DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16 April 2020 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore industrial rents to moderate as manufacturing suffers
Industrial rents for most segments in Singapore will moderate in 2020 as shrinking global demand takes its toll on the local manufacturing sector, Cushman & Wakefield said on Wednesday. Location will be a big factor in determining rental growth of different micro markets during the Covid-19 outbreak, the real estate services firm added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-industrial-rents-to-moderate-as-manufacturing-suffers
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/industrial-rents-to-moderate-with-manufacturing-hit-by-virus-report

Jump in demand for rental condos, HDB flats in March
The quiet rental market for private condominiums and apartments as well as Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats saw a sudden surge in demand last month. Market observers said the measures taken in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic were the likely cause of the increase.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jump-in-demand-for-rental-condos-hdb-flats-in-march
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/rental-demand-surge-likely-due-to-anti-virus-measures

March’s private home sales slump may be signal for full-year rout
Developers in Singapore sold 660 private homes in March, down 32.4 per cent from the previous month as buyers of posh homes locked up their cheque books. April is expected to hit a roadblock and full-year sales are likely to plummet given the current circuit breaker and looming global recession, say consultants. One forecast is for 2020 sales to reach only half of last year’s 9,912 units.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/marchs-private-home-sales-slump-may-be-signal-for-full-year-rout
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/circuit-breaker-measures-to-take-toll-on-new-home-sales

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand bags 2 green loans worth S$400m
CapitaLand has obtained two green loans amounting to S$400 million to “catalyse greening of the group’s global portfolio by 2030”, the property giant said on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-bags-2-green-loans-worth-s400m-0

CDL pays 4.39b yuan for 51% stake in Sincere Prop
City Developments Limited (CDL) is acquiring a 51.01 per cent stake in Chinese real estate developer Sincere Property Group for 4.39 billion yuan (about S$880 million) as it seeks to transform itself into a major property player in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-pays-439b-yuan-for-51-stake-in-sincere-prop
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/cdl-acquires-51-stake-in-chinas-sincere-property

Covid-19 could cement Centurion’s lead among dorm players
Just three weeks ago, The Business Times’ correspondent Angela Tan pointed out how the Covid-19 outbreak is testing public companies’ materiality thresholds for continuous disclosures. She named manufacturers, retailers, and oil and gas companies as among the plague-hit issuers that “should be even more forthcoming in their communications with shareholders”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/covid-19-could-cement-centurions-lead-among-dorm-players

Mapletree Industrial Trust to set aside up to S$13.7m in relief for tenants in Singapore
Mapletree Industrial Trust will set aside up to S$13.7 million to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on its tenants in Singapore, over and above the property tax rebates announced by the government, which will be fully passed on to them.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-industrial-trust-to-set-aside-up-to-s137m-in-relief-for-tenants-in

Oxley boss in legal tussle with Italian contractor over Venetian hotel
Prominent Singapore businessman Ching Chiat Kwong is involved in a legal dispute with an Italian contractor over a luxury hotel, Palazzo Donà, that he is developing in Venice, Italy, as well as another hospitality project, Fonti Toscana Country Resort, in the Italian town of Certaldo.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-boss-in-legal-tussle-with-italian-contractor-over-venetian-hotel

Yanlord records 6.77b yuan in property pre-sales for first three months of 2020
Chinese property developer Yanlord Land Group recorded 6.77 billion yuan (S$1.36 billion) in total contracted pre-sales from residential units and car parks for its latest quarter, 18.4 per cent higher than a year ago, even as the Covid-19 pandemic has weighed on property-buying sentiment in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlord-records-677b-yuan-in-property-pre-sales-for-first-three-months-of-2020

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Paltry dividends? Reits may go out of favour among investors
Retail Reit investors are going through tumultuous times. This time, it is not refinancing jitters as was the case during the 2008-09 financial crisis. The issue now hits at the very core of a Reit’s existence – collecting rentals from tenants and distributing it to investors as dividends.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/paltry-dividends-reits-may-go-out-of-favour-among-investors

Covid-19 pandemic may cause another stormy decade
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are gearing up for this week’s annual spring meetings – this year conducted virtually – from Friday to Sunday. Amid one of the most rapid deteriorations in the global economy since at least the Great Depression, concerns are growing not just about the financial outlook, but also whether this might herald a new wave of political turbulence in the 2020s.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/covid-19-pandemic-may-cause-another-stormy-decade

The world economy is now collapsing
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls what is now happening, the “Great Lockdown”. I prefer the “Great Shutdown”: This phrase captures the reality that the global economy would be collapsing even if policymakers were not imposing lockdowns and might stay in collapse after lockdowns end.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-world-economy-is-now-collapsing

Covid-19: A cautionary tale from Singapore
Many experts are beginning to coalesce around a set of benchmarks that could help determine when it might be safe to reopen parts of the country. But even though most areas of the United States are nowhere near achieving the goals necessary to do so, there has been a push to relax social distancing soon.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/covid-19-a-cautionary-tale-from-spore

ByteDance hunts for Singapore tech talent in global hiring spree
Even amid the headwinds of Covid-19, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which owns the popular video app TikTok, is on a recruitment blitz. The startup, which is reportedly worth US$75 billion, is hiring for close to 80 positions in Singapore in software development and operations, among other roles.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/bytedance-hunts-for-singapore-tech-talent-in-global-hiring-spree

All incoming international calls prefixed with plus sign to curb scams
With effect from yesterday, all incoming international calls are now prefixed with a plus sign (+), in an effort to combat spoof calls from overseas and better protect the public from scams.The authorities hope that this measure, which was introduced last month, will help consumers who are not expecting any overseas calls be more vigilant and careful when answering calls that show this prefix.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/all-incoming-international-calls-prefixed-with-plus-sign-to-curb-scams

Singapore Budget 2020

First tranche of S$7b in wage subsidies being paid out
Employers are starting to get the first tranche of wage subsidies from the Budget’s S$18 billion Jobs Support Scheme to keep workers employed in the Covid-19 downturn. More than S$7 billion will be handed out from Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/first-tranche-of-s7b-in-wage-subsidies-being-paid-out
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/payout-of-7b-in-wage-subsidies-starts-to-cover-19m-workers-wages

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation

S’poreans mask up even if it is not comfortable
Most Singaporeans left home yesterday with half their faces covered as the nation started donning masks, a mandatory move in Singapore’s fight to curb the spread of the coronavirus. From today, those who fail to do so will be fined: $300 for the first offence and $1,000 fine for the second offence. Egregious cases will face prosecution in court.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sporeans-mask-up-even-if-it-is-not-comfortable

Curbing virus spread in dormitories
Singapore is locking down dormitories and moving healthy workers to alternative quarters to prevent further spread of the coronavirus among foreign workers. The Straits Times looks at how the Manpower of Ministry and an inter-agency task force are carrying out the mammoth operation.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/curbing-virus-spread-in-dormitories

Food, essential items from New Zealand to land in Singapore under trade declaration
Food and other essential items will be landing in Singapore from New Zealand next week under a trade declaration launched yesterday. Both nations have pledged to ensure the continued production and flow of essential items for combating the Covid-19 pandemic through their sea and air ports.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/food-essential-items-from-nz-to-land-here-under-trade-declaration
*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