DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30th August 2018

Singapore Economy

RCEP trade deal could be delivered by year-end: PM Lee
Asean’s mega free trade deal could soon see the light at the end of the tunnel, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested, even as Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing decried “recent policy U-turns elsewhere”. Talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) “are at a critical stage”, Mr Lee said on Wednesday at the opening of the four-day 50th Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings at the Shangri-La Hotel.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/rcep-trade-deal-could-be-delivered-by-year-end-pm-lee
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/good-progress-on-rcep-talks-says-pm-lee
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/talks-on-major-rcep-trade-pact-could-be-concluded-soon-pm-lee
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/asean-regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership-pm-lee-10662722
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-japan-sign-agreement-to-bolster-support-for-start-ups-10663276
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysia-singapore-economic-relations-are-good-trade-minister-10664276

Asean service providers, exporters to gain from new agreements
Asean service providers will gain greater market access, and exporters will enjoy more convenience under two agreements signed at the 50th Asean Economic Ministers Meeting on Wednesday evening. One of these was the protocol to implement the 10th and final package of commitments for the Asean Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), with member states increasing the depth of their commitments and opening up new service sectors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/asean-service-providers-exporters-to-gain-from-new-agreements
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/big-cost-savings-for-exporters-with-new-agreement
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/asean-economic-ministers-ink-2-agreements-to-remove-barriers-in-10664152

Singapore Real Estate

Grange Heights goes up for collective sale
Grange Heights, a freehold condominium near Orchard Road, is going for a collective sale which could see it join the “billion-dollar club”. Horizon Towers, a 99-year leasehold development in the same area, has set a reserve price of $1.1 billion for its collective sale with a deadline set for next month. Marketing agent Colliers International is preparing the details for the Grange Heights sale, which veteran property analyst Ku Swee Yong said will not be without challenges because of recent cooling measures.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/grange-heights-goes-up-for-collective-sale
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/grange-heights-gets-nod-for-collective-sale

Unlike owners, tenants cannot sell HDB flat: Indranee Rajah
Singaporeans have been able to keep the profit from the sale of their Housing Board flats, and that proves that they are owners, not mere tenants, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah yesterday. “Everybody who has actually made a profit on the sale of an HDB flat, you cannot say that it’s not an asset. Of course it is,” she stressed in response to a question from a member of the Indian community at a People’s Association dialogue at The Grassroots’ Club in Ang Mo Kio on the National Day Rally.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/unlike-owners-tenants-cannot-sell-flat-indranee

Benchmarking, behavioural insights tapped to improve Singapore workplace safety
Instead of relying on surprise inspections to ensure workplace safety, the Manpower Ministry has been piloting a new practice – by informing firms with poorer records of how they perform relative to others in their industry. This marks a change in the ministry’s regulatory approach, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/benchmarking-behavioural-insights-tapped-to-improve-singapore-workplace-safety
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/workplace-safety-and-health-scorecard-could-be-made-more-10662778

Woman bids record $10k rental for Chomp Chomp stall
A woman who successfully bid for a hawker stall with a record monthly rental of over $10,000 has had a change of heart. She ended the tenancy agreement for the stall to sell drinks the same day she signed it, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/woman-bids-record-10k-rental-for-chomp-chomp-stall

Companies’ Brief

APAC Realty to enter Hainan property market with 40% stake in JV
APAC Realty, which operates a real estate brokerage under the ERA brand, has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with two Chinese firms in a bid to penetrate the China market. The two companies are Hainan Zhong Zhi Sheng He Real Estate Investment Consulting Co, and Bei Guo Tou (Shanghai) Equity Investment and Fund Management Co.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/apac-realty-to-enter-hainan-property-market-with-40-stake-in-jv
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/apac-realty-enters-hainan-market-with-40-stake-in-joint-venture

Lian Beng bags S$65m construction contract
Lian Beng Group has secured a contract worth about S$65 million to construct a building starting Sept 10 through its wholly-owned unit, Deenn Engineering, it said on Wednesday evening in a Singapore Exchange filing. This brings the construction order book for Lian Beng to S$1.29 billion as at Aug 29, 2018.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/lian-beng-bags-s65m-construction-contract

Mediacorp, property listing portal 99.co sign strategic digital partnership
Singapore: Mediacorp and property listing portal 99.co signed a strategic partnership on Wednesday (Aug 29) to enhance the user experience in property searches online. The agreement combines Mediacorp’s audience reach and commercial relationships together with 99.co’s listing base, content and data analytics tools to create more related news and information for property buyers, sellers and agents, the two companies said in a media release.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mediacorp-99-co-property-digital-partnership-10663810

Capital World’s full-year profit down 17.7% to RM57.7m
Lower revenue from a decrease in an incremental percentage of completion for Capital City Mall weighed down results for Catalist-listed property developer Capital World for its full financial year, it said in a Singapore Exchange announcement on Wednesday night. Net profit dropped 17.7 per cent to RM57.7 million (S$19 million) from the year-ago period, the group said in the filing. For the 12 months ended June 30, revenue fell 14.9 per cent to RM156.4 million from the previous year. The mall was 83.2 per cent completed as at June 30, 2018.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capital-worlds-full-year-profit-down-177-to-rm577m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capital-world-posts-177-drop-in-full-year-profit-to-rm577m

Koufu’s Q2 net profit slips 2.6%
Koufu Group’s Q2 net profit slipped 2.6 per cent to S$6.16 million from the preceding year, mostly due to a reduction in finance income, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing. It was its first results release since the initial public offering (IPO) by the food court and coffee shop operator, which began trading on the mainboard on July 18.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/koufus-q2-net-profit-slips-26

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

The evolving narrative on home ownership in Singapore
The recent announcement at Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally may have given owners of Housing Board flats with shorter remaining leases a lifeline. But what is clear is that the grand narrative of public housing is undergoing subtle shifts.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-evolving-narrative-on-home-ownership

Need to clarify if HDB leases are investment assets or not
The recent discussions on the 99-year leases of Housing Board flats have only generated more heat and obscured the main concerns of those living in such flats. First, this is not a question of the length of a person’s lease, but about the rights an individual has over the property, and if these rights may be traded.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/need-to-clarify-if-hdb-leases-are-investment-assets-or-not

Blockchain enables supply-chain transparency and business growth
Recent research by the Economist Intelligence Unit has uncovered significant issues in the way multinational firms manage the ethical performance of their supply chains. With less than a third of organisations addressing issues such as ethical breaches or supply-chain corruption, this spells a major concern across all industries. Supply chains bear the responsibility of reputation for a brand. Problems in the supply chain recently resulted in frozen foods being recalled over warnings of a potentially deadly listeria outbreak. It has also generated costly and damaging challenges for aviation companies.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/blockchain-enables-supply-chain-transparency-and-business-growth