DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9, 10, 11 Nov 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Former Xiaomi director paying S$31.5m for GCB in Tanglin Hill
A former board member of Xiaomi Corporation is paying S$31.5 million for an old bungalow along Tanglin Hill in the Ridley Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area. The price works out to S$1,915 per square foot on the freehold land area of 16,446 sq ft. The buyer – understood to be Koh Tuck Lye, who is also known as Xu Dalai – is expected to tear down the bungalow, which is more than 30 years old, and to build a new house…https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/former-xiaomi-director-paying-s315m-for-gcb-in-tanglin-hill

Short leases come with high risk for co-living players
Co-living’s short flexible leases – one of its main draws – could also be the biggest risk factor in its business model. Observers told The Business Times that co-living startups need to be wary of the volatility in its revenue streams because of a mismatch between longer-termed leases signed with landlords and shorter-termed rental agreements with tenants.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/short-leases-come-with-high-risk-for-co-living-players-0

Companies’ Brief

Far East Orchard buys two student accommodation properties in Leeds and Sheffield for £66.5m
Far East Orchard Limited has acquired two freehold student accommodation properties in Leeds and Sheffield, United Kingdom, with a total of 974 beds for £66.5 million (about S$115.7 million). Together with the 622 beds in Bristol and Liverpool acquired in March this year, Far East Orchard now has a portfolio of 3,260 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) beds across 11 properties in the UK…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/far-east-orchard-buys-two-student-accommodation-properties-in-leeds-and-sheffield

CapitaLand sells HK serviced residence for HK$581.8m
Mainboard-listed CapitaLand has sold a serviced residence in Hong Kong for HK$581.8 million (S$101 million) to an unnamed third party, according to a bourse filing on Friday. The blue-chip developer said that it has divested fully from a unit that owns Citadines Mercer Hong Kong in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, in line with a strategy to rejig the property portfolio.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-sells-hk-serviced-residence-for-hk5818m

UIC posts 13.1% fall in Q3 net profit
Mainboard-listed developer United Industrial Corp (UIC) said on Friday that it could take a year to figure out how to increase income from the consolidated Marina Mandarin hotel and shopping complex, even as third-quarter earnings slipped. Net profit for the three months to Sept 30 fell by 13.1 per cent year on year to S$52.9 million, while revenue grew by 28 per cent to S$194.4 million. UIC and parent UOL Group…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uic-posts-131-fall-in-q3-net-profit

Hiap Hoe Q3 net profit falls 82%
Lower sales of development properties and higher expenses resulted in an 82 per cent dive in net profit for Hiap Hoe in the third quarter ended Sept 30, the property developer announced on Friday. Net profit was S$114,000 compared with S$633,000 a year ago, although Q3 revenue shrank 16.3 per cent to S$35.3 million from S$42.1 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hiap-hoe-q3-net-profit-falls-82

Aspial’s profit slips after buyers walk away from Australia 108 as property cycle turns
Fewer settlements at the Australia 108 mega project in Melbourne have put a dent in Aspial Corp’s third-quarter revenue, even as the leveraged property developer counts on fresh cash from handovers to improve its debt profile. Aspial, which also sells jewellery, posted a net profit of S$5.7 million in the three months ended Sept 30, down 69 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aspials-profit-slips-after-buyers-walk-away-from-australia-108-as-property-cycle

Auditors for Tee International and Hatten Land issue disclaimers
Tee International and Hatten Land have been given disclaimers of opinion by their respective auditors on their financial statements. Deloitte & Touche, the independent external auditor of engineering group Tee International, said it has not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion on the financial statements for the year ended May 31, 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/auditors-for-tee-international-and-hatten-land-issue-disclaimers

Metro Holdings buys 20% of Australian property portfolio for A$95.8m
Mainboard-listed department store operator Metro Holdings, which also invests in real estate, has re-entered Australia with plans to take a minority stake in a property portfolio for A$95.8 million (S$89.5 million), under a joint venture agreement disclosed on Friday. Paying in a mix of internal cash resources and external borrowings, Metro will take a 20 per cent interest in the 14 freehold properties by…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/metro-holdings-buys-20-of-australian-property-portfolio-for-a958m

Top Global develops hospitality tech
In A bid to be less asset-heavy, property developer Top Global is nurturing a new growth engine: smart solutions, starting with the hospitality industry. From self-service check-in to dynamic pricing, some solutions are already in place at its 5footway hostels, with more in development. But chief operating officer Jennifer Chang clarified: “We don’t want to be an IT company.” Nor is Top Global exiting the…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/top-global-develops-hospitality-tech

EHT says ‘premature’ to assess sponsor’s estimate of Queen Mary repair costs
Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) on Sunday night said it is still “premature” to appoint its own expert to separately evaluate the costs of the maintenance of the Queen Mary floating hotel at this stage. This comes as its sponsor Urban Commons (UC) had estimated that the improvement and repair works at the retired cruise ship will cost US$5-7 million, according to UC’s proposal to the City of Long Beach in California.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eht-says-premature-to-assess-sponsors-estimate-of-queen-mary-repair-costs

ESR Cayman increases AA Reit interest by 4%
For the five trading sessions spanning Nov 1 to 7, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 1.7 per cent while the Nikkei 225 Index, Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index averaged a 1.4 per cent gain. This has brought the STI’s 2019 total return through to Oct 31, to 11.0 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-cayman-increases-aa-reit-interest-by-4

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Balancing act: prioritising security, preventing misuse
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
The reality of disruptive technologies is that they could present valuable solutions to many functional aspects of life but could also pose undesirable outcomes, especially safety and security issues. Hence, they must be carefully evaluated and considered before their introduction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/balancing-act-prioritising-security-preventing-misuse

Opportunities in S-Reits and small-cap stocks
Research reports offer analysis and insights on a listed company, sector, geographic region or country. They can be a source of information giving retail investors a better understanding of the financials and future growth trajectory of a particular company. This series has discussed the different types of research reports, given an overview of global macro-economic developments and zoomed in on various sectors that…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/opportunities-in-s-reits-and-small-cap-stocks

Researcher suggests removing joint tenancy requirement for rental flats
The researcher who came up with the first nationwide street count of the homeless here has drawn up a host of recommendations to better tackle the issue. Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore said that the design and funding of shelter services have to be commensurate with the complexity of the underlying causes of homelessness.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/researcher-suggests-removing-joint-tenancy-requirement-for-rental-flats

Unpaid condo maintenance fees: MC can sell unit to recover sums
The management corporation (MC) of a condominium in Tanjong Rhu had sought to sell a unit after the owner repeatedly failed to pay management and sinking-fund bills, which have now come up to a sum of more than $10,000, including interest. The MC at Sanctuary Green had tried to pass a special resolution at its annual general meeting in April, but it did not garner enough votes to carry out the sale of the 73 sq m…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/unpaid-condo-maintenance-fees-mc-can-sell-unit-to-recover-sums