DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th, 10th August 2016

Top Story

Sentosa Cove bungalow market thaws
There has been an improvement in bungalow deals in Sentosa Cove lately, after a slow start this year. A bulk sale for the remaining 10 bungalows on Pearl Island, one of the five man-made islands in the waterfront housing district, has been entered into. The transaction, via a sale of shares in the company that developed the 19-villa project, values the balance 10 bungalows at S$120-130 million, which works out to S$1,500-1,600 per square foot on land area, The Business Times understands. The transaction is subject to the approval of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC). The buyer is Singapore-incorporated SRIF Pte Ltd, which is fully owned by Leslie Lim and Vincent Ong, the co-founders of Evia Real Estate. However, Evia is not involved with the transaction. SRIF is buying over the entire equity of Ximeng Land (S) Pte Ltd, the developer of Pearl Island. Ximeng is controlled by a Liu family from Beijing.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/sentosa-cove-bungalow-market-thaws

Singapore Economy

Singapore economic survey expected to confirm sluggish growth in Q2
Singapore’s latest estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to confirm sluggish growth in the April-June quarter, with the outlook clouded by concerns over Brexit and weakening global demand. The second-quarter economic survey of Singapore, with detailed breakdowns of growth by industry, is set to be released on Thursday. The median forecast in a Reuters survey of 13 economists was that GDP in the April-June quarter expanded by 0.8 per cent from the previous three months on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-survey-expected-to-confirm-sluggish-growth-in-q2?login=true

Digital gold and silver may be up for P2P lending soon
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in Singapore could soon be extended to cryptocurrencies, if a unique partnership between vault operator Silver Bullion and a gold-backed digital currency seller is inked. This brings a new dimension to an emerging form of crowdfunding – as rights to physical assets are used as a means to get loans – which could pique interest among those who fear a collapse in the financial system.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/digital-gold-and-silver-may-be-up-for-p2p-lending-soon

Singapore Real Estate

Is there value in having so many indices to track residential market?
Tracking property price movements is a major preoccupation for many when it comes to buying or selling a house, or just keeping tabs on the current value of their homes, and more so in Singapore where some 90 per cent of resident households own their homes. Amid this obsession, several private sector players have created their own proprietary indices to track the residential market, on top of what are published by government agencies.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/is-there-value-in-having-so-many-indices-to-track-residential-market

Blocked drain caused condo glass panels to shatter
A blocked drain caused glass panels around a condominium’s fifth-floor swimming pool to shatter, sending broken glass and water cascading onto a carpark below, an investigation has found. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) found that overflowing water from the outdoor infinity pool at the Cradels condo in Balestier was caught in the narrow drain between the pool wall and the glass wall, causing water pressure to build up and the glass panels to eventually give way.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/blocked-drain-caused-condo-glass-panels-to-shatter

Companies’ Brief

Sim Lian founder leads offer to take developer private
A consortium led by the founder of Sim Lian Group (SLG) is seeking to take the property developer private. In a release to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday night, Coronation 3G said it is making a voluntary conditional cash offer of S$1.08 per share for all the outstanding shares in SLG that it doesn’t already own or has agreed to acquire. It has secured irrevocable undertakings representing 80.36 per cent of the total number of issued shares in SLG from Sim Lian Holdings and a number of individuals from the Kuik family.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sim-lian-founder-leads-offer-to-take-developer-private
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/consortium-led-by-sim-lian-chairman-launches-cash-offer-for-sim-lian-group
http://www.todayonline.com/business/sim-lian-appoint-independent-adviser-buyout-offer

Travelite pays for option to buy planned HQ building for S$19.3m
Travelite Holdings has paid S$192,750 to gain an option to buy an industrial building at 53 Ubi Ave 3 for S$19.3 million from Colourscan Co. The option is to be exercised within 71 days from Aug 8. Travelite will pay for the building with internal funds and bank borrowings. The property is a four-storey single-user industrial building with a gross floor area of about 12,127 square metres and a leasehold tenure of 60 years from July 1, 1996.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/travelite-pays-for-option-to-buy-planned-hq-building-for-s193m

Chip Eng Seng Corp reports lower Q2 profit on increased income tax expense
Weighed down by higher income tax expense, Chip Eng Seng Corp’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 fell to S$14.27 million, down around 33 per cent from the corresponding quarter a year ago. This was despite total revenue rising 18.9 per cent year on year to S$234.3 million in 2Q2016, which came on the back of higher revenue from the property development and hospitality divisions. Earnings per share for the quarter fell to 2.30 cents, down from 3.42 cents a year ago.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-corp-reports-lower-q2-profit-on-increased-income-tax-expense

Far East Hospitality Trust’s financial controller quits
Far East Hospitality Trust’s (H-Trust) financial controller has resigned to pursue personal interests. Annie Khung Shyang Lee, who assumed the role in late January this year, will officially relinquish the role from Aug 9. According to a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Monday, Ms Khung, 40, is stepping down to “pursue personal interest (sic)”.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/far-east-hospitality-trusts-financial-controller-quits