DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 1st December 2017

Top Story

Another warning on property market puts developers on the defensive
The central bank has joined National Development Minister Lawrence Wong in firing a shot across the bow to developers, homebuyers and lenders, warning about the risks of “excessive exuberance” in the property market. But market players were quick to respond that any policy move by the government now would be premature.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/another-warning-on-property-market-puts-developers-on-the-defensive
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mas-flags-risks-from-excessive-exuberance-in-property-market
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/mas-warns-of-excessive-exuberance-in-property-market?login=true
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/en-bloc-risks-private-property-market-outlook-mas-9454128
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mas-financial-stability-review

Singapore Economy

S’pore total market cap rises in November
A surge of interest in banking stocks and a few initial public offerings have helped drive market value in Singapore further past the trillion-dollar mark over the past month. With 748 companies, total market capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange edged up 0.2 per cent to S$1.016 trillion at the end of November, from S$1.014 trillion the month before – and this was despite there being more companies with market caps falling than rising – 393 vs 207.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/spore-total-market-cap-rises-in-november

Lower unemployment among PMETs; monthly income of average worker up: MOM
The light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) this year. A smaller proportion of them are jobless compared with last year, said the initial report on the annual labour force survey released by the Manpower Ministry yesterday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/lower-unemployment-among-pmets-monthly-income-of-average-worker-up-mom
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/unemployment-median-wage-rises-mom-advance-report

Singapore Real Estate

Holland Rd plot to have dual office-residential use component
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is allowing a dual office/residential use component in the plum Holland Road site that it has just launched for tender. The dual use, aimed at creating a vibrant “live, work and play” setting, will be considered as part of the project’s commercial gross floor area (GFA), URA indicated in the tender conditions for the site.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/holland-rd-plot-to-have-dual-office-residential-use-component

Plum Holland Road land site put up for tender
A commercial and residential site in Holland Road was put up for sale yesterday under a dual-envelope concept and price tender that will close on March 20. Located near Holland Village MRT station, the site can have a maximum gross floor area of 59,715 sq m, of which, up to 13,500 sq m can be for retail use. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has set a cap of 570 residential units for the project.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/plum-holland-road-land-site-put-up-for-tender

Yio Chu Kang freehold site The Stradia up for en bloc sale with S$22m reserve price
A mixed development site along Yio Chu Kang Road has been launched for tender on Nov 28 with a reserve price of around S$22 million. The Stradia, a mixed development site built in the 1990s and located at 78 Yio Chu Kang Road, consists of eight residential units and three retail shops. It is located near Serangoon Garden Village, NEX Mall and Serangoon Stadium.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/yio-chu-kang-freehold-site-the-stradia-up-for-en-bloc-sale-with-s22m-reserve-price
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/yio-chu-kang-freehold-site-the-stradia-up-for-en-bloc-sale-with-s22m-reserve-price

‘Catalytic’ development planned for Indian city
The Singaporean consortium picked as master developer for a start-up area in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh’s upcoming capital aims to spark interest in it by building a “catalytic development” that will draw investment. The plan will likely involve erecting a multi-storey building in the area that is likely to become Amaravati’s financial district.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/catalytic-development-planned-for-indian-city
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/andhra-pradesh-farmers-learn-about-spore-style-planning

Veteran architect starts own firm at 79
At age 79 and after 25 years as senior director at RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, former master planner Liu Thai Ker is starting afresh. The man, dubbed the “architect of modern Singapore” after his influential tenures in the Housing Board (HDB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, is leaving RSP to set up his own outfit, which officially opens today.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/veteran-architect-starts-own-firm-at-79

PUB pumps in $500m more to keep floods at bay
To keep floods at bay as Singapore is lashed by increasingly intense storms, the country is pumping another $500 million into a massive upgrade of its drainage network. National water agency PUB said yesterday the money will be channelled into ongoing projects at 75 spots islandwide, as well as those at 16 new locations and future projects, to make monsoon drains and canals bigger, and fortify older structures, for instance.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pub-pumps-in-500m-more-to-keep-floods-at-bay

Companies’ Brief

Keppel T&T starts strategic review of logistics portfolio in China
Mainboard-listed Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has kicked off a strategic review of its logistics portfolio in China. The move aims “to optimise and focus resources” in the urban logistics solutions business, said the Keppel Corporation subsidiary in a Singapore Exchange announcement on Thursday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-tt-starts-strategic-review-of-logistics-portfolio-in-china

SPH Reit studying overseas markets such as Australia for future acquisitions
SPH Reit has been “aggressively and actively” looking at acquisition opportunities since two years ago. It has even looked at overseas markets such as Australia, but has yet to find any suitable assets to add to its portfolio. This was what the management told unitholders at the trust’s fourth annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday, when they were asked about SPH Reit’s expansion plans. About 280 unitholders and proxy holders attended the AGM.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-reit-studying-overseas-markets-such-as-australia-for-future-acquisitions
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/sph-reit-looking-to-acquisitions-overseas

GLP’s shareholders give green light for privatisation
Global Logistic Properties’ (GLP) shareholders voted in favour of Nesta Investment Holdings’ privatisation bid, with the final day of trading of GLP’s shares on the Singapore Exchange expected to be Jan 4. Nesta – a vehicle owned by Hopu, Hillhouse Capital, SMG, Bank of China Group Investment and Vanke – is taking GLP private at S$3.38 per share, which will take place via a scheme of arrangement.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/glps-shareholders-give-green-light-for-privatisation
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/glps-shareholders-give-green-light-for-privatisation

Cromwell European Reit makes a muted start
Cromwell European Reit (CEReit) closed a bit higher at 0.555 euro in a fairly muted trading debut on Thursday. Units in CEReit opened flat at 0.55 euro when it commenced trading on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) at 2pm and remained at the same price throughout the rest of the afternoon.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cromwell-european-reit-makes-a-muted-start

Healthway inks master lease agreement with OUE unit
Healthway Medical Corporation Limited has signed a master lease agreement with Alkas Realty, a wholly owned subsidiary of OUE Limited, for units at OUE Downtown. These two units would be leased to Healthway Medical for 36 months commencing on Aug 1, 2017 and expiring on July 31, 2020 and the term comprised a rent-free period of four months between Aug 1, 2017 to Nov 30, 2017.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/healthway-inks-master-lease-agreement-with-oue-unit

Manulife US Reit manager issues 1.85m units to Manufacturers Life Reinsurance
The manager of Manulife US Reit announced on Thursday that it has issued two sets of units to Manufacturers Life Reinsurance Limited (MLRL). The first 1.26 million Manulife US Reit units were issued by Manulife’s Reit manager to MLRL to receive the management fee units in its place. “These units have been issued as payment of 100 per cent of the manager’s base fee for the period 1 July to 30 September,” the Reit manager said in an aftermarket filing with the Singapore Exchange.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-manager-issues-185m-units-to-manufacturers-life-reinsurance

Oxley included on FTSE ST Large & Mid Cap Index, FTSE ST Mid Cap Index
Oxley Holdings has been included on the FTSE ST Large & Mid Cap Index and the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index, following quarterly review changes to the FTSE ST Index Series, the property developer announced in a pre-market filing on Friday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-included-on-ftse-st-large-mid-cap-index-ftse-st-mid-cap-index
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oxley-included-on-ftse-st-large-mid-cap-index-ftse-st-mid-cap-index

Cache Logistics Trust issues S$1b notes programme
Cache Logistics Trust said its trustee HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited has issued a S$1 billion multi-currency debt issuance programme on behalf of the trust on Nov 30. DBS Bank Ltd has been appointed to act as the sole arranger and dealer of the programme.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cache-logistics-trust-issues-s1b-notes-programme
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cache-logistics-trust-issues-s1b-notes-programme

Cushman & Wakefield names Matthew Bouw Asia-Pacific CEO
Global property services firm Cushman & Wakefield has appointed its global chief administrative officer Matthew Bouw as its chief executive officer for the Asia-Pacific, effective Dec 1. Mr Bouw, an Australian, has worked for the property firm for over six-and-a-half years, with the last three years as global chief administrative officer overseeing human resources, marketing and research.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cushman-wakefield-names-matthew-bouw-asia-pacific-ceo

Thakral Corp invests in two Osaka properties
Mainboard-listed Thakral Corp has expanded its footprint with two new investment properties, the R Hotels Inn Osaka Kita Umeda and the Namba retail redevelopment site, in Osaka. The investment in the two properties will be made through its pooled investment vehicle, Thakral Japan Properties, in which the group holds a 50 per cent stake.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/thakral-corp-invests-in-two-osaka-properties

Views, Reviews & Forum

Ying Li’s RMB3.3b deal: Time for a dividend?
The deal price might disappoint expectations, but it is just as well that Ying Li International Real Estate managed to sell one of its Chongqing commercial developments at a slight profit. With vacancy rates well above 40 per cent in Chongqing’s prime Grade A and Grade B office space, and significant upcoming supply, the market won’t be improving anytime soon.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ying-lis-rmb33b-deal-time-for-a-dividend