DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 20th March 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Braddell View to launch S$2.08b en bloc bid
Singapore’s largest private residential site – Braddell View – will be launched for collective sale by public tender on March 27 at a reserve price of S$2.08 billion, with residential owners standing to receive between S$2 million and S$4 million each, marketing agent Colliers International said on Tuesday. This comes after 80 per cent of the owners, by both share value and strata area, agreed to put the development on the market.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/braddell-view-to-launch-s208b-en-bloc-bid
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/braddell-view-in-bid-to-sell-en-bloc-for-208b
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/braddell-view-hudc-en-bloc-sale-privatise-2-billion-11357720
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/braddell-view-goes-en-bloc-sale-s208-billion-reserve-price

Two freehold redevelopment sites off Lavender Street up for sale
Two freehold redevelopment sites located off Lavender Street are up for sale by public tender, with indicative prices for 2 Cavan Road at S$47.4 million and 21 Cavan Road at S$12.6 million, joint marketing agents CBRE and HRL Properties said on Tuesday. 2 Cavan Road has a land area of about 20,100 square feet (sq ft) and houses a part-single-part-three -storey light industrial-cum-warehouse building, which is understood to have been built in the 1950s.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-freehold-redevelopment-sites-off-lavender-street-up-for-sale-0

HDB flats still have value when owner reaches 85 years old: Heng Swee Keat
Singapore — Government-built flats still retain value even when its owner has turned 85 years old, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said. Using the example of a 25-year-old Singaporean buying a new 99-year-lease Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, Mr Heng said that there will be more than 30 years of lease left when the owner turns 85, which is the life expectancy in Singapore.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hdb-flats-still-have-value-when-owner-reaches-85-years-old-heng-swee-keat

Singapore Economy

Singapore economy 3rd most vulnerable to sustained China trade slowdown
Singapore is the third most vulnerable economy to a sustained trade slowdown in China after Hong Kong and Mongolia, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report released on Tuesday. The report examined 23 rated Asia-Pac economies to identify the countries that are the most vulnerable to slower growth in Chinese demand – based on the proportion of their exports that go to China – and which could gain from longer-term shifts in investment and trade connections.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-economy-3rd-most-vulnerable-to-sustained-china-trade-slowdown
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-vulnerable-to-sustained-china-slowdown-moodys

PMET vacancies up last year; more bosses looking beyond academic results: MOM
There were more jobs up for grabs in Singapore last year, following its good economic showing in the first half of the year. An annual survey conducted by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) also showed employers increasingly looking beyond academic qualifications to consider a wider pool of candidates with the relevant skills or working experience.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pmet-vacancies-up-last-year-more-bosses-looking-beyond-academic-results-mom
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/more-job-vacancies-last-year-with-more-pmet-positions
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/job-vacancies-for-pmets-rose-to-53-in-2018-mom-survey-11357984

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand subsidiary divests Beijing unit for 20.8m yuan
A subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, CapitaLand (China) Investment Co Ltd, has divested its 100 per cent interest in Beijing CapitaLand Property Management Co (BCPM) for 20.8 million yuan (S$4.2 million), CapitaLand said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday. BCPM, whose main properties in Beijing are the clubhouse for the Orchid Garden residential development and 137 carpark lots in the La Foret residential development, was sold to a party unrelated to CapitaLand.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-subsidiary-divests-beijing-unit-for-208m-yuan

Oxley terminates S$950m sale of Mercure and Novotel Hotels due to unpaid deposit
Property developer Oxley Holdings has terminated a letter of intent (LOI) to sell its Mercure and Novotel Hotels to Gracious Land Pte Ltd for S$950 million with immediate effect, as a subsequent deposit of S$38 million was not made by the buyer. In a regulatory filing late on Tuesday night, Oxley said that among other things, the subsequent deposit, being 4 per cent of the total consideration, was not made by Gracious Land.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-terminates-s950m-sale-of-mercure-and-novotel-hotels-due-to-unpaid-deposit

Starhill Global Reit extends KL mall leases, lifting overhang
Starhill Global Reit (SGREIT) secured greater visibility over the long-term outlook for two Kuala Lumpur malls after inking fresh master tenancy agreements for the Malaysian properties. In a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday night, the Reit’s manager said that it had entered into new conditional agreements for the Starhill Gallery and Lot 10 malls in Bukit Bintang with the current master tenant, Katagreen Development.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/starhill-global-reit-extends-kl-mall-leases-lifting-overhang

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Developers should target lower profit margins
The Government should stand firm on the property cooling measures that were introduced last July (PropNex calls for easing of curbs for HDB upgraders, March 15). These measures, which serve to keep housing prices in line with economic fundamentals, restrain increases in cost of living and improve the quality of life, are positive and well supported by Singaporeans.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/developers-should-target-lower-profit-margins