Singapore Real Estate
iFly Singapore’s tenants get 6-month rental reduction
iFly Singapore announced on Tuesday a 20 per cent rental reduction for six consecutive months from April to September this year for all its food and beverage (F&B) tenants at its wind tunnel facility at Sentosa. These include Bistro At iFly, Marrybrown, McDonald’s, and Toast and Curry.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Singapore Economy
MAS to flatten S$NEER slope, could re-centre: economists
While economists agree that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will almost certainly flatten the slope of the foreign exchange policy band on March 30, opinions differ on whether the band will also be re-centred at a lower level.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Sibor dive triggers fresh battle in mortgage rate cuts
Banks are revising their home loan offerings by increasing spreads in their floating rate packages while lowering their fixed rates as the Singapore inter-bank offered rate (Sibor) plunged in response to the Fed’s two off-cycle rate cuts in March.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Companies’ Brief
Eagle Hospitality gets notice of default on US$341m loan; delays payout
The crisis at Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) has escalated sharply, with its issue managers disclosing on Tuesday that they had received a demand for the immediate repayment of a US$341 million loan.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
SPH scraps purchase of aged-care assets in Canada
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will not go ahead with its C$232.9 million (S$233 million) proposed acquisition of six senior housing properties in Canada, given the coronavirus situation. The media and property group, which publishes The Straits Times and The Business Times, had announced the deal last month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Manulife US Reit blames price fall on fund sell-off, private bank margin calls
The manager for Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust blames the Reit’s “horrific” price drop, which “wiped out four years of work”, on mass selling by index funds and exchange traded funds, margin calls from private banks, and funds redemption and switching to other counters amid rising volatility due to the US Covid-19 situation.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Views, Reviews, Forum & Others
Governments pull out stops to mitigate fallout from Covid-19
The past week saw policymakers across the pandemic-stricken world unleashing a slew of monetary and fiscal measures to soften the blow of an unprecedented health crisis wrought by Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
WHO needs to take on bigger role in global fight against Covid-19
Amid current, fragmented efforts to fight Covid-19, the need for greater global leadership by the World Health Organization (WHO) is clear and pressing. Over the course of Covid-19’s spread, political disagreements…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Home working boosts demand for laptops and chips
With more employees working from home as part of measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, demand is surging for laptops and network peripherals, as well as components along the supply chain such as chips, as companies rush to build virtual offices.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Singapore Budget 2020
Budget 2.0: Economists favour job-saving aid over direct cash handouts
While the Covid-19 outbreak shreds markets worldwide, several economies are gearing up to hand cash to residents who are bracing for a looming recession. But such a strategy may not be palatable in Singapore, analysts told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Covid-19: Call for bold measures in Singapore’s second support package
The government’s second support package will need to bring out the big guns if Singapore wants to avert severe fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic within the next few months, businesses, associations and consultants told The Business Times on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
MOM unveils more measures to help firms cope with Covid-19
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced on Tuesday a series of new measures to help cushion the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on companies. These include a three-month extension of the levy payment timeline for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation
Singapore shuts entertainment spots including bars, cinemas in virus fight
Singapore authorities are shutting down all bars, entertainment venues and tuition centres, and cancelling all events among a series of tightened measures to minimise further spread of the novel coronavirus.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Closures further dampen local entertainment scene
Bars, clubs, cinemas and theatres, already reeling from measures such as social distancing and capacity limits imposed just last week, were caught off guard by the announcement that all such entertainment venues will be closed from 11.59pm tomorrow until April 30.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Singapore residents who still go abroad must pay full rates for treatment
Singapore residents or long-term pass holders who leave the country despite government travel advisories will have to pay full hospital charges if admitted for coronavirus-related treatment on their return. About 1,000 people still travel each day, risking the health of other Singaporeans and residents when they return, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Facility set up for patients who are well but test positive for virus
Patients who are well enough to not require hospitalisation but still test positive for the coronavirus will be moved to a new isolation facility to ensure that hospitals can cope with a possible surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Coronavirus: Those returning from UK, US to be isolated at dedicated facilities
Singapore residents returning from the United Kingdom and the United States from 11.59pm today will serve their 14-day stay-home notice in dedicated facilities instead of their own homes, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday, as it further enhanced measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus amid a wave of imported cases.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Coronavirus: All 70 mosques to stay closed until further notice
The closure of all 70 mosques here, initially planned to last two weeks, will be extended until further notice in order to prevent any further spread of the coronavirus, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) announced yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Software for Singapore contact tracing app to be free for global use
In a move to help the international community combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Government will be making the software for its contact tracing application TraceTogether – which has already been installed by more than 620,000 people here – freely available to developers around the world.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
*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
Global Economy & Global Real Estate
US new home sales slower but strong in February before virus
https://www.businesstimes.com.
US retailers plan to stop paying rent to offset coronavirus hit
https://www.straitstimes.com/
New-wave home flippers halt purchases with market in turmoil
https://www.businesstimes.com.
People still putting their US mansions on the market
https://www.businesstimes.com.
US dollar continues slide as Fed stimulus calms markets
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Euro zone mulls 2% of GDP credit from bailout fund to fight coronavirus
https://www.businesstimes.com.
IMF sees global recession in 2020, recovery in 2021
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Chinese firms suffer worst quarter on record: Survey
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Some in Bank of Japan warned of economic slump as they eased in March
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Asian markets up on Fed’s massive bond-buying programme
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Malaysia offers more loan deferrals to blunt coronavirus impact
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Additional Articles of Interests – Local & Overseas Real Estate
Local & Overseas Real Estate – Full Article
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