The recent 2019-nCoV outbreak has caused the stock market to become volatile. At the point of writing this post, the Straits Time Index (“STI”) has fallen to 3163.15. With the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (“DORSCON”) level being changed to orange colour, people has avoided shopping malls. Believe me or not, malls such as Suntec City and Tampines Mall have become almost a dead town. I believe this should have some form of impact on the retail REITs in upcoming quarters.
In my recent post, I wrote about the impact of the current situation to OUE Commercial REIT which comprises of assets belonging to the hospitality sector. Based on 2019 tourist arrivals, 22% of tourist are from China.
At times like this, there are low risk instruments such as Fixed Deposits where we can park our monies for a short period of 12 months or less while waiting for the situation to turn for the better. According to the news, vaccine development can take up to 3 months and another 6 months for trial on humans.
I will leave it to you to read up on the Wuhan Virus. Below are the best fixed deposit promotions that I have found in February 2020 with CIMB offering the highest interest rate of 1.75% per annum as compared to other banks.
CIMB Fast Fixed Deposit Promotion
Interest rate: 1.75%, Minimum Placement: S$10,000, Promotion Valid Until: 29th February 2020
As compared to last month promotional rate of 1.80% per annum, the interest rate fell slightly to 1.75%. The total interest that you will receive if you place S$20,000 for 12 months is S$350.
Hong Leong Finance
Interest Rate: 1.60%, Minimum Placement: S$20,000, Promotion Valid Until: Not stated
The total interest that you will receive if you place S$20,000 for 10 months is S$266.66.
Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore)
Interest Rate: 1.55%, Minimum Placement: S$25,000, Promotion Valid Until: 29th February 2020
Unless you are a priority banking customer, otherwise you get an interest rate of 1.55% p.a. for a minimum place of S$25,000 with Standard Chartered Bank.
The interest that you will get is S$290.63 based on an interest rate of 1.55% p.a. for a placement of S$25,000 for 9 months.
If you are a priority customer, the interest that you will get is S$309.38 based on an interest rate of 1.65% p.a. for a placement of S$25,000 for 9 months.
MayBank Singapore Dollar Time Deposit
Interest Rate: 1.60%, Minimum Placement: S$20,000, Promotion Valid Until: Not stated
Maybank has maintained their fixed deposit interest rate of 1.60%. The total interest that you will receive if you place S$20,000 for 12 months is S$320.00. However, there are some catch should you choose to place your fixed deposit with MayBank
- You need to have a MayBank Current or Savings account.
- For every S$1,000 deposited into the CASA Account, S$10,000 can be placed into the Singapore Dollar Time Deposit, subject to a minimum of S$20,000 in Time Deposit and the corresponding minimum deposit of S$2,000 in the CASA Account.
Website FD rates once published, are not changed daily, but interest rates can fluctuate daily. This means that even if the website publishes a certain rate, your RM might be able to offer you a rate that is slightly more, eg: 0.1% more if interest rates have been rising since the time the webpage was published. Eg: couple months back I took up a 1.88% 9mth SGD FD even though website rate was lower.
Bottom line, check with your RM if there are any deals.
Hi L, thanks for sharing.