DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 23rd May 2018

Singapore Economy

Most earnings meet forecasts, but ratio for those off-mark worsens
Core profit appears to be growing at a steady clip in corporate Singapore – with most companies meeting expectations, but the latest March quarter results also show more earnings misses than earnings beats. A Citi Research tally of stocks it covers showed misses outnumbered beats two to one in the March-quarter; a deterioration from the December quarter’s three to two ratio.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/most-earnings-meet-forecasts-but-ratio-for-those-off-mark-worsens

Global economic recovery drives record public asset growth
Pension fund, central bank and sovereign fund assets grew by US$2.5 trillion on the back of a strengthening global economy in 2017, according to an annual publication released on Wednesday by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). The 7.3 per cent increase is the largest since the London and Singapore-based think-tank started tracking such data, eclipsing 2016’s 1.1 per cent growth.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/global-economic-recovery-drives-record-public-asset-growth

Singapore CEOs optimistic about growth; cyberthreats cited as top risk: KPMG poll
Chief executives in Singapore and around the globe are bullish about the global economy over the next three years though challenges abound, a new survey by KPMG has found. When it comes to digital transformation, many still struggle with competing demands, while cyberthreat was cited as the top risk many business leaders are worried about, no matter how well prepared they might be.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-ceos-optimistic-about-growth-cyberthreats-cited-as-top-risk-kpmg-poll
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-ceos-upbeat-on-growth-cite-cyberthreats-as-top-risk-kpmg-poll

Singapore Real Estate

Macly Group purchases 5 terrace houses in Guillemard area
Macly Group is buying five terrace houses in the Guillemard Road/ Lorong 28 Geylang locale for nearly S$20.55 million. The five properties – comprising 331, 333, 335 and 339 Guillemard Road and 56 Lorong 28 Geylang – are on total freehold land area of 12,839 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/macly-group-purchases-5-terrace-houses-in-guillemard-area

Small firms to get a shot at working on bigger projects
Smaller consultancy firms in the construction sector may soon find it easier to bid for larger projects. A collaborative bidding system is set to be introduced by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in the fourth quarter of the year, a move that was among a slew of announcements made by Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF) and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/small-firms-to-get-a-shot-at-working-on-bigger-projects

HDB puts on sale 3,970 BTO flats in Sengkang, Yishun, Toa Payoh and Tampines
The Housing Board (HDB) launched 3,970 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats across four projects in Sengkang, Yishun, Toa Payoh and Tampines on Tuesday, in the second such exercise this year. Prices without grants range from S$76,000 for a two-room Flexi flat in non-mature estate Yishun, to more than S$422,000 for a five-room flat in mature estate Tampines.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-puts-on-sale-3970-bto-flats-in-sengkang-yishun-toa-payoh-and-tampines
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/3970-bto-flats-launched-in-four-locations
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-new-flats-bto-sengkang-yishun-toa-payoh-tampines-10256414
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/6992-flats-released-sale-under-mays-hdb-exercise

Decathlon to open fourth and biggest store here in January
Riding on a tie-up with national sports agency Sport Singapore (SportSG), French sporting goods retailer Decathlon is set to open its fourth and biggest store here. The outlet in Stadium Boulevard in Kallang will be about 5,000 sq m and is expected to open in January next year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/decathlon-to-open-fourth-and-biggest-store-here-in-january
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/decathlon-open-biggest-store-kallang-next-year-10259224

Govt will adjust pace of public-sector projects to facilitate transformation
The Singapore government will continue to monitor the construction industry and will adjust the pace of public-sector projects to facilitate the transformation process. “We have also reviewed our tender evaluation frameworks to place a greater weightage on quality,” said Singapore’s Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/govt-will-adjust-pace-of-public-sector-projects-to-facilitate-transformation
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/adjusting-pace-of-public-projects-as-building-sector-transforms

New rules making it easier for young couples to get flats kick in
Singapore — Young couples who are full-time students or national servicemen (NSFs) can apply for a new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat under the May Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, which opened on Tuesday (May 22). The latest HDB exercise with 6,992 flats — comprising 3,970 Build-To-Order (BTO) units and 3,022 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) units — is the first one which will allow eligible young couples to defer their income assessment to just before key collection, the HDB said in a media release.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/deferment-income-assessment-revised-proximity-conditions-take-effect-may-hdb-exercise

Companies’ Brief

Hatten Land in JV to launch new platform
Catalist-listed property developer Hatten Land and proptech startup FundPlaces will form an 85:15 joint venture to operate what is supposedly South-east Asia’s first hospitality blockchain platform for hotels and malls. Called StayCay, it will allow the Malaysia-headquartered company to issue “hotel tokens” that can be exchanged for discounted hotel packages in the hotels managed by Hatten Land as well as major shareholder Hatten Group conglomerate.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hatten-land-in-jv-to-launch-new-platform
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/hatten-land-in-blockchain-venture-for-malls-and-hotels

Buxani Group buys 117-room hotel in Glasgow
Singapore-based property investment firm Buxani Group has bought its first property in the United Kingdom, a 117-room hotel in Glasgow, for £10 million (S$18 million). While this is a modest investment, it is likely to be the first of more to come for the group in the UK as well as other parts of Europe.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/buxani-group-buys-117-room-hotel-in-glasgow

GIC in joint venture to acquire office portfolio in California’s ‘Silicon Beach’
GIC and a group of investors have formed a joint venture led by Rockwood Capital to acquire a portfolio of Class A office assets in Playa Vista, California, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund announced on Tuesday. The portfolio assets are Water’s Edge, a 259,000 sq ft, two-building creative office campus and Playa Jefferson, a 251,000 sq ft, five-building multi-tenant complex.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gic-in-joint-venture-to-acquire-office-portfolio-in-californias-silicon-
beach
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/gic-in-joint-venture-to-acquire-assets-in-california-tech-hub
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/gic-enters-joint-venture-to-acquire-and-develop-office-portfolio-10257008

Global Yellow Pages units enter into New Zealand land acquisition, property sales
Global Yellow Pages (GYP) announced on Tuesday that wholly-owned subsidiary GYP Properties has entered into a conditional agreement for the sale and purchase of a freehold, 1.9905 hectare plot of land for NZ$6 million (S$5.57 million) in cash from vendor The Lakes International Golf Course in Pauanui, New Zealand. GYP intends to build holiday accommodation on the land.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/global-yellow-pages-units-enter-into-new-zealand-land-acquisition-property-sales

Raffles Education partners CFLD International to set up educational hubs in S-E Asia
Mainboard-listed Raffles Education Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with CFLD International – part of China Fortune Land Development – to develop educational hubs across South-east Asia. The first hub will be built in CFLD International’s Tangerang New City in Indonesia. It will feature a Raffles-owned college and pre-school, and third-party providers will offer enrichment classes like music, dance, arts and drama, and tuition centres.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/raffles-education-partners-cfld-international-to-set-up-educational-hubs-in-s-e

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Is O&M still relevant to Keppel Corp’s new vision?
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!” so says the oldest rule in the financial book. But if the experiences of Singapore’s two largest offshore and marine (O&M)-related counters are anything to go by, this can be easier said than done in the corporate world.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/is-om-still-relevant-to-keppel-corps-new-vision

Airport infrastructure is the vital link in helping Asean nations fly high
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winner in economics, has a theory that the drivers of economic growth in the 21st century will be the dual forces of digital technology and urbanisation. Today, I would like to discuss infrastructure development, and more particularly, airport infrastructure as the critical component to propel economic growth in the Asean region. First, let me give you a snapshot of the economic potential of Asean.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/airport-infrastructure-is-the-vital-link-in-helping-asean-nations-fly-high

Age of AI: Why it’s urgent to regulate a revolution
A lot has been written about the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution and what it means to live in a world increasingly run on artificial intelligence (AI), one where the digital and the physical merge. Most policymakers agree on the benefits, from fuelling economic growth to better health services and safer transportation, as well as the challenges it poses, for example, in terms of employment, privacy and security.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/age-of-ai-why-its-urgent-to-regulate-a-revolution