DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 24th October 2017

Top Story

Economy to grow by nearly 3% in 2017: PM Lee
Singapore’s economy should grow by close to 3 per cent this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday evening (Monday morning, Singapore time). He gave his upbeat assessment of the country’s prospects in a short speech to over 200 Singaporeans at a reception held at the Singapore’s Embassy in Washington, DC.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/economy-to-grow-by-nearly-3-in-2017-pm-lee
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-economy-to-grow-by-nearly-3-this-year-pm-lee?login=true
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-economic-growth-this-year-to-be-in-upper-end-of-2-to-9334592

En bloc contagion spreads to commercial, mixed-use properties
The residential en bloc contagion has spread to the other property sectors, with more commercial and mixed-use developments joining the collective sales rush. The spillover has revived the interest of owners at Goldhill Centre in Novena and Katong Shopping Centre in Mountbatten Road – both projects have formed collective sales committees and are targeting to set a reserve price when their extraordinary general meetings are held in November, said marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/en-bloc-contagion-spreads-to-commercial-mixed-use-properties

Singapore Economy

PM Lee urges US to sustain economic ties with Asia
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday urged the United States to sustain its economic engagement of Asia, which continues to hold many opportunities for American businesses. He also highlighted how the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific, which were shaped by decades of such engagement, are vital US national security interests.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-urges-us-to-sustain-economic-ties-with-asia?login=true

Consumer prices inch up 0.4% in September
Consumer prices kept inching up last month, rising 0.4 per cent from a year earlier – an unchanged pace from August and in line with analyst expectations. Costlier services offset a sharper decline in car prices and a slower increase in petrol prices, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a joint report yesterday.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/consumer-prices-inch-up-04-in-september?login=true
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/inflation-kept-at-bay-in-sept

SP Group to build first micro-grid on mainland Singapore
Grid operator SP Group is building the first micro-grid on mainland Singapore at the new Punggol campus for Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), in expectation of the city-state having more of such grids in future for stronger grid resilience. The Temasek-owned firm also said on Monday that it will be working with Sembcorp Marine to install 4.5 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar panels at SembMarine’s Tuas yard.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/sp-group-to-build-first-micro-grid-on-mainland-singapore
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/singapore-beefs-up-muscle-in-solar-and-energy-storage

Singapore Real Estate

Land sales: When flour is costlier than bread
Land prices in China and Hong Kong have shot through the roof amid a buying spree by mainland developers, with the cost of buying land in some prime areas even surpassing the cost of buying a nearby apartment on a per square foot basis. This anomaly of “flour being more costly than the bread”, to borrow a Chinese saying, is proving to be a major headache for regulators.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/land-sales-when-flour-is-costlier-than-bread

Dunearn Court sold; Mayfair Gardens up for sale
Dunearn Court in prime District 11 has been sold for $36.3 million while Mayfair Gardens has been put up for collective sale. Each owner at the 12-unit Dunearn Court will get about $2.91 million to $3.12 million, which works out to around $2,004 per sq ft (psf) to $2,140 psf. The 19,203 sq ft freehold site, which was bought by Roxy-Pacific Holdings unit RH Central, has a gross plot ratio of 1.4.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/dunearn-court-sold-mayfair-gardens-up-for-sale
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/roxy-pacific-buying-freehold-dunearn-court-for-s363m

New property app allows homeowners to ‘test market’
Yet another online property portal was launched here on Monday (Oct 23) that allows buyers and sellers to list properties on the market and do without housing agents. Such Do-It-Yourself transactions have been part of a growing trend, with consumers becoming savvier in using digital technology.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-property-app-allows-homeowners-test-market

Companies’ Brief

First Reit DPU 0.9% higher for Q3, revenue up 3.3%
First Real Estate Investment Trust posted a 0.9 per cent jump in distribution per unit (DPU) for the third quarter to 2.14 Singapore cents from 2.12 Singapore cents a year ago. On the back of contribution from Siloam Hospitals Labuan Bajo (SHLB), which was acquired in December 2016, and higher rental income from existing properties in Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea, the Reit posted a 3.3 per cent increase in gross revenue to S$27.8 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-reit-dpu-09-higher-for-q3-revenue-up-33

Tenant sales dip at CRCT, new rents up
Tenants’ sales are flattening out somewhat at China malls owned by CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT), though the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) other vital indicators remain mostly healthy. It continues to report higher net property income due to the contributions of a recently acquired mall, CapitaMall Xinnan in Chengdu.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tenant-sales-dip-at-crct-new-rents-up
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/capitaland-retail-china-trust-q3-dpu-up-04

CapitaLand Mall Trust maintains Q3 DPU at 2.78¢
CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) has posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.78 cents for the third quarter, unchanged from the same quarter a year ago. This brings its annualised DPU down by 0.3 per cent to 11.03 cents, with an annualised distribution yield of 5.41 per cent based on the CMT’s closing price of $2.04 per unit on Oct 20.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-mall-trust-maintains-q3-dpu-at-278-cents

Acquisitions, higher revenue boost MLT’s Q2
Higher revenue from its Hong Kong properties, four completed acquisitions in Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam in FY17, as well as higher translated revenue from the stronger Australian dollar, lifted results for industrial landlord Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) in its second quarter. Distribution per unit edged up to 1.887 Singapore cent from 1.86 Singapore cent in the preceding year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/acquisitions-higher-revenue-boost-mlts-q2
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/mapletree-logistics-trusts-q2-dpu-up-15

Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust posts 5.8% jump in Q2 DPU
Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust (MGCCT) has reported a 5.8 per cent jump in distribution per unit (DPU) for the second quarter to 1.868 cents. This brings DPU for the half year to Sept 30 to 3.714 cents – 2.9 per cent higher than the 3.61 cents in the same period a year earlier.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mapletree-greate-china-commercial-trust-posts-58-jump-in-q2-dpu

Lippo Malls trust confirms seeking bankers’ views on rights issue
LMIRT Management, the manager of Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIR Trust), has confirmed in a media release it is seeking the views of investment banks in relation to carrying out a rights issue. However, it says deliberations are still at an early stage, and that discussions may not result in a deal.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lippo-malls-trust-confirms-seeking-bankers-views-on-rights-issue

Ascott Reit Q3 DPU falls 28%
Ascott Residence Trust’s (Ascott Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 dipped 28 per cent to 1.69 Singapore cents, from 2.35 Singapore cents in the year-ago period, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday morning. That came as unitholders’ distribution slipped 6 per cent to S$36.3 million from S$38.7 million in the year-ago period.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-reit-q3-dpu-falls-28

Soilbuild warns of Q3 loss
Soilbuild Construction Group Ltd said on Monday it is expected to report a loss for the third quarter ended Sept 30. This is mainly attributable to lower revenue recognised and higher construction cost incurred during the period. The profit guidance is based on the current assessment of the group’s draft unaudited financial results for Q3 FY2017.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/soilbuild-warns-of-q3-loss

Sabana Reit’s Q3 DPU falls to 0.79 Singapore cent
Lower contribution from some of its properties and an expansion in the number of units eroded third-quarter results for industrial landlord Sabana Reit. For the three months ended Sept 30, the Reit’s third-quarter distribution per unit dropped to 0.79 Singapore cent from 1.06 Singapore cents in the previous year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reits-q3-dpu-falls-to-079-singapore-cent

CWG’s subsidiary acquires second land parcel in Suzhou City
CWG International’s subsidiary, Suzhou Chiway Jiazong Real Estate Co, successfully bid for the land use rights of a parcel located at Fumin Road in Suzhou City, People’s Republic of China. This is the second land parcel acquired by the group at Fumin Road since September 8. The new land parcel is situated close to the previous one.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cwgs-subsidiary-acquires-second-land-parcel-in-suzhou-city

New Wave shares soar on proposed offer from Fragrance CEO
Shares of New Wave Holdings climbed as much as 56 per cent on Monday, following news of a proposed offer by Fragrance Group’s chief executive. The stock, which resumed trading on Monday after a trading halt on Oct 20, kicked off at S$0.013 – also its intra-day low – and hit a high of S$0.014 before closing at S$0.013 again, up 0.4 Singapore cent or 44 per cent. Some 44.3 million shares worth S$587,600 changed hands.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/new-wave-shares-soar-on-proposed-offer-from-fragrance-ceo

Wing Tai net profit jumps 676% in Q1
Wing Tai Holdings has posted a net profit of S$8.19 million in the first quarter, up 676 per cent from a net profit of S$1.06 million a year ago, lifted mainly by a S$16.7 million one-off gain on disposal of subsidiary companies. Operating profit in the three months to Sept 30 rose 509 per cent to S$14 million from S$2.3 million in the same period last year, mainly due to the contributions from Le Nouvel Ardmore and Le Nouvel KLCC as well as the gain on disposal of Huai Hai project in Shanghai.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/wing-tai-net-profit-jumps-676-in-q1

Views, Reviews & Forum

Can property tax promote Industry 4.0?
Singapore’s industrial economy is heading towards a brave new world and Industry 4.0 is the roadmap for getting there. Although the Singapore government has implemented many measures to encourage companies to embrace Industry 4.0, more should be done in respect of property tax. Industry 4.0 – also known as advanced manufacturing – has the potential to boost productivity and the optimisation of resources.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/can-property-tax-promote-industry-40