DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 14th, 15th and 16th Sept 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Sales of new private homes holding up in August
While market activity typically tends to slow during the Hungry Ghost month, sales volumes for private homes in August seemed to hold strong as developers sold over 1,000 new homes. The 1,468-unit Parc Clematis is the top selling private residential project, with 316 units snapped up in August (as at Sept 12). Other projects launched earlier that continued to bring in a steady stream of buyers during the month…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/sales-of-new-private-homes-holding-up-in-august

‘Ferrari woman’ grants option to buy her GCB for S$47m
Shi Ka Yee, in her 70s and dubbed the “Ferrari woman” for a series of offences while driving her Ferrari, is understood to be in the early stages of selling her bungalow in Astrid Hill for S$47 million. The price works out to S$1,742 per square foot on the freehold land area of 26,983 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ferrari-woman-grants-option-to-buy-her-gcb-for-s47m

Yarwood Avenue GCB up for auction with guide price of S$23m
A two-storey good class bungalow (GCB) at 18A Yarwood Avenue is set to go up for sale via auction next week with a guide price of S$23 million, marketing agent Knight Frank Singapore said on Friday. The guide price works out to S$1216 per square foot, based on a land area of 18,911 square feet (sq ft). It is an owner’s sale.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/yarwood-avenue-gcb-up-for-auction-with-guide-price-of-s23m

Guoco Tower, Singapore’s tallest building, clinches global award for excellence
GuocoLand’s mixed-use development Guoco Tower in Tanjong Pagar is the only Singapore winner among 11 projects recognised at the 2019 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Global Awards for Excellence. The Washington-based ULI describes the winners – seven from the US, three from Asia and one from Europe – as projects that demonstrate “a comprehensive level of quality and a forward-looking approach to development and design”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/guoco-tower-singapores-tallest-building-clinches-global-award-for-excellence

US Reits in Singapore
The Singapore investor is no stranger to Reits. Real estate investment trusts listed in Singapore, with a combined market capitalisation of S$100 billion, make up 10 per cent of the stock market and are often recommended as safe, solidly-yielding investments. While the universe of Singapore-listed Reits – or S-Reits – is diverse, spanning all real estate sectors and many geographies, a small handful have emerged to pique…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/us-reits-in-singapore

HDB looking at 3D-printing tech in Tengah, Bidadari estates
For the first time, 3D-printing could be used to build landscape furniture and architectural features in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate, such as a bench or a pavilion, in the upcoming Tengah and Bidadari estates. Using such technology would not only allow for faster, cheaper and less labour-intensive construction, it could also increase the potential for more unconventional designs than traditional precast methods.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-looking-at-3d-printing-tech-in-tengah-bidadari-estates
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-to-try-out-automated-alert-system-for-worksite-safety
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-ai-artificial-intelligence-construction-safety-3d-printing-11907782

Singapore Economy

Brexit impact likely to leave Singapore relatively unscathed
Singapore’s limited exposure in terms of trade and investment in Britain could see the Republic emerge relatively unscathed from Brexit, which remains mired in uncertainty after a chaotic parliamentary session in Britain last week, analysts said. Singapore’s trade with Britain accounted for only 1 per cent of its total exports and 2.1 per cent of its total imports last year, United Overseas Bank economist Barnabas Gan told…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/brexit-impact-likely-to-leave-spore-relatively-unscathed

Companies’ Brief

CDL takeover offer for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels turns unconditional
City Developments Limited (CDL) on Friday said its cash offer to acquire all the remaining shares in its London-listed subsidiary Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) has been declared unconditional in all respects. The delisting of M&C shares from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is expected to be effective on Oct 11.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-takeover-offer-for-millennium-copthorne-hotels-turns-unconditional-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-takeover-offer-for-millennium-copthorne-hotels-turns-unconditional

Keppel DC Reit to raise S$473.8m to partially fund data centre acquisitions
Keppel DC Reit is planning to raise an estimated S$473.8 million to partially pay for the acquisition of two data centres, one of which Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) has a 51 per cent stake in, its manager announced on Monday. The proposed equity fundraising comprises a private placement of 135 million new units in Keppel DC Reit at an issue price that is between S$1.703 and S$1.744 per unit, to raise gross…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-dc-reit-to-raise-s4738m-to-partially-fund-data-centre-acquisitions
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/to-grow-spore-reit-will-go-where-tech-firms-opt-to-be

Chip Eng Seng fends off concerns over rights issue
Shareholders who attended Chip Eng Seng’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Friday generally struggled to feel good about the board’s proposed rights issue. But the property and construction group will proceed with the renounceable underwritten rights issue as planned, after 78 per cent of votes cast favoured the deal.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-fends-off-concerns-over-rights-issue

Ascendas Australia Hotel Trust’s purchase of Melbourne apartments axed
Ascendas Australia Hotel Trust (AAHT)’s A$120 million (S$113.2 million) acquisition of serviced apartments in Melbourne has been terminated, said Ascendas Hospitality Trust on Friday. The trustee of AAHT had entered into a contract with UEM Sunrise (La Trobe Street) to buy the serviced apartments component of a mixed-use development at 224-252 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, as announced on Dec 3, 2015.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-australia-hotel-trusts-purchase-of-melbourne-apartments-axed

Lian Beng subsidiary secures S$107.5m construction contract
Lian Beng’s 60 per cent-owned subsidiary United Tec Construction has bagged a S$107.5 million contract from CEL Newton to construct a residential development at Kampong Java Road. The scope of work covers the building of two towers of 23-storey apartments comprising 378 units with a landscape deck, common basement carparks and communal facilities. Work on the project is expected to start in September 2019…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lian-beng-subsidiary-secures-s1075m-construction-contract

Rich Capital gets legal demand from partner over Batam project
Rich Capital Holdings has received two legal letters from an Indonesian law firm appointed by Karya Indo Batam (KIB) demanding full control of a joint venture property development in Batam and compensation of S$20 million. KIB had partnered with an indirect subsidiary of Rich Capital, Oxley Batam Pte Ltd, to form an equal joint venture company, Oxley Karya Indo Batam (OKIB), to undertake the integrated Batam project…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rich-capital-gets-legal-demand-from-partner-over-batam-project
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/rich-capitals-jv-partner-demands-full-control-of-batam-project-20m

Straits Trading picks Heeton chief Eric Teng for top role in subsidiary
Mainboard-listed Straits Trading Company has appointed Eric Teng as chief executive of Straits Developments Pte Ltd, the group’s wholly-owned subsidiary. Mr Teng will be joining Straits Developments from Heeton Holdings, where he was most recently chief executive officer.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/straits-trading-picks-heeton-chief-for-top-role-in-subsidiary
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/straits-trading-picks-heeton-chief-eric-teng-for-top-role-in-subsidiary

Ying Li International flags potential discrepancies in financial statements
Ying Li International Real Estate has been given a further extension of time by the Singapore Exchange to report its Q2 results due to potential discrepancies in its financial statements found by its new finance team. The new deadline is Nov 14.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ying-li-international-flags-potential-discrepancies-in-financial-statements

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore and Hong Kong: How two small cities diverged in policy choices
Singapore and Hong Kong, two cities that were part of the initial group of high-growth Asian tiger economies, have had much in common and are frequently compared with each other. Both Singapore and Hong Kong have attracted substantial amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI) by providing a high-quality business environment, low tax rates and world-class infrastructure. Both have long histories as…
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/spore-and-hk-how-two-small-cities-diverged-in-policy-choices

Protect landlords and tenants from unscrupulous real estate agents
The Government has been encouraging the elderly to use their flat to finance their retirement. And my mother did precisely that by renting out her four-room Housing Board flat. Through an agent from a well-known real estate agency, we found six foreign workers as tenants.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/protect-landlords-and-tenants-from-unscrupulous-real-estate-agents