DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 23rd January 2018

Top Story

Oxley, China developer lead Singapore land bank race – for now
Singapore-listed developer Oxley Holdings is enjoying a sweet homecoming after a flurry of overseas ventures – it now holds the largest residential land bank in the Republic by the number of dwelling units. Estimates by The Business Times show that close to 4,000 units could be generated from Oxley’s land bank, of which over 2,300 homes are based on its equity stakes in the sites acquired.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/oxley-china-developer-lead-singapore-land-bank-race-for-now

Singapore Economy

Foreign workforce: take into account economic cycles
Singapore’s shrinking resident population has many serious consequences, and it must allow a certain rate of net immigration to augment its resident population, Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday. And while the share of foreign workforce cannot be increased indefinitely, there should be flexibility in allowing fluctuations in the ratio according to economic cycles, circumstances, and opportunities, he said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/foreign-workforce-take-into-account-economic-cycles-0
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spore-needs-rethink-foreign-manpower-issue-mas-chief

Singapore firms still slow to adopt sustainability practices: survey
Singapore mid-market enterprises (MMEs) – defined as companies with turnover of US$50 million to US$500 million – lag their global peers in their adoption of sustainable business policies and practices, findings in a HSBC report released on Monday show. According to the report, almost half (47 per cent) of Singapore MME respondents recognise that their customers demand more environmentally sustainable and ethical products.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-firms-still-slow-to-adopt-sustainability-practices-survey
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-firms-fall-behind-in-sustainability-journey

Willingness to pay taxes key to dynamic and inclusive economy: MAS chief Ravi Menon
The key to sustaining a dynamic economy in the face of an ageing population is inclusivity – and this means having a society that is willing to pay the taxes needed to support those left behind by globalisation and technological advancements, said Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon. “Being inclusive… is the morally correct position to take,” he said on Monday (Jan 22) at the Singapore Perspectives 2018 conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/willingness-to-pay-taxes-key-to-dynamic-and-inclusive-economy-ravi-menon

Singapore and France to deepen tie-ups in fintech and smart cities
Singapore and France have much common ground as they deepen their collaboration in innovation this year in areas such as financial technology (fintech) and smart cities, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran said on Monday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-and-france-to-deepen-tie-ups-in-fintech-and-smart-cities
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/france-spore-have-much-to-share-iswaran

China tourists top traveller list for Singapore
Accompanied by her parents and two young sons, Beijing resident Amber Wen flew into Singapore for a two-week vacation earlier this month, undeterred by the incessant rain from the north-east monsoon. Sentosa, Marina Bay and the Science Centre were among the attractions on the must-see list of the 34-year-old psychologist, who first came to Singapore in 2013.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/china-tourists-top-traveller-list-for-spore

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore office rents expected to lead increases among Asian cities
Singapore office rents are set to post the biggest gains among Asian cities as an increase in demand runs into moderating supply, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Office rents in all major Asian cities, with the exception of Tokyo, are set to rise over the next two years, according to forecasts from Cushman. Singapore will lead the pack, with rents forecast to surge 25 per cent, more than double the 12 per cent growth forecast in Hong Kong’s central business district.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-office-rents-expected-to-lead-increases-among-asian-cities
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-office-rents-seen-rising-twice-as-fast-as-hong-kong

Two more collective sale tenders launched
The public tenders for two collective sale sites were launched on Monday, reflecting continued interest among property owners to jump onto the bandwagon. Eunos Mansion, a freehold residential site located along Bedok Reservoir Road and Jalan Eunos, has been put up for collective sale with a reserve price of S$218 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-more-collective-sale-tenders-launched
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/two-freehold-sites-selling-en-bloc

Companies’ Brief

FCOT Q1 DPU down 4.4% on lower occupancies
Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has posted a first-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.40 Singapore cents, down 4.4 per cent from 2.51 Singapore cents in the same period a year earlier as property income fell while the number of issued units had increased. The topline took a hit from lower occupancy rates at Alexandra Technopark, China Square Central, 55 Market Street and Perth’s Central Park.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fcot-q1-dpu-down-44-on-lower-occupancies

Data centre acquisitions lift Keppel DC Reit’s DPU
Unit holders can cheer a slew of fresh data centre acquisitions, which helped to lift Keppel DC Reit’s distributable income in 2017. Fourth-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) rose to 1.75 Singapore cents for the three months to Dec 31, 2017, the manager said on Monday. Up from 1.31 Singapore cents in the same period the year before, the higher DPU came on the back of a 37.1 per cent rise in distributable income, to S$20.25 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/data-centre-acquisitions-lift-keppel-dc-reits-dpu
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/data-centre-acquisitions-increase-keppel-dc-reits-dpu

KIT’s Q4 DPU flat at 0.93 Singapore cent
Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) on Monday reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.93 Singapore cent for the fourth quarter, unchanged from the year-ago period. Profit attributable to unitholders rose by 25.4 per cent to S$9.6 million for the quarter, due mainly to higher contributions from City Gas, a producer and retailer of piped town gas, and a portfolio company of KIT.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/kits-q4-dpu-flat-at-093-singapore-cent
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/keppel-infrastructure-trusts-q4-dpu-flat

Stable portfolio, new buys boost MLT’s Q3
Stable performance and new acquisitions gave a lift to results for industrial landlord Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) in its third quarter. Distribution per unit crept up to 1.907 Singapore cents from 1.87 Singapore cents in the year-ago period despite an enlarged unit base, the group said on Monday evening.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/stable-portfolio-new-buys-boost-mlts-q3
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/stable-portfolio-new-buys-boost-mlts-q3-results

Singapore startup 99.co buys Indonesia’s property portal
Singapore property search startup 99.co has acquired Indonesia’s UrbanIndo, said to be the largest property portal in Indonesia with over 1.2 million active listings. The buyout – the sum of which was undisclosed – is part of 99.co’s goal to build a “great real estate technology company in South-east Asia” over the next 10 years, its chief Darius Cheung told The Business Times on Monday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-startup-99co-buys-indonesias-property-portal

Lum Chang wins S$136.9m construction contract from PSA
Lum Chang unit Lum Chang Building Contractors has won a tender for the construction of PSA Singapore’s corporate headquarters. The contract, valued at S$136.9 million, will involve building a new 20-storey Class A office tower and an adjacent four-storey block with recreational amenities, as well as addition and alteration works at the existing Pasir Panjang Terminal Building 3.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lum-chang-wins-s1369m-construction-contract-from-psa

Views, Reviews & Forum

Do taxes really need to go up?
Higher taxes have become the talk of the town in the run-up to Budget 2018. A tax increase has been touted by experts as the most logical and sustainable response to Singapore’s growing spending needs. But do taxes really need to go up? What other options are available in the face of mounting expenditures on healthcare, infrastructure, education and social needs?
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-budget-2018/do-taxes-really-need-to-go-up

Developments to aspire to
A new district in the north is also the testbed for a more flexible form of land planning, which could change the way future developments are shaped. The Punggol Digital District is primed to be a mini Silicon Valley here, generating up to 28,000 jobs in the digital economy and cyber-security sectors. The area is also the first “enterprise district” here, helmed by a single developer who gets a freer hand in land zoning.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/developments-to-aspire-to

Disruption as opportunity in small economies
The pace of technological change, from automation to artificial intelligence, is relentless. And global technology companies from Amazon and Google to Alibaba and Tencent have been growing at tremendous rates, seemingly developing positions of unrivalled competitive advantage.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/disruption-as-opportunity-in-small-economies