DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3rd January 2018

Top Story

CCR leads charge in condo price surge in Q4
Condo and private apartment prices in the prime areas outperformed their peers in the rest of the island in terms of prices in the fourth quarter of 2017. The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA’s) Q4 2017 flash estimates data showed that prices of non-landed private homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) climbed 1.6 per cent in Q4 over the preceding quarter.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ccr-leads-charge-in-condo-price-surge-in-q4
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-home-prices-stage-first-full-year-growth-since-2013-ura-flash-estimates
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/private-home-prices-post-1-increase-for-2017
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/private-home-prices-up-1-for-2017-ura-9825428
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/private-home-prices-post-full-year-increase-first-time-4-years

Singapore Economy

Productivity gains seen in economy’s uptick, but momentum uncertain
The Singapore economy has picked up speed on the back of an uptick in global trade, but a sustained improvement in productivity growth could still remain elusive. Last year’s trade-driven recovery would have led to a short-run increase in labour productivity, but this rise was probably concentrated only in certain sectors, economists say.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/productivity-gains-seen-in-economys-uptick-but-momentum-uncertain
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/economy-beats-forecasts-to-grow-31-in-q4
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/manufacturing-drives-q4-growth
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-gdp-grew-31-4th-quarter-2017

Sing dollar at 2 ½-year high; Asian currencies see strong 2018 start
Growth seen in the services sector has fanned market expectations the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) could tighten policy in 2018. “The details looked a bit better, such as the upward revisions to Q3,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy for Mizuho Bank in Singapore. “There is a sense of a little bit of a broadening recovery and I think markets… are growing more confident of an April rather than October MAS move,” Mr Varathan said, referring to the two regular windows when MAS releases its monetary policy statements.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/sing-dollar-at-2-%C2%BD-year-high-asian-currencies-see-strong-2018-start
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-dollar-at-112-year-high-against-greenback

Singapore CEOs’ outlook on economy goes up: survey
Singapore CEOs are more optimistic than their regional counterparts about the economic outlook in the coming years, according to a new survey. The poll by professional services firm KPMG found that Asean CEOs have become less confident about global growth – as well as the outlook for their own countries – compared with a year earlier.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-ceos-outlook-on-economy-goes-up-survey
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-ceos-more-bullish-about-future-than-asean-peers

Singapore Real Estate

Better year expected for office and hospitality Reits
With rate hike and sector consolidation fears petering out over 2017, real estate investment trusts (Reits) made a startling rebound to outdo the benchmark Straits Times Index with a 20.6 per cent rise in unit prices last year. What turned the tide was a better-than-expected improvement in Singapore’s economic growth and a levelling out between supply and demand over the course of the year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/better-year-expected-for-office-and-hospitality-reits

HDB sees resale prices slipping 1.5% for 2017
HDB resale prices edged down 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of last year, making for a full-year price drop of 1.5 per cent, according to flash estimates from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) on Tuesday. This means the decline in HDB resale prices last year was steeper than the 0.2 per cent dip in 2016.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-sees-resale-prices-slipping-15-for-2017
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hdb-resale-prices-down-15-in-2017-after-02-dip-in-q4
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/resale-flat-prices-fell-15-2017-hdb

Companies’ Brief

Singapore-listed US Reits mitigate impact of US tax rule changes
In a bid to preserve tax transparency, managers of the two Singapore-listed US real estate investment trusts (Reits) have taken certain steps to mitigate the impact of recently announced changes to US tax rules. One of the effects of the tax bill, which was passed barely more than two weeks ago, is the deductibility of certain interest expenses for taxable years after Dec 31, 2017.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-listed-us-reits-mitigate-impact-of-us-tax-rule-changes

Weiye Holdings to inject over 122m yuan in property tie-up
Weiye Holdings has entered into an agreement through a wholly-owned subsidiary to pick up 40 per cent in equity in a property developer, Huzhou Ganghong Zhiye Co, Ltd, (HGZY) for eight million yuan (S$1.64 million). The cooperation memorandum of understanding that was signed between the subsidiary, Hongji Weiye (Hainan) Non Movable Property Management Group Co, Ltd, and HGZY’s shareholder, Jiangshu Gangda Zhiye Co, Ltd, pertains to the joint development of land-use rights and co-development of about 57,734 square metres of residential land.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/weiye-holdings-to-inject-over-122m-yuan-in-property-tie-up
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/weiye-in-deal-to-pick-up-stake-in-property-developer

Wing Tai names two new board directors
Leading property and lifestyle company Wing Tai Holdings has appointed two new directors to its board, while saying goodbye to a long-serving one. Wing Tai announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Guy Daniel Harvey-Samuel and Zulkurnain Awang as non-executive directors to its board. Mr Harvey-Samuel will also serve on Wing Tai’s remuneration and nominating committees.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wing-tai-names-two-new-board-directors

On the (other) waterfront
Jersey City’s ‘residential boom’ holds promise for Manulife US Reit. Sitting across the water from New York City’s pulsing financial centre, Jersey City’s waterfront district has been known for years as Wall Street West – the quieter sister to Midtown Manhattan with far more affordable rents for back offices and the like. Today, landlords along Jersey City’s Hudson Waterfront are rising with the tide, brokers say. Hudson Waterfront refers to the part of Jersey City that can be seen if you look across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/on-the-other-waterfront

Views, Reviews & Forum

More play, lifestyle options to woo crowds at Orchard Road
Orchard Road lacks character and is no longer a draw as a shopping strip alone – that is the opinion of many shoppers interviewed by The Straits Times. The precinct should reposition itself as a lifestyle and entertainment destination, some said, following news last month that the authorities are conducting a study for a blueprint to guide the area’s long-term development.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-play-lifestyle-options-to-woo-crowds

It’s what didn’t happen that helped 2017 markets
Many of the assessments of the 2017 financial markets understandably focused on the impressively favorable outcomes delivered by stocks and other risk assets. Yet it is also worth considering what didn’t happen – in particular, nine events, which, by not taking place, contributed to make the last 12 months exceptional for many investors, big and small.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/executive-money/its-what-didnt-happen-that-helped-2017-markets