DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 19th April 2017

Top Story

Drone delivery to start on NUS campus by early next year
Anyone visiting the National University of Singapore (NUS) early next year might be treated to the sight of drones flying across the campus, delivering small parcels to students and facilities. And if Airbus Helicopters’ idea succeeds, these drones will eventually deliver parcels right across Singapore. The project, named “Skyways”, comes to fruition almost two years after the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Airbus Helicopters, a unit of Airbus, signed up to develop a safe and economically viable aerial unmanned delivery system for parcels in urban environments. The NUS campus is a test bed for the project.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/drone-delivery-to-start-on-nus-campus-by-early-next-year
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/skyways

P&G makes US$100m digital innovation move at Singapore centre
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) will be pumping in US$100 million over the next five years in its Singapore digital innovation centre launched on Tuesday, in a move to boost digital capabilities and strengthen partnerships with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) here. The E-Center, which is established in partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB), will focus on digital innovation in three core areas of supply chain management, e-business strategy, and e-analytics. It is the first of its kind outside the US.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/pg-makes-us100m-digital-innovation-move-at-singapore-centre
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/pg-to-invest-140m-in-digital-innovation-centre-in-singapore
http://www.todayonline.com/business/pg-invest-s140-million-boost-digital-capabilities-spore

Singapore Economy

Singapore still No 1 draw for talent among Asia-Pacific countries
Singapore retains its top spot in the Asia-Pacific and second globally for the fourth consecutive year in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2017, making it the only Asian country to emerge in the top 10 this year. Switzerland is ranked first while the United Kingdom clinches the third spot. Other Asia-Pacific countries in the top 30 globally include Australia (6th), New Zealand (14th), Japan (22nd), Malaysia (28th) and South Korea (29th). The rankings were announced during GTCI’s regional launch at the Insead Asia campus in Singapore on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-still-no-1-draw-for-talent-among-asia-pacific-countries
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-top-in-asia-2nd-best-globally-at-attracting-talent-insead

China Construction Bank expands in S’pore with eye on infrastructure projects
On the back of more than US$90 billion in “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure projects being assessed by China Construction Bank (CCB), China’s second-largest bank on Tuesday set up a centre in Singapore dedicated to infrastructure financing. This is on top of the launch of a new CCB banking centre here for private banking, as well as setting up the Singapore subsidiary of CCB International, the Chinese bank’s investment services arm.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/china-construction-bank-expands-in-spore-with-eye-on-infrastructure-projects

Global economy may be turning around from stagnation: IMF
The global economy seems to be gaining momentum and could be at a point where it is ready to shake off the decade of sluggishness that has prevailed since the 2008 global financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested on Tuesday. Its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO) report echoes the growing global optimism over economic prospects, especially that for Asia, voiced recently by the likes of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/global-economy-may-be-turning-around-from-stagnation-imf
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/imf-raises-global-growth-forecast-for-this-year

Singapore Businesses Brace for Higher Costs
Businesses in Singapore are bracing for higher costs in a country that’s already among the world’s most expensive to live in. From a 30 percent increase in water prices to higher diesel costs to a looming carbon tax, manufacturers are being forced to adjust their operations to remain competitive in an economy that’s only recently recovering from an export slump. It also signals a pick-up in inflation, an outcome the central bank flagged in its monetary policy statement last week.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-is-about-to-get-more-costly-for-businesses
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/expensive-singapore-is-about-to-get-more-costly-for-businesses

Singapore Real Estate

CapitaLand Commercial Trust obtains URA nod to redevelop Golden Shoe Car Park
CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) has been given the green light by one authority for its plans to redevelop Golden Shoe Car Park, and now awaits clearance from another. The trust has “now obtained the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s provisional permission for the proposed redevelopment” of the 10-storey building in the Central Business District (CBD), Lynette Leong, chief executive officer of the trust manager, was quoted in CCT’s first-quarter financial results released on Wednesday morning. CCT had submitted the plans in the second half of 2016.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-commercial-trust-obtains-ura-nod-to-redevelop-golden-shoe-car-park

Phoenix Property Investors puts Peck Seah shophouses on the market for $57.8m
Hong Kong-based private equity real estate firm Phoenix Property Investors has put a row of six adjoining shophouses along Peck Seah Street near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station on the market. The indicative price for 48 to 56 Peck Seah Street (even numbers only) is S$57.8 million, which works out to about S$2,900 per square foot (psf) on the total gross floor area (GFA) of some 19,938 sq ft.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/phoenix-property-investors-puts-peck-seah-shophouses-on-the-market-for-578m

Jurong West site slated for international school
A former secondary school site in Jurong West is open for tender to be repurposed for foreign system school (FSS) use, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Economic Development Board (EDB) announced on Tuesday. The tender for the former Pioneer Secondary School site at 21 Jurong West Street 81 aims to draw proposals specifically from operators interested in providing more affordable foreign system education.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jurong-west-site-slated-for-international-school

Remaking Orchard Road
Orchard Road may go completely car-free as part of long-term plans to reinvent Singapore’s premier shopping belt, which has lost some of its draw amid the growth of e-commerce and suburban malls. The bold possibility was mooted by Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S. Iswaran last week at a tourism industry conference. He said such a format would support larger-scale experiential concepts.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/remaking-orchard-road

Hospital campus of the future to rise in Woodlands
Woodlands is raising the bar for healthcare by getting Singapore’s first hospital complex with facilities designed from the outset to complement one another. It will also be driven by technology that enables fewer staff to care for patients. The 1,800-bed Woodlands Health Campus (WHC), which expects to see its first patient in 2022, will have an acute hospital and a community hospital sharing the same building from the start. It will also house a nursing home and specialist clinics.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hospital-campus-of-the-future-to-rise-in-woodlands

Indonesia, Vietnam are JLL’s industrial picks
Extolling the benefits of investing in industrial properties in South-east Asia, property consultancy JLL cited Indonesia and Vietnam as its top picks given their more compelling yields compared to more mature markets in the region. The yield on cost of developing industrial facilities is estimated to be 10-12 per cent in these countries. As most developers tend to borrow 50-70 per cent of development cost, effective cash-on-cash yield can be attractive at 11-15 per cent, JLL head of capital Regina Lim said in a report.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/indonesia-vietnam-are-jlls-industrial-picks

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand Commercial Trust Q1 DPU up 0.21 cents to 2.4 cents
CapitaLand Commercial Trust reported an estimated distribution per unit of 2.40 Singapore cents for the first three months of 2017, 0.21 cents higher than the 2.19 cents reported the same period a year ago. Net property income (NPI) grew by 34.3 per cent to S$69.9 million, while gross revenue increased by 33.9 per cent to S$89.5 million. Distributable income rose 9.9 per cent to S$71.3 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-commercial-trust-q1-dpu-up-021-cents-to-24-cents
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-commercial-trust-posts-96-rise-in-q1-dpu-to-240-cents

King Wan secures S$33m of contracts lasting till 2024
Building services company King Wan Corporation bagged S$33 million worth of new contracts in January till March 2017, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday evening. These contracts were for mechanical and electrical projects in Singapore, including mechanical works for a rail and bus depot and reception tunnels for the Thomson East Coast MRT line; installing sanitary and gas services at the Park Mall shopping mall; and installing airconditioning at City Gate, a mixed-use development.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/king-wan-secures-s33m-of-contracts-lasting-till-2024

Gateway’s sale of Healthway Medical notes to third parties raises eyebrows
Ahead of Healthway Medical Corporation’s (HMC) extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to vote on the second tranche of S$60 million convertible notes, some minority shareholders have raised concerns whether private-equity fund Gateway Partners is there to make a quick buck at their expense.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/gateways-sale-of-healthway-medical-notes-to-third-parties-raises-eyebrows

Tang scion named new CK Tang chief exec
A new generation has taken over the reins at home-grown retail icon CK Tang. The company yesterday named Mr Sean Tang Wen-Wei, 32, the elder son of Mr Tang Wee Kit, as its new chief executive with immediate effect. Mr Sean Tang already sits on the board of Tang Holdings – run by his father – and CK Tang, which is 98.3 per cent owned by Tang Holdings. Mr Tang Wee Kit is chairman of CK Tang’s executive committee and executive chairman of Tang Holdings.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/tang-scion-named-new-ck-tang-chief-exec

Keppel signs deal with EDB to build gasification plant on Jurong Island
Singapore is moving ahead with a gasification facility that uses coal and other feedstock on Jurong Island, some six years after it first studied the idea as part of the Jurong Island version 2.0 initiative. Keppel Infrastructure, a division of Keppel Corporation, said in an announcement on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to develop, own and operate such a facility.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-signs-deal-with-edb-to-build-gasification-plant-on-jurong-island
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-unit-inks-pact-with-edb-to-build-gasification-facility

Views, Reviews & Forum

Pedestrianising Orchard Road may kill, not kindle, its appeal
Turning Orchard Road into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare is not a new idea. In 1991, a final-year architecture student at the National University of Singapore envisioned a pedestrianised Orchard Road that is served by an underground road. Such an underground road was actually highlighted in the Land Transport Authority’s 1996 White Paper. But it has yet to be built.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/pedestrianising-orchard-road-may-kill-not-kindle-its-appeal

Taking pragmatic approach to property
Few topics capture Singaporeans’ interest as much as property. Apart from being able to enjoy its use, the prospect of capital appreciation can get many excited. Propelled by such anticipation, some have paid high sums for short-lease Housing Board flats, betting that these are eligible for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers), under which they could be offered new units on fresh 99-year leases. Such cases prompted National Development Minister Lawrence Wong to issue a caution about the strict selection criteria for Sers, which is why only 4 per cent of HDB flats have qualified since 1995. Extending Sers to the majority of flats would be ruinously expensive, and it would unhinge the concept of leases.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/taking-pragmatic-approach-to-property

The why, how and what next of digital wallets
In the most simplistic sense, a digital wallet is a facility to store and transfer money in an electronic format in a convenient manner. The key aspect to be highlighted here is the convenience, as the owner of the digital wallet could even otherwise have accessed this money through other conventional channels available to him – a bank account, a debit card, a credit card or a prepaid instrument.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-why-how-and-what-next-of-digital-wallets

Cost effective to have a single recycling bin
We thank Mr Arie Chooi Bo Wen for his suggestion on providing separate chutes for the four main types of recyclables (Have a chute each for main recyclables; April 10). Singapore has adopted the commingled collection system where all four types of recyclables (glass, metal, paper, plastic) can be deposited into a single recycling bin.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/cost-effective-to-have-a-single-recycling-bin