DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 24th April 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Pine Grove’s tender ends with no takers
Pine Grove’s S$1.86 billion mega collective sale tender ended on Tuesday with no bidders. It has gone into the 10-week private treaty period, key executive officer of the marketing agent C&H Group Nelson Lim told The Business Times. The private treaty period allows en bloc sites to negotiate with interested developers.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/pine-groves-tender-ends-with-no-takers

Le Arc in another en bloc bid at a lower S$18.5m price
Freehold property Le Arc Apartment off Geylang Road is up for collective sale again, with the owners now expecting a minimum offer of S$18.5 million, marketing agent ERA Realty Network said on Tuesday. The price translates to around S$847 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), or S$792 psf ppr inclusive of the 7 per cent bonus balcony area and estimated development charges of S$150,000.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/le-arc-in-another-en-bloc-bid-at-a-lower-s185m-price

Singapore Economy

Core inflation eases to 1.4% but overall price index rises to 0.6%
Core inflation eased last month after smaller rises in the cost of retail items as well as electricity and gas more than offset higher services and food inflation, according to data released yesterday. Core inflation, which strips out private transport and accommodation costs, eased to 1.4 per cent year on year, just under the 1.5 per cent recorded in February.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/core-inflation-eases-to-14-but-overall-price-index-rises-to-06
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/headline-inflation-edges-up-core-inflation-down-in-march
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/signapore-core-inflation-march-eased-1-4-11470586

1 in 3 bank jobs will merge or change in next few years: IBF, MAS report
Visit a bank now and you will most likely be greeted by a bank teller, customer service officer and a relationship manager. But those roles might soon be taken over by a digital ambassador, who would also be expected to use advanced analytics to predict customers’ needs and provide advisory services to customers beyond the scope of basic transactions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/1-in-3-bank-jobs-will-merge-or-change-in-next-few-years-ibf-mas-report
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/technology-will-impact-most-finance-sector-jobs-report
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/reskilling-bank-workers-for-a-more-tech-driven-empathetic-future-0
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hire-and-fire-strategy-financial-services-sector-will-no-longer-work-mas-chief

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand sells self-storage business StorHub for S$179.5m
CapitaLand has sold a group of companies that own and manage its self-storage business, StorHub, for an aggregate S$179.5 million to an unrelated and undisclosed buyer. Of the total aggregate, S$167.5 million is in outstanding shareholder loans owed by the group of companies to StorHub Group Pte Ltd and has been assigned to the buyer, who will pay in stages. StorHub Group will continue to be wholly owned by CapitaLand post-divestment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-sells-self-storage-business-storhub-for-s1795m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-sells-units-managing-storhub-business-for-1795m

CapitaLand Mall Trust raises Q1 DPU by 3.6% as Westgate boosts revenue
CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) is raising its first-quarter distribution per unit by 3.6 per cent to 2.88 Singapore cents from a year-ago 2.78 Singapore cents as the retail landlord completed its acquisition of Westgate Mall, the trust manager announced on Wednesday before the market opened. Net property income for the three months ended March 31 grew 11.5 per cent to S$140.1 million, while gross revenue rose 10 per cent to S$192.7 million. Distributable income increased by 7.4 per cent to S$106.3 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-mall-trust-raises-q1-dpu-by-36-as-westgate-boosts-revenue
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-mall-trust-raises-q1-dpu-by-36-as-westgate-boosts-revenue

FCT posts 1.2% rise in Q2 DPU on higher occupancy, revenue
Higher portfolio occupancy rate of its properties, increased revenue from Northpoint City and Changi City Point, and lower property expenses delivered a second-quarter boost to retail landlord Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT). Distribution per unit (DPU) for the three months ended March 31 came in at 3.137 Singapore cents, up 1.2 per cent from 3.10 Singapore cents in the year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fct-posts-12-rise-in-q2-dpu-on-higher-occupancy-revenue
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/fct-sees-12-rise-in-q2-dpu-on-higher-occupancy-revenue

Frasers JV puts last retail assets of Sydney project on sale
Frasers Property’s Australia arm and Japanese developer Sekisui House have placed the final three retail assets of their A$2 billion (S$1.93 billion) Central Park development in Sydney on the market, in the hopes of securing more than A$170 million. The joint venture (JV) will divest the remaining three retail assets – Central Park Mall, DUO Retail (eight retail outlets) and Park Lane Retail (six retail outlets)…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/frasers-jv-puts-last-retail-assets-of-sydney-project-on-sale
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-property-partner-to-sell-retail-assets-in-sydney

Mapletree Commercial Trust’s Q4 DPU up 1.8% to 2.31 Singapore cents
Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) posted a higher distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.31 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter ended March 31, up 1.8 per cent from 2.27 cents a year ago. Net property income (NPI) rose 3.9 per cent to S$87.56 million on sustained earnings growth from VivoCity and higher gross revenue and NPI from its office properties. Gross revenue was 3.7 per cent higher at S$112.9 million, and income available for distribution was up 3.1 per cent to S$66.86 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-commercial-trusts-q4-dpu-up-18-to-231-singapore-cents

Keppel Group will ‘hunt as a pack’ for profit pools that might otherwise be hard to tap
Different business verticals of Keppel Corporation will “hunt as a pack” for opportunities to achieve its mid- to long-term return on equity (ROE) target of 15 per cent, unveiled in its first-quarter results release last week, chairman Lee Boon Yang said at the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday. This figure was derived by aggregating different targets for individual verticals…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-group-will-hunt-as-a-pack-for-profit-pools-that-might-otherwise-be-hard-to

Keppel Reit buying 99.38% of freehold Seoul office block for 252.6b won
Keppel Reit is acquiring a 99.38 per cent stake in T Tower, a freehold Grade A office building located in Seoul’s central business district (CBD), for 252.6 billion won (S$301.4 million), its manager Keppel Reit Management said on Tuesday. The remaining stake will be bought by a unit of Keppel Corp’s subsidiary, Keppel Capital Investment Holdings. Keppel Reit’s subsidiary, Keppel Reit (Korea), has entered into…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-reit-buying-9938-of-freehold-seoul-office-block-for-2526b-won
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-reit-to-buy-majority-stake-in-prime-seoul-office-tower-for-301m

SPH, Perennial Real Estate tie up to collaborate on events
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Perennial Real Estate Holdings (Perennial) have entered into a strategic partnership in which the two companies will collaborate on events to drum up revenue. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was inked on Tuesday by SPH’s deputy chief executive officer Anthony Tan and Perennial’s CEO Pua Seck Guan at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-perennial-real-estate-tie-up-to-collaborate-on-events
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sph-perennial-ink-mou-to-hold-joint-events-tap-customer-bases

UIC posts double-digit Q1 net profit growth
Mainboard-listed United Industrial Corp (UIC), flush from consolidating its ownership of Marina Square, turned in double-digit first-quarter earnings growth on Tuesday. Net profit for the three months to March 31 swelled by 35 per cent to S$81.1 million. Revenue was up by 12 per cent at S$185.3 million, on growth in its various property and information technology business segments. Turnover from hotel operations, meanwhile, stayed flat.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uic-posts-double-digit-q1-net-profit-growth

OUE sells its 33% stake in GIC-backed Nuvest Capital to founder for US$1m
Property developer OUE has sold its 33 per cent stake in GIC-backed investment firm Nuvest Capital to the latter’s founder Aje Kumar Saigal for US$1 million. The sale was made through its subsidiary OUE Investments (OUEI), the group said in a regulatory filing on Monday night. As at Dec 31, 2018, the net asset value of Nuvest Capital attributable to the equity stake stood at S$1.37 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-sells-its-33-stake-in-gic-backed-nuvest-capital-to-founder-for-us1m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-sells-its-33-stake-in-gic-backed-nuvest-capital-to-founder-for-us1m

ARA seeks business trust listing on SGX for US$720m hotel portfolio
Real estate investment group ARA Group is spinning off US$719.5 million of US hotels under the Hyatt brand into a business trust that it wants to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). If the listing is successful, it will be the first Mainboard listing for SGX in almost a year, and will be the Singapore bourse’s first hospitality trust focused purely on the United States market.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ara-seeks-business-trust-listing-on-sgx-for-us720m-hotel-portfolio
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/pure-play-us-hospitality-trust-seeks-listing-on-sgx-mainboard
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ara-seeks-listing-on-sgx-for-us720m-hyatt-hotels-portfolio

ESR Reit Q1 DPU jumps 18.9% to 1.007 S cents post-Viva Trust merger
Industrial landlord ESR Reit saw an 18.9 per jump in distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.007 Singapore cents for its first quarter from 0.847 cent a year ago, on the back of contributions from Viva Industrial Trust’s properties post-merger. Net property income (NPI) for the three months to end-March surged 104.2 per cent to S$48.6 million from S$23.8 million a year ago, after the acquisition of 15 Greenwich Drive and the nine properties from Viva Trust’s portfolio following…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-q1-dpu-jumps-189-to-1007-s-cents-post-viva-trust-merger
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/esr-reit-q1-dpu-jumps-189-to-1007-cents-post-viva-trust-merger

AA Reit Q4 DPU up 4.6% to 2.75 S cents
Aims Apac Reit (AA Reit) posted a higher distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.75 Singapore cents for its fourth quarter ending March 31, up 4.6 per cent from the year-ago period. AA Reit units closed unchanged at S$1.40 on Tuesday. Net property income (NPI) rose 15 per cent year on year to S$20.3 million while revenue increased 6.7 per cent to S$29.9 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aa-reit-q4-dpu-up-46-to-275-s-cents

Aspen’s Penang residential project 90% booked in first weekend
Malaysia developer Aspen (Group) Holdings on Tuesday announced that its latest residential project in Batu Kawan, Penang is 90 per cent booked after a unit selection event on Apr 20 and 21. The project, Vivo Executive Apartment, has 1,530 units in total, and more than 1,300 units were booked during the event. The group expects the remaining units to be booked within two weeks, as there are more than 300 registrants on the waiting list to select a unit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aspens-penang-residential-project-90-booked-in-first-weekend

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Genting has a tough act to follow in IR 2.0
Grow bigger and you won’t have to face new competitors until 2030 at the earliest. That sums up the challenge put before the casino duopoly by Singapore’s planners. So Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) have each agreed to invest S$4.5 billion more in their integrated resorts (IRs) here over the next five years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/genting-has-a-tough-act-to-follow-in-ir-20