DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16 December 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore raises additional buyer’s stamp duty, tightens HDB loan limit to cool property market
Singapore – A sustained rise in property prices despite the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted the authorities to introduce cooling measures, in a surprise move that will lead to property buyers paying higher stamp duties.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/singapore-raises-additional-buyers-stamp-duty-tightens-hdb-loan-limit-to-cool
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-announces-new-property-cooling-measures

Property cooling measures to ‘reduce risk of self-reinforcing cycle of price increases’: Desmond Lee
Singapore – Despite continuing uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has decided to implement new property cooling measures to reduce the risk of a self-reinforcing cycle of price increases in the private and HDB resale markets, that will impact housing affordability, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/property-cooling-measures-to-reduce-risk-of-self-reinforcing-cycle-of-price

Quick takes: How might fresh cooling measures affect Singapore’s property market?
Late Wednesday (Dec 15) night, the Singapore government announced a package of measures to cool the property market, with the changes taking effect from Thursday (Dec 16). The additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rates were raised by 5 to 15 percentage points, the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) threshold was tightened to 55 per cent, and the loan-to-value (LTV) limit for loans from the Housing Board (HDB) was lowered to 85 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/quick-takes-how-might-fresh-cooling-measures-affect-singapores-property-market
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/what-you-need-to-know-about-singapores-new-property-cooling-measures

Bukit Timah mixed-use sites sold en bloc for S$53.9m
Three adjoining freehold redevelopment sites near the Botanic Gardens have fetched S$53.9 million in a collective sale to Hillcrest Investments, an affiliate of Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto’s pulp, paper and palm oil giant Royal Golden Eagle (RGE).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/bukit-timah-mixed-use-sites-sold-en-bloc-for-s539m

New private home sales in November at 5-month high
Singapore – New private home sales climbed to a five-month high in November on the back of the successful launches of CanningHill Piers and The Commodore despite show gallery restrictions. Buyers snapped up 1,547 units last month – the highest November sales in 10 years and up nearly 70 per cent from 911 in October.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-home-sales-in-november-rally-on-strong-performance-of-canninghill-piers-the
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-cooling-measures-overturn-sanguine-outlook-for-new-private-home-market-for-2022

Condo, HDB rents see bump in prices, volume as more VTLs open
Singapore’s rental markets are seeing some uplift as border restrictions ease and more countries get added to the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, property analysts noted on Wednesday (Dec 15). For the month of November, rents and the number of condominiums and Housing Board flats rented rose from October, flash figures from SRX Property and 99.co showed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/condo-hdb-rents-see-bump-in-prices-volume-as-more-vtls-open
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-hdb-rentals-rise-in-november-despite-tightened-omicron-border-rules

HDB to launch up to 23,000 BTO flats a year over next two years
Singapore – Up to 23,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched each year in 2022 and 2023 to meet the strong demand for public housing, said the Housing Board on Thursday (Dec 16). This represents a 35 per cent increase every year in the number of flats available, from the 17,000 flats launched this year, said HDB.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/up-to-23000-bto-flats-to-be-launched-a-year-over-the-next-two-years

1,500 HDB flats to rise from prime Alexandra site
A brownfield site spanning about 3.7 hectares bounded by Alexandra Road, Prince Charles Crescent and Alexandra Canal is being redeveloped by the government for future public housing. The move will potentially add about 1,500 flats to Singapore’s public housing landscape, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said in a joint press statement on Wednesday (Dec 15).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/1500-hdb-flats-to-rise-from-prime-alexandra-site
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/around-1500-bto-flats-to-be-built-in-bukit-merah-site-is-less-than-10-minute-walk

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s labour market recovery to continue into 2022; tightness partly driven by border curbs: MOM
Singapore’s labour market recovery is expected to continue into 2022 alongside further easing of Covid-19 curbs, though border restrictions remain a significant driver of labour market tightness, according to the Manpower Ministry’s (MOM) latest Labour Market Report on Wednesday (Dec 15).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-labour-market-recovery-to-continue-into-2022-tightness-partly-driven
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/job-vacancies-in-singapore-hit-record-high-of-98700-in-september-mom

Companies’ Brief

Sports Hub contractor in dispute with subcontractor for breach of contract
Engineering and construction company Dragages Singapore is claiming S$14.8 million against 2 Hong Kong firms in a lawsuit over alleged breach of contract for the roofing works of the Singapore Sports Hub. Dragages, which is part of French company Bouygues Group…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sports-hub-contractor-in-dispute-with-subcontractor-for-breach-of-contract

Isetan says no success in potential sale of Wisma Atria space
Isetan(Singapore) said it had not gathered enough interest from investors to purchase its space at the Wisma Atria shopping mall on Orchard Road. The department store operator had in July started an expressions of interest exercise to gather interest from target investors, but the exercise has since “run its course without yielding a positive outcome for the matter to proceed further at this juncture”, it said on Wednesday (Dec 15).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/isetan-says-no-success-in-potential-sale-of-wisma-atria-space

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Global economy set for sturdy if uneven growth in 2022
The global economy remains well on the road to robust recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. That is the good news for 2022. Less comforting, it will be a bumpy ride over the next few months as governments impose fresh restrictions to tackle the emergence of new variants, while higher inflation will lead to monetary policy divergence that could unsettle financial markets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/global-economy-set-for-sturdy-if-uneven-growth-in-2022

Work from office capacity may never hit 100% again
Business owners are relieved at the option to have staff back at the workplace – but the flexibility of working from home is also set to stay, even as Covid-19 restrictions are eased in the new year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/work-from-office-capacity-may-never-hit-100-again

Singapore Budget 2022

SBF calls for 3-month extension of Jobs Support Scheme in Budget 2022 wishlist
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has called for a further extension of wage support and temporary bridging loans in its Budget 2022 wishlist to help companies facing uncertainty and cost pressures as they adapt to an endemic Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/sbf-calls-for-3-month-extension-of-jobs-support-scheme-in-budget-2022-wishlist
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/extended-wage-support-and-loan-schemes-help-to-defray-costs-among-sbfs

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

3 more people tested preliminarily positive for Omicron variant
[Singapore] Three more people tested preliminarily positive for the Covid-19 Omicron variant, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Dec 15). One is a 36-year-old man who travelled to Singapore via the Vaccinated Travel Lane from the United States.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/3-more-people-tested-preliminarily-positive-for-omicron-variant
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/changi-airport-staff-couple-who-dined-at-4-restaurants-in-orchard-and-scotts-road

People who take Sinovac vaccine at higher risk of severe disease from Covid-19: NCID-MOH study
Singapore – People who received two doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine were more likely to develop severe disease from Covid-19 than those who got two shots of the mRNA-based Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, a new local study has found.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/people-who-take-sinovac-vaccine-at-higher-risk-of-severe-disease-ncid-study

Italy bans tourists from Singapore till Jan 31 next year
Singapore – Singapore residents will no longer be able to travel to Italy for leisure from Thursday (Dec 16). The Italian embassy in Singapore said on Wednesday that its Health Ministry has moved Singapore and Brunei onto a list of countries deemed to be of higher risk of Covid-19 infections.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/italy-bans-tourists-from-singapore-till-jan-31-next-year

*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