i don't need freebies. i need convenience for my family if i am not around any more. So for me, anything which makes life easier for them.

Plus, i do not trade in and out much. So charges for trustee fees is more impactful to me than the odd 0.1 % of brokerage for the cost of convenience.

Let's assume a simple scenario, whereby a person decides to invest RM 1000 (by transferring this RM 1000 from Malaysia to foreign country), in Stock Exchanges in foreign country.
Scenario 1:
After a year, this person gain a profit of RM 100 (from share capital gain, and dividend). The total amount that this person has in foreign banking account and foreign brokerage account is RM 1100.

This person then decides to remit RM 1000 back to Malaysia.  The actual profit of RM 100 is still being kept in foreign banking account.

In such scenario, this RM 1000 should not be taxed, because it is not foreign-sourced income, and it is just initial investment capital of this person.
Scenario 2:

Let's assume that the share price has dropped, and the investment amount has decreased from RM 1000, to RM 800, due to capital loss. Then, person then decides to remit RM 800 back to Malaysia.

In such scenario, this RM 800 should not be taxed, because it is not foreign-sourced income. Moreover, this person has suffered losses in his / her investment capital.
Are my understanding on both scenarios correct?
Thank you.

For reits, use FSM. I do not know how tiger or moomoo handle rights. But FSM is very easy for rights issue. All online.

Theoretically moomoo and tiger should also be online. But moomoo, tiger beats in term of interface, tools and fees.

If you don't want to fly into Singapore,
1) open cimb sg account online.
2) open moomoo/FSM online.
Bro, I planned to open moomoo not to get free shares. I open it cause my sg friend who use TD, Interactive broker said nice things about them. I planned to get it for two reasons
1) free real time data for share price.
2) free real time price for options

I have tiger but tiger real price sort of only works on shares. And I got free Starbucks share from it. Never sold.

Like I said, hit and run. After get the free shares, sell it, cash out, close account. Mo penalty for hit and run.

For credit card, apply for it and don't use it. After 6 months cancel. I read of one guy in lowyat forum doing that for Maybank visa signature. Every 6 months reapply cause don't want to pay annual fees.

For me, I only apply credit cards that I only use. Unless they are like US where they give you free USD2k to open new credit card account then maybe I will farm credit card. But Malaysia have no reach that stage yet, so no incentive for me to farm credit card with lousy welce.bonus.

Read all the terms and condition and fees before signing up for something. That's what I did. I make sure no platform fees, no yearly fees, no penalties before doing hit and run on brokerage.
Btw moomoo platform fees is when one carry out transaction only and it's not quarterly. And fees is still cheaper than local brokerage.

For me, only thing I farm is credit card cashback. Reasons
1) it's stupid to pay in cash
2) banks giving you free money take it
3) I use it on groceries, petrol so if I use cash, I won't get anything back.
4) I pay on-time and in full and banks never make money from me.
Let's wait until 2022.
Unlikely they let you claim.l. Govt no money already.
Agreed. Use to squeeze every drop guy. Now realised investment gains > small fees. But I still keep my cost low.

TOS

Thank you for correcting my understanding.
TOS and Ramjade
I do not have any intention to claim the tax refund against the losses in investment.
My point is that we can remit the money back to Malaysia without being taxed, as long as we can prove that the money is either our original investment capital, or due to capital gain.
As such, to show that the money is our original investment capital, we need to show that the money we remit back is either smaller than, or same as the money that we previously transferred out, by showing the receipts from Sunway Money, Wise, Instarem, or any other legitimate online money remittance provider.
On the other hand, to prove that the money is due to capital gain, we need to show that the trade confirmation receipts from the brokerage, for buy and sell transactions.
For sure, in real life, it is not straight forward to prove that the money is either our original investment capital, or due to capital gain. Anyhow, this should be the concept.

OMG .. thats a lot of paperwork! my investment started more than 10 yrs ago..

I will just refer to this paragraph : On the impact of the proposed action, he said: “My own understanding of this is that whatever foreign income… that one brings back is taxable.

That one brings back is taxable. This very statement itself will void many tax-deductible amounts for individuals. We just let the amount stay out there and that's it.

Just bring back the min amount so won't kena tax. I am sure there's a threshold say only RM10k/year. And only if you really need it.

Following is a good article : https://globalisationguide.org/tax/world-taxation-systems/

Extracts from the above article :-

4. The Non-Dom-System

This tax system is a hybrid between the residence-based and the territorial-based tax systems. It differientiates between “domicile” and “residence”.
What is your domicile?

The domicile is the country you spend most of your life in. It is generally the country your father considered his permanent home. Most of your family may still live there, and you may be planning to return to it in the future.
What is your residence?

Your residence in this constellation is the place where you live.

If an individual has his home in a non-dom country that is not his domicile, then the territorial tax system applies to him. For example, a German that lives in the UK. Every foreigner living in that country like that becomes a non-dom.

Nationals of the respective country aren’t non-doms, since their residence and domicile are one and the same. For them, the residence-based tax system applies.

Additionaly many non-dom-countries have CFC-rules. In many cases they only apply to their own citizens though, not to non-doms.

There are some differences to territorial taxation, like the so-called “remittance base”. The remittance base states, that foreign income is tax-free, until it’s being transfered into the country.

A few interesting countries that use the non-dom-system are:

🇬🇧 The United Kingdom
🇨🇾 Cyprus
🇲🇹 Malta
🇮🇪 Ireland

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anybody here can find information of a 'remittance base' taxation method of a practising ctry, then we will know how this would be implemented. No need to have so much guesswork here and there,... Msia is still a Territorial Tax System practitioner, NOT a Citizenship-based Taxation NOR a Residential-based Taxation practitioner.

what is not taxable locally should not be taxable when foreign sourced...

Companies & Markets
MARK TO MARKET; Disgruntled ARA Logos unitholders should vote
Ben Paul
Ben Paul , Disgruntled ARA Logos unitholders should vote
1399 words
8 November 2021
Business Times Singapore
STBT
English
© 2021 SPH Media Limited
Reit mergers are driven by property market dynamics and shifting priorites of real estate groups rather than the pursuit of size

SOME readers of The Business Times took umbrage at this column's suggestion a fortnight ago that minority unitholders of ARA Logos Logistics Trust might choose to support its proposed merger with ESR-Reit.

The point I was making was that once ESR Cayman acquires ARA Asset Management, there is likely to be uncertainty as to which of the two real estate investment trusts (Reits) will benefit from the asset pipeline of their combined parent group. A merger of ARA Logos and ESR-Reit would negate this issue of their overlapping mandates.

The problem is that the terms of the proposed merger obviously favour unitholders of ESR-Reit over unitholders of ARA Logos. Indeed, the merger announcement on Oct 15 immediately triggered a sell-off in ARA Logos versus ESR-Reit.

Moreover, while ARA Logos is smaller than ESR-Reit, it has a higher concentration of in-demand logistics properties and its units are trading at higher valuations. It is arguably in a better position than ESR-Reit to grow by issuing new units and acquiring assets.

The blowback this column received from readers was a reminder to me that the market is driven by return-maximising self-interest. Achieving some greater good is fine as long as it is somebody else who is getting the short end of the stick.

But investors should consider the big picture in order to see through the self-serving narratives surrounding Reit mergers, and gain an understanding of why these deals are happening.

Is bigger better?

Every Reit merger proposal over the last couple of years has sidestepped complaints of unfairness by emphasising the notion that bigger is better; and that all unitholders will share the spoils of the combined entity's heft.

It's a brilliant justification, because it's true. A Reit merger, by definition, creates a larger Reit with a more diverse property portfolio that offers more opportunity for active management. Larger Reits also tend to have more options when it comes to capital raising, especially on the debt front.

Yet increased size does not guarantee immediate outperformance, which makes it possible to explain away poor returns after the mergers are concluded.

Take the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) and CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT).

Since the deal was announced in January 2020, CMT - which is now called CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) - has delivered a total return of minus 10 per cent (up to end-October 2021). The FTSE ST Reit Index returned minus 0.7 per cent over the same period.

This relatively poor performance was obviously due to the pandemic, which was especially hard on owners of retail properties - so much for the benefits of CICT's bigger and more diverse portfolio.

In another case: ESR-Reit has delivered a total return of 17.2 per cent since its merger with Viva Industrial Trust was announced in May 2018.

During the same period, the FTSE ST Reit Index returned 28.8 per cent. Sector leaders Ascendas Reit, Mapletree Industrial Trust (MINT) and Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) returned 40.2 per cent, 65.8 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively.

The manager of ESR-Reit recently told me Ascendas Reit, MINT and MLT performed better probably because they were bigger, linked to Temasek Holdings, and held a higher proportion of freehold assets - all of which has helped them garner a stronger investor base and raise funds more easily.

One Reit that has done well post-merger is Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT). Originally known as Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT), it announced plans to merge with Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) in December 2019.

Since then it has delivered a total return of 35.6 per cent, far outpacing the FTSE ST Reit Index's total return of 3 per cent. It also outperformed Ascendas Reit, MINT and MLT, which returned 12.5 per cent, 18.8 per cent and 28.3 per cent, respectively.

Shifting priorities

In my view, the real driver of Reit mergers is not the pursuit of size but the dynamics of the commercial property market and the shifting priorities of the real estate groups behind the Reits.

For example, the merger of CMT and CCT took place against the backdrop of the CapitaLand group trying to downplay its exposure to retail property and garner a better market valuation for itself.

Just before combining CMT and CCT, CapitaLand acquired Ascendas Singbridge to gain exposure to logistics properties and business parks. It has since restructured itself into a real estate investment manager and renamed itself CapitaLand Investment.

Some investors will also remember that when FCOT was listed in 2006 it was known as Allco Commercial Reit and belonged to Australia's Allco Finance Group. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, Fraser and Neave (F&N) bought the Reit's manager as well as a stake in the Reit.

F&N was then itself taken over by vehicles controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. The group's property arm was then spun out, and it went on to acquire Australand. FLT was listed in 2016.

Given all these changes, it is perhaps no wonder that a decision was taken to merge the legacy FCOT with its newer sister Reit.

As for the soon-to-be enlarged ESR Cayman group, the three Singapore-listed Reits under its umbrella - ARA Logos, ESR-Reit and Sabana Industrial Reit - were all once linked to other corporate groups.

ESR-Reit was once known as Cambridge Industrial Trust, while ARA Logos was originally known as Cache Logistics Trust.

Unitholders should vote

If the bigger-is-better rationale for Reit mergers is just an eyewash, and their real purpose is to enable Reit sponsors to reposition themselves, investors should be all the more concerned about whether their interests are adequately protected.

Unfortunately, the crucial protections investors rely upon in these situations are sometimes ineffective.

This column has previously pointed out that the board of Sabana Reit's manager - which consisted entirely of independent directors (IDs) - recommended a merger with ESR-Reit last year on terms that would have valued Sabana Reit at significant discount to its book value.

Independent financial advisers (IFAs) appointed to advise IDs are also constrained by terms of reference that might prevent them from fully examining the pros and cons of a merger proposal.

Minority investors would benefit from greater regulatory scrutiny of the independence of IDs, and the work of IFAs. Some investors would also like to see it become easier in practical terms to change the manager of a Reit.

For now, however, minority unitholders should protect their interests by taking every opportunity to vote.

Dissident unitholders of Sabana Reit managed to scupper its proposed merger with ESR-Reit by voting against the resolution to amend the Reit's trust deed, a crucial part of the merger process that required 75 per cent support to pass.

Just over 576.2 million units were voted on that resolution, out of a total outstanding 1,053.1 million units. Almost 384.2 million units voted in favour, and almost 192 million voted against. In effect, it only took 18.2 per cent of Sabana Reit's outstanding units to block the deal.

Could this happen at ARA Logos?

Its sponsor and manager currently hold less than 13 per cent of its units. Ivanhoe Cambridge Asia, which has provided an undertaking to support the merger, holds a further 8.7 per cent of the Reit.

It is also worth noting that participation at the Reit's last AGM was relatively low - less than 29 per cent of its units were voted on the first three resolutions.

All things considered, it might not take that much for unitholders of ARA Logos to sink the merger.

If they are really convinced that the merger is worse than ARA Logos and ESR-Reit having overlapping mandates, they should stop complaining and rally one another to vote.

Hi fellow bro and sis, I freshie that just starting to look for some investment, and I am interest to invest S-REITs for the dividend.

From what I research, there is a few steps.

1.) Open a Singapore Bank Account.
i Citibank
ii. DBS / POSB (I choose POSB My Account)
iii. HSBC
iv. OCBC
v. Standard Chartered Bank
vi. UOB

2.) Look for a broker, and register an account
i. Saxo
ii. Tiger
iii. Standard Chartered
iv. PhillipCapital
v. OCBC Securities
vi. UOB Kay Hian
vii. DBS Vickers
viii. moomoo

which I see many people recommending Tiger and Moomoo

3. Open a CDP account at https://investors.sgx.com/cdp-account-openi.../form-selection. I heard broker will help you open if you do not have one, not sure true or not, and the fees.

If there is mistake in my steps, hope someone pointing it out, thanks.

Just go with cimb sg. It's the easiest one for Malaysians to open as it is all online. No need to visit SG. Wrong. The best way to send money to SG is using Sunway Money. Don't bother with MY banks -> banks unless you want to lose 2-3% upfront. However, I do recommend using Cimb SG -> Cimb MY as they have the best rate.

If you are just going to buy reits, be prepared to cough up cash every now and then for rights issue by reits. If you are not ready to cough up cash for rights issue, then you need to think is reits really for. It's inevitable.
Go with FSM SG. They deal with rights issue very well. Can even apply for access all from online. They are not useful for US stocks, unit trust. Avoid them totally for US stocks, unit trust. 
Saxo all marketing and fees. Do not recommend them at all. Avoid.
PhillipCapital, OCBC Securities, UOB Kay Hian all fees only if you are using custodian account (quarterly platform fees)
DBS Vickers only useful if you want to open DBS account. Otherwise, not useful.
Standard Chartered high forex fees, they restrict you by preventing you from buying some US reits listed in SG. Hard for Malaysians to open. I will give it a skip.
Tiger, moomoo good for farming free shares and get instant 10% return by getting free shares. Keep in mind you can cash out the free shares after getting them and close account. No penalty. They are useful for US stocks if you don't want to use Interactive broker. I personally use Tiger for real time price for my US stocks as Interactive Broker does not have real time quotes and I am too cheap to pay for them. I do not know how they handle rights issue as I never use them for rights issue. I just use them for free real time US stock price.

Interactive broker, Highly recommended for US, HK, UK, AU, Canada, Europe stocks over anybody else. Super cheap commission and spot rate conversion (real time forex rate without any markup) and no platform or inactivity fess. Where can you find a broker which give you spot rates for converting your money and access to so many markets? Highly recommended.

Don't bother about CDP if you are buying reits. Why? If you don't have SG address and don't have access to a SG atm machine or access to a relationship manager, you cannot participate in rights issue. That's why I reocmmend FSM SG only for reits.

If it's too long, quick and short version to have
1. Cimb SG bank acocunt
2.Sunway money
3. Cimb Malaysia bank acccunt
4. Moomoo - for real time US stock price
5. FSM SG - for reits
6. Interactive broker - for other overseas holdings except sg reits.

Keep in mind I am writing this as someone who doesn't have priority/private banking in SG/SG address. Just your regular poor Malaysian. So if you have priority/private banking in SG/SG address, the above quick and dirty tutorial might not be suitable for you.
Wrong. Even as a nominee/custodian account, you get to attend the AGM. Only need to inform your brokerage that you want to attend. But like you said need extra work.
Wrong. You don't need a SG address. I registered with a Malaysian address.

Unless you are a whale or hold substantial amount say 5% of the reits holding, your voice doesn't matter.

If I would like to participate in the right issues, can I use my sister Singapore address? My sister live in Singapore.

I dun mind buying more share with discounted price, as long as they are expending the business (more dividend in the future perhaps), instead of repaying their loan.

Hello, I was wondering any one here are still buying or monitoring SG Reits at the moment?

I looking at Mapletree's MCT, MIT, MLT. At the moment MIT looks good to me, YTD -7% already