Singapore Real Estate
British expat pays S$10k a month to swim in Sentosa Cove bungalow’s pool
This is an almost too-ridiculous-to-be-true story of a man who has rented a swimming pool for S$10,000 a month. Faced with the prospect of not being able to swim in his own condominium pool, which is closed because of Singapore’s circuit breaker measures to stem the spread of Covid-19, the British expatriate cast around his neighbours’ properties.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
BTO sales launch in May deferred amid circuit breaker
The sales exercise for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats next month will be deferred until further notice, said the Housing Board last Friday. Some 3,700 BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Tengah, Pasir Ris and Tampines and about 160 assisted living flats for seniors in Bukit Batok were supposed to be launched next month. The deferment comes after the extension of circuit breaker measures to June 1. All construction activities have ceased and work sites are now closed.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Singapore Economy
More expected to be jobless, especially in retail, F&B, recreation sectors
Layoffs and unemployment are expected to rise in Singapore this year, in spite of a massive fiscal shot in the arm, the central bank said in a half-yearly report out on Tuesday. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warned that retail trade, food and beverage and recreation services staff are “most vulnerable to being laid off” – especially as overall and industry labour market conditions were already soft in end-2019, before the deadly Covid-19 pandemic hit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
GDP contraction to worsen in Q2 on Covid-19 impact: MAS
Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to contract more sharply in the second quarter than in the first, given the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic abroad and strict measures at home, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Tuesday’s Macroeconomic Review. Apart from the external blow to electronics and oil-related manufacturing, modern services is likely to suffer, as will private consumption.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Fiscal policy remains key as disinflationary pressures rise: MAS
Disinflationary pressures will broaden as the demand shock from the Covid-19 pandemic reverberates, but fiscal policy will play the main role in mitigating the crisis, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its half-yearly Macroeconomic Review on Tuesday. or now, economists do not see an off-cycle move happening, and expect MAS to keep exchange rate policy unchanged at the next decision in October.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Singapore adapts to electronics trade shifts by focusing on high value-added activities
Despite shifts in electronics trade flows, Singapore has adapted by focusing on high value-added activities in the global supply chain, helping to cement its position as a trade hub. While increased US-China trade barriers and technological restrictions in the last two years have raised the prospect that China and Asia’s China-centric electronics production network…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Some industries may grow even as Singapore heads for recession
Some businesses may continue to grow despite the country sliding into its worst-ever recession, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said. It noted that the pandemic has in fact boosted demand for medical products, making it Singapore’s only trade-related industry to register growth amid the collapse in global demand for other exports.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Consumers cut spending on transport, leisure and clothing
The measures, which saw consumer-facing services such as retail and entertainment suspended, and which MAS described as “essentially a partial shutdown of the economy”, will have varying degrees of impact on consumers.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Companies’ Brief
Ascendas Reit reports ‘healthy’ Q1 operational performance
Ascendas Reit’s manager announced in a business update that it delivered a “healthy” operational performance for its first quarter ended March 31. Its overall portfolio occupancy rate improved to 91.7 per cent quarter on quarter, mainly attributable to a higher occupancy rate of 88.6 per cent in the Singapore portfolio on the back of higher demand for logistics space.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Cache Logistics Trust renamed as ARA Logos Logistics Trust
Cache Logistics Trust has been renamed as ARA Logos Logistics Trust (ALog). The trading name change will occur tomorrow, with the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) moniker on the Singapore bourse switching from Cache Log Trust to ARA Logos Log Tr at 9am. Its K2LU stock code remains unchanged.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
CDL to give most retail tenants additional rebates for June, July
Most retail tenants of properties owned by City Developments Limited (CDL) will get rebates on gross rental for two more months in June and July, as the listed landlord raises its rental relief kitty to S$23 million from the S$17 million it announced earlier this month.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
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Eagle Hospitality Trust appoints financial adviser; 5 hotel managers exit
The managers of Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) on Tuesday announced it has named Moelis & Company as financial adviser as well as brought in temporary caretakers at five closed hotels after their hotel managers left.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
FLT renamed Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust after merger
Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) has been renamed Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT), following the S$1.58 billion merger between Frasers’ logistics and commercial real estate investment trusts (Reits).
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Prime US Reit’s Q1 net property income exceeds IPO projections by 6.7%
In a business update, Prime US Reit on Tuesday announced that its first-quarter net property income stood at US$23.5 million, exceeding IPO projections by 6.7 per cent. Its gross revenue exceeded projections as well, by 4.1 per cent to hit US$35.1 million; its distributable income stood at US$17.6 million for the first quarter, exceeding the IPO projection by 12.9 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Starhill Global Reit’s Q3 revenue down 8.9%
Starhill Global Reit’s revenue for the third quarter ended March 31 fell 8.9 per cent to S$46.7 million, while its net property income fell 11.1 per cent to S$35.2 million. The decrease in net property income was largely due to lower contributions from Starhill Gallery, in relation to its planned asset enhancement, rental assistance…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Views, Reviews, Forum & Others
Greater inclusion will boost resilience to disasters
A lesson from Covid-19 is that inclusive growth and greater income equality will help build stronger resilience to catastrophes. People on low incomes and facing vast disparities are unduly hurt by these shocks.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Infrastructure financing platform Bayfront inks deals with 15 banks
Infrastructure financing platform Bayfront Infrastructure Management has inked partnerships with 15 global banks in its first month of operations. DBS, OCBC, Citi, Standard Chartered, ABN-AMRO, BNP Paribas, and Santander are among the first banks from which Bayfront will acquire loans,
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation
‘Decisive’ fall in local community cases key to circuit breaker rollback
While the daily number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore has started to ease, authorities are looking for a “decisive reduction” in local community transmission before moving to relax enhanced circuit breaker measures.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
528 new cases – lowest daily increase in nearly two weeks
Foreign workers continued to account for most of the 528 new Covid-19 cases here yesterday, taking the total count to 14,951. This is the lowest daily increase in new cases in Singapore in nearly two weeks since April 15, which had 447 new cases.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
*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
Global Economy & Global Real Estate
Record-long US expansion to see its end in Q1 GDP
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Malls face catastrophic hit in Canada with unpaid rent surging
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Blackstone buys A$552m stake in Australia’s Crown Resorts; shares soar
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Parkway Life Reit confirms three Covid-19 cases in Japan nursing home
https://www.businesstimes.com.
HK hotels on the brink amid protests, pandemic pain
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Additional Articles of Interests – Local & Overseas Real Estate
Local & Overseas Real Estate – Full Article
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