DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 29th November 2016

Singapore Economy

Singapore losing edge in drawing and keeping talent: IMD report
Singapore has slipped five places to 15th in the latest world-talent ranking by Swiss business school IMD. Hong Kong was Asia’s only representative among the top 10-ranked world economies in terms of how well they develop, attract and retain talent for the businesses operating in them. All Asian economies, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China and India, lost ground in the 2016 talent league table. The IMD World Talent Report 2016 is compiled by the same global learning institution which also puts out the annual World Competitiveness report.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-losing-edge-in-drawing-and-keeping-talent-imd-report
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-slips-in-global-talent-ranking

S’pore tops Asia in per capita returns from infrastructure
Singapore generates the highest built-asset income per person in Asia, at US$35,900, according to the Global Built Asset Performance Index by design and consulting firm Arcadis. The index is designed to understand how built assets can power more growth to economies by examining the income generated by buildings and infrastructure (for example, roads, airports, power plants, malls, railways, ports) across 36 countries and comparing it to the size of the economy measured by gross domestic product (GDP) as well as per-capita incomes.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/spore-tops-asia-in-per-capita-returns-from-infrastructure

Singapore firms seeking growth could tap Chongqing’s bubbling potential
One year on since its formation, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative between China’s largest municipality and Singapore is starting to percolate. When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the September 2016 G-20 summit, the subsequent communique signalled both countries’ desire for the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) to be a “new highlight of bilateral cooperation”.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-firms-seeking-growth-could-tap-chongqings-bubbling-potential

Singapore Real Estate

Plaster slab falls from HDB block in Hougang
In the third such incident in three months, a slab of plaster fell 12 storeys from the top of a Housing Board block in Hougang on Sunday morning. No one was injured by the slab, a piece of the facade measuring 1.2m by 0.6m. The facade had been checked recently, according to the estate manager, Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC). Resident Andy Loh, 39, heard a loud noise around 11am on Sunday.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/plaster-slab-falls-from-hdb-block-in-hougang

BTO launch: Kallang/Whampoa, Bidadari flats most popular
The biggest launch of Build-To-Order flats this year drew to a close just before midnight, with four-room flats in Kallang/Whampoa and Bidadari posting the highest demand. As of 5pm yesterday, there were almost 11 applicants vying for each of the 158 four-room units in the Kallang Residences project. Over at new housing estate Bidadari, which comes under Toa Payoh town, there were just over six buyers going for each of the 587 four-room flats on offer in Woodleigh Glen and Woodleigh Village.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/bto-launch-kallangwhampoa-bidadari-flats-most-popular
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/kallang-bidadari-units-most-popular-latest-bto-exercise

ABSD deadline fast approaching, but developers stay cool
Time is fast running out for some developers, with a five-year deadline to complete and sell all units at their residential projects due next year. Companies with unsold stock are ramping up marketing efforts to avoid multimillion-dollar penalties that stem from the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD), but home hunters should not expect a fire sale any time soon. The clock started ticking back in December 2011 with new rules that developers must build and sell all units in residential projects within five years of buying the site.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/absd-deadline-fast-approaching-but-developers-stay-cool

Companies’ Brief

Perennial and SPH raise stakes in Chinatown mall
Perennial Real Estate Holdings and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) have bought an additional 60 per cent of a partnership holding Chinatown Point mall and four strata office units above it for a cash consideration of S$92.6 million. Perennial’s effective stake in the partnership rose from 5.15 per cent to 45.15 per cent. SPH’s stake rose from 7.35 per cent to 27.35 per cent. “In addition to its prime location, excellent transport connectivity and strong trading performance, Chinatown Point Mall presents good upside potential,” said Perennial CEO Pua Seck Guan in a press release.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/perennial-and-sph-raise-stakes-in-chinatown-mall
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/perennial-sph-pay-93m-to-lift-stake-in-perennial-chinatown-point

Perennial in deal to buy stake in London’s Aviva Tower, valued at £330m
A day after Perennial Real Estate Holdings said it has raised its stake in the Chinatown Point mall in Singapore, the developer on Tuesday announced it has signed a call option agreement for the right to buy a 20 per cent stake in Aroland Holdings, which owns Aviva Tower in London. The call option is based on an agreed property value of £330 million (S$583 million) for the 28-storey office building. The option price was derived based on the “as-is” market valuation of Aviva Tower of £323 million, without factoring in any potential redevelopment value.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/perennial-in-deal-to-buy-stake-in-londons-aviva-tower-valued-at-%C2%A3330m
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/perennial-to-acquire-20-stake-in-londons-aviva-tower

Keong Hong posts 24.4% fall in Q4 profit to S$17m
Keong Hong Holdings Limited reported a 24.4 per cent decline in net profit to S$17 million for the fourth quarter ended Sept 30. Revenue clocked in by the construction, hotel and property development and investment group slipped 24.8 per cent to S$57.15 million during the quarter. For the full year, the group’s net profit dipped 9 per cent to S$34.67 million on the back of lower revenue and gain from associates.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keong-hong-posts-244-fall-in-q4-profit-to-s17m

Karamjit Singh leaving JLL position to pursue own interests
Real estate consultancy JLL said on Monday that en bloc veteran Karamjit Singh, who has led JLL’s Singapore residential team since 2012, will be leaving his position to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests. He will continue to advise JLL and its clients on major residential capital markets transactions in his new capacity as senior consultant with effect from January 2017. Following Mr Singh’s move, Tan Hong Boon and Yong Choon Fah will take on the day-to-day running of the residential arm of the firm’s Singapore capital markets business.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/karamjit-singh-leaving-jll-position-to-pursue-own-interests
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/karamjit-singh-to-leave-jlls-residential-team-to-pursue-own-interests

Views, Reviews & Forum

BTO flats: Maintain age limit for singles
I disagree with Mr Sum Kam Weng’s proposal on lowering the age limit of singles buying new HDB flats (“BTO flats: Lower age limit for singles“; Nov 26). The median age of first-time marriages is steadily climbing, being 30.3 for grooms and 28.2 for brides last year (“2015 marital break-ups 3rd highest on record“; July 14), and with better technology, the speed of the construction of flats is also improving.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/bto-flats-maintain-age-limit-for-singles

Slow response to maintenance feedback via iTown@SG app
When the iTown@SG app was released in June 2013, it was touted as a free mobile application that allowed public housing residents to share any maintenance feedback immediately to the responsible town council. The report on June 11, 2013 (“One app to report estate faults and maintenance issues“) said that a lift breakdown was to be attended to in 25 minutes, and unswept or dirty corridors were to be attended to within a day.
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/slow-response-to-maintenance-feedback-via-itownsg-app