DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 28th September 2018

Singapore Economy

Asian markets dip on Fed’s 8th hike since 2015
Asian markets struggled to keep their heads above water on Thursday with declines in key equity benchmarks in Japan, Hong Kong, China and Australia, while Singapore and Malaysia were little changed in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s widely-expected rate hike as investors processed how far the Fed could go with its tightening cycle.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/asian-markets-dip-on-feds-8th-hike-since-2015
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/asian-markets-falter-on-fed-hike-trade-war-jitters

Singdollar at new highs against ringgit and rupiah
The Singdollar has been strengthening against the ringgit and the rupiah. A check last night showed that one Singdollar could buy RM3.0336, compared with RM3.0266 at the start of the year. In April, when the ringgit was at its strongest against the Singapore currency this year, it was RM2.936 to the Singdollar. Analysts said a combination of factors contributed to the relative strength of the Singdollar against the ringgit.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/singdollar-at-new-highs-against-ringgit-and-rupiah
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/indonesia-rupiah-weakens-26-year-low-against-singapore-dollar-10764728

S’pore and UK need to fully integrate into the global economy to thrive: Chan Chun Sing
The world needs new rules and standards for the rapidly changing fields of finance, data and intellectual property, an initiative that would create platforms for countries such as Singapore and Britain to seize new opportunities. The call came from Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, who told the British Chamber of Commerce’s business awards on Thursday (Sept 27)
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/spore-and-uk-need-to-fully-integrate-into-the-global-economy-to-thrive-chan-chun
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-uk-can-help-each-other-as-global-economy-evolves

Tourist arrivals up 7.6% for first half of the year
About 9.2 million tourists visited Singapore between January and June this year, a 7.6 per cent increase over the same period last year. The increase was highest for the month of June, when the Republic hosted the meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. That month, 1.54 million visitors arrived in Singapore, up 11.32 per cent from the same period last year, according to figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tourist-arrivals-up-76-for-first-half-of-the-year

Singapore population up 0.5% at 5.64 million in June 2018
The total population here grew by 0.5 per cent in the 12-month period ending in June 2018 to reach 5.64 million, an increase of 30,000 buoyed mainly by more births among Singaporeans as well as the addition of new citizens. The new rate is an improvement over the previous 12-month period when the population grew by just 0.1 per cent, which was the slowest in more than a decade.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-population-up-05-at-564-million-in-june-2018
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/total-population-564m-with-number-of-citizens-up-1-to-347m
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-total-population-inches-564-million-after-flat-growth-last-year
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-population-grows-slightly-to-5-64m-with-non-resident-10763132

Singapore’s fertility rate down as number of singles goes up
Fewer Singaporean women tied the knot last year compared with a decade ago, a shift experts say is the biggest cause for the country’s low fertility rate. The biggest proportion of women staying single is in the prime childbearing years of 25 to 29, according to the annual Population in Brief report released yesterday. The uptrend coincides with Singapore’s total fertility rate plunging to a seven-year low of 1.16 last year, down from 1.20 in 2016.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spores-fertility-rate-down-as-number-of-singles-goes-up

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore office rents grow for sixth straight quarter in Q3 2018: JLL study
Singapore office rents have increased for the sixth straight quarter in the third quarter of 2018, coming closer to beating the last high seen at the start of 2015, amid near-term tightening in CBD (central business district) space and strong demand from occupiers. Research from consultancy JLL showed that gross effective rents of Grade A office space in the CBD edged up 2.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2018 to average S$9.93 per square feet (psf) per month.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-office-rents-grow-for-sixth-straight-quarter-in-q3-2018-jll-study-0

Freehold Serangoon Building on sale with S$52m guide price
A freehold commercial property in Serangoon Road has been put up for sale, with the marketing agent highlighting the possibility of naming rights for the buyer, in an announcement on Thursday. The six-storey building at 291 Serangoon Road – also known as Serangoon Building – has an indicative guide price of S$52 million, or S$2,611 per square foot (psf), based on a gross floor area of 19,913 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/freehold-serangoon-building-on-sale-with-s52m-guide-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/freehold-serangoon-building-on-sale-with-52m-guide-price-0

URA site for hotel in Chinatown up for tender
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released a government land sales site in Chinatown for hotel use on Thursday, with the land parcel possibly yielding as many as 390 rooms. The 99-year leasehold, 5,121.4 square metre (55,130 square foot) site, at the junction of Cross Street and Club Street, has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 24,310 sq m.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-site-for-hotel-in-chinatown-up-for-tender
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hotel-site-in-club-street-launched-for-sale-by-public-tender

Ascendas-Singbridge named as buyer of Sabana Reit’s Geo-Tele data centre
The Ascendas-Singbridge Group has emerged as the buyer of Geo-Tele Centre, a day after the sale of the Tai Seng data centre was announced. The manager of Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) inked a conditional sale and purchase agreement on Wednesday for 9, Tai Seng Drive, for S$99.6 million in cash.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ascendas-singbridge-named-as-buyer-of-sabana-reits-geo-tele-data-centre
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/sabana-reit-to-sell-data-centre-to-ascendas-singbridge

Govt tenders to be awarded based on both price and quality
Both price and quality, and not just price alone, will determine how government contracts are awarded in future, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat said yesterday. This will let businesses adopt a longer-term perspective and invest in building capability, build their track records and win overseas contracts on top of local ones.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/govt-tenders-to-be-awarded-based-on-both-price-and-quality

Companies’ Brief

Lum Chang issues S$40m of 5.8% fixed rate notes
The notes will mature on Sept 27, 2021 and are being issued under the S$300 million multi-currency medium-term note programme. The notes comprise S$27,250,000 of new notes issued when the group invited holders of its outstanding S$50 million 5.5 per cent notes due 2019 to exchange their existing notes; as well S$12,750,000 in aggregate principal amount of additional notes.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lum-chang-issues-s40m-of-58-fixed-rate-notes

Keppel, SPH to make joint offer for M1; Keppel to privatise Keppel T&T
Keppel Corp (KepCorp) on Thursday said it will be making a pre-conditional voluntary general offer of S$2.06 cash a share for the M1 shares it does not own, and a separate offer to privatise subsidiary, Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation (Keppel T&T), at S$1.91 a share in cash. The offer for M1, made together with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), values Singapore’s third largest mobile operator at around S$1.91 billion.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-sph-to-make-joint-offer-for-m1-keppel-to-privatise-keppel-tt-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/m1-keppel-tt-shares-soar-on-buyout-bids
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-to-make-buyout-offer-for-m1-with-sph-support

OCBC banks on mobile-first strategy to grow Indonesia market share
OCBC Bank is ramping up its digitalisation efforts in Indonesia in a bid to capture a larger share of the market. It will use a mobile-first strategy and collaborations with partners from various sectors to increase accessibility to their services and deepen customer engagement, said OCBC in response to queries from The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ocbc-banks-on-mobile-first-strategy-to-grow-indonesia-market-share
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/ocbc-boosts-digital-drive-in-indonesia-to-expand-market-share

SPH to deliver personalised news reading experience with Cxense
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) on Thursday said that it will use a machine-learning powered solution for dynamic paywalls and personalised customer journeys across its media platforms to increase subscription. The solution, called Cxense Conversion Engine, was created by Norway-based firm Cxense. The company has worked with brands such as The Wall Street Journal and NBC.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-to-deliver-personalised-news-reading-experience-with-cxense

Surbana Jurong prices S$350m senior bonds in debut offering
Surbana Jurong has priced its inaugural bond offering, the first to be launched under a debt issuance programme that was set up last month. It is issuing S$350 million in Singdollar senior bonds due 2025, with a coupon rate of 4.11 per cent. The offering, which is part of a US$1 billion multi-currency debt scheme, will be settled on Oct 3. Temasek-owned Surbana Jurong has billed its debt programme as a diversification of funding sources and a “long-term platform to tap the international debt capital markets”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/surbana-jurong-prices-s350m-senior-bonds-in-debut-offering

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Be rational, not emotional, when investing in real estate
For many who are diligent (if not astute) with personal financial and wealth planning, investing in property – especially in Singapore, over the years – has reaped big gains, money-wise. Over the past five decades, the property market here – both public and private housing – has seen a capital appreciation that reflects Singapore’s growth and spectacular transformation from backwater to a global hub. The official private home price index surged from 8.9 in 1975 to a high of 154.6 in the third quarter of 2013.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/be-rational-not-emotional-when-investing-in-real-estate

Long-term investors give M1 another lease
Being contrarian can be rather unnerving, but Keppel Corp’s move to buy out M1 at the time when the telecom industry is reeling from fierce competition appears a happy resolution for all parties, including M1’s other shareholders who may not have the stomach for roller-coaster rides. Keppel on Thursday said it will be making a pre-conditional voluntary general offer of S$2.06 cash a share for the M1 shares it does not own, and a separate offer to privatise subsidiary, Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation (Keppel T&T), at S$1.91 a share in cash.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/long-term-investors-give-m1-another-lease

Singapore committed to deepening Tianjin links: Lawrence Wong
Singapore is committed to deepening cooperation and developing links with China’s northern port city of Tianjin, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday. Speaking at the opening of the Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council (STETC) meeting, Mr Wong listed several ways both sides could work closer together, including on trade connectivity, sustainable development and financial services.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/spore-committed-to-deepening-tianjin-links-lawrence-wong