DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 27th February 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Kentish Green, St Thomas Ville try for collective sale again
Kentish Green at 20 Oxford Road has been put up for collective sale with a S$200 million reserve price. Its owners had previously asked for at least S$230 million for the site. Similarly, owners of St Thomas Ville, located along 38 St Thomas Walk, are again eyeing at least S$58 million for the District 9 property. The 23-unit freehold property was up for sale in August 2018, but the tender was called off due to delays in verification of technical details, stretching late into the year-end holiday season.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/kentish-green-st-thomas-ville-try-for-collective-sale-again

Little India heritage site goes up for tender
A distinctive conserved two-storey bungalow in Little India known by many as the House of Tan Teng Niah is up for tender. The property is now used for commercial purposes but was famed as a residence in the past. It is considered a heritage landmark. The eight-room villa was built in 1900, purportedly for the wife of prominent businessman Tan Teng Niah, who owned several confectionery factories in Serangoon Road and a rubber smoke house in Kerbau Road.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/little-india-heritage-site-goes-up-for-tender
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/little-india-heritage-site-valued-at-some-s706m-goes-up-for-tender

JTC launches tender of Tampines North industrial site
JTC has launched a tender for a site at Tampines North Drive 3 (Plot 2) under the first half of the 2019 Industrial Government Land Sales Programme (IGLS) Programme, it said on Tuesday. The land parcel spans 0.48 hectares and has a gross plot ratio of 2.5 and a tenure of 20 years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jtc-launches-tender-of-tampines-north-industrial-site
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/jtc-launches-tender-of-tampines-north-industrial-site

Singapore Economy

January output shrinks for first time in a year
Singapore’s manufacturing sector started the year on shaky footing, with factory output contracting for the first time since December 2017. Economists said that the underwhelming start – while expected – does not bode well for the rest of the year as manufacturing weakness is likely to continue, with some cutting their growth outlook for 2019 on the back of recent disappointing data including non-oil domestic exports.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/january-output-shrinks-for-first-time-in-a-year
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/factory-output-contracts-for-first-time-in-a-year

Companies’ Brief

UOL targeting two launches in Q2
UOL Group, which posted a 51 per cent drop in full-year net profit due mainly to one-off gains in the preceding year, is getting ready to launch two Singapore residential projects in the second quarter of this year. In April, it is targeting to release a 56-unit freehold project on the former Nanak Mansions site on Meyer Road.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uol-targeting-two-launches-in-q2

WeWork said to be in advanced talks to lease 100,000 sq ft in MYP Centre
US-based co-working space provider WeWork is continuing to expand in Singapore. The Business Times understands that the company is in advanced talks to lease about 100,000 sq ft at MYP Centre at 9 Battery Road, which could make it one of WeWork’s biggest spaces in Singapore. The bulk of the space that WeWork is negotiating to lease in the 28-storey building, formerly known as Straits Trading Building, is currently leased to Rajah & Tann.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wework-said-to-be-in-advanced-talks-to-lease-100000-sq-ft-in-myp-centre

Soilbuild flags Q4, FY loss on arbitration award against unit
Soilbuild Construction Group on Tuesday flagged that it would post a loss for its fourth quarter and financial year ended Dec 31, mainly due to an arbitration award on Feb 25, 2019, against its wholly-owned subsidiary, Soil-Build (Pte) Ltd. The arbitration was commenced by Soil-Build against a sub-contractor for damages suffered due to the sub-contractor’s delay in the completion of work for a construction project.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/soilbuild-flags-q4-fy-loss-on-arbitration-award-against-unit

Sinarmas Land’s Q4 net profit dives 75%
Sinarmas Land’s Q4 net profit plummeted 74.9 per cent to S$58.6 million from the preceding year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday. It attributed the fall to the absence of land sales for its Indonesia division and a one-off gain from the divestment of Orchard Towers by its international division in the preceding year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sinarmas-lands-q4-net-profit-dives-75

Co-living company Hmlet expands into Australia
Singapore-based co-living company Hmlet is entering the Australian market. In March, Hmlet will make its debut in Sydney, with the launch of two co-living properties in the inner-city suburbs of Newtown and Marrickville. Plans are underway to expand to Melbourne and Brisbane. Hmlet @ Newtown, which is among the first purpose-built co-living properties in Australia, will accommodate 20 members and will feature a co-working space, communal living and kitchen spaces, Hmlet said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-living-company-hmlet-expands-into-australia
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/co-living-firm-hmlet-expanding-to-australia