DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 13 January 2022 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Property cooling measures could increase demand for rental housing: analysts
Rental volumes for both Housing Board flats and condominium units recovered slightly in 2021 after falling in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to flash figures released by SRX Property and 99.co on Wednesday (Jan 12).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/property-cooling-measures-could-increase-demand-for-rental-housing-analysts
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-hdb-rents-jump-more-than-10-in-2021-demand-slips-in-december-due-to-seasonal-lull

Fragrance’s James Koh bags Lornie Road GCB for S$981 psf
Property tycoon James Koh is buying an old bungalow along Lornie Road for S$24.8 million or S$981 per square foot on the freehold land area of 25,271 sq ft. The psf price being paid by the Fragrance Group boss for the property in the Caldecott Hill Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area seems like a steal.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fragrances-james-koh-bags-lornie-road-gcb-for-s981-psf

Neil Road shophouse up for sale with S$16.2m guide price
A 3-storey conservation shophouse located along Neil Road has been put up for sale via an expression of interest exercise with a guide price of S$16.2 million, exclusive marketing agent JLL said on Wednesday (Jan 12).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/neil-road-shophouse-up-for-sale-with-s162m-guide-price

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s carbon tax needs ‘stronger price signal’ amid decarbonisation push: Grace Fu
Singapore’s carbon tax needs a “stronger price signal” for it to steer the economy towards a low-carbon future, said Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu on Wednesday (Jan 12).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-carbon-tax-needs-stronger-price-signal-amid-decarbonisation-push-0

Carbon tax changes will come with measures to ease costs for households: Gan
When adjusting the carbon tax to spur firms’ green efforts, the government will consider how to ease the impact on households, said Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 12).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/carbon-tax-changes-will-come-with-measures-to-ease-costs-for-households-gan
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/higher-carbon-tax-can-spur-green-transition-but-must-be-calibrated-to-help-spore-firms-stay-competitive

Companies’ Brief

No plans to merge MLT and MIT: MLT manager
There are no plans by the manager of Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) to merge the logistics real estate investment trust (Reit) with Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT), even as two other Reits from their sponsor have proposed a merger.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/no-plans-to-merge-mlt-and-mit-mlt-manager

Metro forms strategic tie-up with Daiwa House Industry for investments
Metro Holdings has formed a strategic tie-up with Japanese real estate player Daiwa House Industry to deepen investment collaboration in various asset classes, following the Singapore-listed group’s S$41.3 million investment in Daiwa House Logistics Trust for a 7.65 per cent stake.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/metro-forms-strategic-tie-up-with-daiwa-house-industry-for-investments

SingHaiyi gets approval from bourse operator SGX to delist
SingHaiyi will delist after obtaining regulatory approval on Wednesday (Jan 12), as its free float has dropped to under 10 per cent, with the date to exit the mainboard to be announced. In a regulatory filing, the property player said the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has no objection to its proposed privatisation as its controlling shareholders’ voluntary unconditional cash offer has secured 95.8 per cent valid acceptances, leaving less than 10 per cent of the shares now held by the public.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singhaiyi-gets-approval-from-bourse-operator-sgx-to-delist

SPH sees improvement across business segments
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Tuesday (Jan 11) said that its overall business improved in the first quarter to November following the gradual recovery of the economy. Still, it said in a business update that it would continue to monitor the impact of the evolving Omicron Covid-19 variant on travel, government-imposed restrictions and consumer sentiment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wealth-investing/sph-sees-improvement-across-business-segments
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-sees-improvement-across-business-segments

Real estate investment platform RealVantage bags capital markets services licence from MAS
Real estate investment platform RealVantage has obtained a capital markets services (CMS) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), it said on Wednesday (Jan 12). The licence will allow the company to provide Singapore-based retail investors with access to private equity real estate investments globally, in countries such as the UK, Australia and the US.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/real-estate-investment-platform-realvantage-bags-capital-markets-services-licence

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore and Silicon Valley: Two different operating systems
Chances are, you can access this article from a smartphone right now: a device that was unimaginable for most just 20 years ago. In milliseconds, it serves up real-time directions, messages, music, entertainment and distraction for six billion people around the globe.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/singapore-and-silicon-valley-two-different-operating-systems

What beckons for the crypto-economy in 2022
2021 was a watershed year for cryptocurrencies in many ways. For one, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in September, essentially becoming the first sovereign entity to legalise and sanction Bitcoin as the currency of choice.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/what-beckons-for-the-crypto-economy-in-2022

Covid has dealt a big blow to Asean but the region’s economic outlook is bright
Asean economies may have been dealt harder blows by Covid-19 than the rest of Asia, and the Sino-US relationship remains worrisome, but analysts say the outlook for the growth-driven region is bright and its stocks, relatively cheap.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/covid-has-dealt-a-big-blow-to-asean-but-the-regions-economic-outlook-is-bright-0

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Daily Covid-19 Omicron count in Singapore nearly doubles to 797 infections
[Singapore] The number of new cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant rose to 797 on Wednesday (Jan 12), up from 438 a day earlier, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Jan 12). Of these, 513 were local cases and 284 were imported, MOH said in its daily update.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/daily-covid-19-omicron-count-in-singapore-nearly-doubles-to-797-infections
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/daily-covid-19-omicron-count-in-spore-nearly-doubles-to-797-infections

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation