The relentless rising cost of living in Singapore

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/

The relentless rising cost of living in Singapore
Posted by theonlinecitizen on August 27th, 2007

The following is a collated list of price increases which TOC could find – from various news reports, blogs, websites, forums, etc – since Jan 2006 to the present.

If we have left out any, please do let us know. If you have observed any price hikes around your neighbourhood (or anywhere else) please let us know also.

We can be reached at theonlinecitizen@gmail.com

The list may not be comprehensive and any clarification is welcome.






2006

Jan 9: Pump prices at all 29 Caltex stations will go up from 11pm on Monday night. Prices will go up by four cents per litre for all three grades. (link)

Feb 13: Polytechnics and ITE increase fees by $50 and $10 respectively (link)(link)

Feb 14: NTU, NUS to raise tuition fees by 3% from next academic year. Tuition fees at both the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University will go up by S$180 for the next academic year. This 3 percent increase comes on the heels of a 5 percent hike just last year. (link)

Mar 6: Expect annual tuition fee increases. Hostel fees will also go up by 10% to 11% from next academic year. (NTU) (link)

Mar 9: Retail pump prices for Synergy petrol and diesel at all Esso and Mobil service stations in Singapore were increased by 6 cents a litre. (link) (link)


June 1: NTUC Car Co-Op raises fuel surcharge: We cannot continue subsidizing the fuel price increase in the long run without compromising the quality of service. Thus, the management has decided to implement a fuel surcharge of $0.30 for every 10km free with effect from 1 June 2006. (link)

June 27: Electricity tariff to go up next quarter. Domestic users, for example, will have to pay 21.15 cents for every kWH of electricity, up from 20.49 cents currently. (link)

July 10: Comfort Delgro raises taxi fares. Besides raising the flag down fare and the peak hour surcharge from $1 to $2, ComfortDelgro is also making distance-related adjustment. (link)(link)

July: Taxi companies raise fares. (link)(link)

July 17: SMRT hikes taxi fares. (link)

Aug: SMRT, SBS apply for fare hike. (link)

Aug: NUS hikes tuition fees by between $180, $220, and $510, depending on faculty. (link)

Aug: ERP rates to go up at six gantries, mainly at CTE. (link)

Oct: Public Transport Council approves 1.7% fare increase for bus and trains. Adult EZ-link fares for buses and trains will increase by 1 to 3 cents, which amounts to an overall fare hike of 1.7 percent. (link)

Nov: SingPost revises postage rate. (link)

Nov 12: Rates for HDB rental flats pegged to income. (link)

Dec: Govt spells out fees to be frozen. (link)

2006: Loan sharks cases rise by 19%, to 10, 221 cases. (link)

2006: A total of 419 people committed suicide in 2006, up from 346 in 2003. The suicide rate per 100,000 residents - a sobering indicator in population statistics - is also on the upswing, growing from 9.3 in 2003 to 10.3 in 2006, figures from the Registry of Births and Deaths reveal. It is the fourth straight rise in as many years. (ST, Aug 13, 2007) (link)

2006: Islandwide, home rentals climbed 10 per cent in 2006. (ST, Aug 6, 2007) (link)

2006: At Alexandra Hospital, A&E charges went up from $55 to $60, as did C-class ward charges — from $21 to $23 — and subsidised specialist outpatient clinic consultation rates, from $18 to $20. (link)






 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/





2007


Jan: All diesel-driven vehicles to undergo smoke test. (link)

Jan: NUH’s A&E fee raised from $70 to $80. (link)

Jan: Skilled Foreign workers levy raised by $50, from $100 to $150, for all sectors. (link)(link)

Jan 26: SMU Law Course to cost more, NUS says it may increase fees too. (link)

Feb: KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital hikes ward treatment fees. (link)

Feb 14: Tax penalties from GST audits could increase. With the hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST) by two percentage points, tax analysts said tax penalties arising from businesses making mistakes in GST audits may also increase. (link)

Feb 25: Sunny Cove: Fees to Pulau Hantu Raised - As of 24th February 2007 (Saturday), the operator had increased the price for the chartering of boat to local water. With the price hike, all courses conducted at local water will be subjected to the increase from 25th February 2007 (Sunday) onwards. (link)

Feb 25: Eldershield premiums to go up by year’s end. (link)

April 1:Singapore Medical Association withdraws guidelines on fees. Doctors now have more flexibility to adjust their fees, following a decision by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) to withdraw its guidelines on fees, as of 1 April. (link)

April 1: URA increase fees for Housing Developers’s Licence – from between $500 to $8,000. (link)

April 2: NUS revise car park charges. (link)


April 8: Means testing for hospital admission to start within a year. Subsidised patients that stay more than five days in a public hospital can expect some questions about their income. (link) (link)

April 11: Ikea to start charging customers for plastic bags. (ST, 11 April, 2007)

April 25: The SingaporeAmericanSchool increased tuition fees by between $425 and $1,000. (link)

April: Within hours of each other, the four petrol companies in Singapore - First Shell, then Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), ExxonMobil and lastly Chevron - each revised its prices. The retail price of petrol and diesel rose by 10 cents. (Electric New Paper) (link) (link)

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=65970



 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/


April 25: The Singapore American School increased tuition fees by between $425 and $1,000. (link)

April: Within hours of each other, the four petrol companies in Singapore - First Shell, then Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), ExxonMobil and lastly Chevron - each revised its prices. The retail price of petrol and diesel rose by 10 cents. (Electric New Paper) (link) (link)

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=65970



May 14: NUH increase ward charges for B2 and C-class wards by $2, increases of 4 and 8 per cent. (link)

May 23: DBS raises its e-transaction fee for initial public offering (IPO) applications. Retail investors who applied for IPO shares launched on or after that date, through the local bank’s ATMs and Internet banking, were surprised that they now have to pay $2. (link)

May 29: New fee hikes at public hospitals and polyclinics. A NEW round of fee hikes is underway at most public hospitals and some polyclinics. Subsidised patients at four public hospitals will now pay $24 or $25 for every visit to a specialist clinic, up from about $21. All 18 polyclinics, which used to charge a standard consultation fee of $8 for adults, now charge anything from $8-$8.80. (link) (link) (link)

May: From milk to Milo, cooking oil to coffee, canned foods, processed foods, wheat products and more, prices have been rising recently at supermarkets and hypermarts here. (link) (link) (link)

June 1: Prices of milk go up. The price increase for condensed milk ranged from $0.10 to $0.50, which means the prices for some brands of condensed milk have gone up by nearly 45 per cent. The price increase for evaporated milk ranged from $0.15 to $0.47, marking a percentage increase of between 18 per cent to 48 per cent. (link) (link)

July 3: Resale price index for HDB flats rise 2.9% from 3 months before. (link)

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/197856.asp

June 4: Online hosiery shop increases price. There will be a overall price increase on 4th June 2007 for all brands due to increased cost of yarns and cost of shipping. (link)

http://www.newlook.com.sg/news.asp

http://www.newlook.com.sg/news.asp

June 6: Even before the Nets fee hike kicks in, a shoe shop in Parkway Parade has already started charging customers extra to cover the increase. (link)

June 7: Wholesale price of ducks goes up. The wholesale price of ducks has increased by 20 cents a kilogram. (link)

 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/

June 7: Wholesale price of ducks goes up. The wholesale price of ducks has increased by 20 cents a kilogram. (link)

June 7: Eggs price increase. Eggs now cost between 17 cents and 18 cents each. (link)

June 29: Rental space rents rise. Islandwide, rents at Grade A malls have moved up by between 5-7 per cent in the first half of this year and could increase by another 5-6 per cent by end-2007, analysts said. (Business Times, June 29, 2007) (link)

June 29: Fees up by 14% on average at NUS. Two days before the higher 7-per-cent GST kicked in on July 1, prospective students of the continuing education arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS) received news that fees for many courses had gone up — by an average 14 per cent. (link)

July 1st: GST increased from 5% to 7%. (link) (link)

July 1st: THE Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) and market leader ExxonMobil became the first companies to raise pump prices at their petrol stations following the GST hike. The two companies increased prices across the board for their three grades of petrol and diesel by 0.23 cents to 0.33 cents per litre from 7am. Caltex will be increasing its pump prices on Monday. (ST, July 1, 2007) (link) (link)

http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/Petrol+prices+go+up+with+GST+hike.htmlJuly 1st: NETS announced a price hike for its Electronic Funds Transfer Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS) and CashCard Services to between 1.5% and 1.8%. (link) (link)

July 1st: Pasir Ris – Punggol Town Council revise penalties for late payment of S&C charges to 2% and absorb 7% GST. (2004 rates) (2007 rates)

July 4: The Committee Against GST Profiteering (CAP) has found price changes to be generally moderate since the announcement of the GST increase in November 2006. (link)

July 10: Changi General Hospital increases A&E charges. Following in the wake of earlier hikes by the National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital, CGH this month increased its A&E attendance fee by $10 — or 15 per cent — to $75. For the B2 and C-class wards, the daily treatment fee went up by $1, representing a 6-to-10-per-cent increment. The daily ward charge for B2 wards also rose by $1, or 2 per cent. (link)

July 11: Starhub raise prices for cable tv packages. SCV subscribers pay $4 more across the board. (link) (link) (link)

July 11: The Committee Against GST Profiteering has received 33 complaints in the past six months about price increases, all dealing with food items. About 10 cases involve chain businesses. (ST, July 11, 2007) (link)

July 15: Electricity tariffs to be raised by almost 9% for July to September. (link)

July 18: Govt raises development charge from 50% to 70% for new building projects from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of the increase in value of the land. (link) (link)
 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/

July 15: Electricity tariffs to be raised by almost 9% for July to September. (link)

July 18: Govt raises development charge from 50% to 70% for new building projects from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of the increase in value of the land. (link)(link)

July 21: HDB rents at 10-year high. For the first time in recent memory, monthly rents for some HDB flats have pushed northwards of $2,000 in leases signed in the last couple of months. (ST, 21 July 2007) (link)

July 25: Hospital bills up 10% to 30% across all ward classes. (link)



July: July inflation hits 2.6%, highest in over 12 years. (link)

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/prices/cpi.pdf

July (CPI): Housing costs increased 4.9 per cent because of higher housing maintenance charges, electricity tariffs and rented accommodation costs. (ST, Aug 23, 2007)(link)http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html





July (CPI): Food prices went up by 1.4 per cent, mainly due to dearer cooked food, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables and milk powder. (link)



July (CPI): Transport and communication prices moved up by 1 per cent, reflecting mainly dearer petrol and higher car prices. (link) http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html

July (CPI): The index for education and stationery rose by 2.1 per cent as a result of higher fees at commercial institutions and universities. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html(link)

July (CPI): Prices of clothing and footwear increased by 3.9 per cent. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html(link)

July (CPI): Health care cost rose by 2.2 per cent on account of dearer chinese herbs and higher charges for general medical consultation and dental treatment. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html(link)

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Money/STIStory_151013.html

Aug 2: SBS, SMRT seeking bus, train fare increases. If approved, transport fares could rise by up to three cents from October. (link)

Aug 2:Singapore Airlines raises fuel surcharge – from between US$2, US$5 and US$9. (link)

Aug 6:ERP rates at Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel to go up. From August 6, cars passing the Orchard, YMCA and Fort Canning Tunnel gantries will be charged an additional $0.50. That makes it $1 per entry. Rates for motorcycles will also double to $0.50. Goods vehicles and small buses will now be charged $1.50. Heavy goods vehicles and big buses will be charged $2. (link)

Aug 7: Student made to pay adult fare. (link)

Aug 8: 17% hike in Delifrance’s tuna croissant sandwich, from $5.05 to $5.90. (link)

Aug 10: Change of supplier sees spike in price of medicine. A 80ml bottle of Minoxi 5 from Trima Pharmaceutical used to cost $38.50. This time round, the price was $45.50 for a 60ml bottle. Going by volume, the price increase was a hefty 57.6 per cent. (ST Forum, Aug 10, 2007) (link)http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_147144.html

Aug 13: Up to 30% levy imposed on hotel room revenues during F1 race. The Trade and Industry Ministry (MTI) has decided a levy of 30 per cent for hotels on the trackside, and 20 per cent for others. (link)
 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/


Aug 7: Student made to pay adult fare. (link)

Aug 8: 17% hike in Delifrance’s tuna croissant sandwich, from $5.05 to $5.90. (link)

Aug 10: Change of supplier sees spike in price of medicine. A 80ml bottle of Minoxi 5 from Trima Pharmaceutical used to cost $38.50. This time round, the price was $45.50 for a 60ml bottle. Going by volume, the price increase was a hefty 57.6 per cent. (ST Forum, Aug 10, 2007) (link)http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_147144.html

Aug 13: Up to 30% levy imposed on hotel room revenues during F1 race. The Trade and Industry Ministry (MTI) has decided a levy of 30 per cent for hotels on the trackside, and 20 per cent for others. (link)

Aug 23: More ERP gantries, extended hours. (link) (link)

Oct: Starhub Cable TV sports channels subscribers pay $10 more. (link)

Sept 1st: New dog licensing rules. To discourage dog owners from keeping unlicensed dogs, allowing their dogs to stray or not muzzling dogs of breeds2 that are required to be muzzled in a public place (eg, the Rottweiller or Mastiff); the maximum fine for such offences has been raised from $500 to $5,000. (link)

Sept: Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society to increase fees from between $5 to $10 due to the society becoming a GST-registered entity. (link)

Oct: Public transport fare increase?

2007: HDB ups valuation and administrative fees for valuation report of flats. This is to include the new 7% GST. (link)



Quote:

Aug 24:

‘With rents rising, and some retailers not passing on the GST hike until later, we expect CPI inflation to continue to climb, probably close to 3 per cent towards year-end,’ said Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin.

“Consumers Association of Singapore president Yeo Guat Kwang, who is also MP for Aljunied GRC, said if prices go up because of supply and demand conditions, that cannot be helped: ‘What we need to ensure is that price adjustments are fair.

‘So far, we haven’t seen a phenomenon of businesses profiteering from the GST rise,’ said Mr Yeo, who is the deputy chairman of the Committee Against GST Profiteering.

‘Most importantly, prices of basic necessities have remained stable.’

(Straits Times, Aug 24, 2007)

Other reports:

A relentless spiral by Littlespeck. (link)

CASE survey. (link)

Govt spells out fees to be frozen. (link) (link)
 

The_Republic

Banned
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
6,459
Reaction score
0
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/


Unconfirmed – from internet forums and blogs:

teh_si - Price of Marigold HL milk up from $4.85 to $5.25 for two (13% increase) and Milkmaid condensed milk from $1.10 to $1.60 (45% increase). Han’s restaurant increased its price for breakfast sets from $4.80 to $5.50 from May 15.

Man in the streets - I was at the roti-prata shop along jln masjid having lunch with a client, I heard the kosong roti will increase to 70 cents per piece. CASE is sleeping or closing its eyes.

nannan82: Even the chicken rice I used to eat was raised to $3 from $2.5 dollar recently at hawker centre.

ITR Guy: My fav yoghurt was selling for 2 for 1.7 to 1.8 depending on supermarket is now going for 2
icon_sad.gif
****…


Apr 30 - ERP rates to go up at 5 gantries. The rates of five Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries will increase by 50 cents for all vehicle classes starting from May 7, 2007.

April 5 (ST) - Beware spike in docs’ fees. THE dumping by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) of private doctors’ consultation fee guidelines effectively deregulates the service.

Mar 31 (ST) - Motor premiums could go up as insurers lose money.
Hike expected as half of insurers are facing losses and cannot sustain premium levels.


Jan 20 (ST) - Big surge in CBD carpark rates. Situation could get worse as some 2,000 parking lots are likely to disappear soon. Carpark owners are raising rates - driving vehicle owners in the Central Business District (CBD) up the wall. Now $160-$330, monthly season charges will go up by 20%. The occasional visitor will pay up to $4.80 an hour weekdays.

Xen, Jan 17: Ya Kun stuck a statement beside its cashier, added 20 cents to its menu, and pushed its Set A to $3.90. Even my Kosong Prata went from 50cent to 60cents, effectively a 20% increase. http://xen.starbean.net/?cat=2http://xen.starbean.net/?cat=2

May 2007: Singapore Expats Forum: Our tenancy agreement is due to expire in 2 months time. We’ve just had notification from the landlord that he wants a 30% increase in rent!! (link)
 

Soulhacker

Greater Supremacy Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
83,362
Reaction score
3,051
Aiyoh, peasants need to realize that having increase in cost of living is good. It would worry our extraordinary leaders if there are no increase in cost of living because it would meant that we have to go back to live in kampong or fishing village.
 

lobo76

Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Messages
7,416
Reaction score
0
Now all we need is for some one who rents a home, lives in the east, children studying in the west (1 in Univ-living in hostel, law faculty and 1 in poly)... father drives to work in CBD area, subscribes to Cable TV (with Sport package) and so on and so forth...,

basically someone who will kena nearly all these increases to write to ST Forum. :D
 

markBM

Master Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Messages
2,792
Reaction score
0
u post things up ,all retail market down down down ,no people ,no sale ,rental = Close shop .

next year more ppl going broke .
 

xboxer

Greater Supremacy Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2003
Messages
85,822
Reaction score
2
Read until my eye come out.

I don't think any other country in this world can beat us in yearly increases.

Most probably another world record for us. HOORAY!
 

Soulhacker

Greater Supremacy Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
83,362
Reaction score
3,051
markBM said:
u post things up ,all retail market down down down ,no people ,no sale ,rental = Close shop .

next year more ppl going broke .

Don't worry, our extraordinary leaders can either export the broke people out to JB, Bintan or Batam, then import in more rich FT that could afford to shop in those shops after all the price hike.

At the same time, can also help to close in the poor\rich gap by importing more rich FT. Eg if now the 20% of the 4 millions are poor and broke, how many % would that become after we import in 2 more millions of rich FT? So why worry about more people going broke whenn they can be easily offset by more import of rich FT?
 

fre3dom85

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
24,514
Reaction score
315
i think this is a very good thread. it highlights raises and most important a clear proof of what is happening to commoners like us
 

michael2000

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
1,327
Reaction score
48
Soulhacker said:
Aiyoh, peasants need to realize that having increase in cost of living is good. It would worry our extraordinary leaders if there are no increase in cost of living because it would meant that we have to go back to live in kampong or fishing village.

It is a ridiculour statement that if there is no increase in cost of living we will go back to live in kampong!
If one takes a look at the recent increase in cost of living, the poor will have to live in dungeon.
 

xboxer

Greater Supremacy Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2003
Messages
85,822
Reaction score
2
The_Republic said:
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/08/27/the-relentless-rising-cost-of-living-in-singapore/


Unconfirmed – from internet forums and blogs:

teh_si - Price of Marigold HL milk up from $4.85 to $5.25 for two (13% increase) and Milkmaid condensed milk from $1.10 to $1.60 (45% increase). Han’s restaurant increased its price for breakfast sets from $4.80 to $5.50 from May 15.

Man in the streets - I was at the roti-prata shop along jln masjid having lunch with a client, I heard the kosong roti will increase to 70 cents per piece. CASE is sleeping or closing its eyes.

nannan82: Even the chicken rice I used to eat was raised to $3 from $2.5 dollar recently at hawker centre.

ITR Guy: My fav yoghurt was selling for 2 for 1.7 to 1.8 depending on supermarket is now going for 2
icon_sad.gif
****…


Apr 30 - ERP rates to go up at 5 gantries. The rates of five Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries will increase by 50 cents for all vehicle classes starting from May 7, 2007.

April 5 (ST) - Beware spike in docs’ fees. THE dumping by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) of private doctors’ consultation fee guidelines effectively deregulates the service.

Mar 31 (ST) - Motor premiums could go up as insurers lose money.
Hike expected as half of insurers are facing losses and cannot sustain premium levels.


Jan 20 (ST) - Big surge in CBD carpark rates. Situation could get worse as some 2,000 parking lots are likely to disappear soon. Carpark owners are raising rates - driving vehicle owners in the Central Business District (CBD) up the wall. Now $160-$330, monthly season charges will go up by 20%. The occasional visitor will pay up to $4.80 an hour weekdays.

Xen, Jan 17: Ya Kun stuck a statement beside its cashier, added 20 cents to its menu, and pushed its Set A to $3.90. Even my Kosong Prata went from 50cent to 60cents, effectively a 20% increase. http://xen.starbean.net/?cat=2http://xen.starbean.net/?cat=2

May 2007: Singapore Expats Forum: Our tenancy agreement is due to expire in 2 months time. We’ve just had notification from the landlord that he wants a 30% increase in rent!! (link)

Actually not all these increases are unjustified. They may need to increase in order to pay you-know-who if not they may pack up and go home.

Of course, there are also unscrupulous and greedy ones increase using the new GST as an excuse.
 
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top