DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 13th March 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Sibor surge driving mortgage rates up
Home buyers hoping for a reprieve in rising mortgage rates better not hold their breath as interest rates continue to rise and are now back at levels last seen 12 years ago. Following the latest round of hikes, the interest rate on mortgages is now some 50 per cent higher than a year ago as the mortgage benchmark, the 3-month Sibor or Singapore interbank offered rate, continues on its northwards trek. The 3-month Sibor is now at almost 2 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent 12 months ago. The last time the benchmark rate stood at 2 per cent was in the last quarter of 2007.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/stocks/sibor-surge-driving-mortgage-rates-up

AEW sells Rivervale Mall for S$230m to SC Capital Partners
Us-based property fund manager AEW has sold Rivervale Mall in Sengkang for S$230 million, BT understands. The buyer is SC Capital Partners, a Singapore-based private equity real estate firm chaired by Suchad Chiaranussati, who is married to a niece of property and hotel tycoon Kwek Leng Beng.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/aew-sells-rivervale-mall-for-s230m-to-sc-capital-partners

139 Cecil Street up for sale again after revamp
139 Cecil Street, formerly known as Cecil House, is up for sale again via an expression of interest exercise after an extensive revamp, real estate firms CBRE and JLL said in a statement on Tuesday. An 18-month additions and alterations exercise by the building’s owner has increased the number of floors from 11 to 16, with a restaurant on the ground floor and a pool on the roof terrace.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/139-cecil-street-up-for-sale-again-after-revamp
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/cbd-building-formerly-known-as-cecil-house-up-for-sale-again-after-renovations

Mandarin Gardens seeks record $2.927b
Total madness continues as mega site Mandarin Gardens raised its asking price to a new record of $2.927 billion, just one month before its collective sales agreement (CSA) is set to expire, in a bid to get the 80 per cent mandate to launch a tender. If the collective sale goes through, it would be the biggest transaction in dollar terms struck here.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/mandarin-gardens-seeks-record-2927b

Singapore condo resale prices up 0.5% in Feb from Jan: SRX
Singapore condo resale prices increased in February by 0.5 per cent from January, after two consecutive months of cooling in December and January, according to monthly figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday. It was the largest price increase since July 2018, with year-on-year prices up by 4.6 per cent compared to February 2018.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-prices-up-05-in-feb-from-jan-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-up-05-in-february-from-january-srx-property
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/52852/non-landed-private-residential-resale-prices-increased-by-05-in-february-2019-the-largest-monthly-increase-since-july-2018

New mediation centre to help resolve building sector disputes
A mediation centre that focuses on resolving disputes within the construction sector was launched yesterday to help firms avoid expensive and time-consuming court battles. The Singapore Contractors Association (SCAL) set up the Singapore Construction Mediation Centre (SCMC) in response to demand from its members for mediation in resolving construction disputes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-mediation-centre-to-help-resolve-building-sector-disputes
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-mediation-centre-to-resolve-disputes-in-construction-11336514

Singapore Economy

Retail sales rebound in Jan, driven by higher car sales
Retail sales staged a comeback in January after two straight months of decline. Takings at the till were 7.6 per cent higher than those of the same month last year – a robust result that beat the expectations of analysts polled by Bloomberg, who predicted a 2.6 per cent rise.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/retail-sales-up-76-in-jan-recovering-from-dec-decline

Companies’ Brief

Lippo Karawaci unveils US$1b funding plan, new management team
Indonesian real estate developer Lippo Karawaci (LPKR) has secured US$1.01 billion in funding via a rights issue and asset divestments which will be used partly to pare debt, while putting in place a new management team under a broader transformation programme. LPKR has tapped John Riady as chief executive officer, Surya Tatang as chief financial officer and Peter Yu as director of projects as part of a plan to sharpen its focus on its three core competencies – urban housing, lifestyle malls and healthcare.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/lippo-karawaci-unveils-us1b-funding-plan-new-management-team
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/lippo-karawaci-bags-137b-funding-names-new-ceo

LMIRT to buy retail mall in Jakarta for 3.7t rupiah
Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) is looking to acquire Lippo Mall Puri in West Jakarta for 3.7 trillion rupiah (S$354.7 million), financed with a combination of debt and equity financing, the Reit’s (real estate investment trust) manager said in a regulatory filing. LMIRT Management, the Reit manager of LMIRT, has entered into a conditional sales and purchase agreement (CSPA) with PT Mandiri Cipta Gemilang for the proposed acquisition of Lippo Mall Puri. PT Mandiri Cipta Gemilang is a wholly owned subsidiary of PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk, which is the sponsor of LMIRT.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lmirt-to-buy-retail-mall-in-jakarta-for-37t-rupiah

Siemens collaborates with industry partners to develop building technology
German giant Siemens has been working closely with industry players in Singapore to explore innovative solutions for smart city growth. This comes ahead of the formation of a new division of Siemens Building Technologies, Smart Infrastructure (SI) Operating Companies, set to take effect in April.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/siemens-collaborates-with-industry-partners-to-develop-building-technology

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore property market: developers standing firm for now in supply glut
The effects of last July’s property cooling measures, as well as an abundance of choices of new private residential launches for home buyers, have started to become apparent. Sales have been generally subdued for new launches in the past two weekends. For instance, at The Florence Residences in Hougang, where sales began on March 2, close to 60 units were reported to have been sold in the first weekend out of the 200 units released in the 1,410-unit condo.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-property-market-developers-standing-firm-for-now-in-supply-glut

Build environment that encourages bike ownership
For bicycle sharing to be attractive to users, there must be a wide distribution of bikes. For a wide distribution, the fleet must be sizeable, running into tens of thousands per operator. A sizeable fleet, in turn, means a sizeable investment. And return on investment, in this case, shrinks as fleets grow.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/build-environment-that-encourages-bike-ownership