DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 20th, 21st and 22nd July 2019

Singapore Real Estate

One Pearl Bank sells 160 out of 200 units released over launch weekend
One Pearl Bank, the 99-year leasehold condo by CapitaLand, sold 160 units at an average price of S$2,400 per sq ft (psf) over the launch weekend, as at 5pm on Sunday. That translates to 80 per cent of the 200 units CapitaLand released during the weekend, and about 20.7 per cent of the total 774 units in the 39-storey development.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/one-pearl-bank-sells-160-out-of-200-units-released-over-launch-weekend
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/80-of-200-one-pearl-bank-units-snapped-up-at-launch

HK-listed AAC Technologies co-founder buys Leedon Park home
The billionaire cofounder of Hongkong-listed AAC Technologies, which makes miniaturised components including speakers and microphones for mobile devices, is understood to be acquiring a bungalow along Leedon Park for S$31 million. The price works out to S$2,000 per square foot (psf) based on the freehold land area of 15,500 sq ft. On the site is a two-storey bungalow, completed less than 10 years ago…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hk-listed-aac-technologies-co-founder-buys-leedon-park-home
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hk-listed-aac-technologies-co-founder-buys-leedon-park-home

Go West: Tech firms in Singapore setting up bases in south-western corridor
In the last seven months, two of South-east Asia’s best-known unicorns announced expansion plans with new addresses in the same neighbourhood. Grab broke ground on a S$181.2 million built-to-suit headquarters with a gross floor area of approximately 455,420 sq ft in one-north. Scheduled for completion in Q4, 2020, it will enable Grab – currently in several locations across the island – to consolidate its operations. This facility will also house Grab’s largest research and development (R&D) centre.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/go-west-tech-firms-in-singapore-setting-up-bases-in-south-western-corridor

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s full-year growth could be lower than forecast: MTI
Singapore’s full-year economic forecast could be cut again in view of the weak performance in the second quarter and strong headwinds in the global economy, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has told The Sunday Times. The forecast stands at between 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent, and may be downgraded further.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/full-year-growth-could-be-lower-than-forecast-mti

Singapore remains on radar of China tourists
China’s economy is slowing down – weighed down by a trade spat with the US with no resolution in sight – but there’s no let-up in its consumers’ wanderlust. Tourists from the Middle Kingdom continue to stream here in the first half of 2019, with some travel agencies posting double-digit growth in Chinese visitors. Tour operators and hotels are also sanguine about the rest of the year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/singapore-remains-on-radar-of-china-tourists

Business leaders call on govt to help firms help themselves in slowdown
AS THE economic slowdown deepens, some business leaders in Singapore are calling on the government to look at immediate relief measures to help firms rise to the challenge, even as it stays focussed on long-term transformation efforts for the long run.”Despite Singapore’s reputation as a highly free-market economy, the government has an outsized influence in the economy, and so has some levers to counteract a…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/business-leaders-call-on-govt-to-help-firms-help-themselves-in-slowdown-0

Companies’ Brief

Surbana Jurong appointed master planner for Nongsa digital economy hub
Asia-based urban and infrastructure consultancy group Surbana Jurong has been appointed master planner for the development of a digital economy hub in the district of Nongsa, which is on the island of Batam. The project was awarded by joint venture (JV) parties Sinar Mas Land and Citramas Group. Surbana Jurong will be responsible for the development of a concept masterplan of the hub which…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/surbana-jurong-appointed-master-planner-for-nongsa-digital-economy-hub
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/surbana-to-plan-batam-digital-hub

Prime US Reit makes tepid debut to end at IPO price of US$0.88
Prime US Reit made a tepid debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Friday, closing at its initial public offering (IPO) price of US$0.88. From the opening gong at 2pm till market close at 5pm, the units traded within a narrow band of US$0.865 to US$0.88, with about 10.7 million units changing hands.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/prime-us-reit-makes-tepid-debut-to-end-at-ipo-price-of-us088
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/prime-us-reits-sgx-debut-hits-us088-ipo-target

Rebranded GYP eyes property for growth
PHOTOGRAPHS of GYP Properties’ New Zealand properties line the walls of the developer’s mainly monochromatic main office in Toa Payoh North. But on a display shelf, a reminder of its history – a copy of the final print edition of the Yellow Pages directory.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rebranded-gyp-eyes-property-for-growth

Datapulse served notice of compliance by SGX over hotel investments and management agreements
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Friday issued a notice of compliance to Datapulse Technology relating to its recent minority investments in two hotels and the awarding of hotel management agreements to firms linked to the company’s chairman and controlling shareholder. Datapulse had earlier entered transactions to acquire stakes in hotels “sold with vacant possession”…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/datapulse-served-notice-of-compliance-by-sgx-over-hotel-investments-and-management

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Keep calm and carry on
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
Economic challenges and risks faced today are increasingly structural in nature due to technological disruption, supply-chain disruption, new business models, changes in geopolitical conditions and international relations. Economic slowdown could offer precious opportunities for businesses to adapt and transform themselves to address their shortcomings and gear up for recovery in the long haul.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/keep-calm-and-carry-on-0

Momentum in private home sales set to continue
Private home prices in Singapore are currently at the highest in five years, with the official flash estimate private residential index reaching 150.5, the highest since the first quarter of 2014 when the index was 151.3. It comes in the wake of two unexpected changes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/momentum-in-private-home-sales-set-to-continue

Young homeowners who bought ageing flats: What’s the deal?
Singapore — During the National Day Rally last year, Mr Leroy Yew, 31, watched Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announce several new schemes to address the issue of the depleting leases of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. Mr Yew, who recently joined the real estate industry, admitted that it was only then that he began to worry about the resale value of his own flat, which has less than 60…
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/young-homeowners-who-bought-ageing-flats-whats-deal

Preparing for a downturn: Amid trade war fallout, Singapore economy has plenty of ammunition
It looks like it’s going to be a blue Christmas this year. The usual July rush of orders for electronic components from manufacturers, in time for deliveries ahead of the year-end holiday season, have not come in. Some business leaders, like electronic components distributor Serial System’s executive chairman and group chief executive, Mr Derek Goh, say that instead of seeing orders gradually ramping up…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/amid-trade-war-fallout-spore-economy-has-plenty-of-ammo
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/construction