Regular features from September 2006 129th Issue

That's exactly what all investors want but very few can achieve this, mainly because the very concept is a myth. This month I want to examine what comes near to this idyllic state. When you can average around 10% a year on a relatively low risk investment you are as near to as good as is possible.

I have discussed some of these investments before in these pages but a recent reminder from the British company Friends Provident prompts me to discuss it again. Also I think if you are a nervous investor there are not too many opportunities to get a decent return without exposing yourself to much higher risk than the “Brandeaux ground rent income fund” and the “Brandeaux student accommodation fund”. These are particularly attractive investments for the sterling investor.

Now in their 10th successful year they boast an average annualized performance of over 10%. These funds are open for direct investment for a limited period and while Friends Provident have mirror funds on these two successful funds, which can be accessed through their regular bond, it in my opinion is always better to invest directly into the funds through a portfolio bond.

The workings of a student accommodation fund are selfevident and I will talk a little about it later. Perhaps the ground rent fund requires a little explanation. So how does it work?

The landowner (Freeholder) leases the land on which the apartment is built.

The occupier of the house or apartment pays ground rent for a fixed term (99/999years) for use of the land.

CAPITAL GROWTH - there is an active market in freehold investment. When the opportunity arises the assets are sold to create additional capital gains.

LEASE EXTENSIONS - premiums and increased rent arises as a result of extending leases.

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES - premiums are received when leasehold covenants require consent for alteration or development of a property.

LOW RISK IS ACHIEVED THROUGH

Security of fund: income payment of rent assured and building reverts to the freeholder for non-payment. Long-term stability: Typical terms are 99 years to 999 years.

Compare that to long dated gilts 15-20 years. Limited supply of Assets: Unlike physical property, land in populated urban areas is in limited supply. On expiry of the lease the freeholder can renew the terms advantageously.

Total performance since launch 146%

This particular fund owns approximately 12,000 residential ground rent properties located throughout the UK . There is concentration of investment in the affluent London boroughs of Chelsea , Knightsbridge, Kensington and Mayfair . Anyone who knows London must be well aware that there are few better investment areas than these. As stated I don't need to explain how a student accommodation fund works.

Brandeaux is run by former Capital & Regional founder Roger Boyland and they have just paid STG 190 Million for seven properties in Cardiff , Coventry , Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle . This brings the value of assets to over 1 billion Sterling Mr. Boyland is quoted as saying “Student housing offers lower volatility. There is tremendous investor appetite for our funds in this sector”. He added that the sector offered attractive yields and growth.

For me what's attractive about these investments for investors is that irrespective of price increases or falls in the property market, this type of property investment is immune. The ground rent fund, centred as it is around the affluent London boroughs mentioned, will generate income irrespective of price and the same thing applies to the students fund.

Students will always need good accommodation and affluent parents will always want to give whatever advantage they can to their offspring. Accommodation in a Brandeaux property is a great start.

To put the investment risk into perspective let's look at Friends Provident rating system.

They have a rating system on their funds from one to five.

Very conservative is rated 1, speculative is rated 5.

These two funds are rated 2.

If you have always been afraid of the markets and you are British living on a pension and the income from a lump sum, then I think this could be the product for you. You can take a maximum of 10% income per year and this can be paid into your bank account in Hua Hin or Cha Am.

For further information please contact:

jerry@swissinvestcenter.net

MAG'S PAGE

Well folks, it's back to normal (whatever that is) after the most perfectly timed period of sickness in the history of weather forecasting.

And what do the Brits do? Moan. If only I had a fiver for every ‘Phew- its a hot one again'. The trouble is that you find yourself nodding agreement to avoid possible Bus Stop Rage, when in fact what you really want to do is tell them to get a grip, chill out and make the most of it. Come January those same people will be moaning about the cold. Even my favourite Al Fresco caff was deserted one afternoon because none of the tables were in the shade. The owner was so bored he was reduced to cleaning out the deep fryer, and as we ladies know that is SERIOUS boredom. Hello there - ever heard of freebie Coke sun umbrellas? Talking of caffs, enforced leisure time does provide opportunities to meet up with friends and do the ‘Ladies Who Lunch' thing. Very pleasant it can be too, if you are a nonsmoker addicted to the latest food fad - PanBloodyNinis. Whoever invented these under filled and overpriced chunks of white stodgy dough deserves a cholesterol level of 50+ Pub lunches don't fare much better either. Ordering the curry and rice special one day I was asked if I wanted chips on the side as well, when the curry itself already contained potato. Perversely the eating out habits of the Nation are accepted as perfectly OK, providing they do not smoke in the same establishment. But try parking yourself at an outside table to sneak a quick drag in reasonable safety from prosecution and what happens? Your friends hustle you back indoors, away from those nasty UV rays.

The anti-smoking lobby is of course reaching epidemic proportions in the UK, with even more draconian measures due to be introduced next year. Personally I wouldn't have a problem if the Powers That Be introduced fines for dropping cigarette ends in the street, providing the unseen army of chewing gum droppers could be fined as well. But a total smoking ban in pubs and clubs is going a step too far. Even more bizarrely I was told in one pub, which still has a smoking area (some have introduced the ban early) that ‘Sorry we can't serve food in the smoking area'. I wonder if that includes crisps? While on the subject of food - why is it that the majority of hospital nurses seem to be overweight? Well they are, aren't they? And the ones who work nights are even larger than their day-shift sisters. It must be a Health Service ploy to subdue post-operative patients during the first night of 2 hourly checks.

Believe me, no one in their right mind is going to object to an over tight blood pressure cuff and a quick check ‘down below' when faced with The Battleship, pleasant as she might be. ‘Not sleeping are we dear?' Well no, we thought we would keep you company actually. The truth of course is that we just lie awake waiting for the next twitch of the curtain. And why does this dual ‘we' persona suddenly appear at your side in a hospital bed? It brings back memories of dear old Khun Thatcher emerging from No.10 and announcing to the world ‘We are a Grandmother' in such quietly reverent tones that everyone thought she was running for Queen in the next election.

Finally - please spare a thought for the worlds chickens, who have really suffered a bad press in recent years. Now a few lucky chucks can jump for joy. These select few lay eggs for the Co-operative Retail Society in the UK, which markets eggs under the RSPCA's Freedom Food Scheme. This scheme aims to ensure that (and I quote from the lid of an egg carton) ‘The hens have enjoyed freedom from fear and distress, pain, injury and disease, hunger and thirst, discomfort, and freedom to express normal behaviour.

World leaders please take note

Pub Quiz

Another two cracking quizzes have taken place up at Dicks Office this month. The turn out is consistently high so it can't be too bad an evening. The quizmasters, Terry & Hugo, vary subjects to ensure a diverse set of questions. Some of the rounds that have come up recently include; aviation, board games, music, minor sports, film, 17th century and of course the weekly picture round.

The last quiz (August13th) was full of drama, what with three teams level on points going in to the last question round. With one of the teams dropping away Jockey and Liz were left to do battle with Robbie, Dave and Wij over the final round, the notorious picture round. Most of the teams identified the theme, which was colours, and scores were high. The two teams at the top finished with 11 out of 12 with the ‘Gold Finch' and the ‘Cleveland Browns' causing a problem. This resulted in only the second tie in Hua Hin quiz night history and a dramatic tiebreaker was ahead. The tiebreak question was ‘How many Indonesian islands and islets are there?' Liz and Jockey were not far away and their answer was good enough to make them the evening's winners. It was a fitting end to a great night that by all accounts was enjoyed by all, and certainly so by the quizmasters.

So if you fancy a fun evening and are willing to test your wits against the quizmasters then come down to Dicks Office where quizzes take place every other Sunday. The quiz starts around 19:30 / 20:00. The next few quizzes will be taking place on the 27th August, the 10th & 24 th September.

We look forward to seeing you there. Recent questions include?

Who was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic ?

Name the 6 murder weapons in the game Cluedo?

What was the name of the Spanish king that sent his unsuccessful Armada?

Thomas Ravelli is the most capped footballer for which country?

Dick's Office is also trying to arrange a regular ‘games' evening, ranging from chess and draughts through to backgammon and dominoes or even Scrabble! Please contact Richard on 09 021 1057, via email on huahindick@hotmail.com , or just pop into the bar located in Soi Sarawat (map reference L27) if you are interested in a little board game distraction

THE TICKET Music Review

Razorlight are an Anglo-Swedish band formed in England in the summer of 2002 around 22-year old singer/writer Johnny Borrell. Borrell is one of “The Dalston Set”, a clique of indie notables connected to the early days of the London scene of the early 2000s, along with Dominic Masters of The Others, Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, John Hassall and the Queens of Noize. It has been reported that he was briefly a stand-in bassist for The Libertines before they were signed, but in recent interviews he has claimed that this is not true. The band consists of: Johnny Borrell - vocals, guitar; Björn Ågren – guitar; Carl Dalemo – bass; Andy Burrows - drums (since 2004); Christian (Smith) Pancorvo - drums (2003-2004)

Their debut album, Up All Night, was released in the summer of 2004, reaching number 3 in the UK album charts. The critical reception was generally good, receiving good reviews from NME, Q magazine and Billboard, although they were also accused of lack of imagination and unoriginality for allegedly borrowing ideas from other influential bands, notably The Strokes. They appear to polarise opinion. NME wrote that the album: “bristles with passion, energy and, most importantly, amazing songs”, while they were described elsewhere as “nearly everything wrong with rock and roll today”. The BBC were fulsome in their praise of the debut album, “Up All Night is a record that shines from start to finish. With a debut this good, Razorlight are a band that deserve to do very, very well.” Their fans, though, embrace the music for its simple melodies and multi-layered, easygoing compositions.

Razorlight released their eponymous second album on July 17 2006. The album was welcomed with critical acclaim, getting strong reviews. Q lavished praise on the album stating, “There are many things to cherish about this record... its length, sound, simplicity, sheer brass balls and its songs... And if making the best guitar album since Definitely Maybe is what's required, then job done. 5/5”, whilst NME gave it 8/10 and The Times, The Independent & Guardian all gave the album 4/5, sparking a strong return for the band. However, there were disagreeing voices, most notably in The Sunday Times review on the 16 July, which gave it 1/5 and called it a ‘painful' listen. Not that it did the album any harm as it went straight to #1 in the UK .

The BBC review of the new album stated, “If Razorlight's debut, Up All Night, was a tabloid tale of rock and roll excess, this is their Sunday supplement confessional. With the bottle drained and the dance floors well and truly ripped up, it's time for Razorlight to sober up and settle down. This is a surprisingly mellow record, considering what came before. Raucous power chords are out, allowing Björn Ågren's impressively precise, chiming fretwork to take centre stage. At 35 minutes Razorlight is a frustratingly fleeting listen, and Borrell's lyrics certainly don't make waves. Nevertheless, as a brother to Up All Night, it makes perfect sense.”

Crud Magazine said, “Loss of focal points, if anything, characterises the transition between ‘Up All Night' and this identity crisis sophomore effort. First impressions are of careful, smooth pop-rock minimalists, like if you booted the side of the mixing desk all the expected aggro would tumble back out and right that error. Guitars sketch the outlines of songs but are sort of apologetic by nature, and almost entirely unacquainted with the distortion pedal.”

It appears that again the band have polarised opinion, and have alienated some of the fans of the first album with the second, by making their sound lighter and more US radio friendly, which is maybe too obvious a commercial step for them to have taken. However in doing so, they have widened their audience; who knows what will emerge as their third album?

Once again it appears that, like Marmite, you either love or hate Razorlight!

Asia Times Online

MYANMAR & N.KOREA SHARE A TUNNEL VISION

Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council last year abruptly moved the country's capital to a secluded location near the mountainous town of Pyinmana, 400 kilometers north of Yangon, where the SPDC has built an entirely new city in the jungle.

Ordinary citizens do not have the right to enter the new capital, Nay Pyi Daw, which is populated entirely by soldiers and government officials. During the March 27 Armed Forces Day celebrations held there, civilian diplomats were barred from attending and only foreign defense attaches were invited.

North Koreans, however, are allowed unfettered access to the secluded new capital. Last month, Asian intelligence agencies intercepted a message from Nay Pyi Daw confirming the arrival of a group of North Korean tunneling experts at the site. Nay Pyi Daw is in the foothills of Myanmar 's eastern mountains, and it has long been suspected by Yangon-based diplomats that the most sensitive military installations in the new capital would be relocated underground.

The SPDC's apparent fear of a preemptive US invasion or being the target of US air strikes was seen as a major motivation behind the junta's decision to move the capital to what they perceive to be a safer mountainous location. The administration of US President George W Bush has publicly lumped Myanmar with what it considers rogue regimes, and US officials have recently referred to Myanmar as an “outpost of tyranny”. That perceived threat has drawn Myanmar and North Korea closer together in recent months. One key component of those growing strategic ties is North Korea 's expertise in tunneling. Pyongyang is known to have dug extensive tunnels under the demarcation line with South Korea as part of contingency invasion plans. Most of Pyongyang 's own defense industries, including its chemical- and biological-weapons programs, and many other military installations are underground. This includes known factories at Ganggye and Sakchu, where thousands of technicians and workers labor in a maze of tunnels dug into and under mountains. The United States suspects there could be hundreds of underground military-oriented sites scattered across North Korea .

Curious connection

Myanmar 's curious North Korean connection has been the subject of much strategic speculation ever since it was first disclosed in the Far Eastern Economic Review in 2003. Preliminary reports were met with skepticism because Myanmar (then known as Burma) had severed diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1983 after three secret agents planted a bomb at Yangon's Martyrs' Mausoleum and killed 18 visiting South Korean officials, including then-deputy prime minister So Suk-chun and three other government ministers.

One of the North Korean agents, Kim Chi-o, was killed by Burmese security forces in the ensuing gun battle, while the others, Zin Mo and Kang Minchul, were captured. Two years later, Zin, a North Korean army major, was hanged at Insein jail on the outskirts of the then-capital Rangoon ( Yangon ), while Kang was spared because he cooperated with the prosecution. Kang still languishes in Insein, but is reported to be staying in the so-called “Villa Wing” - a small private house with a tiny garden surrounded by high barbed-wire fences.

Reports about renewed ties between the two pariah nations gradually began to emerge - and it seems that Kang, unwittingly, was the reason the relationship was restored. In the early 1990s, secret meetings were held in Bangkok between North Korea 's and Myanmar 's ambassadors to Thailand . Pyongyang negotiated for Myanmar to extradite Kang, presumably because it wanted to punish him for betraying the “fatherland”.

But the two sides soon discovered that they actually had much more in common than their unfortunate history. Both authoritarian countries were coming under unprecedented in ternational condemnation, especially by the US . Moreover, Myanmar needed more military hardware to battle ethnic insurgent groups and North Korea was willing to accept barter deals for the armaments, an arrangement that suited the cashstrapped generals in Yangon .

The bilateral relationship has reportedly intensified in recent years as both countries come under heavy US pressure.

“They have both drawn their wagons into a circle ready to defend themselves,” a Bangkok - based Western diplomat said in reference to Myanmar - North Korean ties, adding that Myanmar 's generals “admire the North Koreans for standing up to the United States and wish they could do the same. But they haven't got the same bargaining power as the North Koreans.”

Recent regional media reports about North Korea possibly providing nuclear know-how to Myanmar 's generals are probably off the mark - at least for now. That said, North Korea has definitely been an important source of military hardware for Myanmar . According to Myanmar expert Andrew Selth, of Australia , the state in late 1998 purchased between 12 and 16 130-millimeter M-46 field guns from North Korea .

“While based on a 1950s Russian design, these weapons were battletested and reliable,” Selth stated in “ Myanmar 's North Korean Gambit:

A Challenge to Regional Security?”

A working paper he published with the Australian National University in 2004. “They significantly increased Myanmar 's long-range artillery capabilities, which were then very weak.”

SECRET VISITS. According to South Korean intelligence sources, a delegation from Myanmar made a secret visit to Pyongyang in November 2000, where the two sides held talks with high-ranking officials of North Korea 's Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. In June 2001, a highlevel North Korean delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Park Kil-yon paid a return visit to Yangon, where it met Myanmar 's Deputy Defense Minister Khin Maung Win and reportedly discussed defense-industry cooperation.

The two sides reportedly did not discuss the reopening of official ties, still severed since the 1983 bombing incident. The cooperation has instead been kept low-key and purposefully not officially announced.

“It's a marriage of convenience,” said an Asian diplomat who is tracking the expanding ties. “They share common interests and a common mindset. But [ Myanmar ] doesn't want to be seen as having forgiven North Korea for the [Yangon] bombing, or to antagonize South Korea , which has become an important trade partner.”

North Korea and Myanmar are apparently only pursuing conventional arms sales and technology transfers, rather than high-tech weapons sales such as long-range missiles. To date, the most advanced weaponry that North Korea has delivered, or may be considering delivering, are surface-tosurface missiles (SSMs) for Myanmar 's naval vessels. Myanmar currently has six Houxin guided-missile patrol boats, which were bought from China in the mid-1990s, according to Selth. Based at Myanmar 's main naval facility at Monkey Point in Yangon , each vessel is armed with four C-801 “Eagle Strike” anti-ship cruise missiles. Selth speculates that similar SSMs will be mounted on the three new corvettes that have recently been built at Yangon 's Sinmalaik shipyard, or on to the navy's ‘66our new Myanmarclass patrol boats, which have likewise recently been built in local shipyards. In July 2003, between 15 and 20 North Korean technicians were seen by intelligence sources at Monkey Point and later at a secluded Defense Ministry guesthouse in a northern suburb of the then-capital. North Korean technicians have since been spotted near the central Myanmar town of Natmauk - which led to the assumption they were involved in Myanmar 's nuclear program because of its proximity to the site where Russia had planned to build a nuclear research reactor starting in 2000. There is no evidence to indicate that Russia ever delivered the reactor, however. Myanmar 's cash-strapped generals reportedly could not afford the ticket price, and unlike North Korea , Russia was not willing to accept the barter deal Myanmar had proposed. Nevertheless, several hundred Myanmar residents have gone to Russia for training in nuclear technology over the past five years, a strong suggestion that Myanmar has not entirely abandoned its nuclear ambitions.

The North Koreans now situated in central Myanmar are most likely there to help the SPDC protect its military hardware and other sensitive material from perceived US threats. In 2003, Myanmar 's generals built a massive bunker near the central town of Taungdwingyi with North Korean assistance. The recent arrival of North Korean tunneling experts at Nay Pyi Daw lends credence to the suggestion that they are construction engineers with expertise in tunneling rather than nuclear physicists. Still, the regional strategic implications of a North Korea-Myanmar defense relationship are similar. Rather than making Myanmar more secure and cash-strapped North Korea richer, news of the two sides growing strategic ties will likely lead to further international condemnation of both regimes.

Furthermore, Myanmar is a member to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and fellow members such as Thailand , Singapore and Malaysia are not likely to accept passively any sort of North Korean military presence within the geographical bloc. There have recently been calls to expel Myanmar from ASEAN for its abysmal human-rights record and lack of progress toward democracy. By forging an alliance with Pyongyang , according to Selth , Myanmar 's generals may in fact be encouraging the very development that it fears the most: active outside intervention in what they consider to be their “internal affairs”.

Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin

Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073

Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543

Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901

Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443

Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401

Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406

Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135

Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7

Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407

Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211

Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199

Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471

Local water supply
032-511 677

The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165

Observer office:
032-531 078

Red Cross.
032-512 567

San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85

Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425

Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620

The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351

Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza

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