DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 26th July 2017

Top Story

Too soon to say property market is recovering
Indications the local property market is finally turning the corner are piling up but analysts are waiting for more evidence before calling it. The latest sign of a resurgence in new private home sales was a Hougang executive condominium (EC) selling out in just seven hours last weekend. It was the first time since 2014 the market has witnessed such a feat. However, experts are looking for more indications that falling prices have finally bottomed out and are on their way up.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/too-soon-to-say-property-market-is-recovering
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/too-soon-to-say-property-market-has-turned-around-despite-robust-new-home-sales

Singapore Economy

DBS, BOS shift to fast gear as private banks power ahead in Asia
The private banking business in Asia is firing on all pistons, and increasingly, Singapore’s champions DBS and OCBC are among the shakers and movers, not just the Swiss giants. The business is fiercely competitive and cost cutting continues to be seen and heard; yet those staying the course are reporting more of everything – additional hiring and impressive double-digit gains in assets under management (AUM) and higher income.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/dbs-bos-shift-to-fast-gear-as-private-banks-power-ahead-in-asia

Bond restructuring in S’pore slower than in major markets
Keith Kueh was expecting Pacific Andes Resources Development Ltd to pay back the company’s bonds last year so that he could finance his son’s college bill and his own retirement. Now it’s 18 months after the Singapore-listed fishing company didn’t honour some obligations, and he hasn’t got his money yet. “For investors like myself, we are not portfolio managers who are managing other people’s money,” said Mr Kueh, a founder at a tech startup. “This is our hard-earned money.”
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/bond-restructuring-in-spore-slower-than-in-major-markets

Changi’s T4 on last lap of operational trials
Operational readiness trials at Changi Airport’s Terminal 4, which include live flights, are currently in the final stage. Spring Airlines carried out live flights at the terminal on Tuesday night and Korean Air was due to do the same on Wednesday. Airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) has already conducted live flights with AirAsia at T4, as well as a couple of military flights.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/changis-t4-on-last-lap-of-operational-trials
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/terminal-4-will-do-more-with-less-as-changi-airport-prepares-for-traffic-growth
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/changi-t4-taps-tech-for-greater-efficiency
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/t4s-clouds-installations-a-play-of-art-and-technology
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/changi-airport-s-t4-to-showcase-singapore-culture-and-heritage-9061838
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/changi-airport-t4-highlight-peranakan-culture-immersive-heritage-experience

Singapore Real Estate

Marking 10 years of prepping PMETs for careers in real estate
The Real Estate & Construction Centre (RECC) and Real Estate & Construction Academy (RECA) on Tuesday celebrated a decade of preparing mid-career professionals for jobs in the real estate and facilities management industry. The anniversary coincided with the graduation of the 10th and 11th cohorts, an event attended by Minister of Manpower Lim Swee Say.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/marking-10-years-of-prepping-pmets-for-careers-in-real-estate

Northpoint City mall on track to be 90% leased upon opening
Northpoint City, the largest mall in northern Singapore developed by Frasers Centrepoint Singapore, is on track to be 90 per cent leased when it opens its doors to shoppers in the fourth quarter. Housing over 400 retail and dining outlets across two retail wings, the mall is part of the Northpoint City integrated development that includes the 920-unit North Park Residences, community spaces, an air-conditioned bus interchange and an underground retail link with direct access to Yishun MRT station.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/northpoint-city-mall-on-track-to-be-90-leased-upon-opening
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/northpoint-city-will-open-by-years-end
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/largest-mall-in-northern-singapore-to-open-in-yishun-at-end-of-9062782
http://www.todayonline.com/business/property/largest-mall-northern-spore-open-yishun-year

Home-sharing site Roomorama to cease operations
Faced with intense competition and tighter regulation, Singapore-headquartered home-sharing platform Roomorama.com — which once boasted an inventory of hundreds of thousands of properties around the world, ranging from villas and designer homes to castles and even caves — has ceased operations.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/home-sharing-site-roomorama-cease-operations

Companies’ Brief

M&G makes A$119m Brisbane acquisition
M&G Real Estate Asia, the real estate fund management arm of M&G Investments, said it has acquired a Grade A office building called HQ South in Brisbane, Australia, for A$119.1 million (S$128.9 million). It said the transaction was made on behalf of its core Asia property strategy, which is an open-ended fund targeting institutional investors. HQ South comprises seven office floors and one floor dedicated to retail, and has 207 parking lots. It has a net lettable area of over 14,000 sq m.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mg-makes-a119m-brisbane-acquisition

Double boost for PLife Reit Q2 DPU
Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Tuesday reported a 10.3 per cent year-on-year increase in distribution per unit to 3.32 Singapore cents for the second quarter ended June 30. This was due to a double boost, one of which was the asset-recycling exercise completed in February 2017, with the divestment gains of S$5.39 million being distributed equally over the four quarters of the financial year ending Dec 31.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/double-boost-for-plife-reit-q2-dpu
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/parkway-life-reits-dpu-rises-on-higher-revenue

Suntec Reit Q2 DPU up 0.9%
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust’s second-quarter distribution per unit rose 0.9 per cent to 2.493 Singapore cents as net property income increased by 13.7 per cent to S$59.4 million. Gross revenue expanded 11.7 per cent to S$87.3 million for the three months ended June 30, said the manager of the trust that holds office and retail assets including the Suntec retail mall and convention centre.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/suntec-reit-q2-dpu-up-09
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/suntec-reit-q2-dpu-dips-to-buy-half-share-in-prime-melbourne-office-tower

Sabana Reit’s Q2 DPU falls to 0.81 Singapore cent
Lower contributions from certain properties in its portfolio eroded second-quarter results for industrial landlord Sabana Reit. Sabana Reit’s gross revenue fell 2.9 per cent to S$22 million, while net property income for the second quarter was S$12.9 million, which represented a fall of 7.4 per cent from the year-ago period.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reits-q2-dpu-falls-to-081-singapore-cent

Mapletree Industrial’s Q1 DPU rises to 2.92 Singapore cents
Revenue contribution from Phase One of the build-to-suit development for Hewlett-Packard Singapore gave a lift to industrial landlord Mapletree Industrial Trust’s (MIT) first quarter results. Distribution per unit (DPU) edged up to 2.92 Singapore cents from 2.85 Singapore cents in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday evening.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-industrials-q1-dpu-rises-to-292-singapore-cents

First Sponsor Q2 profit up 8.8%; Chengdu project being assessed
First Sponsor Group’s net profit rose 8.8 per cent to S$9.4 million, or 1.59 Singapore cents per share, in the second quarter amid ongoing sales at its Millennium Waterfront project in Chengdu, China. The China- and Netherlands-focused property developer has declared an interim dividend of one Singapore cent per share for the period.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-sponsor-q2-profit-up-88-chengdu-project-being-assessed
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/first-sponsor-sees-88-rise-in-q2-profit

Yoma Q1 profit up 54% on higher property, tractor sales
Yoma Strategic Holdings’ first-quarter net profit rose 54 per cent to S$2.8 million, or 0.16 Singapore cents per share, on the back of higher property and tractor sales. The Myanmar-based conglomerate is declaring an interim dividend of 0.25 Singapore cent per share for the three months ended June 30. Revenue increased by 46.8 per cent to S$25.8 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yoma-q1-profit-up-54-on-higher-property-tractor-sales

Views, Reviews & Forum

The foreign factor in higher land prices
Singapore’s property market seems to be heating up, judging by a range of indicators, including a sharp rise in bids for development sites by foreign developers. Just this week, an entire executive condominium project in Hougang, Hundred Palms Residences, sold out in hours.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-foreign-factor-in-higher-land-prices