DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14 Oct 2020 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

27 strata office units at 20 Cecil Street up for sale
A portfolio of 27 strata office units occupying four levels of 20 Cecil Street in the heart of Singapore’s central business district has been offered for sale. The indicative price for the entire portfolio is S$100 million, which translates to an average price of S$3,143 per square foot based on a total strata area of about 31,979 square feet (sq ft).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/27-strata-office-units-at-20-cecil-street-up-for-sale

Bukit Timah Plaza ground-floor unit up for sale with S$30m guide price
A prime ground-floor commercial unit, including 12 accessory car-park lots, within Bukit Timah Plaza has been launched for sale via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise, exclusive marketing agent SRI told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/bukit-timah-plaza-ground-floor-unit-up-for-sale-with-s30m-guide-price

Singapore condo resale volume up 0.4% in September: SRX
Resale volumes of non-landed private homes in Singapore rose 0.4 per cent month on month to 1,286 units in September 2020, inching up to a fresh two-year high. This is a marginal increase from the 1,281 units resold in August 2020, which had been the highest since May 2018.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-volume-up-04-in-september-srx-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/resale-condos-see-strong-sales-as-prices-hold-firm-srx

Singapore Economy

Singapore GDP contraction slows to 7% in Q3, propped up by manufacturing
Singapore’s third-quarter economic growth staged a rebound from the deep contraction seen during its “circuit-breaker” period but has continued to stay in negative territory, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-gdp-contraction-slows-to-7-in-q3-propped-up-by-manufacturing
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-economy-rebounds-by-79-in-q3-from-previous-quarter-year-on-year-gdp-down

Monetary Authority of Singapore stands pat on Singdollar policy at October meeting
Singapore’s central bank kept monetary policy settings unchanged at its half-yearly review on Wednesday, as market watchers had expected. The neutral position, taken after two straight rounds of easing, came as the economy is tipped to recover in 2021, but with weak underlying momentum.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/monetary-authority-of-singapore-stands-pat-on-singdollar-policy-at-october
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/mas-leaves-singdollar-policy-unchanged-on-recovery-outlook

Singapore, China to work together to ensure smooth economic recovery
Singapore and China have committed to working together to ensure a smooth economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic, and for the two countries to collaborate on Covid-19-related medicine. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at Changi Airport yesterday, said that both countries are working towards the safe resumption of international travel.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-china-to-work-together-to-ensure-smooth-economic-recovery

MAS to drill deeper into climate risks for stress test on banks
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will, within the next two years, incorporate climate-related scenarios in the annual stress test for the financial industry, said its managing director Ravi Menon. The regulator’s deeper dive into threats to the financial sector as a result of climate change comes amid associated transition risks.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/mas-to-drill-deeper-into-climate-risks-for-stress-test-on-banks
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/sustainable-financing-holding-up-well

Hyundai’s investment could help grow Singapore EV ecosystem
Carmaker Hyundai’s latest investment in Singapore could help build an ecosystem surrounding the development of electric vehicles (EV), a move that would diversify the Republic’s manufacturing base while creating more high-value jobs for Singaporeans, industry observers said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hyundais-investment-could-help-grow-singapore-ev-ecosystem
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/carmaking-returns-with-new-smart-plant-in-jurong
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/spore-made-hyundai-electric-cars-for-local-market-initially

Jobs targeted at foreign labour, poor attitudes behind traineeship mismatch
With thousands of traineeships available to fresh graduates across multiple sectors, it seems not all is doom and gloom in Singapore’s job market amid the pandemic. But a closer look at the jobs offered under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme throws some light on the supply-demand mismatch that surfaced about four months into the traineeship programme, under which the government co-funds 80 per cent of each worker’s training allowance.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/jobs-targeted-at-foreign-labour-poor-attitudes-behind-traineeship-mismatch

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Property expects FY2020 attributable profit to drop 60%-70%
Mainboard-listed Frasers Property Ltd (FPL), hard hit by the pandemic, expects to report a decline of as much as 70 per cent in its attributable profit for FY2020. The company, in a profit guidance on Tuesday on the unaudited financial results for the financial year ended Sept 30, said the novel coronavirus pandemic and the resulting subdued global economic environment have significantly hit its overall business performance.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-property-expects-fy2020-attributable-profit-to-drop-60-70
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-property-flags-full-year-attributable-profit-to-drop-60-70

S$232m fair value loss pushes SPH into the red for first time
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Tuesday reported its first-ever net loss of S$83.7 million for the full year ended Aug 31, as Covid-19 “severely disrupted” all business segments including property, which has been a key revenue driver for the group as its media business remains challenged amid declines in advertising revenue.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s232m-fair-value-loss-pushes-sph-into-the-red-for-first-time
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-reports-first-net-loss-of-837m-amid-covid-19

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Collaborative automation: Boosting industries and workforce
The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the biggest challenges Singapore businesses have faced in a very long time. We must see through the dark, however, and look to the opportunities this moment presents. I am confident that the future remains bright for businesses that adapt to this changing climate and that seek innovations in manufacturing technology to elevate their competitiveness.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/collaborative-automation-boosting-industries-and-workforce

List best practices for use of macro-prudential policies in housing market
Asia has faced at least three major crises in the last two decades – Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of 1997-98; Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008-09; and the ongoing Covid-19 crisis of 2020. In between these crises was the Nasdaq bubble collapse of 2001, the “taper tantrum” period in 2013 and multiple other negative shocks. Throughout all these, with a few exceptions, most of the economies in Asia continued to embrace global capital flows.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/list-best-practices-for-use-of-macro-prudential-policies-in-housing-market

How to make the hybrid workforce model work
Even before the coronavirus pandemic made homeworking commonplace, Automattic’s 1,277-strong workforce was entirely remote, with perks that include reimbursing expenses to set up workers’ home offices.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/how-to-make-the-hybrid-workforce-model-work-0

Why are investors so eager on blank cheques?
Every few years, investors seem to become enamoured with one investment or another. In my adult lifetime, it started with Internet companies in the late 1990s, then residential real estate in the mid-2000s, and more recently cryptocurrencies and pot stocks.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/why-are-investors-so-eager-on-blank-cheques

Virus fallout: Survey points to large-scale bankruptcies and growth of asset mispricing risks
CFA Institute recently published a report about the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the global economy and the investment management industry. Based on a global survey conducted in April 2020, the report details CFA® charterholders’ observations on a wide range of issues, including market liquidity and volatility, asset prices, the shape of the economic recovery, government and regulatory intervention, and asset allocation and hiring changes.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/virus-fallout-survey-points-to-large-scale-bankruptcies-and-growth-of-asset

Navigating the risks of re-opening
The decision to begin cruises to nowhere next month is important for both economic and psychological reasons. Coupled with recent announcements about opening air travel bubbles with countries that have managed the Covid-19 pandemic well, this latest move represents another careful step in opening up the economy.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/navigating-the-risks-of-re-opening-0

STB: $100 vouchers for Singaporeans meant for personal use only
The $100 tourism vouchers that all adult Singaporeans will receive from December are meant for personal use only, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Asked if the vouchers could be transferred or pooled together, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) brand director Lim Shoo Ling said the vouchers “must be used for their intended purposes so that usage can be tracked and abuses such as fraud and resale can be avoided”.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/stb-100-vouchers-for-sporeans-meant-for-personal-use-only

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Man from India who tested positive after SHN among 4 imported cases
A 31-year-old man from India who tested positive after completing his stay-home notice (SHN) was among the four imported cases confirmed yesterday, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The training employment pass holder served his SHN at a dedicated facility upon arrival in Singapore on Sept 25. He was tested on Oct 5 while serving the SHN and his test result was negative.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/man-who-tested-positive-after-shn-among-4-imported-cases
*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