DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22nd May 2018

Singapore Economy

Strong prospects in Asean, but firms face hurdles to regional expansion: survey
Companies are keen to tap the growth prospects in Asean, but find it tough to overcome regulatory barriers, identify suitable business partners and hire the right talent to support growth, a new survey has found. Four in five respondents to the poll, conducted by The Business Times and Standard Chartered Bank, said their companies have plans to expand in Asean over the next three to five years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/strong-prospects-in-asean-but-firms-face-hurdles-to-regional-expansion-survey
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/deep-understanding-of-asean-is-key-to-seizing-opportunities-panellists
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/improved-aviation-infrastructure-needed-to-spur-growth-in-asean-says-liew-mun
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/poll-4-in-5-businesses-eyeing-asean-expansion
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/call-for-asean-to-push-on-with-integration
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/better-aviation-infrastructure-seen-as-key-to-asean-growth

Singapore adopts national e-invoice system
Singapore has adopted its own national e-invoice system based on a widely-used European standard, as the government continues to outfit local businesses with the capabilities for the digital economy. The authorities will use the Pan European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) system for its nationwide e-invoice system, said Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran on Monday. This will help companies here speed up business transactions while minimising disputes, errors and operating costs.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-adopts-national-e-invoice-system
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-adopts-national-e-invoice-system-0
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-to-implement-e-invoice-framework-based-on-europe-s-10255456
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nationwide-e-invoice-system-pilot-common-parcel-locker-system-prepare-digital-economy

SPH, logistics firms to be part of locker network
The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) has signed memoranda of intent with 15 logistics firms and industry partners – including firms such as Singapore Press Holdings, Parcel Santa and Lazada – to participate in a nationwide locker network. Parcel Santa will partner SPH and tap its newspaper delivery network of more than 3,000 vendors and delivery crew to make deliveries to parcel lockers currently located in 100 condominium precincts.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-logistics-firms-to-be-part-of-locker-network
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/trial-of-common-lockers-to-ease-parcel-delivery
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/common-parcel-locker-system-to-be-piloted-in-bukit-panjang-10255210

Asean at an inflexion point; positive outlook cannot be taken for granted: Chan Chun Sing
Asean is at an inflexion point, as the open and rules-based multilateral trading system, regional integration, and economic cooperation come under mounting pressure, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Monday. This comes at a time when uneven gains from globalisation is being exploited, resulting in inward-looking sentiments that challenge the relevance and value of platforms such as Asean, he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/asean-at-an-inflexion-point-positive-outlook-cannot-be-taken-for-granted-chan
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/asean-at-inflexion-point-says-chan-chun-sing
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/asean-inflexion-point-needs-redefine-itself-market-ideas-chan-chun-sing

Singapore to host world’s largest trademark event in 2020
Singapore: Singapore has been chosen to host the world’s largest trademark event in 2020, announced the International Trademark Association (INTA) on Monday (May 21). The association’s 142nd annual meeting will be held from Apr 25 to Apr 29, 2020 at the Marina Bay Sands.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-inta-largest-trademark-intellectual-property-2020-10254462

Singapore Real Estate

Carving out a co-working niche
Having birthed startups the likes of Instagram and Uber, co-working spaces are a relatively new genre of office which is rapidly gaining traction among entrepreneurs and even SME owners in Singapore. Those sharing the same space may not be employed by the same company, but occupants tend to share similar values and are given room for collaboration in an often very aesthetically pleasing setting.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/carving-out-a-co-working-niche

Companies’ Brief

Ocean Sky International proposes rights cum warrants issue to boost financials
Ocean Sky International has proposed to undertake a rights issue of up to 162.5 million new shares with up to 162.5 million free detachable warrants. Shareholders can subscribe for one rights share for every two existing shares they hold, and one warrant for every one rights share subscribed.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ocean-sky-international-proposes-rights-cum-warrants-issue-to-boost

Singha Estate eyes Thai hotel assets to ride tourism boom
Thai property firm Singha Estate will look to invest in hospitality assets at home as it seeks to ride the tourism boom in the country, a senior company official said on Monday, following a series of deals over the past year. Hotels, airports and retailers are some of the major beneficiaries of a boom in tourism, receipts from which make up about 12 per cent of South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, so the industry is one of the most important drivers of its growth.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singha-estate-eyes-thai-hotel-assets-to-ride-tourism-boom

Blackstone to buy LaSalle Hotel in US$4.8b agreement
[New york] Three days after agreeing to sell off the last of its Hilton stake, Blackstone is buying another hotel company. Blackstone Group LP agreed to acquire luxury hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties in an all-cash transaction that values LaSalle at US$33.50 a share, or US$4.8 billion including debt, the companies said in a statement Monday. The deal follows Blackstone’s announcement on Friday that it will sell the last of its Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc shares.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/blackstone-to-buy-lasalle-hotel-in-us48b-agreement

Tiong Seng bags S$47.68m MOH contract to build 10-storey polyclinic and care facility
Construction and property developer Tiong Seng Holdings announced on Monday that it has bagged a S$47.68 million contract with the Ministry of Health to build a 10-storey polyclinic and long-term care facility at Balestier and Serangoon Roads. Construction will commence in June 2018, using the company’s in-house “prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction” (PPVC) building techniques.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tiong-seng-bags-s4768m-moh-contract-to-build-10-storey-polyclinic-and-care

Ascendas Hospitality Trust completes acquisition of hotel in South Korea, master lease agreement inked
Ascendas Korea Hospitality No 1 Professional Investors Private Real Estate Investment (Ascendas Korea Hospitality) has entered into a 20-year master lease agreement with Sotetsu International Korea Co in relation to its hotel in South Korea.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-hospitality-trust-completes-acquisition-of-hotel-in-south-korea-master

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

ESR’s expansion plans extend beyond Singapore’s shores
Pan-asian group e-Shang Redwood (ESR) has ambitious plans to grow in Asia, evident from its trail of recent acquisitions. Put together, these events coalesce to form an emerging picture of the logistics group’s expansion appetite, and quickness to regain momentum after every snag in the plan.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esrs-expansion-plans-extend-beyond-singapores-shores

Ease restrictions on financing purchases of older flats
There has been much discussion about what will happen to the value of HDB flats when their leases run out (Lawrence Wong: There is still value in older HDB flats; May 18). It is difficult to place a value on HDB flats when the remaining lease shortens. This is especially when the restrictions on the use of Central Provident Fund monies for older flats and the lack of loans during the last 30 years of the lease make such older HDB flats basically illiquid.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/ease-restrictions-on-financing-purchases-of-older-flats

Clarity on HDB leases needed for retirement planning
While I accept that extending the leases of older HDB flats is a complex issue, I do not agree with National Development Minister Lawrence Wong that it is not an immediate issue (Lease extension a complex issue, says Lawrence Wong; May 18). Considering that over 80 per cent of our population resides in HDB flats, with about 90 per cent of them being home owners, any ruling on flats’ remaining leases will have an immense impact.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/clarity-on-hdb-leases-needed-for-retirement-planning

In the new digital economy, Taiwan may ‘outsmart’ rivals including Singapore
Singapore/ taipei – Once touted as among the fabled “Asian Tigers”, the Taiwan economy has fallen dramatically behind its counterparts including Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea. But after being mired in the economic doldrums for decades, Taiwan – which is the home of hardware giants Acer, ASUS, Foxconn and HTC – could be better poised than its regional rivals to ride the technological wave, said experts, citing its private sector capabilities in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and autonomous vehicles for example.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-digital-economy-taiwan-may-outsmart-rivals-including-singapore