Daily Briefing: How CPF housing grants will affect HDB purchase; What M1's major shareholders are saying

And Hong Kong is still cheaper than Singapore for expats.

From Yahoo: It’s no secret that buying a home is the biggest financial commitment that we will make in our lives. Even with subsidised housing in the form of HDB flats, finding that perfect place to stay is still the biggest purchase we’ll ever make. To put it bluntly, unless you were born the only heir of a family business worth millions, you will need to take out a home loan to buy your HDB flat. But to ensure that everyone can afford a place to stay, those of us who are just starting out in our careers can rely on housing grants to further subsidise our HDB flat purchase.

From The Motley Fool:  Shares of local telco M1 Ltd (SGX: B2F) could be on the chopping block of its major investors. Newswires reported last Friday that M1?s major shareholders, namely Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4), Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SGX: T39), and Malaysian-listed telco Axiata Group Berhad (KLSE:6888.KL), were said to be exploring a possible sale of their stakes in M1. The idea behind selling shares of M1 is not new for Keppel Corporation. In its 2015 fourth quarter earnings briefing, the company?s chief executive officer, Loh Chin Hua, commented that M1 is not a core investment for Keppel Corporation.

From Bloomberg: Tokyo returned to the ranks of the world’s 10 costliest cities in 2017 as Asia’s representation expanded, reflecting the region’s rising clout in the global economy. Japan’s capital, the world’s costliest city until 2012, jumped seven places to No. 4 this year and Osaka climbed nine notches to No. 5, both bolstered by a resurgent yen, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey showed Tuesday. Singapore and Hong Kong retained the top two spots and Seoul came in sixth. Zurich, the third most expensive, was the only impediment to Asia holding all top five slots.

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