DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 25th September 2018

Singapore Economy

Core inflation in August remains at 4-year high of 1.9% (INFOGRAPHICS)
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/core-inflation-in-august-remains-at-4-year-high-of-19
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapores-core-inflation-stays-at-4-year-high-unchanged-from-july

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore investors are picking REITs over developers
Buy the businesses that hold the real-estate assets rather than the ones that sell them. That’s the message from a growing number of analysts in Singapore who say REITs, or real estate investment trusts, are a better bet than developers in light of the island’s recent cooling measures.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-investors-are-picking-reits-over-developers
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-investors-are-picking-reits-over-developers

Green loan behind plush tower with its own park and roof gardens
Asian property developers are delving deeper into green loans, as shown by a recent deal tied to a premium office tower in a Singapore park. Singapore-based Frasers Property raised a S$1.2 billion green loan, the first of its kind by a South-east Asian borrower under principles set by Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) in March that aim to standardise disclosure.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/green-loan-behind-plush-tower-with-its-own-park-and-roof-gardens
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/asian-property-developers-delving-deeper-into-green-loans
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-23/plush-singapore-tower-in-park-shows-developers-green-loan-push

Keppel-KBS US Reit hunkers down in Seattle with 3rd asset
Keppel-KBS US Reit is set to deepen its presence in Seattle with its maiden acquisition of a business campus for some US$169.4 million. The manager of the Reit (real estate investment trust) said on Monday that the trust has entered into an agreement with KBS SOR Westpark Portfolio to acquire the Westpark Portfolio, which comprises 21 freehold buildings in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/keppel-ubs-us-reit-hunkers-down-in-seattle-with-3rd-asset

Tuan Sing buys stake in mixed development on Hainan island
Mainboard-listed Tuan Sing Holdings has forked out for a share in an integrated development in Hainan, China, with an eye to raising its stake. It said on Monday that it has paid 75 million yuan (S$15 million) for 7.8 per cent in developer Sanya Summer Real Estate, which plans to complete a mixed-use project there by end-2021.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tuan-sing-buys-stake-in-mixed-development-on-hainan-island
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tuan-sing-takes-75m-yuan-stake-in-hainan-mixed-use-development-project

Upper East Coast landed homes launch S$26m collective sale
A group of neighbours in Upper East Coast have banded together for a collective sale of their landed homes. The two pairs of semi-detached houses hit the market with an asking price of S$26 million, said sole marketing agent Edmund Tie & Co on Monday. This works out to a land price of S$914 per sq ft (psf) for the 28,449 sq ft freehold site, which spans 9, 9A, 11 and 11A, Jalan Haji Salam.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/upper-east-coast-landed-homes-launch-s26m-collective-sale
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/upper-east-coast-landed-property-launched-for-sale-with-s26m-asking-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/upper-east-coast-landed-property-put-on-market-for-26m

Losing its lustre: The Golden Mile dilemma
Ande Lai has a great view at home. He bought his two-bedroom apartment in Golden Mile Complex in 1986 with this view in mind. Standing on his 14th floor balcony, he could see the old national stadium. At low tide, he could smell the ocean. He hoped that moving closer to his photography shop, which he ran out of the first floor of the building with his wife, would allow him to spend more time with his one-year-old daughter. This was before Golden Mile Complex itself and three other post-independence landmarks were under threat of demolition.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/losing-its-lustre-the-golden-mile-dilemma

Nine HDB shops in mature estates go on sale for S$34m
A portfolio of nine Housing & Development Board (HDB) commercial units in mature estates is available for sale with a S$34 million guide price, marketing agent CBRE said in a statement on Monday. The ground-floor units range from 581 square feet to 2,776 sq ft, and are in the town centres of the Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Bedok, Tampines, Changi Village, Yishun and Ubi estates. Interested bidders may acquire the shops on an individual basis or as a set. The properties are currently fully tenanted.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/nine-hdb-shops-in-mature-estates-go-on-sale-for-s34m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/nine-hdb-shops-in-mature-estates-go-on-sale-for-34m

Fate of Marina Square’s Emporium Shokuhin uncertain as debt exceeds $1m
It was billed as a mega emporium with markets and restaurants, a gourmet paradise catering to Singaporeans’ love of all things Japanese, but the fate of Emporium Shokuhin at the Marina Square Shopping Mall now hangs in the balance.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/marina-square-emporiums-fate-uncertain-as-debt-exceeds-1m

Companies’ Brief

Sabana Reit collects overdue rent on Changi property
Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) has received overdue rent on a property in Changi, three weeks after the manager slapped the tenant with a notice of termination. There should not be any material adverse financial impact on distribution per unit (DPU) for the property this year after the S$2.15 million payment is applied to settling the rental arrears, the manager said on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reit-collects-overdue-rent-on-changi-property
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reit-ends-rent-standoff-with-changi-south-tenant-variation-reached-on-lease

Hopes of higher offer price for Wheelock Properties (S) crushed
Punters banking on a sweetened deal in Wheelock Properties (Singapore)’s buyout bid had the wind knocked out of their sails on Monday, as the company’s parent locked in its offer price of S$2.10 a share. The counter – which had stayed above the offer price since Hong Kong-listed Wheelock and Co launched its privatisation attempt on July 19 – fell by S$0.07, or 3.23 per cent, to S$2.10 at the opening bell, and ended at that price.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hopes-of-higher-offer-price-for-wheelock-properties-s-crushed
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wheelock-properties-buy-out-price-remains-at-s210-offer-to-close-on-oct-2

Blackstone plans 7 per cent yield for India’s first REIT IPO
Blackstone Group LP and its Indian partner set a tentative yield for their initial public offering of the country’s first real estate investment trust, which could raise about 52.5 billion rupees (S$982 million), people with knowledge of the matter said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/blackstone-plans-7-per-cent-yield-for-indias-first-reit-ipo
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-24/blackstone-is-said-to-plan-7-yield-for-india-s-first-reit-ipo

DBS sets sights on China for debt capital markets blitz
DBS Group Holdings, South-east Asia’s largest lender, is expanding its fixed-income business in China in a bid to bring more first-time bond issuers to the offshore market. The Singapore bank recently set up a debt capital market product and advisory team in China to focus on getting more local clients, Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS Group, said in an interview.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/dbs-sets-sights-on-china-for-debt-capital-markets-blitz
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/dbs-sets-its-sights-on-china-for-debt-capital-markets-push

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Revised corporate governance code principle-based
In August 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued the revised Code of Corporate Governance (the Code) for companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). This 2018 version of the Code supersedes earlier versions and will apply to annual reports issued for financial years commencing Jan 1, 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/revised-corporate-governance-code-principle-based

Political systems of advanced countries have broken down
The Economist magazine is marking its 175th birthday with a special issue that looks back on its history and speculates about the future. It is a sobering exercise, highlighting the present breakdown in the world’s political order, a collapse made worse by US President Donald Trump but not caused by him.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/political-systems-of-advanced-countries-have-broken-down

Before next financial crisis strikes, fix property market’s weak spots
On the upcoming 10th anniversary of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers on Sept 15, 2008, which deepened the Great Recession, what lessons can we draw that might be relevant for Singapore?
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/before-next-financial-crisis-strikes-fix-property-markets-weak-spots