DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 11th Oct 2019

Singapore Real Estate

2019’s healthy home sales mask uneven showing for different projects
Developers are heading towards healthy home sales this year, with analysts expecting them to move more than 9,000 private homes, surpassing last year’s figure of 8,795 units. Beneath the positive headline numbers, though, is a picture of uneven sales performance among residential projects launched in the first nine months of this year, based on The Business Times’ analysis of URA Realis data as of Oct 4.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/2019s-healthy-home-sales-mask-uneven-showing-for-different-projects

Singapore’s luxury apartment market is hot, thanks to China
Singapore (Bloomberg) – The luxury end of Singapore’s residential market is hot, and according to Colliers International Group, it’s because of increased interest from mainland Chinese nationals. While some market watchers have speculated the turmoil in Hong Kong may lead people there to buy property in the city-state, it seems that isn’t necessarily the case.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapores-luxury-apartment-market-is-hot-thanks-to-china

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand prices S$500m perpetual notes at 3.65%
CapitaLand has priced a new S$500 million fixed rate perpetual issue at 3.65 per cent. Sold on Thursday, orders exceeded S$900 million which allowed the notes to be priced lower than the initial guidance of around 3.85 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-prices-s500m-perpetual-notes-at-365

Contributions from newly acquired assets boost SPH Reit’s DPU
Contributions from two new malls and positive rental reversions boosted the performance of retail landlord SPH Reit, which reported a 2.1 per cent year-on-year increase in distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.46 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter ended Aug 31, 2019. Gross revenue for the quarter rose 10.2 per cent year on year to S$58.37 million on the back of contributions from The Rail Mall in Singapore and…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/contributions-from-newly-acquired-assets-boost-sph-reits-dpu
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-reits-dpu-up-21-to-146-cents-in-4th-quarter

Auditor’s independent review flags lapses in Pacific Star’s operations, deals
Internal auditor RSM Risk Advisory has conducted an independent review of Pacific Star’s internal controls after revenue for the sale of 17 property units were included in its Q3 and Q2 2019 financial results despite risks of non-fulfilment by buyers. The units are a part of Puteri Cove Residences (PCR), a Malaysian property development by the company’s wholly-owned indirect subsidiary, Pearl Discovery Development…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/auditors-independent-review-flags-lapses-in-pacific-stars-operations-deals

ESR-Reit nets S$50m in oversubscribed preferential offering
ESR-Reit has netted gross proceeds of S$50 million from a more than twice oversubscribed preferential offering, with no additional units alloted beyond the original amount it had set out to raise. The funds include sponsor ESR Cayman’s acceptance of its alloted 8.8 million units, or about S$4.5 million based on the issue price of S$0.510 per unit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-nets-s50m-in-oversubscribed-preferential-offering

WeWork Singapore expansion on track even as US parent seeks new funding
WeWork Singapore is going ahead with its expansion plans in the Republic, seemingly unruffled by woes at its US-headquartered parent company, which is seeking a US$1 billion lifeline from Softbank Group to proceed on a major restructuring. Its Singapore outfit is poised to have three new locations here by the year’s end, even after its parent recently shelved a public listing and is planning layoffs – reportedly in the…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/wework-singapore-expansion-on-track-even-as-us-parent-seeks-new-funding
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/wework-expanding-in-spore-despite-parent-firms-woes
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/wework-to-open-two-new-locations-in-singapore-amid-cost-cutting-drive-11987494

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Retail Reits should be able to weather e-commerce threat
Two years since it made its foray into the local market, e-commerce giant Amazon has expanded its offerings with the launch of its Singapore website, which could put pressure on some retailers. Retail Reits, however, are unlikely to be impacted in a big way as they continue with their efforts to fine-tune their tenant mix by bringing in more experiential activities and food & beverage (F&B) tenants to fend off the…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/retail-reits-should-be-able-to-weather-e-commerce-threat

WeWork collapse a welcome step towards sanity in venture space
The tech and startup ecosystem needs a sanity check. The fall from grace of WeWork’s parent company is unlikely to catalyse a full reckoning in that market, but it does bring it a step closer towards rationality. The prevailing wisdom is that the tech and startup market is now under pressure after public-market investors resoundingly rejected the initial public offering attempt of The We Co, which owns co-working space…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/wework-collapse-a-welcome-step-towards-sanity-in-venture-space