DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 24th August 2018

Singapore Economy

Core inflation hits highest level in nearly four years
Core inflation rose to 1.9 per cent in July – its highest level in nearly four years – according to figures released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) yesterday. This was due to a steeper rise in electricity and gas prices. But it did not change consumer price index (CPI) inflation for all items – which remained at 0.6 per cent year on year – as the increase was offset by a dip in private road transport costs and lower services inflation, MAS and MTI said in a statement.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/core-inflation-hits-highest-level-in-nearly-four-years
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/core-inflation-reaches-four-year-high-headline-inflation-steady
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-inflation-july-consumer-price-index-highest-4-years-10643866

Vast potential for Singapore and Chongqing tech firms to cooperate: ESM Goh
There is vast potential for tech companies from Singapore and the Chinese city of Chongqing to cooperate, as they can leverage each other’s strengths and open up new opportunities, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Thursday. This cooperation will also yield dividends on the bilateral account, as greater information and communications technology (ICT) connectivity will boost physical and digital trade between Singapore and China, he said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/vast-potential-for-singapore-and-chongqing-tech-firms-to-cooperate-esm-goh
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/singapore-china-tech-firms-urged-to-cooperate-more

Singapore continues to rank highly in liveability polls
When housewife Belinda Carlson moved to Singapore four years ago with her accountant husband and two children aged five and seven, she could not believe how well the city was planned. “Back home in Perth, we had to drive just to get to the train station to take the train into the city,” said the 37-year-old.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-continues-to-rank-highly-in-liveability-polls

Khaw Boon Wan discusses transport projects with KL ministers
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday met Malaysia’s Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali in Putrajaya to discuss the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project. A Ministry of Transport (MOT) spokesman said the ministers met to “continue the discussion they had on Aug 11 on the HSR”.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/khaw-discusses-transport-projects-with-kl-ministers
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-malaysia-rts-link-project-khaw-boon-wan-anthony-loke-10644050

Singapore Real Estate

Singaporeans spent US$4.6b in cross-border real estate transactions
Singaporean investors have spent in total US$4.6 billion on cross-border real estate transactions in the 12 months through the second quarter of 2018, according to a report released by Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The real estate and market intelligence provider ranked Singaporean investors as the second-most active in the Asia-Pacific during the reported period. It noted that Singaporean investors have chiefly concentrated on Chinese and Australian real estate.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singaporeans-spent-us46b-in-cross-border-real-estate-transactions
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-investors-spent-63b-in-year-to-june-on-overseas-real-estate-report

Belmont Rd GCB fetches S$33.8m or S$2,243 psf
A newly completed bungalow in Belmont Road developed by Melvin Poh and Victor Soh is being sold for S$33.8 million, or S$2,243 per square foot on the freehold land area of 15,069.46 sq ft. The property is in the Belmont Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/belmont-rd-gcb-fetches-s338m-or-s2243-psf

Companies’ Brief

Forward earnings estimates pared as Q2 figures underwhelm
Singapore’s listed companies generally performed in line with expectations in the second quarter of 2018, although analysts see the “unimpressive” earnings season as a precursor to more volatility ahead as weaker economic growth and an unfolding trade war cast a shadow over markets. Based on a compilation by The Business Times as at Aug 15, some 422 listed companies on the local bourse reported combined earnings of S$21.1 billion in the second quarter, down 8.8 per cent from a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/forward-earnings-estimates-pared-as-q2-figures-underwhelm

Ho Bee Land to buy London property with HSBC green loan
Property investment and development firm Ho Bee Land has secured its first green loan, which will go towards acquiring a commercial development in London. The £200 million (S$352.9 million) bridged facility provided by HSBC is also one of Singapore’s first green loans.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ho-bee-land-to-buy-london-property-with-hsbc-green-loan
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ho-bee-land-secures-its-first-green-loan-of-3529m

Lian Beng unit bags S$278.5m deal for construction in Silat Avenue
Construction firm Lian Beng Group on Thursday said that its subsidiary, United Tec Construction, has clinched a S$278.5 million contract for the development of residential flats in Silat Avenue. The contract was awarded by United Venture Development (Silat), and comprises the development of two blocks of 56-storey apartments (totalling 955 units) with landscaping, multi-storey and basement carparks, as well as communal facilities, Lian Beng said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lian-beng-unit-bags-s2785m-deal-for-construction-in-silat-avenue

Khazanah not currently in talks to sell stake in joint ventures with Temasek
Talk of Khazanah Nasional Bhd seeking to sell its stake in M+S Pte Ltd resurfaced this week – this time in a report by a Malaysian newspaper. M+S – a 60:40 joint-venture company with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings – is the developer of two iconic mixed-development projects in the city state, the Duo in the Ophir-Rochor area and and Marina One in Marina Bay that are worth a combined S$11 billion in gross development value.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/khazanah-not-currently-in-talks-to-sell-stake-in-joint-ventures-with-temasek
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/khazanah-in-talks-to-sell-property-stakes-to-temasek

ESR-Reit: Warburg’s platform for S-E Asian logistics assets
ESR-Reit could become a platform into which private equity firm Warburg Pincus would inject South-east Asian industrial assets. The Reit’s sponsor, ESR, an aggressively expanding logistics property developer and operator, is eyeing the region as its next target to expand into.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-warburgs-platform-for-s-e-asian-logistics-assets

Lion Asiapac Q4 profit plunges 99% in absence of disposal gain
Lion Asiapac reported a 99 per cent fall in fourth-quarter net profit to S$85,000, down from S$15.67 million for the year-ago period, mainly due to the absence of a gain from the disposal of a subsidiary in Yangzhou. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2018, was 0.1 Singapore cent, down from 19.32 Singapore cents for Q4 FY17.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lion-asiapac-q4-profit-plunges-99-in-absence-of-disposal-gain
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lion-asiapac-q4-profit-plunges-99-in-absence-of-disposal-gain

Parkson Retail Asia narrows losses in Q4FY18
Parkson Retail Asia expects its performance to improve in the coming financial year as it works on boosting topline growth and pulled out of underperforming stores and ventures in FY18. The department store operator’s net loss for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2018 narrowed from S$41.71 million to S$18.58 million due to lower expenses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/parkson-retail-asia-narrows-losses-in-q4fy18
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/parkson-retail-asia-narrows-loss-in-q4

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Three secret sauces to designing green cities
The recent global heat wave that has claimed hundreds of lives has once again thrown the debate on climate change wide open. Climate change certainly feels real, and backed by meteorological data, can indeed be proven to be real. Industrialisation has often been linked to global warming, and hence climate change. So too has the consumption of fossil fuels, whose conversion into electricity can also become pollutive to the environment. As an architect and sustainability consultant, I and my team are often asked if buildings and cities – traditional culprits of industrialisation – can be designed to become more sustainable and less impactful to our natural environment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/three-secret-sauces-to-designing-green-cities