DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 16, 17 & 18 Nov 2019

Singapore Real Estate

New private home sales down 27% in October
Demand for new private homes remained healthy even as sales in October dropped due to fewer units launched last month in the city fringe and mass market segments. Developers moved 928 private homes in October, down nearly 27 per cent from the 1,270 units they sold in the previous month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-down-27-in-october
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ura-private-home-sales-october-2019-12096888

New top-tier condos see better sales this year
A hundred and four non-landed new homes with a price tag of S$5 million and above were sold in the first 10 months of this year – the highest tally in recent years. OrangeTee & Tie said the last high was in 2011, when 155 units priced above that level were transacted for the corresponding 10-month period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-top-tier-condos-see-better-sales-this-year
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-launches-taking-off-as-resales-slow

Changi’s Jewel shines with top global award for retail real-estate projects
Changi Airport’s latest attraction Jewel has bagged a top award meant for outstanding retail real-estate projects worldwide. It received the Special Jury Award at this year’s Mapic Awards, which rewards excellence, innovation and creativity in the global retail real-estate industry. The award was presented in the French city of Cannes, Jewel Changi Airport said in a statement on Friday. The Mapic Awards, in their…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/changis-jewel-shines-with-top-global-award-for-retail-real-estate-projects-0

Carving out bigger roles for malls
It’s no secret that digital retail provides consumers with a convenient channel for shopping, or that younger technology-savvy consumers prefer online shopping over malls for selected goods and services. But as we have seen at Jewel Changi, physical retailers are showing they are still relevant in the digital age, with landlords finding innovative ways to enhance the real-life shopping experience and social interaction…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/carving-out-bigger-roles-for-malls

Singapore Economy

Singapore non-oil exports sink 12.3% in October; worse than expected
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell for an eighth straight month in October, posting a 12.3 per cent year-on-year drop, according to figures released by Enterprise Singapore. A high base a year ago in non-electronics shipments, especially pharmaceuticals, put the decline back in double-digit decline territory after the NODX slipped 8.1 per cent in September, reversing three consecutive months of easing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-sink-123-in-october-worse-than-expected
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-shrink-123-in-october-worse-than-expected
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/exports-trade-electronic-shipments-nodx-october-2019-12102818
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/bleak-trade-numbers-october-singapores-exports-plunge-123

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Property full-year earnings fall 25%
Frasers Property on Friday said net profit for its 2019 financial year fell sharply, down 25.3 per cent to S$560.3 million due to lumpiness in development earnings. The decrease was mainly due to lower contributions from development projects in Singapore and Australia, as well as a lower fair value gains.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-property-full-year-earnings-fall-25

Tiong Seng secures S$125m in green facilities from OCBC, DBS
Mainboard-listed Tiong Seng Holdings on Monday said it has secured S$125 million worth of green loan and environmental performance-linked facilities from OCBC Bank and DBS Bank respectively. Of that amount, S$70 million – which is a green loan – will be exclusively used on green projects, the group said in a regulatory filing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tiong-seng-secures-s125m-in-green-facilities-from-ocbc-dbs
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tiong-seng-to-set-up%C2%A0construction-robotics-lab-with-ngee-ann-poly
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/tiong-seng-snags-125m-in-green-loans-from-ocbc-dbs

Yanlord’s UE takeover offer turns unconditional
The takeover offer of Chinese real estate player Yanlord Land Group for all ordinary shares of United Engineers (UE) has turned unconditional, with the offeror’s stake in UE crossing the 50 per cent threshold. In a bourse filing on Saturday, Yanlord announced that its unit, Yanlord Commercial Property Investments, had acquired an additional 9.4 per cent stake in UE a day earlier, by purchasing 59.9 million shares of UE from the open market at the S$2.70 offer price.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlords-ue-takeover-offer-turns-unconditional
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/yanlords-offer-for-ue-shares-turns-unconditional

Sponsor says it has strict rules in managing conflicts of interest at Sabana Reit, ESR Reit
Following an activist fund’s call for the merger of Sabana Reit and ESR Reit, sponsor ESR Cayman on Friday said it is aware of the possible conflicts of interest that may arise between the two Reits and has put in place “strict internal controls” to regulate conflicts of interest within its different business lines. It added that it had gone through a thorough process of setting up structures in order to prevent the sharing of…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sponsor-says-it-has-strict-rules-in-managing-conflicts-of-interest-at-sabana-reit

Manulife US Reit manager names new chief financial officer
The manager of Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit) on Monday said it has appointed Robert Wong Teck Ling as its chief financial officer (CFO). The executive appointment will see Mr Wong working with the chief executive officer and other members of the management team to formulate the Reit’s strategic plans.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-manager-names-new-chief-financial-officer
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-manager-names-new-cfo

Sheng Siong to buy Aljunied property for S$29.5m
Sheng Siong will be buying a commercial property at Block 118 Aljunied Avenue 2 from Jelita Property for S$29.5 million, it said in a bourse filing on Friday. The property, for running a supermarket, comprises units in the first and second storeys of a seven-storey Housing and Development Board (HDB) commercial property with a four-storey public car park.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sheng-siong-to-buy-aljunied-property-for-s295m

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

4-day work week: boon or bane?
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
While there is merit to a shorter working week, it may not be a one-size-fits-all for all businesses, in particular companies with very lean workforce or companies which need to meet production deadlines. Perhaps, a more pragmatic approach would be a combination of normal and shorter working weeks to provide employees with options. This will also help companies achieve a progressive reduction in working…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/4-day-work-week-boon-or-bane

Changing tides of foreign buying
In recent months, foreigners’ purchases of luxury condo units in Singapore, including penthouses, have made headlines in an otherwise subdued market. Yet, current foreign buying levels – in the year to date – are low compared with their peak years of 2007 and 2011, and have been since cooling measures were rolled out at the end of 2011. Foreigners – comprising both Singapore permanent residents (PRs) and…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/changing-tides-of-foreign-buying

The resilience of Hong Kong’s property market
Over the last five months, the escalating violence of protesters in Hong Kong has captivated the world. What started as a straightforward protest over the Extradition Bill has now morphed into more complex issues of greater democratic freedom.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/the-resilience-of-hong-kongs-property-market