Joey Yap, professional astrologer and fengshui practitioner, was swarmed with questions on the economy by some 1,000 fans and followers who attended his annual Feng Shui and Astrology 2015 seminar in Singapore on Feb 1. What would this Year of the Goat hold? Will the property market improve? Would the environment be favorable for business? What are the positive sectors to look at when buying and selling stocks?
Yap explains that his role is all about helping businesses and investors interpret their individual astrology charts for positive and negative energies. “The idea is to understand how our own energy levels fit with how the five stars, or elements, are positioned for the year,” says Yap. In astrology, the five elements represent earth, water, metal, fire and wood.
“If the elements are balanced, then there is more positive energy and, this year, you might have more opportunities to prosper in properties or equities, depending on your chart,” adds Yap. On the other hand, if the elements clash, then negative energy is generated. “But all this information is useless if we do not use it to our advantage and make the right moves. Will you do what you are supposed to do? Will you invest and, if so, how much? It is all based on how much you want to use the information you have interpreted from your chart.”
Yap is an experienced hand in the world of fengshui and astrology. He is founder of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics and chief consultant of Joey Yap Consulting Group, a 150-strong consultancy specializing in fengshui and Chinese astrology. His clients include tycoons and prominent MNCs. Yap first began learning Chinese metaphysics from masters in the field when he was 15. Despite having graduated with an accounting degree, Yap never became an accountant. Instead, he began to give seminars, talks and professional Chinese metaphysics consultations around the world and became an avid property investor. He became a self-made millionaire by the time he was 26.
More positive year
For the Year of the Goat, Yap sees all five basic elements present in Singapore’s birth chart. That means this year holds better fortunes for Singapore compared with the previous Year of the Horse, when the water element was missing. There is still a strong presence of the wood element for the New Year, however, which was also strongly present last year. “This implies that the problems of 2014 will be carried forward to 2015, even though by comparison this will be a better year than the last,” says Yap.
The wood element also represents wealth in fengshui. “So, wood-related sectors, such as agriculture, palm oil, education and publishing, are most likely to prosper this year,” says Yap. “Wood can also represent herbs and medicines, which means the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors will do well.”
Wood can also represent money and currencies. Using the greenback as a benchmark, and based on Yap’s interpretation of US president Barack Obama’s birth chart, the US faces potential security and economic issues in 2H2015 that will have a negative impact on its economy. That, in turn, could affect the strength of the Singapore dollar against the greenback in 2015.
In that light, Yap also sees higher demand for financial services and financial advisory roles this year.
“There will be more people who want to get into financial services. There could be a lot of capital movements and mergers and acquisitions during the year and, therefore, more jobs and interest in the financial services industry.”
Notably, there will also be a healthy volume of foreign investors coming to Singapore, particularly from Indonesia. “The fire star is positive towards the south of Singapore, which points to Indonesia. If things connect well between Singapore and Indonesia in terms of international relations and trade agreements and policies, sectors such as financial banking and telecommunications, which are represented by fire, will do very well,” says Yap, who is advising clients with overseas growth plans to explore Indonesia and Australia for better opportunities.
The fire element in the Year of the Goat also means better prospects for IT and electronics manufacturing. As such, Yap has been advising clients to take advantage of social media and digital marketing channels to improve demand. “Fire is a dominant element this year, so digital-related fields will do well. We are telling our clients to consider marketing their products more aggressively through social media. Meanwhile, because education is positive this year, we have also suggested that our clients use product education to capture a greater number of customers.”
Yap also reckons that the Singapore tourism sector will do well. “The charts show that, this year, more people are likely to travel for holidays to relieve the stress of work. That will continue to support Singapore’s hotel and tourism industry,” he says.
Labor issues
Singapore is likely to see further labor market pressures this year. According to the country’s astrology chart, metal, which represents labor, is generating negative energy. That could mean even more short-term challenges as Singapore attempts to raise its productivity level, and stronger cost pressures on businesses as the last round of the labor market restrictions is imposed. For instance, levies on less-skilled foreign workers will continue to increase $150 a year until July 1 across all sectors. In the construction sector, that levy has risen $300 for workers from certain countries. Meanwhile, the quota for businesses in the services sector, which employs workers on S passes or work permits, must be reduced by 5% each by July 1.
Sectors related to the earth element, including property, will also be adversely affected this year. “There could be more controlling measures that will lead to a further softening of the property market,” says Yap. However, investors who wish to invest in property-related stocks, such as real estate investment trusts, may stand a chance to gain from the sector this year.
Yap explains, “When we look at individual companies, we would consider the birth charts of the CEOs who run the show. If the CEO is actually doing what is best for the company based on his chart, these companies will do well. For example, some CEOs are by nature good leaders or strategists. If that CEO is managing a company that is not in line with his nature, the company he manages will probably not do well.”
Investors should expect China to continue slowing for the rest of the year. “China’s star for the Year of the Goat signals strife and loss of money,” says Yap. The Middle Kingdom will see more change and upheaval in its economy as its new premier intensifies his anti-corruption reforms. That will have negative impact on China’s growth and is likely to affect its trading ties with Singapore and the rest of Asia this year, Yap reckons.
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