DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11 May 2021 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Six-storey commercial buildings in South Bridge Road on market
Marketing agent Colliers International is putting up a pair of adjoining freehold six-storey commercial buildings for sale via an expression of interest (EOI) on May 11. Located at 70 and 72 South Bridge Road, the buildings have been given an indicative price of S$45 million. This translates to about S$3,550 per square foot on the existing gross floor area across both buildings, Colliers said in a statement on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/six-storey-commercial-buildings-in-south-bridge-road-on-market

Small can be beautiful in Singapore condo land
In 2012, the then-president and chief executive officer of CapitaLand Liew Mun Leong spoke out against shoebox units terming them “almost inhuman”. Shoebox units typically refers to apartments of less than 50 square metres or 538 square feet.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/small-can-be-beautiful-in-singapore-condo-land

Singapore Economy

Construction firms to be able to seek relief for increased foreign manpower costs
Construction firms here will soon be able to seek relief for higher foreign manpower costs from their contract partners if their workers’ salaries have been affected as a result of Covid-19 related measures. This will be done through an amendment to the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act Bill that was introduced in Parliament on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/construction-firms-to-be-able-to-seek-relief-for-increased-foreign-manpower-costs
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/construction-firms-can-seek-relief-for-higher-foreign-manpower-costs

Singapore cannot afford to close borders completely to foreign workers: SBF
Singapore cannot afford to close its borders completely to foreign workers, said the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) on Monday. The apex business chamber also said it welcomes the increase in foreign worker levy rebates for the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors announced on Saturday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-cannot-afford-to-close-borders-completely-to-foreign-workers-sbf
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-cannot-afford-to-close-borders-completely-to-foreign-workers-sbf

Skills mismatch, talent crunch to keep Singapore jobs recovery slow
Singapore – Even before the coronavirus struck, it was clear that digitalisation would tilt the balance of jobs growth globally towards industries which will require skills that a majority of the current workforce lacks. And now in the wake of the Covid-19-induced downturn, it is becoming increasingly obvious that quite a few job roles, even in traditional sectors, will be lost forever.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/skills-mismatch-talent-crunch-to-keep-jobs-recovery-slow

Companies’ Brief

LHN on track for market re-rating with strong profit outlook
Singapore – One doesn’t usually see Singapore-listed companies providing strong earnings guidance. But Catalyst-listed LHN Group did just that, fulfilling its obligations under Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing rules. On April 20, it announced that it expected a significantly higher net profit before tax for 1HFY2021 of no less than S$17 million, compared to S$3.8 million for the six months ended March 31, 2020.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lhn-on-track-for-market-re-rating-with-strong-profit-outlook

Pacific Star Q3 net loss widens; flags uncertainty over operating as going concern
Property developer Pacific Star Development, whose management is voicing uncertainty over its ability to operate as a going concern, sank further into the red in the third quarter ended March 31, 2021 as gross profit dwindled and other operating expenses rose.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/pacific-star-q3-net-loss-widens-flags-uncertainty-over-operating-as-going-concern

PropNex Q1 profit nearly doubles to S$14.8m on higher revenue
Real estate agency PropNex on Tuesday posted a first-quarter net profit of S$14.8 million, nearly double the S$7.6 million the year before. This came amid higher revenue due to an increase in commission income from agency services and project marketing services.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/propnex-q1-profit-nearly-doubles-to-s148m-on-higher-revenue
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/propnex-q1-profit-nearly-doubles-to-148-million-on-higher-revenue

Khaw Boon Wan to chair entity managing SPH’s media business
Former Cabinet minister Khaw Boon Wan, who retired from a 19-year career in politics last year, has agreed to be the chairman of the SPH Media company limited by guarantee (CLG) if and when it is formed. The existing management shareholders of SPH (Singapore Press Holdings) have also agreed to form the CLG and be its founding members, said Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran on Monday in Parliament.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/khaw-boon-wan-to-chair-entity-managing-sphs-media-business
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/khaw-to-be-chairman-of-new-sph-media-entity

Brokers’ take: Analysts lower targets on Genting Singapore on lower-than-expected earnings
Maybank Kim Eng (Maybank KE) and RHB have maintained their “hold” and “neutral” calls respectively on Genting Singapore, while CGS-CIMB has maintained its “add” call. All three brokerages revised target prices downward, with the Resorts World Singapore (RWS) operator’s Q1 FY2021 earnings having missed expectations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-analysts-lower-targets-on-genting-singapore-on-lower-than-expected
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/genting-spores-q1-net-profit-falls-26-on-covid-19-impact

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Climate finance key to stem global warming
United States President Joe Biden’s recent climate summit generated much-needed headlines and focused attention on the urgency to tackle climate change even if the coronavirus pandemic continues to top most governments’ agendas. The US, Japan and Canada announced more ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, on top of recent commitments by the European Union, China and others.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/climate-finance-key-to-stem-global-warming-0

Proposals to change way of transporting workers face many constraints: Amy Khor
Changing the rules for how companies transport their workers now will cause acute pain to the construction industry and lead to delayed projects and the loss of jobs, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/proposals-to-change-way-of-transporting-workers-face-many-constraints-amy-khor

House passes law on borrowing to fund national infrastructure
As Singapore embarks on a “generational upgrade” in its infrastructure over the next 15 years, Parliament yesterday passed a new law that allows the Government to borrow to smooth out the hump expected in development spending.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/house-passes-law-on-borrowing-to-fund-national-infrastructure

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

19 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including two linked to Changi Airport cluster
[Singapore] Two of the three new Covid-19 cases in the community announced on Monday are people who work at Changi Airport Terminal 3. They are linked to an 88-year-old cleaner who was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on May 5. There are now 10 people in the cluster.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/19-new-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-including-two-linked-to-changi-airport-cluster

Hospitals testing all staff for Covid-19 as precaution
Many hospitals in Singapore have begun swabbing all staff to detect Covid-19 cases, if any, as early as possible. At the same time, patient-facing staff, particularly those who work in emergency departments and wards, will continue to be tested regularly as part of a nationwide initiative for all hospitals.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hospitals-testing-all-staff-for-covid-19-as-precaution

Swabbing under way for 9,000 airport workers as cluster grows
Airport workers turned up at Changi Airport yesterday morning for a special Covid-19 testing operation for about 9,000 workers to find hidden cases. This comes after four workers there were reported to have Covid-19 on Sunday. Another two cases were added yesterday, taking the airport cluster’s tally to 10.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/swabbing-under-way-for-9000-airport-workers-as-cluster-grows

Travellers from Singapore must undergo 14 days of quarantine in Malaysia, up from 10 days
All travellers arriving in Malaysia from Singapore must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine from May 13, up from the current 10-day period. Malaysia’s Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said on Monday that Singapore is now included in Malaysia’s list of countries reporting the spread of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC) in its community.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/travellers-from-singapore-must-undergo-14-days-of-quarantine-in-malaysia-up-from
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/applications-open-for-spore-malaysia-compassionate-travel

Automated SafeEntry gantries bring benefits
Singapore – More than 30 places around the island – including malls, offices, schools and places of worship – have rolled out automated gantries to manage visitor access and digital contact tracing. These gantries can ensure that visitor SafeEntry check-ins are done properly for contact tracing, and that visitors are not running a fever or not wearing masks.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/tech-news/automated-safeentry-gantries-bring-benefits

*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