DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11 Feb 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Fujian buyers cast wider net in Singapore property market
Buyers from China’s Fujian province continue to be drawn to Singapore property as they widen their interests in the asset class – the latest being an office unit at The Central above Clarke Quay MRT station. The unit, which has an area of 13,336 square feet (sq ft), is being sold by the project’s developer Far East Organization for S$41.74 million, reflecting S$3,130 per square foot (psf). The unit occupies half of the 22nd floor in a V-shaped office tower that rises up to 25 storeys.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fujian-buyers-cast-wider-net-in-singapore-property-market

Singapore’s January new home sales break into a sprint as talk of curbs grows
Developers enjoyed an early Chinese New Year bonanza last month when sales of new private homes surged to 1,606 units, up 32 per cent over December’s 1,217 as determined buyers made their Huat Ah! sprint. (Huat Ah! means to prosper in Hokkien). It is also the highest monthly sales notched since July 2018’s 1,724, and up 159 per cent from the 620 achieved in January 2020, according to flash estimates from Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Sun, senior vice president, research & analytics.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-january-new-home-sales-break-into-a-sprint-as-talk-of-curbs-grows

More condo and HDB units leased last month as rents rise
The climb out of the pandemic-induced rut appears to be on track, with rental volume last month for both Housing Board flats and condominium units recording another month of increases. Condo rentals rose 11.3 per cent last month to an estimated 4,747 units, compared with 4,266 units in December, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX Property released yesterday. This represented a 10.4 per cent increase from the same month a year ago. Leasings were also 8.5 per cent higher than the five-year average volume for the month of January.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/more-condo-and-hdb-units-leased-last-month-as-rents-rise

BTO flats in Bidadari, Kallang/Whampoa draw keen interest
Bigger flats in Kallang/Whampoa and Bidadari proved to be the most popular among home seekers in the Housing Board’s first sales exercise of the year that concluded yesterday. Seniors wanting to live in Singapore’s first assisted living public housing in Bukit Batok also face stiff competition, with four times as many applicants as there are available units. As at 5pm, there were nine applicants vying for each of the 323 five-room flats in the ParkEdge @ Bidadari and Alkaff Breeze Build-To-Order (BTO) housing projects.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/bto-flats-in-bidadari-kallangwhampoa-draw-keen-interest

Younger HDB residents more likely to yearn for better housing
Younger Singapore residents are more likely to have aspirations for better housing, according to the latest Housing Board (HDB) Sample Household Survey released yesterday. More than seven in 10 of those aged below 35 said they want to have a bigger flat, live in private property or live in a purchased flat instead of a rental flat. In comparison, about 14 per cent of HDB residents aged 65 and above shared this view, and close to eight in 10 of these elderly residents said they were content with their flat type.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/younger-hdb-residents-more-likely-to-yearn-for-better-housing

S’pore resident population in HDB flats falls to 3.04m
The number of Singapore residents living in Housing Board flats has dipped for the first time since 2003, with household sizes shrinking even as the number of HDB households continued to climb. A total of 3.04 million Singapore residents – or close to eight in 10 Singapore residents – lived in HDB flats in 2018, as compared with 3.06 million in 2013. They made up 1.01 million households, up from 0.91 million five years earlier, according to the latest HDB Sample Household Survey, which is conducted once every five years.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-resident-population-in-hdb-flats-falls-to-304m

Singapore Economy

Singapore government’s Green Plan offers new jobs and economic growth
[Singapore] Jurong Island will be a sustainable energy and chemicals park by 2030 as part of Singapore’s push to make industrial production processes and energy usage greener and improve energy efficiency. The Republic also aims to develop itself into a sustainable tourism destination as well as a carbon services hub and a centre for green finance to facilitate sustainability efforts in Asia.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-governments-green-plan-offers-new-jobs-and-economic-growth
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/green-plan-offers-new-jobs-areas-for-economic-growth

UK-Singapore free trade deal enters into force today
Traditional Cantonese prawn dumplings called har gow will be one of the many Singapore products to find greater market access in Britain when the United Kingdom-Singapore Free Trade Agreement comes into force today. The deal was signed on Dec 10 last year by Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing and British Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss. It took effect via provisional application on Jan 1.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/uk-singapore-free-trade-deal-enters-into-force-today

Companies’ Brief

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1313

Broker’s take: Ascendas Reit a preferred pick over CICT for DBS
DBS Group Research on Wednesday named Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit) its preferred pick over CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT). While both counters trade at “similar and attractive” yields of about 5 per cent, Ascendas Reit wins in a neck and neck race as its unit price has lagged its large-cap industrial peers by close to 20 per cent since pre-Covid-19 times, the research team said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-ascendas-reit-a-preferred-pick-over-cict-for-dbs

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Taxes, ESG are potential wake-up calls to go green
Covid-19 is a stark reminder of our fragility and amid this ongoing crisis, it has forced us to consider the Earth’s vulnerability too. The way this unseen pathogen has impacted life on the planet raises questions about other impending risks, and one of the biggest ones is climate risk. Hence, we hope 2021 will be the year when environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors take centre stage. The figures are already promising, with a record number of companies disclosing ESG data.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/taxes-esg-are-potential-wake-up-calls-to-go-green

GameStop mania could be illegal in Singapore
Wall Street began the new year with a David and Goliath act when video game retailer GameStop’s share price rallied amid an anti-establishment movement brought on by retail traders on Reddit page WallStreetBets. Their mission? To force establishment investors, who were selling short on GameStop stocks, to cease support of bearish bets against GameStop by driving up its share price and at the same time profit from the short squeeze.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/gamestop-mania-could-be-illegal-in-singapore

How tech giants went big on green energy
(Financial Times) Standing on top of a giant wind turbine in Texas, 90m above the ground, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos raised a bottle of champagne and smashed it against the machine. He was christening Amazon Wind Farm Texas, a 253MW facility near the town of Snyder, and could not resist a slight grin at the camera as the champagne dripped down the turbine. The year was 2017 and Mr Bezos’ wind farm christening marked a turning point for the company, reflecting a surge of investment in renewable energy.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/how-tech-giants-went-big-on-green-energy

Emerging Asia output will stay subdued in 2021
Economic output is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels across most emerging Asia economies this year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said. For many governments, the key focus this year will be stabilising budget deficits and debt burdens and, in some cases, debt servicing cost. External funding risks will remain the overriding concern for many liquidity-strained governments in the region, it said at a recent webinar.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/emerging-asia-output-will-stay-subdued-in-2021

Myanmar unrest a risk to capital flow from Singapore to young startups there
The military coup in Myanmar has fanned fears that the country’s nascent startup ecosystem could see its recent progress undone, industry players told The Business Times (BT). They added that South-east Asian venture investors, many of whom are based in Singapore, may take a pause in investing in the country’s budding startups. Singapore and other foreign tech firms operating there are also taking a cautious approach, as restrictions on Internet and social media access threaten the entire digital economy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/myanmar-unrest-a-risk-to-capital-flow-from-singapore-to-young-startups-there

Singapore Bugdet 2021

Extended wage support high on Singapore SMEs’ wish list
Continued wage support is top of this year’s Budget wish list for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, according to the UOB SME Outlook 2021 Study published on Wednesday. About 30 per cent of the companies polled applied for the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and 27 per cent applied for the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) last year. More than half of the total respondents want the schemes to be extended in 2021 (59 per cent for the JSS and 53 per cent for the WCS).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-budget-2021/extended-wage-support-high-on-singapore-smes-wish-list

Malay-Muslim businesses hope for Budget support to trim costs: poll
Malay-Muslim businesses are hoping to see, in the upcoming Budget, government support that will help reduce their operating costs, with nearly half the respondents in a recent survey putting this on their wish list. Among other top items on this list are an easing of manpower regulations, reduction in rental costs and ensuring business sustainability.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-budget-2021/malay-muslim-businesses-hope-for-budget-support-to-trim

Singapore Budget to provide targeted support, avoid hurting attractiveness to HNWIs: Deloitte
In the continued shift from fire-fighting to focusing more on recovery, the Budget is likely to feature very targeted support, with care taken not to hurt existing advantages such as Singapore’s attractiveness to high net worth individuals (HNWIs), Deloitte Singapore representatives told the media on Wednesday. While there have been widespread calls to extend the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), for instance, these extensions are likely to be narrow.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-budget-2021/singapore-budget-to-provide-targeted-support-avoid-hurting

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

22-year-old construction worker at Bedok dorm is sole dormitory case
[Singapore] A 22-year-old Bangladesh construction worker is the sole case from migrant worker dormitories reported on Wednesday (Feb 10). There were also 14 imported cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), taking Singapore’s total to 59,747. The construction worker’s earlier tests from Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) – the last being on 24 January – were negative for the infection, said MOH. “His serology test result has come back positive but we are unable to rule out that this could be a recent infection,” said MOH.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/22-year-old-construction-worker-at-bedok-dorm-is-sole-dormitory-case
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/young-construction-worker-in-bedok-dorm-sole-local-case

Covid situation stable, but maintain safe distancing: PM Lee
Singapore has gone all out to control the spread of Covid-19, treat the infected, and prevent the country’s healthcare system from being overwhelmed, even though this has come at a “great economic cost”, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In his annual Chinese New Year (CNY) Message, released on Thursday, Mr Lee said this “tremendous effort” means that Singapore’s Covid-19 situation has now stabilised.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/covid-situation-stable-but-maintain-safe-distancing-pm-lee
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/over-250000-have-received-first-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine-pm-0

First SIA flights with crew fully vaccinated against Covid-19 depart Singapore
Singapore – The first Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight staffed by pilots and cabin crew vaccinated against the coronavirus left Changi Airport on Thursday (Feb 11), marking a significant milestone for the battered national carrier. Flight SQ956 took off for Jakarta at 9.30am carrying a crew of 12, and is the first of three departing SIA Group flights with crew who have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/first-flights-with-fully-vaccinated-crew-depart-singapore-in-milestone-for-sia
*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