DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 21 Jan 2020

Singapore Real Estate

Muted earnings for Q4; but property, banks may surprise on upside
Property developers, banks and plantation players are expected to be winners in the upcoming earnings season, despite overall muted projections due to the weak economic conditions in the October-to-December quarter. While developers will benefit from recent merger and acquisition activity, banks are expected to generate higher wealth management fees and trading income compared to the low base a…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/muted-earnings-for-q4-but-property-banks-may-surprise-on-upside

F&B firm offers to buy Jurong West coffee shop for $31m: Report
K2 F&B Holdings, which operates a string of coffee shops and food stalls islandwide, has made an offer of $31 million for a coffee shop in Jurong West, Chinese-language evening paper Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday. If the reported offer is accepted, the amount would be one of the highest paid for a coffee shop in a Housing Board estate, with the last high-profile sale being in 2015 when a coffee shop in…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/fb-firm-offers-to-buy-jurong-west-coffee-shop-for-31m-report

Singapore Economy

Global FDI flat in 2019, but surged 42% in Singapore: UN report
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Singapore surged 42 per cent while the flows to its traditional rival Hong Kong were halved in 2019, when global FDI was flat against a backdrop of a weak global economy and trade tensions FDI drawn to South-east Asia’s economic growth and, according to observers, diverted to the region by the US-China trade conflict and Hong Kong’s anti-government riots, have helped…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/global-fdi-flat-in-2019-but-surged-42-in-singapore-un-report

Companies’ Brief

CDL recognised again for leading efforts to tackle climate change
For the second year in a row, City Developments Limited (CDL) has been recognised by CDP – an international non-profit organisation – for its corporate climate action. The company is one of more than 170 that made it to CDP’s annual “A List”, which hails the world’s most pioneering companies that are leaders in environmental transparency and performance.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cdl-recognised-again-for-leading-efforts-to-tackle-climate-change

CapitaLand’s The Ascott opens serviced residence in Osaka
CapitaLand’s wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott, has opened a serviced residence in the Japanese city of Osaka. The new property, Citadines Namba Osaka, offers 313 units with varied apartment types. It sits in Osaka’s popular entertainment and shipping district, and is surrounded by commercial buildings, Ascott said in a media statement on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitalands-the-ascott-opens-serviced-residence-in-osaka
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/ascott-gives-osaka-heritage-site-a-makeover

Mapletree Logistics Trust’s Q3 DPU up despite enlarged unit base
Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) recorded a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.044 Singapore cents on an enlarged unit base for the third quarter ended Dec 31, up from a DPU of 2.002 cents a year ago. Chief executive officer of the trust manager, Ng Kiat, noted that an equity raising exercise in the third quarter had a temporary drag on DPU as the full contribution from the newly acquired seven properties will only kick…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-logistics-trusts-q3-dpu-up-despite-enlarged-unit-base

Keppel Infrastructure Trust posts flat DPU for Q4
Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) on Monday reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.93 Singapore cent for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, unchanged from a year ago. DPU was flat despite the trust having recorded a higher distributable cash flow (DCF) of S$38.9 million, up 13.7 per cent from a year earlier. The DPU will be paid on Feb 14.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-infrastructure-trust-posts-flat-dpu-for-q4

ARA H-Trust completes acquisition of three US hotels for US$84m
ARA US Hospitality Trust (ARA H-Trust) has completed the acquisition of three US hotels for US$84 million, its managers said in a bourse filing on Monday. The freehold properties are AC by Marriott Raleigh North Hills in North Carolina, as well as Courtyard San Antonio and Residence Inn San Antonio both in The Rim shopping district in Texas.
http://www.redas.com/daily-news/2020/01/20/20012020/

UE suspends shares on close of Yanlord offer
The offer period for United Engineers (UE) shareholders to accept Yanlord Land Group’s S$2.70-a-share mandatory conditional cash offer has closed at 5.30pm on Monday, Yanlord said in a bourse filing on Monday evening. Following the close of the offer, UE suspended trading of its shares on Tuesday morning before the market opened. Its shares had closed down S$0.03 or 1.1 per cent to S$2.68 on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ue-suspends-shares-on-close-of-yanlord-offer

Rich Capital plans to sell stake in Peak Court joint venture for S$6.6m
Catalist-listed Rich Capital Holdings is proposing to dispose of its 50 per cent stake in investment holding company Rich Capital Realty for S$6.6 million. Rich Capital Realty owns a 30 per cent stake in TSRC Novena – a joint venture company formed by Rich Capital and Tuan Sing Holdings – which owns the strata lots and common property in Peak Court, a freehold residential development on Thomson Road.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rich-capital-plans-to-sell-stake-in-peak-court-joint-venture-for-s66m

Keong Hong, Hyundai to build new sports, recreation centre for S$306.6m
Keong Hong Holdings’ wholly-owned subsidiary and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Singapore Branch will develop a new sports and recreation centre. The Singapore Sports Council awarded the S$306.62 million main contract to Hyundai, which is the principal partner of the project, mainboard-listed Keong Hong said on Monday evening.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keong-hong-hyundai-to-build-new-sports-recreation-centre-for-s3066m

EHT sponsor to unveil 30-year preservation plan for Queen Mary
A 30-YEAR evolving plan by Eagle Hospitality Trust’s (EHT) sponsor Urban Commons (UC) to preserve and improve the Queen Mary floating hotel is in the works. It includes annual inspections as well as “close-up surveys” every five years, the Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development firm said in a statement on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eht-sponsor-to-unveil-30-year-preservation-plan-for-queen-mary
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/eagle-hospitality-trust-sponsor-developing-30-year-plan-for-queen-mary

Elite Commercial Reit’s Singapore IPO to be priced at £0.68 each
The offer price for UK-focused Elite Commercial Reit’s proposed Singapore initial public offering (IPO) has been set at £0.68 per unit. This will raise between £119.5 million (S$209.3 million) and £131.2 million, based on a total offering size of 175.7 million to 192.9 million units, according to a term sheet on Monday seen by The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/elite-commercial-reits-singapore-ipo-to-be-priced-at-%C2%A3068-each
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/spore-ipo-of-elite-commercial-reit-to-raise-up-to-230m

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Forum: Construction firms must be serious about safety
It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had to remind companies to ensure workplace safety, after three workplace deaths since the start of the year (MOM reminds firms to ensure workplace safety, Jan 20). Any accidental death is a great loss to the family of the departed.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/construction-firms-must-be-serious-about-safety

Commentary: Is low growth the new normal for Singapore?
Singapore: When the global financial crisis hit Singapore in 2009, the shock left the country with real GDP growth of 0.1 per cent. But the economy rebounded quickly. The following nine years delivered an average annual growth of 5.2 per cent, owing largely to a sharp rebound in 2010, registering a growth of 14.5 per cent.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/low-economic-growth-new-normal-singapore-budget-12261518

10 potential risks to the global economy in 2020
The traditional January game of economic forecasting for the year ahead hardly seems worth playing when the predictions have been the same for a decade. In 2020, it is even more likely than it has been every year since the financial crisis that the global economy will continue growing, interest rates will remain at rock-bottom levels, and stock markets will keep rising.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/10-potential-risks-to-the-global-economy-in-2020