DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 18th July 2017

Top Story

Developers sold 73% more homes in first half of 2017
Developers have sold 6,388 private homes in the first six months of this year – just 20 per cent shy of the 7,972 units they moved in the whole of last year. The strong showing came about despite a 21.1 per cent month-on-month decline in the number of units sold in June amid the school holiday lull. Sales are expected to improve this month with the start of bookings later this week at GuocoLand’s Martin Modern, a 99-year leasehold condo project in District 9.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-sold-73-more-homes-in-first-half-of-2017-0
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-sales-fall-to-820-units-in-june-from-1039-units-in-may-ura
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/residential-market-on-the-upswing
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-homes-sold-in-june-jump-53-year-on-year
http://www.todayonline.com/business/private-home-sales-fall-21-fewer-projects-launched
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-17/singapore-home-sales-fall-21-in-june-as-fewer-projects-launched

Singapore Economy

June NODX busts forecasts; good showing expected for next few months
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) ended the first half of 2017 with a better-than-expected showing – and private-sector economists expect the fine performance to continue for a few more months in the second half before easing. After two flat months, with the figure in May revised upwards from -1.2 to 0.4 per cent, trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore reported on Monday that the NODX surged 8.2 per cent year-on-year in June, beating the market’s 5.0 per cent forecast.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/june-nodx-busts-forecasts-good-showing-expected-for-next-few-months
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-exports-rally-with-82-surge-in-june?login=true

Singapore deal-making still growing strong, led by rise in M&As
Deal making in Singapore is continuing an upward track. The trend was led in the first half of the year by the growth of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) – in terms of both volume and value of deals. There was also a doubling in value of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments, even as the initial public offering (IPO) market recorded a sharp year-on-year drop in value.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-deal-making-still-growing-strong-led-by-rise-in-mas

S’pore banks need to maintain NSFR ratio of 100% over long term from 2018
Singapore’s three biggest banks will be required to prioritise long-term funding from next year to ensure they will be stable in extended periods of market stress. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued Notice 652 on July 10, which will require DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank to maintain a net stable funding ratio of 100 per cent from January 1, 2018. The NSFR, a key reform announced by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in January 2014, measures a bank’s long-term resources over 12 months of liquidity requirements.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/spore-banks-need-to-maintain-nsfr-ratio-of-100-over-long-term-from-2018

Fintech giant Lufax to launch online investment platform in Singapore
Lufax, the world’s second-largest fintech firm, is staking its claim beyond China, as the unit of Ping An Group plans to launch its first overseas online wealth management platform in Singapore targeting offshore mid-market retail investors. Expected to launch by September this year, Lu International targets the burgeoning middle-class in Asia, in part by attracting them with competitive fee structures that will beat the typical 3-5 per cent upfront fees charged to retail investors today.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fintech-giant-lufax-to-launch-online-investment-platform-in-singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/chinas-lufax-to-open-regional-hub-here

Singapore Real Estate

Move to raise safety standards at worksites
In a bid to raise safety standards at worksites, a new daily meeting to better coordinate between contractors, subcontractors and consultants will soon be required for all construction work, The Straits Times has learnt. A Manpower Ministry spokesman confirmed that the soon-to-be-mandatory Project Safety Coordination Committee will allow better planning of hazardous works.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/move-to-raise-safety-standards-at-worksites

Companies’ Brief

Acquisitions boost Keppel DC Reit’s Q2 performance
Income contributions from the newly acquired Milan and Cardiff data centres and the 90 per cent interest in Keppel DC Singapore 3 (KDC SGP 3) in Tampines boosted Keppel DC Reit’s second-quarter performance. It also helped that the Australian dollar appreciated against the Singapore dollar in the quarter, and the trust saw higher income from Keppel DC Singapore 1 (KDC SGP 1) in Serangoon.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/acquisitions-boost-keppel-dc-reits-q2-performance
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-dc-reits-dpu-rises-42-for-quarter

New hospital boosts First Reit’s Q2 DPU
Boosted by a full quarter of contributions from a newly acquired hospital, First Reit reported distribution per unit (DPU) for its second quarter ended June 30, 2017, at 2.14 Singapore cents, up 1.4 per cent from 2.11 cents a year ago. The real estate investment trust (Reit) owns a portfolio of mostly Indonesian hospitals. Last December, it acquired Siloam Hospitals Labuan Bajo, a 153-bed hospital in the tourist town of Labuan Bajo specialising in emergency medicine, internal medicine and neuroscience.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/new-hospital-boosts-first-reits-q2-dpu
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-reit-q2-dpu-up-14-to-214-singapore-cents
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/first-reits-dpu-for-2nd-quarter-up-14

OKP’s share price tumbles after trading halt is lifted
Shares in construction firm OKP Holdings fell as trading resumed on Monday following an accident last week at its subsidiary’s worksite. The counter fell about 14 per cent to a low of S$0.34 during trading before recovering slightly to close at S$0.37, down 2.5 cents or 6 per cent. Some 6.96 million shares worth around S$2.51 million changed hands.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/okps-share-price-tumbles-after-trading-halt-is-lifted
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/okp-shares-extend-slump-wiping-s185m-its-market-value

KIT’s Q2 DPU same as last year despite 4.9% drop in profit
Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) on Monday reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.93 Singapore cent for the second quarter, unchanged from the year-ago period. This is in spite of a 4.9 per cent drop in profit attributable to unitholders as the business trust is allowed to pay distributions out of retained cash and residual cash flows, unlike companies which can make dividend payments only out of accounting profits.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/kits-q2-dpu-same-as-last-year-despite-49-drop-in-profit
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-infrastructure-trust-maintains-dpu

GLP to develop Adidas’ largest distribution centre in Asia
Just after it announced last Friday that it has accepted a Chinese consortium’s offer for a buyout, Global Logistic Properties (GLP) said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Adidas to develop its largest distribution centre in Asia. In a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday, GLP said that Adidas is doubling its space at the same park in Suzhou, Eastern China to meet strong demand from growing domestic consumption.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/glp-to-develop-adidas-largest-distribution-centre-in-asia
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/buyout-target-glp-to-develop-adidas-largest-distribution-centre-in-asia

Lee Yi Shyan to be non-exec chairman of International Healthway Corp
Medical property developer International Healthway Corporation (IHC), which was recently taken over by developer OUE, has appointed former senior minister of state Lee Yi Shyan as its non-executive, non-independent chairman. Mr Lee, a current East Coast GRC MP, will be joined by two new directors, OUE executive chairman Stephen Riady as non-executive director and IHC chief executive Wong Weng Hong as executive director.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lee-yi-shyan-to-be-non-exec-chairman-of-international-healthway-corp

Tiong Seng in JV to develop Jervois Road residential sites
Construction and engineering firm Tiong Seng Holdings said on Monday its subsidiary has entered into a joint venture (JV) with civil engineering firm Ocean Sky International to develop two freehold sites on Jervois Road, which have a combined area of 1,246.3 square metres with a residential-zoned gross plot ratio of 1.4. The option to purchase the sites for S$21 million was exercised by TSky (Jervois) Pte Ltd, a newly incorporated company owned by newly incorporated Tiong Seng subsidiary, TSky Development Pte Ltd.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tiong-seng-in-jv-to-develop-jervois-road-residential-sites

Views, Reviews & Forum

GLP deal: Long-term investing takes patience
Global Logistic Properties (GLP) had an attractive business proposition from the get-go: As a leading warehouse operator in China and Japan, it was set to ride on the growing demand for logistics space in Asia. Its initial public offering (IPO), the second-largest in Singapore, attracted huge interest, with the retail tranche more than 10 times oversubscribed.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/glp-deal-long-term-investing-takes-patience

Estate planners must get on board football masterplan
When I was a young boy, there were small fields at the foot of HDB blocks. Every evening, all the neighbourhood boys would go there to play football (What it will take to make S’pore football great again; July 14). Big or small, pre- or late-teens, and regardless of race, whoever wanted to play would just join in. We would play until it got too dark. Now, there are no more such small fields in most HDB estates.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/estate-planners-must-get-on-board-football-masterplan