DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th, 10th and 11th December 2017

TOP STORY

Home prices ‘could rise by 8% next year’
An “up cycle” for Singapore property may last into 2020, Morgan Stanley said, with estimates that home prices will climb by as much as 8 per cent next year. Mr Wilson Ng, a property analyst at Morgan Stanley, said developers’ valuations are attractive based on discounts to net asset value and price-to-book ratios. He has “overweight” ratings on CapitaLand and City Developments (CDL).
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/home-prices-could-rise-by-8-next-year

SINGAPORE ECONOMY

Soft finish to the Singdollar in 2017 but here’s to next year
The weather here is not the only thing facing a glum December. The Singapore dollar is likely to stay muted against the US dollar in the last few weeks of 2017, economists have said. But they agreed that the New Year is likely to bring a fresh start, with the central bank here expected to switch tacks on the exchange rate.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/soft-finish-to-the-singdollar-in-2017-but-heres-to-next-year
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/mas-may-shift-away-from-zero-appreciation-sing-stance

Singapore interest rates finally catching up with US counterpart
Singapore Interest Rates finally caught up with their US counterpart, the Libor or London interbank offered rate, in the last days of November. The local key rates – the 3-month (3M) Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor) and swap offer rate (SOR) – generally have a tight relationship with US rates and track the 3M Libor but this didn’t quite happen until the second half of 2017.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/singapore-interest-rates-finally-catching-up-with-us-counterpart

Singapore, Shandong to further increase trade and investment
Singapore and Shandong have agreed to further increase two-way trade and investments in areas of mutual interest, such as education, healthcare and energy and petrochemicals. This comes as Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Communications & Information and Health, led a delegation including government officials and businessmen to the eastern Chinese province from Dec 6-9. Shandong has a gross domestic product of S$1.35 trillion, making it the third largest provincial economy in China.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-shandong-to-further-increase-trade-and-investment
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/singapore-and-shandong-to-grow-cooperation-in-three-key-areas

Wealth tax ‘has merit but may hurt hub status’
Taxing private wealth could help tackle inequality and reap huge sums for government coffers, but Singapore’s reputation as a hub for managing funds held by the well-heeled may take a hit, say analysts. They were reacting to off-the-cuff remarks by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday. He said he had been asked earlier in the week why government revenue has to be raised through taxes when there were huge reserves that could be tapped.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/wealth-tax-has-merit-but-may-hurt-hub-status

SINGAPORE REAL ESTATE

Singapore to seek public views on short-term home rentals through Airbnb
The Singapore government, which has charged two men with unauthorised short-term letting of apartments, said on Friday that it plans to seek public feedback soon on a regulatory framework for allowing such accommodation. The move comes as strict rules on short-term property rentals in the city-state, a keen early adopter of the sharing economy, have invited complaints as it seeks a balance between encouraging new disruptive industries and keeping them in line.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-to-seek-public-views-on-short-term-home-rentals-through-airbnb

Chinese co-working unicorn UrWork to open 2nd Singapore branch in Suntec City
Prominent Chinese co-working space operator UrWork is opening a second Singapore location in Suntec City in the first quarter of next year. The company, backed by Alibaba’s Ant Financial and Sequoia Capital among others, launched its first overseas branch in Ayer Rajah Crescent in July. Its expansion in Singapore is part of the firm’s efforts to become a bridge between South-east Asia and China, founder and chief executive Mao Daqing told The Business Times.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chinese-co-working-unicorn-urwork-to-open-2nd-singapore-branch-in-suntec-city
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/chinese-co-working-space-operator-opens-second-singapore-outlet

Cladding fire risk: 2 more brands flagged
Two more brands of aluminium composite panel used as external cladding here are being used improperly, and could pose a fire risk. This follows an announcement earlier this year that Alubond-branded panels did not comply with the Fire Code, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement yesterday. Seven buildings here could be affected in the latest case, said SCDF.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/cladding-fire-risk-2-more-brands-flagged
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/flawed-testing-and-certification-process

COMPANIES’ BRIEF

Heeton set for growth after QC pain
Boutique property developer Heeton Holdings is ready to move on with its growth strategy after clearing its overhang of unsold units at two projects – iLiv@Grange and The Lumos – which had cost it painful qualifying certificate (QC) penalties in the past couple of years. iLiv@Grange along Grange Road was sold through a sale of shares to a group of Singaporean private investors including executive chairman of The Straits Trading Company Chew Gek Khim and KSH Holdings’ executive chairman Choo Chee Onn in October 2016.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/heeton-set-for-growth-after-qc-pain

CDL sweetens offer for M&C Hotels
City Developments Limited (CDL) has raised its offer price to acquire the remaining stake in London-listed Millenium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) that it does not yet own, in a deal that M&C’s independent directors have agreed to. CDL, a majority shareholder which currently holds 65.2 per cent of M&C, has raised the offer price to 620 pence per share, up from 552.5 pence earlier.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-sweetens-offer-for-mc-hotels
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-raises-its-offer-price-in-mc-hotels-buyout-bid

Centurion prices Hong Kong IPO shares at mid-point of price talk of HK$3.18
Owner-operator of worker and student accommodation Centurion Corp has announced on Monday before the Singapore market opened that the 36 million shares it offered for its secondary listing in Hong Kong would be priced at HK$3.18, the mid-point of price talk of between HK$3 and HK$3.30.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/centurion-prices-hong-kong-ipo-shares-at-mid-point-of-price-talk-of-hk318
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/centurion-prices-hong-kong-ipo-shares-at-mid-point-of-price-talk-of-hk318

Fullerton Health to acquire 60% stake in Philippine-based Intellicare
Corporate healthcare solutions provider Fullerton Health announced on Monday it has entered into a deal to acquire a 60 per cent stake in Philippine-based Intellicare Group. The deal is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions and is expected to complete in early 2018.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fullerton-health-to-acquire-60-stake-in-philippine-based-intellicare
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/fullerton-health-to-acquire-60-stake-in-philippine-based-intellicare

VIEWS, REVIEWS & FORUM

This time it’s different
Property agent Shaun Poh remembers the time when owners were hostile to the very idea of a collective sale – one set his dog on him. It happened about 15 years ago, when Mr Poh made his third house visit to the owner, to try and convince the man to agree to a collective sale for an apartment development in which he owned multiple units. The man got annoyed, quietly opened the electric gate to his house and unleashed his dog.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/this-time-its-different

Airbnb needs to respect S’pore laws
Airbnb is engaging in double talk (Two Airbnb hosts charged over illegal home sharing in first case under new laws; ST Online, Dec 5). On the one hand, it says it is working with the authorities to make short-term rentals work here. On the other hand, it continues to allow its website to be used for activities that contravene Singapore’s laws.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/airbnb-needs-to-respect-spore-laws