invest into stocks indeed can make you Rich. Sam Goi is one example. And I, also became a Millionaire (NOT Billionaire though) from stock investing.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

Shares of consumer goods distributor JEL Corp (Holdings) Ltd soared as much as 44 percent to a 3-year high on expectations the company's new majority shareholder, a Singapore billionaire tycoon, will help improve its operations.

JEL shares rose 33 percent to S$0.024 after jumping 64 percent on Monday. About 128 million shares were traded, 2.6 times the average daily volume traded over the last five sessions. JEL was the second-most actively traded stock by volume.

The loss-making firm, currently on the watch-list of the Singapore Exchange, said on Friday that Goi Seng Hui, also known as Sam Goi, will acquire 2 billion new shares in JEL at about S$0.007 each. This will give him a 57.8 percent stake in JEL.

"Sam Goi will have a pretty large stake in JEL, and investors are hoping that this will turnaround the company," said a trader.

Goi, a food tycoon, was Singapore's twelfth richest person with a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes last year.

Goi Seng Hui

By Chua, Alvin written on 25-Jun-2010
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk



Goi Seng Hui (b. 1949, Fuqing, China - ) is an entrepreneur and investor nicknamed Singapore’s “Popiah King”. His company Tee Yih Jia is reportedly the largest producer of spring roll skins in the world.

Also known as Sam Goi, he is often cited as a role model for Singaporean entrepreneurs, having developed Tee Yih Jia from a small business with an annual turnover of S$300,000 into a global company with revenues in the hundreds of millions.

Background
Born to a landowning family of some wealth in Fuqing, in the Fujian province of China, Goi arrived in Singapore at the age of six when his family fled political upheaval at home. His father had moved to Singapore earlier and later sent for the family, and Goi recalled the journey as an arduous one during which the family slept on cargoes on a ship for a month.

In Singapore, Goi’s father set up a business supplying coffee shops with beverages. Goi attended Dunman High School but did not complete his education. He later studied mechanical and electrical engineering, and left school at the age of 19 to help in the family business. He set up an electrical engineering workshop next to Tee Yih Jia’s popiah (spring roll) factory in the Geylang area.

In 1977, Goi bought over Tee Yih Jia for S$450,000, using loans from a bank and his father. He revealed in an interview in 2000 that the purchase had initially been done as a favour to a friend, with the intention of allowing the friend to continue operating the business. Circumstances changed three years later, however, and Goi took control of Tee Yih Jia himself in 1980.

Tee Yih Jia
At the time that Goi took over the company, it utilised only limited automation in the manufacture of spring roll skins, and Goi set out to engineer a more productive process. His engineering background helped in designing the machines needed for automating the manufacturing processes. The changes to the manufacturing process helped to improve the company’s productivity and solved labour shortage issues. Since then, Goi has continued to focus on technology upgrades and factory expansions in his management of the company.

Goi's strategy for Tee Yih Jia was to target restaurants and supermarkets in Chinatowns overseas as entry points for his products into those countries. Goi often handled sales himself, and struggled during the first decade to find acceptance of his product as well as to obtain financing from banks. He eventually established a strong presence in the United States, Australia, Europe and Asia, and built a global network of distributors and agents.

This was followed by the diversification of Tee Yih Jia’s product base and an expansion into new markets as the company introduced new products including noodles, samosas, pizzas and prawn rolls. In line with Goi’s aim of turning Tee Yih Jia into a global supplier of Asian fast food, Tee Yih Jia also moved into the fast food segment of the market with fast-to-cook products such as frozen roti prata, dim sum and laksa.

Goi also invested in a brewery and vinegar factory, and struck up strategic partnerships with investments in Singapore-listed companies such as instant beverages and food packaging manufacturer Super Coffeemix, leading bread supplier QAF, and the Tung Lok chain of restaurants. Other companies that Goi invested in include Dayen Environmental (water treatment), Serial (electronics components), Union Steel Holdings and Rockeby Biomed.

Business leader
In 1993, Goi’s drive and success in growing his business overseas was recognised when the government named him as part of the 14-member Committee to Promote Enterprise Overseas. The purpose of the committee was to help Singapore companies venture abroad and develop an external economy for the country, and Goi was part of the team that helped to review government regulations in this area. In the same year, he was elected to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) council as chairman of the foreign trade committee. Goi was also cited by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as a role model for entrepreneurs.

In 2002, Goi served as a member of the Economic Review Committee. In 2004, he won the Ernst & Young Services & Business Products Entrepreneur of the Year award. He also served as president of the Enterprise 50 Club, a club for companies that have received the E50 Awards, which list Singapore’s most enterprising, privately held businesses.

Over the course of his career, Goi has built up an extensive network of contacts in China comprising business leaders, politicians and government officials. He is known to be a good connector and always open to sharing his contacts with fellow businessmen. He also espouses a philosophy of self-reliance and hard work.

Personal life and contributions to society
In 2001, Goi partnered motor trader Peter Kwee to purchase Eden Hall gardens, a site at Nassim Road that formerly belonged to the British High Commission. The purchase amounted to S$50 million, and three bungalows for the Kwee and Goi families were built on the land. Goi also reportedly owns luxury cars like a Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari.

Goi is a generous contributor to charities, reportedly donating seven-figure sums to various organisations each year. Among the recipients of his largesse are Dunman High School, his alma mater; a school in the village in China where he was born; and Ren Ci Hospital. Goi has also helped to raise funds for the Ulu Pandan Community Club.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
lim880701
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by lim880701 »

Dear Dennis,

Any comment on the current share price of JEL?

It is now trading at a very high p/b ratio and currently there are no earning to justify such high price.

If we use back the Company's net profit in year 2007 (approximately 8 million), the PE is approximately 25.

Appreciate your comment.

Regards
Justin
Dennis Ng
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

lim880701 wrote:Dear Dennis,

Any comment on the current share price of JEL?

It is now trading at a very high p/b ratio and currently there are no earning to justify such high price.

If we use back the Company's net profit in year 2007 (approximately 8 million), the PE is approximately 25.

Appreciate your comment.

Regards
Justin
yes, there is no way to analyse the company based on FA now.

I already commented in another discussion thread:
Dennis Ng wrote:
its' a process known as "Pump and Dump" in the markets. ie. stock syndicates would push up prices of rubbish stocks, then dump it down.


This is happening now, after going up in last week, now a few of the Top gainers such as JEL Corp, TT International, Equation are falling today.

JEL Corp today 26 Apr 2012 drops by 4.4 cents to 7.8 cents, or down 36%! So those who bought at 12 cents now will be sweating.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
Dennis Ng
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

Alot of people do NOT understand the Power of Leverage. Some asked why NOT I modify my goal from helping 1 million people reach 1 million people to helping 1 million Poor instead? The problem is a limit to what I can do to help alone. But if you think about it, if I help 1 million middle class reach 1 million dollars, and if each of them just donate S$1,000, that would be S$1 billion dollars.

S$1 billion dollars can do alot to help the poor and less fortunate in the society.

This is why my goal of helping 1 million people reach S$1 million dollars is Powerful and contribute a big part to narrowing the Widening Rich Poor Divide, a Global Problem that governments also have no idea how to solve.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
Dennis Ng
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

Income or Passive Income is certainly NOT the Way to become Rich.

Even with his company so big (biggest in the world for making Popiah skin), total revenues was S$430 million, if Net Profit margin is 10%, he makes S$43 million a year, but now his wealth is estimated at least S$1.2 billion by Forbes.

So bulk of his wealth is NOT from income, but from him able to Grow his savings through Investing (Capital Gains), so all the fans of Robert Kiyosaki, please wake up to this fact. You cannot become very Rich following Robert Kiyosaki's advice to focus on Income. Imagine after you save S$100,000, if get 10% yield (income) on this savings, it is just S$10,000, to reach S$1 million through this income, you need to wait 100 years. Please wake up.

If you are NOT rich and a middle class and you want to become rich, at least S$1 million dollars, then you need to learn how to invest to grow the money (Capital Gains mainly) to reach S$1 million. That's how many Rich people became rich from poor, that's how I did it as well. Good news is I'm willing to teach how if you're willing to learn.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

Popiah King not giving up his kingdom
09 February 11 The Straits Times by Robin Chan

'POPIAH King' Sam Goi does not often disagree with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

After all, the successful businessman from China had heeded Mr Lee's call for local firms to expand into overseas markets as early as 1980, and has reaped the benefits tremendously.

Today, his company, Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing, is a famous global frozen foods brand in markets spanning the United States, Europe, Japan and China.

But when Mr Goi heard that Mr Lee had said that Tee Yih Jia would be swallowed up by the likes of food and beverage giant PepsiCo if it became too successful, he decided to talk to The Straits Times about his company's plans.

The gist of it? Selling out is far from his mind.

Even at the age of 62, he harbours ambitions to grow the company further by taking the Chinese market by storm, introducing new food products and even making his firm a Fortune 500 company one day.

'I am very honoured that MM mentioned my company. It means he remembers my company,' he says in his spacious executive chairman's room in Senoko, surrounded by auspicious Chinese paintings.

He clearly admires Singapore's first prime minister. Among a clutter of papers on his table lies a newly printed photograph of him with Mr Lee at Dunman High School, where Mr Goi is on the advisory committee.

But he respectfully disagrees that he has any need or intention to sell out his company, where he is still sole owner.

'Everyone has his own view. I don't know what MM is thinking (when he said that Tee Yih Jia would be taken over by PepsiCo),' he said.

Mr Goi, who sailed to Singapore as a six-year-old on a small boat with his parents to flee the communist government in China, admits that many Asian companies have been taken over by Western ones.

And manufacturers, especially those in Singapore, have found the going tough once they get out into the world of open markets and fierce competition.

In fact, Mr Goi has been approached on numerous occasions by private bankers with lucrative offers to buy him out. He declines to disclose the amounts offered, and claims he has never heard of an approach from PepsiCo.

He tells The Straits Times that he keeps his business separate as 20 smaller units so that those takeover vultures do not get even hungrier.

'Revenue? I don't want to share because a lot of giants have their eyes on me. Why do I split my business into so many companies, all below $100 million each? I don't want to make it open to the public. But if you add it all up, the value is higher than what has been reported,' he says.

He later revealed that total revenue last year for all his businesses combined was $430 million.

Mr Goi takes all the attention in his stride. 'People ask me, 'What price?' But I just smile and say, 'Thank you, I'm not considering.' I have never opened up my books.

'If a big company approaches me, I don't feel that it is a bad thing. It means my company is growing, and people are taking notice of it.'

Tee Yih Jia is one of the few manufacturing success stories Singapore has produced in its more than 45-year history.

For all of the country's widely praised economic development, it is the foreign multinational companies (MNCs) that have thrived here, leaving the local small and medium-sized enterprises to service them.

Economists and business leaders have often been vocal critics of how the Government could have done more to promote local firms instead of relying on foreign MNCs.

And, indeed, Tee Yih Jia and a few others such as Creative and Yeo Hiap Seng have been proof that Singaporeans are capable.

But in interviews with Straits Times journalists for a new book, Hard Truths, Mr Lee said that with Singapore's small market and lack of talent, it would never be able to produce a world-class manufacturing company.

Rather, it is destined to remain reliant on global MNCs from the West, and perhaps from China and India in the future, where companies have the resources, talent and market size to grow.

And even if a company is successful, said Mr Lee, it cannot avoid eventually being taken over by the larger firms.

'Get to world class, and there will be a company that is eyeing all these possible takeovers,' he said.

Tee Yih Jia, he said, 'once it begins to succeed in America, (it) will be taken over by conglomerates like PepsiCo'.

'How do I know? Because I have attended PepsiCo meetings. They collect foodstuffs from around the world and sell them in their outlets in Latin America and in all the cinemas across the world.

'They will buy up Tee Yih Jia, and Tee Yih Jia can't compete with them because where are its outlets?'

Mr Goi says he was not surprised Mr Lee made those comments. But he points out that the company is already well in the US market.

In fact, Tee Yih Jia has been there since the 80s. In 1988, Mr Goi bought over Main On Foods, an established food manufacturing and distribution company in Los Angeles, for US$20 million - his first overseas investment.

Today, some 60 per cent of his revenue comes from products he sells to stores and supermarkets in the US, Europe and Japan.

But despite his success, Mr Goi admits it is tough going for a Singapore company.

'What MM said is correct. The local market is small. And we face a lot of competition,' he says.

He points out that from his office, he needs to drive just 15 minutes to neighbouring Johor, where costs of labour, raw materials and rents are at least 60 per cent cheaper.

'Our food costs cannot compare with Malaysia, Indonesia or any other country. Even in the US, manufacturing food is quite cheap because they have raw materials. Here, we import everything. Singapore definitely cannot compete on price.'

What, then, has been key to Tee Yih Jia's survival, and even growth? Quality and hygiene, he says.

'Our manufacturing hygiene in Singapore is a standard. Are other brands as hygienic or not? We don't know. Even Chinese people don't buy products made in China. We must compete on quality and hygiene,' he says.

That is why Mr Goi has invested heavily in upgrading the manufacturing processes for his foodstuffs and has been highly protective of his proprietary production processes honed from trial and error over 30 years.

'Maybe other companies have a lot of money to produce a machine. But processing is different. All of it is our own design. We learnt from the experience and the time we put in producing spring rolls, roti prata. We saw a lot of trouble when it first came out, so we modified it,' he says.

'After we had modified it, we would see another problem. So month after month, year after year, we would try to improve it. Other people, no matter how much money they put in, cannot do this overnight. Food is like that; it may be made from the same ingredients, but if different people fry it, it will taste different.

'I want to make sure that all my products that go to the consumer are perfect.'

The company is a giant in popiah and roti prata, most of which are made in Singapore or the US factories to guard against copycats.

As testament to its commitment to quality, the company is bringing in a new machine in three months which will improve the texture of roti prata, he says.

'Why do I spend another $5 million to $6 million to upgrade, when the selling price is still the same? Because we must improve ourselves.'

As Asian food becomes more popular in the West, he plans to introduce two or three new products this year, which will appear in the next six months.

He is already looking at the next frontier - competing in the Chinese market.

'My dream? I want Asian food to have a place in the world. The China market can change a lot of things, there are 1.3 billion people. Today, maybe Pepsi or Coca Cola is No.1, but maybe one day, herbal tea or soya bean will overtake it (as the No.1 selling drink).

'If you want to become a good company, you must have a China market share. If you can produce, and can sell there, it is a big, big market,' he says.

Mr Goi took a few years to focus on his property business in China, the Yangzhou Junhe Real Estate Group, and then used the capital gains to invest in his food manufacturing business.

He is now more focused than ever on charting the growth of the company.

He is making 2011 the year for his return to a more hands-on role in the company, pushing for more acquisitions to expand the business.

'I always tell my staff, to be one of the largest manufacturing firms and the world's best, we must compete with ourselves. Today, we must be better than yesterday. Tomorrow, we must be better than today. With that kind of belief, then Tee Yih Jia will forever be a leader in manufacturing.

'And, maybe one day, I can grow (it) to become a Fortune 500 company. (I) can try.'

chanckr@sph.com.sg
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

I gladly met up with Bernadette (she was my facebook friend and also a fellow author of books who has Kok Hwa (a common friend) as our publisher when she asked if I can help to give ideas on how to publicize her book.

When we met, I offered to feature her book on my website and forum (that's one way I quickly can think of to help her) and also suggested that she start writing a e-newsletter as well.

here it is: Fly Free, a book by Bernadette Chua:

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/web/in ... &Itemid=35

She is really a lady of action and really set on applying what I said, ie. starting a e-newsletter and said that she wants to name it the "smile catalyst", each newsletter featuring someone who brings a smile to others...and asked if she can feature me in her inaugural issue of e-newsletter.

Of course I said yes, and she emailed me a list of questions about my "personal life journey" that she hope that I by sharing my answers can help inspire and encourage others. Well, this is something that I really want to do: "inspire and encourage others" and so of course I'm happy to help.

And here it is: the first e-newsletter by Bernardette Chua:

http://www.thedreamcatalyst.com/newslet ... ecatalysts

Bernardette Chua herself is a smile catalyst as well. Anyway, life is so joyous when we all try to bring a smile to others as in the process, we also bring a smile to ourselves.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
Dennis Ng
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

found this posting in the internet. Just sharing with everyone.

http://financiallyfreenow.wordpress.com ... llionaire/

junne 25, 2011

financiallyfreenow Personal Finance 21 Comments

How a Salaried Employee became a Millionaire?

A few days ago, I went for a talk on “Path to Financial Freedom” by Dennis Ng. It was actually a free preview for his workshops but one could learn a thing or two from the preview. He has been featured in many local newspapers and TV shows and writes for MyPaper every alternate Wednesday. What connects him to the layman is that he was once a salaried employee like most Singaporeans and he became financially free after several years of saving and investing prudently.

Dennis Ng shared how he became a millionaire. He was earning an average of $6,000 per month for 15 years. He saved 20% of his salary per month and that works out to $14,400 per year. What he did with his savings over the years was that he invested in stocks and properties. He did not reveal things like what stocks he invests in, which year he started investing, if he lost huge amounts of money during his investments and if he has buffer cash to cushion him from loses and to cover his basic needs. From his preview, I could gleam that he looks at the financial statements of companies and invests in fundamentally strong companies ala Warren Buffett style. I think a major reason why Dennis became a millionaire was that he timed the market. When the stock market was getting exuberant, he exited from the market like in 2007. He entered again after the prices crashed. He uses technical analysis by looking at 100 days simple moving average and 200 days simple moving average crossovers.

He also is very prudent in his expenses. He shared his experience on how he curbs his expenses. When he was working, his fellow colleague always bought a $5 Spinelli coffee everyday whereas he made his own 3-in-1 coffee. To commute between places, he uses BMW (bus, MRT, walk).

Furthermore, he explained that not all debt is bad. There’s good debt and bad debt. Bad debt is car loan, credit card debt, among others. Good debt is your housing loan and investment property mortgage loan.

The preview reinforced my beliefs and the idea that becoming financially free is not difficult. One has to save a substantial amount every month consistently. Use part of the savings to invest prudently in stocks for the long-term. The other part can become your “safety net” or emergency fund to be used to cover your daily expenses when you lose your job. Your expenses should also be kept low and not be spent on unnecessary stuff. Also, the earlier you start investing, the faster you can start compounding your money since time is on your side.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
Dennis Ng
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

Widening Rich Poor Divide is a Global Problem faced by all countries in the world.

I have a simple plan: by helping middle class to become Financially FREE (at least S$1 million or more), so that they can in turn help the really poor. If we can do this, we can help narrow the Rich Poor Divide. I need more people (seminar graduates who want to become Trainers) to help me in this Wealth Revolution.

Cheers!

Dennis Ng

Bo Xilai Downfall Shows Crony Communism Widening Rich-Poor Gap
By Bloomberg News - May 3, 2012 5:00 AM GMT+0800

Behind the crimson walls of the former imperial compound that is Beijing’s equivalent of the White House, Communist Party leaders cranked China’s decades-old propaganda machine into overdrive. Tapping a system used to quell public dissent since Mao Zedong’s anointed heir was accused of treason in 1971, apparatchiks distributed internal documents to bring more than 80 million party members into line.

Then, at 11 p.m. on April 10, the announcement was made by China’s official Xinhua News agency: Authorities were investigating Bo Xilai, the son of a prominent Communist revolutionary and former leader of Chongqing, for “serious discipline violations.” His wife and household helper were being held as suspects in the murder of a 41-year-old British associate and family friend, Neil Heywood, following a business dispute, Xinhua said minutes later.

The statements ended a month of official silence and online rumors -- suggesting corruption, abuse of power and even a coup plot -- since Bo was fired as head of China’s biggest and fastest-developing municipality. It also halted the rise of the 62-year-old Politburo member, who was a contender for elevation later this year to the nine-member Standing Committee that rules China.

The self-styled crime-buster and champion of the poor who revived Mao-era songs and ideals has become a symbol of the social ills he was fighting. His removal may prove to be a two- edged sword for China’s leadership as it prepares for its once- in-a-decade change of power later this year, fueling anger over how the spoils of China’s wealth creation are creamed off by officials as social inequality widens.
‘Warning for Years’

“People inside the party at the highest level of government have been warning for years that this kind of corruption will destroy the party,” says Minxin Pei, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College, California, who specializes in China. “But the medication may be equally lethal. That’s the dilemma.”

No specific allegations have been published against Bo and authorities haven’t released details of the investigation. Even so, microbloggers beat online censors to turn their ire on the ruling Communist Party elite and a system that they see allows those with power to plunder the nation’s wealth for their own gain.

Some 16,000 to 18,000 officials from the government, judiciary and state-owned companies fled China with 800 billion yuan ($127 billion) since the 1990s, according to a report by the central bank that briefly appeared on its website in June last year.
Major Purges

High-profile purges of the former leaders of Shanghai and Beijing, who had the same party rank as Bo; a former supreme- court judge; the former railway minster; and thousands of local and regional officials have failed for decades to eradicate China’s widespread graft. The country lost $2.74 trillion over the decade ending 2009 to corruption, five times more than second-place Mexico, most of it secreted overseas, according to Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based research organization.

As Bo rose from a provincial bureaucrat to the Communist Party boss of Chongqing, where he rated a salary of about 10,000 yuan ($1,585) a month, his family’s wealth grew dramatically. His relatives have accumulated at least $136 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on the extended family’s business interests, including those of his wife’s older sisters. Li Wangzhi, Bo’s son by a first marriage, and at least two of Bo’s brothers held positions in banking and industry. Bo’s other son, Bo Guagua, studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Blog Backlash

The revelations sparked a backlash in a country where income inequality has grown to be the biggest in Asia, according to Terry Sicular, a professor at the University Of Western Ontario, and per capita income ranks 121st out of 215 countries, beneath Namibia and Dominican Republic, according to the World Bank.

“This case likely outrages Chinese because it appears to be a blatant example of the most powerful elites feeling they can ignore the rules and commit acts with impunity that ordinary people couldn’t possibly attempt, much less get away with,” said Martin Whyte, professor of sociology at Harvard.

Like Watergate in the U.S., Bo’s undoing is a milestone in unearthing corruption at the core of China’s elite, according to Claremont McKenna’s Pei. It echoes the fall of General Lin Biao, who died in a plane crash in 1971 after an alleged coup and whose reported opulent lifestyle shocked Chinese, he said.

Officials feared that Bo’s fall could be as shattering, said Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago and head of its Beijing center. To control public reaction, workers at Party headquarters in Beijing conveyed messages internally “to prepare the elite for the formal announcement,” he said, citing conversations with other professors in China who received internal documents.
Party Challenge

The risk for China is widening cynicism that could taint everyone in power and challenge the legitimacy of the regime, said Andrew Nathan, a political scientist at Columbia University in New York City. China’s rulers spend more on public security than on national defense in the face of about 500 disturbances a day, including protests by people who’ve lost homes and land to official projects or been the victim of corruption or brutality.

“The bitterest element in this saga is the lack of confidence and trust in the system,” said Ai Weiwei, an artist in Beijing whose own clashes with authorities led to him being detained and having his movements restricted. “There is no way to know the truth.”

The stream of posts on mainland microblogs since Bo’s ouster often appeared faster than China’s censors could delete them. “This system resembles the feudal times more than the feudal times itself,” wrote one. “After all the public are like abandoned dogs. That doesn’t seem to have changed after a thousand years,” wrote another under the name RedsGerrard.
Blocked Tomato

Censors blocked sensitive words including Bo’s name and even “tomato,” which sounds like “western red city” in Chinese and is used to refer to Chongqing under Bo’s Maoist mobilizations.

Bo’s status as a member of China’s red nobility has been highlighted by microbloggers. His father Bo Yibo was a revolutionary hero of Communist China and one of the “Eight Immortals” who helped introduce economic reforms in the 1980s.

Scions of influential Party figures, often called princelings, hold positions of power throughout China’s political and business universe. Former Premier Zhu Rongji’s son, Levin Zhu, is the president of the investment bank China International Capital Corp. Li Xiaolin, the daughter of former premier Li Peng, is the chairman of utility China Power International Development Ltd. Premier Wen Jiabao’s son, “Winston” Yunsong Wen, is chairman of China Satellite Communications Corp. and a co-founder of Beijing-based private equity company New Horizon Capital.
Born to Rule

One of them was reported as saying the princelings were born to rule. A profile in the official Chongqing Evening News of Chen Tonghai, the son of an early revolutionary who became the top official in the northeast city of Tianjin, quoted him as saying that if the Republic’s eldest sons didn’t monopolize, who would?

Chen, a former chairman of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., received a suspended death penalty in 2009 for taking 196 million yuan in bribes. Chinese media reported allegations he was spending 40,000 yuan a day and was sharing a mistress with his allies.

“The Bo Xilai affair reveals a political culture that resembles the mafia,” said Perry Link, a China scholar at the University of California, Riverside. “It is not an exception, but a representative slice.”
Last Appearance

March 9 was the last time Bo was seen publicly, slouched in an armchair before a roomful of reporters in Beijing, where leaders had assembled for the annual legislative gathering. He angrily defended his family against allegations that their lifestyle of overseas private schools and fast cars was far beyond his government paycheck.

“I’ve heard some are throwing filthy water on Chongqing, and even on my own family,” Bo said, wearing a bright yellow tie and dark blue suit. “Some even said my son, studying overseas, drives a red Ferrari. That’s absolutely nonsense. Not only my son, but I and my wife have no personal assets. That’s been the case for decades.”

Bo, a journalism graduate, has long courted the media, using it to set himself apart from the run-of-the-mill bureaucrats during his seven years as mayor of Dalian, a port city in Liaoning in China’s northeast.
Kissinger and Gore

He waged a publicity campaign that featured articles by writers comparing his political savvy to Henry Kissinger, his environmental consciousness to Al Gore, and his public adoration to Princess Diana, according to “China’s Leaders: The New Generation,” by Cheng Li, a China specialist at the Brookings Institution in Washington. After Bo moved to Chongqing in 2007, his crime crackdown, economic plan and battle against social inequality became a focus of national media coverage that was coined the “Chongqing model.”

Less than a week after the press conference, Bo was removed from his position. The first signs of trouble came a month earlier when Chongqing’s former police chief Wang Lijun, the architect of Bo’s anti-mafia campaign, fled to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, 165 miles (266 kilometers) away, where he outlined to startled American officials a plot of money laundering, betrayal and murder involving Bo and his family, according to current and former U.S. officials briefed on the matter. After spending the night of Feb. 6 holed up in the consulate ringed by police, Wang turned himself over to central authorities, according to the officials.
Strike Black

Bo’s crackdown on organized crime was a cornerstone of his tenure, called “da hei,” or “strike black” in reference to the Chinese word “black society” for organized crime. Chongqing police arrested 1,544 people in the two months after the offensive started in June 2009, according to Xinhua.

The crackdown inspired nationwide copycats -- and allegations of abuse. In 2011, police across China arrested 29,000 suspects from 3,000 gangster groups, according to the National Dahei Office, which co-ordinates organized crime investigations across the country.

“The Chongqing crackdown became a model,” said lawyer Zhu Mingyong, of Beijing Zhongguan Law Firm. “Many policemen in other cities got very excited watching that campaign, because it means ultimate authority is going to the police.”

More than half of the 25-member Politburo visited Chongqing to endorse Bo’s policies, according to Bo Zhiyue, a senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. Their praise overlooked allegations of police brutality and abuse of the legal system.
Revoked Confession

Li Zhuang, a defense lawyer, was jailed for 18 months in February 2010 after being convicted of inciting his client to commit perjury by telling the court he was tortured into a false confession, according to Xinhua. Li was released in April 2011. One of Li’s assistants who testified against him has since filed a lawsuit against Chongqing police saying they forced him to testify, according to a statement by his lawyer.

Other lawyers alleged similar harassment. At a legal seminar in July 2010, Zhu of Beijing Zhongguan played video and audio recordings of his client Fan Qihang, sentenced to death for running a criminal gang in Chongqing. In them, Fan described how he confessed after spending five days suspended from the ceiling, unable to rest his feet on the floor.

Zhu says he saw familiar patterns of abuse in other cities. Yang Jinde, a car dealer in central China’s Nanyang city, was jailed after leading dozens of employees to Beijing to protest a court ruling in 2010 relating to a real-estate dispute.
Leg Irons

Yang claims he was handcuffed and put in leg irons, then locked inside a small iron cage with a police dog to get a confession that he was a crime lord, according to an interview with Zhu.

Zhu secretly filmed a meeting with Yang in detention. The cellphone video shows a paralyzed and emaciated Yang wrapped in a white cloth and lying on a bench. Yang was sentenced in November 2011 to 18 years for organizing criminal activities and other offenses. Part of the prosecution’s evidence was that he asked his staff to read two management books according to the court rulings, including a Chinese translation of “No Excuse! Incorporating Core Values, Accountability, and Balance into Your Life and Career,” by Jay Rifenbary.

Police in Chongqing and Nanyang refused to comment when reached by phone.

The anger building before Bo’s fall broke through after he was removed from power.
‘Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!’

“Singing red songs is using the power of government to fill the vacuum of faith. Wrong!” wrote Zhou Lian, an associate professor of philosophy at Renmin University of China in Beijing, on his microblog. “A mafia crackdown using the legal system to replace rule of law. Wrong! Subsidizing the poor by hijacking the rich is also wrong! All the paths Bo took are wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

The Cultural Revolution had a big impact on Bo’s family. Bo and his father were jailed and his mother committed suicide. The family was rehabilitated in the 1980s and his father helped craft China’s early economic reforms while Bo studied at university.

Bo scaled the ranks in northeast China’s Liaoning Province and got a post in Beijing as minister of commerce in 2004. Three years later he arrived in Chongqing and took a seat on the politburo.

“When he went to Chongqing everybody potentially in the running for the politburo standing committee was either Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum,” said Claremont McKenna’s Pei. To set himself apart, Bo “hit on this brilliant idea of repackaging himself.”
Red Songs

In 2008, Bo issued a list of revolutionary songs people were encouraged to learn. The following year, as the anti-mafia clampdown moved into high gear, toppling the former director of the city’s judicial bureau, millions of Chongqing residents got quotes from Mao’s Little Red Book sent to their mobile phones. Local television stations were dedicated to revolutionary propaganda.

Part of the package was spending on social programs, using Chongqing to try reforms to address China’s growing inequality. The city borrowed at least 157 billion yuan through local government finance vehicles, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, to fund social housing for locals and migrants and to plant trees.

While China stopped issuing national figures measuring inequality, Chongqing trumpeted its own success. At his March 9 press conference, Bo emphasized Chongqing’s efforts to reduce the urban-rural income gap. Huang Qifan, the city’s mayor, said five days before that the city had reduced the wealth gap as measured by the Gini coefficient to 0.42 from 0.44.
Dream Home

“People in Chongqing still think highly of Bo Xilai,” said Zhou Xingli, a 46-year-old unemployed woman outside her home in the government’s Minxin Jiayuan housing project halfway between the airport and the city center. “Without him, people like us will never in our lifetime get a home like this. He did a lot of real things for Chongqing. Look at all the trees.”

Zhou pays about 50 yuan a month for a 40 square meter flat in Minxin, which means People’s Hearts in Chinese.

Elsewhere in China, the Bo saga is seen by some as part of a political struggle, like many other purges and counter-purges that mark China’s history.

Staring into a lake at the central park in Shanghai’s Lujiazui district, 24-year-old Gao Wen says he doesn’t think Bo’s ouster will strike a blow to the powerful, whose main motive is to protect their own interests.
Corruption Problem

“Everyone talks about change,” said the unemployed financial technician. “Probably no one, even if they want to, has the capability or determination to fix the corruption problem.”

Chinese state media has moved to damp speculation about the case. An April 26 article in the Global Times, a Communist Party paper, accused the Western media of exaggerating the negative influences of Bo on the Party’s work.

While Bo has vanished, the political damage has already been done, according to Nathan of Columbia.

“All the worst things you ever imagined are actually true,” Nathan said. “It’s not like nobody knew about this stuff, but now they know that it really is true and it’s as bad as it can possibly be.”

--Shai Oster, Fan Wenxin and Dune Lawrence. With assistance from Michael Forsythe, Yidi Zhao and Dingmin Zhang in Beijing, Indira A.R. Lakshmanan in Washington, Natasha Khan, Vinicy Chan and Ben Richardson in Hong Kong and John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles. Editors: Neil Western, Adam Majendie.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Shai Oster in Hong Kong at soster@bloomberg.net Wenxin Fan in Shanghai at wfan19@bloomberg.net; Dune Lawrence in New York at dlawrence6@bloomberg.net; Michael Forsythe in Beijing at mforsythe@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.net Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

What do I really want to teach?

I'm not trying to counsel any of you to do anything really special except dare to think. And to dare to go with the truth. And to dare to really love completely. - Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller said that we must work for ALL of Humanity, and NOT just our country.

The best way we can pay tribute to Buckminster Fuller is to live his principles. This is what I hope/aim to do.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

I share many common views and principles as Buckminster Fuller:

“I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller
Dennis Ng wrote:“You do not have the right to eliminate yourself; you do not belong to you. You belong to the Universe. Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experience to the highest advantage of others." ~ R. Buckminster Fuller
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Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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You can get my latest updates on twitter as well: https://twitter.com/#!/dennisngkw
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Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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The way I see it is this: the governments all over the world see troubles ahead, but the problem is they do NOT have a solution and they do NOT dare to let their people know that they do NOT have a solution. So most of the governments just merely try to postpone the problem until at least after they step down from office...

I admire our Singapore government because at least they are telling us the problem eg. Singapore aging population and that by year 2030, only 2 working persons to support an elderly retiree... if this happens, guess what will happen to GST rate or income tax rate?

Many people live oblivious to challenges and problems in the future. Ignorance is bliss sometimes, but on the other hand, Ignorance can be very costly as well, many would find lives tougher and they might even lose more than half of their wealth in the Crisis and challenges ahead.

What can help prepare you for the challenges and Crisis ahead is Education and Knowledge, but NOT what they teach you in schools, which by now you should know most of it do NOT work in real life.

Get educated, get knowledge, get it quick, before it is too late.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

Post by Dennis Ng »

As you might know, since Feb 2012, every Monday, from 9.30 am to 10 am, I'm on Internet Radio http://www.in988.com with DJ Ning Na 宁娜 (who is also one of my seminar graduate) in a program entitled 一切从理财开始

Good News! This week onwards, every Thursday, from 10 am to 11 am, I'll be on Capital Radio 95.8 FM with DJ Xu Bing 徐冰 on a "Live" Radio program entitled 理财高手. This program started more than 1 month ago, but during that month, it was sponsored by MAS Money Sense program.

Not sure what we'll be discussing this week, as Xu Bing 徐冰 and I have not finalised what to talk about. My only worry is that I might run out of things to talk about...as I've already done a 2-year Radio program with Capital Radio 95.8 FM from year 2003 to year 2005.

Other than these 2 Radio programs, I'm also a columnist for 3 publications, namely My Paper (fortnightly on alernate Tue, next article is published tomorrow, which I just finished writing today at 2 pm after I came back home from the Radio program in the morning). I also write for shareinvestment once a month, (next article is published in the coming issue on 12 May 2012)

http://www.sharesinv.com/author/dennis-ng/ - English version

http://www.sharesinv.com/zh/?author=35707 - Chinese version

Last but not least, I also write for Home Buyer, a bi-monthly magazine.

In addition, I also contribute or comment whenever I'm asked to do so for different TV programs (yes, I'll appear in 黄金年华 a few weeks later), newspapers, TV News, etc, etc...

Since Sep 2009, (I've also been contributing articles) to www.imsavvy.sg (a Financial Education website set up by CPF Board), you can read articles written by me here: http://www.cpf.gov.sg/imsavvy/blog.asp?bid=5

The main reason I'm doing all these is to do my part to educate the public, and I'm glad that I'm given many opportunities to do so by various media. (it's again a Real Life example of 心想事成 or Conceive, Believe, Achieve).
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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Fabulous sharing by WeMakeBread.

I encourage all investing mentors to come forward to share.

When you share, the person who gains the most is actually yourself. You might not realise this truth until you start sharing.

If you stop sharing, the person who loses the most is actually yourself and nobody, not Dennis, not this forum, not other seminar graduates.

Give and you shall receive. Give more, receive more. Give less, receive less. Give nothing, receives nothing.

You have a choice. I've been walking the talk for last 12 years. Many can talk the talk, few can walk the talk.

I hope to teach by using myself as a real life example. Of course, I have many shortcomings, which human being has no shortcomings? This should encourage you, becos "If Yan can cook, so can you!" If Dennis can do it, so can you!

I persevere in face of adversities. Do you? Will you?

It's easy to walk away, that's what most people do. Most people just give up, or choose an easy way out. Are you one of them as well?
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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Learning is a continuous process. As I'm now financially free, I am blessed to be able to now choose to spend most of my day learning and sharing. It is a dream life, which back in 1998, was what I hope to achieve one day when I reached Financial Freedom. Now 14 years later, this has become a reality.

I am actually very "busy"...sometimes I would read till 12 midnight or so before sleeping.

For my 3 businesses, the day to day operations are now managed by 2 very capable COOs, while I only involve in strategic decisions and see my role more as a Mentor to them and my entire team. My focus for year 2012 onwards is to help develop other people, including Wealth Educators, some of them are NOW given many opportunities to conduct talks and workshops.

And whenever I see the growth and development in other people, it gives me so much joy...especially if I could help and contribute in part of the process.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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Re: Our Goal is to help 1 million people reach S$1 million

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The joy of Financial Freedom? One of them is the "choice" of what I do daily.

My mother stays in the same HDB block as me. In the past, when she visited in the morning, I have to say:"Sorry mother, need to rush to work" after a short 5 min conversation. Nowadays, I can have the luxury to listen to her talk and talk and talk....and sometimes after 30 mins or so, she would say:"I have to do something, talk to you again..." I no longer have to rush to work and can have ALL the time for her. This is just one of the "gifts" of Financial Freedom.
Cheers!

Dennis Ng - When You Master Your Finances, You Master Your Destiny

Note: I'm just sharing my personal comments, not giving you investment advice nor stock investment tips.
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