DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30th March 2016

Top Stories

What Singapore could face in 2030
Imagine a future where borrowers do not need banks, where technology has removed the need for middlemen and made old business models in Singapore obsolete. Or imagine this nation plagued with environmental problems – heatwave, water stress and soaring food prices as crops fail across Asia – but then taking the lead in regional recovery efforts.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/what-singapore-could-face-in-2030

Trade associations and chambers have to play more active role: Experts
Trade associations and chambers (TACs) in Singapore will have to step up and play a more active role to bring benefits to its members, industry players told Channel NewsAsia. In his recent Budget speech, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said S$30 million will be set aside to strengthen trade associations and chambers over the next five years. Twenty public officers will also be seconded to various associations. Observers have said this is particularly timely as the business environment becomes more complex and firms need to know that they also have much to gain by working together.http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/trade-associations-and/2645952.html

Singapore Real Estate

Famous hotpot chain founder buys GCB
The founder of a popular Sichuan-style hotpot (steamboat) chain that originated in China and which is well-known for its dedicated customer service – is understood to have bought a Good Class Bungalow at Gallop Road. Zhang Yong, a Singapore citizen, is paying S$27 million for the bungalow, which was rebuilt and completed in 2012. The price works out to S$1,700 psf based on the property’s freehold land area of 15,884.29 sq ft.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/famous-hotpot-chain-founder-buys-gcb

Takashimaya in rent dispute with landlord Ngee Ann City
Business associates for more than 22 years, the landlord of Ngee Ann City and its anchor tenant, department store Takashimaya, are tussling in a dispute over rent. In a High Court hearing that started yesterday, Ngee Ann Development and Takashimaya are seeking to resolve a deadlock as they cannot agree on the interpretation of a 2014 agreement on how rental rate is to be valued.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/takashimaya-in-rent-dispute-with-landlord-ngee-ann-city?login=true

JTC launches sale of Woodlands industrial site
Developers are being invited to bid for a 1.35ha industrial site in Woodlands. JTC Corporation launched the confirmed-list site yesterday. The site at Woodlands Sector 2 is zoned for Business 2 (B2) development and has a 20-year tenure with a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.0. The launch comes under the Industrial Government Land Sales programme for the first half of the year.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/jtc-launches-sale-of-woodlands-industrial-site

Pest control checks done nightly: Waterway Point
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pest-control-checks-done/2646046.html

Companies’ Brief

Low Keng Huat’s Q4 earnings fall 58%
Construction firm Low Keng Huat’s net profit for the fourth quarter more than halved as its revenue plunged. The group recorded a net profit of S$32.1 million for the three months ended Jan 31, 2016, down 58 per cent from the same period last year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/low-keng-huats-q4-earnings-fall-58

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust
Business park owner Ascendas Reit has issued $130 million worth of 2.655 per cent bonds. The bonds have a tenor of five years and will mature on April 7, 2021. Coupons will be paid twice a year. They will be issued by HSBC Institutional Trust Services in its capacity as trustee of Ascendas Reit.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/company-briefs-ascendas-real-estate-investment-trust-0