DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11 January 2022 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore’s new private home sales fall 58% in Dec on cooling measures, holiday season
New private home sales in Singapore slumped during the final month of 2021, as a double whammy of year-end festivities and fresh property cooling measures weighed on transaction volumes. Based on caveats lodged, analysts estimated that property developers sold 643 residential units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), in December 2021.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-new-private-home-sales-fall-58-in-dec-on-cooling-measures-holiday-season

Singapore’s resale condo market post strong showing in 2021, prices up 10.3%: SRX, 99.co
Singapore’s resale condominium market has ended another year on a strong note, with prices jumping 10.3 per cent and total resale volumes surging 81.8 per cent year on year to 20,079 units resold. The rise in resale prices outpaces the 1.4 per cent increase recorded in 2020, and 1.8 per cent growth recorded in 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-resale-condo-market-post-strong-showing-in-2021-prices-up-103-srx-99co
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-surged-103-in-2021-with-sales-up-nearly-82-srx-99co

Give developers leeway to adjust prices and pay fat commissions at new home launches
Last year was a good year for the Singapore residential property market. Based on the flash estimate of private home prices for the fourth quarter of 2021 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), prices rose 10.6 per cent year-on-year and 5.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/give-developers-leeway-to-adjust-prices-and-pay-fat-commissions-at-new-home-launches

Proposed URA rules will minimise potential disputes, improve transparency
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is proposing amendments to the Housing Developers Rules. The changes will improve market transparency by requiring developers to provide home buyers more information to help them make better-informed decisions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/proposed-ura-rules-will-minimise-potential-disputes-improve-transparency

Families to have priority for new prime location HDB flats, to keep flats affordable
The Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model will give priority to Singaporean families who may need more space because they have bigger households, the Ministry of National Development said on Monday (Jan 10).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/families-to-have-priority-for-new-prime-location-hdb-flats-to-keep-flats-affordable

CDL will be a key beneficiary in the collective sale of Tanglin Shopping Centre
Will the ongoing collective sale tender of Tanglin Shopping Centre present City Developments (CDL) with an opportunity to exit the ageing office, retail and car parking complex at a nice gain? Or would CDL want to take full control of the freehold asset just off Orchard Road?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-will-be-a-key-beneficiary-in-the-collective-sale-of-tanglin-shopping-centre

Singapore Economy

Full extent of delay to expansion of MBS, RWS not yet clear: Alvin Tan
[Singapore] The extent to which the expansion of Singapore’s integrated resorts (IRs) will be delayed remains unclear as the Covid-19 situation is still evolving, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/full-extent-of-delay-to-expansion-of-mbs-rws-not-yet-clear-alvin-tan
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/impact-of-covid-19-on-delay-of-expansion-plans-of-mbs-rws-still-unclear-alvin-tan

Time for Singapore’s business leaders to step up for sustainability
The announcements made at the COP26 summit last November signify the ambition to keep the 1.5 deg C global warming goal within reach. However, the window to get there is getting narrower. It is critical, therefore, to translate the COP26 pledges and agreements into action and to take ownership as business leaders.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/time-for-singapores-business-leaders-to-step-up-for-sustainability

ESR-Reit to divest 28 Senoko Drive industrial building for S$12m
ESR-Reit’s trustee RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore has entered into an agreement with Tat Seng Packaging Group to divest an industrial building at 28 Senoko Drive for S$12 million. The price tag represents an 8.4 per cent discount to the property’s fair value of S$13.1 million, said the manager of ESR-Reit in a press statement on Monday (Jan 10).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-to-divest-28-senoko-drive-industrial-building-for-s12m

Record 538 lawyers left profession in 2021; junior lawyers made up bulk of exits
A record number of lawyers left the profession last year, with the number of departures an “alarming year-on-year increase of around 30 per cent”, said Law Society president Adrian Tan on Monday (Jan 10).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/record-538-lawyers-left-profession-in-2021-junior-lawyers-made-up-bulk-of-exits?utm_source=emarsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BT_Breakfast_Brief&utm_term=Record+538+lawyers+left+profession+in+2021%3B+junior+lawyers+made+up+bulk+of+exits&utm_content=11%2F01%2F2022

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Covid-19 infection growth rate edges up; 389 new Omicron cases
Singapore – The weekly Covid-19 infection growth rate rose to 1.83 on Monday (Jan 10), up from 1.80 on Sunday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update. The number of new cases of the Omicron variant also rose from 327 on Sunday to 389 on Monday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/covid-19-infection-growth-rate-edges-up-389-new-omicron-cases

555 of the 802 who died of Covid-19 in 2021 were not fully vaccinated: Ong Ye Kung
Singapore – A total of 555 of the 802 who died of Covid-19 in 2021 were not fully vaccinated, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (Jan 10), stressing that this group of people are still “the most prone” to falling seriously ill when infected.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/555-of-the-802-covid-19-deaths-in-2021-were-not-fully-vaccinated-ong-ye-kung

About 2,600 Omicron infections imported into Singapore so far: Iswaran
Singapore – About 2,600 Omicron infections have been imported into Singapore so far, Transport Minister S. Iswaran told Parliament on Monday (Jan 10). This is about 60 per cent of the 4,322 Omicron infections recorded here so far.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/about-2600-omicron-infections-imported-into-singapore-via-vtls-so-far-iswaran

Curbs to be tightened only as a last resort, says Ong Ye Kung amid Omicron wave
Singapore does not plan to shutter its borders in the face of the Omicron virus variant, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung disclosed on Monday (Jan 10). Similarly, any tightening of domestic safe management measures will be a last resort, he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/curbs-to-be-tightened-only-as-a-last-resort-says-ong-ye-kung-amid-omicron-wave

Singapore aims for quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travellers: Iswaran
Singapore intends to continue gradually reopening its borders, and has plans to restore quarantine-free travel with more countries and regions, said Minister for Transport S Iswaran. Though the government had moved to place curbs on the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) in response to the global Omicron variant wave, Iswaran on Monday (Jan 10) assured the House that quarantine-free travel will resume once it is assessed to be safe to do so.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-aims-for-quarantine-free-travel-for-all-vaccinated-travellers-iswaran

All Malaysia-Singapore VTL bus tickets in early Feb snapped up amid CNY rush
Singapore – All 6,480 tickets sold by bus operator Causeway Link under the Malaysia-Singapore land vaccinated travel lane (VTL) were snapped up within hours on Monday (Jan 10) as people made plans to cross the border for the coming Chinese New Year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/all-land-vtl-bus-tickets-until-feb-6-sold-out-as-malaysians-rush-to-return-home-for-cny

No plans for vaccination-differentiated measures for kids aged 12 and below
Singapore – There are currently no plans to introduce vaccination-differentiated measures for children aged 12 and below, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (Jan 10). This means children will be able to enter schools and public areas no matter their inoculation status.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/no-plans-to-introduce-vaccination-differentiated-measures-for-kids-aged-12-and-below

*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