DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 20th July 2018

Singapore Economy

Singapore is third nation to ratify revised TPP trade agreement
Singapore has ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), becoming the third nation to do so after Mexico and Japan. The Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement on Thursday that the CPTPP is a high-quality agreement that will reduce market barriers as well as foster trade in a combined market of 500 million people with a gross domestic product of US$10 trillion.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-is-third-nation-to-ratify-revised-tpp-trade-agreement
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-ratifies-key-multilateral-trade-pact
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-cptpp-trade-tpp-10543674
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spore-ratifies-landmark-asia-pacific-trade-pact

Productivity is a better tool to fight business costs: Hong Tat
Business costs may be a challenge for all companies, but the way to overcome it is not to “artificially suppress market pricing and market forces”, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat on Thursday. “I think the way to compete is not necessarily to go for low margins and low costs, but to look for areas where – despite our higher cost base in terms of land and labour – we are able to compete because we are more productive and able to offer products and services that our customers value,” he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/productivity-is-a-better-tool-to-fight-business-costs-hong-tat

M’sia PM says to negotiate deferment of high-speed rail link with Singapore
Malaysia will look to negotiate the deferment of a high-speed rail (HSR) project with Singapore, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday. Dr Mahathir said previously he would cancel the rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and would talk with Malaysia’s southern neighbour about any compensation that has to be paid.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/msia-pm-says-to-negotiate-deferment-of-high-speed-rail-link-with-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-seeks-to-delay-hsr-project-with-spore-mahathir
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-to-negotiate-deferment-of-high-speed-rail-with-singapore
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/high-speed-rail-mahathir-malaysia-postpone-hsr-singapore-10543434
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hsr-johor-crown-prince-tunku-ismail-malaysia-high-speed-rail-10544316
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/kl-singapore-hsr-high-speed-rail-project-azmin-10546402
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/malaysia-must-make-clear-its-plan-kl-spore-high-speed-rail-further-delay-could-hurt-both

Singapore Real Estate

July rush to buy Singapore property may boost mortgages: DBS
DBS Group Holdings said that the recent race to buy property ahead of the Singapore government’s latest price cooling measures may give a temporary boost to its mortgage business but in the longer term, the market is likely to slow down. The country’s largest bank expects “a slight ramp-up in mortgage financing requirements” in the next one or two months as a result of the July 5 rush to purchase apartments before the government measures take effect, according to Sim S Lim, DBS’s Singapore country head.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/july-rush-to-buy-singapore-property-may-boost-mortgages-dbs

Companies’ Brief

Keppel Corp Q2 net profit up 44% from property, infrastructure boost
Multi-business listed conglomerate, Keppel Corporation posted a 44 per cent increase in second quarter net profit to S$246.16 million, bolstered by stronger property and infrastructure earnings that offset losses from the other divisions. Earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2018, was 13.6 Singapore cents, higher compared to 9.4 Singapore cents for a year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-corp-q2-net-profit-up-44-from-property-infrastructure-boost
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-corps-q2-profit-jumps-44-to-2462m
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/keppel-s-q2-profit-jumps-44-on-property-infrastructure-divisions-10544584

Privatisation bid for Wheelock could boost other developer stocks
The Hong Kong-listed parent of Wheelock Properties Singapore has launched a S$600 million offer – at S$2.10 a share – to take the Singapore-listed unit private. Given that the cash offer is 22 per cent below book value, analysts and investors believe the offer price may have to be revised upwards for shareholders to bite.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/privatisation-bid-for-wheelock-could-boost-other-developer-stocks
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/wheelock-properties-soars-on-delisting-offer

CapitaLand Mall Trust Q2 DPU up 2.2% to 2.81 Singapore cents
Distribution per unit (DPU) at CapitaLand Mall Trust was up for the second quarter on a rise in net property income, the manager said on Friday morning. Unit holders can look forward to a DPU of 2.81 Singapore cents for the three months to June 30, up by 2.2 per cent on the same period the year before, with distributable income up by 2.9 per cent to S$100 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-mall-trust-q2-dpu-up-22-to-281-singapore-cents
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-mall-trust-q2-dpu-up-22-to-281-singapore-cents

Singapore’s Hmlet buys HK co-living startup
Singapore-based co-living startup Hmlet has acquired we r urban, marking its expansion into the Hong Kong market. The Hong Kong startup was founded by Raphaela Oliver-Köfeler and Cornelius Kistler and currently manages a portfolio of 30 co-living spaces, housing 70 members across 15,000 square feet on Hong Kong Island.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-hmlet-buys-hk-co-living-startup
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/co-living-start-up-enters-hk-market-with-acquisition

OUE Lippo Healthcare warns of Q2 loss
The board of OUE Lippo Healthcare expects to report a net loss for the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2018, mainly due to operating costs. Its findings were based on a preliminary assessment of the group’s unaudited financial results for the quarter, the board announced late on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-lippo-healthcare-warns-of-q2-loss
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-lippo-healthcare-warns-of-q2-loss