DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30 July 2021 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

TikTok CEO buying GCB for S$86m
Chinese video-sharing app TikTok’s recently appointed chief executive, Singaporean Chew Shou Zi, is understood to be in the early stage of buying a property in the Queen Astrid Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area for S$86 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tiktok-ceo-buying-gcb-for-s86m

URA awards Lentor Central GLS site to GuocoLand
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday said has it awarded the tender for Lentor Central site to GLL D Pte Ltd. This comes nearly a week after the tender closed with nine bids. GLL D, an indirect subsidiary of GuocoLand, submitted the highest bid in the tender for the site – S$784.1 million or S$1,204 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) – a bid that surpassed the expectations of property consultants polled by The Business Times before the tender closed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-awards-lentor-central-gls-site-to-guocoland
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/guocoland-wins-tender-for-lentor-central-site

Dover Forest to be used for both housing and nature; first housing project to be launched in 2022
Singapore – The plan for Dover Forest has been revised, with public housing expected to be launched in the eastern half next year while the western half is set aside for now to preserve its biodiversity. The young secondary forest plot in western Singapore is zoned for residential use, but the plans were tweaked after scientific studies and nature enthusiasts flagged its conservation value.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/dover-forest-to-be-used-for-both-housing-and-nature
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/first-housing-project-in-part-of-forest-to-be-launched-in-2022
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/plans-for-dover-forest-revised-events-leading-to-the-change
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/dover-forest-plan-revision-a-benchmark-for-future-major-projects

Companies’ Brief

Hongkong Land narrows H1 loss, declares 6 US cent interim dividend
Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, narrowed its net loss to US$863.2 million for the half-year ended June 30, from US$1.8 billion a year ago. The loss included net non-cash losses of US$1.3 billion arising from the revaluation of the group’s investment properties due to lower open market rents.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hongkong-land-narrows-h1-loss-declares-6-us-cent-interim-dividend

Hotel group Accor upbeat on recovery after lower H1 loss
Europe’s biggest hotel group Accor said on Thursday that it was confident of recovery in all geographies with the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide after the company reported a smaller operating loss for the first half of the year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hotel-group-accor-upbeat-on-recovery-after-lower-h1-loss

Keppel’s H1 profits rebound from pandemic slump to S$300m
After surviving one of its worst periods a year ago, Keppel Corp has switched gears to “thrive mode”. The diversified conglomerate reported on Thursday that it swung back into black for the first six months to June, teased about more M&A action afoot and rewarded shareholders with a surprise quadrupled dividend.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppels-h1-profits-rebound-from-pandemic-slump-to-s300m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-corp-posts-first-half-profit-of-300m

CapitaLand China Trust’s H1 DPU rises 40.1% to S$0.0423 following mandate expansion
CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) has announced a distribution per unit (DPU) of 4.23 Singapore cents for the first half ended June 30, up 40.1 per cent from a DPU of 3.02 cents in the year-ago period, despite an enlarged unit base.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-china-trusts-h1-dpu-rises-401-to-s00423-following-mandate-expansion
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-china-trust-sees-401-jump-in-first-half-dpu

Frasers Hospitality Trust says outlook is ‘challenging’; RevPAR still a fraction of year-ago levels
Frasers Hospitality Trust hotels’ performance generally picked up from the start of the financial year to end-June, the manager said in a third-quarter update on Thursday. Still, average daily rates and revenue per available room (RevPAR) were all lower year on year for the nine months to June 30…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/frasers-hospitality-trust-says-outlook-is-challenging-revpar-still-a-fraction-of-year

OUE C-Reit bumps up H1 DPU to 1.23 Singapore cents after earlier retention
OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-Reit) will make a first-half distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.23 Singapore cents, after having held back on a payout the year before. Distributable income was up by 3 per cent year on year to S$67.2 million for the six months to June 30, the manager said on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/oue-c-reit-bumps-up-h1-dpu-to-123-singapore-cents-after-earlier-retention

Starhill Global Reit bumps up H2 DPU to 2.07 Singapore cents
Retail landlord Starhill Global Reit (SGReit) on Thursday announced a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.07 Singapore cents for the second half, including the amount deferred from the previous financial year under Covid-19 relief measures.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/starhill-global-reit-bumps-up-h2-dpu-to-207-singapore-cents

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

The business of fertility
About 15 per cent of couples in Singapore are unable to conceive within a year of trying for a baby. Before the pandemic hit, the fertility business had been growing steadily. But with the Covid crisis came a clamp on many couples’ plans, while others seek new avenues for deferred treatment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/the-business-of-fertility

A blue ocean compass for your post-Covid strategy
Managers across the globe have scrambled to adapt to a changed world. The pandemic crisis, by forcing changes upon us, has pushed us out of the comfort zone and challenged many of our long-held assumptions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/a-blue-ocean-compass-for-your-post-covid-strategy

Workplace accidents can hinder business recovery, says minister
Employers and employees need to step up their workplace safety and health efforts as injuries and fatalities can hinder business recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/workplace-accidents-can-hinder-business-recovery-says-minister

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

129 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in Singapore, 30 linked to Jurong Fishery Port
There were 129 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Thursday, including 30 cases from the cluster linked to Jurong Fishery Port. This brings the total number of cases in the cluster to 962 as at noon on Thursday. There were also two new cases linked to the KTV cluster, taking its total to 249 cases.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/129-new-locally-transmitted-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-30-linked-to-jurong
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/10-new-clusters-129-new-local-cases-with-50-unlinked

Cluster linked to cleaner at Punggol Primary School grows to 12 cases
All pupils and staff of Punggol Primary School are undergoing mandatory swab tests over two days from yesterday. This comes after a new cluster linked to a cleaner at Punggol Primary School was identified on Tuesday and grew to 12 cases as at yesterday, according to the Ministry of Health.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/cluster-linked-to-cleaner-at-punggol-primary-school-grows-to-12-cases

Mandatory testing for residents in 2 HDB blocks after 11 cases
Residents living in two Housing Board blocks in Choa Chu Kang and Lakeside will have to be tested for Covid-19 today after 11 infections were detected. The blocks identified were 3 Teck Whye Avenue and 357 Yung An Road, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/mandatory-testing-for-residents-in-2-hdb-blocks-after-11-cases

Number of people with severe Covid-19 infection on the rise
The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) here or requiring oxygen supplementation has quadrupled over the last two weeks, rising from eight in total on July 16 to 33 yesterday, with experts warning that the number is likely to grow.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/number-of-people-with-severe-covid-19-infection-on-the-rise

Recent quarantine orders hit 30,000; anecdotal evidence hints at possible strain in protocols
Singapore’s system of ring fencing and isolating has appeared stretched in recent days, evidenced by Singapore residents taking to online channels to vent their frustrations on being picked up belatedly for quarantine, and holiday seekers being asked by hotels to postpone their staycations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/recent-quarantine-orders-hit-30000-anecdotal-evidence-hints-at-possible-strain-in

Village Hotel Sentosa is sixth community care facility
Village Hotel Sentosa is the latest addition to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH’s) list of community care facilities designated for those who have contracted Covid-19 but are experiencing mild or no symptoms. This brings the total number of such designated facilities to six, with the other five being D’Resort NTUC, Tuas South, former Ang Mo Kio Institute of Technical Education, Civil Service Club @ Loyang (CSC@ Loyang) and Bright Vision Hospital.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/village-hotel-sentosa-is-sixth-community-care-facility

Citing new data, Pfizer outlines case for Covid-19 booster shots
New York (Nytimes) – Pfizer reported on Wednesday (July 28) that the power of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine wanes slightly over time, but nonetheless offers lasting and robust protection against serious disease.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/citing-new-data-pfizer-outlines-case-for-covid-19-booster-shots

*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