DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10th Mar 2020 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Condo resale prices and sales drop in February, hurt by coronavirus outbreak
Singapore – Resale prices and sales of non-landed private homes were hit last month from what one market observer called a “triple whammy” of coronavirus, the Chinese New Year seasonal slowdown and supply of new units from recent launches.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-and-sales-drop-in-february-hurt-by-coronavirus-outbreak

DPM Heng Swee Keat: Helping enterprises overcome difficulties, Associations and owners should cooperate to promote a fair tenancy framework
王瑞杰：助企业渡难关 商会与业主应合作推动公平租约框架
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/sme/news/story20200310-1035774

Companies’ Brief

Aspial to issue S$50m 6.5% 3-year notes at par
Aspial Corporation, which sells jewellery and develops property, on Monday said it is offering S$50 million worth of three-year notes at par. The notes, which will mature on March 20, 2023, will have a fixed coupon rate of 6.5 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in arrear.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aspial-to-issue-s50m-65-3-year-notes-at-par

Mapletree Investments gets 200m euro sustainability-linked loan
Mapletree Investments has obtained a 200 million euro (S$310 million) sustainability-linked loan from OCBC Bank, which will be used for general working capital and corporate funding purposes. he loan – which the bank said is one of the largest sustainability-linked loans for Singapore real estate developers – is linked to key environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives that Mapletree focuses on.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mapletree-investments-gets-200m-euro-sustainability-linked-loan

Fitch gives Starhill Global Reit a ‘BBB’ long-term default rating
Fitch Ratings has assigned Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (SGReit) a “BBB” long-term issuer default rating with a stable outlook. The credit ratings agency has also assigned a “BBB” long-term rating to SGReit’s S$2 billion multi-currency medium-term notes programme and the S$295 million outstanding notes issued off the programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fitch-gives-starhill-global-reit-a-bbb-long-term-default-rating

Lendlease names MD for data centre business
Property and infrastructure group Lendlease has appointed Sam Lee as managing director of data centres. He will be responsible for leading Lendlease Data Centre Partners, a US$1 billion joint venture which invests in data centres in the Asia-Pacific region. The joint venture with an institutional investor was launched in July 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/lendlease-names-md-for-data-centre-business-0

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Founders’ Memorial design chosen, to be completed in 2027
Come 2027, the Marina Bay skyline will be reshaped with the addition of a new building – one with clean lines and a flowing green terrain that leads to an amphitheatre. It is the upcoming Founders’ Memorial, which honours Singapore’s pioneer leaders, located in a 5-hectare site in Bay East Garden.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/founders-memorial-design-chosen-to-be-completed-in-2027
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/lush-greenery-part-of-winning-founders-memorial-design

Singapore Budget 2020

Make the most of S$4b package first, DPM Heng tells firms
While the government is prepared to roll out a second package to help businesses tide over the coronavirus outbreak, companies should first try to make the most of the existing S$4 billion package, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/make-the-most-of-s4b-package-first-dpm-heng-tells-firms
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/govt-ready-to-roll-out-second-aid-package-for-firms-if-needed

Business leaders call for fine-tuning of some virus help measures for firms
Business leaders yesterday described measures in the Budget to help firms cope with the coronavirus outbreak as substantial and wide-ranging, but said some of these initiatives still need to be fine-tuned or improved.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/business-leaders-call-for-fine-tuning-of-some-virus-help-measures-for-firms

DPM Heng to speak at ST-BT Budget 2020 Roundtable
With the annual Committee of Supply debate having come to an end last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will share further views on Singapore’s outlook amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as longer-term structural issues, at a roundtable organised by The Business Times and The Straits Times on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/dpm-heng-to-speak-at-st-bt-budget-2020-roundtable
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dpm-heng-and-3-other-panellists-to-discuss-outlook-for-spores-economy-amid-virus-crisis

Support for businesses in Singapore
Around $8.3 billion will be allocated over the next three years to help companies build up capabilities and transform to leverage future opportunities. Several measures have been introduced or enhanced in Budget 2020, targeted at businesses ranging from micro enterprises to multinational corporations, to boost the
business landscape in Singapore.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/support-for-businesses-in-singapore

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation

Covid-19 likely to linger for a long time, say experts
The number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 is growing around the world and, as the epicentre of the outbreak shifts away from China, it is unlikely that the disease will taper off the way that Sars did, experts said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/covid-19-likely-to-linger-for-a-long-time-say-experts
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/jury-still-out-on-how-infectious-asymptomatic-patients-are

Threat of coronavirus pandemic now ‘very real’: WHO
[Geneva] The World Health Organization warned on Monday there was now a “very real” threat that the new coronavirus outbreak will become a pandemic, but stressed the virus could still be controlled. After global Covid-19 infections passed the 100,000-mark, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that “the threat of a pandemic has become very real.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/threat-of-coronavirus-pandemic-now-very-real-who
*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