DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 25th April 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Mortgagee listings hit new high on loan rate hikes, weak rentals
Mortgagee sale listings in Singapore reached a record high in the first quarter of 2019, according to data compiled by Knight Frank. Out of 362 auction listings, 159 were mortgagee sale listings, the highest ever recorded in Knight Frank’s database stretching back to Q1 2011. The mortgagee listings were up 28.2 per cent from the previous quarter, and doubled from a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mortgagee-listings-hit-new-high-on-loan-rate-hikes-weak-rentals

Bayer moving to Paya Lebar Quarter; taking up 31,000 sq ft
Pharmaceutical firm Bayer will shift its main office to Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) at the end of the year, joining other companies which have taken up space in the mixed-use development such as JLL and SMRT. The Business Times understands that Bayer – which is moving from OCBC Centre – is taking up 31,000 square feet at PLQ. Bayer did not respond to queries from BT by press time.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/bayer-moving-to-paya-lebar-quarter-taking-up-31000-sq-ft

Three adjoining office units at Peninsula Plaza up for sale
Three adjoining office units at Peninsula Plaza will be put up for sale in an expression of interest exercise on Thursday, at a guide price of S$9.29 million, exclusive marketing agent CBRE said. The exercise closes at 3 pm on May 29. The units are located on the 12th storey, with areas of each unit ranging from 1,001 square feet to 1,776 sq ft. The 999-year tenure units have a combined area of 4,262 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/three-adjoining-office-units-at-peninsula-plaza-up-for-sale

Companies’ Brief

Far East H-Trust Q1 DPS down 3.2% to 0.91 Singapore cent
Far East Hospitality Trust (H-Trust) saw its distribution per stapled security (DPS) for the first quarter ended March 31 fall 3.2 per cent to 0.91 Singapore cent, from 0.94 Singapore cent a year ago. This came on the back of an enlarged base, and income available for distribution declining 1.2 per cent to S$17.4 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/far-east-h-trust-q1-dps-down-32-to-091-singapore-cent
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/far-east-h-trust-q1-dps-down-32-to-091-cent

CRCT’s Q1 DPU slips 5.8% to 2.59 Singapore cents
CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.59 Singapore cents for the first quarter ended March 31, down 5.8 per cent from 2.75 cents a year ago. Gross revenue increased 1.1 per cent to S$55.96 million, underpinned by stronger rental growth from the core multi-tenanted malls, while net property income rose 7 per cent to S$39.8 million on the back of stronger rental growth and lower operating expenses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/crcts-q1-dpu-slips-58-to-259-singapore-cents

Savills IM names Alex Jeffrey as new Singapore-based CEO
Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) has appointed Alex Jeffrey as its new chief executive officer, the real estate investment manager announced on Wednesday. He will join the firm in late 2019, subject to regulatory approval, and be based in Singapore. He will also become a member of the Savills Group executive board.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/savills-im-names-alex-jeffrey-as-new-singapore-based-ceo

Datapulse to take 15% stake in Seoul hotel for 8.6b won
Datapulse Technology is acquiring a 15 per cent stake in Seoul’s Holiday Inn Express Euljiro hotel for 8.6 billion won (S$10.2 million), as part of a larger deal involving Bizcentre Capital. Bizcentre Capital is a subsidiary of Plenitude Berhad, a Malaysia-listed investment holding company engaged in property development, property investment and hotel operations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/datapulse-to-take-15-stake-in-seoul-hotel-for-86b-won
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/datapulse-to-acquire-15-stake-in-holiday-inn-express-hotel-in-seoul-for

Cache Logistics Trust posts marginal rise in Q1 DPU to 1.513 Singapore cents
Cache Logistics Trust reported a slight increase of 0.4 per cent for its first-quarter distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.513 Singapore cents from 1.507 cents a year ago, its manager said on Thursday morning before the market opened. Gross revenue for the three months ended March 31 grew 6.2 per cent year on year to S$30.8 million…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cache-logistics-trust-posts-marginal-rise-in-q1-dpu-to-1513-singapore-cents
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cache-logistics-trust-q1-dpu-edges-up-to-1513-cents

First Sponsor Q1 profit rises 39% to S$23.8m
Mainboard-listed First Sponsor Group’s first quarter net profit rose 39 per cent to S$23.8 million for the three months ended March 31, from S$17.1 million a year ago. This was from a “strong showing” of its property financing business segment, the China-based property developer said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-sponsor-q1-profit-rises-39-to-s238m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/first-sponsor-q1-profit-jumps-39-to-238m-on-property-financing-gains

Suntec Reit raises S$200m in private placement
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Suntec Reit) manager has closed the book of orders for its private placement of new units in the Reit to raise gross proceeds of about S$200 million. The bulk of the proceeds will go towards financing potential acquisitions of properties in Australia, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Limited said on Thursday before the market opened.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/suntec-reit-raises-s200m-in-private-placement
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/suntec-reit-to-raise-up-to-200m-from-private-placement-at-177-to-181-per

Sasseur Reit acquires shop units at Hefei Outlets for 98.3m yuan
Sasseur Reit has signed sale & purchase agreements to acquire additional shop units with existing tenancies at the annex block of Sasseur (Hefei) Outlets from third-party vendors for 98.3 million yuan (S$19.8 million). This represents a discount of approximately 4.1 per cent compared to the valuation.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sasseur-reit-acquires-shop-units-at-hefei-outlets-for-983m-yuan

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Who will be next to merge in the S-Reit universe?
A critical need for scale – the driver behind the merger between OUE Commercial Reit and OUE Hospitality Trust – is likely to spur more mergers within the real estate investment trust (Reit) sector here. Four of the biggest Reits/business trusts are constituents of the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) and 10 have also made it to the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Asia Index.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/who-will-be-next-to-merge-in-the-s-reit-universe