DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3rd Jul 2018

Top Story

New peak in Singapore private home prices expected by the end of 2018
It took 15 quarters of market corrections to bring private residential prices down by 11.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2017, but it may take only five to six quarters of market recovery to bring prices back up if the current momentum holds. Analysts are expecting a new peak in private home prices by the end of this year as developers roll out new launches on land they have acquired at significantly higher prices.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-peak-in-singapore-private-home-prices-expected-by-the-end-of-2018
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/analysts-expect-new-peak-in-private-home-prices-by-year-end
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-home-prices-jump-most-2014

HDB resale prices fall 1.5% in Q2 from a year ago
Housing Board resale flat prices fell 1.5 per cent in the second quarter in 2018 from a year ago, according to latest flash estimates released on Monday. Compared with the first quarter of this year, second-quarter resale prices rose slightly by 0.1 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-fall-15-in-q2-from-a-year-ago
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/bto-supply-to-be-cut-as-resale-flat-prices-stabilise
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hdb-trim-bto-supply-year

Singapore Economy

Manufacturing expands, but pace slows
Singapore’s manufacturing activity continued to expand in June, but the pace slowed for the third consecutive month. The more muted numbers in Singapore and across the region came before tariffs on American and Chinese goods kick in later this week, and are seen as a sign that United States trade policy could hit global growth.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/manufacturing-expands-but-pace-slows
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/manufacturing-expansion-continues-to-ease-in-june

Hit by rising water and electricity bills, Singaporeans and businesses tighten belts
Singapore — Over the past year, Ghim Moh resident and fruit seller Anna Chan, 56, has been making more effort to cut down on electricity and water consumption by switching her old air-conditioner and washing machine to energy-saving models. She recycles water from her washing machine to clean the toilets and floors, and uses water from washing vegetables for her plants. She also continually reminds her family members not to leave the tap running unnecessarily.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hit-rising-water-and-electricity-bills-singaporeans-and-businesses-tighten-belts

Singapore Real Estate

Strata Titles Board issues stop order for Cairnhill Mansions en bloc sale
A second collective sale attempt in a week has come up against a speed hump: the Strata Titles Board (STB) on Monday issued a stop order on the en bloc sale bid by Cairnhill Mansions, which could send this case to court. The Business Times has learned that the owner of the penthouse unit, the only owner who filed an objection to the collective sale bid by the 61-unit Cairnhill Road development, has refused to withdraw her objection to the method of apportionment of the sales proceeds – and this, after two rounds of mediation on May 28 and June 18.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/strata-titles-board-issues-stop-order-for-cairnhill-mansions-en-bloc-sale

Companies’ Brief

PropNex gains 10% on trading debut
Shares of homegrown property service group PropNex Realty on Monday closed 10 per cent higher on the company’s trading debut on the mainboard, as PropNex becomes the second real estate brokerage to be listed on the local bourse after Apac Realty. The stock opened at 68.5 Singapore cents apiece on the Singapore Exchange, with the opening price representing a 5.38 per cent premium over the counter’s initial public offering (IPO) price of 65 Singapore cents.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/propnex-gains-10-on-trading-debut
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/propnex-gains-10-on-trading-debut
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/stocks/propnex-debuts-on-sgx-mainboard-at-685-singapore-cents-apiece
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/propnex-opens-debuts-on-sgx-mainboard-up-at-at-685-cents
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/propnex-soars-22-on-trading-debut-ipo-property-ismail-10492030

PropNex says BT report isn’t inaccurate
PropNex Realty, the largest real estate agency in Singapore that made its trading debut on Monday, has clarified that the “inaccuracies” that it had referred to in response to an article in The Business Times on its IPO prospectus was “not in relation to the article in itself”. “This was in relation to certain feedback attributed to observers and members of the public that were cited in the said articles. This was not in relation to The Business Times article in itself,” it said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/propnex-says-bt-report-was-not-inaccurate

Keppel to fully divest stake in Vietnam property developer
Keppel Corporation on Monday said that it would sell an investment holding company Orbista Pte Ltd for US$30 million, as part of its full divestment in Vietnamese property developer Quoc Loc Phat Joint Stock Company (QLP) that had been earlier announced in June. Orbista, which holds a 15 per cent shareholding interest in QLP, has been sold to Fortune Paradise Holdings, Keppel said in a regulatory filing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-to-fully-divest-stake-in-vietnam-property-developer

Chip Eng Seng to buy Adelaide site for A$14.5 million, from company linked to group CEO
Construction and property company Chip Eng Seng Corp has inked a interested-person deal for a vacant office building in Australia, which it plans to turn into a hotel. It will pay A$14.5 million (S$14.6 million) for the 1,283 sq m freehold site in Adelaide, with the price reached after an internal evaluation, the company said on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-to-buy-adelaide-site-for-a145-million-from-company-linked-to-group

CEO of LMIR Trust’s manager resigns
LMIRT Management, which manages LMIR Trust, on Monday said that its CEO Chan Lie Leng has resigned due to “family commitment”, and will leave by Sept 1, 2018. The board has established a search committee to evaluate a number of “promising candidates that have been identified comprising both internal and external candidates”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ceo-of-lmir-trusts-manager-resigns

Cache Logistics Trust’s manager makes board changes
Cache Logistics Trust on Monday announced changes to the board of its manager, ARA Trust Management (Cache). The manager has appointed Moses K Song and Chia Nam Toon, as non-executive directors of the manager. Mr Song is assistant group CEO and group chief investment officer at ARA Asset Management, while Mr Chia is assistant group CEO and CEO of Reits and business development at ARA.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cache-logistics-trusts-manager-makes-board-changes

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Property agency with tech edge
For property agency OrangeTee & Tie, “going digital” is not just some recent initiative. Instead, that has been its modus operandi since day one. When the firm was established in 2000 as OrangeTee, it was an online property and valuation portal first, with a few property agents. Only later that year did it become a full-fledged agency.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub-projects/leaders-of-transformation/property-agency-with-tech-edge

Agents of change at OrangeTee & Tie
When Lawrence Tan joined OrangeTee back in 2004 – before it became OrangeTee & Tie – the agency was already ahead of the curve. “I was comparing around before I joined OrangeTee,” recalls Mr Tan, who had been with two property agencies previously.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub-projects/leaders-of-transformation/agents-of-change-at-orangetee-tie

The Big Read: US-China trade war not hurting Singapore much yet, but beware the long sting in the tail
Singapore: Solar energy firm REC Group wears its award-winning “TwinPeak” solar modules like a badge of honour. Made in Singapore, these modules can harness more sunlight than the standard module by using half-cut polysilicon cells, for example.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/us-china-trade-war-effect-on-singapore-tariffs-eu-canada-mexico-10491430

Home owners can do more to be environmentally conscious
The lack of public education in Singapore’s efforts to be environmentally conscious is frustrating. Everyone knows about the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle. But home owners should be taught how to do these effectively.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/home-owners-can-do-more-to-be-environmentally-conscious