DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22 September 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

IOI Properties’ S$1.508b sole bid for Marina plot surprises market
Market watchers were mostly surprised with the outcome of Tuesday’s tender closing for a white site along Marina View earmarked largely for private residences and hotel use. The plot, which was triggered earlier from the government’s reserve list, drew just one bid at tender.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ioi-properties-s1508b-sole-bid-for-marina-plot-surprises-market
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ioi-properties-s1508b-sole-bid-for-marina-view-white-site-surprises-market

Luxury penthouse apartment at Bishopsgate Residences up for sale at S$25m indicative price
A luxury penthouse apartment at Bishopsgate Residences condominium has been put up for sale via private treaty with an indicative price of about S$25 million, said marketing agent OrangeTee Advisory. Occupying a floor area of 5,974 square feet, the penthouse unit consists of four bedrooms with a family area, two kitchens, a balcony, a swimming pool and a roof terrace. At the indicative price, it translates to about S$4,185 per square foot.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/luxury-penthouse-apartment-at-bishopsgate-residences-up-for-sale-at-s25m-indicative

Companies’ Brief

Oxley divests Sydney land parcels for S$96.3m, boosts cashflow
Oxley Holdings has divested its land parcels located in Sydney, Australia for S$96.3 million, above its book value of S$60 million as at June 30, 2020. The property developer expects the transaction to contribute positively to its cashflow as there is no outstanding bank loan secured by the asset, it said in a bourse filing on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-divests-sydney-land-parcels-for-s963m-boosts-cashflow

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

It’s time to rethink global travel restrictions
For many economies in the Asia-Pacific region, containing the highly infectious Delta Covid-19 variant has proven to be very challenging despite stringent border restrictions and active contact tracing. The region’s vital tourism sector continues to struggle for survival with knock-on impacts on the transport, retail, and food & beverage sectors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/its-time-to-rethink-global-travel-restrictions

Could stagflation be a looming problem in the US?
Earlier this month, investors who had grown accustomed to watching Wall Street rising to successive all-time highs every so often, witnessed a rare sight – five consecutive days of weakness for US stocks, during which the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 2.4 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/could-stagflation-be-a-looming-problem-in-the-us

The future of banking is open
As the lines between fintech players, technology giants, and legacy banks continue to blur, players will increasingly be competing on technology-driven innovations, and their ability to connect with digitally savvy customers who demand and expect easy, personalised transactions and access to multiple services through a single access point.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-future-of-banking-is-open

Rise and fall of the World Bank’s Doing Business report
Every year since 2003, many governments around the world have eagerly awaited the World Bank’s report on Doing Business – formerly known as Ease of Doing Business – to see where their countries stand vis-a-vis others and how their rankings have changed.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/rise-and-fall-of-the-world-banks-doing-business-report

What you need to know about SORA, the new interest rate benchmark in Singapore
In line with global interest rate benchmark reform, the Singapore banking industry will move towards SORA, as SOR and SIBOR are phased out.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/sora-singapore-overnight-rate-average-interest-rate-benchmark-banking

Should you fear the taper?
Central banks have been talking about tightening monetary policy, starting with tapering the amount of bond purchases they make each month. The Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia have already started tapering and the US Federal Reserve has started discussing it.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/should-you-fear-the-taper

Four considerations for strong investment policy statements
An investment policy statement (IPS) can be one of the most important documents for individual and institutional investors alike. Four considerations can help determine how robust an IPS is. The overarching theme among them is thoroughness
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/four-considerations-for-strong-investment-policy-statements

Some S$900m in JSS payouts to support worker wages from Sept 30
[Singapore] More than 43,900 employers will receive JSS payouts totalling over S$900 million from Sept 30 under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) to support the wages of over 570,000 local employees.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/some-s900m-in-jss-payouts-to-support-worker-wages-from-sept-30
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/900m-in-jss-payouts-to-support-wages-of-more-than-570000-workers-from-sept-30

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Three more Covid-19 deaths; 1,178 new Covid-19 cases
[Singapore] Three Singaporeans have died from Covid-19 complications, taking our Covid-19 death toll to 65, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Tuesday (Sept 21). One of them was a 62-year-old Singaporean woman who died after a prolonged stay at the hospital on Monday (Sept 20).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/three-more-covid-19-deaths-1178-new-covid-19-cases
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/3-more-covid-19-deaths-bring-total-to-65-new-cases-in-community-cross-1000-mark

Singapore firms welcome revised snap WFH rules, less disruption expected in event of Covid-19 case
Singapore – Businesses welcomed changes to the snap work-from-home (WFH) regime, noting that the revised rules would reduce disruption to work operations should there be Covid-19 cases among employees.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-firms-welcome-revised-snap-wfh-rules-less-disruption-expected-in-event-of-covid-19

Marsiling Lane Hawker Centre and Wet Market closed due to Covid-19 cases
Singapore – Several cases of Covid-19 have emerged at the Marsiling Lane Hawker Centre and Wet Market at Blocks 20 and 21. An MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 21) that the venue will be closed from Tuesday to Friday for deep cleaning and will reopen on Saturday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/marsiling-lane-hawker-centre-and-wet-market-closed-due-to-covid-19-cluster-there

Concern, frustration as Covid-19 clusters disrupt life around Toa Payoh
Singapore – The crowds are gone in Toa Payoh, which is feeling the impact of several Covid-19 clusters emerging across the neighbourhood over the past few weeks. The Ministry of Health has identified various locations with Covid-19 cases, with the biggest of the clusters – 254 cases – at the bus interchange in Toa Payoh Central.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/concern-frustration-as-covid-19-clusters-disrupt-life-around-toa-payoh
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/high-traffic-increased-infection-risk-at-toa-payoh-lorong-8-market-study

Ang Mo Kio community hospital bans visitors for a month from Sept 22 amid rising Covid-19 cases
Singapore – Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital (AMKH) has banned most visitors from Wednesday (Sept 22) to Oct 21, as new daily Covid-19 cases in the community continue to rise.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ang-mo-kio-community-hospital-bans-visitors-for-a-month-from-sept-22-amid-rising

GP clinics in S’pore see surge in patients as daily Covid-19 cases climb
Singapore – General practitioner (GP) clinics and private medical providers that perform swab tests have been seeing a surge in patients amid record-high Covid-19 community cases in recent days.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/gp-clinics-in-spore-see-surge-in-patients-as-daily-covid-19-cases-climb

*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