DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 28 May 2020 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

New Bill could level playing field between landlords and tenants
Landlords will have to dig deeper to help their pandemic-battered tenants under an upcoming Bill that some observers feel could level the playing field between commercial owners and tenants. The Government will provide a $2 billion cash grant to help offset rent costs for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tenants.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/new-bill-could-level-playing-field-between-landlords-and-tenants

A greater need for real estate agility
It is not hyperbolic to say that Covid-19 has significantly transformed the way we work. The short-term impact has already been noticeable, and the long-term effects are likely to have an enduring impact on the office landscape.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/a-greater-need-for-real-estate-agility

Sharing of rent liabilities will hit office, industrial Reits more
The government’s mandate for landlords to help small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tenants out with rentals is a “slight negative” for retail Reits, most analysts say. This is because most landlords have already dished out a month or more in rental relief to tenants.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sharing-of-rent-liabilities-will-hit-office-industrial-reits-more

Disrupted home renovation works can restart from June 2
Renovation works for Housing Board flats and private homes that were disrupted can restart in phase one of the post-circuit breaker period, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said yesterday. Suspended building works for single-dwelling landed residential properties will also be able to resume from June 2.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/disrupted-home-renovation-works-can-restart-from-june-2

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s financial position weaker in coming years: Heng
With almost S$100 billion set aside to combat Covid-19, Singapore’s financial position will be “a lot weaker” in the coming years, and it will need to find ways to manage this “difficult financial situation”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-financial-position-weaker-in-coming-years-heng
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/crisis-poses-challenges-over-next-5-10-years-dpm

Singapore services receipts down 1.1% in Q1
Singapore’s services sector saw receipts fall 1.1 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2020, in a reversal from the previous quarter’s 4.5 per cent growth, according to a Department of Statistics release on Wednesday. Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the greatest decline was for recreation and personal services.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-services-receipts-down-11-in-q1
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/service-sector-sales-down-11-in-q1

Pharmaceutical exports a rare bright spot for Singapore economy
Singapore’s exports of pharmaceutical products have surged this year as the coronavirus pandemic prompts worldwide stockpiling of drug ingredients, providing a much needed salve for an economy facing its deepest recession in its 55-year history.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/pharmaceutical-exports-a-rare-bright-spot-for-singapore-economy

Singapore, New Zealand to discuss gradual border reopening
Singapore and New Zealand will start discussing the safe and gradual reopening of borders as both countries emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, following a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/spore-nz-to-discuss-gradual-border-reopening

Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia, Myanmar sign collaboration agreement
Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia (IA) initiative will identify suitable investors for infrastructure projects in Myanmar, following an agreement inked with Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MoPFI) on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapores-infrastructure-asia-myanmar-sign-collaboration-agreement
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/singapores-infrastructure-asia-inks-collaboration-deal-with-myanmar

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand gets S$500m sustainability-linked loan; Ascott to redesign serviced residences
CapitaLand has obtained a four-year S$500 million sustainability-linked loan from United Overseas Bank, the group said in a regulatory update on Thursday. The property giant will be able to use loan proceeds for general corporate purposes, as the sustainability-linked loan is tied to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance as a group and not any specific project or property.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-gets-s500m-sustainability-linked-loan-ascott-to-redesign-serviced
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-snags-500m-sustainability-linked-loan-from-uob

CDL unit M&C axes 8% of global team, furloughs about 30% of employees
Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels has reduced its global headcount by 8 per cent and furloughed another 30 per cent of staff in its owned-and-managed hotel portfolio, as the Covid-19 pandemic and governmental restriction measures introduced across most jurisdictions have hit its business.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-unit-mc-axes-8-of-global-team-furloughs-about-30-of-employees

PropertyGuru launches new feature with 360-degree walk-through of units
Singapore (The Business Times) – South-east Asian real estate portal PropertyGuru on Wednesday (May 27) said it has launched a new digital feature allowing a 360-degree walk-through of a project, its units and the surrounding cityscape.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/propertyguru-launches-new-feature-with-360-degree-walk-through-of-units

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Telecommuting as the default mode of working
Singapore formally exits the eight-week Circuit Breaker period when it ends on June 1, with the country beginning a three-phase approach to resume activities safely. In Phase One, Singapore will gradually reopen economic activities that do not pose a high risk of Covid-19 transmission.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/telecommuting-as-the-default-mode-of-working

A new way of doing things after the circuit breaker lifts
June 2 marks the day when Singapore cautiously initiates its first phase of reopening after the end of the circuit breaker. For most, it will still be status quo as working from home is still the preferred practice; but for the minority who will be going back to the office, a whole new different workspace awaits.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/a-new-way-of-doing-things-after-the-circuit-breaker-lifts

Returning to work after Covid-19 will require a full reboot
While it may be an oversimplification, Covid-19 has presented businesses with the rare opportunity to begin driving economic value and employee value at the same time. Given that intellectual capital is generated by people, perhaps understanding our staff will be the best place to start.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/returning-to-work-after-covid-19-will-require-a-full-reboot

How Covid-19 is inspiring the hospitality sector to raise the bar
The world certainly feels odd right now. Everyone’s plans are no longer existent, from weddings to staycations to overseas holidays. Even though we can go get our haircuts and slowly return to our work lives, staying home still seems like the safest option.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/how-covid-19-is-inspiring-the-hospitality-sector-to-raise-the-bar

Singapore 5G rollout: Unforeseen hurdles need to be overcome
Despite the economic challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Singapore remains on track to roll out its nationwide fifth generation mobile telephony (5G) network by 2025, the government has said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-5g-rollout-unforeseen-hurdles-need-to-be-overcome

Singapore Budget 2020

Will S$92b do it? Jobs may be best gauge of efficacy of support moves
The effectiveness of government support in the Covid-19 crisis might better be assessed – if at all – in terms of its effect on unemployment, more than its mitigation against the recession, said analysts, who noted that efforts have explicitly been focused on jobs.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/will-s92b-do-it-jobs-may-be-best-gauge-of-efficacy-of-support-moves

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Covid patients were at Bt Panjang FairPrice, market in Jurong West
Two NTUC FairPrice supermarkets in Bukit Panjang and a market and hawker centre in Jurong West have been added to a list of public places visited by Covid-19 patients. The Ministry of Health added these three spots to the four locations on the list that was first provided on Monday (May 25).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/covid-patients-were-at-bt-panjang-fairprice-market-in-jurong-west
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/covid-19-cases-went-to-sites-in-bukit-panjang-jurong-west

Employers urge caution amid calls to cut back foreign worker pool
Amid calls from some quarters for a reduction in the number of migrant workers in Singapore, several trade associations and commerce chambers have urged the government to take a considered and calibrated approach to migrant worker policies.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/employers-urge-caution-amid-calls-to-cut-back-foreign-worker-pool
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dont-cut-foreign-worker-levels-say-business-groups

Limit to reducing reliance on foreign workers: DPM Heng
There is a limit to how far Singapore can go in reducing the need for manual work, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said. “We still need to rely on a significant proportion of our foreign workers to do very difficult jobs which many Singaporeans will not want to do,” he told CNA in an interview.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/limit-to-reducing-reliance-on-foreign-workers-dpm-heng

Coronavirus: Migrant workers important to S’pore economy, say business and trade groups in response to calls to limit numbers
Singapore – In coordinated statements on Wednesday (May 27), business groups and trade associations underlined the importance of migrant workers to Singapore’s economy, in response to calls to restrict their numbers after the Covid-19 outbreak among this population.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/business-and-trade-groups-underline-importance-of-migrant-workers-to-singapore-economy
*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