DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30 September 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Should there be more transparency around pricing at property launches?
The launch of Pasir Ris 8 in July – where feverish demand led to a series of price hikes over the course of a day – raises the question of whether there is a need for greater transparency around pricing to ensure that buyers make well-informed purchasing decisions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/should-there-be-more-transparency-around-pricing-at-property-launches

MND, BCA introduce measures to support companies, provide price certainty in contracts
Companies in the built-environment sector are set to benefit from an extension of relief periods under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Announcing the extension on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said that the move aims to ensure no segment of the built-environment value chain bears a disproportionate share of the burden caused by the pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/mnd-bca-introduce-measures-to-support-companies-provide-price-certainty-in
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/changes-to-public-sector-construction-tenders-from-nov-1-to-factor-in-pandemic-risks

Singapore office rents bottom out in Q3, upward trajectory likely: Knight Frank, JLL
Singapore office rents have turned a corner and look set to bottom out in Q3 2021, according to Knight Frank’s quarterly office market bulletin. The real estate consultancy firm reported that prime-grade office rents in the Raffles Place/Marina Bay precinct grew for the first time since Q4 2019, with rents rising by 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter (qoq) to S$9.98 per square foot per month.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-office-rents-bottom-out-in-q3-upward-trajectory-likely-knight-frank-jll

Four contractors roped in to finish five BTO projects after Greatearth went bust
[Singapore] Four contractors have taken over the job of finishing five Build-To-Order (BTO) housing projects that their former main contractors Greatearth Construction and Greatearth Corporation could not complete due to their liabilities.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/four-contractors-roped-in-to-finish-five-bto-projects-after-greatearth-went-bust
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/four-contractors-roped-in-to-finish-5-bto-projects-after-greatearth-went-bust

URA launches residential sites at Lentor Hills Road, Jalan Tembusu for tender
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has released for sale three residential sites at Lentor Hills Road (Parcels A & B) and Jalan Tembusu, it said in a statement on Thursday. The sites are released under the second half 2021 government land sales (GLS) programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-launches-residential-sites-at-lentor-hills-road-jalan-tembusu-for-tender

URA awards Marina View white site to IOI Properties’ subsidiary
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday said it awarded the tender for the Marina View site to Boulevard View Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysian property developer IOI Properties Group.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ura-awards-marina-view-white-site-to-ioi-properties-subsidiary
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/marina-view-site-awarded-to-malaysias-ioi-properties-for-1508-billion

Singapore Economy

Rising global cost pressures could start hitting Singapore consumers harder
Wholesale prices have risen sharply ahead of consumer price growth, on global supply crunches amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the pass-through “appears to be weak at the moment, higher producer prices could eventually seep into consumer prices”, Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) analysts recently warned.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/rising-global-cost-pressures-could-start-hitting-singapore-consumers-harder

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand China Trust obtains maiden S$150m sustainability-linked loan from UOB
CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) has obtained its maiden S$150 million sustainability-linked loan from UOB, its manager said on Thursday. The lender will offer the China-focused real estate investment trust (Reit) a committed term loan facility that incorporates interest rate reductions based on pre-determined sustainability performance targets for the Reit’s properties.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-china-trust-obtains-maiden-s150m-sustainability-linked-loan-from-uob

Carousell needs to scale up quickly in property, auto verticals as it mulls exit strategy
Online classifieds platform Carousell is now betting on expanding its presence in high-ticket categories such as property, automobile and luxury goods to supercharge its next phase of growth, chief financial officer Edwin Chan told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/carousell-needs-to-scale-up-quickly-in-property-auto-verticals-as-it-mulls-exit-strategy

Hatten Land agrees to operate 1,000 crypto mining rigs in Malaysia
A subsidiary of Hatten Land has signed a definitive agreement with Singapore’s Frontier Digital Asset Management to share proceeds from jointly operating at least 1,000 cryptocurrency mining rigs at the group’s properties in Malaysia.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hatten-land-agrees-to-operate-1000-crypto-mining-rigs-in-malaysia

Lian Beng clarifies pay of key execs is based on overall group performance
Building contractor Lian Beng Group said its key executives were paid more for FY2021 ended May due to the group’s overall improvement in profitability. The company attributed this improvement to better performance at its property development and other business segments.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lian-beng-clarifies-pay-of-key-execs-is-based-on-overall-group-performance

Straits Trading shareholders’ club a commendable initiative, but it should re-think co-investment plan
The Straits Trading Company’s announcement on Sept 8 that it had launched a “shareholders’ club” to strengthen ties with investors might have left some market watchers scratching their heads.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/straits-trading-shareholders-club-a-commendable-initiative-but-it-should-re-think

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1458

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

What’s gone wrong in the fight against vaccine nationalism?
The latest supply forecast for Covax – the programme for sharing Covid-19 vaccines around the world – suggests that accelerating vaccination in low-income countries looks unlikely. Covax estimates it will have distributed 1.425 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021, significantly less than the two billion doses it was aiming for earlier this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/whats-gone-wrong-in-the-fight-against-vaccine-nationalism

Staying realistic in dealing with Covid-19
As Covid-19 cases here continue to climb past 1,000 daily, Singaporeans are more concerned about catching the virus, according to a recent survey. Nearly half of those polled have cut back on physical activities and 73 per cent dine out less often.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/staying-realistic-in-dealing-with-covid-19

Poorest nations should not be left behind in race to net-zero emissions
Over the past year, the term “net zero” has become a buzzword, as has ESG (environmental, social and governance) for investments. Net zero refers to commitments by countries and corporates to balance greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) against GHG removed from the atmosphere. A net-zero state is achieved when GHG emitted is no more than the amount removed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/poorest-nations-should-not-be-left-behind-in-race-to-net-zero-emissions

Covid hit F&B hard, consider their input for new measures
Refer to the article “Stop slaughtering F&B as the sacrificial lamb” (The Business Times, Sept 28, 2021). We bleed for the restaurants operating (or rather, not granted laissez-faire to operate normally) during this cataclysmic time of Covid.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/covid-hit-fb-hard-consider-their-input-for-new-measures

So, the US is back in Asia: What’s next?
Anyone who has watched diplomacy and geopolitics unfold across Asia in recent months cannot miss the kinetic energy radiating from Washington, where the White House has pushed the State Department and the Pentagon to renew engagement with the region on an impressive scale.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/so-the-us-is-back-in-asia-whats-next

All falls down: Is Biden facing a perfect storm?
Here is an item that even President Joe Biden’s harshest critics and former president Donald Trump’s biggest fans didn’t expect to see in the news media before the end of the new leader’s first year in office: Mr Biden and Mr Trump are statistically tied when it comes to their favourability among US voters, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey released last week.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/all-falls-down-is-biden-facing-a-perfect-storm

Importance of ‘greening’ Singapore’s power mix
Natural gas, the cleanest of all fossil fuels, is what Singapore imports to power its homes, businesses and industries. Carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas combustion are 50 to 60 per cent lower when combusted in efficient natural gas power plants, compared to typical coal-fired power plants.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/importance-of-greening-singapores-power-mix

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Eight more die from Covid-19 complications; 2,268 new cases in Singapore
[Singapore] Eight Singaporeans aged between 72 and 90 have died from complications due to Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Sept 29). They comprise five Singaporean men and three Singaporean women, six of whom were unvaccinated. One was partially vaccinated, and another was inoculated against the virus.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/eight-more-die-from-covid-19-complications-2268-new-cases-in-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/eight-people-aged-between-72-and-90-die-from-covid-19-complications-2268-new-cases-in

7 wards closed in 6 hospitals in recent weeks as 130 Covid-19 cases detected among staff, patients
Singapore – Seven wards in six acute public hospitals here have been closed in the two weeks leading up to the latest barring of visitors to hospital wards here that began last Friday (Sept 24), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ward-closures-in-6-acute-public-hospitals-in-recent-weeks-as-130-cases-detected

5 precautions S’pore nursing homes are taking to protect seniors against Covid-19
Singapore – Nursing homes here have been stepping up precautions to safeguard senior residents even as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the community. The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported on Tuesday (Sept 28) that five more seniors aged between 69 and 79 died from Covid-19 complications, and more senior centres reported new cases in the past week.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/5-precautions-nursing-homes-are-taking-to-protect-seniors

ART kit vending machines make a difference at S’pore hospitals, firms
Singapore – Twenty vending machines which dispense antigen rapid test (ART) kits have been installed at private hospitals and companies islandwide, The Straits Times has learnt.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/art-vending-machines-make-a-difference-at-hospitals-firms

*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