DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 21, 22 & 23 August 2021 (Sat, Sun & Mon)

Singapore Real Estate

Property prices, delays on the rise amid construction headwinds
Construction industry veteran Ong Pang Aik cannot remember a time when the sector faced as many headwinds as it does now. Soaring material costs, severe staff shortages and rocketing wage bills are putting the industry under unprecedented pressure.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/property-prices-delays-on-the-rise-amid-construction-headwinds

Shophouse sales hit $1b, surpassing 2019 and 2020 levels
Shophouse transactions are hitting new highs, fuelled by the limited stock of conservation properties, low interest rates and strong demand from local and foreign investors. Investors, including family offices, high net-worth individuals and boutique real estate funds, are drawn to commercial shophouses, as they offer capital preservation during economic uncertainty due to their strong heritage value and limited supply.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/shophouse-sales-hit-1b-surpassing-2019-and-2020-levels

Ponder housing affordability, land cost issues in future S’pore plans
Singapore – Last month, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, which builds this city, embarked on a year-long public consultation on how Singapore’s built environment should evolve to take into account new normals.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/ponder-housing-affordability-land-cost-issues-in-future-spore-plans

Concrete block falls off industrial building roof
JTC Corporation has cordoned off the area around an industrial building at 3013 Bedok Industrial Park E after part of the decorative features on a concrete roof came crashing to the ground.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/concrete-block-falls-off-industrial-building-roof

Singapore Economy

Singapore sought to retain its connectivity amid crisis
Even as its borders remained closed to most of the world, Singapore did whatever it could to revive travel and maintain its hub status over the past 18 months.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-sought-to-retain-its-connectivity-amid-crisis
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-committed-to-global-connections-says-ong-ye-kung-0

S’pore committed to staying open to world: Ong Ye Kung
Singapore continues to value foreign contributions and will not change its approach to running the economy, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said yesterday. This means it still welcomes, facilitates and protects foreign investments. It will also continue to complement its local workforce with foreign talent, and work to fortify and expand its network of free trade agreements, he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-committed-to-staying-open-to-world-ong-ye-kung
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/no-change-in-singapores-approach-says-ong-ye-kung

S’pore’s reopening balances business, health needs: Wong
Singapore’s reopening is aimed at maintaining its status as a business hub and staying connected to the world, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday. And with an underlying philosophy that values stability and security, the Republic has taken a more cautious approach thus far, he said in an interview with BBC.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/spores-reopening-balances-business-health-needs-wong
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pm-lees-national-day-rally-to-address-uplifting-peoples-income-fair-hiring-says

Business leaders, economists applaud easing of border controls
Singapore’s easing of travel restrictions received a thumbs-up from business leaders and economists, and raised hopes that the move will help companies here and the broader economy’s growth outlook.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/business-leaders-economists-applaud-easing-of-border-controls

Companies’ Brief

Hiap Hoe shares rise 3%; firm owns units at Orchard Towers
Shares of Hiap Hoe rose sharply in early morning trade on Friday, after the company revealed in a regulatory filing after the market closed on Thursday that it owns 59 strata lots in Orchard Towers via its subsidiary, Golden Bay Realty.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hiap-hoe-shares-rise-3-firm-owns-units-at-orchard-towers

Sabana Reit’s dogged dissident unitholders are not the only ones in need of a new approach
Quarz Capital Management said in a letter to The Business Times last week that it disagreed with views I recently expressed about its adversarial approach to engaging the manager of Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reits-dogged-dissident-unitholders-are-not-the-only-ones-in-need-of-a-new

S-Reits’ H1 average change in DPU up 36%
As the earnings season conclude, Reits and property trusts listed in Singapore have announced financial results or published business updates for the period ended June 30, 2021. Of the S-Reits which declared distributions for the first half of calendar year 2021…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-h1-average-change-in-dpu-up-36

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1433

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore realities in the era of Covid-19
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Singapore remains committed to staying open to global connections. It is a matter of survival, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in a speech to members of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore yesterday. This is the edited text of his speech.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/singapore-realities-in-the-era-of-covid-19

Why Covid-19 regulations may be around longer than you think
Travel these days requires an awful lot of paperwork. On a recent trip to Italy, I needed to produce proof of vaccination, proof of three different negative lateral flow tests, proof of the booking of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, a passenger locator form for the European Union (EU) and a passenger locator form for Britain.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/why-covid-19-regulations-may-be-around-longer-than-you-think

A new normal taking off for travel
The announcement that fully vaccinated Singapore residents can travel to Germany and back without having to serve a stay-home notice from Sept 8 will be welcome news to many here who have been travel-starved.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/a-new-normal-taking-off-for-travel

Singapore, China to explore digital trade, green economy tie-ups
Trade ministers from Singapore and China have agreed to further explore opportunities in digital trade and the green economy after a virtual meeting yesterday, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Enhancing bilateral economic relations was a key focus at the 6th Investment Promotion Committee (IPC) Meeting, co-chaired by Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, MTI said in a press release.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-china-to-explore-digital-trade-green-economy-tie-ups
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-china-to-further-discuss-cooperation-in-digital-trade-green-economy

Feeling the heat in the Lion City
Humans are causing the climate to change – and the pace of this change has never before been this rapid. In a major report released earlier this month, the United Nations climate science body sounded the alarm bells for humanity, warning that unless immediate, rapid and large-scale actions are taken to reduce the release of planet-warming gases into the atmosphere, the world faces a dire future.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/feeling-the-heat-in-the-lion-city

Ready, get set, make your own vaccine
The race to develop home-grown Covid-19 vaccines is on, spurred by supply shortages worldwide. The Straits Times sizes up some of Asia’s leading vaccine candidates that are undergoing clinical trials.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/ready-get-set-make-your-own-vaccine

Tech industry will still grow post-pandemic
(Nytimes) – In April last year, Mr Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive and the world’s richest man, announced he was focusing on people rather than profits. Amazon would spend about US$4 billion (S$5.5 billion) in the next few months “providing for customers and protecting employees”, he said, wiping out the profit the retailer would have made without the coronavirus.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/tech-industry-will-still-grow-post-pandemic

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Serious Covid-19 cases dip to 3-week low
The number of serious Covid-19 cases in Singapore has edged downwards to the lowest in more than three weeks. There are currently 22 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen support and seven in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its nightly update yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/serious-covid-19-cases-dip-to-3-week-low

Unvaccinated woman, 91, and partially vaccinated man, 87, die of Covid-19
A 91-year-old woman who was unvaccinated and an 87-year-old man who was partially vaccinated died of Covid-19 complications at the weekend, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday. They are the 11th and 12th people to have died of Covid-19 complications this month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/unvaccinated-woman-91-and-partially-vaccinated-man-87-die-of-covid-19

New cluster in Hougang may be linked to past cases
The cluster of Covid-19 cases in Hougang Avenue 8 could possibly be linked to previous infections in the area, but experts say cryptic cases that contribute to such scenarios are to be expected. Cryptic cases refer to those patients who have gone undetected so far, and are also unaware they are infected.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/new-cluster-in-hougang-may-be-linked-to-past-cases

Businesses in the area take a hit
Businesses in Hougang Avenue 8 have taken a hit after a cluster of Covid-19 cases was discovered at the Giant supermarket at Block 683, with seven cases announced on Thursday. It is just across the road from where a cluster was found in June at Block 506.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/businesses-in-the-area-take-a-hit

Delta strain behind the rising death toll from Covid-19
Twelve people in Singapore have died of Covid-19 this month, even as more than three in four people here have been fully vaccinated. The latest deaths, of an unvaccinated 91-year-old woman and a 87-year-old man who was partially vaccinated, were reported by the Ministry of Health yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/delta-strain-behind-the-rising-death-toll-from-covid-19

Singapore’s travel lane to Germany: Should you use it?
Singapore’s plan to pilot leisure travel for those vaccinated against Covid-19 – starting with Germany – has given cheer to travel-starved residents who have been kept at home by the coronavirus pandemic for over a year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/singapores-travel-lane-to-germany-should-you-use-it

*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