drbubb

TI : "Henderson's results came out yesterday. Latest NAV $82.77. Share price $40.50. Discount: 51%. Dividend was increased by 10% over last year. Good pipeline of projects for the next few years. I probably won't buy any more on market but will take up my full entitlement under the dividend reinvestment plan." Buying HK-12 at/near $40, is buying at a very interesting juncture HK-12 / Henderson Land ... update-5yrs : 1-year The longer term chart ( 10-years ) suggests to me that the price of HK-12 may fall a bit further, such as $35-37

Yes, they are looking cheap on a discount to NAV basis Have you followed the link to read the report? There are some charts in there showing the Discount over time, and it is near the bottom of the LT historical range (I mean, the ratio is showing close to the widest discounts - cheapest valuations . It is near, but not quite 2x s.d's away from the mean, and turns are usually just over 2x standard deviations from mean valuation.) To put it another way, when the average Discount EXCEEDS 50%, it is usually a turning point. The Latest report shows: - 42%, so maybe prices could fall another 15% or so to hit 50% plus.

HONG KONG PROPERTY Developers - per JP Morgan VALUATIONS - and Discounts to NAV Biggest Discounts (see more below) Company-------- : -Symbol- : $Price: Targ : Ups Nav : Disc. : P/E yld. P/B Kerry Properties : 0683.HK : 25.40 29.80 : 17% 59.6 -57% : 10.2 3.3 0.48 Great Eagle------ : 0041.HK : 27.10 26.00 : - 4% 62.5 -57% : 10.4 2.4 0.33 New World Dev. : 0017.HK : $9.97 11.10 : 11% 20.6 -52% : 08.9 4.2 0.44 SunHungK Prop : 0016.HK : 94.10 113.0 : 20% 176. -46% : 11.8 3.6 0.65 Hysan Develop.. : 0014.HK : 32.95 36.20 : 10% 58.4 -44% : 16.5 3.5 0.59 Wharf Holdings . : 0004.HK : 52.90 66.00 : 25% 93.4 -43% : 12.0 3.3 0.61 ============= Why are companies not buying back shares? None of the Hong Kong property companies are actively managing their capital. One of the developers’ most common arguments is that they will need to preserve capital to prepare themselves for a speedy response to any potential investment opportunities. We think this is why we are seeing only major shareholders buying the company’s shares, but not any major corporate buybacks. However, is this really justifiable? Buying land is not necessarily more accretive than buying back shares. Buying back shares can enhance both book value per share and ROE when developers are trading at a steep discount to book value. The same amount of capital should be deployed to property development unless it can generate an equivalent return and book value enhancement. Our analysis suggests developers would require at least a 40% margin in order to justify them not buying back their shares. The only exception is Cheung Kong, which has a pretty light hurdle rate of a required margin of 22%. Will developers think economically? We believe the answer is "No". Gearing is one concern which we think limits the ability to buy back shares or purchase land in the case of NWD and Kerry Properties. Otherwise, either developers believe they can achieve such a margin in the long term if land prices are actually falling, or managements do not mind if their companies continue to trade at a discount to book. Cheung Kong is the company we expect to face the least pressures from shareholders for active capital management as it has been managing it quite well, and a required development margin of 22% is not that difficult to achieve. Table 2: Hong Kong property: Valuation summary Company-------- : -Symbol- : $Price: Targ : Ups Nav : Disc.: P/E : yield : P/B Cheung Kong--- : 0001.HK : 126.3 154.0 : 22% 189. -33% : 09.4 : 2.8% 0.74 HendersonLand : 0012.HK : 43.60 45.30 : 04% 76.2 -43% : 14.7 : 2.4% 0.53 Kerry Properties : 0683.HK : 25.40 29.80 : 17% 59.6 -57% : 10.2 : 3.3% 0.48 New World Dev. : 0017.HK : $9.97 11.10 : 11% 20.6 -52% : 08.9 : 4.2% 0.44 Sino Land ------- : 0083.HK : 10.94 10.00 : - 9% 18.7 -42% : 16.4 : 4.6% 0.59 SunHungK Prop : 0016.HK : 94.10 113.0 : 20% 176. -46% : 11.8 : 3.6% 0.65 Great Eagle------ : 0041.HK : 27.10 26.00 : - 4% 62.5 -57% : 10.4 : 2.4% 0.33 Hang Lung Grp . : 0010.HK : 36.25 36.00 : - 1% 48.2 -25% : 16.8 : 2.2% 0.68 Hang Lung Prop. : 0101.HK : 21.25 25.00 : 18% 31.7 -33% : 19.3 : 3.6% 0.76 Hysan Develop.. : 0014. HK : 32.95 36.20 : 10% 58.4 -44% : 16.5 : 3.5% 0.59 Swire Properties : 1972. HK : 21.45 25.00 : 17% 33.2 -35% : 21.6 : 2.6% 0.63 Wharf Holdings .. : 0004.HK : 52.90 66.00 : 25% 93.4 -43% : 12.0 : 3.3% 0.61 Champion REIT* : 2778.HK : $3.47 $3.50 : +1% 03.5 -01% : 20.7 : 5.3% 0.44 Fortune REIT* --- : FRT.SP- : $5.96 $7.90 : 33% 07.9 -25% : 18.6 : 6.5% 0.54 Link REIT* -OW-- : 0823.HK : 36.05 44.80 : 24% 44.8 -19% : 21.8 : 4.6% 1.00 HK Land (in US$) : HKLD.SI : $6.50 07.30 : 12% 10.2 -36% : 18.5 : 2.8% 0.58 =================== --------------------------------- :: Developer Ave : 14% === -42% : 11.4 : 3.2% 0.64 --------------------------------- :: Investors' Ave. : 16% === -38% : 17.0 : 3.1% 0.62 --------------------------------- :: REIT Average. : 21% === -17% : 21.3 : 4.9% 0.86 =================== Price PT Potential NAV Disc. to P/E Div Yield P/BV Stock 7-Mar-14 Jun/Dec-14 upside Dec-14 Dec-14 FY14E FY14E FY14E Rating code (HK$) (HK$) (%) (HK$) NAV (%) (x) (%) (x) == PDF: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCoQFjAAOAo&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkets.jpmorgan.com%2Fresearch%2Femail%2Fb2ke1g44%2FGPS-1341005-0&ei=M6UqU-uCG4bAkgX-n4G4CA&usg=AFQjCNGozlBk5bRiYYgB_3MOzyqmpkEHVQ&bvm=bv.62922401,d.dGI

VIEWs : source

New areas are springing up North of Makati, closer to the Pasig River, and the Guadalupe train stop Here's Century City Gramercy Residences / SkyPark Area development plan == > More: source > CC Devl- Plan : http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj235/jimolsen2/CentCity-DevelPlan_zpsbb3571d2.jpg > CC-Mall article : http://www.century-properties.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CCM-PR-Star-ModLiv-D3-05252013.jpg

For those who do not read Dr Bubb's Diary (but visit this thread) =

Dr RAM#3: Living in the Flow, Connecting Dots - Mar. 18, 2014 　 = = Another fascinating chat with Dr Richard Alan Miller ( Subscribers to the G.FoX-channel are growing nicely - now 52 people. And I think most are there to hear the Dr RAM In-Depth conversations )

(THIS looks pretty bullish for HK property investment): PENT-UP CASH is a very real thing in the Hong Kong property market [ OTP ] Today's Standard has a headline, on page 7: Number of HK millionaires hits high One local resident in 10 is a millionaire* - a record 732,000 of them - according to a survey by Citibank. That's 22% higher than the 601,000 the previous year. (Three- quarters of the new ones have Liquid assets between HK$1 - 5 million) Even with the high deposit requirements, That's a very large number of potential buyers, when they decide "the time is right" ! [ GD-- ] Okay other parts of the report which you ignored (again I see selective bias here) -The survey found the new wealthy no longer rely on property sales to make them rich, as 36 percent said stock investments were the key driver behind their fortune. -Only 12 percent said property selling made the largest gain, compared with nearly one-third the previous year -Meanwhile, 77 percent of the total millionaires own at least one property, with 64 percent mortgage free. -more than half of millionaires expect local property prices to drop this year, compared with only about one- quarter a year ago. with most of them homeowners and having a view of price drop, why would they invest into property?? [ OTP ] "The survey found the new wealthy no longer rely on property sales to make them rich..." I regard that as Bullish-for-Property. Since wealth generated elsewhere can get invested in property - which tends to be a better long term "home" - especially since you can live in it, and you have to live somewhere. Where else would people want to park the bulk of their wealth for the long term. " 77 percent of the total millionaires own at least one property, with 64 percent mortgage free..." Again, that very high, 64 percent mortgage-free statistic, means that there is loads of unutilized borrowing capacity, despite very low HKD mortgage interest rates. Eventually, when people regard property prices as being as low as they are going to go, there will be a keen competition to buy - Just as there was after the quick correction of late 2008. These figures are backing up very well my old idea (admittedly borrowed partly from LGMV), that HK is a fantastic Engine for wealth generation, and a high percentage of that wealth is going to eventually get invested into property. Much of that wealth may be "on pause" right now because of bearish sentiment towards HK property. But the broadly bearish attitude people have now will not last forever. Is there anyone here who can spin these numbers as anything other than Bullish, and maybe even wildly bullish? (for the long term prospects of property investment in HK.) Please try an make a Bearish argument from this data. I would like to see how that can be done.

Barratt Developments may Be Done BDEV.L / ... update A slide in the stock price would not bode well for London Property and UK Property. The UK Builders often peak 6-9 months before the physical property market. A drop below the bottom of the channel, if we see that, would be very bearish Let's monitor the price

This interview was broadcast on Revolution Radio : Open Canvas amadpainter and Mark Eddy guest Dr. Richard Alan Miller 2014 01 20 ( That one was removed - so here is another from about the same time ) Dr Richard Alan Miller (made with Spreaker) / Rob McConnell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXa19PEPHNY ESP Induction Through Self-Hypnosis - Best selling author, lecturer & research specialist Dr. Richard Alan Miller reveals a wealth and depth of knowledge and experience in three major fields; Alternative Agriculture, New Age Physics, and Metaphysics. Before many leading edge concepts became trendy topics, Miller was (and is) on the international front lines of research, experimentation and documentation. (I haven't listened to the 2nd one yet)

An still moving higher Despite a little lift in the USD > see: http://Goldstock.co.uk

(David Icke, and Jeff Rense would agree that the Web is conscious) Here's David Icke speaking to Jeff Rense : Feb. 22, 2104 At "10 past Four in the morning" - in Icke's time zone. = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2gho7rIIC4 = JR: "They have pulled the trigger on humanity... very quickly." DI: "By the time we experience it, it's a done deal." JR: We are living in a "3D holographic form", based on "wave-form" info "They record their information in the wave-form... and it manifests" JR: "There have been articles about the impact of the internet... Twitter and Facebook is MOLDING how people think." People have very short attention spans: lose focus after 3 pages reading. DI: "Internet is a two-edged sword... has become a collective mind." To control people: + Control what info they read, and also + Control HOW they get it - how it is delivered JR: The web is a Super-mind Icke makes a very interesting comment about 40 minutes in: "Just like on the internet, where you can amend and change things... You can also change the timeline we are living on."

( That Video has a new, more audience-friendly title ): Dr Richard Alan Miller, a top physicist, is known for his fresh point of view. In this latest in-depth conversation... DrRAM in-depth, #2 : The WEB is Conscious; Mexico = = Miller shares some thoughts after his return from Mexico, and talks about how the Internet may be conscious - and what it would mean if aliens invaded us by occupying a share of our minds.

Da'at or Daas ("Knowledge", Hebrew: דעת [ˈdaʕaθ]) is a Hebrew word that means belief. In the branch of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah, Da'at is the location (the mystical state) where all ten sephirot in the Tree of Life are united as one. In Da'at, all sephirot exist in their perfected state of infinite sharing. The three sephirot of the left column that would receive and conceal the Divine Light, instead share and reveal it. Since all sephirot radiate infinite self-giving Divine Light, it is no longer possible to distinguish one sephira from another, thus they are one. Da'at is not always depicted in representations of the sefirot, and could in a sense be considered an "empty slot" into which the gem of any other sefirot can be placed. Properly, the Divine Light is always shining, but not all humans can see it. The concealment or revelation of the Divine Light shining through Da'at does not actually happen in Da'at itself. It only seems that way from the human perspective within Malkuth. The perception of change can only occur in Malkuth. Humans who become self-giving like the Light become able to see it, and for them the benefits of Da'at's light seem "revealed". However, humans who remain selfish cannot see it, and for them its benefits seem "hidden". == > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da'at

Dr.RAM in Depth #2: "After Mexico... DAATH" - March 11, 2014 = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQFz5fGi7Q = Dr.RAM in Depth #2 : "After Mexico... we talk DAATH" =========================================== Richard Alan Miller has recently returned from a 2-week trip To Mexico, where he was a speaker at a conference on Spirituality He was interviewed by "the Barbara Walters of Mexico", who asked him a key question: Why did you leave your dream job in the Military? The interview and his response went viral, and this led to him being contacted by the President of Mexico, and he had a meeting with some high officials. Just before this discussion, we spoke about Mexico. And also an interesting Question: Q: "Have we humans been invaded by Aliens?" That early discussion was quite magical in parts. Unfortunately, it was lost in a Skype Crash What happened, after the (Skype call) collapse? // THIS DISCUSSION: // Internet is now conscious, as an entity SETI had babies... The Wayback Machine The internet was at-first afraid, then hostile... It has gone onto something way beyond man The first circuit is hostility towards the leader DAATH : the missing sephirot in the Tree of Life (It is the unseen rock in the rushing river) A filing system for experiences We have been invaded (something with different goals) Is it Archons? ... who have invade us - they are not our friends What happened in Mexico? Convinced high end people that "it would be cool to feed people" The Mother is the centerpiece/ "glue factor" in Mexican ghettos It is not about money - we have lost something The children desire to feed, help - can see the suffering of the poor We can teach our children, through example, they will teach theirs, and they will probably be the ones to take back the world: "Sharing is caring"... can lead us to rebuild our communities Sharing/caring versus Controlling/killing (alien influence) "I did not go to college to make weapons... I invented mazer and tazers" Putin is manipulating us to cause the dollar to collapse Will it happen very fast? Yes. Saturday? It can start then, but there will be layers and layers. Who is funding the geo-engineering ? The methane from ants (or cows) Going to the stars - Do we need to We already have that (hive mentality) in our dreams Training our minds, through meditation "They are no longer advancing humanity. They want control." I am converting my car to run on bio-fuel... Ernest Kallenbach, on Eco-topia... I grew up next to him A US State seceeds from the Union. Everyone on bicycles. Everyone in HK works, or they lose face. We need to recover our values and ethics And we need to teach our children. Came out of graduate school in 1962. Half my class died in Vietnam In 1980, they changed the rules - to making money from knowledge "Everyone is going to wake up and talk to God." That also means listening to God - we can listen to ourselves. WHO was in Mexico: Paul Schele - a more efficient way of learning... Optical learning Parts of the brain, in dialog, together can form consciousness Eben Alexander, who died and came back, with all his memories The call continued... And gave a Teaser, about a coming discussion re: Uri Geller, and his "discoverer": Andrija Puharich.

Dr RAM wrote this about his book, Power Tools Like Crowley, there is a "secret code" within all my writings = you are the first to get an inkling as to my use of both.... Mystery schools abound, but you asked the first "right question." Hope you get the rest of it, because "it is all in there..." <just kidding> To conclude, each chapter in Power Tools has a trigram (Tao te Ching) associated with two objects (I Ching diagram). With Navy SEALs, I actually had 8 foods (Chapter One), but could only write about two of them (length) = hence the secret codex. Will be sure to cover more to this with Workbook 2 and 3, due in print this year (2014). Dr. Richard Alan Miller

HK Island Rent slide - an anomaly Check out the charts on pg.2 of today's Property section (P2, in the SCMP) First, you will see RENTS for Homes at about $24.3 psf going sideways. That's: "average rents of 100 housing estates" (HK$ per sft, gross) To the right: Average Rents in selected districts. Here, includes: + Central Midlevels, now maybe: $38.5 psf + Island South, maybe: $38.5 psf + Happy Vallley, maybe: $36.1 psf All three peaked sometime last year, maybe 5-6% higher. The High-end, and HK island, are where property woes are concentrated so far. That's what I see here

Best Time to Invest In the Philippines VIDEO = = Feb. 2014 (c. 2012) This is from the Makati Business Club And InvestPhilippines Doris Magsaysay Ho, President and CEO, Magsaysay Group of CompaniesVIDEO = =

(received by email): Property price increase Residential property prices in Makati CBD, Bonifacio Global City and Ortigas Center are expected to rise by about 8% over the next 12 months, according to Colliers. In addition, the total housing stock in Metro Manila is expected to increase by 7,253 units by end-2013. . . . Total real estate loans country-wide soared by 42% to PHP546.51 billion (US$12.47 billion) in 2012 from the previous year, based on figures from theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank. Despite the spectacular growth, the size of the mortgage market remains small at about 5.5% of GDP in 2012. == > http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Asia/Philippines House price continue to escalate in the Philippines The Philippine property market remains vibrant, with strong economic, growth boosted by robust domestic consumption and increases in government spending. Despite the obstacles, the Philippine real estate market has been booming due to increases in remittances from overseas Filipinos, and to the dramatic growth of business-process. == Philippines property sector continues to accelerate The Philippines’ property sector is expected to continue accelerating in 2014, which is seen as an unprecedented year for real estate investments in the country. The local manufacturing sector is also seen to continue to gain renewed interest from Northeast Asian firms as the country has the most cost-effective land value for industrial properties. == > Read more...

Phiippines Peso (PHP) and Stock Index (PSEC) usdPHP ... update / Apr.23rd: $PSEC ... PH:PSEC : PH:TEL : PH:MER : PH:MWC :

Home on the Range - article about the Philippines Art Fair ... photo-2013 : source John Batten - SCMP, March 9, 2014 / exhibit began 22 Feb at Ayala Museum Art Fair Philippines could teach Philippines how to nurture its own artists + Manila's large middle class, and some wealthy philanthropists support a variety of private museums + The City is a lucrative art market + Christies was prominent at the fair + In the Philippines, there is a wave of enthusiasm for domestic art + Many young Filipinos can make a decent living selling their work + Older artists are being rediscovered (such as Jaime de Guzman) + The "opague customs regulations" in Phil., make it difficult to import art Attendance at the Fair (held in Manila: Feb. 22-23) was up 40% And 10,000 attendees visited 29 exhibitions, and 7 installations The fair was spread around the Makati CBD Some artists / venues mentioned: + Kawayan de Guia's "massive" Bomba + Louie Cordero's Pong on Earth, spray-painted ping pong tables + Mo Space revived last year's favorite: I, Object, and MM Yu's Variable series Art Fair is riding a wave of interest in Art, sweeping Southeast Asia. HK should embrace this enthusiasm, and reach out to neighbors Top 10 Art Galleries in Manila ===== 1 . Silverlens Gallery/SLAB/20Square - BGC 2 . The Drawing Room : http://www.drawingroomgallery.com - N.Makati 3 . MO Space : http://www.mo-space.net - BGC 4 . Avellana Art Gallery : http://www.facebook.com/pages/AVELLANA-ART-GALLERY/150699800364 - Pasay City 5 . Art Informal : http://www.artinformal.com - Mandal.City 6 . Finale Art File : http://www.finaleartfile.com - Ortigas 7 . Pablo : http://www.pablogalleries.com - BGC 8 . West Gallery : http://www.westgallery.org - Quezon City 9 . Blanc Peninsula Manila : http://www.blanc.ph - Quezon City 10. Tin-Aw Art Gallery : http://www.tin-aw.com/ - Makai 10. Manila Contemporary : http://www.manilacontemporary.com - ??? 10. Galleria Duemila : http://www.galleriaduemila.com - Pasay City 13. Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery : ??? - Makati ===== > http://www.spot.ph/gallery/863/top-10-art-galleries-in-manila/article/47580#photo-1-1 Locations : https://foursquare.com/artit_asia/list/art-venues-in-the-philippines

Baguio City, Philippines > Why Baguio? : http://baguiohouses.com/baguiohouses/index.php/why-baguio Historically, Baguio has been a healing place for American soldiers during the early 1900s. It was always preferred by Generals who had to choose between other cities in Asia. The city until today has its hot springs, healing spas, parks, the cold weather and clean streets. It still serves as a healing place, but also to every Filipino. Baguio City is also the burgeoning educational and business center of Northern Luzon. Students come in Baguio from all over the Philippines (i.e. Korea and Africa) to study. Students , especially foreign ones, are particularly fond of the similar climate they have where they came from. CITY-- : Above Sealevel- feet ======= Baguio City: 1472m / 4,828 ft Clark Int'l -- : 155m / 0,508 ft Quezon City : 048m / 0,158 ft Manila ------ : 008m / 0,026 ft Makati ------ : 024m / 0,080 ft Shaw St ---- : 047m / 0,156 ft Ft Bonifacio : 029m / 0,095 ft Nuvali------- : 101m / 0,332 ft Cebu ------- : 034m / 0,113 ft Davao ------ : 195m / 0,641 ft Baguio City, Philippines = = LINKS: ===== Baguio 1st Impressions : http://www.expatforum.com/expats/philippines-expat-forum/419065-baguio-first-impressions.html Baguio Restaurants---- : http://www.lonelyplanet.com/philippines/north-luzon/baguio/restaurants Ben Camp Museum ---- : http://www.bencabmuseum.org/

HK's Unholy Trinity : In Conspiracy? GREASING THE SKIDS... An "unholy*" trinity is working together + The banks with lower valuations (without transactions to back up those lower levels) + Property agents with advice to second sellers to "try lower" + The media with purposefully exaggerated reports of price cuts Objective: to cut Hong Kong property prices (in the secondary market). And they may succeed, as they did in late 2008. Now there is a new factor - FORECLOSURES : === + Mostly on very expensive flats bought by now "stressed" mainland buyers + Banks who wind up with these flats are not patient sellers, they tend to dump them as soon as they can, because the loss is taken by the distressed seller, not the banks + A drop in Rmb in recent days, may allow the sellers to accept lower HKD prices than one month ago + Buyers have been brainwashed into "expecting" lower prices - thanks to the work of the Unholy Three - and so are likely to bid in foreclosures at levels well below market prices ===== *If you are keen to see lower prices, then maybe you think this is a "holy" trinity. Personally, I would prefer less biased reporting - so they are "unholy" to me

Manila: #111, out of 131 cities / in E.I. Unit's Survey - of "Most Expensive" cities (20th from the bottom) Cheapest cities Meanwhile, Mumbai in India is considered the city with the best value for money, followed by Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Damascus, Syria; and Kathmandu, Nepal. Also in the top 10 least expensive cities are Algiers, Bucharest, Panama City, Jeddah and Riyadh. However, the study noted that outside India, "cheap" cities come with security risks. "Pakistan, Nepal, Syria and Algeria all feature in the bottom ten, but have had well documented security issues or domestic unrest," it noted. Manila was one of the cheapest cities in the survey, falling five spots to rank 111th out of 131 cities. In Asia, Manila was the 6th cheapest city, outranked only by Colombo, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Karachi and Mumbai. The Worldwide Cost of Living is a twice yearly survey that compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, including food, drink, clothing, house rents, transport, private schooling, domestic help and recreational costs. - With Kyodo > MORE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/03/04/14/which-city-unseated-tokyo-worlds-most-expensive-live /related-2011: National competitiveness: http://www.competitive.org.ph/stories/288

CHEAPEST CITIES to live in - Manila is #7 (in this survey) Rank/ : City # 01 / : Karachi # 02 / : Tehran # 03 / : Mumbai # 04 / : New Delhi # 05 / : Kathmandu # 06 / : Tripoli # 07 / : Manila # 08 / : Asuncion (Paraguay) # 08 / : Kiev # 10 / : Pretoria # 10 / : Bucharest # 10 / : Johannesburg ======= Which of these, would you be willing to live in? http://www.sticholidays.com/sticholidays/images/packages/Manila1.jpg #7. Manila ========= Manila appears seventh on the list of least expensive cities ranked in terms of the cost of living. Manila is the capital city of the Philipines, and is the centre of the country's largest metropolitan area. However, the population of 1.4 million means that Manila is only the second largest city in the Philippines, with Quezon City being first with over 2.5 million inhabitants. Despite the fact that the area where Manila now stands having been the location for settlements for possibly thousands of years, the city really grew under the colonial rule of various countries. These foreign powers included Spain, the UK, the USA and during World War II Japan. Even after independence for the Philippines from US rule in 1946 Manila was not made the capital city until 1976. Nowadays the greater Manila area is at the centre of the economy of the Philippines, and is very diversified. There are industrial plants which manufacture many things including, but not limited to consumer electronics, chemicals and clothing. Tourism is playing an increasing role in the economy of Manila, and each year in excess of a million visitors come. Manila is also the major port for the Philippines, and all forms of retailing from markets through to malls play a big part. Finally there are also all of the governmental offices, and company headquarters which add an additional strand to the city's economy. However, the cost of living in Manila is till relatively low. Goods and services are relatively cheap due to low labour costs. These are due to the large numbers of relatively poorer people who gravitate towards Manila from the more outlying areas of the Philipines every year. Also outside of a few premium areas, the cost of property is low. Finally the Philippines earned a lot of money from remittances sent back by people who worked abroad, but with the global downturn these are starting to fall. Finally recent exchange rate movements have led to it being cheaper when compared with the currencies used by some of the major world economies. All of these factors combine to make Manila the 7th cheapest city in the world to live in. == > http://bristolboy.hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-Cheapest-Cities-In-The-World