DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 17th August 2018

Top Story

CapitaLand and CDL team up again – this time for Sengkang mixed development
For the first time in about a decade, property heavyweights CapitaLand and City Developments are teaming up for a project in Singapore. The duo have just clinched a plum 3.7-hectare commercial and residential site next to Buangkok MRT Station under a dual-envelope (price and concept) state tender. The site can yield a maximum gross floor area of 842,124 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-and-cdl-team-up-again-this-time-for-sengkang-mixed-development
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/sengkang-central-site-goes-for-top-bid-of-7778m

Singapore Economy

Singapore non-oil exports notch 11.8% growth in July, beating forecasts
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) came in ahead of expectations in July, helped by a jump in seasonally volatile pharmaceuticals, despite the continued slide in electronics shipments. NODX grew by 11.8 per cent on the previous year, according to Enterprise Singapore data released on Friday. This was far ahead of the revised 0.8 per cent uptick in June, and well up on the market consensus of a 7.4 per cent rise.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-notch-118-growth-in-july-beating-forecasts
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-grow-118-in-july-above-forecasts-thanks-to-non
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-july-exports-jump-11-8-above-expectations-10624474
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-non-oil-domestic-exports-jump-118-july

Smaller suppliers can use unaudited financials to bid for govt tenders
From October 2018, companies will no longer need to affix their company stamps on government forms – including tender-related documents submitted through the GeBIZ portal – unless required by legislation. “When technology changes, we also have to change the way we regulate,” said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat, announcing the move on the sidelines of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) SME (small and medium enterprises) Committee meeting on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/smaller-suppliers-can-use-unaudited-financials-to-bid-for-govt-tenders
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/rules-eased-for-smes-bidding-for-public-projects

Singapore Real Estate

Freehold commercial corner site near Farrer Park MRT for sale
A freehold commercial corner development site with a 40-metre wide dual frontage along Serangoon Road and Petain Road has been launched for sale via an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise by marketing agent JLL. The corner development site consist of 450 Serangoon Road – a two-storey conservation shophouse with a four-storey rear extension – and 452 Serangoon Road, which is an existing four-storey corner building with food and beverage (F&B) use on the ground floor.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/freehold-commercial-corner-site-near-farrer-park-mrt-for-sale

Keong Hong unit gets S$53.8m contract for consortium’s Mattar Road residential project
Mainboard-listed construction and property company Keong Hong Holdings got the main contract for a residential project in MacPherson’s Mattar Road, which is being developed by a consortium it is part of. Wholly owned subsidiary K H Land was awarded the contract for about S$53.8 million, said Keong Hong in an announcement on the Singapore Exchange website on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keong-hong-unit-gets-s538m-contract-for-consortiums-mattar-road-residential

Companies’ Brief

CDL starts buyback exercise by paying S$2.85m for 300,000 shares
City Developments Ltd (CDL) has made the first purchases on the open market in its inaugural share buyback exercise. It picked up 300,000 shares on Thursday, or 0.033 per cent of its issued share capital, at an average price of S$9.485 a share, paying more than S$2.85 million altogether.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-starts-buyback-exercise-by-paying-s285m-for-300000-shares

Keppel Land CFO Lim Kei Hin dies
Keppel Land’s chief financial officer Lim Kei Hin has died on Aug 10 at the age of 60. Mr Lim died peacefully last Friday and was cremated in Frankfurt, Germany, according to an obituary in The Straits Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-land-cfo-lim-kei-hin-dies-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-land-cfo-lim-kei-hin-dies

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Properties must be sold with original freehold status or 999-year lease
I refer to the article (Outdated ideas on home ownership and land shortage are crippling us; Aug 14), in which the writer calls for the discarding of the dead weight of outmoded ideas about home ownership. One dead weight I would like removed is the right of developers to carve out 99-year leases from their freehold land or 999-year leases, and sell properties with only 99-year leases to individuals.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/properties-must-be-sold-with-original-freehold-status-or-999-year-lease