DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11th April 2018

Top Story

Further home price spikes may spell risk of renewed cooling measures
Several more quarters of private home price increases of the magnitude seen in the first quarter could leave the property market here staring at the possibility of fresh cooling measures, industry players say. While the immediate risk of that is low, the surprise 3.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) jump in Q1 private home prices has led some in property circles to contemplate how policymakers would respond if the uptrend of similar or even bigger price spikes continues in the next two quarters.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/further-home-price-spikes-may-spell-risk-of-renewed-cooling-measures

Sliding premiums could point to cooling in en bloc fever
A year after en-bloc fever gripped Singapore again, one property analyst thinks that it will hit its peak around the middle of this year. Developers are paying smaller premiums on average, and are likely to snap up smaller sites as they turn more selective, RHB’s Vijay Natarajan said in a report on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/sliding-premiums-could-point-to-cooling-in-en-bloc-fever
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/collective-sale-fever-to-peak-soon-analyst

Singapore Economy

S’pore uncertainty index up on US-China trade tensions
Rising US-China trade tensions are raising alarm bells in export-reliant Singapore, with an index measuring economic uncertainty climbing to a five-month high in March. The Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) Index for Singapore rose to 155 last month from 126 in February, showing that tariff threats are starting to make their mark. Yet there is still reason for calm.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-uncertainty-index-up-on-us-china-trade-tensions

Talent index ranks Singapore tops in Asia-Pacific
For the fifth straight year, Singapore was tops in attracting and developing talent in the Asia-Pacific region. It was pipped globally only by Switzerland, according to an index compiled by French business school Insead.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/talent-index-ranks-singapore-tops-in-asia-pacific
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-top-in-asia-pacific-for-fifth-year-in-drawing-talent

Singapore Real Estate

Private home resale prices hit fresh highs in March: SRX flash
Resale prices for private, non-landed homes moved up again in March to a new high, going by a private firm’s latest flash estimates. Prices for condominiums and private apartments rose by 1.5 per cent against February’s peak, according to SRX Property data out on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-home-resale-prices-hit-fresh-highs-in-march-srx-flash
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/march-condo-resale-prices-up-15-srx
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/47342/private-resale-non-landed-prices-rise-15-in-march-hitting-historic-high-volume-increases-by-114

1st major facelift soon for Great World City
Great World City will be undergoing major enhancement works beginning mid-April, ahead of the opening of the Great World MRT Station along the upcoming Thomson-East Coast line in 2021. Under its first major refurbishment in 20 years, the mixed-use development in River Valley will add about 50 new tenants and three main access points to the MRT station.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/1st-major-facelift-soon-for-great-world-city
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/great-world-city-to-undergo-major-facelift
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/great-world-city-to-undergo-refurbishment-works-from-mid-april-10123852

Co-living startup Hmlet to launch second co-living building near Newton
Co-living startup Hmlet is launching its second fully co-living building in Singapore at 6 Sarkies Road in the Newton neighbourhood. Hmlet, which will lease the entire 30,000 square foot building from ANB Investment, will rebrand the building as Hmlet @ Sarkies and offer living space for up to 80 members.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-living-startup-hmlet-to-launch-second-co-living-building-near-newton
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/hmlet-to-launch-second-co-living-building-near-newton

Companies’ Brief

Frasers’ serviced residence for millennials to open in China Sq
Frasers Hospitality will open a serviced residence in China Square Central in the first quarter of next year, aimed at a growing group of millennial travellers who jet about on business assignments. The facility, to come under its Capri brand, will be called Capri by Fraser, China Square. With a gross floor area of 16,000 sq m and 304 rooms, the 16-floor residence will be kitted out with new technologies aimed at making its guests’ stay more convenient and lifestyle-focused.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/frasers-serviced-residence-for-millennials-to-open-in-china-sq
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-hospitality-plans-high-tech-hotel-residence

SPH Q2 profit down 25% but H1 earnings edge up 1.4%
Media and property group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) reported a near 25 per cent year-on-year fall in second-quarter net profit to S$40.19 million, but first-half net earnings edged up 1.4 per cent to S$100.62 million from a year ago. While the decline in print advertising revenue is seen tapering off, the group said it is focusing on aged care and property asset management for growth.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-q2-profit-down-25-but-h1-earnings-edge-up-14
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sphs-q2-net-profit-falls-but-first-half-gains-edge-up

Apsil ends RTO deal with Chinese property firm
Catalist-listed Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments Limited (Apsil) – an investment holding firm that counts tycoon Oei Hong Leong as a substantial shareholder – has ended a deal to buy a Chinese real estate firm via a reverse takeover, it said on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/apsil-ends-rto-deal-with-chinese-property-firm

Yotel teams up with US platform to groom hospitality startups
Digital-first hospitality group Yotel, which in last October opened its first Asian hotel in Singapore, on Tuesday announced that it will partner Silicon Valley’s innovation platform Plug and Play to groom startups that will disrupt the travel and hospitality space.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/yotel-teams-up-with-us-platform-to-groom-hospitality-startups

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

En bloc effect: Smaller shoebox units?
Singapore is in the throes of en bloc fever. Since the end of 2016, there have been about 50 to 60 residential projects sold collectively, or en bloc, to developers to be knocked down and redeveloped into new units. Many of these fetched record high prices at public tenders and private collective sales as developers rushed to replenish their land banks in a market that is rapidly heating up. The total value of these sites have netted a whopping $15 billion so far.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/en-bloc-effect-smaller-shoebox-units

Latin America’s digital economy beckons; will Singapore outfits go?
Getting there can be a hassle – taking up to 24 hours by plane. Communication will be a bother – with most people there speaking only Portuguese or Spanish. But despite these challenges, the Latin American region is an increasingly important one for Singapore tech companies, The Business Times has learnt.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/latin-americas-digital-economy-beckons-will-singapore-outfits-go