DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 28th June 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore not relaxing property cooling measures soon, says MAS chief
If real estate developers and property buyers here are pinning hopes on the government relaxing the cooling measures soon, they can kill that thought. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon said on Thursday that it takes time to allow the measures to work their way through since they were implemented only a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-not-relaxing-property-cooling-measures-soon-says-mas-chief
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/government-not-relaxing-property-cooling-measures-for-now-mas
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/property-market-more-sober-cooling-measures-no-need-shift-gear-11666398

Ibis Novena sold for nearly S$170m
Property funds managed by Alpha Investment Partners have sold the freehold Ibis Novena for nearly S$170 million, The Business Times understands. The price works out to around S$700,000 per room and a net yield of about 3 per cent. Alpha has made a profit from the deal; it paid S$150 million for the 241-room hotel in 2013.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ibis-novena-sold-for-nearly-s170m

Selegie Centre buyer seeks approval to build hotel
Peak Tower Corporation, which is acquiring Selegie Centre in a collective sale, is seeking approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for its plans to build a hotel on the site, which is presently zoned for commercial and residential use. An earlier application by Peak Tower for a proposed one block, 11-storey hotel on the site and to change the use of the site was turned down by the URA in March.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/selegie-centre-buyer-seeks-approval-to-build-hotel

Strong demand expected for one-north Gateway site launched for sale by tender
Market watchers are anticipating strong demand for a residential-with-commercial site at one-north Gateway, launched for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday, with the analysts’ expected top bids ranging from S$900 to S$1,200 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Also launched for sale by application under the first half of the 2019 Government Land Sales Programme are two residential…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/strong-demand-expected-for-one-north-gateway-site-launched-for-sale-by-tender
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/3-sites-up-for-tender-under-govt-land-sales-scheme
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/government-sites-at-one-north-gateway-hillview-rise-and-dunman-11666684

Freehold Bukit Timah condo Juniper Hill opens for sale on July 13
Units at upcoming freehold Bukit Timah condo Juniper Hill, at Ewe Boon Road, will be up for sale on July 13, developer Allgreen Properties Ltd said in a media statement on Thursday. Prices start from S$1.6 million for a two-bedroom unit, and S$6.1 million for a five-bedroom unit. Units range from 581 to 2,217 square feet (sq ft) in size, with prices ranging from S$2,600 to S$2,900 per square foot.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/freehold-bukit-timah-condo-juniper-hill-opens-for-sale-on-july-13
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/bukit-timahs-juniper-hill-condo-to-open-for-sale-from-july-13-at-prices-starting

Property deals, smart estates stand to gain from tech
Up-to-date laws for Singapore’s digital economy may include the use of blockchain and smart contracts. Property deals and other paper contracts could also go fully digital, in a set of planned tweaks to the law, according to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/property-deals-smart-estates-stand-to-gain-from-tech
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/property-transactions-to-go-digital-with-likely-law-change
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/property-and-shipping-players-welcome-digital-drive

Singapore Economy

Singapore reviewing again 2019 growth forecast: MAS chief
Barely a month after the government lowered the upper-range of the full-year growth forecast by one percentage point to between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent, it is again reviewing this estimate, as recent indicators suggest that second-quarter growth could even be weaker than the 1.2 per cent recorded in the quarter before. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon said…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-reviewing-again-2019-growth-forecast-mas-chief
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/rising-trade-tensions-have-slowed-spore-growth-mas-chief
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-relooks-2019-projections-economists-warn-recession-11667740
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-reviewing-2019-gdp-forecast-range-amid-weaker-growth-11666078
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-2019-economic-growth-likely-be-weaker-global-economy-not-headed-crash-says-mas

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Hospitality Reit takes out S$370m in loan facilities
The trustee of Frasers Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (FH Reit) has entered into S$370 million in bank loan facilities, the Reit manager said on Thursday night in a regulatory update. This consists of an aggregate amount of S$350 million in bank loans and a revolving credit facility of S$20 million between trustee Perpetual (Asia) and lenders DBS Bank, Maybank Singapore branch, and Bank of China Singapore branch.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-hospitality-reit-takes-out-s370m-in-loan-facilities

Frasers Commercial Trust declines to be co-investor in sponsor’s Frasers Tower deal
Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has declined to participate as a co-investor in a Frasers Tower deal after receiving notice from sponsor Frasers Property Limited (FPL) under its right of first refusal agreement. The agreement, which was entered into between the British and Malayan Trustrees Limited, acting in capacity as a trustee of FCOT and FPL in 2009, requires FPL to give notice to FCOT should it decide to sell the property.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-commercial-trust-declines-to-be-co-investor-in-sponsors-frasers-tower-deal
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-commercial-trust-declines-to-be-co-investor-in-sponsors-frasers

Roxy-Pacific acquires retail building in Tokyo for 6b yen
Property group Roxy-Pacific Holdings is acquiring a retail building located at Ginza, Chuo-ku in Tokyo, Japan for six billion yen (S$75.7 million), excluding consumption tax. The purchase is being made through a unit of newly-acquired investment holdings and property investment firm Nigella SG.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/roxy-pacific-acquires-retail-building-in-tokyo-for-6b-yen

Second Chance Properties Q3 net profit up 12.5% to S$2.34m
Mainboard-listed Second Chance Properties on Thursday posted a 12.5 per cent rise in net profit to S$2.34 million for the third quarter ended May 31, 2019. Revenue rose 2.6 per cent to S$9.96 million. Gross profit rose to S$4.95 million from S$4.79 million, up 3.5 per cent from a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/second-chance-properties-q3-net-profit-up-125-to-s234m