DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14 Jan 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Conservation shophouses in Tanjong Pagar and Outram Park up for sale
Several shophouses located in Tanjong Pagar and Outram Park have been put on the market on Wednesday, amid mounting demand for the property type. A three-storey conservation shophouse with attic at 91 Tanjong Pagar Road is up for sale via expression of interest with an indicative price of S$10.2 million, exclusive marketing agent JLL said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/conservation-shophouses-in-tanjong-pagar-and-outram-park-up-for-sale

Despite pandemic, total 2020 new home sales may match 2019’s
The total of new private homes sold in 2020 hit about 10,000 in a year when Singapore recorded its worst recession as a global pandemic forced lockdowns in many countries. This would put it roughly on par with the number of new homes sold in 2019, once aborted sales are accounted for. The preliminary tally for 2020 comes as developers sold 1,217 new homes in December, up almost 60 per cent over the November figure.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/despite-pandemic-total-2020-new-home-sales-may-match-2019s

More condo units, HDB flats rented out in December: SRX
The rental volume for both Housing Board (HDB) flats and condominium units went up last month as more overseas Singaporeans and long-term pass holders returned to Singapore. Condo leasings rose 5.3 per cent last month to an estimated 4,414 units, compared with 4,193 units in November, according to flash data released by real estate portal SRX Property yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/more-condo-units-hdb-flats-rented-out-in-december-srx

HDB rolls out one-stop portal that lists new flats up for sale
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched a new portal to make it easier to buy and sell HDB flats. To be rolled out progressively, the HDB Flat Portal will make it more convenient for homebuyers and sellers to gather information on the purchase or sale of a flat through a single integrated platform, National Development Minister Desmond Lee announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-rolls-out-one-stop-portal-that-lists-new-flats-up-for-sale-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-launches-portal-for-home-buyers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/looking-for-a-new-home-get-pricing-and-loan-details-from-hdb-portal

China parties lead foreign buyers of Sentosa Cove villas
Buyers from China were the biggest group of foreigners who bought villas in Sentosa Cove last year, say market watchers. And these buyers comprise a mix of profiles, including a group in their late 20s and 30s who hail from Fujian province – some of whom have bought high-end, prime district condo units here in the past few years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/china-parties-lead-foreign-buyers-of-sentosa-cove-villas

Wave of regional buyers expected to land on Sentosa Cove
The sales momentum for bungalows in the waterfront housing district of Sentosa Cove is expected to strengthen further this year as travel restrictions are eased and potential buyers from the region allowed entry into Singapore to view the villas.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wave-of-regional-buyers-expected-to-land-on-sentosa-cove

Waterway in Sentosa turns pinkish-purple
The waterway running through Sentosa South Cove has turned an unnatural pinkish-purple since Tuesday afternoon, alarming residents. Warning signs emerged on Jan 5 when a foul, sewage-like smell came from the waterway. As the odour became stronger over the next few days, dead fish were found near the banks from Wednesday last week to Sunday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/waterway-in-sentosa-turns-pinkish-purple

Singapore Economy

Singapore, Malaysia committed to free flow of goods
Singapore and Malaysia have a shared commitment to keep supplies flowing in from across the Causeway – and Singapore’s supply chain is resilient enough to withstand any potential disruptions going forward, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at a Zoom media conference after a visit to DuPont Singapore, Mr Chan said when asked about the latest development in Malaysia: “We are in close contact with our Malaysian counterparts regarding the latest movement control and also the state emergency.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-malaysia-committed-to-free-flow-of-goods
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-kl-will-work-closely-to-keep-supply-chains-going-chan

Companies’ Brief

Ascott Residence Trust obtains S$50m green loan from DBS to finance lyf one-north
Ascott Residence Trust (ART) has obtained a five-year S$50 million green loan from DBS to finance its maiden development project: lyf one-north Singapore. The 324-unit co-living property was one of the 15 ART properties that attained green certifications in 2020, bringing the stapled group’s total number of green properties to 21, the stapled group’s managers said in a bourse filing on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-residence-trust-obtains-s50m-green-loan-from-dbs-to-finance-lyf-one-north

Keppel DC Reit’s MTN programme limit raised to S$2b from S$500m
The limit of Keppel DC Reit’s multicurrency medium term note (MTN) programme has been raised to S$2 billion from S$500 million, its manager said in a bourse filing on Thursday. Perpetuals have also been added as a security which may be issued under the programme by the data centre focused real estate investment trust (Reit). In addition, the trustee of Keppel DC Reit, Perpetual (Asia), has been added as an issuer for the perps.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-dc-reits-mtn-programme-limit-raised-to-s2b-from-s500m

GL posts H1 net loss of US$19.8m on British hotel closures
Mainboard-Listed hotel operator GL sank into the red in its first half-year, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit its British portfolio, unaudited results on Wednesday showed. GL, formerly known as GuocoLeisure, posted a net loss of US$19.8 million for the six months to Dec 31, 2020, against a profit of US$26.9 million in the year-ago period. This was in spite of US$26.5 million in other operating income from insurance claims over the Covid-19 business interruption…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/gl-posts-h1-net-loss-of-us198m-on-british-hotel-closures

SPH Reit Q1 DPU down 13%; gross revenue up 10.8 per cent
SPH Reit has declared a first-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.2 Singapore cents, down from 1.38 Singapore cents the year prior. The lower DPU, down by 13 per cent year on year, was “in line with the gradual Covid-19 recovery in both Singapore and Australia”, said the manager in an interim business update on Wednesday. This came even as gross revenue rose by 10.8 per cent year on year to S$66.6 million, for the three months to Nov 30, 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-reit-q1-dpu-down-13-gross-revenue-up-108-per-cent
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/sph-reit-q1-dpu-down-13-to-12-singapore-cents

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Four emerging technology trends in 2021
As we venture into 2021, organisations will be looking for ways to recover from the pandemic and serve new consumers with reimagined business models. Just like how IT helped organisations survive the crisis, technology is also positioned to serve as the foundation for the new normal. Here are four ways that technology will change over the new year: In 2021, I see more POCs (proofs of concept) moving into production.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/four-emerging-technology-trends-in-2021

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

One infected construction worker in dorm and 37 new imported cases
The lone locally transmitted coronavirus case reported yesterday was from a workers’ dormitory, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement last night. The man is a work permit holder who arrived from India on Dec 11 last year and served his stay-home notice at a dedicated facility until Dec 25. His swabs done on Dec 21 and Dec 27 both came back negative. But a subsequent test taken on Tuesday, as part of rostered routine testing, came back positive.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/one-infected-construction-worker-in-dorm-and-37-new-imported-cases

8 vaccination centres by end-Feb as S’pore ramps up vaccine roll-out
Singapore’s vaccination programme is kicking into high gear, as it expands its scope and increases its pace, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday. Eight vaccination centres will be set up by the end of next month, including two centres at Changi Airport Terminal 4 and Raffles City Convention Centre that are already operational, as well as two more at the former Hong Kah Secondary School and Woodlands Galaxy Community Club, which will begin running next week.

Wong: Get jab when given chance, don’t wait for preferred choice
People here should get vaccinated as soon as they are given the chance to do so, urged Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday, as he cautioned against waiting for one’s preferred vaccine choices. While the Government has made purchases and assured that there will be enough for everyone, there is uncertainty about the brand availability of vaccines, said Mr Wong, who is also co-chair of Singapore’s multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/wong-get-jab-when-given-chance-dont-wait-for-preferred-choice

WHO team to fly from S’pore to Wuhan today
A World Health Organisation (WHO) team of international experts is due to depart Singapore today for the Chinese city of Wuhan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said yesterday. The team is investigating the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/who-team-to-fly-from-spore-to-wuhan-today

Air travel recovery stalls as governments tighten borders
Despite widespread expectations of a gradual recovery, global air travel has stalled amid border clampdowns by governments more concerned about the spread of Covid-19 than the health of their economies. Chief executive and director-general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) Alexandre de Juniac lamented that international and domestic air travel numbers had flattened out through November last year due to the absence of a balanced approach to tackling cross-border travel.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/air-travel-recovery-stalls-as-governments-tighten-borders
*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