TR EMERITUS

In the past, I read articles about China from western sources. I do not have a strong command of written Chinese, so I could not read materials from Chinese sources. The situation changed two years ago, when I came across videos in English in the CGTN and CCTV networks. I know that these networks are funded by the China government and are likely to reflect the views of their government. I am intelligent enough to discern what is credible and what is not. If there are views and reports that are important, I would seek other sources to verify them. Later, I learn about several YouTube channels made by producers that are supportive of China. These channels claim to be independent and not funded by the China government. I take their statements with a pinch of salt. I apply the same approach to information about China from these "independent sources" and from the western sources as well. I discern whether they are truthful or biased. It is easy to detect views that are exaggerated, fabricated or biased. This is now quite common. After I am satisfied with the reliability of the information, I formed my opinion about what is happening in China - about politics, governance system, economic development and social development. I shared my views with other the readers in my Facebook page. I get different kinds of responses, which I will describe in detail in a separate article. At this current time, I only want to point out that my light research into the current affairs in China is illuminating. It gives me a perspective that I was not aware of. Like most people that read the western media, I had the view that China was non-democratic, was authoritarian, disallowed free expression and diverse opinion, and exercised excessive control over the lives of their citizens. I learned that this view was outdated. There are many positive aspects in how the government runs the country. These lessons are useful for other countries that are struggling unsuccessfully with their economic and political challenges. These lessons are useful for Singapore as well.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

Adverse reactions are rare, they say. Well, since the vaccine roll-outs, these are some of the things that have happened to athletes. Copied: 33 year old pro dancer Santo Giuliano suffers heart attack 5 days after vaccine 32 year old Olympic Tennis player Joachim Gerard collapses during match with heart problems 19 year old Football player Jalen Leavey dies at campus after the game 23 year old Baseball player Daniel Brito suffers stroke during game 19 year old Football player Tirrell Williams dies following on-field collapse 21 year old Football player Okafor Kelechi dies during training 29 year old Football player Lee Moses dies during training session 15 year old Footballer Stephen Sylvester collapsed and dies during conditioning practice 18 year old Football player Emmanual Antwi dies after collapsing on the field 13 year old Football player Cajetan Chinoyelum Nsofor dies during practice 15 year old Soccer player Moira Claire Arney died during practice Junior High School Baseball Pitcher Andrew Roseman died suddenly and unexpectedly, no further information given 17 year old Footballer Nickolas Lawrinas died suddenly and unexpectedly, cause given by media, unclear 17 year old Footballer Miquel Lugo collapsed and died during practice 16 year old Football player Devon DuHart mysteriously died in July 2021 16 year old Footballer Ivan Hicks dies of Cardiovascular Disease during Scrimmage 19 year old Footballer Joe Bradshaw dies mysteriously off campus, not conclusion of death 16 year old Football player Drake Geiger collapses and dies during game 15 year old Football player Joshua Ivory collapses and dies during game 19 year old Football player Quandarius Wilburn collapses during practice and later dies 17 year old Football player Dimitri McKee passes out and dies after practice 28 year old Rugby player Tevita Bryce collapses during game from heart attack 29 year old Rugby player Dave Hyde collapses and dies after match 27 year old Baseball player Yusuke Kinoshita collapses and dies during practice 32 year old Champion Speed Skater Kjeld Nuis suffered Pericarditis after the vaccine 24 year old Olympic Cyclist Olivia Podmore dies suddenly and mysteriously in her room and during that week another athlete sprinter Cameron Burell also dies mysteriously 23 year old China Olympics Champion Gilbert Kwemoi collapsed in his home and died on the way to hospital 37-year-old former French professional footballer Franck Berrier dead Germany goalkeeping coach of SV Niederpöring suffers heart attack 24 years Bordeaux pro Samuel Kalu suffers cardiac arrest 25 years old Belgian soccer player Jente Van Genechten suffers cardiac arrest 31 years old Fabrice N'Sakala Besiktas Istanbul collapses on the field 29 years old Pedro Obiang Italian first division after vaccination has myocarditis 30 year old Venezuelan National Marathon Champion Alexaida Guedez dead 29 years old José dos Reis (Luxembourg) collapses on the field and has to be resuscitated Germany C-League Dillenburg a player from Hirzenhain collapses, the game is canceled 16 years old Diego Ferchaud from ASPTT Caen suffers a cardiac arrest Austria player of ASV Baden collapses on the field and has to be revived 16-year-old unnamed football player in Bergamo suffers cardiac arrest 27 years old Belgian amateur soccer player Jens De Smet dead 13-year-old soccer player from the Janus Nova club collapses on the field with cardiac arrest 17 year old soccer player Dylan Rich dies of a double heart attack during a game Player from Birati Club Münster suffers cardiac arrest 24 years old Lucas Surek from BFC Chemie Leipzig suffers from myocarditis 49 years old Ain / France: Frédéric Lartillot succumbs to a heart attack in locker room 45 years old Andrea Astolfi, sporting director of Calcio Orsago dead with no previous illness 22 years old Abou Ali collapses with cardiac arrest during a two-tier game in Denmark 19 years old ice hockey player Sebastiaan Bos dead. Passed away suddenly and unexpectedly 40 years old A half marathon runner collapsed during the race and died a little later Germany Anil Usta from VfB Schwelm breaks on the field with heart problems 33 years old Dimitri Liénard from FC Strasbourg collapses with heart problems 37 years old Ex-NFL professional Parys Haralson dies suddenly and unexpectedly 25 years old Kingsley Coman from FC Bayern Munich, operation on the heart after an arrhythmia 25 years old Canadian university football player Francis Perron dead shortly after a match 19 year old FC Nantes soccer player suffers cardiac arrest during training Germany volleyball trainer Dirk Splisteser from SG Traktor Divitz collapses dead on the sidelines Austria, 64 years old former goalkeeper Ernst Scherr dead suddenly and unexpectedly Germany, 42 years old Alexander Siegfried dead suddenly and unexpectedly A 17-year-old athlete from Colverde collapses while training with cardiac arrest France, 49 years oldSC Massay player dead of heart attack during the game Mexico, Caddy Alberto Olguin collapses on the golf course after a heart attack 29 years old Shrewsbury striker Ryan Bowman treated with defibrillator during play with extreme heart problems Italy, 18 year old soccer player suddenly faints on the field France, 40 years old A Saint-James player suffers a heart attack after warming up Italy, 59 years old long-distance runner from Biella dies of heart failure during a race Germany, Women's League match, a player collapses shortly before the end without any opposing influence 25 years German goalkeeper Lukas Bommer dies suddenly and unexpectedly Mexico, 16 years old student Hector Manuel Mendoza dies of a heart attack while training Brazil, 18 years old pro footballer Fellipe de Jesus Moreira has double heart attack and is fighting for his life Italy, 27 years old cycling champion Gianni Moscon has to undergo an operation because of severe cardiac arrhythmias Augsburg referee of a Kreisliga Augsburg game in Emersacker collapses with heart problems English lineswoman Helen Byrne, heart problems has to be carried off the pitch at world cup Germany Game abandoned due to cardiac arrest of the referee in a game of Lauber SV Italy, 20 years old young rider suffers a heart attack 17-year-old soccer player of the JSG High Hagen has revived during game 53-year-old football coach Antonello Campus dead16 years old collapses while playing soccer and dies a little later Germany Team leader Dietmar Gladow suffers a fatal heart attack before the game USA a high school football player collapsed during practice and died in the hospital Germany player collapsed during the A 2 regional league game suffered cardiac arrest Germany 15 years old goalkeeper Bruno Stein dead Italy, 53 years old AH footballer suffers a heart attack while training USA, 14-year-old soccer player Ava Azzopardi collapsed on pitch, is fighting for her life in an artificial coma France, 54 years old AH player Christophe Ramassamy died of a heart attack during a match France, 41 years old soccer player collapsed on the field and died due to cardiac arrest Austria, 26 years old Raphael Dwamena collapsed with severe heart problems Germany, Hertha BSC co-trainer Selim Levent dies suddenly and unexpectedly USA, 12 year old Jayson Kidd collapsed during basketball practice and later died Spain, 33-year-old striker Kun Agüero had to be replaced in a game due to heart problems USA 21 year old Senior student athlete John Stokes suffers with Myocarditis 22 year old Cyclist Greg Luyssen forced to end his career after vaccine due to heart problems Soon Tze Chien  Read More →

On Monday SoftBank, the Japanese technology investor, announced that its net asset value had fallen by the equivalent of US$54 billion in value in just three months, or more than 20% . This led me to revisit a previous article of mine, “Why is Temasek So Massively Over-exposed to Chinese Regulatory and Market Risk?, written in response to Temasek’s announcement in July of a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) of 24.53% for the year ending 31 March 2021. At the time state media and sycophantic (or deliberately interfering in domestic matters with a political end as made illegal under the PAP’s new FICA legislation) foreign media such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times were lavish in their praise, with headlines stating that Temasek had posted its best shareholder returns in 11 years. However that was largely historic since, by the date of the report, the Hang Seng Technology Index had fallen by 24% since Temasek’s year end and by 43% since its peak. Temasek’s overexposure to China, and to Chinese technology stocks in particular, meant that its 2020 performance was mediocre since in the same year the S&P500 index rose more than twice as far, by nearly 54%. I questioned why 27% of Temasek’s portfolio was in China (and 24% in Singapore where many of its stocks are also heavily exposed to Chinese risk) and only 20% in the whole of the Americas despite the fact that China represented only 5% of global stock market capitalisation while the US represented over 55%. Temasek’s 2020 report revealed that it lost money at the operating level and that its record profit of $57 billion was wholly due to unrealised gains on its portfolio, Since I wrote the article, the Hang Seng Technology Index has fallen another 6%, taking its total fall since Temasek;s year end to nearly 30%. Information on the US listed stocks in Temasek’s portfolio can be gleaned from its quarterly 13F filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The last one was submitted on 16 August 2021. However the total value of the positions disclosed there is only some $46 billion out of a net portfolio value of $381 billion as of 31 March 2021, as it excludes unlisted and non-US listed shares. It may also not be accurate or complete, as the SEC warn in the preamble. Most of the biggest positions are excluded, including of course its SIngapore-listed holdings as well as Chinese stocks listed in HK such as ICBC. A quick analysis of the bigger positions in Chinese stocks in the portfolio show that many have fallen by 30% or more since the date of the 13F filing which was itself lower than the 31 March year end price. Alibaba stock, in which Temasek held a 1% position, is down by 29% while Tencent (not included in the 13F) has fallen by 24% from its 31 March price. Didi in which Temasek held a US$467 million stake as disclosed in the 13F has fallen 43% from its listing price at which it is also valued in the 13F. Temasek has also taken huge losses on its ill-judged positions in Chinese education stocks though they are not very significant in relation to the total size of its portfolio. 17 Education and Technology which was valued at US$7.49 at 31 March is worth only US$0.87 now, a drop of 88%. Naidu has fallen by 26%, Kanzhun by a more modest 10% and New Oriental Education by a staggering 86%. Meanwhile the S&P500 index has risen by 16% while the Nasdaq (which is a better proxy for Temasek’s bias towards technology stocks, has risen by 20%. I reiterate everything I said in my blog. Though it is always possible that Temasek are hiding huge offsetting gains in their unlisted portfolio, their decision to overweight China so much has cost Singaporeans dearly. Apart from anything else it puts the assets which Singaporeans have allowed the Government to accumulate through decades of unnecessary austerity and monopoly pricing hostage to the whims of a potential hostile adversary. Perhaps placing such a large part of our national savings under the control of a government which does not respect private property is meant to smooth the way for potential reunification in a Greater China, after Taiwan has been absorbed? I have no confidence that Temasek management, most of whom are second rate foreigners who would have difficulty holding down such a highly paid job in their home country, know what they are doing and have real concerns about conflicts of interest and other secret objectives which sway their decision making. It is right to ask why we are paying billions of dollars to Temasek’s senior management and in particular to the PM’s wife whose “retirement “ terms, like her salary, have not and will never be disclosed, if LHL gets his way, when in return we get performance that, at best, lags the general market and, at worst, is a complete can of worms waiting to be dug up by a future government. Recently Ho Ching’s new vehicle, the Temasek Foundation, announced that it would be giving a free bottle of mouthwash to every citizen. No doubt Singaporeans will be easily swayed by this and other baubles, dangled by Ho Ching and her husband but paid for with their money, and allow their hard-won assets, accumulated over decades of hard work and going without, to be dissipated or disappear mysteriously through the same kind of accounting tricks that the Finance Minister uses in the annual Budget to hide surpluses from Singaporeans. If the free mouthwash sways them to vote for the LHL family dynasty to continue in office in perpetuity, then they will be even less financially astute than the indigenous Americans who sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch for about $24 in beads and trinkets.     Kenneth Jeyaretnam   I’m a Singaporean economist who became an opposition activist. I blog to provide an alternative to the porkies that the Pinkies tell. It just so happens that my alternative is the truth. That’s why I’ve never been sued in any civil or criminal court no matter how hard hitting my criticism. I’m quoted and interviewed and asked to speak across the world but largely censored in Singapore in an effort to silence my political opinions. The left hate me because they think I split their vote and because I eschew their outmoded economic models. Models that don’t work. The Right and the Conservatives hate me because I’m a liberal. I’m not sure what the middle think of me. I don’t think there are more than a handful of people in the middle, here in Singapore. I’m a Singaporean born and bred, dual heritage, my parents Singaporean established here before the State of Singapore was created. I’m not Eurasian. I read economics at Cambridge and could be broadly described as from the Keynesian school but I believe in interventions. I was formerly a successful hedge fund manager. After economics and politics my greatest interests are history, film and Makan. I run but I run so I can eat like a Singaporean.      Read More →