DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 15th March 2019

Singapore Real Estate

PropNex calls for revisions in cooling measures
Property brokerage PropNex said the increased spate of reissued Options to Purchase (OTPs) are the result of requests by “genuine HDB upgraders” for more time, given additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) burdens. Chief executive Ismail Gafoor said in a briefing for the media on Thursday that this is why it has submitted recommendations to the authorities for a remission of the ABSD for HDB upgraders, among other proposals aimed at calibrating the existing measures to cool the property market.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/propnex-calls-for-revisions-in-cooling-measures
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/propnex-calls-for-easing-of-curbs-for-hdb-upgraders

2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines up for preview
Treasure at Tampines, the 2,203-unit condominium coming up on the site of the former Tampines Court HUDC estate, is available for preview from March 15, with sales slated to start later this month at an average price of approximately S$1,280 per square foot (psf). Developer Sim Lian Group, which acquired the collective sale site for S$970 million in 2017, said the condominium will be Singapore’s largest in terms of number of units. The site spans close to 650,000 sq ft, with 40 per cent currently built up.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/2203-unit-treasure-at-tampines-up-for-preview
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/mega-condo-launch-treasure-at-tampines-on-former-tampines-court-site-hits-market
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-2200-units-go-sale-spore-largest-condo-development

Co-living company Hmlet partners BS Shenton to lease Lumiere condominium units
Co-living company Hmlet has partnered accommodation provider BS Shenton to lease the top 10 floors of luxury condominium Lumiere, in a bid to expand its unit offering in the central business district. This partnership adds 60 beds from Lumiere to Hmlet’s portfolio, bringing its total beds to 1,000 by early June 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-living-company-hmlet-partners-bs-shenton-to-lease-lumiere-condominium-units

Singapore Economy

Retrenchments at a 7-year low last year
The labour market improved on several fronts over the whole of last year, with retrenchments down to the lowest level since 2011. Total employment growth last year was the highest since 2014; the number of people with jobs rose by 38,300. This was a reversal from 2017, when the size of the workforce shrank.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/retrenchments-at-a-7-year-low-last-year
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/mixed-job-prospects-in-year-ahead
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/pmets-make-up-rising-share-of-retrenched-locals
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/labour-market-report-2018-mom-employment-jobs-11342806

Companies’ Brief

Oxley gets potential offer for Chevron House
Oxley has found a potential buyer for Chevron House, after owning the Grade-A office building in Raffles Place for about a year. The purchase consideration is S$1.025 billion and the potential buyer is US-based real estate fund AEW, The Business Times (BT) understands.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-gets-potential-offer-for-chevron-hse

Keppel Infra Trust to raise S$450m through placement, preferential offer
Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) will raise S$450 million through a placement and a non-renounceable underwritten preferential offering of new units, its manager announced in a regulatory filing on Thursday. About S$440.3 million of the proceeds will be used to partially repay a loan facility taken for the A$770 million (S$737.6 million) acquisition of Ixom HoldCo, a water treatment chemicals distributor, said the manager. The remaining S$9.7 million will go towards related fees and expenses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-infra-trust-to-raise-s450m-through-placement-preferential-offer
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-trust-to-raise-450m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-infrastructure-trust-raises-equity-fundraising-to-5008m-after

CBRE capital markets director to join James Koh private unit
Seasoned shophouse and strata commercial property agent Sammi Lim is joining JK Global Capital, a private vehicle that Fragrance Group boss James Koh Wee Meng used to privatise Global Premium Hotels in 2017. Ms Lim’s appointment as chief executive of JK Global Capital, begins on March 22. Her last day as director of capital markets at property consulting group CBRE will be March 21.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cbre-capital-markets-director-to-join-james-koh-private-unit

Datapulse gets shareholders’ nod to move into hotel investments
Datapulse Technology’s board led by its chairman of seven months Aw Cheok Huat mostly got its way at Thursday’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that cemented the course for the cash-rich company’s shift into hospitality. But a proposal to change its name to Capiti Property Partners to reflect its new focus failed as some shareholders felt it wasn’t necessary.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/datapulse-gets-shareholders-nod-to-move-into-hotel-investments
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/datapulse-swings-into-loss-of-s336000-in-q2