DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5 May 2020 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Half of developers likely to cut prices of Singapore new launches
The sentiment of local property developers has dived, with half of them likely to lower the selling prices of their new launches in the next six months. This is according to the latest Real Estate Sentiment Index (Resi), published by the National University of Singapore Real Estate (NUS+RE). The index hit a record low in the first quarter of 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/half-of-developers-likely-to-cut-prices-of-singapore-new-launches

Commercial unit at Upper Thomson up for sale with S$19.5m guide price
A freehold commercial unit at Thomson Imperial Court is up for sale in the market via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise, sole marketing agent SRI announced on Monday. The guide price of S$19.5 million works out to about S$1,771 per square foot based on the unit’s strata area.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/commercial-unit-at-upper-thomson-up-for-sale-with-s195m-guide-price

Coronavirus: Singapore retailers must adapt to new shopping habits
A month into Singapore’s circuit breaker, which has led to most stores being shut, retailers have two options: adapt or die. When the dust finally settles, the retail landscape is likely to be less vibrant as smaller players disappear, and those that survive will have to respond to new shopping habits, industry observers say.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-retailers-must-adapt-to-new-shopping-habits

How sustainable is the retail Reit model?
When the first Singapore real estate investment trust (S-Reit), CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), was floated nearly 18 years ago, it soon became a stock market darling – rewarding unitholders with not only regular distributions from rental income but also attractive appreciation in unit prices.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/how-sustainable-is-the-retail-reit-model

Singapore Economy

April PMI in negative territory across all sectors
The societal shutdowns adopted to contain the deadly Covid-19 are weighing on factories in the region, and Singapore has been no exception. Analysts also expect the pain to persist in the months ahead, as a resurgence of trade tensions adds fuel to the pandemic’s fire.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/april-pmi-in-negative-territory-across-all-sectors
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-factory-activity-at-11-year-low

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand’s Q1 lodging business fee income falls 9%
CapitaLand’s lodging business saw first-quarter fee income drop 9 per cent year on year to $54.2 million, while revenue per available unit (revPAU) fell 22 per cent to $84 from $108 the year before, according to the group’s first-quarter business update yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitalands-q1-lodging-business-fee-income-falls-9

CapitaLand sees signs of recovery as China reopens, but pace remains uncertain
CapitaLand is seeing encouraging signs of recovery as businesses in China reopen. The property group reported improved residential sales and shopper traffic in March in an update on Monday for the first quarter of 2020. The pace of recovery, however, remains uncertain. The group expects its near-term operating and financial performance for the China market to lag that of prior years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-sees-signs-of-recovery-as-china-reopens-but-pace-remains-uncertain

CapitaLand’s jointly-owned office building 79 Robinson Road receives TOP
Grade A office building 79 Robinson Road has received its temporary occupation permit (TOP) on April 28, property giant CapitaLand said on Tuesday in a regulatory update. The 29-storey office development has a net lettable area of 518,000 square feet (sq ft) and is jointly-owned by CapitaLand, Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co and developer Tokyo Tatemono.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitalands-jointly-owned-office-building-79-robinson-road-receives-top
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitalands-79-robinson-road-achieves-top-amid-covid-19-restrictions

FSL Trust posts Q1 DPU of 1.5 US cents
First Ship Lease Trust’s (FSL Trust) board has approved a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.5 US cents for its first quarter ended March 31. This is the business trust’s second consecutive distribution payment in more than seven years, its manager announced on Monday after market close. The vessel owner did not provide a distribution in the year-ago quarter.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fsl-trust-posts-q1-dpu-of-15-us-cents

Keppel Corp appoints Evercore Asia as IFA
Keppel Corp has appointed Evercore Asia (Singapore) as independent financial adviser (IFA) on the partial offer by Temasek Holdings. In a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Monday night, Keppel said: “In view of the scale and diversity of the group’s businesses, the company has decided to appoint the IFA today, even though the pre-conditions have not been satisfied and/or waived by the offeror yet, so as to ensure the IFA would have sufficient time to carry out its review.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-corp-appoints-evercore-asia-as-ifa

Lendlease Global Reit posts Q3 DPU of 1.28 S cents, 0.7% above IPO forecast
Lendlease Global Commercial Reit has posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.28 Singapore cents for the third quarter ended March 31, 0.7 per cent higher than the manager’s initial public offering (IPO) forecast of 1.27 cents. Gross revenue stood at S$21.7 million for the quarter, up 2.2 per cent from the IPO forecast of S$21.2 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lendlease-global-reit-posts-q3-dpu-of-128-s-cents-07-above-ipo-forecast

Lum Chang wins tender for Mandai rejuvenation project
Lum Chang Building Contractors, a wholly owned subsidiary of mainboard-listed Lum Chang Holdings, has won a tender for the Mandai rejuvenation project from Mandai Park Development. The scope of the contract includes the construction of an arrival node, a transport hub, nature-themed indoor attractions and a resort, Lum Chang Holdings said yesterday, without disclosing the total contract value.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lum-chang-wins-tender-for-mandai-rejuvenation-project

UOL, UIC retail tenants get rent rebate extension till July
Retail tenants of UOL Group and its subsidiary United Industrial Corporation have received their rental rebates in March and April, and will continue to receive additional rental rebates in May till July. This will result in a total relief package of more than S$50 million for retail tenants, inclusive of about S$16 million of property tax rebates from the government, property developer UOL said on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uol-uic-retail-tenants-get-rent-rebate-extension-till-july
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/uol-extends-rental-rebates-for-retail-tenants-to-july

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Oil-hungry Asian nations pounce on low prices to build stockpiles
Some oil-hungry Asian nations are taking advantage of the collapse in prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic to build up their crude stockpiles.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/oil-hungry-asian-nations-pounce-on-low-prices-to-build-stockpiles

Singapore Budget 2020

50,000 more will benefit from jobs scheme
Wage subsidy payouts under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for shareholder-directors will include backdated payments for the month of April. The disbursement for this group of qualifying employees will start this month, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Parliament yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/50000-more-will-benefit-from-jobs-scheme

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation

3 new coronavirus clusters, 573 new cases in S’pore; most are workers in dorms
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 573 new coronavirus cases in Singapore as of noon yesterday, 98 per cent of whom were migrant workers in dormitories. Three new clusters were identified. These are at Hai Leck Engineering at 9 Tuas Avenue 1, Melody Springs construction site at 477A Yishun Street 44 and another new cluster at 6 Tuas Basin Link.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/3-new-clusters-573-new-cases-in-spore-most-are-workers-in-dorms

Three factors to consider before Singapore starts reopening economy
The phased reopening of Singapore’s economy will take into account virus case numbers, the global situation, and key enablers such as testing and contact tracing, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/three-factors-to-consider-before-singapore-starts-reopening-economy
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/minister-warns-of-marathon-battle-against-coronavirus

Singapore’s healthcare capacity can be expanded for Covid-19 needs: Gan Kim Yong
Hospitals have rapidly increased the number of isolation beds in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and will do the same for intensive care beds if necessary, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday. Thousands of beds have also been set up outside hospitals for patients who are only mildly ill, to ensure Singapore retains the capacity to care for the most critical coronavirus cases in hospitals.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spores-healthcare-capacity-can-be-expanded-for-covid-19-needs-gan

Nationwide testing plan to better detect coronavirus cases without links
A nationwide Covid-19 testing strategy is being developed, even as Singapore scales up its testing capacity, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong. This will involve more extensive community surveillance to better detect any unlinked cases in the community, he said in a ministerial statement on the virus yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nationwide-testing-plan-to-better-detect-cases-without-links

Social, economic costs weighed before circuit breaker move
Keeping everyone at home to stem the transmission of Covid-19 has substantial social and economic costs, and is likely to disproportionately impact lower-income and vulnerable groups, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/social-economic-costs-weighed-before-circuit-breaker-move

Situation in purpose-built dorms largely stable: Josephine Teo
The coronavirus situation in Singapore’s 43 purpose-built foreign worker dormitories is “largely stable now”, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo yesterday. But the picture is “much more mixed” in the smaller factory-converted dormitories and temporary construction quarters, of which there are over a thousand, she told Parliament in a ministerial statement on the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/situation-in-purpose-built-dorms-largely-stable-josephine-teo

Government to look into raising housing standards for migrant workers: Teo
The government will look into how housing standards for migrant workers can be raised after the novel coronavirus outbreak is brought under control, Singapore’s manpower minister has said, even as she acknowledged that a focus on rooming arrangements on their own may not prevent a recurrence.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/government-to-look-into-raising-housing-standards-for-migrant-workers-teo
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/steps-taken-to-improve-workers-housing-standards
*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 COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation