DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16 Mar 2021 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

In a Covid year, new condos’ price-income ratio widens
Like several countries across the world, Singapore has seen private housing prices move higher in spite of a global pandemic. Given this, fresh data shows that the gap between incomes and prices of private non-landed homes continued to widen in 2020. Specifically, the gap – known as an “affordability ratio” – between prices of new condominiums sold and household income continues to be at its widest in a decade, The Business Times’ analysis of data from Knight Frank, Colliers International, OrangeTee & Tie, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Department of Statistics (DOS) showed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/in-a-covid-year-new-condos-price-income-ratio-widens

New private home sales plunge 60.5% in February
Developers in Singapore sold 645 new private homes in February, down 60.5 per cent over January’s 1,632 units amid a paucity of new launches. While overall sales volume fell, wealthy buyers continued their buying spree, with more picking up homes costing over S$3 million. February marked the lowest monthly sales since May 2020’s 487, and down 33.9 per cent from 976 achieved in February 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-private-home-sales-plunge-605-in-february
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-home-sales-plunge-as-launches-held-back-over-cny

Singapore’s data centre market among top 10 in the world: reports
Singapore is one of the top ideal markets for data centres across the globe, recent reports showed. The Arcadis Data Centre Location Index 2021 ranked Singapore the second most attractive city to build data centres, out of a total of 50 cities. Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global Data Centre Market Comparison report ranked Singapore’s data centre market fifth out of 48 markets in total – advancing one rank from a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-data-centre-market-among-top-10-in-the-world-reports
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-among-worlds-top-5-data-centre-markets-reports

Singapore Economy

How Covid-19 upended the global economy
The world economy managed to survive 2020, but not before taking a severe beating from the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a look at the economic disruption it brought to Singapore and the rest of the world.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/how-covid-19-upended-the-global-economy

Singapore business sentiment positive for Q2 on improved outlook, recovery for SMEs
Business sentiment in Singapore has turned expansionary for the second quarter of 2021, following four quarters of negative sentiment, with improved expectations for profits and hiring as well. On Monday, the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau’s (SCCB) latest quarterly survey of 200 business owners and senior executives showed the indicator for overall business sentiment at +3.94 percentage points for Q2, versus -1.03 percentage points in the previous quarter, and -7.88 percentage points in Q2 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/singapore-business-sentiment-positive-for-q2-on-improved-outlook-recovery-for-smes
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/business-sentiment-in-singapore-turning-positive-poll

Firms must invest in workers to emerge stronger: DPM Heng
Amid the uneven recovery from Covid-19 and stiff global competition for talent, firms must invest in their workers so as to transform and emerge stronger from the pandemic, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. At the Lianhe Zaobao Singapore Budget 2021 Business Forum yesterday, Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, outlined three ways in which firms and employees can work closely together.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/firms-must-invest-in-workers-to-emerge-stronger-dpm-heng

Companies’ Brief

Guoco Group unit raises offer price for GL by 14.3% to S$0.80 per share
The Guoco Group unit looking to take GL private has raised its offer price by 14.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$0.80 per offer share, from S$0.70 previously. The offeror – GuocoLeisure Holdings – does not intend to increase the final price “under any circumstances whatsoever”, hotel operator GL said in a bourse filing on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/guoco-group-unit-raises-offer-price-for-gl-by-143-to-s080-per-share
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/guoco-group-unit-raises-offer-price-for-gl-by-143-to-80c-per-share

Suburban malls can still thrive despite retail disruption from online shopping
Retail operators with physical outlets are struggling due to the relentless rise of online shopping both in Singapore and overseas. Department store Robinsons closed its last outlet in Singapore early this year after 162 years of operations. Listed groups Isetan (Singapore) and Metro Holdings have reported losses on their retail businesses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/suburban-malls-can-still-thrive-despite-retail-disruption-from-online-shopping

WeWork to launch at 21 Collyer Quay within next year
WeWork is set to launch its largest location yet in Singapore – at the 21-storey former HSBC building at Collyer Quay – in the next nine to 12 months, Samit Chopra, the company’s managing director for international strategy and operations, told The Business Times. The coworking operator is also expecting to turn Ebitda-positive in South-east Asia, as well as in the overall Pacific region, around the second quarter, said Mr Chopra, who oversees the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Pacific regions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/wework-to-launch-at-21-collyer-quay-within-next-year

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore SMEs look to technology experts for digitalisation
When general manager Prasad Mogan first joined Dragnet Smartech Security, he brought with him a vision of the potential of automation for the family business. Fast forward five years, and the security company has set up a system integration arm and realised Mr Mogan’s plans for expanding its portfolio. As a former security officer, Mr Mogan was no stranger to the strains of the job. To monitor security situations around the clock, security officers work 12-hour shifts and up to 65 hours of overtime in a month, he said. The mentally and physically taxing work drew lacklustre interest.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/singapore-smes-look-to-technology-experts-for-digitalisation

Australia eyes digital vaccine passport with S’pore
Australia’s Tourism Minister plans to travel to Singapore to discuss the creation of a digital vaccine passport system that would enable a travel bubble between the two countries by the middle of the year. In an announcement that has raised the hopes of Australia’s ailing tourism sector, minister Dan Tehan yesterday said the country hoped to set up a travel bubble that would include Singapore and New Zealand, and perhaps other places such as Fiji.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australia-eyes-digital-vaccine-passport-with-spore-coronavirus-global-situation

Singapore-Australia travel bubble might just work
Singapore – Come July, Singapore and Australia could become the first countries to use “Covid-19 vaccine passports” for travel within a “bubble” of these two nations. However, as the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday (March 15), everything is at a very preliminary and exploratory stage at present. Australians are already allowed to transit via Singapore without quarantine, provided they comply with Singapore’s safety protocols.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/singapore-australia-bubble-might-just-work

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

12 new coronavirus cases in Singapore, all imported
There were 12 new coronavirus cases confirmed yesterday, said the Ministry of Health, taking Singapore’s total to 60,117. They were all imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, said the ministry.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/12-new-coronavirus-cases-in-singapore-all-imported

MOH warns public to comply with MC stay-home rules
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has warned those with acute respiratory symptoms to comply with Covid-19 restrictions, after five people were charged in court over coronavirus-related offences. Two were charged yesterday over allegedly visiting public areas despite being issued medical certificates (MCs), thus “exposing others to the risk of Covid-19 infection”
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/moh-warns-public-to-comply-with-mc-stay-home-rules

*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