DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11 February 2022 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

New private home sales hold steady in January in spite of cooling measures: analysts
Demand for new homes held steady in January in spite of new cooling measures introduced last year. Based on caveats lodged, analysts estimated that developers sold 639 new private homes last month, a marginal 1.7 per cent dip from December 2021’s 650 units.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-private-home-sales-hold-steady-in-january-in-spite-of-cooling-measures-analysts

Singapore commercial real estate investment volume bounces back in 2021, sees triple-digit increase: report
Singapore’s commercial real estate investment volume saw a turnaround in 2021 to US$9 billion in total for the year, a triple-digit increase from 2020’s muted activity, according to Real Capital Analytics’ (RCA) Asia Pacific Capital Trends report.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-commercial-real-estate-investment-volume-bounces-back-in-2021-sees-triple

HDB resale prices climb for 19th straight month in January: SRX, 99.co
Prices of HDB resale flats continued their upward trajectory in January 2022 to book gains for the 19th straight month on the back of broad-based growth across all flat types as well as mature and non-mature estates.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-climb-for-19th-straight-month-in-january-srx-99co

Singapore property firms deepening presence in Vietnam
Amid a wealth boom and an economic rebound, Vietnam has been attracting capital from property companies in Singapore. The Vietnamese posh apartment segment in particular has surged in popularity and caught the eye of developers as the nation’s affluent class grows.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/singapore-property-firms-deepening-presence-in-vietnam

Singapore Economy

Singapore banks set for expansion in net interest margins, higher dividends in 2022
As higher interest rates loom, Singapore banks are poised to make more money from lending this year, with the current liquidity flush providing a further bump to net interest margins (NIMs) – a key measure of profitability.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-banks-set-for-expansion-in-net-interest-margins-higher-dividends-in-2022

GenScript opens new US$15m Singapore manufacturing facility, to create close to 100 jobs
GenScript Biotech announced the opening of its new US$15 million Singapore manufacturing facility at a virtual ceremony on Thursday (Feb 10). With the opening of the facility, the biotechnology company expects to create close to 100 jobs in the research and development (R&D) production and supply chain fields.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/genscript-opens-new-us15m-singapore-manufacturing-facility-to-create-close-to-100
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/genscripts-manufacturing-facility-boosts-spores-role-in-fight-against-pandemic

ST-UOB Budget roundtable to discuss initiatives for a sustainable future
Next week’s Budget will be put under the microscope at a roundtable discussion being organised by The Straits Times and UOB. The discussion on Feb 21 will follow Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget speech on Feb 18.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/st-uob-budget-roundtable-to-discuss-initiatives-for-a-sustainable-future

Seibu’s hospitality portfolio presents unique opportunity for GIC to acquire prime assets across Japan: GIC top exec
The decision by Japanese conglomerate Seibu to offload part of its hospitality portfolio presents sovereign wealth fund GIC a unique opportunity to acquire high-quality assets in prime locations across Japan, a fund official said on Thursday (Feb 10).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/seibus-hospitality-portfolio-presents-golden-opportunity-for-gic-to-acquire-prime-assets-across-japan-gic-top-exec

Companies’ Brief

Brokers’ take: UOBKH, Maybank initiate ‘buy’ on CapitaLand Investment
UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) and Maybank Securities have both initiated coverage on CapitaLand Investment (CLI) with “buy” calls and target prices of S$4.02 and S$4.30 respectively.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-uobkh-maybank-initiate-buy-on-capitaland-investment

Keppel vs Cuscaden: A timeline of key events for the battle over SPH’s assets
Keppel Corporation and consortium Cuscaden Peak are embroiled in a takeover battle over Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) non-media assets. Both parties had made surprise offers for the media and property group, which has since spun off its media assets into a company limited by guarantee (CLG).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-vs-cuscaden-a-timeline-of-key-events-for-the-battle-over-sphs-assets

Oxley H1 FY22 net profit edges up 3%
Property developer Oxley Holdings posted a net profit of S$23.5 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2021, up by 3 per cent year-on-year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-h1-fy22-net-profit-edges-up-3

Wing Tai’s net profit for H1 FY22 down 5%
Wing Tai Holdings’ net profit for the six months ended Dec 31 declined 5 per cent year on year to S$53.8 million. Revenue rose 26 per cent to S$306.6 million on the back of higher contributions from development properties.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wing-tais-net-profit-for-h1-fy22-down-5

SGX rejects Hong Lai Huat’s proposed warrants issuance
Mainboard-listed property developer Hong Lai Huat Group (HLH) said on Friday (Feb 11) that the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has rejected its proposed issuance of 80 million warrants to investment bank Soochow CSSD Capital Markets (Asia).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sgx-rejects-hong-lai-huats-proposed-warrants-issuance

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Strengthening Singapore’s competitive edge with Budget 2022
COVID-19 and other significant headwinds continue to impact economies across the world but Singapore’s economic recovery thus far is stronger than expected.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/strengthening-singapores-competitive-edge-with-budget-2022-0

SPH: A long-drawn takeover fight no one wants
The Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) takeover saga has taken a surprising turn. What was at first billed as a friendly offer of SPH, sans its media business, has turned into an acrimonious affair, with SPH’s board on Wednesday (Feb 9) deciding to drop Keppel Pegasus’s scheme from being put before shareholders for approval.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/sph-a-long-drawn-takeover-fight-no-one-wants

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

10,542 new local Covid-19 cases in Singapore; 1,212 patients hospitalised
A total of 1,212 people with Covid-19 were hospitalised on Thursday (Feb 10), up from the 1,205 cases the day before. One person died, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/10542-new-local-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-1212-patients-hospitalised
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/10542-new-local-covid-19-cases-in-spore-1212-patients-hospitalised

*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