DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14 Aug 2020 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Kallang Bahru industrial building up for sale at S$6.5m guide price
An industrial building at 209 Kallang Bahru is up for sale at a guide price of S$6.5 million, marketing agent Savills Singapore said on Thursday. The detached five-storey building has a total site area of about 24,380 square feet (sq ft) with a gross floor area of around 52,797 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/kallang-bahru-industrial-building-up-for-sale-at-s65m-guide-price

Condo owners should go easy in exercising penalty clauses during Covid-19: MOM
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and its tripartite partners have called on condominium owners and management corporations to exercise restraint in activating penalty clauses for delays to the delivery of services during the Covid-19 period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-owners-should-go-easy-in-exercising-penalty-clauses-during-covid-19-mom

JTC tests devices to aid safe distancing at three worksites
To facilitate the ease of meeting safe distancing measures put in place at construction sites as a result of Covid-19, JTC Corporation has been testing out various technologies that will help employers and workers alike.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jtc-tests-devices-to-aid-safe-distancing-at-three-worksites
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/digitalisation-will-aid-construction-companies-in-keeping-to-safe-distancing-rules

JTC awards Jalan Papan site tender to SH M&E Engineering for S$7.9m
JTC has awarded the tender for an industrial site at Jalan Papan (Plot 1) to SH M&E Engineering for about S$7.9 million. The tender was launched on Feb 25 and closed on July 14, with three bids received, JTC said in a press statement on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jtc-awards-jalan-papan-site-tender-to-sh-me-engineering-for-s79m

Big appetite for latest BTO flats a day after launch
Demand is high for the Housing Board’s (HDB) latest Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise, with flats in both mature and non-mature estates in Geylang and Woodlands heavily oversubscribed yesterday, just one day into their one-week launch for sale.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/big-appetite-for-latest-bto-flats-a-day-after-launch

Singapore Economy

Singapore and Japan to work on resumption of essential travel from September
[Singapore] Essential travel for expatriates and businessmen between Singapore and Japan could resume next month, as both countries agree to ease restrictions currently in place to combat the spread of Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-and-japan-to-work-on-resumption-of-essential-travel-from-september
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-japan-to-work-on-green-lane-for-essential-travel
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-japan-set-to-resume-essential-travel-next-month

Companies’ Brief

Ascott converts some apartments into work suites
CapitaLand’s wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Ltd, is blurring the line between office property and hospitality. And it could extend the usage of its space for industrial purposes too, as the company strives to fill a hole left by the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-converts-some-apartments-into-work-suites
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascott-turns-apartments-into-work-suites-amid-telecommuting-trend

CDL to add zing to its portfolio with redevelopments, divestments
Despite seeing its first-half bottom line whittled to just S$3.1 million, City Developments Ltd (CDL) is looking to rejuvenate its portfolio by redeveloping some assets. It is also planning to divest some non-core hotels held by the group, and some of the investment properties held by Sincere Property Group in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-to-add-zing-to-its-portfolio-with-redevelopments-divestments-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdls-profit-in-first-half-plunges-99-as-pandemic-hits-business

Ho Bee Land’s net profit up 115% on increased profits from associates
Mainboard-listed developer Ho Bee Land’s net profit for the half-year ended June 30 was up 115.4 per cent at S$90.6 million on the back of increased profits from associates and jointly-controlled entities. The share of profits from associates was S$31.3 million, compared with a loss of S$407,000 a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ho-bee-lands-net-profit-up-115-on-increased-profits-from-associates-0

UOL’s H1 reverses to S$82.1m net loss due to Covid-19 impact
Property company UOL reversed to a net loss of S$82.1 million for its first half ended June 30, compared to a profit of S$267.7 million in the same period last year. This was due mainly to fair value losses on its investment properties, including retail malls and serviced suites which were severely affected by Covid-19, it said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uols-h1-reverses-to-s821m-net-loss-due-to-covid-19-impact

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Put staff first – happy customers will follow
Keeping employees engaged is a constant challenge that has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the resulting mass shift to remote work. This has shown businesses how critical employee engagement can be to an organisation’s success, due to its impact on productivity, loyalty and customer satisfaction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/put-staff-first-happy-customers-will-follow

Navigating a new, uncertain future
After the release of the dismal second-quarter gross domestic product growth numbers on Tuesday, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing pointed to some painful truths that Singapore will have to accept and contend with, going forward.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/navigating-a-new-uncertain-future

Singapore as a hub: Renewing Asean’s relevance
The region is entering a difficult period with pandemic numbers climbing and closed borders hitting business, trade and tourism. Economies are slowing or even contracting. Some voices in neighbouring countries are turning towards nationalism and protectionism – becoming less open to foreigners and the world.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/singapore-as-a-hub-renewing-aseans-relevance

Central Asia offers a vast ocean of possibilities for Asean
In a global landscape radically changed by Covid-19, expedience is the name of the game. An impending post-pandemic climate, fraught with unpredictability, means previously unlikely partnerships are now possible. Every option should be explored for Asean countries like Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/opinion/central-asia-offers-a-vast-ocean-of-possibilities-for-asean

Fears of financial Iron Curtain grip China as tensions with US rise
A sharp escalation in tensions with the United States has stoked fears in China of a deepening financial war that could result in it being shut out of the global dollar system – a devastating prospect once considered far-fetched, but now not impossible.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/fears-of-financial-iron-curtain-grip-china-as-tensions-with-us-rise

Business values post Covid-19
As cheap money starts to look expensive, it is time to consider what the speeding pace of capitalism was doing to us pre-Covid-19 and assess the implications for our post-Covid values. Our financial masters were pumping up the stock markets and pouring cash into a system at a rate that encouraged gambling beyond what sensible commercial practice should have allowed. Business is a gamble…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/business-values-post-covid-19

New lifelines for distressed companies
Corporate defaults and insolvencies are ratcheting up as the Covid-19 crisis continues to hurt companies across the business spectrum. Singapore’s new insolvency laws, amalgamated in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (IRDA) that came into force just a fortnight ago, could not have come at a better time.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/new-lifelines-for-distressed-companies

MAS puts S$250m to beef up financial-sector innovation, grow Singaporean fintech talent
The most visible payoff for the investment in technology in the financial sector over the years has been in how well the industry responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/mas-puts-s250m-to-beef-up-financial-sector-innovation-grow-singaporean-fintech
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/mas-commits-250m-to-boost-innovation-tech-in-financial-sector

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

New Covid-19 infections go above 100 after recent dip
The number of new Covid-19 cases here hit three digits again yesterday, after daily counts of 61 and 42 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday announced 102 new coronavirus cases, taking Singapore’s total to 55,497. Four of the five new coronavirus patients in the community are unlinked, said MOH.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-infections-go-above-100-after-recent-dip

Firms urged to take care of outsourced essential workers amid Covid-19
During the circuit breaker period, cleaning company Anergy Building Services managed to keep elderly cleaners at home while ensuring their salaries would continue to be paid. It also worked with the building manager to reduce its manpower deployment since most tenants of the office building were working from home.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/firms-urged-to-take-care-of-outsourced-essential-workers

One in six foreign workers in dorms contracted Covid-19, based on official tally
About one in six foreign workers living in dormitories contracted Covid-19, a calculation based on Singapore’s official tally showed, but the true infection rate in the dormitories is likely to be higher than this, experts say.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/one-in-six-in-dorms-got-it-based-on-official-tally

askST: Why are there still reports of workers in dorms being infected with Covid-19?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/why-are-there-still-reports-of-workers-in-dorms-being-infected
*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