DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 12 February 2016

Singapore Economy

‘Creative destruction’ the next step for companies to survive and thrive
Businesses should sit up and take a good, hard look at the “disruption” coming to their industries – or risk becoming obsolete and having no part to play in Singapore’s future economy. It’s a message that’s getting some traction, as the government-formed Committee on the Future Economy – via its Future Corporate Capabilities and Innovation subcommittee – sets out to help firms and industry clusters use technology and new business models to create value and stay competitive.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-future-economy/creative-destruction-the-next-step-for-companies-to

Singapore Real Estate

Building productivity grants ‘temporary’: minister
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong says construction productivity grants may not be always available. Speaking to reporters at the site of Crowne Plaza Changi Airport’s new 10-storey extension on Thursday, he said: “We see the grants as a very temporary measure in order to kick-start (the industry). Because, without this, nothing will move and it will be chicken-and-egg and nobody does anything.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/building-productivity-grants-temporary-minister
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/boosting-productivity-room-by-room

Extension of Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel hits halfway mark
The hotel extension is Singapore’s first private sector commercial project to use Prefabricated Pre-finished Volumetric Construction techniques, where rooms complete with finishes, fixtures and fittings were done in China before being shipped to Singapore to be installed on site.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/extension-of-crowne-plaza/2506052.html

0.6% rise in SRX resale condo price index draws divided views
A 0.6 per cent month-on-month increase in SRX Property’s flash estimate for its resale price index for non-landed private homes in January has drawn varying views on the outlook for this market. Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong said it could suggest that 2016 is a year which captures the inflection point, price wise. However, ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim argued that the overall price trend for the year is still downwards.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/06-rise-in-srx-resale-condo-price-index-draws-divided-views
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/private-apartment-resale-prices-rise-in-jan
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/condominium-resale-prices/2505886.html
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/resale-volume-private-non-landed-homes-drop-20-january-according-flash-estimates

Multi-channel shopping gives malls a shake-up
With the rising trend of consumers buying lower-value goods online, shopping malls are likely to attract higher-priced fashion and beauty brands, while malls that integrate digital-savvy retailers are likely to gain market share, research from property consultancy JLL has shown. Ms Regina Lim, national director, Advisory & Research, Capital Markets at JLL, said: “We expect to see more Singapore residents using multiple channels to shop over the next three years. Online purchases of non-experiential goods such as groceries, household and electronic goods are likely to grow exponentially.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/multi-channel-shopping-gives-malls-shake

Dim prospects, ABSD set to cut foreigner home buying again this year
The appetite for Singapore residential property among foreigners continues to diminish, depressed by higher purchase taxes and dim prospects for gains or returns. The number of private homes bought by non-resident foreigners (non-permanent residents) dropped 22 per cent to 895 units last year, from 1,148 units sold in 2014. And with no sign of any removal or reduction of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rates and rosier prospects at other gateway international cities, the prospects for 2016 remain glum, say industry insiders.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/dim-prospects-absd-set-to-cut-foreigner-home-buying-again-this-year

Lippo Group invests in fintech start-up
The Riady family’s Lippo Group on Thursday announced its first-ever investment into the financial technology (fintech) space with an initial injection of an undisclosed amount into Singapore-based start-up Call Levels. There are currently no plans for future injections, Lippo said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lippo-group-invests-in-fintech-start-up

FCL’s Aussie unit buys 135ha site in Queensland
Real estate developer Frasers Centrepoint Ltd’s (FCL) Australian unit has bought a 135 hectare site in south-east Queensland that has an “end value of S$270 million”, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday. Frasers Property Australia acquired the site at Bahrs Scrub, halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, from Australian property group Stockland with planning approval and an infrastructure agreement in place for the core land, FCL said. The masterplan provides for 1,350 detached housing lots.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fcls-aussie-unit-buys-135ha-site-in-queensland

Roxy-Pacific buys 5-star Maldives resort for $43m
A unit of Roxy-Pacific Holdings is buying a five-star Maldives resort for US$31 million (S$43 million). Roxy-Pacific, which has made a number of overseas acquisitions through various subsidiaries in recent months, clinched the deal in a competitive process involving groups in China, Thailand, Australia, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, said consultancy JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group yesterday.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/roxy-pacific-buys-5-star-maldives-resort-for-43m

Companies’ Brief

S-Reits still a choice pick, say analysts
Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) continue to shine as safe havens amid turbulent markets, although some segments might see more challenges, say analysts. Reits have outperformed the Straits Times Index (STI) this year, falling by about 2 per cent compared with the 11 per cent plunge in the STI. DBS Vickers Securities said S-Reits offer attractive valuations, trading at about 0.9 times price to book, and offer investors a yield of 7.1 per cent.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/s-reits-still-a-choice-pick-say-analysts

Metro’s Q3 profit falls 12.6% on flat retail sales, lower associate contributions
Metro Holdings’ net profit fell 12.6 per cent in the third fiscal quarter on flat retail sales and lower contributions from associates, the department store operator and property developer announced on Thursday after the market closed.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/metros-q3-profit-falls-126-on-flat-retail-sales-lower-associate-contributions
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/metro-profit-down-but-sales-steady
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore/metro-posts-s-55-9m-net/2506914.html

Croesus Q2 DPU slides despite higher earnings
The acquisition of two malls in Japan gave a lift to earnings for Croesus Retail Trust in its second quarter. However, distributions fell due to an enlarged unit base after a rights issue.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/croesus-q2-dpu-slides-despite-higher-earnings
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-224

Perennial Real Estate Holdings
PREH’s value lies in its global land bank located in China, Malaysia, and Ghana, where it has an attributable development pipeline of about five million sq ft of commercial, retail, hotel, and residential gross floor area. All these are projected to be progressively completed from 2016 onwards.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/brokers-take-224

Global Economy & Global Real Estate

Asians to invest more in properties beyond the region than in it
REAL estate markets in Asia will likely remain less appealing than those in the US and Europe this year, with Asia plagued by anaemic economic growth and waning rents and capital values amid a supply deluge. In a recent interview with The Business Times, CBRE head of global research Nick Axford flagged that there will be greater outbound capital flow from the region this year by Asian real estate investors, who snapped up some US$39.7 billion of properties outside the region last year, a 26.8 per cent jump from 2014.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/asians-to-invest-more-in-properties-beyond-the-region-than-in-it

UK property sales surge as investors try to beat tax hike
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/uk-property-sales-surge-as-investors-try-to-beat-tax-hike

Amid Turmoil, Japan Housing Market May Get Boost From Lower Rate
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/amid-turmoil-japan-housing-market-may-get-boost-from-lower-rate

These Renters Were Hit Hardest by the Financial Crisis
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/these-renters-were-hit-hardest-by-the-financial-crisis