Malaysian Tax Budget 2015 Highlights and Snapshots

Najib, who is Finance Minister, had presented his budget speech at 4pm in the Dewan Rakyat on October 10, 2014  Here are highlights:

While Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described Budget 2015 as being a balance between the capital economy and people’s economy, analysts said the budget contained little to move markets either way.

This, according to analysts, should be a relief for a country where around 47% of the government’s bonds are held by foreigners.

“I would say probably largely a non-event from the market perspective,” said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.

“It’s not highlighting anything new…but in many ways the lack of surprises is actually a good thing.”

Read more: http://www.therakyatpost.com/business/2014/10/11/snapshot-budget-2015/#ixzz3FoHBb9tI

* Najib announces the theme for this year's budget as "Budget 2015: The People's Economy".

* The allocation for Budget 2015 is RM273.9 billion, an increase of RM9.8 billion from the last budget.

* Government aims to lower fiscal deficit to 3.0% in 2015 from an expected 3.5% this year

* Operating expenditure RM223.4 billion, development expenditure RM50.5 billion.

* Payments to civil servants of RM65.6 billion is largest operating expenditure item.

*Federal government revenue collection estimated at RM235.2 billion in 2015, an increase of RM10.2 billion from 2014.

* From an economic perspective, when we achieved independence 57 years ago, we developed the country based on agriculture before progressing to a modern industrialised economy. Next, we moved into the upper-middle income phase. We are now moving towards a services-based economy.

* In brief, the objectives, principles and thrusts of the three Outline Perspective Plans, 10th Malaysia Plan, New Economic Policy, National Development Policy, National Vision Policy and since 2010, the National Transformation Policy, have all focused on poverty eradication, increasing income and restructuring of society. This is with the aim to achieve socio-economic goals; diversify the commodity-based economy; human capital development; enhancing competitiveness of the public and private sectors; higher value chain; inclusive development; as well as transformation of the government, economy, social and politics.

* Clearly, our former leaders in their wisdom have carried out responsibilities to develop Malaysia in their own mould. The struggle started with Tunku Abdul Rahman, followed by Tun Abdul Razak who had implemented development and restructured society, to Tun Hussein Onn who maintained peace and unity. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad modernised the country while Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi emphasised human capital development.

* Further, the present Government is committed to driving growth with a broader approach to place Malaysia on a strong foundation.

* This is my sixth budget since I assumed leadership of the administration, and the country’s 56th budget. The 2015 Budget completes the 10th Malaysia Plan.

* Further, in May 2015, the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) will be launched. At the same time, a new approach known as the Malaysian National Development Strategy (MyNDS) is being formulated.

* MyNDS will be a key basis to planning and preparation of programmes and projects under 11MP. The emphasis is on using limited resources optimally, with focus on high-impact projects and programmes at low cost as well as efficient and rapid implementation. This means Budget 2016 will be the trigger to the final five years of Malaysia’s progress to a high-income advanced economy by 2020.

* Many countries such as Korea, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and China began their economic progress based on agriculture and have since moved to an economy that emphasises high level of knowledge, skills, innovation and expertise.

* To remain resilient and competitive, Malaysia must move to an economy based on knowledge, high skills, expertise, creativity and innovation.

* Indeed, from the economic perspective, a rapidly developing country typically generates wealth through capital economy activities. However, the rakyat voice their grievances and complaints through blogs, letters, meetings, interviews and dialogues over the millions spent, billions allocated and various mega projects questioning the benefits to the people.

* In 2015, with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) government revenue is estimated at RM23.2 billion. However, as a caring government, we have exempted several goods from GST amounting to RM3.8 billion.

* With the implementation of GST, the Sales and Services Tax (SST), will be abolished resulting in revenue foregone of RM13.8 billion. This means that after deducting RM13.8 billion and RM3.8 billion from a revenue of RM23.2 billion, the Government will have a balance of RM5.6 billion.

* Of the total, RM4.9 billion is channelled back to the people through assistance programmes such as the increase in Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M). Finally, net revenue collection from GST will only amount to RM690 million.

* Goods and Services Tax (GST) : RON95 petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exempted from GST.

* Revenue from GST in 2015 estimated at RM23.2 billion.

* Exemption of GST on several goods amounting to RM3.8 billion.

* Abolishment of SST will see RM13.8 billion in revenue forgone.

* Net revenue collection from GST will only amount to RM690 million.

* Establish another 20 KR1M in Peninsular Malaysia.

* Set up price watch team comprising consumer associations.

* Strengthen GST Enforcement Unit with 2,270 personnel, Price Monitoring Unit with 1,300 personnel and Consumer Squads with 202,800 volunteers as well as involve 579 mukim and village heads.

* Electricity consumption not subject to GST increased from the first 200 units to 300 units, move to benefit 70% of households.

* Income Tax: Income tax rates to be cut by one to three percentage points. Families with monthly income of less than RM4,000 will not have to pay tax

* From 2016, the corporate tax rate will be reduced by one percentage point from 25% to 24%, and for small and medium sized enterprises to 19% from 20%.

* Infrastructure: LRT3 linking Bandar Utama, Shah Alam and Klang: RM9 billion

* 45-km second MRT line from Selayang to Putrajaya: RM23 bilionThe subsidies rationalisation will continue, Najib said today. - The Malaysian Insider graphics by Heza Kamaruddin, October 10, 2014.The subsidies rationalisation will continue, Najib said today. - The Malaysian Insider graphics by Heza Kamaruddin, October 10, 2014.

* Upgrade of East Cost railway: RM150 million

* 36-km East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE): RM1.6 billion

* 47-km Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway: RM4.2 billion

* Subsidies: Government plans to reduce the overall bill for subsidies and cash assistance by 7% to RM37.7 billion in 2015 from RM40.6 billion in 2014.

* Govenment will reform the petroleum subsidy regime soon, to adopt a system that benefits the lower income group.

* Highspeed Broadband: Total of RM2.7 billion will be spent over the next three years to build 1,000 new telecommunications towers and laying of undersea cables.

* Property: Budget extends 50% stamp duty exemption for first time home buyers and increases the purchase limit from RM400,000 to RM500,000. The exemption will be given until the end of 2016.

* A 10% loan guarantee to enable borrowers to obtain full financing including cost of insurance. Borrowers can also withdraw from EPF Account 2 to top up their monthly installment and other related costs.

* This guarantee is offered on a "first come, first served basis’ for 20,000 units only.

* Ceiling of household income for PR1MA homes increased to RM10,000, RM1.3 billion to be allocated to build 80,000 units PR1MA homes.

* Education: RM325 million to be allocated for the 1Malaysia Book Voucher Programme, benefitting about 1.3 million students.

* RM100 schooling assistance to all 5.4 million primary and secondary students to continue.

* A total of RM1.2 billion will be allocated to increase student intake in vocational colleges and community colleges as well as upgrading colleges.

* RM1.05 billion allocated to develop and maintain education facilities, and for school upgrade programmes.

* RM3 billion allocated for education sponsorship via the Public Service Dept (JPA) , Education Ministry and Health Ministry.

* RM30 millon fund set up for training and technical assistance of youth from low income Indian families.

* Health: Tax relief for medical expenses and treatment for serious illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure and heart attack increased to RM6,000 per year.

* 30 more 1Malaysia clinics and a health clinic in Cyberjaya will be built. The Government will station 30 doctors in these clinics.

 * Sports: An allocation of RM103 million to implement a Sporting Nation Blueprint.

* Identify sports talent starting from primary school through Malaysian Talent Identification programme. The programme involves testing, screening and talent specialisation among students.

* Improve the quality of high-performance sports for six selected fields in the first phase - Football, Cycling, Badminton, Sepak Takraw, Swimming and Athletics.

* Public transportation: Provide intercity bus services to those residing outside Kuala Lumpur (KL) but work in KL. The service will be offered with a discounted monthly fare of 30%. For a start, three bus routes will be operational namely the Rawang-KL, Klang-KL and Seremban-KL.

* Provide Electric Train Service (ETS) for Ipoh-Butterworth route starting April 2015.

* Upgrade stage bus services in several states through a contracting system with existing bus companies. The programme will be implemented in phases in Kuching, Ipoh, Seremban, Kuala Terengganu and Kangar.

* Tourism: RM316 million set aside for various programmes under Tourism and Culture Ministry.

* Entrepreneurship: In 2015, TEKUN to provide additional funds of RM500 million, of which RM350 million allocated for Bumiputera entrepreneurs, Young Indian Entrepreneurs Financing Scheme (RM50 million), Young Professional Women Entrepreneurs Development Programme (RM50 million), and Armed Forces Veteran Entrepreneur Development Programme (RM50 million).

* Soft loans totalling RM50 million for SME entrepreneurs from Chinese community, and RM30 million for hawkers and petty traders.

* To attract more expatriate entrepreneurs establish startups in Malaysia, the paid-up capital for startups is set at RM75,000.

* Eligible expatriate startup entrepreneurs will be given work pass for one year.

* Additional allocation of RM30 million to entrepreneurs under programme Skim Usahawan Permulaan Bumiputera (Superb), with participation to be enlarged to include East Malaysian entrepreneurs.

* RM30 million to be allocated through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship among Indian women.

* BR1M for those earning RM3,000 and below will be increased to RM950 from RM650.

* For those earning RM3,000 to RM4,000, BR1M increased to RM750 (from RM450).

* For the above two categories, payment will be made in three instalments - January, May and September.

* For those aged 21 and above, with income not exceeeding RM2,000, BR1M increased to RM350 (from RM300) in one-off payment early next year.

* Civil service: Half-month bonus to all civil servants with a minimum payment of RM500 to be paid in January 2015.

* Pensioners to receive special financial assistance of RM250.

* Women now represent only 38% of the total workforce in the country. To enhance the contribution of women in national development, women's opportunities to return to the workplace via 1Malaysia Support for Housewife.

* The government will help also professional women return to the workplace via Program Women Career Comeback.

* Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will get RM2.26 billion to enhance contribution of women.

* Student loans: For students with an outstanding amount in their PTPTN loans, a 20% discount will be given if they make a total repayment of their loan, on or before March 31, 2015.

* NGOs: A one-off grant of RM50 million to creditable NGOs, including uniformed bodies that are involved in community development programmes, unity, social welfare, consumerism, health and security.

* National security: RM17.7 billion allocated to Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, RM9.1 bil to the PDRM, and RM804 mil to Maritime Enforcement Agency Malaysia to strengthen maritime enforcement.

* RM660 million allocated for Eastern Sabah Security Zone for increased security.

* A sum of RM117 million will be allocated to strengthen the role of RELA under the Ministry of Home Affairs for training and capacity building. – October 10, 2014.

‘Goodies’ not enough to offset rising living costs, say consumer groups

Despite more cash handouts, lower income tax and a multitude of items exempt from the goods and services tax (GST), consumer groups said Budget 2015 was not enough to offset rising living costs for Malaysians.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) CEO Datuk Paul Selvaraj said consumers would still had to pay a premium for housing as well as petrol because of the lack of public transport.

He also said the lack of government enforcement would give rise to profiteering once the GST was implemented April next year at a rate of 6%.

“It looks like the government has taken certain measures to minimise the impact of GST, many are zero-rated, while there is no tax on petrol.

“But our concern is profiteering. I am concerned that sellers will take advantage of the GST and increase the actual price, so zero-rated items will be sold at inflated prices,” Selvaraj told The Malaysian Insider.

“We feel that all items should be labelled – what is zero-rated and what is taxed. The government should also set up a hotline for consumers to turn to if they are unhappy with their purchase.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced yesterday when tabling the budget that the GST was expected to raise RM23.2 billion in revenue. But RM3.8 billion in zero-rated goods would be deducted from this amount.

Selvaraj also said that despite petrol prices having gone up from last week’s subsidy cut, the government did not address alternatives for the rakyat to wean them off their fuel dependency.

On October 2, the government reduced the fuel subsidy of the RON95 petrol and diesel by 20 sen. Petrol now costs RM2.30 a litre compared with RM2.10, while diesel costs RM2.20 compared with RM2 previously.

“The bus system is not being addressed, and it’s to the point that there is no choice for the ordinary people except to rely on their cars to commute.”

Another issue for the average consumers, said Selvaraj, was housing, with homes either being beyond their means or located too far from the city centre that they would have to pay a premium on petrol for their daily commute.

“There have been many efforts to create affordable housing,

but the government hasn’t done enough to make it difficult for speculators to enter the market. The market should have stronger regulators.”

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris said he was sceptical that prices would go down once the GST was implemented, despite the long list of exempted items, including RON95 petrol, diesel, noodles, coffee and tea.

“Even if those are exempt, input cost will go up. Transport cost, the cost of raw materials… in the end, you will still pay more,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

“CAP has never agreed with the GST because we say it’s a regressive tax. They should have implemented the more progressive inheritance tax.”

Mohamed also shrugged off the government’s decision to lower income tax by one to three percentage points, noting that this would not benefit the lower-income groups who did not make enough to qualify for income tax.

“We’re talking about only rich consumers benefitting from this. Can you imagine how many millionaires will now be taxed even less? They should have introduced different income tax rates instead.”

He added that the government made a mistake in not implementing the sin tax, noting the economic and social costs alcohol and cigarette consumption had on Malaysians.

“The BR1M is not likely to offset extra costs. I don’t think anyone has done any research on how effective it is for the people. It’s just one-off,” he added, referring to the 1Malaysia People’s Aid cash vouchers.

Najib announced yesterday that BR1M for the lower-income group would be raised from RM650 to RM950 next year, while households earning between RM3,000 and RM4,000 a month would now receive RM750.

Single people aged 21 and above and not earning more than RM2,000 a month are entitled to BR1M worth RM350, an increase of RM50, said Najib.

Datuk Nadzim Johan, an activist from the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association, said BR1M should not be permanent.

“Our people are not able to appreciate it and we are afraid that it may not be used effectively. It is a liability,” he said.

Unlike the other consumer groups, Nadzim said the budget was too consumer-friendly to the point that it was counterproductive.

“For example, about 1,000 products are exempted from the GST, it’s almost like most products are not taxed. I also think the margin between the present tax and the new tax is too small.

“All in all, I feel that the budget is too soft and Malaysians can’t appreciate it. There shouldn’t be anything for consumers to complain about.” – October 11, 2014.


- The Malaysian Insiders

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Malaysian Internet users, technology trends, evolution and change in telco industry

MAXIS: Data takes dominance

Net effect: According to Lundal, productivity for the future depends on the degree of Internet adoption.

When I came to Malaysia last year, I was assuming that I was going back into an emerging market which is a transition from the place I worked (London).”

“But my perception now is that this is actually a very advanced market,” says Morten Lundal, chief executive officer at Maxis Bhd, whose tenure at the company just crossed the one-year mark as of Oct 1.

Among the reasons that he feels differently about the nation’s technological progress is because of the high smartphone and broadband penetration rate.

“Malaysians’ adoption and smartness when it comes to using (mobile) applications is fully comparable with Europe,” he says.

“People on our network use about 1GB per month. Some devices use more. Android more than iOS devices, I’ve noticed. We have people on Android using about 1.3GB or so per month. Both on prepaid and postpaid, people are using a lot of data in Malaysia.”

However, he points out that the local e-commerce market has yet to fully develop.

“Companies here are still fairly traditional in the way they operate. People have much more (technologically) advanced experiences personally,” Lundal says.

“This is going to change in the next five years, but it hasn’t come about yet… The corporate sector is lagging behind more mature markets in Europe.”

However, on the whole, he regards Malaysians as being “very savvy.”

In addition to common online activities such as the use of search engines, social networking sites and real-time GPS services like Waze, Lundal has noticed several distinct trends amongst Maxis’ various user segments.

For instance, he says youth between the ages of 18 and 25 years tended to favour mobile games and streaming video services such as YouTube. He also found Asian youth to be more attracted to image based social media sites such as Instagram as compared to their European counterparts.

“The Chinese are driving more online shopping than other segments and that’s quite interesting,” he says, adding that the Malay segment is active on online forums, games, social networking and instant messaging whereas the Indian segment is more focused on sports, news, instant messaging and social media.

As for the older generation, Lundal says they tended to be more “news savvy” and spent a lot of time online surfing news portals.

“They also use much more hobby and personal interest sites which are less important to the youth. So they are the more functional users of the Internet whilst the youth are the social users.”

Meanwhile, the migrant workers segment had an obvious preference for international news, particularly from their respective home countries. They also liked online comics more than most Malaysians.

Internet breeds change

One of the good things that Lundal sees out of the growing mobile networks across Malaysia is that it enables the general population to gain better access to the Internet.

Besides that, he says that “innovation for IP (Internet Protocol) communications is tremendous”.

However, he sees the ongoing buzzword of the Internet of Things (IoT) as a mere cliche.

“I first heard about IoT in 1998, I think. It’s like a very old expression and the enablers have been in place for years, but it really hasn’t happened yet. I think it is going to happen now, but in a five year perspective,” he says.

As the Internet continues to impact the way society operates, Lundal envisions a shift in the way things are done in the corporate and public sector.

“Productivity for the future more or less equals to what degree you’ve adopted the Internet,” he points out.

“As the younger workforce demand a more advanced technological infrastructure where they work, I think this will drive a big change in how enterprises and the government operates.”

Another disruptive trend that Lundal has noticed is the way users are moving away from preprogrammed content and websites.

“It’s fascinating to see how people are choosing very segmented niche content and making that their default,” he says.

In particular, he points out that youth, especially in countries like the United States, are preferring to consume news via late night comedies and social networks instead of through traditional channels.

“This unpackaging and unbundling of these channels will cause a massive societal impact and change.”

Courting change: As disruptive technologies and trends take hold, telcos including Maxis are faced with the challenge of evolving its business to meet the growing needs of its subscribers.

Telco evolution

As these trends continue to take shape, telcos across the globe, including Maxis, are faced with the challenge of evolving its business to meet the growing needs of its subscribers.

“As an industry, we as mobile operators were used to connecting people to our services. Now we connect people to the Internet,” says Lundal.

“We’ve gone from a decade of selling enablers like phones and connections to now really leveraging those enablers to change lives and companies.”

One of the major changes being faced by the industry at the moment is the dwindling emphasis on SMS and traditional voice calls.

“As an industry, we haven’t innovated on SMS… It’s the same product as it was when it was launched which is unacceptable, I would say, from a consumer’s perspective,” Lundal says.

“SMS is declining a lot globally and will be gradually replaced by IP communication. But for now it’s still widely used because when people want to be sure that the communication is getting through, they use SMS.”

In contrast, he says voice calls are also declining in importance, but at a much slower pace than was expected.

Lundal expects to see SMS fading in importance within the next three to five years whereas for voice communications, he feels it would only decline over a span of four to eight years.

In response to that, he says revenue models for mobile operators are changing globally to become more data centric.

“About 99% of our costs are driven by data,” Lundal says. “It’s a very dangerous situation indeed to have your revenues coming from voice (calls) while your costs are driven by data which is why there is a shift all over the world. That’s a bit slower in Malaysia as players are getting weaned off their old habits.”

However, he adds that he does not view this change in product emphasis as a threat, but rather “a transition that we all have to go through.”

Road to improvement

Over at Maxis, Lundal shares that the company is keeping pace with these changes in technology in three ways.

Firstly, it aims to project itself as an Internet showcase within the Malaysian economy.

“We would like to be in the forefront on how we adopt the Internet ourselves,” he explains. “We also want to change how Malaysian companies operate and help them in their process of being digitised.”

His vision for the future is that Maxis ought to be viewed as a mobile app.

“I like to take extreme positions in order to make people think differently,” he says. “I said to management that we should close our website in three years’ time. Not entirely close it, but probably it will morph into something else. The key interactions with our company should be through an app.”

Besides that, Lundal shares that Maxis is working on ensuring it offers an “unmatched customer experience” to its subscribers, calling it the company’s “flagship programme.”

“We have just built a new network for 70% of our customers this year. The rest will have that experience by next year. This is so that when it comes to the speed of data networks and dropped call rates, we will be world class,” he says.

He is quick to point out, however, that “top class doesn’t mean it’s perfect.”

But according to him, the number of complaints directed to Maxis in the past year has decreased by as much as 50%. As for dropped calls, he says it is currently at the rate of one in 300 calls.

“There are two reasons for that: our network is dramatically improving even though it’s not perfect and we have also taken some pretty drastic, proactive measures to make life better for customers by taking away any pay-per-use charges (for data usage).”

He is referring to the MaxisOne postpaid plan here, whereby subscribers of this Internet plan are not charged for their phone calls and SMSes.

As for the prepaid side, the company also offers a free basic Internet connection of 64Kbps (kilobits per second) for its Hotlink product which Lundal claims is fulfilling a need that most users face.

“Most Malaysians prepaid customers are connected to high speed data (networks) only six to eight days per month and they’re buying daily passes. For the rest of the time, they’re unconnected and they’re trying to find a WiFi connection,” he says.

Last of all, Lundal shares that Maxis is transforming the way it operates internally as well.

“We’re going to rid ourselves of this habit of using paper processes and use more Cloud and mobile instead,” he says.

He says Maxis plans to implement a new human resource system that is Cloud based and accessible via mobile. It has also launched a new intranet and social networking platform for its employees.

On the whole, Lundal says Maxis is setting new benchmarks for itself to achieve.

“We don’t compare ourselves anymore (to competition) nationally, we compare ourselves internationally,” he says.

Contributed by Susanna Khoo The Star/Asia News Network

Great Waldorf Astoria Hotel NY is now owned by a Chinese company

The worlds’ biggest hotel operator Hilton Worldwide has sold the iconic Waldorf Astoria in New York to a Chinese insurance company for nearly $2 billion, a record for a US hotel. The deal marks the continued Chinese real estate shopping spree in America.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings sold the historic landmark to Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for a record breaking $1.95 billion, which is the largest acquisition of US realty by a Chinese buyer.

The hotel will still be operated by Hilton, but is expected to undergo major renovations in the coming years.

Opened in 1931 and offering some of the best views of the Manhattan skyline, the hotel is famed for its elite guest list from US presidents to celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

President Barack Obama books the Presidential Suite when he travels to New York City, following the tradition of every US president since Herbert Hoover. Next time the President stays at the hotel, it will be under Chinese ownership.

The Waldorf Astoria is pictured at 301 Park Avenue in New York October 6, 2014. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Made in USA, owned by China

The sale "will ensure that the Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand’s world-class standards for generations to come," President and CEO of Hilton Worldwide Christopher Nassetta said in a statement.

China will now own 121 Park Avenue, the latest acquisition in the East’s shopping spree in the West. China’s growing economy, stronger currency, and greater access to credit has enticed buyers to invest in the US.

“What we are witnessing is the greatest transfer of wealth in human history. America’s wealth, America’s productive capacity, the capital that has been accumulated over a couple of centuries of industrial growth, is being transferred to East. Asia and China in particular at a volume and speed that has never been seen before,” Curtis Ellis, Executive Director of the American Jobs Alliance, told RT.

Chinese insurers have more than $14 billion available to spend on real estate abroad according to a study by global commercial property and real estate adviser CBRE.

The General Motors building was bought by Chinese investor Zhang Xin last year. Photo taken March 8, 2013. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

In Manhattan alone in recent years, Chinese investors have bought some of the city’s most famous buildings. Zhang Xin, the co-founder of China Ltd bought a stake in Manhattan’s GM building last year, and another Chinese company, Fosun International Ltd, picked up shares in the Chase Manhattan Plaza.

In 1989, Japanese Mitsubishi Estate Company bought a controlling stake in New York’s Rockefeller Center, also a staple in the city's architecture.

In 1989, Japanese investor Mitsubishi Estate Company bought a 51% stake in the Rockefeller Center. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)

Two is the limit

The Chinese realty boom in the US is that Beijing no longer permits individuals to own more than two properties in China.

China is the leading foreign buyer of US properties. According to the National Realtors Association, between March 2013 and March 2014, the Chinese spent $22 billion on US homes, with more than 75 percent of the purchases paid in cash.

The Chinese are also putting money into America’s most expensive homes that have an average price to half a million dollars. An average American house costs $200,000.
- http://rt.com/

Chinese Firm Pays Record Price for Waldorf Astoria 

The lobby of New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel, Oct. 6, 2014.

Hilton Worldwide is selling the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City to a Chinese company for $1.95 billion. The buyer -- Anbang Insurance Group -- will pay one of highest prices ever for a U.S. hotel. Hilton Worldwide says it will use the money from the sale to buy other hotels in the United States. As part of the deal, Hilton will continue to operate the Waldorf Astoria for the next 100 years.

 

The Chinese buyer has said it will invest in remodeling the famous property on Park Avenue to bring it back to its “historical grandeur.”

Reports say the deal is the largest for a Chinese company buying a U.S. building. Chinese investors increasingly have become interested in U.S. properties. Homes -- especially costly ones -- are considered a good investment. The National Association of Realtors says China’s spending on homes in the U.S. has increased sharply. The trade group estimates that Chinese buyers spent $22 billion on real estate properties in the twelve-month period ending in March 2014. That is an increase of 72 percent over the 12-month period before.

Chinese companies also increasingly are seeking businesses outside of the energy and raw materials industries. Last year, a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the U.S., for nearly $5 billion.

China holds about $1.2 trillion dollars in United States treasury securities. While these investments are safe, they do not give high returns, or yields. China has increasingly looked for other ways to invest its huge trade surplus with the U.S.

For many years, Japan has had a large trade surplus with the U.S. In the 1980s, Japanese companies bought important U.S. properties.  These included a controlling share of Rockefeller Center, also in New York, in 1989. However, not all of these investments made a profit.

The Waldorf Astoria hotel opened in 1931. It has been a symbol of the wealth and culture of New York City since that time. World leaders and other very famous people have stayed at the hotel. Recently, many delegates to the United Nations General Assembly stayed at the hotel. 
- VOA

LED lighting technology inventors win Nobel Prize

LED Light-Emitting Diode: red, green, blue, white led lights are available

STOCKHOLM—Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes, a breakthrough that spurred the development of LED technology used to light up computer screens and modern smartphones.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says their invention is just 20 years old, “but it has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all.”

Scientists had struggled for decades to produce the blue diodes that are a crucial component in producing white light from LEDs when the three laureates made their breakthroughs in the early 1990s.

Their work transformed lighting technology, paving the way for LED lights that are more long-lasting and energy-efficient than older sources of light.

“They succeeded where everyone else had failed,” the Nobel committee said. “Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps.”

Akasaki, 85, is a professor at Meijo University and distinguished professor at Nagoya University. Amano, 54, is also a professor at Nagoya University, while the 60-year-old Nakamura is a Japanese-born professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Akasaki said in a nationally-televised news conference that he had often been told that his research wouldn't bear fruit within the 20th century.

“But I never felt that way,” he said. “I was just doing what I wanted to do.”

Akasaki and Amano made their inventions while working at Nagoya University while Nakamura was working separately at Japanese company Nichia Chemicals. They built their own equipment and carried out thousands of experiments — many of which failed — before they made their breakthroughs.

In a statement from his university, Nakamura said he was honoured to receive the prize.

“It is very satisfying to see that my dream of LED lighting has become a reality,” he said. “I hope that energy-efficient LED light bulbs will help reduce energy use and lower the cost of lighting worldwide.”

The Nobel committee said LEDs contribute to saving the Earth's resources because about one-fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes.

They are more efficient than older light sources, and tend to last 10 times longer than fluorescent lamps and 100 times longer than incandescent light bulbs.

“The blue LED is a fundamental invention that that is rapidly changing the way we bring light to every corner of the home, the street and the workplace — a practical invention that comes from a fundamental understanding of physics in the solid state,” said H. Frederick Dylla, the executive director and CEO of the American Institute of Physics.

Phillip Schewe, a physicist at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, said the prize shows that physics research can provide a practical benefit, rather than just probing the mysteries of the universe.

On Monday, U.S.-British scientist John O'Keefe split the Nobel Prize in medicine with Norwegian couple May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser for breakthroughs in brain cell research that could pave the way for a better understanding of diseases like Alzheimer's.

The Nobel award in chemistry will be announced Wednesday, followed by the literature award on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the economics prize on Monday.

Worth 8 million kronor ($1.1 million) each, the Nobel Prizes are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. Besides the prize money, each laureate receives a diploma and a gold medal.

Nobel, a wealthy Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite, provided few directions for how to select winners, except that the prize committees should reward those who “have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.”

- Associated Press reporter Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, and Malcolm Ritter in New York, contributed to this report.

Blue LED inventors win Nobel Prize for "energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly light source"

CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia
 

Incandescent light bulbs have lit the 20th century....

Years ago we said that LEDs are without a doubt the future. But time marches on, and LEDs are not just the future anymore, they're the present thanks to rapidly falling prices and improving quality. We've firmly entered into the LED era, as Lloyd showed with his experience of converting 100% of his lights to LEDs.

The Nobel committee seems to agree. The physics Nobel Prize this year is going to three distinguished scientists - Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura - who invented the blue LED, the last piece of the puzzle that was required for LEDs to truly reach their potential as a mass-market light source.

Why was blue so important? Because without it, we couldn't make high-quality white light from LEDs.

"Red and green LEDs have been around for a long time but blue was really missing. Thanks to the blue LED we now can get white light sources which have very high energy efficiency and very long lifetime," Per Delsing, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, told a news conference.

Nobel Prize/Screen capture

...the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps

As you can see on the graphic below, LEDs crush the competition when it comes to efficiency. Most LED lights that you can buy right now are nowhere near the 300 lumens/watt shown here, but this is what we know they are capable of, and over the coming years we should progressively move closer to that target.

About 20% of the world's electricity is used for lighting. With optimal use of LEDs, that figure could fall to 4%. That's a really big deal. This represents the equivalent of hundreds of large power plants that would no longer be necessary, and by reducing electricity consumption, it will be easier to switch to clean sources of energy like solar and wind.

Nobel Prize/Screen capture

But energy-efficiency isn't the only thing. Material efficiency is also much higher for LEDs than the competition. A LED can last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights. This means that only a fraction of the bulbs need to be produced and disposed of over time. In applications like traffic and street lights, it also reduces the need to have crews driving around, burning fuel, just to replace burned out lights.

© Michael Graham Richard

LEDs are not only way more efficient than incandescent technology, which is sadly still by far the most popular out there, but because they emit light more directionally, they can also be better cutomized to various applications. For example, these LED floodlights cost 50% less than the version they replace and cut energy use by 70%.

© Philips

Some cities, like Buenos Aires, have started replacing street lights with LED. Buenos Aires is switching around 100,000 street lamps to LED technology, cutting energy use by 50%. The quality of light is also improved, so that people can better see when they're out at night.

BY Michael Graham Richard Technology /Clean Technology

Inventors of blue LEDs win 2014 Nobel Prize for physics

The 2014 Nobel Prize for physics is being awarded to three scientists credited with inventing efficient blue LEDs, a development that allowed for the creation of the white LED light sources that are inching toward ubiquity across the globe. Though LEDs of other colors have been around since the mid 1900s, the blue LED proved far more difficult to create as researchers struggled to find a material that would produce blue light. The three researchers being awarded today, Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura, recognized that gallium nitride would lead to a blue color and discovered a way to produce the light in an efficient way by adding in aluminum and indium.

Red, green, and blue light needs to be combined to create white light, so the work of Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura provided the final piece to a long-running puzzle. Since then, white LED lights have increased in efficiency and are slowly becoming more prevalent. "The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity grids," The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences explains, "due to low power requirements it can be powered by cheap local solar power." The winners will split a prize of 8 million Swedish Krona, or about $1.1 million USD.

"Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century," the Academy writes, "the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps."

By Jacob Kastrenakes The Verge

Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

Reflections on Maritime Partnership

The “Silk Road” is a general term used to geographically describe ancient Chinese exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa in the areas of politics, economics and culture. Starting on land and developing on sea, the “Silk Road” is a vehicle of historic importance for the dissemination of culture. The ancient maritime Silk Road was developed under political and economic backgrounds and was the result of cooperative efforts from ancestors of both the East and West. China’s proposal to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is aimed at exploring the unique values and concepts of the ancient road, enriching it with new meaning for the present era and actively developing economic partnerships with countries situated along the route. Specifically, the proposal seeks to further integrate current cooperation in order to achieve positive effects.

The ocean is the foundation and vehicle necessary to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is China’s mission to understand the importance of building a Maritime Silk Road and take effective actions at present and for a certain period to come.

21st Century Maritime Silk Road from a Global Perspective

In the twenty-first century, countries have become more inter-connected by the ocean in conducting market, technological and information exchanges. The world is now in an era that values maritime cooperation and development. China’s proposal to build a Maritime Silk Road conforms with larger developments in economic globalization and taps into common interests that China shares with countries along the route. The goal is to forge a community of interest with political mutual trust, integrated economies, inclusive culture and inter-connectivity. The construction of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is a global ini-tiative that pursues win-win results through cross-border cooperation. It is thus of great importance to view it from the perspective of multi-polarization, economic globalization and the co-existence and ba-lancing of cooperation and competition.

Building a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will help stimulate all-round maritime opening-up and benefit ASEAN and relevant countries.

Oceans contain a treasure trove of resources for sustainable development. China is currently at a critical stage in its economic reform process and must pay more attention to the ocean. As mentioned in the resolution of the Third Plenum, “[China] needs to enhance opening-up in coastal regions and boost the connectivity construction with neighboring countries and regions to spur all-round opening-up.”

The Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century will further unite and expand common interests between China and other countries situated along the route, activate potential growth and achieve mutual benefits in wider areas. The Maritime Silk Road will extend southward from China’s ports, through the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, Lombok and Sunda and then along the north Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In other words, the Road will extend from Asia to the Middle East, East Africa and Europe, and it will mainly rely on ASEAN countries. Building the Maritime Silk Road will connect China’s ports with other countries through maritime connectivity, intercity cooperation and economic cooperation. On the one hand, the Road will strengthen the economic basis for China to cooperate with countries along the route and better connect Europe and Asia. On the other hand, the Road will facilitate the development of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), bringing benefits to China, ASEAN and other countries along the road.

The Maritime Silk Road will increase trust and regional peace and stability.

As the world’s economic and political center shifts towards the Asia Pacific, the region has stepped into a stage of geopolitics characterized by intersecting, overlapping and conflicting interests. By facilitating communication between countries along the road, the Maritime Silk Road will help build a community that represents the common concerns, interests and expectations of all countries. The community is expected to guide and support a peaceful and stable Asia Pacific landscape.

Moreover, the Maritime Silk Road will further bring together the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” the “Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor” and the “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” that together connect Europe and Asia. Such connections will greatly enhance China and other countries’ abilities to develop economically while limiting external risks. The Maritime Silk Road will also enhance cooperation in non-traditional security areas while maintaining maritime security.

Maritime Partnerships Are the Key to Building the Maritime Silk Road

At a speech before the Indonesian parliament in 2013, President Xi Jinping stated that Southeast Asia has become an important hub for the maritime silk road and that China is willing to enhance maritime cooperation with ASEAN countries, boost maritime partnerships and build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. President Xi’s speech set forth a clear path for developing road. Enhancing maritime cooperation will be a priority task in building the Maritime Silk Road. The first step will involve China and countries along the route promoting pragmatic maritime cooperation.

Connecting multiple regions and uniting wide areas of co-operation, the tasks put forth in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will not be achieved in the immediate future. Instead, these tasks call for China and relevant countries to work in a step-by-step and practical manner. Building the Maritime Silk road will require diverse forms of cooperation. With a focus on economic cooperation, the Road will give consideration to all parties involved. It will be based on the existing cooperation mechanisms and platforms and be promoted by China and other countries along the route.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will cover more than 20 countries and regions that share a broad consensus on enhancing exchanges, friendship, promoting development, safety and stability within the region and beyond. The Silk Road has already received positive responses and support from many relevant countries. Greek Prime Minister Antonidis Samaras, for example, made it clear that Greece will “support and actively participate in building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road proposed by China.” The Road runs through a region that is sensitive to international strategy and has complex geopolitics. The countries in the region differ in size, development, history, religion, language and culture. Therefore, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will accommodate various countries’ demands and apply suitable policies to each country. Meanwhile, the Road must change and consolidate new patterns of cooperation.

China has been building friendships and partnerships with nei-ghboring countries and developing maritime partnerships with its ocean neighbors, providing a solid foundation for cooperation with ASEAN and countries in the region. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road requires the following efforts: First, consensus must be reached between major countries along the route to enhance maritime cooperation. During high-level dialogues in recent years, the Chinese leadership made maritime cooperation an important topic of bilateral discussions and established the China-ASEAN and China-Indonesia Maritime Cooperation Fund. At the same time, China has actively promoted maritime cooperation between Southeast Asia, South Asia and African countries and established high-level mechanisms between various national maritime departments.

Second, countries must engage in pragmatic cooperation along the route in the areas of trade, the economy, culture and infrastructure. In 2012, the trade volume of countries along the route accounted for 17.9 percent of China’s total trade. The contracted turnover in countries along the route accounted for 37.9 percent of China’s overseas contracted turnover. People-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN recently topped 15 million, while two-way students reached more than 170,000.

Third, countries along the route must engage in effective cooperation on ocean and climate change, marine disaster prevention and mitigation, biodiversity preservation and other areas of maritime policy. In 2010, the Indonesia-China Center for Ocean & Climate (ICCOC) was established. In 2013, the China-Thailand Climate and Marine Ecosystem Joint Lab were both launched. In 2012, the Chinese government set up a Marine Scholarship, and from that year onward, the scholarship will sponsor young people from developing countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America to obtain a master’s degree or doctorate in China to enhance the marine capabilities of their own countries.

Focusing on Developing Partnerships Along the Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road is in line with the development of national economies and the improvement of welfare. China must follow the new perspectives on value, cooperation and development featuring equality, cooperation, mutual benefits, win-win results, inclusiveness and harmony. Guided by President Xi’s desire to “expand the scale of cooperation and gradually foster regional cooperation,” China must make use of its comparative advantages and promote communication, connectivity, trade flow, currency circulation and consensus among people. China needs to target common interests between countries along the road and map out long-term plans and execute its plans in a step by step manner.

The Road will connect the Pacific and Indian Oceans. China will focus on upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and extending it to the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. By virtue of connecting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the “Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor” and the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” China will build an open, safe and effective maritime road that can facilitate trade, transportation, economic development and the dissemination of culture.

The Road will also make good use of the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund and enhance pragmatic maritime cooperation. By prioritizing cooperation in inter-connectivity, the maritime economy, marine environmental protection and disaster prevention and mitigation, China aims to improve the welfare of countries along the route and share the benefits of the Maritime Silk Road.

The Road will also make use of existing bilateral and multilateral marine cooperation mechanisms and frameworks. By making use of the existing and effective marine cooperation platforms, China will improve the area’s marine partnership network, forge closer ties between countries along the route and finally create a cooperation landscape in which marine resources, industries and culture are all reasonably distributed and mutually reinforcing.

The construction of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road the development of marine partnerships call for the following measures:

First, it will call for better marine connectivity. Infrastructure connectivity is the priority of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Countries need to focus on building key pathways, points and major projects, and China needs to work with countries along the road to build marine infrastructure, improve law enforcement abilities, provide public goods of marine security and guarantee the security of marine pathways. China needs to support the construction of ports, wharves and information networks to ensure the open flow of goods and information. It must also enhance communication on marine cooperation policies to facilitate marine investment and trade.

Sea lane safety is the key to sustaining the development of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, while ports are the foundation of sea lane safety. Like posts along the ancient Silk Road, ports along the new Maritime Silk Road will act as “posts on sea” that handle cargo and resupply ships and people. Such “sea posts” also must provide safe and convenient sea lanes for all countries to make use of. These posts can either be built by individual countries or built with the help of China and other countries, or even be leased in other counties. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will thus able to cover and drive more countries to create “sea posts.”

Second, it will call for strong cooperation on marine economy and industry. Many countries along the route strategically exploit the ocean, develop their maritime economies and sustain marine development. Strengthening cooperation on marine economics and industry will help push forward modernization and promote the upgrading and optimization of industry. Such cooperation will better integrate China’s economy with those of countries along the route.

Closer cooperation in the marine industry will require domestic industrial restructuring according to market demands, require prioritized cooperation in marine fishery, tourism, desalination and marine renewable resources and require Chinese enterprises in this industry to go global. China encourages enterprises with intellectual property and sophisticated desalination technology, marine renewable resources and marine bio-pharmaceutical technology to invest and build their own businesses in countries along the route.

Relying on existing Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones between China and other countries, as well as marine demonstration zones in Tianjin, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, the government will play a leading role in the initial stages, guide enterprises with mature technologies in iron and steel, shipbuilding, fishery and aq-uaculture to establish production bases and extend industrial chains to countries with rich resources and huge demand.

China needs to work with countries along the route to facilitate regional cooperation, building industrial parks, enhancing investment and cooperation in the marine industry, building marine economic demonstration zones, marine technology parks, economic and trade cooperation zones and marine training bases. Through such industrial cooperation, China will forge an investment cooperation platform in which Chinese enterprises can gain international competitiveness and participate at a higher level of the industrial echelon.

China needs to build a cooperation belt to enhance the marine industry and set up cooperation networks to facilitate marine tourism. A sustainable Maritime Silk Road will not be achieved without the help of port economic zones. As a result, China must develop its port economic zones and free trade zones to provide a platform for the Maritime Silk Road. China will focus on eliminating systematic and mechanistic barriers, lowering market thresholds and facilitating the opening-up of major areas.

Third, it will call for all-round cooperation in marine fields. In recent years, non-traditional security issues such as piracy, maritime terrorism, cross-border crimes and maritime disasters have loomed large. Countries along the route share a common interest in addressing these problems. Naturally, fighting against non-traditional security challenges will become an important part of the Maritime Silk Road. As such, China must promote exchanges and cooperation between countries along the route in the areas of marine technology, environmental protection, marine forecasting and rescue, disaster prevention and the mitigation and climate change.

Putting the “Marine Technology Partnership Plan” into practice. Based on existing marine cooperation centers and observation platforms, China will focus on promoting marine technology cooperation networks and building the China-ASEAN Marine Cooperation Center, the Indonesia and China Center for Ocean and Climate, the China-Thailand Climate and Marine Ecosystem Joint Lab, the China-Pakistan Joint Marine Center, the China-Sri Lanka Marine and Coastal Zone Joint Research Center and other ocean stations.

Building “marine ecological partnerships.” By paying more atten-tion to an ecological civilization, China needs to enhance cooperate with countries along the route to build a green Silk Road that addresses the marine ecological environment and climate change. China must set up an effective dialogue mechanism, map out major projects in which all parties can get involved and make comprehensive plans for regional ecological and environmental protection. China must work more closely with Southeast Asia and South Asia to protect biodiversity, build a cross-border bio-diversity corridor and establish marine conservation areas.

Conducting the regional marine research. By building cooperation networks for marine disaster preparedness, providing marine forecasting products and releasing marine disaster warnings, China will increase marine benefits for relevant countries.

Fourth, it will call for expanding cooperation in marine culture. Marine culture is the foundation of building a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. When talking about the Silk Road Economic Belt, President Xi has stated that “amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states.” He also highlighted the importance of “common aspirations,” given that the Silk Road will be supported by countries only if it is able to benefit people. China will inherit and pro-mote friendly cooperation along the Maritime Silk Road and develop a proposal with international consensus so that marine cooperation and partnerships will be firmly supported.

The plan will also call on countries to increase marine awareness and achieve common aspirations. China needs to make full use of the geopolitics and culture of Maritime Silk Road to promote exchanges in marine culture, tourism and education to make the Road a key link for friendly exchanges. By “going global” and “going local” at the same time, China needs to carry out exchanges and cooperation in marine culture, in areas such as cultural or art exchanges, archaeological exchanges, marine tourism cooperation, education and training.

China will guide and encourage the community to conduct various cultural exchanges and offer tours and products with distinct Silk Road features. In such a way, China will be able to expand the cultural influence of the Maritime Silk Road, push the Road into the new century and promote general marine cultural diversity.

Conclusion

On June 20, 2014, Premier Li Keqiang spoke at the China-Greece Marine Cooperation Forum, stating, “We stand ready to work with other countries to boost economic growth, deepen international cooperation and promote world peace through developing the ocean, and we strive to build a peaceful, cooperative and harmonious ocean.” China’s proposal to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road suits the current era and is characterized by peace, development, cooperation, innovation and opening-up. With the goal of building a harmonious ocean, the proposal rests on opening-up and innovation and aims to achieve “harmony between humans and the ocean, peaceful development, safety and convenience, cooperation and win-win results.” A 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will enhance cooperation between China and other countries, increase mutual trust, create a stable environment for cooperation and bring new opportunities for regional stability and prosperity.

by Liu Cigui
China Institute of International Studies

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