Singapore Real Estate
URA urges showflat viewings by appointments amid Covid-19
Chip Eng Seng’s Kopar At Newton condo could serve to be a test case of how developers can launch projects at showflats in the weeks ahead, amid tighter social-distancing measures announced by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday to minimise the further spread of Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Singapore clothing rental market a bright spot for fashion sector
Singapore’s clothing rental subscription market might just be a ray of hope for the fashion industry, which is taking a beating thanks to the Covid-19 outbreak. Amid the doom and gloom, some observers are seeing resilience in the niche clothing subscription scene…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Singapore hotels 51% full in Feb, room revenues drop 40%
Singapore hotels were only half-filled in February, resulting in a 40 per cent plunge in room revenues, as coronavirus fears threaten to bring the global travel industry to a grinding halt, according to data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Singapore Economy
MAS eases Singdollar appreciation to ‘zero slope’, lowers mid-point of policy band in one-two blow
Singapore’s central bank pulled back on its exchange rate-based monetary policy on Monday morning, in line with market expectations, as the deadly Covid-19 pandemic looked set to keep battering economies globally.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
SGD bounces slightly after fiscal blast
The beleaguered Singapore dollar (SGD) rallied on Friday, after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat unveiled a massive fiscal injection as the economy careens towards recession. The SGD touched 1.4249 against the greenback on Friday afternoon – stronger by 2.7 per cent from a trough of 1.4650 on March 23…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Companies’ Brief
Prime US Reit seeking assets in growing job markets
For property veteran Barbara Cambon, buildings are not just a heap of bricks and concrete. Instead, they are dynamic structures where people learn, work, play and dream. “Real estate is viewed as solid structures, but we must also understand the dynamism and diversity that goes on within these physical assets, and how they can meet the constantly evolving needs of their occupants,”…
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Suntec City unveils second rent assistance package
Suntec City late on Friday said that in support of the Resilience Budget announced by the government last week, it will roll out a second tranche of rental assistance to more than 97 per cent of its tenants in Suntec City Mall.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
United Hampshire US Reit’s portfolio to ‘remain resilient’ amid virus pandemic: manager
United Hampshire US Real Estate Investment Trust (United Hampshire US Reit) on Friday said its portfolio “remains resilient and well-positioned” to navigate the novel coronavirus pandemic. This is because more than 70 per cent of its base rental income comes from tenants in businesses deemed essential, a majority of which remain open during widespread lockdowns.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
UOBAM launches sustainable bond fund for retail investors
UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) on Friday launched a sustainable bond fund in Singapore targeted at retail investors. Known as the United Sustainable Credit Income Fund (USCIF), it is focused on bonds from companies that are making progress in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said UOBAM in a statement.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Wee Investments up UOL, Haw Par stakes
For the five trading sessions spanning March 20 to 26, the Straits Times Index (STI) rebounded 7.6 per cent with the Nikkei 225 Index, Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index averaging a 9.6 per cent gain. This has brought the STI’s decline in total return for 2020 through to March 26 to 22.4 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Views, Reviews, Forum & Others
Flexiwork to the fore
This week’s topic: Apart from health and economic consequences, will Covid-19 also spell a big reset in terms of how we work? As an employer, how open are you to large-scale work-from-home in your organisation?
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Coronavirus: Workplace distancing more effective than school closures, says study
Workplace distancing is far more effective in reducing the spread of Covid-19 than school closures, said a team of experts. They noted in a study that sick adults are more likely to go to work than sick children are to go to school. The adults would spread the virus to co-workers, who would bring it back to their own homes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
How the Govt is helping Singaporeans to weather the coronavirus crisis
If Budget 2019 was a buoyant celebration of Singapore’s bicentennial year, this year’s edition has been a sombre stocktaking of life amid the worsening coronavirus situation. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in Budget 2020 last month that $6.4 billion will be set aside to help Singapore tackle the economic fallout from the disease.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Telling the story of a shared global calamity
Everywhere, the world is facing one of the worst health, economic and political crises it has seen in decades. Sadly, this is a shared reality, a calamity that has hit, and unites, us all. One-third of the world’s people are now in lockdown, isolated and confined to their homes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Making the virtual as good as real
Suddenly we all have to work virtually. Where we used to have a meeting or a lunch, with time to weigh up the mood of whoever we were dealing with, now we must operate cold.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Diverse sources feed Singapore’s supply
Empty shelves in supermarkets have been an almost emblematic image of the coronavirus crisis. Government assurances and the rapid replenishment of the shelves have served to calm bouts of panic buying. But as the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic persist, nations need to uphold their commitment to protecting the sanctity of food supply chains that circle the globe and feed billions.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Ignoring travel advisories will be costly
Travel advisories here have been given teeth by the latest announcement that Singapore residents or long-term pass holders who insist on leaving the country, in spite of advice not to do so, will have to pay full hospital charges if they are admitted for coronavirus-related treatment when they return.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Coronavirus: When will it end?
As we start distancing ourselves from one another, we are spending more and more time online. We are listening to concerts on Facebook Live, or playing games on Twitter such as guessing the movie via emojis, or attending mass meditation sessions on Instagram, or searching for coronavirus-related answers on Google.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Coronavirus crisis helps clear the air on climate and pollution
Beyond the awful numbers on deaths and economic damage, there’s another impact from the pandemic that can be seen from space: A big drop in air pollution. Escalating lockdowns are causing local air pollution to improve and cutting greenhouse gas emissions as well. The drop in air pollution could well save lives and it also buys the planet a little bit more time in fighting the climate emergency.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Farming hits the roof
The chocolate mint that thrives in a sun-baked plot at One Farrer Hotel tastes every bit like spearmint at first crunch, but slowly releases a hint of chocolate on the palate as you keep chewing. The unusual aromatic herb, along with others of its ilk such as sweet basil, laksa, lemongrass and curry leaves,
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Singapore Budget 2020
Measures won’t stave off recession but will contain damage: economists
Though the larger-than-expected S$48.4 billion Resilience Budget will not stave off recession, it will help to contain job losses and position Singapore better for an eventual recovery, said economists. This fiscal boost has not reduced the need for strong monetary action, with Singapore’s dismal growth forecast instead raising expectations that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will both flatten and re-centre the policy slope on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
S$48b support package could be reviewed nearer year end: PM
It is “quite possible” that Singapore may have to do even more to help people and businesses cope with the coronavirus pandemic if the situation worsens, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday, adding that the government is ready to turn to the reserves once again if need be.
https://www.businesstimes.com.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Almost $100b earmarked for land transport projects
Nearly $100 billion has been set aside to build road, rail and active mobility projects over the next decade, according to Budget 2020 statements. Of this, new rail projects account for the biggest chunk of $87.5 billion. The amount includes money budgeted to complete the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), Jurong Region Line, Phase 1 of the Cross Island Line (CRL) as well as advanced engineering studies for the western leg of the CRL.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation
Coronavirus could take years to run its course: PM Lee
It could take several years for the coronavirus to go around the world and run its course unless something happens to abort that process, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, adding that the world will have to brace itself for a long battle ahead.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Tighter border restrictions as coronavirus cases in Singapore go past 800
Singapore has further tightened restrictions on the entry of foreigners, announcing yesterday that all long-term visit pass (LTVP) holders and student pass holders have to obtain approval from the authorities first, starting from 11.59pm tonight.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Crowd-limiting measures at malls, public venues as new rules kick in
From spaced-out queues to enter malls to the use of alternate stools at hawker centres, safe distancing was largely in place across the island yesterday, as strict new rules kicked in to limit crowds and minimise close contact in public areas.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Stay home if you are even a little bit unwell, say experts
Infectious diseases experts here are urging people to stay home unless they are “100 per cent” well, following news that some of the staff in the coronavirus cluster at PCF Sparkletots in Fengshan were at work while sick.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Avoid contact with elderly in family if on sick leave: NCID head
Those who are on five days’ medical leave should avoid contact with their elderly family members “at all costs”, warned the National Centre for Infectious Diseases’ (NCID) executive director Leo Yee Sin yesterday. This is because the elderly are vulnerable to virus infections, including Covid-19, she said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Coronavirus: Enterprise Singapore refutes claims that diner was fined
Enterprise Singapore has denied claims circulating on social media and text-messaging apps that one of its safe distancing ambassadors had fined a member of the public. It addressed the claims in a Facebook post on Friday.
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
World Bank, IMF urge debt relief for poorer countries hit by Covid-19
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Stock market’s massive rebound may not last amid dire economic slowdown, analysts warn
https://www.businesstimes.com.
US dollar posts biggest weekly fall since 2009
https://www.straitstimes.com/
World running out of places to store crude oil
https://www.straitstimes.com/
Surging traffic slowing down Internet globally
https://www.straitstimes.com/
London’s iconic Ritz hotel sold for below £800m
https://www.businesstimes.com.
UK urges people not to move as housing market freezes
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Spanish hotels are turned into medical bunkhouses
https://www.businesstimes.com.
US consumer spending increases moderately in February
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Australia home sales slump after public auctions banned
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Asia’s debt-fuelled boom under threat from corporate credit meltdown
https://www.straitstimes.com/
China’s US$30t market promise beckons global wealth companies
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Quarantine a boon for some HK hotels as thousands return
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Dubai property group Limitless seeks advisers for restructuring
https://www.businesstimes.com.
Additional Articles of Interests – Local & Overseas Real Estate
Local & Overseas Real Estate – Full Article
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