DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14 May 2020 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Developers will work out ‘amicable arrangements’ with buyers: Redas
Developers will work out “amicable arrangements” with “genuine home buyers” affected by disruptions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas) said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/developers-will-work-out-amicable-arrangements-with-buyers-redas

Homebuyers get 6 months to review new purchase
Homebuyers facing buyers’ remorse will have six months to mull over whether they should go ahead with their purchase as they are now also given cover under the temporary relief measures from legal action as a result of Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/homebuyers-get-6-months-to-review-new-purchase
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/relief-for-home-buyers-with-payment-problems

April home sales dive 62%; May unlikely to see improvement
Sales volumes for new private homes appear to have tumbled sharply in April as developers were forced to shutter sales galleries and prospective buyers stayed home, while the extended circuit breaker could spell a poorer performance in May.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/april-home-sales-dive-62-may-unlikely-to-see-improvement

Condo, HDB rental volumes plunge more than 36%
Demand for renting both non-landed private homes and Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats dropped sharply last month, with market observers saying that this was due to the “circuit breaker” measures implemented in April, which prevented prospective tenants from visiting and viewing properties offered for lease.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-hdb-rental-volumes-plunge-more-than-36
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/condo-hdb-rental-volumes-plunge-amid-circuit-breaker

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Property’s Q2 profit falls 38.1%; bosses take pay cuts
Frasers Property’s group chief executive, other members of senior management, as well as board members of the group and its subsidiaries, have taken base salary and fee cuts effective May 1, as the company looks to conserve its financial resources
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-propertys-q2-profit-falls-381-bosses-take-pay-cuts

Genting Singapore posts 55% fall in Q1 earnings; remains gloomy for rest of year
Genting Singapore said its earnings more than halved for the first quarter, as the global novel coronavirus pandemic took its toll on tourism. It is pessimistic for the rest of the year, foreseeing that any recovery may be long-drawn.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/genting-singapore-posts-55-fall-in-q1-earnings-remains-gloomy-for-rest-of-year

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

More than 280,000 tonnes of petrol stored on Singapore, Malaysian waters
At least three more ships loaded with petrol are now anchored off Malaysia and Singapore, Asia’s top oil trading centre, taking the total volume of petrol sitting in the region to more than 280,000 tonnes (2.4 million barrels), three trade sources said on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/more-than-280000-tonnes-of-petrol-stored-on-singapore-malaysian-waters

How to reopen economy by exploiting the coronavirus’ weak spot
If we cannot resume economic activity without causing a resurgence of Covid-19 infections, we face a grim, unpredictable future of opening and closing schools and businesses. We can find a way out of this dilemma by exploiting a key property of the virus: its latent period – the three-day delay on average between the time a person is infected and the time he or she can infect others.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/how-to-reopen-economy-by-exploiting-the-coronavirus-weak-spot

Reopen US economy to reduce unemployment levels
The April jobs report has brought home the catastrophic impact that the lockdown has inflicted on US workers. Non-farm payrolls suffered the largest decline on record, falling by 20.5 million and bringing employment back to early-2011 levels. The unemployment rate jumped by more than 10 percentage points to 14.7 per cent, corresponding to 16 million more unemployed people.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/reopen-us-economy-to-reduce-unemployment-levels

Singapore Budget 2020

S$16b in government Covid-19 support disbursed between March and May so far
From March to May, firms and individuals in Singapore have received S$16 billion in government assistance to weather the Covid-19 crisis so far, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/s16b-in-government-covid-19-support-disbursed-between-march-and-may-so-far
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-16b-in-govt-aid-disbursed-to-sporeans-businesses
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-16b-in-covid-19-govt-aid-given-out-so-far-indranee

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation

958 Covid-19 patients in Singapore discharged in new daily high; 675 new cases reported
A total of 958 patients were discharged yesterday – a new daily high – as a further 675 new cases of Covid-19 were identified. This is the second time this week that the number of patients discharged has exceeded the number of new cases.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/958-discharged-in-new-daily-high-675-new-cases-reported

Will Covid-19 crowd out the agenda for climate change and other pressing issues?
Perhaps not, but it has revealed misplaced priorities and gaps in what’s left to be done by governments, the private sector and individuals. The window for action remains open.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/will-covid-19-crowd-out-the-agenda-for-climate-change-and-other-pressing-issues

Ease curbs carefully to avoid large peak in coronavirus infections: Expert
Singapore will need to tread carefully as it eases its circuit breaker measures amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as there could still be a “large peak” in infections down the road, an expert has warned.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ease-curbs-carefully-to-avoid-large-peak-in-infections-expert

Coronavirus: Task force exploring ways to protect construction workers in Singapore
An industry task force is examining how Covid-19 infections can be prevented in the construction sector when work gradually resumes after the circuit breaker ends, The Straits Times has learnt. Comprising eight to 10 members of the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (Scal), it is working with the authorities to devise new practices, said Scal first vice-president Lee Kay Chai.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/task-force-exploring-ways-to-protect-construction-workers
*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website atwww.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation