DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22, 23 & 24 Feb (Sat, Sun & Mon)

Singapore Real Estate

Buyers snap up 25 units of Luxus Hills landed development
Property developer Bukit Sembawang Estates sold 25 of its 39 remaining units in its landed development Luxus Hills (Contemporary Collection) at an average selling price of S$2,060 per square foot (psf). Amid the Covid-19 virus outbreak…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/buyers-snap-up-25-units-of-luxus-hills-landed-development

Singapore is Reit hub with most foreign IPOs
Singapore may be tiny by geographical size, but its sway in the property management industry is anything but small. Since the city-state saw the first sale of a real estate investment trust in 2002, the Republic has transformed itself into a global listing centre of such firms.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-is-reit-hub-with-most-foreign-ipos
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapores-reit-hub-dream-grows-big-with-most-foreign-ipos

More singles securing HDB flats after 2013 rule change
More two-room build-to-order (BTO) flats will be offered in the non-mature towns of Choa Chu Kang, Tengah and Woodlands. This comes as 15,700 singles secured homes following a rule change in 2013 which allowed singles aged 35 and above to buy new flats as first-time applicants. Of the lot, about 7,700 have collected the keys to their new homes.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/more-singles-securing-hdb-flats-after-2013-rule-change

Singapore Economy

Slow recovery for Singapore companies with China operations amid outbreak
While production has resumed for the manufacturing sector in China, analysts are expecting slow recovery for Singapore-listed companies with facilities there. In order to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, Chinese authorities had extended the week-long Chinese New Year holidays…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/slow-recovery-for-singapore-companies-with-china-operations-amid-outbreak

Singapore a big draw for data centres
Singapore might be a small city-state with limited land area, but it is a global titan when it comes to being a market for data centres. It is ranked sixth in the world in attracting data centres to set up shop, owing to its stability, security and advanced technology offerings.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-a-big-draw-for-data-centres-study

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand to release 1-month security deposits for mall tenants as part of virus relief package
To ease cash flows for all its mall tenants amid the virus outbreak, CapitaLand on Monday said it will release one month’s worth of security deposits to offset their rental payments for the month of March 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-to-release-1-month-security-deposits-for-mall-tenants-as-part-of-virus
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/coronavirus-capitaland-to-offset-march-rents-for-mall-tenants-with-1

UOL to pass property tax rebate savings on to tenants at its three malls
Property developer UOL Group said on Friday that it is passing “all the savings from the property tax rebate” announced in Budget 2020 on to retail tenants at its three shopping malls – United Square, Velocity@Novena Square and Kinex.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/uol-to-pass-property-tax-rebate-savings-on-to-tenants-at-its-three-malls

Wing Tai Asia sells 70% of new condo The M over weekend
Wing Tai Asia sold 70 per cent or over 360 units of its latest condominium project The M over the weekend, even amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. Units were sold at an average price of S$2,450 per square foot. The M is the first major private residential development opened for public preview since the virus outbreak started in earnest in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wing-tai-asia-sells-70-of-new-condo-the-m-over-weekend
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/wing-tai-sells-70-of-the-m-condo-over-launch-weekend

Hong Leong Asia given more time to release results on Covid-19 fallout
Hong Leong Asia has been granted a time extension by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to release its FY2019 results by March 31 amid the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak. The group sought a waiver as it has major operations in China, with more than 80 per cent of its revenue contribution coming from its business units there.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hong-leong-asia-given-more-time-to-release-results-on-covid-19-fallout

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Silver bullets from the Budget
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
It is too early to tell whether the Budget measures will be adequate to cushion businesses against an expected economic slowdown as the Covid-19 is still unfolding with its duration, severity, and global economic impact still unclear.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/silver-bullets-from-the-budget

Singapore Budget 2020

Budget measures will help businesses amid coronavirus outbreak, but more may be needed
The coronavirus outbreak has hit businesses hard, with many firms expecting revenue to drop by as much as 50 per cent. While the Budget has proposed measures to help front-line sectors like tourism tide over this challenging period, a broader range of firms, including those in manufacturing, also need help, say experts.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/measures-will-help-but-more-may-be-needed

UPDATE ON COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019) SITUATION

Covid-19: Do not force staff to take leave, MOM warns employers
Employers who force their staff to take leave for the mandatory 14-day stay-home notice or leave of absence (LOA) could have their work-pass privileges suspended, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday. They may be similarly penalised if they ask workers who did not go to mainland China – and thus do not need to serve the 14-day periods – to take no-pay leave, it added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/covid-19-do-not-force-staff-to-take-leave-mom-warns-employers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/mom-do-not-force-staff-to-take-leave-for-stay-home-notice-or-loa

Covid-19: Important that retail investors do not panic
The Covid-19 virus outbreak has complicated an investment scenario that was already difficult to read. On the one hand, there was some cause for optimism after the US and China signed a Phase One trade deal in mid-January, even though many observers very quickly came to the conclusion that the agreement is more of a truce with temporary suspensions of bilateral tariffs than a lasting, meaningful pact.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/covid-19-important-that-retail-investors-do-not-panic

*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