DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 12 Feb 2020 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

Jan condo resale prices inch up; Feb data likely to show virus impact
Resale prices for non-landed private residential properties in Singapore rose slightly in January 2020 after a flat performance in December, according to flash estimates from real estate portal SRX Property. Condominium resale prices were up 0.5 per cent compared to December. Year on year (y-o-y), prices increased 2.3 per cent. Meanwhile, volume grew 4 per cent to 684 units resold in January, from the 658 units resold in the previous month. Sales volume climbed 15.9 per cent y-o-y, and was also 13.4 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of January.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jan-condo-resale-prices-inch-up-feb-data-likely-to-show-virus-impact
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-prices-edge-up-in-january-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-up-but-virus-outbreak-may-hit-sales

HDB launches over 3,000 BTO flats in first exercise for 2020
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 3,095 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in the first sales exercise of the year on Tuesday. The flats are spread across two housing projects in the mature estate of Toa Payoh – one in Kim Keat and another near Caldecott – and one project in Sembawang. In Toa Payoh, some 920 two-room flexi, three-room and four-room flats are on offer in Toa Payoh Ridge, located on a site between Caldecott and Braddell MRT stations. The site in Kim Keat, named Kim Keat Ripples, has 708 units in two-room flexi and four-room flat types.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-launches-over-3000-bto-flats-in-first-exercise-for-2020
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/more-than-3000-hdb-flats-launched-for-sale-in-toa-payoh-sembawang-in-first-bto-exercise
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/3095-bto-flats-up-for-sale-in-toa-payoh-sembawang

2 Yishun industrial properties up for sale via EOI: Edmund Tie
Two industrial properties in Yishun are up for sale via expression of interest (EOI). Potential buyers may submit offers for either property or both, sole marketing agent Edmund Tie said on Tuesday. The indicative price for both properties is S$29 million. Individually, the indicative price for 539 Yishun Industrial Park A is S$9.8 million, while 543 Yishun Industrial Park A’s indicative price stands at S$19.2 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/2-yishun-industrial-properties-up-for-sale-via-eoi-edmund-tie

Fu Lu Shou Complex strata offices up for sale with S$1,400 psf guide price
Three strata office units at Fu Lu Shou Complex on Rochor Road are up for sale at a guide price of S$7.2 million or S$1,400 per square foot (psf), marketing agent CBRE said on Tuesday. The units, which have a 99-year leasehold tenure starting 1980, may be sold individually or as a bundle. Located next to the lift lobby on level five of Fu Lu Shou Complex, the portfolio has a combined strata floor area of about 5,145 sq ft, comprising three units spanning 936 sq ft, 2,034 sq ft and 2,174 sq ft respectively.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fu-lu-shou-complex-strata-offices-up-for-sale-with-s1400-psf-guide-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/three-fu-lu-shou-complex-strata-offices-up-for-sale

Singapore Economy

Outbreak may slash visitor arrivals 25-30%; STB not counting on V-shaped recovery
Singapore’s tourism-linked sectors are in for a rough ride – visitor arrivals may fall by 25 to 30 per cent this year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The decline will come after four straight years of growth in arrivals and receipts, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) at its annual year-in-review on Tuesday. While hard to estimate, the decline in receipts is likely to be “roughly in line” with the decline in arrivals, said STB chief executive Keith Tan.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/outbreak-may-slash-visitor-arrivals-25-30-stb-not-counting-on-v-shaped-recovery
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/task-force-to-tackle-expected-30-fall-in-tourists

Tourist arrivals, spending hit record highs for fourth year
Singapore’s tourism industry enjoyed record highs for the fourth year in a row last year. Visitor numbers rose 3.3 per cent to 19.1 million, while the amount they spent inched up 0.5 per cent to $27.1 billion, according to preliminary estimates released by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) yesterday. However, tourism receipts were slightly below projections, continuing the trend of spending failing to keep pace with arrivals.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tourist-arrivals-spending-hit-record-highs-for-fourth-year

Companies’ Brief

Tiong Seng units bag S$124m worth of contracts for en bloc sites
Mainboard-listed construction and civil engineering contractor Tiong Seng Holdings announced on Tuesday that its subsidiaries have bagged contracts for two private-home projects worth S$123.9 million in all, taking the group’s construction order book to about S$1 billion until 2023.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tiong-seng-units-bag-s124m-worth-of-contracts-for-en-bloc-sites

Roxy-Pacific takes 49% stake in Tokyo retail building
Mainboard-listed property group Roxy-Pacific Holdings has taken a 49 per cent stake in a retail building in Tokyo, it disclosed in a bourse filing on Tuesday. Roxy-Pacific made the purchase through an injection of roughly US$10 million in investment company Vivel SG, which paid 5.2 billion yen (S$65.7 million) for the building at 23-10 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-Ku.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/roxy-pacific-takes-49-stake-in-tokyo-retail-building

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Economic Affairs: Uncertain economic impact of the coronavirus
The coronavirus is a global public health emergency. How long will it be before it also becomes a global economic emergency? And how should investors react? So far, global financial markets, except those in Asia, appear to show little concern – which is surprising. For, with the world’s second-largest economy all but cut off from the world, the economic impact is already huge. Several multinationals have suspended operations in China, which is, in many cases, their largest market. Apple has shut its offices and stores and is scrambling to find new suppliers after Foxconn, which assembles many of its products, announced it will close its factories until at least the second week of this month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/uncertain-economic-impact-of-the-coronavirus

3 lessons from owning Reits for 15 years
I bought units of Suntec Reit in 2005. I still own all the units today. Real estate investment trusts (Reits), as a whole, have grown in popularity over the last 15 years. It’s not hard to see why. Reits offer access for the common investor to own properties without the hassle of being a private landlord. You will be able to buy or sell your holdings without dealing with estate agents, lawyers or bankers. As an investment vehicle, Reits are also more flexible.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/3-lessons-from-owning-reits-for-15-years

New coronavirus outbreak threatens green shoots of global recovery
The global economy has been on the mend since the last quarter of 2019, thanks in no small part to the easing of US-China trade hostilities and rate cuts by major central banks. But can it survive the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak? It may be too early to gauge the temperature of the global economy as a result of the outbreak, which has hurt everything from the trade in goods, tourism, retail sales and manufacturing activities to domestic consumption,….
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/new-coronavirus-outbreak-threatens-green-shoots-of-global-recovery

Update on 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation

WHO sticks to 14-day quarantine against coronavirus
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/who-sticks-to-14-day-quarantine-against-coronavirus

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation