Aviva Open Singapore 2007

[Loh]

Having shown you a bird's eye view of the Singapore River, Boat Quay and the Civic District, I will now bring you down to ground level for some snap shots of the neighbourhood, a locality that I'm very familiar with since I've been working there for many years.

[Loh]

Two exits of the Raffles Place MRT(underground train) station lead commuters out to the refreshing open square that is surrounded by impressive buildings for offices, restaurants and shopping.

This is the financial district of Singapore which will latter be moved to nearby Shenton Way where the future Financial Hub located nearer to the Integrated Resorts at Marina Bay will be sited.

[ctjcad]

This is the financial district of Singapore which will latter be moved to nearby Shenton Way where the future Financial Hub located nearer to the Integrated Resorts at Marina Bay will be sited.

...what will happen to the current financial district once it's relocated to Shenton Way??..Will there be 2 financial districts in S'pore??..

[Han]

Wow, after seeing all these wonderful high rise building, I have to say my home town Malacca is still a "bit" behind

[bocmark]

LI Yongbo said ZN and BCL is not in good form now because of injury.
So, I think CY can beat BCL this time if they both get through to the 1/4 finals.
Also, if ZHOU Mi can overcome WANG Lin, she may beat ZN.

Hey! How come no one extend special invitation to LI De Quan! As far as I can tell, the staunch and unwavering CHN supporter. It'll be good to see the clash of titans (MAS v CHN fans) in live... If it does happen, LOH pls take some photos

[Loh]

Wow, after seeing all these wonderful high rise building, I have to say my home town Malacca is still a "bit" behind

Malacca has a certain 'old world' charm and many Singaporeans like to visit for short weekend trips. Not a few like to browse around the antique shops and sample the local hawker fare plus the peranakan cuisines. The Portuguese influence is quite prevalent.

In addition, modern hotels and shopping centres make the place more familiar with visitors.

[Loh]

...what will happen to the current financial district once it's relocated to Shenton Way??..Will there be 2 financial districts in S'pore??..

Actually in future the banks and other financial institutions will converge near Marina Ba area, off Shenton Way, where the Sands Integrated Resorts will be located, as you can see from the map.

But I think the relocation will probably take quite some time (in year) since some of the banks, mainly local, have their own buildings around Raffles Place and leases may be on a longer term for others.

[X Ball]

Got to say something, Singapore is too crowded and will become even more so in years to come as it increases its population.

I still think Malaysia is a better place to live in. Sorry.

I will retire in Australia, the lucky country.

[wl2172]

Got to say something, Singapore is too crowded and will become even more so in years to come as it increases its population.

I still think Malaysia is a better place to live in. Sorry.

I will retire in Australia, the lucky country.

I agree with that, and cost is lower in Malaysia. My sister and her husband just bought a linked house in Singapore for over a million dollars, and they are staring at a huge loan for the next 30 years of their lives (they both have good jobs BTW).

For that money, you can buy a nice big house or 3 luxury apartments in seri hartamas, one for yourself, and 2 rented out to expats.

Anyway, back to badminton please

[X Ball]

I agree with that, and cost is lower in Malaysia. My sister and her husband just bought a linked house in Singapore for over a million dollars, and they are staring at a huge loan for the next 30 years of their lives (they both have good jobs BTW).

For that money, you can buy a nice big house or 3 luxury apartments in seri hartamas, one for yourself, and 2 rented out to expats.

Anyway, back to badminton please

You'll make a good investment officer !

[ctjcad]

Actually in future the banks and other financial institutions will converge near Marina Ba area, off Shenton Way, where the Sands Integrated Resorts will be located, as you can see from the map.

But I think the relocation will probably take quite some time (in year) since some of the banks, mainly local, have their own buildings around Raffles Place and leases may be on a longer term for others.

..i see, thanks for sharing that...Looks like S'pore is changing its image in the next few yrs w/ so many new developments..
Abt S'pore being crowded w/ so many people and properties being expensive, of course it will be and i think it goes w/ the living cost & standard also. Same story here in the U.S., esp. in big metropolitan cities like L.A., S.F., Chicago and of course N.Y. in comparison to smaller midwest/central/southeast U.S. cities. One can't compare the living cost and standard of those hussling & bustling metro-hubs to smaller, less populated cities/areas/towns.

[wilfredlgf]

Wow, after seeing all these wonderful high rise building, I have to say my home town Malacca is still a "bit" behind

High rises are not signs of progress or modernity - it's the sign of the rising costs of land!

[Loh]

Got to say something, Singapore is too crowded and will become even more so in years to come as it increases its population.

I still think Malaysia is a better place to live in. Sorry.

I will retire in Australia, the lucky country.

Yes, tiny Singapore will even be more crowded by around 2025 as we intend to increase the population by another 50% to about 6.5 million, in order to keep the economy going and maintain a high standard of living. There will be more skyscrapers, not unlike in Hong Kong now.

But the public services and the environment will keep pace with high standards and Singapore already has plans, some already being implemented, to transform the Garden City even more beautiful and to include the water bodies as part of our island landscape for rest and recreation.

There are many places in the world, big and extensive, but few would like to live in for various reasons, some of which concern the standard of public services, the schools, markets; the condition of the roads; an efficient transportation system; the standard of healthcare, hygiene, cleanliness, security; the availability of amenities, etc, etc.

It is not of much use if you live in a big country, in a big house but when you step out of it, you fear that you are not safe, well protected. Gangsters may gun you down, snatch thieves may just zoom by you on their motorcycles to grab your personal belongings. Crime rate is high. Added to this are the social habits of the residents, whether they spit about the place, whether they just throw their rubbish at random, etc, etc.

That may be one reason why X Ball chooses to retire in Australia, intead of remaining in Malaysia!

[taufik-ist]

Got to say something, Singapore is too crowded and will become even more so in years to come as it increases its population.

I still think Malaysia is a better place to live in. Sorry.

I will retire in Australia, the lucky country.

Indonesia has prohibited sands exports to singapore for reclamation

[Loh]

Indonesia has prohibited sands exports to singapore for reclamation

I think now the sand are more urgently required for constructing the new buildings, the IR resorts both at Marina Bay (Sands) and Sentosa (Genting) as well as for the new financial hub.

Indonesia's sudden prohibition has certainly surprised us as not only our construction activities have been slowed down but the livelihood of Indonesian workers is also adversely affected. Our government has released its stockpile of sand and it appears that we are now importing from other neighbouring countries to ease the situation and to stabilise prices.

Meanwhile, Singapore is looking into changing its method of construction with the use of more steel structures instead of relying on cement which requires sand to produce.

Hopefully Indonesia will ease its restrictions and bring the situation back to normal.

[indra]

Yes, tiny Singapore will even be more crowded by around 2025 as we intend to increase the population by another 50% to about 6.5 million, in order to keep the economy going and maintain a high standard of living. There will be more skyscrapers, not unlike in Hong Kong now.

But the public services and the environment will keep pace with high standards and Singapore already has plans, some already being implemented, to transform the Garden City even more beautiful and to include the water bodies as part of our island landscape for rest and recreation.

There are many places in the world, big and extensive, but few would like to live in for various reasons, some of which concern the standard of public services, the schools, markets; the condition of the roads; an efficient transportation system; the standard of healthcare, hygiene, cleanliness, security; the availability of amenities, etc, etc.

It is not of much use if you live in a big country, in a big house but when you step out of it, you fear that you are not safe, well protected. Gangsters may gun you down, snatch thieves may just zoom by you on their motorcycles to grab your personal belongings. Crime rate is high. Added to this are the social habits of the residents, whether they spit about the place, whether they just throw their rubbish at random, etc, etc.

That may be one reason why X Ball chooses to retire in Australia, intead of remaining in Malaysia!

Yes....I guess Singapore is one of the most well-organized and well-governed countries in the world

The same is true for Badminton. As such, Singapore Super Series should be 8*, as in my opinion, SS has always been more competitive than any other tournaments including All-England...

[Loh]

I agree with that, and cost is lower in Malaysia. My sister and her husband just bought a linked house in Singapore for over a million dollars, and they are staring at a huge loan for the next 30 years of their lives (they both have good jobs BTW).

For that money, you can buy a nice big house or 3 luxury apartments in seri hartamas, one for yourself, and 2 rented out to expats.

Anyway, back to badminton please

Have you ever asked your sister why they made such a "big" mistake?