DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 29 May 2020 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

URA launches tender for Tanah Merah Kechil Link site
A land parcel at Tanah Merah Kechil Link, slated for residential with commercial use on the first storey, is now up for sale by public tender. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched the tender on Thursday, under the confirmed list of the first half 2020 government land sales (GLS) programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-launches-tender-for-tanah-merah-kechil-link-site-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/2nd-residential-site-up-for-sale-tender-extended-due-to-covid-19

Singapore launches 4.4ha of industrial land supply for H2 2020
The government has launched 4.4 hectares of industrial land across six sites under the Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme for the second half of 2020, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-launches-44ha-of-industrial-land-supply-for-h2-2020

Wealthy Singaporeans still buying luxury homes amid downturn
With Covid-19 putting paid to any travel plans in the near future, Mr David Yong plans to sample the resort life at Sentosa Cove instead. The 33-year-old bachelor has been shopping for his next home at the upscale residential enclave on Sentosa island since the beginning of the year. His budget: $10 million to $15 million.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/wealthy-sporeans-still-buying-luxury-homes-amid-downturn

Singapore Economy

Singapore rates unlikely to stay negative, but may remain low till 2021
Singapore’s one-month Swap Offer Rate (SOR) fell briefly below zero last Wednesday for the first time since 2011, raising the spectre that the Republic could be following in the footsteps of other countries with persistent negative rates.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-rates-unlikely-to-stay-negative-but-may-remain-low-till-2021

Companies’ Brief

Bukit Sembawang lowers special dividend as Q4 loss deepens 23%
Bukit Sembawang posted a S$14.2 million loss for the fourth quarter ended March – 23 per cent deeper in the red than a year ago due to steeper operating costs, the property developer announced in a bourse filing on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/bukit-sembawang-lowers-special-dividend-as-q4-loss-deepens-23

CapitaLand bags loan linked to sustainable practices from UOB
CapitaLand has obtained a four-year S$500 million sustainability-linked loan from United Overseas Bank (UOB), 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/real-estate/capitaland-bags-loan-linked-to-sustainable-practices-from-uob
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-snags-four-year-500m-sustainability-linked-loan-from-uob

CapitaLand to deploy disinfection technology in malls
CapitaLand will deploy tech solutions such as disinfecting robots and air disinfection systems at its malls to enhance its cleaning and disinfecting routines ahead of Singapore’s phase one reopening in June, it said in a bourse filing on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-to-deploy-disinfection-technology-in-malls
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-to-deploy-disinfection-technology-in-malls-for-covid-19-safe

EHT to use maiden distribution to pay for sponsor’s liabilities
Monies that were originally intended for Eagle Hospitality Trust’s (EHT) maiden distribution to unitholders will now be re-directed to fund critical expenses of the US-based hotel trust and its underlying portfolio. This is in the light of the “continuing failure” by the trust sponsor and master lessee, Urban Commons…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eht-to-use-maiden-distribution-to-pay-for-sponsors-liabilities
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/eht-to-use-maiden-distribution-to-pay-for-sponsors-liabilities

Keppel unveils 10-year roadmap, to focus on 4 units
Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp has unveiled a 10-year roadmap that sharpens the lens on four key segments from offshore & marine to property and grow the units as an integrated business with an eye on M&A plus divestments of selected assets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-unveils-10-year-roadmap-to-focus-on-4-units
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-corp-unveils-10-year-roadmap-with-focus-on-four-key-segments

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Apec expects region’s GDP growth to drop by 2.7%
Hit by the Covid-19 outbreak, economic growth in Asia-Pacific may suffer a record decline this year. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) expects the region’s real gross domestic product growth to decline by 2.7 per cent, with trade tensions and lower commodity prices reinforcing the pandemic-driven slump.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/apec-expects-regions-gdp-growth-to-drop-by-27

The Office Post Covid-19
June 2 marks the day when Singapore cautiously initiates its first phase of reopening after the end of the circuit breaker. For the majority of the workforce, it is status quo as working from home is still encouraged.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/feature/the-office-post-covid-19

Six steps to post-Covid planning
For companies facing their post-Covid future, making decisions and acting with assurance has never been more challenging. The Monetary Authority of Singapore expects gross domestic product to shrink by between 4 and 7 per cent this year, with a gradual recovery beginning in second half of 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/six-steps-to-post-covid-planning

Normal churn – when not all businesses can (or should) be saved
When a broad-based crisis threatens to cause mass business closures, it is important to distinguish between firms that were on the way out regardless, and healthy enterprises that just need some help to weather the storm. The nature of the Covid-19 crisis, however, might make this distinction harder to draw.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/normal-churn-when-not-all-businesses-can-or-should-be-saved

Keeping afloat in turbulent waters
The engineering involved in modern-day ships is extraordinary. Hulls are built in sections so that the overall structural integrity can be maintained even if one compartment is exposed to a sudden and massive inflow of water.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/keeping-afloat-in-turbulent-waters

It’s time for banks to take digitalisation to new levels
Years before Covid-19 struck, a shift was underway in Singapore’s financial landscape: digital banking and payment solutions were slowly, but steadily, gaining traction among consumers and merchants. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which has forced the implementation of social distancing measures and essentially driven people indoors for safety, is now supercharging this shift.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/its-time-for-banks-to-take-digitalisation-to-new-levels

Getting the right foreign worker balance
The Covid-19 pandemic and the high levels of infections among foreign workers have prompted some academics and members of non-governmental organisations to call for a reduction in Singapore’s dependence on such workers.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/getting-the-right-foreign-worker-balance

Will ageism get worse in the post-pandemic workplace?
In 2017, a group of United States researchers reported what happened when they sent out more than 40,000 job applications. The applications, all fictitious, were for positions in administration, security and retail, and came from people aged 29 to 31, 49 to 51 or 64 to 66.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/will-ageism-get-worse-in-the-post-pandemic-workplace

Are our recycling efforts going round in circles?
Reduce, re-use, recycle. Three small words that, in theory, would help the world go forward in cutting waste and moving towards a circular and sustainable economy. Yet it is an uphill battle, held back now by the crisis that has made takeaway and delivery the default mode of business, generating ever more packaging waste.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/are-our-recycling-efforts-going-round-in-circles

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Covid-19 patients can be discharged after 21 days if well
Coronavirus patients who are clinically well by the 21st day of their illness will be discharged, as more scientific evidence shows they are no longer infectious. But as a precaution, these people will have to stay at home or in their dormitories for another seven days, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/covid-19-patients-can-be-discharged-after-21-days-if-well

Resumption of business activities from June 2
Singapore exits the eight-week Circuit Breaker period when it ends on June 1, with the country resuming activities safely in three phases. In Phase 1, Singapore will gradually reopen economic activities that do not pose a high risk of Covid-19 transmission.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/resumption-of-business-activities-from-june-2

Task force fleshes out plans for next steps in reopening Singapore economy
Even as Singapore prepares for the lifting of the circuit breaker measures on Tuesday, a ministerial task force yesterday fleshed out plans for how the country might move on to phase two of opening up the economy by the end of next month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/task-force-fleshes-out-plans-for-next-steps-in-reopening-spore-economy

Most businesses could reopen before end-June if Covid-19 cases stay low
If new Covid-19 cases continue to stay low, retail shops, consumer services, and venues such as sports facilities, stadiums, and swimming pools could reopen before the end of June, along with the lifting of a ban on dining in at food and beverage (F&B) outlets and social gatherings.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/most-businesses-could-reopen-before-end-june-if-covid-19-cases-stay-low
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/almost-entire-economy-to-reopen-under-phase-two

Retail, F&B ‘elated’ over possibility of earlier reopening, but see uphill recovery
Retail and food and beverage (F&B) players on Thursday breathed a sigh of relief on the possibility of an earlier end to what they feel is an increasingly untenable wait to reopen, although they do not expect business to pick up immediately.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/retail-fb-elated-over-possibility-of-earlier-reopening-but-see-uphill-recovery

Coronavirus: Dining in, meeting friends allowed in phase two, but capped at groups of 5
When phase two of the post-circuit breaker measures kicks in, people will once again be allowed to dine in at food and beverage outlets, meet friends and visit family members. But they will be allowed to do so in groups of only five or fewer, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong at a virtual press conference yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/dining-in-meeting-friends-allowed-in-phase-two-but-capped-at-groups-of-5

Coronavirus: New criteria for discharge will free up testing capacity
The decision to discharge clinically healthy Covid-19 patients without the need for further tests will free up testing capacity, said Associate Professor Kenneth Mak. This means that more tests can be diverted to the diagnosis of migrant workers in dormitories, for example, or to screen staff looking after vulnerable seniors.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-criteria-for-discharge-will-free-up-testing-capacity

Coronavirus: Testing, contact tracing measures for business travellers as curbs are eased
New measures and procedures such as compulsory testing will be put in place as Singapore looks to progressively ease restrictions on essential business travel. The plan is to establish “green lanes” and “travel bubbles” with countries where Covid-19 is under control, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/testing-contact-tracing-measures-for-business-travellers-as-curbs-are-eased
*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