Earlier this year, 31-year-old insurance agent Heng Kai Sheng got advances on three separate credit cards to the tune of S$150,000. With the money, he opened a share-financing account at a local bank and pledged the lot as collateral."As Asians, our parents always tell us ‘Don’t borrow money, repay your mortgage as soon as possible’,” said Heng, whose initial S$170,000 share portfolio now totals about S$135,000."But money is so cheap.
The increase comes as the nation’s benchmark equity gauge registered its worst quarter since the global financial crisis. There are also some suggestions retail investors may be using their homes as collateral to borrow money.