DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 13th Sep 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Belmont Road GCB takes 3rd stab at mortgagee sale
A good class bungalow (GCB) at 80 Belmont Road, owned by The Stratech Group’s Chew family, will be relaunched for auction next week with a lower guide price of S$39 million, marketing agent Knight Frank Singapore said on Thursday. The auction will be held on Sept 18 at 2.30pm at Amara Hotel, Level 3.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/belmont-road-gcb-takes-3rd-stab-at-mortgagee-sale
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/belmont-rd-bungalow-up-for-auction-with-new-39m-guide-price

Tenders awarded for Tan Quee Lan St, Bernam St and one-north Gateway sites
The tenders for three sites under the first half of the 2019 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme were awarded on Thursday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The three sites are at Tan Quee Lan Street, Bernam Street and one-north Gateway. The tenders closed on Sept 5 and were awarded to the highest bidders. The land parcels were offered for sale on 99-year lease terms.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tenders-awarded-for-tan-quee-lan-st-bernam-st-and-one-north-gateway-sites

Private urban planners can help build a better Singapore: Lawrence Wong
The Government will continue to lead urban planning efforts in Singapore to tackle issues like climate change, but it will need help from urban planners and other stakeholders in the private sector. This is essential to build Singapore into a better, greener and more liveable city, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/private-urban-planners-can-help-build-a-better-spore-minister

Singapore Economy

Retail sales down 1.8% in July
Takings at the till dropped for the sixth straight month in July as consumers continued to spend cautiously amid a slowing economy. Overall retail takings fell 1.8 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to Department of Statistics data yesterday. Most of the retail segments are underperforming, with steeper declines in discretionary items such as jewellery, recreational goods and computer…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/retail-sales-down-18-in-july
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/singapore-retail-sales-down-18-in-july
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/construction-service-sectors-behind-rise-in-foreign-hires
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/retail-sales-fall-for-sixth-straight-month-in-july

Tougher job market in Q2, unemployment for locals creeps up: MOM
Jobseekers faced a tougher slog in the first half of this year, although there was no spike in layoffs amid the economic slowdown. The latest labour market data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday also showed citizen and resident unemployment rates inching up and job openings declining.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/tougher-job-market-in-q2-unemployment-for-locals-creeps-up-mom
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/job-vacancies-shrink-as-firms-turn-cautious-amid-slowdown
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/unemployment-rate-singaporeans-q2-2019-inches-up-mom-11898482

Companies’ Brief

Dasin Retail Trust gets SGX nod to list 82.35m new units from placement
Dasin Retail Trust has received in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), to list 82.35 million new units from a private placement on the mainboard. “The SGX-ST’s in-principle approval is not to be taken as an indication of the merits of the private placement, the new units, Dasin Retail Trust and/or its subsidiaries,” the trustee-manager said in a regulatory update on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dasin-retail-trust-gets-sgx-nod-to-list-8235m-new-units-from-placement

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

More cheer for first-time HDB buyers
Now, first-time buyers will receive higher grants and enjoy more flexibility in choosing the size of their flat and where it is located. The income ceiling, too, for Housing Board flats has been raised for the first time since 2015, thus widening the pool of eligible buyers. Crucially, a new Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG), which streamlines two older grants, gives couples more flexibility in affording a flat that suits their needs.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/more-cheer-for-first-time-hdb-buyers