DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 19th Sep 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Two hospitality assets flipped for 30-70% profit in just months
Two Singapore hospitality assets – one along Orange Grove Road and the other in Outram Road – have been flipped for handsome gains after holding periods of just under a year. The Outram Road deal, involving the distinctive barrel-shaped Wangz Hotel, yielded a gross gain of about 30 per cent or S$14 million over a period of just three months.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-hospitality-assets-flipped-for-30-70-profit-in-just-months-0

Manhattan House up for sale, S$300m reserve price
Manhattan House – a full commercial site along Chin Swee Road – will be up for sale via a public tender on Friday, with a reserve price of S$300 million. This reflects a land rate of S$1,681 per square foot per plot ratio, inclusive of the differential premium payable, ERA Realty Network said in a news release on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/manhattan-house-up-for-sale-s300m-reserve-price

5 adjoining Kampong Glam shophouses up for tender
Five adjoining conservation shophouses located in Kampong Glam are up for sale via public tender at a guide price of S$23.8 million, real estate firm Knight Frank said on Wednesday. The freehold shophouses at 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25 Baghdad Street are located at the prime corner of Baghdad Street and Muscat Street.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/5-adjoining-kampong-glam-shophouses-up-for-tender

This less-known Singapore property play pays 51%
[Singapore] Singapore is a major Asian refining hub, though it doesn’t have a drop of crude petroleum. Now, the tiny country is punching above its weight in data. The upshot for investors: An asset class that pays 51 per cent in a world where earning even zero is increasingly a luxury. There’s a limit to how many bits and bytes even a busy financial centre of 5.6 million people can produce. Yet, measured by power…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/this-less-known-singapore-property-play-pays-51

Sale of WeWork Waterloo to Singapore’s Bright Ruby Resources falter
[London] Deals for two major London buildings leased mostly to WeWork are on the ropes. Saudi Arabia-based Sidra Capital has pulled out of a £90 million (S$154.3 million) deal as the flexible-office giant’s planned initial public offering got an increasingly rocky reception from investors, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/sale-of-wework-waterloo-to-singapores%C2%A0bright-ruby-resources-falter
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/asia-least-prepared-for-threats-of-ageing-automation

New app by UOB, SoReal helps SMEs buy commercial properties faster
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may now be able to invest in and get loans for commercial properties faster, with a new mobile app – called RealCommercial – by United Overseas Bank (UOB) and property portal SoReal Prop. SMEs can search and get valuations for properties such as offices and warehouses on the RealCommercial mobile app, which provides listings from SoReal, an online property…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-app-by-uob-soreal-helps-smes-buy-commercial-properties-faster
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-mobile-app-helps-smes-buy-commercial-properties

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s asset management industry grows at slower 5.4% pace in 2018: MAS
Despite a challenging year for global financial markets in 2018, Singapore’s assets under management (AUM) increased further by 5.4 per cent to S$3.44 trillion, according to an annual poll by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This growth was mostly thanks to a 15 per cent surge in alternative assets to S$646 billion last year, which was supported by strong inflows and continued valuation gains across…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapores-asset-management-industry-grows-at-slower-54-pace-in-2018-mas

Asia ‘least prepared for threats of ageing, automation’
Major Asian economies are among the least prepared to combat the threats of societal ageing and workplace automation, a new study shows. While Singapore ranked the highest out of the four regional nations included in the index, it was still in the bottom half at No. 13.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/asia-least-prepared-for-threats-of-ageing-automation

Companies’ Brief

FLT to be included in GPR 250 Index Series from Sept 23
Mainboard-listed Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust (FLT) will be a constituent of the GPR 250 Index Series from Sept 23, the company announced in a bourse filing on Wednesday. Published by the Dutch firm Global Property Research, the series comprises two indices: the GPR 250 Index, representing the 250 most liquid listed property securities globally, and the GPR 250 Reit Index.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/flt-to-be-included-in-gpr-250-index-series-from-sept-23

Frasers Hospitality aims to attract rich tourists in Germany
Frasers Hospitality Group is expanding in Germany to capture a growing number of well-heeled travellers in Europe’s largest economy. The Singapore company on Tuesday opened its first hotel under its luxury brand Fraser Suites in Hamburg.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/frasers-hospitality-aims-to-attract-rich-tourists-in-germany

OUE to sell serviced apartments, hotel business for S$289m
Property developer OUE Limited is looking to sell Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore, its luxury serviced residences along Shenton Way, as well as the hotel business for S$289 million in total. In a bourse filing early on Thursday morning, OUE said that Alkas Realty, its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into property sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with DHI Holding (S) Pte Ltd for the sale and transfer of…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-to-sell-serviced-apartments-hotel-business-for-s289m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-to-sell-serviced-apartments-hotel-business-for-289m

Manulife US Reit in US$142.1m equity fundraising to buy US$198.8m California office tower
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit) on Thursday said it intends to raise about US$142.1 million via a private placement and preferential offering to partially fund its US$198.8 million acquisition of a Class A office building in Sacramento, California. It is the third Reit this week to announce equity fundraising to fund new acquisitions, after Keppel DC Reit and Mapletree Industrial Trust.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-in-us1421m-equity-fundraising-to-buy-us1988m-california-office
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-in-us1421m-equity-fundraising-to-buy-us1988m-california

Rich Capital JV receives default notice from Batam project contractor
Oxley Karya Indo Batam (OKIB), a joint-venture vehicle linked to Rich Capital, has received a notice of default from the main contractor of the Oxley Convention Centre development project in Batam, Indonesia. The contractor, Rich-Link Konstruksi (RLK), is alleging that OKIB breached contract terms by not making payments for the project amid certified progress payments of IDR32.7 billion (S$3.2 million), Rich Capital…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rich-capital-jv-receives-default-notice-from-batam-project-contractor