DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 28th November 2018

Singapore Economy

Service sector grows by 8% in Q3 (Infographics)
Singapore’s service sector chugged along in the third quarter, with takings up by 8 per cent on the previous year, according to Department of Statistics figures out on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/service-sector-grows-by-8-in-q3
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-services-sector-revenue-up-by-8-in-q3
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/revenue-for-services-sector-rises-8-in-q3

‘Buy Singapore last’? Roundtable shrugs off Malaysian hawks’ fears of risk
The Singapore-Malaysia relationship is unlikely to change by much, in the wake of this year’s election upset, despite fears over Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad’s reputation for a hawkish stance on the Republic, said speakers at the 30th Singapore Economic Roundtable on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/buy-singapore-last-roundtable-shrugs-off-malaysian-hawks-fears-of-risk

Singapore Real Estate

JTC launches Tuas, Tampines sites under Industrial Government Land Sales programme
Government agency JTC has launched one site for tender and another site for application under the 2018 Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme, it announced in a press statement on Tuesday. The site at Tuas South Link 3 (Plot 20), which is available for tender, is the fifth out of six confirmed list sites for the second half of the 2018 IGLS programme. It occupies a land area of 0.45 hectare with a gross plot ratio of 1.4, and a tenure of 20 years. It is zoned for Business-2 use, and the tender for the site will close at 11am on Jan 22, 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jtc-launches-tuas-tampines-sites-under-industrial-government-land-sales-programme
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/jtc-launches-tuas-tampines-industrial-sites

Companies’ Brief

ARA Asset Mgt disposes Beijing shopping mall for 2.56b yuan
ARA Asset Management has sold a Beijing shopping mall for 2.56 billion yuan (S$506.7 million) to the Hong Kong-listed Link Reit. Located in Tongzhou District, Beijing Jingtong Roosevelt Plaza is the retail podium in a large mixed-use development which also includes the Jincheng Centre offices and four residential towers.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ara-asset-mgt-disposes-beijing-shopping-mall-for-256b-yuan

Keppel-KBS US Reit buys second Florida asset for US$48.5m
Keppel-KBS US Reit’s manager announced on Tuesday that it will be acquiring Maitland Promenade I, an office property located in the Maitland submarket of Orlando, Florida, for US$48.5 million from The Realty Associates Fund X.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/keppel-kbs-us-reit-buys-second-florida-asset-for-us485m

Keong Hong posts 87% fall in Q4 net profit in absence of one-time gain
Fourth-quarter net profit of Keong Hong Holdings fell in absence of an exceptional gain and lower revenue. The construction and property group posted an 86.9 per cent decline in net profit to S$6.8 million for the three months ended Sept 30.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keong-hong-posts-87-fall-in-q4-net-profit-in-absence-of-one-time-gain

DBS to expand in Middle East, will double number of private bankers
DBS plans to expand in the Middle East, homing in on a growing wealth segment that looks towards Asia for investment opportunities, the bank said on Tuesday. It will make its Dubai office a strategic hub for the Middle East, positioning itself as the partner of choice for clients wishing to access the Asian market. South-east Asia’s biggest bank intends to double the number of private bankers in Dubai over the next five years, from more than 20 now, a DBS spokeswoman said. Total Dubai branch headcount currently is more than 40.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dbs-to-expand-in-middle-east-will-double-number-of-private-bankers
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/dbs-expands-in-the-middle-east-will-double-the-number-of-private-bankers-over-5
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/dbs-targets-wealth-segment-in-middle-east-expansion
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/dbs-to-almost-double-staff–triple-revenue-of-mideast-private-banking-10974048

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

PM Lee to attend G-20 summit
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make his first working visit to Buenos Aires in Argentina from Wednesday to Saturday, during which he will attend the Group of 20 (G-20) Leaders’ Summit. The visit, made at the invitation of Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, will focus on strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pm-lee-to-attend-g-20-summit
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-to-visit-argentina-for-g-20-summit
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pm-lee-hsien-loong-argentina-visit-g20-leaders-summit-10972608

Climate change deniers are blocking progress, UN report suggests
The United Nations’ annual assessment of global progress on climate change delivers familiar bad news this year – the problem is getting worse, not better with a new twist: For the first time, political ideology is singled out for obstructing changes that would slow global warming.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/climate-change-deniers-are-blocking-progress-un-report-suggests

Semiconductor firm SSMC opens S$300m facility
Semiconductor firm Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC) expanded its footprint in Singapore on Tuesday, with the opening of its S$300 million Annex 10 clean room. Connected to SSMC’s existing Pasir Ris factory via a link bridge, the new 4,400 sq m facility makes for a 34 per cent increase in space for automotive and specialty chip manufacturing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/semiconductor-firm-ssmc-opens-s300m-facility
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/semiconductor-firm-ssmc-opens-new-s300m-facility
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/semiconductor-firm-ssmc-opens-300m-clean-room
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/semiconductor-firm-ssmc-opens-new-s-300m-facility-in-singapore-10974134

Knowledge, ignorance and climate change
No matter how smart or educated you are, what you do not know far surpasses anything that you may know. Socrates taught us the virtue of recognising our limitations. Wisdom, he said, requires possessing a type of humility manifested in an awareness of one’s own ignorance.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/knowledge-ignorance-and-climate-change

The Great Recession vs the Great Depression
Here’s today’s economic quiz: Was the 2007-09 Great Recession more damaging than the Great Depression of the 1930s? Surely the answer is “no”. In the 1930s, unemployment reached 25 per cent. By contrast, the recent peak in the jobless rate was 10 per cent. Case closed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-great-recession-vs-the-great-depression

Commentary: Reviewing the airworthiness of Singapore’s air taxi dreams
Discussions about flying cars as a mitigating measure to traffic congestion in urban areas like Singapore have been around for a long time. But in Singapore, it has not taken root because of burning transport issues and cynicism that the city-state might be substituting road traffic congestion with that in the air or that its extravagant price tag will limit access, even if flying cars proliferate here.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/singapore-air-taxis-drones-travel-commute-reality-10949372