DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10th November 2016

Top Story

Shockwave of Trump’s victory sends markets reeling
The selling began timorously on Wednesday morning. Was consensus that far off the mark? But as count after count began to reveal Republican party nominee Donald Trump as the unexpected frontrunner for the US presidency, the drip became a crashing wave. Shocked investors dumped risky assets and poured into safe havens when it became clear that the New York property baron would be the next leader of the world’s largest superpower – and with a Republican sweep of Congress to boot.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/shockwave-of-trumps-victory-sends-markets-reeling
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/wall-street-sweats-over-trump-win-gropes-for-silver-linings
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pm-lee-singapore-to-work-to-keep-us-ties-close

Singapore Economy

Singdollar weakens against greenback after Trump victory
The Singdollar has weakened against the United States dollar on concerns that growth may slow if President-elect Donald Trump embraces anti-trade policies. The Singdollar was trading at around S$1.3946 to the greenback Wednesday night after earlier strengthening to S$1.387 in the morning. Then the US currency was weakening as the results started to pour in from the US states and Mr Trump was looking as if he might win.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singdollar-weakens-against-greenback-after-trump-victory

Large dept stores face challenges: Experts
Even as loyal customers of Singapore’s oldest department store are saddened by the impending closure of John Little’s last brick-and-mortar store, retail experts said they saw it coming, as many consumers gravitate to newer shopping concepts. Department stores are no longer the one-stop shops they used to be for consumers, thanks to changing tastes and online shopping, retail experts said. And stores that do not narrow their focus face an uphill battle.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/large-dept-stores-face-challenges-experts

Singapore Real Estate

Non-landed private home rents fell 0.4% m-o-m in Oct; HDB rents down 0.5%
Rentals for both non-landed private homes and HDB flats continued to ease month-on-month (m-o-m) in October 2016. However, leasing volumes rose in both segments, according to the latest flash estimates released by SRX Property on Wednesday morning. SRX’s rental index for private apartments and condos fell 0.4 per cent in October 2016 over September 2016 after retreating 0.5 per cent m-o-m in September 2016. The index has contracted 4.5 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) and is also 17.9 per cent below its peak in January 2013.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/non-landed-private-home-rents-fell-04-m-o-m-in-oct-hdb-rents-down-05
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/home-rents-continue-to-decline
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/26942/non-landed-private-rents-and-hdb-rents-decrease-by-04-and-05-respectively-in-october-2016

$187m set aside for private estate upgrading since 2000
About $187 million has been set aside for the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP), since the scheme was launched in 2000. The amount will go towards upgrading 63 private estates over nine batches, and projects under the programme have already been completed in estates such as Serangoon Gardens, Mount Sinai and Braddell Heights. Minister of State for National Development Koh Poh Koon, giving these figures in Parliament yesterday, said the pace of implementation would depend on the resources available, and whether there are any upgrading plans by other agencies.
http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/187m-set-aside-for-private-estate-upgrading-since-2000?login=true

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand set for strong China residential revenue for Q4
CapitaLand is set to make a strong showing for the fourth quarter from its China residential business. President and group CEO Lim Ming Yan said the group will begin handing over about 9,800 sold residential units with a total value of about 14 billion yuan (S$2.9 billion) from Q4 2016 onwards – with about 40 per cent of this value expected to be recognised in Q4 2016. “We are on track to better our 2015 sales record this year,” he said after the group released its third quarter report card.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-set-for-strong-china-residential-revenue-for-q4
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/capitalands-earnings-up-on-higher-home-sales?login=true

Ascendas Hospitality Trust earns more in Q2 but distribution is flat
A higher contribution from a hotel in Japan and the strengthening of the Japanese yen against the Singapore dollar gave a boost to second-quarter earnings of hotel landlord Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-H Trust), which late last month said it was no longer in the market for a buyer after turning down several suitors. But its expanded net property income was offset partly by lower realised exchange gains on income hedges, and income available for distribution in Q2 ended up roughly flat compared with the previous year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-hospitality-trust-earns-more-in-q2-but-distribution-is-flat
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/ascendas-hospitality-trust-posts-stable-dps-for-quarter

FCL to expand footprint in secondary markets
In search of greater diversification, Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) is looking to expand its overseas footprint in its “secondary markets” such as the Indochina region, while not losing sight of its current core markets, Singapore and Australia. The group shared this in a briefing on Wednesday when it reported a 22.6 per cent slump in net profit for the year ended Sept 30 to S$597.2 million due to lower development revenue in Singapore, and impairment losses in Australian residential projects.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fcl-to-expand-footprint-in-secondary-markets
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/frasers-centrepoints-full-year-profit-falls-118

CityDev posts 60% surge in net profit, to speed up diversification initiatives
City Developments (CityDev) on Thursday reported that its net profit for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 rose 60.1 per cent to S$170.3 million, from S$106.4 million a year ago. The improved performance was mainly due to strong sales performance in its property development segment and gains from the divestment of its entire 52.52 per cent interest in City e-Solutions.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/citydev-posts-60-surge-in-net-profit-to-speed-up-diversification-initiatives
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-posts-601-jump-in-q3-profit-to-step-up-diversification-initiatives

Fullerton Fund Management CEO Manraj Sekhon leaves
Fullerton Fund Management Co, the Singapore-based asset manager backed by Temasek Holdings, said chief executive officer Manraj Sekhon has left the firm. The decision was announced by the Fullerton board on Nov 8 and is with immediate effect, the investment firm said on Wednesday in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg queries. Mr Sekhon, who also served as chief investment officer, had been in his role for more than five years. Fullerton chairman Ho Tian Yee will assume Mr Sekhon’s responsibilities in the interim, according to the statement.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fullerton-fund-management-ceo-manraj-sekhon-leaves
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/temaseks-fullerton-fund-ceo-leaves-firm

Far East H-Trust’s DPS in Q3 falls 6.7%
Far East Hospitality Trust reported a 6.7 per cent drop in distribution per stapled security (DPS) to 1.12 Singapore cents for the third quarter from a year ago as an uncertain global economy curbed corporate travel and new hotel rooms supply put pressure on rates. Income available for distribution slipped 6 per cent to S$20.3 million from S$21.6 million. Gross revenue was down 5.5 per cent to S$28 million on the back of reduced revenue from hotels and serviced residences and softer performance of the retail and office spaces. Net property income also fell 5.8 per cent to S$25.3 million from S$26.9 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/far-east-h-trusts-dps-in-q3-falls-67

Views, Reviews & Forum

Retail karma brings little cheer to Singapore landlords
The giant sucking sound building up in Singapore’s empty shopping aisles just got louder. After a 174-year run, John Little, a well-loved department store, plans to shut down by January. Completing the karmic circle of birth and death, Amazon.com Inc may start operations in the city in the first quarter of 2017. That’s scant comfort for retail landlords. A market capitalisation-weighted index of five real estate investment trusts (Reits), led by CapitaLand Mall Trust (which counts John Little as a tenant in its Plaza Singapura mall), has dropped 7 per cent so far this quarter. More trouble may be looming.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/retail-karma-brings-little-cheer-to-singapore-landlords