DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10 Feb 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

More expect government intervention to cool property market
Fears of spiking construction costs overtook economic woes as the top potential risk factor that may temper sentiment in the property sector in the next six months. That is according to the latest Real Estate Sentiment Index published by the National University of Singapore Real Estate (NUS+RE), which represents the Department of Real Estate and the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies at the university. The quarterly survey polled about 40-50 senior executives in the real estate sector who are closely following the pulse in the markets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/more-expect-government-intervention-to-cool-property-market
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/more-expect-govt-to-act-to-cool-spore-property-market-survey

More condo and HDB units rented out in January 2021: SRX
[Singapore] The climb out of the pandemic-induced rut appears to be on track with rental volume for both Housing Board flats and condominium units recording another month of increases in January this year. Condo leasings rose 11.3 per cent last month to an estimated 4,747 units, compared with 4,266 units in December last year, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX Property released on Wednesday. The rental volume was 8.5 per cent higher than the five-year average volume for the month of January.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/more-condo-and-hdb-units-rented-out-in-january-2021-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/more-condo-and-hdb-units-rented-out-in-january-2021-srx

Pricier, new condo launches drove resale market in January: analysts
New condominium launches drove demand for units in the secondary market in January, with resale units being relatively more affordable, said analysts. The comments came as condo resale prices rose for the sixth straight month in January 2021, flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property showed on Tuesday. Overall prices were up 1.2 per cent from December 2020, and 2.2 per cent higher compared to January 2020, according to flash figures from the real estate portal.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/pricier-new-condo-launches-drove-resale-market-in-january-analysts
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-rise-for-sixth-month

En bloc deals may be back in play as developers run down landbanks
Over half the developers here are keen to replenish their landbank, with the en bloc market likely to garner more interest in the first half of this year, according to a survey. However, smaller residential sites yielding 100 to 200 private homes are seen as the sweet spot as developers shun risk amid economic headwinds. The fourth-quarter 2020 survey by the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) at NUS polled 47 executives in Singapore…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/en-bloc-deals-may-be-back-in-play-as-developers-run-down-landbanks

9 Joo Chiat Place conservation shophouses for sale for S$33.9m
Nine adjoining conservation shophouses at 30 to 46 Joo Chiat Place are up for sale with an indicative price tag of S$33.9 million, said marketing agents Huttons Asia and Sotheby’s International Realty. The row of nine, available via an expression of interest (EOI), covers a land area of 13,996 square feet (sq ft). This works out to about S$2,422 per square foot (psf) on land area.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/9-joo-chiat-place-conservation-shophouses-for-sale-for-s339m

East Coast development goes on collective sale by auction – the first since 1997
A small freehold apartment block off East Coast Road will soon be put up for collective sale at a public auction – which is a rarity in Singapore, as most en bloc sales take place via tender. This is believed to be only the second time a collective sale will be held through a public auction; the first was more than two decades ago, in January 1997, when Far East Organization outbid DBS Land for Scotts Tower.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/east-coast-development-goes-on-collective-sale-by-auction-the-first-since-1997

Former Sincere Watch boss Tay Liam Wee joins owners cashing in on active GCB market
Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market continues to be on a roll. Among the latest deals is a bungalow in Binjai Park that is in the early stage of being sold for S$31.35 million; this works out to S$1,384 per square foot based on the 22,648 sq ft freehold land area. On site is a two-storey bungalow with a basement and a lift. It has five bedrooms and a guest room, as well as a courtyard and swimming pool.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/former-sincere-watch-boss-tay-liam-wee-joins-owners-cashing-in-on-active-gcb-market

Maintaining professional independence in the Reits sector
Singapore counts as one of the world’s premier listing destination for real estate investment trusts (Reits). This hub status for Reits is underpinned by strong local investors’ appetite as well as trust in the property investment vehicle. The relatively high level of trust comes from various factors including sound governance structure such as the need for independent valuation when acquiring real estate. Why is an independent valuer important? Why do Reits not rely on internal valuers and do away with hiring an external independent valuer?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/maintaining-professional-independence-in-the-reits-sector

Investing in Reits vs residential property
Real estate’s appeal as an asset class lies in it being a store of value that can generate rental income. If the rental income can be generated, there is good reason to invest more in real estate. Interest rates are painfully low though thankfully negative interest rates have not hit us in Singapore as yet. One struggles to get 0.5 per cent per annum in Singapore dollar fixed deposits and the Singapore Savings Bond pays just under 1 per cent per annum for a holding period of 10 years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/investing-in-reits-vs-residential-property

Singapore Economy

Sustainable schemes for debt relief key to narrowing rich-poor chasm: study
Debt relief programmes are critical to help lift low-income households out of poverty, showed a new study on Tuesday. The effects of Covid-19 continue to pressure the income gap in Singapore, and debt is expected to mount when temporary relief schemes end and moratoriums are rolled back. To improve financial sustainability, these programmes can look at “sharing ownership” between the beneficiaries, charities and social service organisations, as well as the larger society.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/sustainable-schemes-for-debt-relief-key-to-narrowing-rich-poor-chasm-study-0

Tourism vouchers a catalyst for ‘middleman’ travel agents to evolve
The SingapoRediscovers Vouchers (SRV) scheme may be what’s needed to shake up travel agents’ business models as middlemen. That’s as some business operators feel frozen out by the domestic tourism campaign – which extends S$320 million in credits to be spent at eligible hotels, attractions or tours. Already, 300,000 people spent S$35.9 million in SRV redemptions and out-of-pocket payments by Jan 1, just one month into the scheme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/tourism-vouchers-a-catalyst-for-middleman-travel-agents-to-evolve

WEF’s Singapore meeting will come as world readies for reset
Critical global issues such as climate change, job reskilling and food security will be up for discussion when the World Economic Forum (WEF) meets in Singapore later this year, the first time its key stakeholders will meet in person since the Covid-19 pandemic began early last year. The meeting, set to take place from Aug 17 to 20, comes as the world is preparing for a reset in the aftermath of the pandemic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/wefs-singapore-meeting-will-come-as-world-readies-for-reset-0

Companies’ Brief

Climate change the ‘biggest consideration’ for Temasek’s investment strategy, says its next CEO
The investment strategies that Temasek Holdings have employed over the years have borne much fruit, and this will continue to shape the decisions the company makes in the next decade and beyond, said its incoming executive director and chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara. But with this being a “much more complex” world, the “biggest consideration” for Temasek will centre around the issue of climate change and the impact this will have on businesses in every sector all over the world, he said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/climate-change-the-biggest-consideration-for-temaseks-investment-strategy-says-its

Genting Singapore’s full-year net profit down 90%
Genting Singapore on Tuesday posted a 90 per cent plunge in full-year net profit to S$69.2 million, which the integrated resort operator called the “worst financial performance since the opening of (its) Singapore Integrated Resort in 2010”. This was despite the group’s implementation of cost-containment measures and aid from the Singapore government amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Genting Singapore said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/genting-singapores-full-year-net-profit-down-90
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/genting-spores-full-year-net-profit-plunges-90

Lendlease Global Reit posts H1 DPU of 2.34 S cents
Lendlease Global Commercial Reit (Lendlease Global Reit) on Wednesday posted a H1 distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.34 Singapore cents for the six months ended Dec 31, 2020, up 0.8 per cent from the previous year’s DPU of 2.32 cents derived from annualised results. Annualised results for the six months ended Dec 31, 2019 are based on the actual results from Oct 2, 2019 to June 30, 2020 prorated to 366 days, deducting for the Reit’s actual results from Jan 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lendlease-global-reit-posts-h1-dpu-of-234-s-cents

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

World gears up for green race
There is a sense of inevitability in the air. The world is finally galvanising resources through policies, legislation, and capital to combat the slow-acting, but existential threat to planet Earth. The debilitating impact of the Covid-19 virus has catalysed a greater sense of urgency for the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/world-gears-up-for-green-race

Rethinking hospitality: 3Cs for hotels to heed
Covid-19 has caused governments globally to adopt isolationist policies. This approach will create pent-up demand for international travel when the crisis is finally over. All it takes is for tourism boards to splurge on marketing, airlines to present discounts, hotels to offer free nights, and all will be well. Not so fast. Here’s the hard truth.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/rethinking-hospitality-3cs-for-hotels-to-heed

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Singapore Airlines stewardess is fifth person on flight from UAE to test positive for Covid-19
Singapore – A 41-year-old Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member who was on a turnaround flight to the United Arab Emirates is the fifth person on that aircraft to have tested positive for the coronavirus. All five have also tested preliminarily positive for the more infectious B117 strain of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Tuesday (Feb 9). The stewardess, who is Singaporean, was among 11 coronavirus cases confirmed by MOH on Tuesday. The new cases, all imported, take Singapore’s total to 59,732.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sia-stewardess-who-took-covid-19-vaccine-among-11-imported-cases

Tighter border measures for travellers on Business Travel Pass scheme
The multi-ministry task force on Tuesday announced that Singapore will be tightening border measures for travellers from Vietnam as well as those on the Business Travel Pass (BTP) scheme. Meanwhile, border measures for travellers from New South Wales (NSW), Australia, will be adjusted, given the improvement in the state’s Covid-19 situation. Travellers on the BTP scheme will now be required to undergo Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on the third, seventh and 14th day of their return.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/tighter-border-measures-for-travellers-on-business-travel-pass-scheme

WHO-China team quashes theory that virus leaked from Wuhan lab
Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and China yesterday quashed the controversial theory that the coronavirus had leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, suggesting instead that it most likely infected humans from an intermediate animal host. The possibility that Covid-19 could have resulted from a lab incident was one of four hypotheses that investigators probed during their just-concluded mission to Wuhan, where Covid-19 was first discovered in December 2019.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/who-china-team-quashes-theory-that-virus-leaked-from-wuhan-lab

Bats carrying viruses similar to Sars-CoV-2 found outside China
Horseshoe bats carrying coronaviruses very similar to the one that causes Covid-19 have been found outside China, new research has found. This implies that the virus could have arrived at the Chinese city of Wuhan from elsewhere, said one of the study’s co-authors, Professor Wang Linfa from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/bats-carrying-viruses-similar-to-sars-cov-2-found-outside-china
*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