DAILY NEWS

Daily News -13th July 2017

Top Story

Private apartment rents down 3.2% in June
SRX Property’s June 2017 flash estimates show that rentals of private apartments and condos have eased 3.2 per cent year on year and also retreated 19.1 per cent from their peak in January 2013. In the public housing segment, rents of HDB flats have also shed 4 per cent year on year and are 13.5 per cent lower than their peak in August 2013. But all is not gloom and doom, according to some property consultants. The reduced pipeline of private home completions will ease downward rental pressure.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-apartment-rents-down-32-in-june
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-apartment-condo-rents-rise-05-m-o-m-in-june-hdb-flat-rents-ease-06
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/leasing-market-still-weak-but-may-stabilise-next-year
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/38842/non-landed-private-rents-increase-by-05-hdb-rents-decrease-by-06-in-june-2017

Singapore Economy

Stronger IPO flows in Asean seen for 2nd half of the year
South-east Asia may see more initial public offering (IPO) activity in the second half of the year amid rising business confidence in this part of the world, top bankers told The Business Times. “Most South-east Asian equity indices are trading in significant positive territory in 2017 year to date,” said Ho Cheun Hon, head of Southeast Asia equity capital markets (ECM) for Credit Suisse.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/stronger-ipo-flows-in-asean-seen-for-2nd-half-of-the-year

Retail sales up 0.9% in May but pace slows
Retail sales rose for a third straight month in May, but at a much slower pace as brick-and- mortar stores here continued to be buffeted by the digital age. Total retail turnover in May was $3.7 billion, up 0.9 per cent from May last year but way below the revised 2.7 per cent rise in April year on year, according to Department of Statistics data out yesterday. A poll of 10 economists had forecast a 2.2 per cent rise in retail activity in May. But that was smashed by a broad fall in sales for food and other consumer goods sellers.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/retail-sales-up-09-in-may-but-pace-slows
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/may-retail-sales-make-scant-year-on-year-gains
http://www.todayonline.com/business/spore-retail-sales-fall-may-wages-remain-subdued

Singapore Real Estate

JV by Japan’s top shipping lines takes 50,000 sq ft at Marina One
Ocean Network Express, the new joint venture of Japan’s “Big Three” shipping lines, is said to be taking up some 50,000 sq ft of office space at Marina One. The joint-venture company is a consolidation of the container shipping businesses of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line). It includes their worldwide terminal operation businesses, except those in Japan.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jv-by-japans-top-shipping-lines-takes-50000-sq-ft-at-marina-one

First look: Upcoming 51-storey tower on Golden Shoe Car Park site will be among tallest buildings in Raffles Place
CapitaLand on Thursday (July 13) gave a first look at the landmark 51-storey office tower to be built on the site of the old Golden Shoe Car Park building at the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District. At 51 storeys high, the new integrated development will rise to a height of 280m, on a par with the tallest buildings in Raffles Place.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/first-look-51-storey-tower-on-golden-shoe-carpark-site-will-be-among-tallest

Singapore penthouse on sale for S$99 million, a test for luxury market’s recovery
The asking price for a new three-storey Singapore penthouse, complete with a private pool on the 64th floor, has reached a dizzying US$72 million (S$99.17 million). Due to be formally unveiled later this year, Wallich Residence’s penthouse is in the tallest building in Singapore, the island of well-heeled stability that attracts the super-rich from its less-developed South-east Asian neighbours, as well as multi-millionaires from mainland China.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-penthouse-sale-s99-million-test-luxury-markets-recovery

Sungei Road market’s planned comeback hits a snag
Sungei Road market’s planned comeback at the rooftop carpark of Golden Mile Tower has hit a snag, with carpark owner LHN Group saying it has second thoughts about renting the space to the vendors. No formal agreement was struck, an LHN Group spokesman said. He said things were only at the discussion stage.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sungei-road-markets-planned-comeback-hits-a-snag?login=true

More space for bikes at 28 MRT stations
A tender will be called for the installation of 3,000 bicycle parking spaces at 28 MRT stations here, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced yesterday. This is in addition to the existing 17,500 spaces at MRT stations here, and is aimed at improving the infrastructure for bicycles to “support a growing cyclist population”, the authority said. The 28 stations are on the North-South, East-West, North East and Circle MRT lines.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/more-space-for-bikes-at-28-mrt-stations

Companies’ Brief

Yanlord partnering Perennial to bid for United Engineers: sources
Yanlord Land Group, the China-focused developer, is partnering Perennial Real Estate Holdings in a bid for century-old Singapore property group United Engineers Ltd, people with knowledge of the matter said. A consortium including Perennial and Yanlord plans to announce an agreement as soon as Thursday to buy Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp’s stakes in United Engineers and its WBL Corp subsidiary, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It then plans to make an offer for the rest of United Engineers, which has a market value of S$1.73 billion, the people said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/yanlord-partnering-perennial-to-bid-for-united-engineers-sources
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlord-is-said-to-join-perennial-in-united-engineers-offer
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ocbc-ge-close-to-selling-ue-wbl-stakes

SPH Reit achieves stable Q3 results
Singapore-based mall investment trust SPH Reit on Wednesday reported a 2 per cent uptick in its distributable income to S$35.7 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2017, from S$35 million the year before. Its distribution per unit (DPU) was 1.37 cents, up 0.7 per cent from 1.36 cents for the year-ago corresponding period.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-reit-achieves-stable-q3-results
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-reit-makes-slight-gain-in-dpu-for-q3

CapitaLand, CCT, Mitsubishi to redevelop Golden Shoe for S$1.82b
CapitaLand, CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) and Mitsubishi Estate Co are redeveloping Golden Shoe Car Park in the heart of Singapore’s financial district into a mixed-use project for an estimated S$1.82 billion before acquisition costs. The three parties will set up two single-purpose trusts – Glory Office Trust for the commercial portions of the development, and Glory SR Trust for the serviced residence portion – to carry out the redevelopment.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-cct-mitsubishi-to-redevelop-golden-shoe-for-s182b

GLP halts trading pending announcement
Global Logistic Properties has halted the trading of its stock pending an announcement. The developer of high-end warehouses is currently assessing a number of firm bids for its business as part of a strategic review that was requested by major shareholder GIC. The leading bidders are believed to be a Chinese consortium backed by the company’s management and a group led by Warburg Pincus.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/glp-halts-trading-pending-announcement

Oxley to acquire residential property in Pasir Panjang for S$121m
Oxley Holdings is buying a freehold property in the southern part of Singapore for S$121 million. It plans to redevelop the property known as 231 Pasir Panjang Road, subject to obtaining all the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities. The option to purchase the property was entered into by its wholly owned subsidiary, Oxley Amber Pte Ltd, on July 11 with Casuarina Properties (Pte) Ltd.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-to-acquire-residential-property-in-pasir-panjang-for-s121m

ESR-Reit Q2 net property income falls 9.2% to S$19.2m; DPU down 11.3% to S$0.00956
ESR-Reit’s second-quarter net property income fell 9.2 per cent to S$19.2 million as it lost revenue and incurred costs from converting single-tenant properties into multi-tenant projects, the industrial real estate investment trust announced on Thursday before the market opened.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-q2-net-property-income-falls-92-to-s192m-dpu-down-113-to-s000956

Views, Reviews & Forum

Bid for Croesus: Is Blackstone buying into a retail boom in Japan?
What value did private equity giant Blackstone see in Japanese mall owner Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) to warrant its buyout offer at a price that far exceeded brokerages’ 12-month targets ranging from S$1.08 to as low as S$0.98? Furthermore, Blackstone took a risk, making an offer when it had no prior stake in the trust and therefore having to build its stake up from scratch.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/bid-for-croesus-is-blackstone-buying-into-a-retail-boom-in-japan

Heritage gem: Jurong Town Hall a symbol of Singapore’s Industrial Push
In 1976, Mr Roland Ng San Tiong started working life as a civil engineer for the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), then just an eight- year-old outfit. For three years, the young professional worked at the imposing white concrete building, the Jurong Town Hall, which dominated the landscape around it.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/heritage-gem-jurong-town-hall-a-symbol-of-singapores-industrial-push