DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10 Jun 2020 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

Mediacorp’s former Caldecott Hill site may come to market soon
Mediacorop may finally be getting ready to put up its former campus in Caldecott Hill for sale. According to sources, the group recently conducted a request for proposal (RFP) exercise, inviting property consultants to provide marketing services to find a buyer for the sprawling site of slightly more than 752,000 square feet (sq ft).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mediacorps-former-caldecott-hill-site-may-come-to-market-soon

Beach Road site up for collective sale with $90m reserve price
Singapore (The Business Times) – A small Beach Road site is up for collective sale at a reserve price of $90 million. The plot of 698.9 sq m (7,523 sq ft) is at the junction of Beach Road and Liang Seah Street and has a 999-year leasehold tenure effective from Jan 25, 1827.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/beach-road-site-up-for-collective-sale-with-90m-reserve-price
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/101-beach-road-up-for-en-bloc-sale-with-s90m-reserve-price

Resale prices for condos hold steady in May despite volume dive
Resale prices for non-landed private homes held steady in May despite another plunge in sales volume during the second month of the circuit breaker period, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/resale-prices-for-condos-hold-steady-in-may-despite-volume-dive
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-hold-steady-in-may

Singapore developers start to dangle discounts to move units
More discounts are popping up at new private projects as developers try to move sales. New private home sales in April plunged 58 per cent to 277 from 660 in March. February’s sales numbered 976, the highest monthly volume so far in 2020. Developers sold 9,912 units in 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-developers-start-to-dangle-discounts-to-move-units

Coronavirus: Construction sector faces tough transition, but help will be at hand
The construction sector will need to institute new safeguards at worksites and continue its push for automation and productivity to reduce its reliance on foreign workers in the wake of Covid-19, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/construction-sector-faces-tough-transition-but-help-will-be-at-hand

Building materials firms to lead construction recovery
Building materials companies will lead the construction sector’s recovery on the back of accelerated infrastructure spending as economies gradually reopen, according to market watchers. This comes as the construction sector is expected to take a hard hit from the Covid-19 outbreak in the face of labour constraints and supply chain disruptions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/building-materials-firms-to-lead-construction-recovery

Singapore Economy

Singapore business sentiment remains downbeat for Q3: survey
Business sentiment among local firms remains downbeat for the third quarter of this year, but has improved from the previous quarter’s record low amid the economy’s gradual reopening. Particularly, the manufacturing and financial services sectors anticipate a slightly better outlook ahead, according to the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau’s (SCCB) latest quarterly survey released on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-business-sentiment-remains-downbeat-for-q3-survey
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-business-sentiment-picks-up-from-q2-low

Poll: Q3 hiring outlook weakest since 2009
The labour market is showing signs of strain as businesses put off recruitment amid the uncertainty brought about by Covid-19. The hiring outlook among Singapore employers for the next quarter is the weakest since 2009, a report noted yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/poll-q3-hiring-outlook-weakest-since-2009

Singapore ranks 4th in safest places to live in during pandemic: Survey
Singapore is among the safest places to live in during the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study says, indicating that the authorities are well placed to lift restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus. The country ranked fourth, just ahead of Japan, out of 200 nations and territories in a survey that took in 11,400…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-ranks-4th-in-safest-places-to-live-in-during-pandemic-survey

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand to further waive rent for SMEs, expects earnings to be hit
Property giant CapitaLand said it will further waive and potentially defer rent for certain small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tenants, although this will have an “adverse impact” on its earnings this year. This move is in accordance with the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Amendment) Bill, which requires landlords to provide SME tenants with additional rental relief amid the pandemic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-to-further-waive-rent-for-smes-expects-earnings-to-be-hit

Frasers Property bags S$350m green loan for Fernvale Lane exec condo project
Frasers Property has, through its subsidiary Fernvale Lane, obtained a S$350 million green loan from DBS Bank, Maybank and OCBC Bank. This will finance its Fernvale Lane executive condominium (EC) development in the Sengkang area. It is Singapore’s first green loan for an EC development, and the group’s 10th green financing initiative, Frasers Property said on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-property-bags-s350m-green-loan-for-fernvale-lane-exec-condo-project-0

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Navigating retail in the post-Covid-19 era: Welcome to the Paranoid Economy
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the disruption retailers both big and small have been facing for some time now, due to e-commerce, digitalisation, changing behaviour and shopping preferences of consumers.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/navigating-retail-in-the-post-covid-19-era-welcome-to-the-paranoid-economy

AI is an important ally for businesses in a crisis
Like its predecessors – Sars, H1N1, and even the Spanish flu, among others – the novel coronavirus outbreak brings with it uncharted territory and new challenges that much of the world is unacquainted with. This time, however, we have a powerful ally on our side: artificial intelligence (AI).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/ai-is-an-important-ally-for-businesses-in-a-crisis

As businesses reopen, we should reopen our minds too
As humans, we are creatures of habit. We seek the comfort of the familiar. Yet, as businesses reopen after a prolonged closure, the world looks decidedly unfamiliar. We see it everywhere. Masks have become a staple when we step outside. Social distancing has become a standard practice wherever you go.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/as-businesses-reopen-we-should-reopen-our-minds-too

The road ahead as Singapore adapts to living with Covid-19
This is the transcript of a national broadcast by National Development Minister and Second Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on what Singapore needs to do as it eases into the new normal of a world changed by Covid-19.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-road-ahead-as-singapore-adapts-to-living-with-covid-19

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

218 new Covid-19 cases mark lowest daily tally since April 11
Singapore yesterday reported 218 new coronavirus cases, the lowest daily tally since April 11 when 191 new cases were confirmed. Six of the new cases yesterday are community cases, all of whom are work pass holders and asymptomatic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/218-new-covid-19-cases-mark-lowest-daily-tally-since-april-11

Coronavirus: 58 businesses, individuals fined in 1st week of reopening
Five businesses were handed fines of $1,000 each for failing to enforce proper safe management measures. These included failing to have employees work from home when possible; not implementing safe distancing of at least 1m at workplaces and storefronts; and not complying with sector-specific requirements on retail sales.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/58-businesses-individuals-fined-in-1st-week-of-reopening

Urban plans, business practices will have to change: Lawrence Wong
With Covid-19 transforming the way people live and work, Singapore’s urban plans and building designs will need to change, and companies will have to find new, safer ways to deliver products and services, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong has said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/urban-plans-business-practices-will-have-to-change-lawrence-wong

Virus may be here for the long haul so Singapore must adapt: Minister
Singapore needs to be prepared for more challenging times ahead and steel itself to live with the coronavirus for the long term, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday. “It is not likely that the virus will go away,” said Mr Wong…
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/virus-may-be-here-for-the-long-haul-so-singapore-must-adapt-minister

WHO official clarifies remark on asymptomatic spread
Geneva • A top World Health Organisation (WHO) official yesterday tried to downplay her comment that asymptomatic transmission of coronavirus is “very rare”, an assessment that revived controversy over transmission routes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/who-official-clarifies-remark-on-asymptomatic-spread

Vaccine will be made available to all Singaporeans who need it
Every Singaporean who needs it will have access to a Covid-19 vaccine should one become available, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday. Outlining Singapore’s strategy to control the spread of the coronavirus in a national broadcast, he pledged that if and when a vaccine is ready…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/vaccine-will-be-made-available-to-all-sporeans-who-need-it

Close to 200 clinics able to test for Covid-19
Close to 200 clinics are now equipped to perform Covid-19 tests, as part of efforts to ramp up testing as the economy gradually reopens. Four regional screening centres – with a fifth to open soon – have also started operating, to take Singapore from 13,000 tests a day now to 40,000 in the coming months.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/close-to-200-clinics-able-to-test-for-covid-19

Coronavirus: Controlling spread of virus by boosting testing, contact tracing
Aggressive testing and contact tracing will improve Singapore’s ability to control the spread of the coronavirus and gradually reopen the economy, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, noting that the authorities had spent the circuit breaker period boosting their abilities to do both.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/controlling-spread-of-virus-by-boosting-testing-contact-tracing

Coronavirus: 25% of TraceTogether users update app to latest version
About a quarter of the 1.8 million users of TraceTogether have updated their app to the latest version, which requires them to re-register with their identification numbers. These 450,000 app users had previously entered their mobile phone numbers, but the new requirement to supply more personal data is needed under stepped-up measures to combat Covid-19’s spread.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/25-of-tracetogether-users-update-app-to-latest-version

New token, updated app and privacy concerns
Questions have been raised about the implications for privacy with the announcement of a contact tracing device and an updated version of an existing app, both developed by the Government. One is the new TraceTogether Token and the other, an updated TraceTogether app – both of which are part of stepped-up efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Singapore.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/new-token-updated-app-and-privacy-concerns
*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