Introduction
Not happy with your Fixed Deposit Rate of 1.5% (need $50k just to get this rate)? Unwilling to take the risk for POTENTIAL higher returns in various kinds of schemes that the banks are always trying to sell you? Treasury Bills (T-Bills) issued by the Singapore Government may be the choice for you. Current 3-mths T-Bills are giving a yield of ~2%. You get better rates than FD, min. investment amt is ONLY $1000, short 3-mth tenure (you can also sell in the open mkt before 3-mth) and it's virtually risk-free as it's guaranteed by the govt, therefore capital protection

SGS
All SGS, whether T-Bills or Government Bonds, are sold in lots of $1,000. T-Bills have a tenure of either 3 months or 1 year, never pay coupons (akin to interest rate), and are always sold at a discount. Government bonds are sold with maturities of 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years. They always pay coupons, and may be issued at a discount, at par or even at a premium.

Where, When and How To Buy
You can buy SGS from any of the Primary Dealers (all the local banks are Primary Dealers). There are no admin or custodian fees involved. Banks earn NOTHING (they are legally REQUIRED to process your orders as it's one of the requirements to be a Primary Dealer) when you buy SGS at issue ie. when the Singapore Government first sells the SGS. The banks do earn from a spread when they buy and sell existing SGS on the open market. When you buy at issue there is no accumulated interest to be paid, nor any transaction fee. Since the Singapore Government regularly issues SGS, there's little reason to buy on the open market and pay commissions.

The first time you buy SGS through the bank, you'll need to open a custodian account (a form to fill) with the bank. To buy new issues, you need to fill in another form to bid. Either bid (for competitive bids) something close to the going rate or pick the "non-competitive bid" which guarantees a successful application. If you bid, the difference is usually only 0.05% at most, and you risk being unsuccessful. For the non-competitive bid, what you pay will be the "average bid" that you see when the results are posted on the SGS website.

If you urgently need to sell your T-Bills before maturity, you can get the quote from the bank. A reference of the market price can be found at SGS website.

3-month T-bills are issued every week and bids must be submitted before Monday 12noon. Check the SGS website for details. For SGS Bonds, the issuance calendar can also be found in the SGS website (2005 ; 2006).

Other links : Fundsupermarket (Only SGS Bonds & Old SGS Issues)

Credit : Much of the above information is gleaned fm WallStraits Buffett Forum