DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th, 10th and 11th March 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Flexible working spaces spurring demand for CBD offices: Study
Flexible workspaces are driving demand for Grade A office space in Singapore, in an area typically dominated by the finance industry. A report by real estate services firm Colliers International said the sector made up 45 per cent of the net absorption for such space last year. Net absorption measures the new space leased by tenants after deducting the space vacated.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/flexible-working-spaces-spurring-demand-for-cbd-offices-study

Tough to get ‘balance right’ when pricing HDB flats: Lawrence Wong
Singapore — While public housing must continue to integrate Singaporeans of all backgrounds, the Government has to strike a balance between pricing flats according to market value and keeping them affordable, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday (March 7). He acknowledged that it is “difficult to get this balance right”. “If you price it to market, then only the very well-off can afford. If you want to make it affordable, the only way is through a big discount to the BTO (Build-to-Order) price,” he said.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tough-get-balance-right-when-pricing-hdb-flats-central-areas-lawrence-wong

Oxley’s 1953 moves a third of its units; Sustained Land’s One Meyer 14% sold
Amid more muted home-buying sentiment, residential property developers appear to be more easily contented with lower sales rates. Over the weekend, Oxley moved about a third of its residential and commercial units at 1953, a six-storey mixed development at the corner of Balestier and Tessensohn roads – a result that marketing and sales director Eugene Lim said was “encouraging in these current market conditions”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/oxleys-1953-moves-a-third-of-its-units-sustained-lands-one-meyer-14-sold

Spanish tycoon paying huge premium for Stanley St shophouse
Spanish tycoon Ricardo Portabella Peralta continues to expand his portfolio of conservation shophouses in Singapore, paying nearly S$22.1 million for a three-storey conservation shophouse at 29 Stanley Street in the Central Business District (CBD). This reflects a whopping premium of about 36 per cent to the previous transacted price for the property less than a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/spanish-tycoon-paying-huge-premium-for-stanley-st-shophouse

Selegie Centre sells en bloc for $120 million
The freehold Selegie Centre in prime District 7 has been sold en bloc at its reserve price of $120 million. This deal – the development’s third attempt at a collective sale – is at a land rate of $1,942 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/selegie-centre-sells-en-bloc-for-120-million

Microhotel chain Yotel opens at Jewel Changi Airport on April 12
Yotel, a chain of microhotels, will open at Jewel Changi Airport on April 12 with rooms for short daytime layovers and overnight stays. Branded YotelAir Singapore Changi Airport, its 130 space-optimised “cabins” can be booked by the hour – for at least four hours. In addition to airline-style self-check-in kiosks, its facilities include a 24/7 gym, co-working space and a club lounge that overlooks Jewel’s indoor waterfall.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/microhotel-chain-yotel-opens-at-jewel-changi-airport-on-april-12
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/microhotel-chain-yotel-to-open-at-jewel-changi-airport-on-april-12
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/yotelair-first-asian-airport-hotel-jewel-changi-april-singapore-11324158

State Courts Towers to offer co-working space for small law firms
The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) will unveil a co-working space for small law firms at the upcoming State Courts Towers along Havelock Road. Clicks @ State Courts, which stands for collaborative law, innovative co-creation and knowledge-sharing, will open in the first quarter of 2020, the same time State Courts Towers is expected to be operational.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/state-courts-towers-to-offer-co-working-space-for-small-law-firms
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/co-working-space-to-bring-tech-firms-lawyers-together-to-develop-solutions
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/state-courts-launches-one-stop-facility-providing-counselling-11326278
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/real-time-ai-transcribing-system-co-working-space-be-rolled-out-new-state-courts-towers

Revolutionising Singapore’s industrial spaces
Robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) … these are not just buzzwords but some key technologies reshaping the way we work and live. And they are fast changing the way we conduct business, distribute goods and use our industrial spaces in this digital age. Amid the proliferation of online market places with new last mile requirements and the birth of new business concepts, policymakers are flexing some boundaries to accommodate the demands of the new economy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/revolutionising-singapores-industrial-spaces

First Residents’ Network to serve Canberra HDB, private residents
The Canberra ward of Sembawang is the first in Singapore to get a Residents’ Network (RN), a new grassroots organisation that aims to serve people living in new private estates as well as public housing. The Canberra SkyLife RN will serve residents of the Parc Life and SkyPark Residences executive condominiums, as well as the Sun Breeze Housing Board development, all of which are located in Sembawang Crescent.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/first-residents-network-to-serve-canberra-hdb-private-residents

Companies’ Brief

ESR files for Hong Kong IPO
ESR Cayman, the sponsor of ESR-Reit, on Sunday said that it had on Feb 28 made submissions to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its shares to be listed on the HKEX. Various media reports, citing sources, said the logistics real estate developer is looking to raise US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-files-for-hong-kong-ipo-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/esr-cayman-files-for-hk-listing

Cromwell European Reit eyes further growth after acquisition spree
Fresh on the heels of over 400 million euros (S$619.4 million) in acquisitions over the last 12 months, Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (CEREIT) sees further room to grow by leveraging on its sponsor’s presence in Europe.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cromwell-european-reit-eyes-further-growth-after-acquisition-spree

Keppel’s buyout offer for Keppel T&T ‘fair and reasonable’, says IFA
The independent financial adviser for Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (T&T) has found a buyout offer by Keppel Corp to be “fair and reasonable”. Rothschild & Co has recommended that Keppel T&T shareholders vote in favour of the scheme at the scheme meeting or sell their scheme shares in the open market if they are able to obtain a price higher than the scheme consideration. The meeting will convene on April 2, 2019, 3pm.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppels-buyout-offer-for-keppel-tt-fair-and-reasonable-says-ifa
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppels-buyout-offer-for-keppel-tt-fair-and-reasonable-independent

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Championing gender equality
This week’s topic: Why do women still lag the men at work today, in position and/or pay? How can organisations do their part to bridge the gender gap, in the digital and other areas?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/championing-gender-equality

People pay to live in illegal steel boxes in world’s priciest property market
AFTER walking through a deserted plot of rural land on an unevenly paved road, Gilbert Wong arrives at a metal-fenced gate that looks like the entrance to a warehouse, or maybe a carpark – ubiquitous in Hong Kong’s New Territories. But behind this seemingly hostile facade is Mr Wong’s humble home: a prefabricated steel box that looks a lot like a basic shipping container.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/people-pay-to-live-in-illegal-steel-boxes-in-worlds-priciest-property-market

Malaysians hit by shortage of affordable housing
Kuala Lumpur • Auditor Adrian Ng’s frustrating three-year search for a home ended recently after he snatched one of the 870 low-cost units in a township at the southern edge of Selangor. The RM100,000 (S$33,200) units at Simfoni Apartments are among the cheapest in the Greater Klang Valley – capital Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding districts. Average home prices there have soared, hitting RM773,000 in Kuala Lumpur and RM497,000 in Selangor by the third-quarter last year, over 100 per cent and 80 per cent higher respectively than a decade ago.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/malaysians-hit-by-shortage-of-affordable-housing

In land-scarce Singapore, new spaces for homes on the sea and in the air, possibly
Singapore: Mr Shinichi Takiguchi has visited Singapore several times, and from the windows of his hotel room, all he can see is the sea. He believes that will change in future. The managing executive officer at construction giant Shimizu Corporation is part of a team working on building a floating city for upwards of 50,000 people. And they have been poring over maps of Singapore, discussing potential locations.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/land-scarce-singapore-new-spaces-homes-sea-air-roads-buildings-11327586

Hume MRT Station to open by 2025, no stations for Tuas South and Jurong Island
Singapore — The Hume MRT Station will be opened by 2025 because new developments in Upper Bukit Timah and the Hume Avenue area now justify “sufficient ridership” for it, said Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Transport. The move comes after residents living in nearby condominiums called on the Government to open the station, which is located between the Beauty World and Hillview stations along Downtown Line. They had been doing so for more than three years.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hume-mrt-station-open-2025-no-stations-tuas-south-and-jurong-island

Johor-S’pore rail link will not run by end 2024 due to delays in Malaysia
Singapore — The Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) link project will likely face further hold-ups as Malaysia has “repeatedly delayed” confirming its joint-venture partner for the firm that will operate the rail link, Acting Minister for Transport Vivian Balakrishnan said on Thursday (March 7). As such, the 4km RTS link service between Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru and Woodlands North in Singapore is “no longer on track” to start operations by the original target of Dec 31, 2024, he added.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/johor-spore-rail-link-will-not-run-end-2024-due-delays-malaysia

Worker dies in Sengkang construction site accident
A 36-year-old man was killed after he was struck by a sheet pile at a Sengkang construction site yesterday, the fourth reported death of a foreign worker from a worksite-related incident since the start of the year. The Indian national was working at the Anchorvale Road site, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement. The Sunday Times understands that he was carrying out piling works.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/worker-dies-in-sengkang-construction-site-accident