The Staggering Gap between Singapore's Rich and Poor

Official statistics by the World Bank indicate that Singapore has the highest Gini coefficient in the developed world. The Gini coefficient is an abstract mathematical economic indicator that measures the extent of income inequality in a country. Yet one doesn't have to be an economics guru to understand the extent of inequality in Singapore. Simply by browsing the newspapers, Singaporeans have been exposed to a much more visceral and concrete demonstration of Singapore's staggering gap between the rich and the poor.

On Monday, the following article was published in my paper:

You can have this bungalow for $68m

This five-bedroom good-class bungalow in Ridout Road comes with its own pool and tennis court.

Reico Wong | Mon, Mar 12, 2012 | my paper

The record $39-million sale of a Sentosa Cove seafront bungalow to a buyer from India, which made headlines earlier this month, may have raised many eyebrows.

But it is far from being the most expensive prestige landed home on the Singapore property market - in terms of absolute price - at the moment.

Sources told my paper that one of the priciest residential landed properties up for grabs is a five- bedroom good-class bungalow (GCB) in Ridout Road, off Holland Road.

Its owner is asking for $68 million, or about $1,670 psf, for the property, which occupies about 40,000 sq ft of land. The large plot of land, on which two GCBs can be built, is sited on a slope and comes with its own swimming pool and tennis court.

In Singapore, the Rich Get Richer... while the rest of us Struggle with Inflation

A couple of headline news in the Business Times caught my attention today. The first is regarding record high price for a luxury bungalow plot in Nassim Road:

Peter Kwee sells Nassim Rd plot for about $47.8m
$2,000 psf on land area is a new high for a GCB on Nassim Road
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Motoring tycoon Peter Kwee is said to have sold a vacant plot along Nassim Road for about $47.8 million or $2,000 per square foot (psi) based on its freehold land area of about 23,920 sq ft.

While the psf land price for the transaction is slightly shy of the $2,081 psf islandwide record for a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area set last year, it is nonetheless said to be a fresh high for Nassim Road.

Newsman Realty confirmed it brokered the latest deal. The buyer is a Singaporean  businessman, said the firm's managing director KH Tan.

The second article is regarding the introduction of the Pagani Huayra into Singapore.