DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 28 APR 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore developers waiting for ‘Sword of Damocles’ moment: report
Property developers in Singapore should brace themselves for cooling measures ahead, UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) said, as the odds of policy action have “manifestly increased”. “Waiting for the Sword Of Damocles,” said the report this week. That condo resale volumes reached 1,662 units in March meant sales have hit a 10-year high and amounting to more than a doubling from a year ago. These, in addition to other potent data points, have increased the chances of the government introducing cooling measures to limit further price increases in the next few months, said UOBKH.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-developers-waiting-for-sword-of-damocles-moment-report

PGIM Real Estate acquires 108 Robinson Road for US$107m
PGIM Real Estate has acquired 108 Robinson Road for US$107 million, as part of its deeper push into Asia. It comes as the real-estate unit of PGIM – the investment management business of Prudential Financial – had raised at least US$970 million in the fourth of its series of Asia-Pacific value-add funds, BT reported in February.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/pgim-real-estate-acquires-108-robinson-road-for-us107m

10 bids for plot near Farrer Park MRT station
A tender for a 99-year leasehold plot directly connected to the Farrer Park MRT Station and near Mustafa Centre has drawn 10 bids. The highest bid, from a tie-up between City Developments and MCL Land, came in at S$445.89 million, or S$1,129 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The second highest bid, from Winrich Investment, was at S$421.89 million or S$1,069 psf ppr. The lowest bid of S$256 million or S$648 psf ppr was from Japura Development Pte Ltd.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/10-bids-for-plot-near-farrer-park-mrt-station
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/cdl-mcl-land-make-top-bid-of-4459m-for-residential-gls-site-in-farrer-park-area

JTC launches two sites under industrial government land sales programme
JTC has launched two sites under the first half of the 2021 industrial government land sales (IGLS) programme, it said on Tuesday. The site at Gul Avenue (Plot D) is the second of three confirmed list sites for the first half of the 2021 IGLS programme, and is up for tender. The site at Tampines North Drive 5 (Plot 9) is the second of three reserve list sites for the first half of the 2021 IGLS programme, and is up for application.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jtc-launches-two-sites-under-industrial-government-land-sales-programme

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand’s Lucas Loh relinquishes role as president for China
CapitaLand on Tuesday announced that Lucas Loh will be relinquishing his current role as the group’s China president, effective Wednesday. The 54-year-old will thereafter take on an advisory, non-executive role as CapitaLand’s China chief representative. Jason Leow, the group’s Singapore and International president, will take on the oversight responsibilities for the group’s development-related projects, including those in China, said CapitaLand in a bourse filing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitalands-lucas-loh-relinquishes-role-as-president-for-china

CapitaLand to acquire its first hyperscale data centre campus in China for 3.66b yuan
CapitaLand announced on Wednesday that it will be investing 3.66 billion yuan (S$757.7 million) to acquire its first hyperscale data centre campus in China, the world’s second-largest data centre market and the largest in the Asia-Pacific. The potential acquisition is via the purchase of 100 per cent equity interest in two companies registered in China, the property giant said in a press statement.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-to-acquire-its-first-hyperscale-data-centre-campus-in-china-for-366b
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-to-acquire-its-first-hyperscale-data-centre-campus-in-china

CapitaLand China Trust sees improved Q1 portfolio occupancy for retail, business parks
CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) saw improved occupancy in its retail and business park portfolio in Q1 2021 owing to a recovery in sales and traffic, and an increased percentage of workforce reporting to work respectively. In the quarter ended March 31, 2021, retail occupancy stood at 94.4 per cent and business park occupancy was at 92.1 per cent. In a business update released on Monday, the manager said that “consecutive quarterly improvements” for the retail portfolio and completed acquisitions drove these occupancy rates.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-china-trust-sees-improved-q1-portfolio-occupancy-for-retail-business
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/clct-reports-better-retail-business-park-occupancy-for-q1

Mapletree Commercial Trust H2 DPU up 58%
Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) on Tuesday reported that its distribution per unit (DPU) for the second half of the year ended March 31 rose 57.9 per cent to 5.32 Singapore cents from 3.37 cents in the previous year. The DPU includes a part release of retained cash carried forward from Q4 of FY2020. The amount released was S$13 million. Revenue including government grants rose 0.6 per cent to S$260.3 million for the half year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-commercial-trust-h2-dpu-up-58

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

The challenges ahead for Singapore’s new Minister for Finance
The recent Cabinet reshuffle saw Lawrence Wong appointed Singapore’s ninth Minister for Finance since 1965. His appointment comes at a momentous point in Singapore’s fiscal management. While Singapore’s fiscal position remains sound and the country retains a top-rated AAA sovereign credit rating from all the major rating agencies, the new Minister for Finance will have to grapple with a number of significant challenges.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-challenges-ahead-for-singapores-new-minister-for-finance

Much still to deal with after Cabinet reshuffle
Last Friday’s major Cabinet reshuffle will see changes affecting the helm of seven of the 15 government ministries. Yet inevitably, attention focused on a group of fourth-generation leaders: Mr Lawrence Wong, who takes over as Finance Minister from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat; Mr Chan Chun Sing, who replaces Mr Wong as Education Minister; and Mr Ong Ye Kung, who will lead the Health Ministry. An extensive reshuffle this early in the term of government is unusual. But so are the circumstances under which it was made.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/much-still-to-deal-with-after-reshuffle

More companies offering live Q&A at AGMs, but many still reluctant to fully embrace tech features
As the Covid-19 pandemic persists, the need to keep shareholder meetings virtual remains. Yet, while Singapore-listed companies can be said to be doing a better job this year in trying to create more meaningful engagements with their shareholders, the seeming lack of enthusiasm with which many have been approaching this suggests that a significant number of retail investors could be left at a disadvantage yet again.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/more-companies-offering-live-qa-at-agms-but-many-still-reluctant-to-fully-embrace

Positioning your portfolio against higher inflation
An inflationary world appears to be a distant memory; it is a scenario which many market observers have dismissed. Inflation has been on a downtrend since the Great Inflation of the 1970s that drove interest rates and equity prices up. Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), central banks have been battling disinflation or outright deflation.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/positioning-your-portfolio-against-higher-inflation

MAS partners private sector to develop Singapore’s asset management industry
Singapore’s central bank will join hands with the private sector here to pinpoint emerging trends and devise strategies to develop Singapore’s $4 trillion asset management industry. The Singapore Funds Industry Group (SFIG) will bring together all the key players across the entire asset management value chain to help strengthen Singapore’s value proposition as a leading full-service asset management and fund domiciliation hub, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/mas-partners-private-sector-to-develop-singapores-asset-management-industry

S’pore-HK travel bubble flights sold out for several days
Singapore to Hong Kong flights for several days were sold out soon after the relaunch of an air travel bubble slated to start on May 26 was announced. This travel arrangement will finally allow long-delayed quarantine-free travel to take off between both cities. Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific Airways will operate the travel bubble flights, which will start with one flight a day in each direction, each capped at 200 passengers. Flights will be increased to twice a day from June 10.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/spore-hk-travel-bubble-flights-sold-out-for-several-days

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

24 recovered workers test positive for Covid-19 at Westlite Woodlands dormitory
The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday night said it found that 24 recovered workers at Westlite Woodlands dormitory have tested positive for Covid-19. Of these cases, five are likely to be cases of re-infection, MOH said. They occupied the same room at the dormitory as the 35-year-old Bangladeshi construction supervisor and his roommate who had tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/24-recovered-workers-test-positive-for-covid-19-at-westlite-woodlands-dormitory
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/24-recovered-workers-at-westlite-dorm-test-positive

Singapore tops ranking
Singapore has topped Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking this month, dethroning New Zealand for the first time, in the measure of best and worst places to be during the pandemic era. A combination of nailing the coronavirus and rolling out vaccines at one of Asia’s fastest rates has enabled Singapore to clinch the top position.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/singapore-tops-ranking
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/fast-vaccine-roll-out-makes-spore-best-place-to-be-amid-pandemic

Post-Covid-19 vaccine infections and reinfections could happen, say experts
Singapore – The past week has delivered a Covid-19 shocker to Singapore, not just because of the increase in community cases – there were 10 – but also the infections in people who had been vaccinated or who had been previously infected. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Thursday (April 22) that 17 workers residing in Westlite Woodlands dormitory who had recovered from Covid-19 infections were found to be infected again. Others are now being tested.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/post-vaccine-infections-and-reinfections-could-happen-say-experts

*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