DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11th Sep 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Higher grants for first-time HDB buyers
The Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) are enhancing housing grants for first-time buyers as well as raising the income ceiling for public housing with the aim of making public homes more affordable and accessible for Singaporeans. Announcing the policy changes at the HDB Awards 2019 on Tuesday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong highlighted that…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/higher-grants-for-first-time-hdb-buyers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/higher-grants-more-choice-for-first-time-flat-buyers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-resale-market-may-emerge-big-winner-from-the-changes
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-one-stop-hdb-sales-portal-by-end-of-next-year
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-flats-housing-grant-income-ceilings-higher-11891818
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-housing-grant-breathe-life-stagnant-hdb-resale-market-analysts

Condo resale prices flat between July and August
Singapore resale condominium and apartment prices remain unchanged for the month of August, while volume of sales fell from the previous month, going by monthly figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday. There had been a 0.5 per cent drop in July from June, which in turn saw a drop from the figure in May.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-resale-prices-flat-between-july-and-august
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-hold-steady-in-august-from-july-srx

Owner seeking at least S$155m for Killiney Rd freehold hotel site
A Killiney Road freehold hotel development site is up for sale via an expression of interest exercise, with the owner – private equity firm Lucrum Capital – seeking in excess of S$155 million for it. Located in the Orchard Road precinct, the site has a land area of 13,148 square feet (sq ft) with a gross plot ratio of 2.8, and provisional permission has been obtained to rezone the site for hotel use.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/owner-seeking-at-least-s155m-for-killiney-rd-freehold-hotel-site-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/killiney-road-freehold-hotel-site-on-sale-for-at-least-155m

Sycamore Tree saga: trade creditor throws spanner in the works
A trade creditor has thrown a spanner in the works for the Sycamore Tree residential project, potentially dragging 180-odd jaded home buyers including those of a related project at Laurel Tree into a protracted nightmare delay just when progress is being made to complete the units. On Aug 20, unsecured creditor, Jay Machinery Pte Ltd filed a winding up application in Singapore’s High Court against Astoria…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/sycamore-tree-saga-trade-creditor-throws-spanner-in-the-works

Companies’ Brief

Keppel Land and BDO’s mixed-use project opens in Manila
Singapore President Halimah Yacob, who is currently on her first state visit to the Philippines, on Tuesday attended a ceremony to mark the opening of The Podium, an office and retail mixed-use development in Manila. Keppel Philippines Properties, a subsidiary of Keppel Land, holds a 40 per cent stake in the project, while BDO Unibank – a member of Philippine conglomerate SM Group – and an associate company hold…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/keppel-land-and-bdos-mixed-use-project-opens-in-manila

Head of OCBC’s China unit resigns to join CapitaLand
The head of OCBC’s China unit Kng Hwee Tin has resigned after more than three decades with the bank to join CapitaLand as chief executive officer, finance and corporate services, China, effective Oct 1. This is a newly created role to support the growth of CapitaLand’s business in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/head-of-ocbcs-china-unit-resigns-to-join-capitaland

PropertyGuru plans up to A$400m Australian IPO: sources
[Singapore] South-east Asian online realtor PropertyGuru Group, which counts buyout firms TPG Capital and KKR among its backers, is targeting an Australian IPO which could raise up to A$400 million (S$378.5 million) this year, sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Tuesday. Senior officials from the Singapore-based company, which operates real estate portals in the region, will start meeting Australian…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/propertyguru-plans-up-to-a400m-australian-ipo-sources
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/propertyguru-reshuffles-board-co-founder-jani-rautiainen-retires
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/propertyguru-eyeing-378m-ipo-in-australia-sources
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/propertyguru-plans-australia-ipo-potentially-biggest-of-year-11890822

China Yuanbang eyes property deals with loans to firms worth 172m yuan
China Yuanbang Property Holdings said it had loaned a combined 172.1 million yuan (S$33.3 million) to two companies at 16 per cent per annum interest in order to eventually participate in their property development projects. It had loaned 148.6 million yuan to Guangzhou Jiadi Xindu Development Co, an independent third party, and 23.5 million yuan to Kaiping Qingshi Auto Parts Co, which is 30.6 per cent…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/china-yuanbang-eyes-property-deals-with-loans-to-firms-worth-172m-yuan

Ying Li International calls for trading halt pending announcement
Property developer Ying Li International Real Estate requested a trading halt on Wednesday morning, pending the release of an announcement. Its shares closed at 11.6 Singapore cents on Tuesday, down 0.4 cent or 3.33 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ying-li-international-calls-for-trading-halt-pending-announcement
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ying-li-halts-trading-pending-announcement