Editor :-Latest  Employee Provident Fund update on the monthly withdrawal scheme from Account 2 for the monthly mortgage payments. 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced yesterday that members with a minimum balance of RM600 in their Account 2 will be able to withdraw their savings for payment of their monthly housing loan instalments beginning Jan 1. 

EPF senior general manager (organisation development) Hizwani Hassan said the minimum monthly withdrawal that can be made was RM100 for a period of not less than six months, while the maximum amount should not exceed the total monthly housing instalment. 

“The savings in Account 2 allocated for this withdrawal cannot be used for other withdrawals,” he said in a statement, adding that members must also be below the age of 55 and not have any housing loan arrears. 

The monthly withdrawal facility, announced in the 2008 Budget, allows members to withdraw their savings from Account 2, with the payment being made directly to members’ personal bank accounts on a monthly basis.  Read more »

Editor :- I came across this interesting article on the Star newspaper on Saturday. Read it and feel free to share your comments with me. Kudos to S.DALI for publishing this article. 

THE Cost of Living (COL) survey by ECA International is carried out twice a year, comparing a basket of 128 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in over 300 locations worldwide. Multinational companies use the results to help compensate their internationally mobile staff. Living costs for expatriates are affected by inflation, availability of goods and exchange rates, all of which can have a significant impact on expatriate remuneration packages. They concluded the following on Asian cities:  

“In Asia, Seoul maintains its position as the most expensive city in Asia for expatriates, moving from 8th to 7th in the global ranking over the past 12 months. During the same period, Tokyo, Asia’s second most costly city, dropped out of the top ten for the first time moving from 10th to 13th.   A 6% overall rise in the cost of goods and services typically purchased by expatriates has meant that despite the weakening Hong Kong dollar, Hong Kong’s position in the ranking has remained steady and is still the fifth most expensive location in the region and ranked 79th worldwide.  The recent rise in GST in Singapore from 5% to 7% has contributed to pushing up living costs in Singapore, which has risen 10 places in the ranking since 2006. This, together with no change in Hong Kong’s position, means that the gap is closing between the two locations.”  Where does Malaysia stand? 

1       (7) Seoul 

2       (13) Tokyo 

5        (79) HK 

6        (94) Taipei 

7        (95) Beijing 

8        (100) Shanghai 

9       (122) Singapore 

11       (153) Jakarta 

18       (168) Bangkok 

24       (177) Mumbai 

25        (178) New Delhi 

29        (191) Manila 

32        (195) Hanoi 

33        (197) Kuala Lumpur 

35        (203) Karachi 

36       (204) Ho Chi Minh City 

  Read more »