DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16th November 2017

Top Story

Businesses see GDP growth racing past official forecasts
The Singapore economy could blow past government forecasts to bring 2017’s full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth to between 3.4 per cent and 3.7 per cent, says the latest Business Times-Singapore University of Social Sciences (BT-SUSS) Business Climate Q3 survey. This range is above and beyond the official forecast for GDP growth, which is expected to come in at the upper end of the 2 per cent to 3 per cent range for the year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/businesses-see-gdp-growth-racing-past-official-forecasts

Singapore Economy

Electronics surge expected to continue in 2018; global outlook rosy
Electronics manufacturers in Singapore are looking to another strong year in 2018, after a slew of new product launches – including the iPhone X – helped lift growth in the sector this year. Manufacturing, which makes up a fifth of the Singapore economy, has turned in an outstanding report card, prompting some economists to upgrade their growth forecasts ahead of official third-quarter economic growth numbers out next week.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/electronics-surge-expected-to-continue-in-2018-global-outlook-rosy

Singapore Real Estate

Property optimism unfazed by govt caution: consultant
Most market watchers are not too concerned about recent attempts by the government to douse market exuberance, which they see as having little impact on residential buying demand for now. Their optimism stems from another month of strong sales by developers in October, where buyers were seen picking up units mostly in already launched projects. “As unsold inventory in launched projects reduce, and as prices recover, the market is turning in favour of developers,” said JLL national director of research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/property-optimism-unfazed-by-govt-caution-consultant
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-keep-up-pace-in-oct-with-sale-of-969-homes-up-7-from-sept
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/sale-of-969-private-homes-ecs-in-october?login=true

Private condo rents down 0.7% in Oct, HDB rents up 0.3%: SRX
Private non-landed home rents fell by a steeper 0.7 per cent in October from a month ago, compared to a 0.1 per cent dip in September, flash estimates from SRX Property on Wednesday showed. The main drag in October came from the prime region called the Core Central Region, which saw rents drop by 1.4 per cent in October, followed by a respective 0.3 per cent fall in both the city-fringe region known as the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and the suburban area or Outside Central Region.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-condo-rents-down-07-in-oct-hdb-rents-up-03-srx
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/private-condo-rents-down-07-in-oct-hdb-rents-up-03-srx-property

Pearlbank among four condos to sell en bloc
Iconic condominium Pearlbank Apartments is among four residential developments put up in separate tenders for collective sale yesterday. Its reserve price is $728 million. The other three are Parkway Mansion in Katong, Derby Court near Novena, and Riviera Point along River Valley Road. Pearlbank, a horse shoe-shaped development in Outram sited near the Central Business District, is 37 storeys high. With its reserve price, the land cost amounts to about $1,505 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in about $195 million for the lease top-up.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/pearlbank-among-four-condos-to-sell-en-bloc
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/en-bloc-fever-rages-as-pearlbank-aims-for-s728m

Pan-European Reit takes Singapore IPO leap
The initial public offering (IPO) of what would be Singapore’s first euro-denominated real estate investment trust is now set for the coming fortnight, though with the Reit shorn of some of its original portfolio. Australia-listed Cromwell Property Group on Wednesday lodged an amended prospectus to list Cromwell European Reit (Cereit), after having previously cited “market conditions” when it put the brakes on the process.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/pan-european-reit-takes-singapore-ipo-leap
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/cromwell-revives-pan-europe-reit-listing

Homeowners, developers willing to pay more for green buildings: survey
Homeowners and developers in Singapore are willing to pay more for green buildings in recognition of their benefits, according to a survey released by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) on Wednesday. More than 70 per cent of homeowners acknowledged that green buildings have a better resale value and about half of them were willing to pay 3 to 4 per cent more for a green building that is certified by the BCA Green Mark. As for developers, 72 per cent said they would prefer to invest in or purchase a green building over a non-green one, and were willing to fork out up to 5 per cent more.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/homeowners-developers-willing-to-pay-more-for-green-buildings-survey

No formal notification as yet on outcome of Jalan Besar Plaza en bloc exercise: New Wave
In an update on the properties held by the group at Jalan Besar Plaza, New Wave Holdings said that it had yet to receive any formation notification of the outcome of the tender exercise. The tender was launched on Oct 10 and had a closing date of Nov 10. The guide price for the freehold commercial and residential complex near Jalan Besar and Kitchener Road is S$390 million, or S$2,170 per square foot per plot ratio. This is higher than the S$380 million reserve price in its second sale attempt last June but identical to the guide price in its first attempt in November 2015.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/no-formal-notification-as-yet-on-outcome-of-jalan-besar-plaza-en-bloc-exercise-new

En bloc sales: Derby Court near Novena aims for S$62m with public tender
Owners of the Derby Court condominium near the Novena neighbourhood have launched a public tender for collective sale, with a reserve price of S$62 million. The reserve price works out to S$1,168 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio (ppr). That is based on an 18,506 square foot site with a gross floor area of 53,094 sq ft, representing an equivalent plot ratio of 2.869 times, more than the 2.8-times gross plot ratio allowed under the 2014 zoning Master Plan.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/en-bloc-sales-derby-court-near-novena-aims-for-s62m-with-public-tender
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/derby-court-near-novena-launches-en-bloc-sale-with-s62m-reserve-price

Companies’ Brief

RHT shares soar on its move to sell assets for close to S$1 billion
Shares of RHT Health Trust jumped more than 10 per cent on Wednesday after the Singapore-listed trust said it’s in talks to sell the group’s entire portfolio of healthcare assets for close to S$1 billion. In an early morning announcement, RHT’s trustee-manager said it had entered into exclusive talks with India-listed controlling shareholder Fortis Healthcare to buy the India-based assets for 46.5 billion Indian rupees (S$964 million).
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rht-shares-soar-on-its-move-to-sell-assets-for-close-to-s1-billion
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/966m-offer-for-rht-health-trust

Property developer ETC uncovers unauthorised withdrawals in China
It was a union that gave Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore (ETC) a lifeline for a fresh start. But after two years, the marriage is beginning to break down, mired in broken trust and conspiracy. On Wednesday, ETC – the Myanmar and China property developer – revealed that 118 million yuan (S$24 million) had been transferred without authorisation between July and October 2017 from its 60 per cent-owned subsidiary Huizhou Daya Bay Mei Tai Cheng Property Development Co to two companies controlled by ETC’s majority shareholder, Luo Shandong.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/property-developer-etc-uncovers-unauthorised-withdrawals-in-china

Thai developer Sansiri expands into services
Real estate development might be about brick and mortar, but Apichart Chutrakul, the chief executive officer of top Thai real estate developer Sansiri, is thinking of the intangibles. Faced with limited growth prospects in Thailand, Mr Chutrakul is overseeing an expansion into the services space: hospitality, lifestyle and property management.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/thai-developer-sansiri-expands-into-services

CapitaLand buys Ho Chi Minh City site for US$38.9m to develop US$177m residences
CapitaLand has bought a 14,474 square metre site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for US$38.9 million (S$247 million), to develop into residences that it estimates will be worth US$177 million. The 1.45 hectare site in District 4 will be developed into an 870-unit residential development with a retail component, with views of the Saigon river and city Skyline, CapitaLand said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-buys-ho-chi-minh-city-site-for-us389m-to-develop-us177m-residences
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-buys-ho-chi-minh-city-site-for-us389m-to-develop-residences