DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 15 May 2020 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

New private home sales plunge to 5-year low in April amid circuit breaker: URA data
Singapore – New private home sales plunged to a five-year low last month and are expected to remain low in May as showflat galleries stay closed and new launches are pushed back further because of the extended circuit breaker.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/new-private-home-sales-plunge-to-5-year-low-in-april-amid-circuit-breaker-ura-data

Singapore commercial property investment volume dives 78% in Q1
Singapore dropped out of the top 10 cities in commercial property investment volumes in the first quarter, with transactions plunging 78 per cent year on year to US$432 million, according to Real Capital Analytics’ (RCA) Asia-Pacific (Apac) Capital Trends report.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-commercial-property-investment-volume-dives-78-in-q1

Have property cooling measures lost their punch?
Singapore’s property market has had 10 rounds of “cooling” measures since 1996, each time bringing in new curbs or tightened rules designed to moderate behaviour and stem runaway rises in price. In Brunch this Saturday in The Business Times Weekend, we ask if property cooling measures have lost their efficacy, and look at some of the implications. Just how long does it take before property cooling measures lose their punch?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/have-property-cooling-measures-lost-their-punch

Some house hunters buying homes after virtual viewings
In August, Mr Fawzi Jaafar will step into the three-room Housing Board resale flat in Ang Mo Kio, which he bought last month, for the first time. The bus driver and his wife decided on the $230,000 resale unit after watching a pre-recorded home tour video shot by the seller.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/some-house-hunters-buying-homes-after-virtual-viewings

Retail, F&B players in Singapore to push for fair tenancy legislation
Industry stakeholders from the battered retail and F&B sectors will be pushing for the adoption of landlord-tenant legislation in Singapore, when it unveils its list of recommendations on May 21. The Fair Tenancy Framework Industry Committee (FTFIC), formed with representation from the Singapore Business Federation SME Committee (SBF SMEC), Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME)…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/retail-fb-players-in-singapore-to-push-for-fair-tenancy-legislation

Singapore Economy

Virus pushes Food&HotelAsia trade show to May 2022
The specialist trade show for hotels, restaurants and cafe suppliers, FHA-HoReCa, will be postponed by two years to 2022, the event’s organiser Informa Markets said on Thursday. It was to have taken place at the Singapore Expo from March 3-6 this year, but was at first postponed to July 13-16 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/virus-pushes-foodhotelasia-trade-show-to-may-2022

G-20 trade ministers seek to keep trade, transport flowing
Trade ministers from the world’s largest economies yesterday pledged to ensure that emergency measures to tackle Covid-19 – such as export restrictions on medical supplies and essential goods – are targeted, transparent and temporary. They also agreed to refrain from imposing limits on agricultural products and avoid unnecessary food stockpiling, in a statement issued after the second Group of 20 (G-20) Extraordinary Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/g-20-trade-ministers-seek-to-keep-trade-transport-flowing

Companies’ Brief

Lendlease appoints MD for Asia investment management business
Property group Lendlease has appointed Mr Gan Chong Min as its Singapore-based managing director for investment management in Asia. Mr Gan will drive global stakeholder management and the overall performance of Lendlease’s assets in Paya Lebar Quarter, Jem, Parkway Parade and Setia City Mall under its various real estate private-equity funds and joint ventures.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lendlease-appoints-md-for-asia-investment-management-business

Perennial clarifies deal, saying outstanding loan is $365m
Perennial Real Estate disclosed on Wednesday night, following queries from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), that the shareholders’ loan, half of which will be transferred to Alibaba Singapore, has $364.7 million outstanding.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/perennial-clarifies-deal-saying-outstanding-loan-is-365m

PropNex’s Q1 net profit more than triples on higher property transactions
REAL estate agency PropNex on Thursday posted S$8.2 million in net earnings for the first quarter, more than triple that of the S$2.3 million in the preceding year, boosted by property transactions carried forward and a recovery in the private home market.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/propnexs-q1-net-profit-more-than-triples-on-higher-property-transactions-0

SPH partners Google on joint business plan for 2020
Media and property group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Thursday announced the launch of a “wide-ranging” joint business plan with Google for this year, covering three main pillars: growing digital advertising revenue, driving the search for subscription audiences in new platforms, as well as developing SPH’s digital video content business.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-partners-google-on-joint-business-plan-for-2020-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-partners-google-on-wide-ranging-joint-business-plan

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Why open offices will survive in post-Covid-19 era
When I think back to pre-Covid-19 office life, it almost seems designed to spread germs. There’s the commute on the crowded train or bus; the steady flow of fingers poking at elevator buttons and coffee machines; and our open rows of desks with nary a cube wall to prevent a surprise sneeze from travelling across the room.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/why-open-offices-will-survive-in-post-covid-19-era

Preparing for a roller-coaster
Forecasts of where the inflation rate might go have rarely been so dispersed. The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have led simultaneously to predictions that we are heading into a period of deflation, and that over the medium term inflation rates could reach 10 per cent or higher. Whichever view proves to be correct, a decade of stable inflation rates may be coming to an end.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/preparing-for-a-roller-coaster

Stiffer penalties mooted for Singapore’s data-protection law
Organisations found guilty of a data breach may soon be slapped with stricter financial penalties of up to 10 per cent of their annual gross turnover or S$1 million – whichever is higher – if proposed amendments to Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act go through.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/stiffer-penalties-mooted-for-singapores-data-protection-law

Redefining safety and security in a digital-only world
Governments across the world have one mandate. They need to ensure that citizens and residents can carry on their day-to-day lives in a safe and secure manner. Every policy, regulation, legal framework and action is crafted with that basic premise. Never has this been clearer, than in the past couple of months. As the world has battled the outbreak of Covid-19, governments across the world, including in Asia, have ramped up efforts to stem the spread.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/redefining-safety-and-security-in-a-digital-only-world

Going digital is no longer just a short-term concern for SMEs
With most shops closed and consumers urged to stay home, the “circuit breaker” period in Singapore is pushing more retail and food and beverage businesses – particularly small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) that may have been slow to board the digital bandwagon – to venture into e-commerce or delivery services.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/going-digital-is-no-longer-just-a-short-term-concern-for-smes

Looks like remote working is here to stay
A recent survey in Singapore found that eight in 10 employees wish to continue working from home at least half the time or more after the enhanced distancing measures – or ‘circuit breaker’ – have been lifted.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/looks-like-remote-working-is-here-to-stay

Forum: Active efforts to help public rental tenants purchase their own HDB flats
We thank Mr Kevin Tan for his feedback (Speed up home-ownership process for those living in rental flats, May 1). The Housing Board is committed to helping Singaporeans own a home, including those from low-income households who live in public rental flats.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/active-efforts-to-help-public-rental-tenants-purchase-their-own-hdb-flats

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

New high of 1,164 Covid-19 patients discharged; 752 new cases identified
Another daily high of 1,164 cases were discharged on Thursday, even as 752 new Covid-19 cases were identified. This is the third time this week that the number of cases discharged has exceeded new patients. The new cases are made up of one Singaporean, one permanent resident, and 750 migrant workers linked to dorms. This takes the total count in Singapore to 26,098.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/new-high-of-1164-covid-19-patients-discharged-752-new-cases-identified
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/two-new-community-cases-lowest-figure-since-april-7-1164-discharged

All countries remain at risk as long as coronavirus is circulating: WHO
As long as the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is still circulating somewhere in the world, every country and every person remains at risk. Giving the warning yesterday, Dr Takeshi Kasai, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) regional director for the Western Pacific, said countries looking to ease lockdown measures need to stay vigilant.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/all-countries-remain-at-risk-as-long-as-virus-is-circulating-who

*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