DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22 February 2022 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Prime residential properties to be auctioned in mortgagee sales
Several prime residential properties are going on the block this week in mortgagee sales. Marketing agent Knight Frank’s line-up boasts a 4-bedroom duplex penthouse at Marina Boulevard with a guide price of S$12.6 million and a 2.5-storey bungalow at Sentosa Cove priced at S$10.75 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/prime-residential-properties-to-be-auctioned-in-mortgagee-sales-0

Some hope for malls but only fittest will thrive in tough climate
Retail landlords have been enduring tough times that were made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show that rental rates of retail space fell by 6.8 per cent year on year (yoy) in 2021, after falling 14.7 per cent in 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/some-hope-for-malls-but-only-fittest-will-thrive-in-tough-climate

Rejuvenating heartland shops: Ideas span new and old amid concerns about digitalisation
Singapore – Participants in a public engagement session on rejuvenating Housing Board (HDB) heartland shops on Monday (Feb 21) grappled with digitalisation as the way forward, raising concern that older shop owners may fall behind.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/rejuvenating-heartland-shops-ideas-span-new-and-old-amid-some-concern-about-digitalisation

Singapore Economy

Singapore to lift business and social environment amid tax changes: Lawrence Wong
While the global movement towards a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent will have an impact on Singapore’s competitiveness, the city state has never relied only on taxes to compete for investments, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-to-lift-business-and-social-environment-amid-tax-changes-lawrence-wong
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-has-never-relied-solely-on-lower-taxes-to-compete-for-investments-lawrence-wong

Companies’ Brief

CDLHT in £24.1m deal for 4-star hotel in Manchester, UK
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) has indirectly acquired a 4-star hotel in Manchester, the United Kingdom. The total acquisition cost is about £24.1 million (S$43.8 million), the managers said in a bourse filing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdlht-in-%C2%A3241m-deal-for-4-star-hotel-in-manchester-uk

S$1b in commissions don’t translate to equivalent in revenue: PropNex responds to SGX
PropNex had on Monday (Feb 21) said that while commissions relating to property transactions carried out by its salespersons in 2021 had indeed exceeded S$1 billion, that does not necessarily translate to an equivalent full-year revenue.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s1b-in-commissions-dont-translate-to-equivalent-in-revenue-propnex-responds-to-sgx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/propnex-on-why-1b-in-commissions-did-not-translate-to-equivalent-in-revenue

Sumitomo units, ARA jointly invest S$297m in Capital Square office tower
Real estate and environmental energy company SMFL Mirai Partners, real estate asset manager Kenedix, and ARA Asset Management have entered into a joint venture that will invest S$297 million in Capital Square, a mixed-use office property located in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/sumitomo-units-ara-jointly-invest-s297m-in-capital-square-office-tower

Corporate Digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1525

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Wealth tax on the cards in Singapore but its form and shape will need deliberation
The possible introduction of a wealth tax was flagged on a number of occasions in the leadup to the 2022 Budget. While a wealth tax was eventually not tabled at this year’s Budget, a recurrent theme in Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s speech was the need to maintain the social compact, and to ensure that those with the greatest capacity to pay contribute accordingly.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/wealth-tax-on-the-cards-in-singapore-but-its-form-and-shape-will-need-deliberation

Propelling Singapore through present challenges and beyond
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s maiden Budget speech last Friday (Feb 18) was one that heavily emphasised the strengthening of Singapore’s social compact. Rising cost of living, an ageing population, and, not to mention, climate change are goliath challenges faced by a small nation that has no natural resources.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/propelling-singapore-through-present-challenges-and-beyond-0

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

1,606 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 in S’pore; 13,623 new cases reported
Singapore – There were a total of 1,606 Covid-19 cases in hospital on Monday (Feb 21), up from the 1,523 on Sunday, according to data published on the Ministry of Health website.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/1606-patients-hospitalised-with-covid-19-13623-new-cases-reported

S’pore quietly confident in dealing with Omicron wave: Lawrence Wong
Singapore – Vaccinations, boosters and therapeutics. That is Singapore’s strategy for dealing with Covid-19 and its variants, and it gives the Republic a clear path towards getting back to normal life – even if new mutations crop up, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Feb 21).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-quietly-confident-in-dealing-with-covid-19-omicron-wave-lawrence-wong

askST: Can vaccination reduce symptoms of long Covid-19?
Singapore – Questions on vaccination, the Omicron variant and the science behind Covid-19 infections dominated the discussion at a webinar organised on Monday (Feb 21) by the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/askst-can-vaccination-reduce-symptoms-of-long-covid

Not time to have Covid-19 party, even if Omicron infections are milder: Experts
Singapore – Given that the majority of Singapore’s population is now vaccinated against Covid-19, is it advisable for people to actively seek out infection in order to build immunity, as some used to do with chickenpox?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/it-is-not-the-time-to-have-a-covid-19-party-even-if-omicron-infections-are-milder

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation