DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16 June 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

$300m site near Botanic Gardens stirs interest as GCB market continues to sizzle
Amid the current sizzling Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market, a plum property just a stone’s throw from the Singapore Botanic Gardens has been generating much interest. Sitting on nearly 90,000 sq ft of freehold land at 2 Lermit Road, within the Cluny Park GCB Area, the property could be worth S$300 million (S$3,340 psf) or more, according to market watchers.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/plum-site-near-botanic-gardens-stirs-buyer-interest-as-gcb-market-continues-to-sizzle

New launches, looser Covid-19 restrictions may boost new home sales ahead: analysts
Developers in Singapore sold nearly 30 per cent fewer private homes in May compared with April, with sales dampened by stricter safe-distancing measures meant to curb rising Covid-19 cases here, as well as fewer launches.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-launches-looser-covid-19-restrictions-may-boost-new-home-sales-ahead-analysts

URA releases two land parcels at one-north’s Slim Barracks Rise for sale
Two residential with commercial at first storey land sites at Slim Barracks Rise were released for sale on Tuesday, under the confirmed list of the first half 2021 government land sales (GLS) programme, announced the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-releases-two-land-parcels-at-one-norths-slim-barracks-rise-for-sale-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ura-launches-two-one-north-gls-sites-for-sale

New private home sales down 30% in May on stricter curbs
Developers sold fewer homes last month as the recent round of tighter Covid-19 restrictions dampened show-flat and property viewings and also slowed new launch activity. New private home sales last month fell nearly 30 per cent to 891 units from 1,268 units in April.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-down-30-in-may-on-stricter-curbs

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s population growth slowed to 1.1% per year in the last decade: Census
Singapore’s population growth over the last decade slowed to 1.1 per cent per year, less than half of the 2.5 per cent annual rate in the decade before that, the latest Census of Population showed. In 2020, Singapore’s total population was 5.69 million, up from 5.08 million a decade before, according to data released by the Department of Statistics on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-population-growth-slowed-to-11-per-year-in-the-last-decade-census

BT Explains: Inflation and its effect
When external inflation rises, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s mandate is to keep domestic inflation stable, which means it has to allow the Singapore dollar to strengthen. Doing so moderates the cost of imports, helping to cool domestic inflationary pressures.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/bt-explains-inflation-and-its-effect

Companies’ Brief

Ascott to open lyf co-living property in Fukuoka
CapitaLand’s The Ascott on Tuesday said it will be opening its first lyf-branded co-living property in Japan on Wednesday. The property, lyf Tenjin Fukuoka, is the first of six lyf properties slated for opening this year in Singapore, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ascott-to-open-lyf-co-living-property-in-fukuoka

ART, Ascott to jointly invest, develop South Carolina student housing asset for US$109.9m
Ascott Residence Trust (ART) and its sponsor The Ascott will jointly invest and develop a 678-bed freehold student accommodation asset in South Carolina for US$109.9 million. This comes as the stapled group looks to expand its longer-stay portfolio after including student accommodation in its investment mandate this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/art-ascott-to-jointly-invest-develop-south-carolina-student-housing-asset-for

Hotel investments in contactless tech, innovation will separate post-pandemic winners from losers
Traditionally a high-touch operation, the pandemic has forced the hotel industry to fast-track the adoption of digital solutions from robots to artificial intelligence. And while vaccination programmes are underway, uneven vaccination rates globally suggest the world will need to learn to live with Covid-19…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hotel-investments-in-contactless-tech-innovation-will-separate-post-pandemic

Raffles set to launch first London hotel and branded residences in 2022
The iconic Raffles brand will make its debut in London come 2022, with a luxury hotel in the Old War Office building, even as the first Raffles-branded residences in Europe are launched for sale. Completed in 1906, the landmark property in the heart of Whitehall has been home to monarchs such as Henry VIII…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/raffles-set-to-launch-first-london-hotel-and-branded-residences-in-2022
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/raffles-to-open-its-first-london-hotel-in-historic-war-office-building

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Living with endemic Covid: keeping the effects in check and the country running
What exactly will Singapore have to live with, when it eventually learns to live with endemic Covid-19? As the official approach sharpens and evolves, the public’s shared assumptions about the virus – including how to tackle it, and what counts as cause for alarm – will have to shift in tandem.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/living-with-endemic-covid-keeping-the-effects-in-check-and-the-country-running

The importance of achieving global risk agility
A number of risks that occurred sporadically in previous decades now occur with regularity and have become a permanent part of the global risk management mosaic. Whether interstate conflict, terrorism, extreme weather events, water crises, pandemics or cyberattacks, the political, economic, environmental…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-importance-of-achieving-global-risk-agility

Singapore companies are going agile to stay ahead
Managing businesses in the time of Covid-19 is delivering important insights. Decisions that used to take months in large organisations are taken in days. Likewise, companies able to be agile in the face of existential shocks and the ongoing pandemic-related volatility and uncertainty can adapt, survive and even thrive.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-companies-are-going-agile-to-stay-ahead

The brutal truth about Bitcoin
Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, has been on a wild ride since its creation in 2009. Earlier this year, the price of one bitcoin surged to over US$60,000, an eightfold increase in 12 months. Then it fell to half that value in just a few weeks.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-brutal-truth-about-bitcoin

Pioneering the post-pandemic city
Cities, with their unique opportunities and challenges, were already firmly in the spotlight before the pandemic. Covid-19 has intensified this focus, and is forcing urbanists to rethink the cities of tomorrow, says Greg Clark.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/pioneering-the-post-pandemic-city

M&A activity within Singapore and region expected to remain robust
Despite ongoing Covid-19 pandemic headwinds, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity within Singapore and the region is expected to remain robust, boosted by pent-up demand from last year, supportive financing markets and overall strong market sentiment, particularly towards tech and high-growth industries.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ma-activity-within-singapore-and-region-expected-to-remain-robust

Steering your dividend portfolio through choppy waters
IF there is one word to sum up what Singaporean investors feel today, it would be “uncertainty”. As a nation, we are back in Phase 3. Yet, we are not out of the woods. Singapore is accelerating its vaccination roll-out with a target of having three out of every four residents fully vaccinated by October.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/steering-your-dividend-portfolio-through-choppy-waters

Healthy demand for office spaces even as firms eye hybrid model
Some employers plan to make hybrid work arrangements permanent even when Covid-19 restrictions are eased in the future, but this has not led to a spike in office space vacancies. Several major office building owners and co-working spaces in Singapore said they are continuing to see healthy demand, with little to no drop in occupancy rates.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/healthy-demand-for-office-spaces-even-as-firms-eye-hybrid-model

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Nine more cases linked to Bukit Merah View food centre; closure extended to June 26
[Singapore] Nine more cases have been confirmed to be linked to the Bukit Merah View Food Centre cluster, most of whom are food stall workers there or their household contacts, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday night.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/nine-more-cases-linked-to-bukit-merah-view-food-centre-closure-extended-to-june
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/bukit-merah-view-market-closure-extended-as-cluster-grows-to-25

Long queues at Bukit Merah block as residents take swab test
Long queues formed at the temporary Covid-19 testing area set up at Block 125A Bukit Merah View yesterday, after the site was opened to residents. Set up on Monday, the site was intended for the mandatory testing of about 85 stallholders at 116 Bukit Merah View after a new cluster formed at the nearby 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/long-queues-at-bukit-merah-block-as-residents-take-swab-test

Cleaning firm’s staff go for testing after cleaner gets infected
Staff who were in close contact with an infected employee of cleaning company AO Service Pro – a 79-year-old cleaner – have undergone testing for the Covid-19 virus. The cleaner, who works at blocks 375 and 376 Clementi Avenue 4, was the sole unlinked case announced on Monday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cleaning-firms-staff-go-for-testing-after-cleaner-gets-infected

*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