DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16th October 2018

Singapore Economy

Most firms still unaware of industry transformation maps
Two years after the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) began to be rolled out for various sectors, a majority of firms are still unaware of these sectoral roadmaps or how to benefit from them, a survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) has found.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/most-firms-still-unaware-of-industry-transformation-maps
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/majority-of-firms-still-unaware-of-itms-survey

Local firms gear up for inaugural APAC Industry 4.0 trade show
Local firms aim to put Singapore on the world map when it comes to Industry 4.0 solutions, as they present their homegrown innovations to a global audience starting Tuesday. More than 40 Singapore companies will be showcasing their products and services at the region’s inaugural advanced manufacturing trade show from Oct 16 to 18 at the Singapore Expo.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/local-firms-gear-up-for-inaugural-apac-industry-40-trade-show

Singapore Real Estate

Developers gear up for flurry of launches before year-end
After selling 7,220 private homes in the first nine months, developers are gearing up for a final burst of launch activity before taking the traditional year-end breather. Oxley Holdings is due to begin its preview soon for the 548-unit Kent Ridge Hill Residences. Singapore Press Holdings and Kajima Development are expected to finally begin sales soon of The Woodleigh Residences next to Woodleigh MRT Station, while City Developments is expected to roll out its Whistler Grand condo in West Coast Vale.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-gear-up-for-flurry-of-launches-before-year-end

New private home sales in September rebound by 51% over August: URA data
Buyers returned to the market for new private homes, after the immediate hit from the latest cooling measures and with new projects launched after the Hungry Ghost month. Developers in Singapore sold 932 private homes last month, up 51 per cent from the 617 units they moved in August and also nearly 42 per cent higher than the 657 units they booked in September last year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-private-home-sales-in-september-rebound-by-51-over-august-ura-data
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-up-51-in-sept
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-rebound-in-september
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-bounce-back-in-september-with-51-rise-to-932-units-ura-data
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-private-home-sales-jump-42-september-ura-10828422
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/private-home-sales-soared-september-two-months-after-cooling-measures
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-private-home-sales-rebound-buyers-move-past-latest-curbs
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-15/singapore-home-sales-rebound-as-buyers-move-past-latest-curbs

GIC makes two European investments in property, aircraft industry
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has made two investments – a 465 million euros (S$741.1 million) Paris office building and a significant minority stake in a Denmark-based company for an undisclosed amount – it announced in separate statements on Tuesday morning.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gic-makes-two-european-investments-in-property-aircraft-industry
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/gic-buys-paris-office-building-for-741m-takes-stake-in-european-aircraft

Valuations veteran joins JLL from Savills
JLL has appointed valuations heavyweight Lim Khee Boon as senior director for its institutional cross-border valuations for South-east Asia, as the consultancy seeks to win more cross-border portfolio valuation work across Asia.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/valuations-veteran-joins-jll-from-savills
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/valuations-veteran-lim-khee-boon-to-join-jll-from-savills
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/jll-hires-valuations-veteran-lim-khee-boon

Connection between Punggol and KPE, TPE to open by end-November, one year ahead of schedule
A new road linking Punggol to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and the Tampines Expressway (TPE) will open by the end of next month, almost a year ahead of schedule. Aimed at alleviating traffic congestion along the TPE between the Punggol Way and KPE exits, it was originally scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of next year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/connection-between-punggol-and-kpe-tpe-to-open-by-end-november-one-year-ahead-of

Companies’ Brief

Dividend growth stocks trump Reits amid rate hike-driven volatility
As interest rates perk up and bond yields rise, investors betting on Reits and other erstwhile defensive “bond proxy” dividend stocks for income are being forced to rethink their strategies. Reits and other dividend-paying equities which are viewed as “bond proxies” are having to compete for capital with the actual things as bond yields rise in a market primed for faster Fed rate hikes.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dividend-growth-stocks-trump-reits-amid-rate-hike-driven-volatility

TEE International bags S$58m worth of engineering contracts
TEE International has clinched engineering contracts worth about S$58 million that brings its outstanding order book to about S$304 million, the engineering, infrastructure and real estate group said on Tuesday morning in a Singapore Exchange announcement.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tee-international-bags-s58m-worth-of-engineering-contracts
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/tee-international-snags-58m-worth-of-engineering-contracts

HMI unit StarMed buys more units in Farrer Square
Health Management International (HMI) unit StarMed@Farrer Square has entered into agreements to buy additional units in Farrer Square for S$36.7 million, HMI announced on Monday after the market closed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hmi-unit-starmed-buys-more-units-in-farrer-square

Lower contributions from several properties hit Keppel Reit’s Q3 DPU
Lower contributions from several properties took a toll on office landlord Keppel Reit in its third quarter. Distribution per unit (DPU) slipped to 1.36 Singapore cents from 1.4 Singapore cents in the year-ago period, its Reit manager said on Monday. That came as Q3 income available for distribution slipped 1.4 per cent to S$46.3 million from the year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lower-contributions-from-several-properties-hit-keppel-reits-q3-dpu-0
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lower-contributions-from-several-properties-hit-keppel-reits-q3-dpu
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-reit-q3-dpu-dips-29

SPH FY18 profit down in absence of one-off gains
SINGAPORE Press Holdings’ (SPH) net profit for FY18 fell 19.7 per cent to S$281.11 million in the absence of one-off gains, as FY17 had benefited from a gain on divestment of the group’s stake in an online classifieds business.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-fy18-profit-down-in-absence-of-one-off-gains
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-net-profit-down-197-for-fy2018-but-up-24-excluding-one-offs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-full-year-profit-falls-197-but-up-24-excluding-one-offs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-net-profit-down-197-for-fy2018-but-up-24-excluding-one-offs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/sph-reit-net-property-income-fell-12-per-cent-for-fy2018-bright-spots-seen-in-the

Lian Beng’s Q1 profit hit as SLB runs into red
New accounting standards that ate into profits from a Catalist-listed spin-off affected earnings at construction player Lian Beng Group in the first quarter. Net profit fell 38.9 per cent year on year to $6.97 million for the three months to Aug 31, it said on Friday. This was despite revenue rising 15.9 per cent to $83 million on higher turnover from construction and investment holdings.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lian-bengs-q1-profit-hit-as-slb-runs-into-red

NUS commits up to S$2.5m to kick-start 50 startups
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has pledged to commit up to S$2.5 million to launch 50 startups. The seed funding will be offered to recipients of the Stephen Riady Young Entrepreneur Scholarship. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients who are keen to start a new business venture can apply for seed funding of up to S$50,000. In 10 years, the university expects as many as 50 startups to be kick-started by these scholars.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups/nus-commits-up-to-s25m-to-kick-start-50-startups

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Nets starts service for online business billing and collections
Payment-service provider Nets on Monday launched PayCollect, an online billing and collections service for businesses to issue invoices and collect payments electronically. Businesses will be able to send e-invoices as request-to-pay notifications via SMS or e-mail, and customers can make payment via DBS, OCBC, UOB or NetsPay mobile apps by clicking on a link in the notification.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/nets-starts-service-for-online-business-billing-and-collections

Singapore’s role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
A Race is on globally to see which nations will lead on the digitised, Internet of Things-enabled and data-driven manufacturing front. The overall “readiness” of countries in Asia is relatively high, with digitally savvy workforces and national agendas ranging from Singapore’s Smart Nation to China’s Made in China 2025 putting a heavy focus on technology, not to mention the traditional Japanese edge on advanced technologies.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapores-role-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution

Congestion issues at Jewel Changi Airport should be looked into
Sometime in the first half of next year, the world’s best airport will get just a bit better. That is when the S$1.7 billion Jewel Changi Airport opens to travellers and the public.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/congestion-issues-at-jewel-changi-airport-should-be-looked-into

Climate change? It comes and goes, Trump says
President Donald Trump, a longtime climate change skeptic, said Monday on a tour of hurricane damage in the southern United States that “something” is happening – but that the change is not permanent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/climate-change-it-comes-and-goes-trump-says

Is the global warming fight mission impossible?
If there were any doubt before, there should be none now. “Solving” the global climate change problem may be humankind’s mission impossible. That’s the gist of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations group charged with monitoring global warming.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/is-the-global-warming-fight-mission-impossible

The changing faces of co-working spaces
When chiropractor Dr Kevin Tomassini opened his own practice earlier this year, he did so in a co-working space – one that provided more than the usual access to a desk, Internet service and power sockets.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/the-changing-faces-of-co-working-spaces-10827954