DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30th May 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Braddell View another victim of moribund en bloc market
The collective-sale cycle appears to be running out of steam, with no residential projects having achieved a successful outcome so far this year; the mega Braddell View estate has become the latest to reach its tender close with zero bids. Market watchers were unsurprised by the lack of takers for Singapore’s largest private residential site, the owners of which were angling for over S$2 billion. The size of the estate and the cooling measures implemented last July were cited as factors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/braddell-view-another-victim-of-moribund-en-bloc-market
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/braddell-view-fails-in-bid-to-go-en-bloc
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/no-bidders-braddell-view-collective-sale-asking-price-s208-billion

Freehold site along Upper Changi Road up for sale at S$16m guide price
A freehold landed residential redevelopment site along Upper Changi Road has been put up for sale by expression of interest (EOI), with an indicative guide price of S$16 million. This works out to a land rate of S$1,051 per square foot (psf), said the property’s marketing agent Knight Frank Singapore on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/freehold-site-along-upper-changi-road-up-for-sale-at-s16m-guide-price

Tanjong Pagar’s Bernam Street residential-with-commercial site up for tender
A land parcel at Bernam Street in Tanjong Pagar, slated for residential with commercial at first-storey use, 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 2019 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tanjong-pagars-bernam-street-residential-with-commercial-site-up-for-tender
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ura-launches-tender-of-bernam-street-site-in-tangong-pagar

Delivery services, e-commerce driving robust growth of Singapore food factories: Colliers
Thanks to the rising popularity of food delivery services and e-commerce, demand for food factories in Singapore is expected to remain healthy, even though the demand will likely lag behind supply in 2019-2020, said Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International. Her comments on Wednesday accompany the commercial real estate services provider’s research report tracking the performance of food factories in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/delivery-services-e-commerce-driving-robust-growth-of-singapore-food-factories-colliers
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/delivery-services-e-commerce-driving-demand-for-singapore-food-factories-colliers

Property price curbs achieved stabilisation goals: Lawrence Wong
[Singapore] Almost a year after intervening to stem soaring property prices, Singapore has done what it set out to do and stabilised the property cycle, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said. “The property market last year, before the cooling measures were put in place, we saw prices rising very sharply,” Mr Wong said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/property-price-curbs-achieved-stabilisation-goals-lawrence-wong
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/property-price-curbs-have-achieved-stabilization-goals-lawrence-wong

Singapore Economy

More employees saw pay rise last year as growth in real wages picks up: MOM
More employees in Singapore received wage increases last year, as the economy and labour market remained healthy. Growth in real total wages – which accounts for inflation of 0.4 per cent – also picked up again after two consecutive years of slowing down. They rose by 4.2 per cent on average last year, up from 3.2 per cent in 2017, said the Report on Wage Practices released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/more-employees-saw-pay-rise-last-year-as-growth-in-real-wages-picks-up-mom
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/real-wages-up-42-in-2018-but-face-squeeze-this-year
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/low-wage-workers-had-average-of-78-pay-hike
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/latest-wage-trend-private-sector-singapore-11575064

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand wants 100% of global portfolio green-certified by 2030
Property giant CapitaLand is stepping up on its sustainability goals as it works towards legal completion of its acquisition of business space provider Ascendas-Singbridge by the end of June. It has set a target of achieving 100 per cent green certification of its enlarged global portfolio by 2030, and to have at least 20 per cent of its energy consumption coming from a…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-wants-100-of-global-portfolio-green-certified-by-2030

Applications for FCT’s new preferential shares open at 9am on Thursday
Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s (FCT) manager will open its previously announced preferential offering for subscription at 9am on Thursday. Its indicative timetable stated that applications for the 28.8 million new units on offer will close at on June 10 at 5pm (9.30pm for electronic applications).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/applications-for-fcts-new-preferential-shares-open-at-9am-on-thursday

Moody’s confirms Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s Baa1 rating; outlook stable
Moody’s Investors Service has confirmed the ‘Baa1’ issuer rating for Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) with a stable outlook, as it expects the mainboard-listed trust’s credit metrics to improve after its equity issuance to partially fund two acquisitions. This concludes the review by Moody’s to potentially downgrade FCT’s rating.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/moody%E2%80%99s-confirms-frasers-centrepoint-trust%E2%80%99s-baa1-rating-outlook-stable

Ex-CapitaLand group CEO joins SPH board as independent director
Former CapitaLand group chief executive officer Lim Ming Yan has been appointed as an independent director to the board of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which publishes The Business Times, with effect from June 3. He will also be a member of the Nominating and Remuneration Committees.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ex-capitaland-group-ceo-joins-sph-board-as-independent-director
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/lim-ming-yan-joining-sph-board-of-directors

ESR-Reit takes out S$150m in unsecured loans to refinance debt, fund acquisitions
The trustee of ESR-Reit is borrowing S$150 million in two unsecured loans from CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore branch, said the trust manager late Wednesday night in an exchange filing. RBC Investor Services trust Singapore, as trustee of the mainboard-listed real estate investment trust (Reit), entered into a S$150 million unsecured loan facility agreement with the lender on May 29.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-takes-out-s150m-in-unsecured-loans-to-refinance-debt-fund-acquisitions
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/esr-reit-takes-out-150m-in-unsecured-loans-to-refinance-debt-fund

TEE International delays sale of Tee Land stake by 2 months
TEE International is extending the completion date for the sale of shares in its subsidiary TEE Land to Top Capital Securities by about two months, the engineering group announced on Thursday morning before the market opened. The company noted that it is in discussions to extend the completion date to no later than July 14, in order to accommodate the completion of deliverables on the part of the purchaser.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tee-international-delays-sale-of-tee-land-stake-by-2-months
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/tee-international-delays-sale-of-tee-land-stake-by-2-months

Ley Choon posts Q4 net loss of S$5.84m on higher project costs
Catalist-listed construction firm Ley Choon Group Holdings on Wednesday posted a loss attributable to owners of S$5.84 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to a profit of S$162,000 in the year-ago period. This was despite revenue edging up 2.8 per cent to S$27.9 million. Due to an increase in direct cost for some projects with deteriorating margins…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ley-choon-posts-q4-net-loss-of-s584m-on-higher-project-costs

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Working together to help build Asean’s future liveable cities
Our region embodies opportunity. Significant urbanisation is underway in South-east Asia, with an additional 90 million people expected in Asean cities by 2030. These urban populations will likely triple by 2050. The region’s economic growth is tipped to outpace the global average in the next decade, meaning that Asean is on track to be equivalent to the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/working-together-to-help-build-aseans-future-liveable-cities