COE premiums mostly down after latest bidding exercise

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums were mostly down at the end of the latest bidding exercise at 4pm on Wednesday.

For small cars, the premium fell S$1,090 to S$91,010.

The premium for big cars closed down S$709 to S$95,501.

In the goods vehicles and buses category, the premium was down S$2,949 to end at S$57,051, while COE premiums for motorcycles ended at S$1,781, down S$152.

The only category where premiums rose was the open category, which went up S$1,788 to S$97,889.

While the changes are not significant, some car dealers are advising consumers against holding out on buying.

Mr Raymond Tang, a car dealer, said: "If you carry on waiting, because of the next quota premium, the COE is getting less, it is definitely not going to benefit you. But of course, you have to see your own financial status. If you don't want to spend so much, you can actually go to the used-car market."

Mr Tang expects premiums to continue heading north, going forward.

COE down for all categories except small cars

SINGAPORE - Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums dropped across the board with only Cat A cars below 1,600cc seeing an increase.

Prices rose 1.7 per cent to $68,000, up from $66,889 from the last bidding two weeks ago.

Motorcycles saw the biggest decrease of 10.5 per cent with premiums dropping from $2,013 to $1,801.

Cars above 1,600cc in Cat B also dipped to $80,191, down 8.9 per cent from $88,002 a fortnight ago.

Premiums for the Open category, which is usually used for cars and is transferrable, also slid 6.4 per cent, ending at $87,999. This is lower than the last bidding's $93,990.

Commercial vehicles saw the smallest decrease of 3.4 per cent to $57,334. This is down from the previous $59,334.

Sept 2012 - First bidding
Category	Sept 5 prices	Aug 23 prices
Cars (1600CC below)	$68,000	$66,889
Cars (above 1,600CC)	$80,191	$88,002
Commercial vehicles	$57,334	$59,334
Motorcycles	$1,801	$2,013
Open category	$87,999	$93,990

COE prices up across the board

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices rose in all categories on Wednesday in the first bidding exercise after a cut in quota numbers kicked in this month.

The premium for Category A (small cars 1,600cc and below) soared from the previous high of S$68,656 to set a new record of S$73,501. The 7 per cent (or S$4,845) spike came despite taxis having been removed from this category.

Taxis were taken out of the COE bidding process from August after feedback that they may have had an influence on COE prices. COEs to be used for taxi fleet expansion will now be extracted from the quota for Category E instead.

Premiums in all other categories also rose.

COEs for Category B (cars 1,601cc and above) now cost S$94,502 each, a 4 per cent or S$4,001 increase, compared with S$90,501 in the previous bidding exercise.

For Category C (goods vehicles and buses), the COE now stood at S$57,001, compared with S$55,805. This was an increase of 2 per cent, or S$1,196.

For Category D (motorcycles), the COE premium was S$2,081, compared with S$1,859. This was an increase of 12 per cent, or S$222.

In Category E (open), premiums closed at S$95,034, compared with S$92,700. This was an increase of 3 per cent, or S$2,334.

Dealers said the higher COE prices seen in the latest round were largely due to a cut in COE quota numbers which took effect in August.

Dealers added that the longer break between the latest and the previous bidding exercises - three weeks instead of the usual two weeks - was another factor that pushed up the number of bids and prices this time round.

Speaking about the Category A premium, general manager of Tan Chong Motor Sales, Ron Lim, said: "I think no one can actually put a guess into how far the Category A premium would continue to grow. We are sort of in uncharted territory as we are looking at the quota being reduced by a significant 37 per cent this round.

"The taxi companies might be out of the game right now in Cat A, but just the sheer size of reduction in terms of quota in itself, I think is the big factor behind today's price increase."

Industry players Channel NewsAsia spoke to said the high COE premium for small cars will affect those selling mass market brands.

"The buyer profile has actually changed a lot in terms of affordability," senior manager at KIA Motors Chee Kee Min said.

"If you look at the rationale of it, if you're already paying S$70,000 to S$90,000 for a basic piece of COE, you might as well pay a little bit more to own a so-called better car, with better specifications and all."

Dealers expect prices to continue to rise further, given the lower quota numbers over the next bidding rounds.

About 13 per cent fewer COEs in the next 6 months

SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) today said that 3,226 certificates of entitlement (COEs) will be available per month over the next six months.

This is a 12.7 per cent drop from the last six months.

The cut comes largely from the small cars category (Cat A) which records a drop of 36.6 per cent and will now have a monthly quota of just 786, down from the current 1,239.

The Open Category (Cat E) also saw a large cut of about 21.4 per cent which translates to a monthly quota of 485, down from the current 617.

Drivers bidding for certificates for cars of 1,601 cc and above in Cat B will have a slightly larger monthly quota of 701 to bid in. This is up from 699.

An increase is also seen in the goods vehicles and buses category (Cat C) of about 12.85 per cent. The monthly quota has been raised to 360 instead of the current 319.

For the motorcycles category (cat D), the monthly quota is increased to 894 from 820.

The bidding under the new quotas will begin with the August 2012 First Open Bidding Exercise.

LTA said the changes in quota is based on two components including the provision for 1 per cent vehicle growth based on the vehicle population as at Dec 31 last year and the replacement COEs for vehicles de-registered between January and June 2012.

In May 2012, LTA said that it will reduce vehicle growth rate to 1 per cent from August instead of 0.5 per cent as previously announced.

The percentage will then be further reduced to 0.5 per cent from February 2013 to January 2015.

This move comes as an attempt to ease the rising prices of certificates of entitlement (COE).

The next COE quota announcement for the COE bidding period from February 2013 to July 2013 will be made in January 2013.

COE premiums close mostly higher

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums for vehicles closed mostly higher at the close of the latest round of bidding on Wednesday.

COE premiums for small cars closed at S$59,421, up from S$59,004 in the previous bidding exercise on June 20.

COE for big cars dropped to S$82,289, compared with S$85,400 previously.

In the Open Category, which is mostly used for big cars, prices ended at S$86,999, compared with S$84,389.

Premiums for goods vehicles and buses closed at S$55,556, going up by S$1,054 from the previous bidding.

For motorcycles, the COE will cost S$1,760, compared with S$1,712 previously.

Honorary secretary for the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, Raymond Tang said prices mostly went up because of the expected tightening of COE quotas next month.

"These two rounds will be quite a tough round because this is the last two round before the COE will be reduced even further.

"So they think this is the last two rounds they have chances to go in and bid. And the number of COE is already not enough to supply the demand in the market, so that is why it causes the majority of the categories to go up or stabilise around that range."

Inflation here to stay sticky, say analysts

Inflationary pressures in Singapore's economy will not be shaken off easily this year, even though inflation will be milder than the 5.2 per cent recorded last year, according to DBS Bank.

The bank, meanwhile, projected a 3.5 per cent growth rate for the Singapore economy this year - 0.5 percentage point higher than the median estimate of 21 private-sector economists and analysts surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

DBS revised upwards its inflation forecast for this year, from 4.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
For next year, the bank revised its forecast from 2.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

Both high Certificate of Entitlement premiums and high property prices will remain the main culprits behind inflation in the near future, DBS economist Irvin Seah said yesterday.

He noted that inadequate provision for housing in previous years has created massive demand in the sector.

UOB economist Alvin Liew held similar views, even though he noted a slide in oil prices. Oil futures hit an eight-month low in US trading yesterday, to US$79.92 (S$102) a barrel.

"It would have some dampening effect on the transport-cost component," Mr Liew noted.

He expects a more pronounced decrease in the inflation rate next month.

Apart from lingering inflation woes, growth is expected to be sluggish in the second half of this year, DBS projects.

"We expect the GDP growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis to fall back to 1 per cent. The chance of a negative is high," Mr Seah said, adding that it will probably negate some of the gains from the first quarter.

The economy expanded by 10 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter of this year.

The manufacturing sector's strong showing boosted the economy in the first quarter this year, but will likely moderate in the second half of the year, due to the downside risks in the global environment.

Mr Seah said that although questions over Greece's exit from the euro zone have been dispelled by the formation of a coalition government yesterday, the European debt crisis is far from over.

The sluggish pace of US recovery and its anaemic labour market, and signs of moderated growth momentum in Asia will impact Singapore's economic performance.

COE prices end mixed

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for vehicles ended mixed on Wednesday in the first bidding exercise since the government announced measures to ease the COE supply.

Premiums dipped in three out of five categories, with the COEs for commercial vehicles (category C) registering the biggest fall. Here, the premium fell 4.5% or S$2,584 to S$54,522.

The COE price for big cars (category B) fell 2.58% or S$2,216 to S$83,000.

Open category COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mainly for big cars, retreated 1.15% or S$1,000 to close at S$85,889.

The premium for small cars (category A), however, rose 1.73% or S$1,002 to S$59,003.

Meanwhile, the premium for motorcycles (category D) ended S$22 higher at S$1,912.

Motor traders MediaCorp spoke to said the mixed results could be due to cautious sentiments brought on by the euro crisis and the recent huge losses in the stock market.

But they added that in the coming months, car agents will try to secure more COE bids, therefore pushing up prices.

Singapore Vehicle Traders Association's honorary secretary, Raymond Tang, said: "Most of the merchants...understand that in August, the COE (supply) will be even (lower) than what they are currently having. So most of the merchants will go in (to bid) as soon as possible rather than wait till August. That causes category A (small car COEs) to rise a bit. But in the coming month, at the second bidding, I believe that category A will definitely go up even higher."

The supply of COEs in category A is expected to fall substantially when the next six-monthly quota period starts from August.

The supply of COEs in the other categories, however, is expected to be mitigated by measures announced by the government last week.

A Porsche for a Chery

One man's Chery QQ is another man's Porsche Boxster Black Edition - if the Porsche man were shopping for a car in the United States, that is.

Soaring Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums and a robust Singapore dollar have made the cheapest passenger car here - the manual Chery QQ 0.8 - the equivalent of most European luxury badges elsewhere.

Even at a promotional net price of S$74,988, the Chery QQ gets you the Porsche Boxster Black Edition at US$55,200 (S$71,450) in the US. If it is any comfort, the Black Edition's drawback is the literal application of Henry Ford's motto - it only comes in black - while the Chery QQ comes in a cheerful orange.

Three weeks ago, the Chery QQ's normal selling price of S$94,988 would have priced it into the luxury car market in the toppermost of the poppermost of cities - Hong Kong, where an Audi A6 2.8 FSI quattro costs slightly less at HK$560,000 (S$93,400).

At S$94,988, the QQ's price tag is more COE than car - the S$58,001 premium for Category A cars at last count makes up 61 per cent of the final retail price.

But it is when you reach for the larger cars in Category B that you hit the supercar leagues overseas. The BMW 520i, a best-selling model, goes for S$250,800 as of its May price list - enough to get you a Ferrari in the US.

With Cat B premiums at $85,216 from the last bidding round, the BMW's price is 66:33 car-to-COE - practically the inverse situation of Cat A cars. Little wonder that the larger luxury cars have dealt humbler ones a spirited walloping.

Toyota used to easily outsell every other brand in the market. As recently as 2009 when it took pole position, 17,555 new Toyotas were registered - or 1,463 cars a month. Last year, just 297 Toyotas a month were registered.

There is little cause to have a complex if you're a Toyota man, though. A Toyota Corolla Altis here is the equal of a Jaguar XFR in the US.

There is little telling where this might go - the government's efforts to relieve the COE supply squeeze might be stymied by a lower vehicle deregistration rate.

COE prices fall across the board

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices fell across the board after the latest bidding exercise on Tuesday.

The biggest drop was in the big car category, where premiums fell S$6,834 to S$85,216.

The premiums for small cars also fell, down S$4,599 to close at S$58,001

The COE prices for the open category, which is mostly used for big cars, fell S$2,101 to end at S$86,889.

COEs for commercial vehicles also fell, going down S$1,447 to S$57,106.

Premiums for motorcycles also went down, dipping S$131 to S$1,890.

Car COE premiums reach another high

SINGAPORE - Premiums for car certificates of entitlement (COE) rose hit a high at the end of April's first bidding exercise at 4pm today (April 4).

A Category A COE - for small cars 1,600cc and below, including taxis - rose to $58,501, up from $56,501 in the previous bidding in March. Cat B climbed as well to $83,700 from $82,003 previously.

The Open Cat, normally used for cars, also saw a rise to $84,590 from $80,101.

These prices for car COEs have not been seen in recent years.

Cat C for commercial vehicles rose to $53,989 from $51,511. Cat D for motorcycles dipped to $1,896 from $2,000.

According to a Straits Times report, the rise was attributed to new car launches and renewed customer confidence stemming from a strong stock and property market.

April 1st bidding
Category	April 4	March 21
Cars (1600CC & below) & taxis	$58,501	$56,501
Cars (above 1,600CC)	$83,700	$82,003
Commercial vehicles	$53,989	$51,511
Motorcycles	$1,896	$2,000
Open category	$84,590	$80,101

Singapore's 'Lemon Law' passed in Parliament

Singapore's 'Lemon Law' was passed in Parliament today.

It is expected to come into force from September 1 this year, to allow sufficient transition time for the industry.

Lemon laws refer to laws protecting consumers against defective goods that fail to conform to contract, or meet satisfactory quality or performance standards at the time of purchase, colloquially known as "lemons".

It comprises amendments to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA), the Hire Purchase Act (HPA) and Road Traffic Act and covers all general consumer products purchased in Singapore (e.g. stationery, apparel, electronics, bedding, and big-ticket items such as motorcycles and cars).

The amendments will make the transactional process between buyer and seller more open and transparent, with clearer rules on the burden of proof, and more certainty about the recourses available.

With this in place, there will now be additional remedies beyond just rejecting the goods and getting a refund.

The retailer may first offer to repair or replace the defective good within a reasonable period of time and without significant inconvenience to the buyer. If this is not possible, the consumer may either keep the item and get a partial refund, or return the item and get a full refund.

The full refund amount will take into account the state of the good resulting from the consumer's use.

The Lemon Law will apply to defects found in goods up to the first six months, with the assumption that the defect already existed at the time of delivery, unless the retailer can prove otherwise or if the items have a short life span or consumable.

After six months, the consumer will need to prove that the defect existed at the time of delivery.

The Lemon Law would thus require retailers to ensure that their goods match their description as marketed and promoted. Descriptions include information and details on the good that can be found on the label, packaging, posters or any other print material, or given verbally by the sales representatives.

Retailers should also point out defects or limitations, if any, to the consumer before the consumer buys the good. They will not be held liable for defects which the consumer is proven to know about before he/she buys the goods.

To assist motor traders to defray costs and encourage them to offer replacements for lemon vehicles, the Ministry of Transport and the Land Transport Authority have also proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Act.

The amendment would allow the transfer of the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) and Certificate of Entitlement (COE) from a defective vehicle to a replacement vehicle, provided the defective vehicle meets a set of criteria.

COE prices up across the board

SINGAPORE - Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices moved upwards across all categories at the close of February's first bidding exercise today.

Premiums for Cat A - cars up to 1,600cc and taxis - registered a 9.8 per cent increase from last month's bidding to $52,809.

COE prices for cars above 1,600cc (Cat B) and the open category (Cat E) crossed the $70k mark, finishing at $73,890 and $73,801 respectively. This was an 8.8 per cent increase for Cat B and a 10 per cent jump for Cat E.

The open category can be used to register for any vehicle type but is usually used for big cars.


The goods vehicle and bus category, Cat C, saw the largest increase of 13.2 per cent from $44,001 to $49,801, which is also an all-time high.

COE premiums for motorcycles, Cat D, increased from $1,552 to $1,802.