DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 20th June 2017

Top Story

Singapore property stocks seen building on best performance in 5 years
Singapore property stocks are set for their best annual performance in five years, and strategists believe the rally is far from over. With an expected pick-up in real estate following the easing of housing curbs, developers are expected to be the bright spot in Singapore equities as gains in the city-state’s stocks may be limited for the rest of the year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-property-stocks-seen-building-on-best-performance-in-5-years
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-property-stocks-set-for-stellar-showing
http://www.todayonline.com/business/singapore-property-stock-may-build-best-rally-five-years
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-18/singapore-property-stocks-may-build-on-best-rally-in-five-years

Singapore Economy

Millennials seek exclusive identity and indie business model: study
Businesses targeting the millennial consumer market need to be aware of Generation Y’s tech-savviness and their demands for authenticity and an exclusive identity, said Bernd Schmitt, pioneer executive director of the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI) and current special adviser to ACI.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/millennials-seek-exclusive-identity-and-indie-business-model-study

SMEs urged to transform their businesses to ride on digital wave
With the growth of the digital economy potentially adding US$1 trillion (S$1.4 trillion) to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) by 2025, experts said it is important that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region transform their businesses to ride on this burgeoning trend.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/smes-urged-transform-their-businesses-ride-digital-wave

Feedback sought on proposed changes to Income Tax Act
The Ministry of Finance is seeking feedback from June 19 to July 10 on the proposed changes to the Income Tax Act, following a periodic review of the income tax system. The draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 was announced earlier this year in the 2017 Budget statement, the ministry said on Monday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/feedback-sought-on-proposed-changes-to-income-tax-act

Luxury online retailer Reebonz seeks to raise up to US$150m
Reebonz Pte Ltd, South-east Asia’s largest online luxury retailer, is planning to raise as much as US$150 million to bolster its marketplace business and fund expansion in China, Japan and South Korea. Reebonz has been working with investment banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc since May to engage potential investors, Chief Executive Officer Samuel Lim said. The eight-year-old startup he co-founded was valued at about US$300 million in late 2015, making it the most valuable luxury e-commerce startup in Southeast Asia.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/luxury-online-retailer-reebonz-seeks-to-raise-up-to-us150m

Singapore Real Estate

Buzz continues in luxe housing sector
The Singapore luxury housing market continues to see a buzz of activity. Recent deals include the S$40.88 million sale of a 31,211 sq ft freehold site in the Leedon Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area, understood to have been picked up by Raffles Medical Group executive chairman Loo Choon Yong. The price works out to S$1,310 psf on land. In Sentosa Cove, a low-profile Chinese tycoon in the mining and natural resources sector is selling a sea-facing bungalow along Cove Grove for S$16.6 million or S$1,707 psf based on the land area of 9,725 sq ft.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/buzz-continues-in-luxe-housing-sector

Companies’ Brief

Manulife US Reit acquires New Jersey office building for US$115 million
Manulife US Reit has entered into a purchase agreement with a vendor to acquire an office building in New Jersey, US, for US$115 million. The Reit manager said in a release on Monday night that the purchase will be financed by a combination of debt and equity and a proposed private placement, respectively. It will announce its final decision on the proportion of equity and debt financing at the appropriate time taking into account prevailing market conditions.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-acquires-new-jersey-office-building-for-us115-million

Views, Reviews & Forum

S-Reits: taper tantrums no more
It used to be in the last few years that the expectation of an increase in the benchmark interest rate by the US Federal Reserve would whipsaw equity markets into a frenzy, particularly for rate-sensitive instruments such as bonds and real estate investment trusts (Reits). That has stopped happening in the recent rounds of rate hikes. After the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 1-1.25 per cent last Wednesday, Singapore Reit (S-Reit) prices barely moved. And local bonds actually rallied, while key interest rates in Singapore fell.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-taper-tantrums-no-more