DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 19th Jun 2018

Top Story

Jump in May home sales lifts hopes for second half
May’s firm pick-up in developers’ property sales has prompted consultants to predict a take-off in the second half of the year as more new launches come onstream. While the year got off to a slow start – with residential launches lagging that of last year – developers’ sales survey by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for May showed developers sold 53 per cent more private homes (1,121 units) than a month ago or 8 per cent more than a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jump-in-may-home-sales-lifts-hopes-for-second-half
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-up-53-last-month-from-april
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-private-home-sales-hit-9-month-high-in-may-on-deluge-of-new-10442612
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/jump-sales-new-private-homes-may-more-units-launched

Singapore Economy

May exports growth hits 7-month high but outlook is cloudy
Singapore’s export growth hit a seven-month high in May thanks in part to volatile pharmaceutical shipments. But economists expect this pick-up to be short-lived – in addition to slowing momentum in the electronics sector, trade tensions are weighing on the export outlook.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/may-exports-growth-hits-7-month-high-but-outlook-is-cloudy
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/strong-export-growth-unlikely-to-be-sustained-economists
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/singapore-export-growth-surges-in-may
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/exports-hit-7-month-high-beating-forecasts
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-exports-jump-15-5-in-may-well-above-forecasts-10441888
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-non-oil-exports-spike-may

Singapore Real Estate

Gloria Mansion at Pasir Panjang up for en bloc sale at S$79m
Gloria Mansion at Pasir Panjang Road is hitting the market on Tuesday for S$79 million, the latest to hop on the collective sale train here. The freehold 12-storey, 31-unit hilltop apartment building is five minutes away from Haw Par Villa MRT Station and close to West Coast Highway and the Ayer Rajah Expressway. The reserve price of S$79 million translates to S$1,234 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) based on its gross floor area of 64,039 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gloria-mansion-at-pasir-panjang-up-for-en-bloc-sale-at-s79m

Soilbuild bags Kemaman Point with S$143m bid
Soilbuild Group Holdings has won the tender for the collective sale of Kemaman Point, a freehold 89-unit residential development along Balestier Road, with a bid of S$143.88 million. The marketing agent for the collective sale, Knight Frank, said each owner stands to receive between S$1.4 million and S$2.32 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/soilbuild-bags-kemaman-point-with-s143m-bid
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/soilbuild-bags-balestier-property-with-14388m-bid

Companies’ Brief

Managers of A-HReit, Ascendas Hospitality Business Trust say Osaka property not damaged after quake
Managers of Ascendas Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (A-HReit) and Ascendas Hospitality Business Trust on Monday night said that the group’s property in Osaka has not suffered any physical damage, following a strong earthquake in western Japan. Besides Ascendas Hospitality Trust’s (A-HTrust) property in Osaka, Hotel Sunroute Osaka Namba, no physical damage was also detected on the three properties A-HTrust has proposed to acquire in Osaka for 10.3 billion yen (S$126.1 million), the managers said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/managers-of-a-hreit-ascendas-hospitality-business-trust-say-osaka-property-not
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/a-hreit-ascendas-hospitality-business-trust-say-osaka-property-not
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ascendas-hospitality-trust-to-buy-three-osaka-hotels-for-1029b-yen
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/ascendas-hospitality-trust-to-buy-3-osaka-hotels-for-138m

CapitaLand to manage two more malls in China
Property group CapitaLand has clinched two new mall management contracts in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chengdu. The group said before Tuesday’s trading hours that its shopping mall business, CapitaLand Retail, will manage the retail component of The Grand City, a landmark integrated development in Wanbo CBD in Panyu District , on behalf of Guangzhou Wan Shun Investment Management Co Ltd. On winning this contract, CapitaLand is adding a third mall in Guangzhou. Its retail network in South China now spans a total retail GFA (gross floor area) of 3.6 million square feet.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-to-manage-two-more-malls-in-china
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-to-manage-two-more-malls-in-china

Sysma unit secures S$37.7m for construction of Pasir Panjang residential development
Sysma Construction, a unit of Catalist-listed Sysma Holdings, has secured a S$37.7 million contract with Oxley Amber for the construction of a residential development in Pasir Panjang. In a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Monday evening, Sysma said that the contract will involve the construction of “4blocks of 5-storey residential flats and three, 2-storey strata landed houses (comprising a total of 170 units).”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sysma-unit-secures-s377m-for-construction-of-pasir-panjang-residential-development

Lian Beng unit snags S$95.8m deal for construction of condo at Flora Drive
A unit of mainboard-listed construction firm Lian Beng Group on Monday snagged a contract – worth S$95.8 million – for the construction of a condominium at Flora Drive. The subsidiary – Lian Beng Construction (1988) – was awarded the 33-month contract by Tripartite Developers for the proposed development, which will comprise of 9 eight-storey residential blocks totalling 428 units. The construction works will also include the construction of a clubhouse, a basement carpark, swimming pool and a tennis court, the firm said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lian-beng-unit-snags-s958m-deal-for-construction-of-condo-at-flora-drive

WP Carey plans to buy Corporate Property Associates in US$6b deal
[Bengaluru] WP Carey Inc said on Monday it plans to buy commercial property owner Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global Inc in a US$6 billion deal that could make it the No 2 US net lease real estate investment trust by market value. The combined company’s portfolio, spanning North America and Europe, will include both office properties and industrial facilities and boast clients such as The New York Times, Marriott International and German home improvement store chain Hellweg.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wp-carey-plans-to-buy-corporate-property-associates-in-us6b-deal

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Lessons Singapore learnt in building smart city
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday the United States-North Korea summit, held in Singapore last week, showed the country can organise a “complex operation at short notice”. Singapore not only showed the world it is a credible and trusted partner, but “that even as a small island state we can do our part (and contribute to) the process for peace and stability in the Korean peninsula”, he said at a convention in New Delhi on smart cities.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/lessons-singapore-learnt-in-building-smart-city

Cheaper option to HSR project mooted to M’sian govt: report
A cheaper option to upgrade the railway link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore has been mooted to the Malaysian government, say sources, at less than half the cost of a planned high-speed rail link between the two countries. The proposal involves upgrading existing rail infrastructure, which will cost an estimated RM20 billion (S$6.8 billion), compared to the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR) project inked in 2016, which was expected to cost between RM60 billion and RM70 billion.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/cheaper-option-to-hsr-project-mooted-to-msian-govt-report
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cheaper-option-to-high-speed-rail-proposed-to-kl-govt-say-sources
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/cheaper-alternative-kl-spore-high-speed-rail-feasible-may-be-shortsighted-experts

GDP doesn’t tell whole story of an economy
Last Saturday’s report (Economy’s health: Call to look beyond GDP) rightly pointed out a mis-assumption in economics. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the ultimate macroeconomic concept. It sizes up the total output of an economy, not by measuring the amount of goods and services that are produced but by measuring the money spent to buy these things.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/gdp-doesnt-tell-whole-story-of-an-economy

Keeping an eye on Fed rate rise
Interest rates have been creeping up and could now rise at a faster pace given developments in the US. The United States Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point last Wednesday, marking its seventh increase since December 2015.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/keeping-an-eye-on-fed-rate-rise

Blockchain could be game changer in sustainable development goals
Much of the attention around blockchain and cryptocurrencies has been around the sensational rise and volatility of bitcoin. Bitcoin has made millionaires of early cryptocurrency investors and caused headlines as those who bought at the top of the market have seen the value of their investments swing wildly.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/blockchain-could-be-game-changer-in-sustainable-development-goals