DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22 October 2021 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore non-landed private home prices inch down in CCR, OCR for Q3
Prices of private residential properties across Singapore increased quarter on quarter by 1.1 per cent in Q3 2021, slightly steeper than the 0.8 per cent growth in Q2 2021, according to the final figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Oct 22).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-non-landed-private-home-prices-inch-down-in-ccr-ocr-for-q3
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-private-home-prices-rise-11-in-q3-led-by-landed-properties

URA office rent index for central region falls 3.5% q-o-q in Q3; vacancy rises to 12.9%
The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) rental index for office space in Singapore’s central region fell 3.5 per cent in the third quarter of this year over the previous quarter. This contrasts with the 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in Q2 2021.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-office-rent-index-for-central-region-falls-35-q-o-q-in-q3-vacancy-rises-to-129

Singapore retail property rents continue to fall in Q3, but retail prices hold steady
Retail property rents in Singapore’s central region continued to retreat in the third quarter of this year, although prices of retail spaces remained flat. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) retail rental index released on Friday (Oct 22), rents fell by a sharper 2.7 per cent in Q3 2021, after chalking up a 0.5 per cent dip in Q2.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-retail-property-rents-continue-to-fall-in-q3-but-retail-prices-hold-steady

URA launches Dairy Farm Walk GLS site for tender
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has launched a residential site at Dairy Farm Walk for sale via public tender on Thursday (Oct 21). Spanning 15,663.2 square metres (sq m), the parcel has a maximum gross floor area of 32,893 sq and an expected yield of about 385 units.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-launches-dairy-farm-walk-gls-site-for-tender
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ura-launches-sale-of-dairy-farm-walk-residential-site

Building owners urged to use drones for facade inspections as new BCA guidelines rolled out
Singapore – With at least 30,000 buildings slated for inspection over the next seven years under new Building and Construction Authority (BCA) guidelines, facade inspectors have been urged to tap drone technology to help get the job done.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/building-owners-urged-to-use-drones-for-facade-inspections-as-new-bca-guidelines

A redesign of Singapore’s property landscape
More green, more space, and a concerted effort to switch to a low-carbon future. Property developers are starting to build these needs into residential and commercial projects, as planners envision new uses of urban space. In Brunch in The Business Times Weekend, we find out how Singapore’s property landscape is being redesigned.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/a-redesign-of-singapores-property-landscape

Singapore Economy

Singapore looking forward to resuming close connectivity with Australia: PM Lee
Singapore looks forward to resuming close connectivity with Australia, as the Republic moves towards an endemic Covid-19 future, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a Facebook post on Friday (Oct 22) morning.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-looking-forward-to-resuming-close-connectivity-with-australia-pm-lee
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/australia-singapore-travel-bubble-could-be-established-within-next-week-morrison
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australia-singapore-travel-bubble-could-be-established-within-next-week-pm-morrison

askST: What is inflation, why is it rising now and how does it affect consumers?
Singapore – Inflation refers to a general rise in the prices of goods and services without an improvement in their quality. But it is important to understand the concept of inflation because prices rise and fall depending on demand and supply through the course of a year. In fact, if the economy is growing, the sum of these rises and falls in prices should result in moderate inflation.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/askst-what-is-inflation-why-is-it-rising-now-and-how-does-it-affect-consumers

Unemployment benefits proposal ‘interesting to watch’ due to past policy resistance
A proposal to introduce unemployment benefits in Singapore signals a wider recognition of the disruption faced by workers in the face of economic restructuring as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, industry observers said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/unemployment-benefits-proposal-interesting-to-watch-due-to-past-policy-resistance
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/ntuc-calls-for-national-support-framework-for-unemployed-pmes

Companies’ Brief

Ascendas Reit to acquire 11 logistics properties in Kansas City for S$207.8m
Ascendas real estate investment trust (Reit) has proposed the acquisition of 11 logistic properties located in Kansas City, United States for S$207.8 million. The acquisition will be the Reit’s first entry in the US logistics market, the Reit’s manager said in a bourse filing on Friday (Oct 22).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-to-acquire-11-logistics-properties-in-kansas-city-for-s2078m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-to-acquire-11-logistics-properties-in-kansas-city-for-2078

Sabana Reit records 85.3% portfolio occupancy in Q3
Sabana Industrial Reit (Sabana Reit) logged a portfolio occupancy of 85.3 per cent as at Sept 30, the highest level since early 2018, its manager announced in a quarterly business update on Thursday (Oct 21) evening. The Reit, which removed its Shari’ah compliance status as of Thursday, has also named a new chief financial officer, Lim Wei Huang, and head of real estate, Jessica Yap Pui Ling.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reit-records-853-portfolio-occupancy-in-q3

Suntec Reit Q3 DPU rises 20.8% to S$0.02232
Suntec real estate investment trust’s (Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) rose 20.8 per cent to 2.232 Singapore cents from 1.648 cents to a year ago, its manager said in a business update filed on Friday (Oct 22). Distributable income rose 22 per cent to S$63.7 million from S$52.2 million the previous year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/suntec-reit-q3-dpu-rises-208-to-s002232

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore tax levers to ensure revenue resilience
In his keynote address at the 35th Singapore Economic Roundtable last week, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong elaborated on some of the drivers that will guide Singapore’s fiscal strategy going forward. The main message was that economic, social and ecological expenditure needs will require new initiatives to raise revenues in ways that are both progressive and sustainable.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/tax-levers-to-ensure-revenue-resilience

The greatest transfer of workplace power in our lifetime
Despite all the benefits we have seen in remote work over the past year and a half, many companies are set on either going back to the office full-time or implementing a hybrid work structure. Inertia is a powerful force. For many, it is simpler to go back to the way things were than to face the reality that change is inevitable.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-greatest-transfer-of-workplace-power-in-our-lifetime

Zero carbon, your cup of coffee, and the supply chain challenge
It is a system the ordinary consumer doesn’t think about, yet it is vital in supplying daily necessities from coffee to laptops – that of global value chains (GVCs). Now more people are now awakened to the necessity – and fragility – of this system of production of goods and services across multiple locations worldwide, thanks to the delays, shortages and other shocks arising from the pandemic’s disruptions.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/zero-carbon-your-cup-of-coffee-and-the-supply-chain-challenge

Singapore ahead of global average in survey on awareness of ESG issues
People in Singapore have greater awareness and understanding of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues than their global peers, a survey of over 10,000 participants in 10 countries found.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-ahead-of-global-average-in-survey-on-awareness-of-esg-issues

Freight rates to continue uphill climb into 2022
Freight rates will likely continue their upward trajectory into traditional peak sales periods and even when shipping rates “normalise”, they are unlikely to be at the rates seen in 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/freight-rates-to-continue-uphill-climb-into-2022

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

16 more Covid-19 deaths in Singapore; 3,439 new infections
[Singapore] Sixteen people, aged 61 to 93, have died from complications linked to Covid-19, taking Singapore’s virus death toll to 280. Twelve were men and 4 were women, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Oct 21).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/16-more-covid-19-deaths-in-singapore-3439-new-infections
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/16-more-covid-19-deaths-in-singapore-3439-new-infections

Latest extension of Covid-19 curbs leaves S’pore’s retailers ‘in deep despair, disrepair’
Singapore – The latest month-long extension of Covid-19 restrictions, following round after round of tightened curbs this year, could sound the death knell for many businesses, said retailers and retail associations.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/latest-extension-of-curbs-leaves-spores-retailers-in-deep-despair-disrepair
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-restaurants-react-to-extension-of-covid-19-rules-with-frustration-ask-for-clearer

More Covid-19 patients in Singapore reported to have died in October than 18 months prior
Singapore – More people have been reported to have died from Covid-19 complications in October than in the 18 months prior, an indication of the virulent nature of the Delta strain and its impact on the unvaccinated here.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-covid-19-patients-in-singapore-reported-to-have-died-in-october-than-18-months-prior

Temasek Foundation to offer free mouth gargle for all Singapore households
Singapore – Singapore households can register their interest in collecting a bottle of StayWell mouth gargle from Nov 15, said Temasek Foundation on Thursday (Oct 21). The povidone-iodine (PVP-I) gargle, which kills germs that cause sore throat, will be distributed under the foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative, which aims to reduce the spread of illnesses.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/temasek-foundation-to-offer-free-mouth-gargle-for-all-singapore-households

*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