DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 13 Dec 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Reit IPOs reign in Singapore, but more diversity welcome
Singapore initial public offerings (IPOs) raised more money in 2019 than a year ago, but more diversity would be welcome, with Reits dominating new listings and set to continue doing so. IPOs on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) raised a total of S$3.06 billion across 11 deals this year, a marked improvement from 2018 when S$730 million was raised across 15 listings.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/reit-ipos-reign-in-singapore-but-more-diversity-welcome

Singapore Economy

Retail sales fall again for ninth month in October
Takings at the till slid for the ninth straight month in October, but it may not be all doom and gloom for the rest of the year, experts said. Retail sales fell 4.3 per cent compared with the same month last year – worse than the 1.5 per cent decline predicted by analysts polled by Bloomberg and the 2.2 per cent slip in September.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/retail-sales-fall-again-for-ninth-month-in-october
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/retail-sales-extend-decline-into-october-with-43-drop

Singapore economic growth may be better next year
Singapore may clock a faster pace of economic growth next year, according to Nomura Holdings. Gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to expand 1.3 per cent next year from an expected 0.5 per cent this year, noted the Japanese investment bank yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-economic-growth-may-be-better-next-year

Companies’ Brief

Chip Eng Seng unit acquires Malaysian campus for S$24.4m
Chip Eng Seng on Thursday said that its wholly-owned subsidiary CES Education has acquired Raffles Campus (Malaysia) for S$24.4 million. Raffles Campus (Malaysia) is the holding company of two wholly-owned entities in Malaysia, one of which owns a freehold 79,760 square metre site in Bandar Seri Alam, Johor Bahru, while the other owns and operates international school Excelsior International School…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-unit-acquires-malaysian-campus-for-s244m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-acquires-excelsior-international-school-in-jb

ARA H-Trust obtains US$75m in loans to fund purchase of US hotels
ARA US Hospitality Trust (ARA H-Trust) has taken out US$75 million in unsecured loans to partially finance its US$84.5 million acquisition of three Marriott-branded hotels in the US. The facilities comprise a US$66 million term loan and a US$9 million revolving credit facility, ARA H-Trust said in a regulatory filing on Friday, without disclosing the identities of the lenders.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ara-h-trust-obtains-us75m-in-loans-to-fund-purchase-of-us-hotels

GIC to buy European logistics portfolio for 950m euros
GIC has signed an agreement to acquire a pan-European logistics real estate portfolio, Maximus, for around 950 million euros (S$1.44 billion) from funds managed by affiliates of alternative investment manager Apollo Global Management. This is in line with GIC’s strategy to scale up its wholly-owned P3 logistics platform, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund announced on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/gic-to-buy-european-logistics-portfolio-for-950m-euros
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/gic-to-buy-logistics-properties-in-europe-for-14-billion
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-gic-to-buy-logistics-properties-europe-us-1-billion-12181144

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

High hotel DC rates threaten to throw a spanner in the works for CBD Incentive Scheme
On March 27 this year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) unveiled the CBD Incentive Scheme, offering 25 or 30 per cent additional gross floor area (GFA) to motivate owners of older, predominantly office buildings in some parts of the Central Business District (CBD) to redevelop their properties to mixed-use projects. The scheme aims to promote a wider diversity of uses – including having more residences…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/high-hotel-dc-rates-threaten-to-throw-a-spanner-in-the-works-for-cbd-incentive