DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 23rd November 2017

Top Story

Singapore economy beats expectations with with 5.2% growth in Q3, 2017 forecast raised to 3-3.5%
Singapore’s economy performed much better than expected this year due mostly to a strong showing in electronics, prompting the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) to upgrade its 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast on Thursday morning. Full-year GDP growth is now expected to be 3-3.5 per cent. This is up from an earlier estimate of 2-3 per cent, with the final figure expected to come in at the upper end of the range previously.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-economy-beats-expectations-with-with-52-growth-in-q3-2017-forecast
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-economy-grows-52-in-q3-beating-expectations-2017-forecast-raised
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-revises-up-growth-forecast-for-2017-as-q3-gdp-grows-5-9431172
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spore-economy-grows-52-q3-full-year-forecast-raised
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-23/singapore-sees-economy-growing-as-much-as-3-5-in-2017

Developers ‘in two main camps over how much to bid for land’
Are developers too aggressive in bidding up land prices in Singapore? It may well depend on who you ask. A new study on winning bids this year has tossed up a contrarian view on their bidding behaviour, with more than half of the winning bids regarded as “measured”. About 58 per cent of the winning bids suggest that developers were expecting selling prices for new projects to be either around current levels or up to 10 per cent higher, a study by JLL exclusively for The Business Times shows.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-in-two-main-camps-over-how-much-to-bid-for-land

Singapore Economy

Retail therapy at a click? You’ll likely have to pay GST soon
Goods and services tax (GST) could soon be levied on e-commerce purchases, as the government looks to diversify its tax base and capture value from this fast-growing sector, tax specialists have said. This could mean getting big e-commerce players to register for GST here if they sell to Singapore consumers, or getting consumers to pay tax on the goods and services they buy online.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/retail-therapy-at-a-click-youll-likely-have-to-pay-gst-soon
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/experts-expect-gst-to-be-levied-on-online-purchases?login=true
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/e-commerce-could-be-an-area-for-singapore-to-diversify-tax-base-9428296

GST hike could push up cost of living, warn economists
The expected hike in the goods and services tax (GST) could push up the cost of living if steps are not taken to mitigate its impact, which will also depend on the size and timing of the increase, economists say. They added that besides measures to help lower-income households cope, the Government will also have to keep an eye out for companies taking the opportunity to raise prices unreasonably.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/gst-hike-could-push-up-cost-of-living-warn-economists

Singapore’s fiscal challenge
Singapore’s spending needs are growing. But the economy is maturing and growth is slowing, alongside an ageing population and growing infrastructure needs. This means it will become increasingly challenging to keep the country in good fiscal health. How should policymakers ensure government spending remains sustainable in future, without imposing undue tax burdens on Singaporeans?
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/singapores-fiscal-challenge

Trade Association Hub to facilitate closer collaboration of more than 20 trade groups
More than 20 trade associations are set to collaborate more closely in the national push to grow companies and help them venture overseas, with the launch of the new Trade Association Hub in Jurong on Wednesday morning. The refurbished space, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, contains shared facilities that associations can use to reduce operating costs, including meeting and training areas available on a pay-per-use basis.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/trade-association-hub-to-facilitate-closer-collaboration-of-more-than-20-trade
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/trade-associations-come-under-one-roof-at-new-hub
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/trade-association-hub-launched-to-help-boost-growth-of-companies-9428008

Heng in Suzhou, Beijing for talks, event launches
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is in Suzhou to co-chair the 11th Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council (SJCC) meeting with Jiangsu Governor Wu Zhenglong today. Mr Heng’s five-day visit to China will also take him to Beijing. Yesterday, he held a meeting with new Jiangsu party secretary Lou Qinjian, who was appointed to the post last month to take over from Mr Li Qiang. Mr Li became Shanghai party boss following the 19th Party Congress.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/heng-in-suzhou-beijing-for-talks-event-launches

Singapore Real Estate

Kismis View launched for en bloc sale for S$102m
Kismis View, a collective sale site in Lorong Kismis in the Upper Bukit Timah area, has just been launched for sale by tender by JLL, for a minimum price of S$102 million. JLL, the sole marketing agent, said on Wednesday that about 90 per cent of the owners consented to the collective sale. Built in the early 1980s, Kismis View comprises 43 units in two four-storey and seven-storey apartment blocks. It is a 99-year leasehold site with a balance lease term of about 64 years.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/kismis-view-launched-for-en-bloc-sale-for-s102m-0
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/kismis-view-up-for-collective-sale-at-102m
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/kismis-view-in-upper-bukit-timah-up-for-collective-sale-at-s-9428890

Industrial hub with relaxed feel of ex-fishing village
With its open grass fields and wide roads, the area around Tuas West Extension (TWE) might feel foreign to many living in land-scarce Singapore. The area is home mainly to factories and industrial complexes for businesses in logistics, electronics and engineering. Some even say that, with the Tuas Second Link nearby, it is faster to go from there to Malaysia than to Jurong Point shopping mall in Boon Lay.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/industrial-hub-with-relaxed-feel-of-ex-fishing-village

Companies’ Brief

Cromwell Reit re-launches IPO after changes
The manager of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Wednesday lodged its final prospectus, confirming its offer of 428.5 million units to raise gross proceeds of 236 million euros (S$375.3 million). The Singapore public offering opened at 9pm on Nov 22 and will close at noon on Nov 28. The units are expected to start trading on the mainboard on Nov 30. The trust’s portfolio now comprises 74 properties after excluding seven Polish retail assets which did not find favour with the investors.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cromwell-reit-re-launches-ipo-after-changes
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cromwell-reit-relaunches-ipo-after-makeover

AA Reit raises gross S$55m from private placement at S$1.305 per new unit
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit (AA Reit) has raised gross proceeds of about S$55 million through a private placement of 42.145 million new units at S$1.305 apiece. The overnight placement saw strong demand from institutional investors, family offices and high net worth individuals, which allowed AA Reit to exercise the upsize option and raise the offer from S$50 million to S$55 million. The issue price represents a discount of 6.9 per cent to AA Reit’s volume weighted average price of S$1.402 per unit for trades done on the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aa-reit-raises-gross-s55m-from-private-placement-at-s1305-per-new-unit

Chip Eng Seng unit to acquire two properties in South Perth via joint venture
Chip Eng Seng Corporation Ltd has agreed to acquire two adjoining properties in South Perth in Australia through a joint venture, with plans to redevelop them into a mixed-use development. Its newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary CES South Perth (WA) Pty Ltd entered into a share subscription agreement on Wednesday to subscribe for 7.355 million new shares in CES Sirona Lyall (WA) Pty Ltd, the JV company, for A$7.4 million (S$7.6 million). This represents a 70 per cent stake.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-unit-to-acquire-two-properties-in-south-perth-via-joint-venture

M&C opens new M Social hotel in Auckland
Eighteen months after the first M Social hotel was opened in Singapore, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) has opened a second such hotel under this brand, this time in New Zealand. The 190-room hotel, located in Auckland, welcomed its first guests in October and is located near the waterfront and has views of the famous Auckland Harbour. The hotel will mark its official opening in the first quarter of 2018. In a news release issued on Wednesday, M&C said that there are also plans to open more M Social hotels in other overseas markets such as the South Korean capital Seoul and Silicon Valley in California.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mc-opens-new-m-social-hotel-in-auckland

Capital World acquires right to develop Johor township for RM63m
Catalist-listed property developer Capital World is acquiring a joint development right to develop a township in Johor for RM63 million (S$20.6 million). Under the joint development right, Capital World will develop five plots of 99-year leasehold lands (expiring on Jan 18, 2114) with a total area of about 207.5 acres (about 84 hectares), that are owned by Yayasan Pelajaran Johor, an education foundation established by the Johor State Government.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capital-world-acquires-right-to-develop-johor-township-for-rm63m

Views, Reviews & Forum

GST hike is a reasonable price to pay for a stronger fiscal footing
If the Singapore government means to build a more sustainable fiscal base, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike may be hard to avoid in the next few years. Total outflow from Singapore’s national budget has grown at an annual pace of 7.1 per cent over the past five years – driven by needs in health care, transport and non-recurring funding for key initiatives such as the Pioneer Generation Package and the Wage Credit Scheme – while operating revenue grew at just 4.5 per cent per year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/gst-hike-is-a-reasonable-price-to-pay-for-a-stronger-fiscal-footing