DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10th November 2017

TOP STORY

HDB resale prices slip 0.3% in Oct: SRX
HDB resale prices dipped by 0.3 per cent in October from a month ago, the same decline seen in September, but sales volume recovered to post a 5.9 per cent increase, SRX Property flash estimates showed on Thursday. From a year ago, resale prices in October were 1.9 per cent lower, and 12.5 per cent below the peak in April 2013. Month-on-month, the resale prices of HDB three-room and five-room flats rose by 0.5 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively, while those of four-room flats were flat and prices of executive flats dropped by 0.9 per cent.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-slip-03-in-oct-srx
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hdb-resale-prices-slip-03-in-october-but-volume-rises-59-srx
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/42552/hdb-resale-prices-decrease-by-03-volume-increases-by-59-

SINGAPORE ECONOMY

Is Singapore’s startup accreditation scheme pivoting to global outfits
The last few years have seen global tech startups – think Uber, Stripe, Netflix and ofo – flock to Singapore to acquire new customers or set up regional bases. But the likes of these companies could soon be coming here for an entirely new reason: a stamp of accreditation. The Business Times understands that Singapore could potentially become a global accreditation hub for startups. This comes after the government’s revamp of its startup accreditation programme, which has been expanded to support more than just local tech startups and young SMEs (small and medium enterprises), but also later-stage SMEs and, notably, foreign deep-tech companies.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/is-singapores-startup-accreditation-scheme-pivoting-to-global-outfits

Singapore carving itself a spot on new global manufacturing value chains, says Tharman
Singapore is poised to be part of new global value chains in manufacturing amid a technological revolution in the sector, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Thursday, at the launch of a new research and development hub here. Electronics company Jabil was unveiling its first Asian innovation centre for advanced manufacturing technologies, which is set to add more than 100 new jobs in areas such as precision engineering
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/singapore-carving-itself-a-spot-on-new-global-manufacturing-value-chains-says-tharman
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-seeks-to-be-part-of-new-global-value-chains

More SMEs banding together to win regional e-commerce projects
Three small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – Shopmatic, Red Dot Payment, and iCommerce Asia – grouped together to land their first S$100,000 e-commerce deal in Southeast Asia. This is part of the latest push by government agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore to bring together different SMEs with complementary solutions to secure contracts across the region.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/more-smes-banding-together-to-win-regional-e-commerce-projects
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/3-smes-join-hands-to-bag-100k-e-commerce-deal

SINGAPORE REAL ESTATE

Rooftop farms now allowed under landscape replacement policy: URA
More urban rooftop farms may soon crop up after the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) expanded its landscape replacement policy to allow rooftop urban farms and vertical greens to be used to replace the greenery lost due to development. URA on Thursday said the Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (Lush) programme will now be expanded such that up to 10 per cent of the hardscape area can be provided in the form of urban rooftop farms.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/rooftop-farms-now-allowed-under-landscape-replacement-policy-ura
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/more-rooftop-gardens-urban-farms-planned?login=true
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/bigger-push-for-high-intensity-large-scale-commercial-farms?login=true

Tender closing date for Royalville collective sale extended to Nov 30
The tender closing date for Royalville will be extended from Nov 10 to Nov 30, said its marketing agent Edmund Tie & Company (SEA). Located at Bukit Timah Road, Royalville is a prime freehold residential site in Bukit Timah Road that has been launched for a collective sale by owners who are asking for S$368 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tender-closing-date-for-royalville-collective-sale-extended-to-nov-30

COMPANIES’ BRIEF

CDL’s Q3 profit sinks 8.3% to S$156m on sales slide
Smaller one-off gains and the absence of “lumpy” contributions from property sales compared to a year ago weighed down its third-quarter results for City Developments (CDL). Net profit sank 8.3 per cent to S$156.1 million from the preceding year. For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue fell 6.5 per cent to S$863.1 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdls-q3-profit-sinks-83-to-s156m-on-sales-slide
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/cdls-q3-net-profit-drops-83-to-1561m

UOL Q3 profit up 600% on UIC deal
UOL Group posted a 609 per cent jump in net profit to S$618.1 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017, on the back of a S$542.1 million gain on acquisition and consolidation arising from accounting for United Industrial Corporation (UIC) as a subsidiary. This follows UOL’s acquisition of 60 million UIC shares from Haw Par Corporation, which was completed on Aug 31 this year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uol-q3-profit-up-600-on-uic-deal
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/uol-posts-609-leap-in-q3-net-profit-to-6181m

Keppel-KBS US Reit closes one US cent higher on trading debut
Keppel-KBS US Reit was stuck in range-bound trading on the day of its trading debut, after opening 1.7 per cent higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price. The counter, which had an offer price of 88 US cents, opened at 89.5 US cents at 2pm on Thursday. It ended the day at 89 US cents, after 15.37 million units changed hands.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-kbs-us-reit-closes-one-us-cent-higher-on-trading-debut

FCL full-year profit up 15% on higher revenue, fair value gain
Higher revenue and fair value gain on investment properties lifted results for Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) in its 2017 financial year. Net profit rose 15.4 per cent to S$689.1 million from S$597.2 million in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday morning. The firm recorded a S$215.3 million in fair value gain on investment properties, about double the S$106.3 million in the previous year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fcl-full-year-profit-up-15-on-higher-revenue-fair-value-gain
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-centrepoint-full-year-profit-up-15-on-higher-revenue-fair-value

GLP net profit up 34% in Q2 on higher revenue and forex gain
Higher revenue and foreign exchange gains boosted results for Global Logistic Properties (GLP) in its second quarter. Net profit went up 33.6 per cent to S$231.3 million from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday morning. For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue climbed 31.9 per cent to S$281.7 million from the previous year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/glp-net-profit-up-34-in-q2-on-higher-revenue-and-forex-gain
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/glp-net-profit-up-34-in-q2-on-higher-revenue-and-forex-gain

Ireit Global reports lower DPU for Q3
Ireit Global, a Europe-focused real estate investment trust, posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.42 Singapore cents for the third quarter ended Sept 30, down from 1.57 Singapore cents previously. For the quarter under review, gross revenue edged up 1.7 per cent year on year to 8.69 million euros (S$13.74) while net property income was 2.3 per cent higher at 7.85 million euros.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ireit-global-reports-lower-dpu-for-q3

KOP posts Q2 loss; enters into loan agreement with Sam Goi
Property group KOP sank into the red with a loss of S$2.91 million for the second quarter ended Sept 30 from a net profit of S$369,000 a year ago. The bottom line was weighed down by higher cost of sales and administrative expenses. Revenue grew 48 per cent to S$5.29 million while loss per share worked out to 0.55 cent from earnings per share of 0.6 cent a year ago.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/kop-posts-q2-loss-enters-into-loan-agreement-with-sam-goi

Banyan Tree back in the black in Q3
Resort operator Banyan Tree swung into the black with a profit of S$20.07 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, compared to a loss of S$10.81 million a year ago. This was due to to higher other income and higher operating profit from the property sales segment, the company said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/banyan-tree-back-in-the-black-in-q3

Yanlord acquires majority stake in Chengdu site
Real estate developer Yanlord Land Group has, via its wholly owned subsidiary Yanlord Land (Chengdu), acquired an 80 per cent stake in Chongzhou Yanlord Land Co for 321 million yuan (S$65.93 million). Chongzhou Yanlord Land Co, formerly Chongzhou Xinlei Property Development Co, holds the development rights to a 106,044 sq m integrated development site in Chongzhou city, Chengdu.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlord-acquires-majority-stake-in-chengdu-site

VIEWS, REVIEWS & FORUM

Is CEA a relevant body for Reits’ activities?
Managers of Singapore’s real estate investment trusts (Reits) are thrust into some kind of an identity crisis these days, given the different regulatory bodies they have to report to. Besides being fund managers regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), it seems that they are starting to be treated like estate agencies too.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/is-cea-a-relevant-body-for-reits-activities