DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14th February 2019

Singapore Real Estate

2018 CBD Grade A office rents post highest increase since 2010: Colliers
Tightening vacancies have driven up Singapore prime office rents in 2018. This saw average CBD (Central Business District) Grade A office rents rising by 2.4 per cent to S$9.43 per square foot per month (psf pm) from third quarter to fourth quarter 2018, bringing the full-year rental growth to 14.9 per cent, Colliers International’s data showed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/2018-cbd-grade-a-office-rents-post-highest-increase-since-2010-colliers
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/cbd-grade-a-office-rental-growth-highest-since-2010

S-Reits placements, rights hit 8-year high of S$4.3b in 2018
It’s been 21 years since Singapore Real Estate Investment Trusts (S-Reits) were first introduced in the city-state, but the asset class is poised for its next growth phase – one that will etch the Republic’s reputation as a global Reit hub
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-placements-rights-hit-8-year-high-of-s43b-in-2018

Price of land in Singapore for public housing lower than that for private developments
The average price of land paid for private housing developments bought through the Government Land Sales Programme between 2015 and 2018 was about S$7,000 per square metre, excluding the Core Central Region.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/price-of-land-in-singapore-for-public-housing-lower-than-that-for-private-developments

Condo rents up 1.9% in January: SRX
Rents for condominiums and private apartments rose 1.9 per cent month on month in January, with HDB rents also stronger, edging up 0.3 per cent, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-rents-up-19-in-january-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-rents-climb-19-in-january-hdb-rents-edge-up-03-srx

Margate Point makes second bid to sell en bloc
Owners of a 15-unit apartment development in Margate Road in Katong are making a second collective sale attempt, with a move towards lowering their reserve price. About 70 per cent of the owners have agreed to cutting the reserve price to $36.5 million from $38 million, said marketing agent JLL yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/margate-point-makes-second-bid-to-sell-en-bloc

Singapore Economy

After 3 record years, tourism may lose some steam in 2019
After three years of record highs in visitor arrivals and tourism spending, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is now “cautiously optimistic” about 2019, due to the volatility of the external environment and stiffer regional competition.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/after-3-record-years-tourism-may-lose-some-steam-in-2019
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tourist-arrivals-spending-at-record-highs

Growth in Singapore household per capita income slows in 2018
Growth in household income per head slowed last year, despite a shrinking number of people under each roof. And, despite what Maybank Kim Eng senior economist Chua Hak Bin called a “respectable increase”, income growth could turn sluggish amid a broader slowdown this year, analysts told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/growth-in-singapore-household-per-capita-income-slows-in-2018
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/incomes-up-for-spore-households-last-year

Companies’ Brief

ARA sells six levels at Suntec City for about S$160m to Alpha Investment Partners
The wave of office investment sales continues as investors ride on the Singapore office rental recovery story. Two substantial deals involving strata offices were recently sealed – one in Suntec City, and the other at The Octagon in Cecil Street. A fund managed by ARA Asset Management is understood to have sold five office floors in Suntec Tower One and a floor in the adjacent Tower Two for a total of about S$160 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ara-sells-six-levels-at-suntec-city-for-about-s160m-to-alpha-investment-partners

Perennial Q4 profit dives 42% to S$16m as finance costs soar 64%
Higher finance costs took a toll on Perennial Real Estate Holdings’ fourth-quarter earnings, pushing profit down 42 per cent to S$16 million. Earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended Dec 31 was 0.96 Singapore cent, down from 1.66 cents a year earlier.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/perennial-q4-profit-dives-42-to-s16m-as-finance-costs-soar-64

Far East H-Trust’s DPS up 3.1% in Q4
Far East Hospitality Trust saw its distribution per stapled security (DPS) rise 3.1 per cent to one Singapore cent for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018, from 0.97 Singapore cent a year ago. This came on the back of a 4.9 per cent rise in income available for distribution to S$19.1 million, from S$18.2 million for the year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/far-east-h-trusts-dps-up-31-in-q4

Vibrant enters into sale and leaseback for Jurong Island property
Vibrant Group’s 51 per cent owned subsidiary, LTH Logistics (Singapore), has entered a conditional put-and-call option agreement with SGRE Banyan for the proposed sale and leaseback of a Jurong Island property and related mechanical and electrical equipment, with a sale consideration of S$227.5 million, the group announced on Tuesday night.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/vibrant-enters-into-sale-and-leaseback-for-jurong-island-property

Frasers Hospitality’s long-time chief Choe Peng Sum retires
Choe Peng Sum, who built up Frasers Hospitality to become one of the world’s largest providers of high-end serviced apartments, will retire on Friday as the firm’s chief executive. Mr Choe, 58, will take up the role of senior adviser to parent Frasers Property from Saturday. The recruitment of Mr Choe’s successor is “progressing well”, and an announcement will be made later on, Frasers Property said in a statement.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/frasers-hospitalitys-long-time-chief-choe-peng-sum-retires