DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 30th November 2018

Singapore Real Estate

YTL Land to launch freehold ‘villas in the sky’ on Dec 1
Malaysia-based property developer YTL Land & Development (YTL Land) will launch a 77-unit freehold condominium in Orchard Boulevard, with 53 apartments to be released for sale on Saturday. Located at 3 Orchard Boulevard, 3 Orchard By-The-Park will have an average selling price of S$3,400 per square foot, depending on the size of the unit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ytl-land-to-launch-freehold-villas-in-the-sky-on-dec-1
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ytl-land-to-launch-freehold-condo-along-orchard-boulevard-on-dec-1
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ytl-launching-freehold-condo-in-orchard-boulevard
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ytl-land-to-launch-freehold-condo-along-orchard-boulevard-on-dec-1

Shaw Tower alerts tenants it may be redeveloped
Shaw Tower at 100 Beach Road is the latest in a string of post-independence landmarks that could undergo redevelopment, following the advance notice its 150 tenants have been given to relocate elsewhere on or before June 30, 2020.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/shaw-tower-alerts-tenants-it-may-be-redeveloped

Singapore Economy

More Singaporeans employed; saw faster pay gains in 2018
A greater share of younger and older Singapore residents were employed in 2018, and the average full-time worker enjoyed faster income growth, with the labour market improving as economic growth picked up. The unemployment rates for resident workers, both professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), and non-PMETs, also dipped slightly as at June this year, compared with the same period last year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/more-singaporeans-employed-saw-faster-pay-gains-in-2018
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-employment-rates-income-growth-up-pmets-take-longer-to-find-work-more
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/higher-employment-rates-and-faster-income-growths-as-labour-market-improves
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/average-salary-2018-singapore-median-income-employment-10979844

Companies’ Brief

Keppel Reit divests 20% stake in Ocean Financial Centre to Allianz for S$537.3m
Keppel Reit is selling a 20 per cent stake in Ocean Financial Centre to Allianz Real Estate for S$537.3 million, but will retain a majority 79.9-per cent interest in the property, its manager Keppel Reit Management said on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-reit-divests-20-stake-in-ocean-financial-centre-to-allianz-for-s5373m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-reit-sells-20-stake-in-ocean-financial-centre-to-allianz-for-5373m

Maybank Q3 profit down; cites geopolitical tensions as key concern
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Malaysia’s largest lender by assets, posted a drop in third-quarter profit on lower fee-based income, while its CEO cautioned that the “prolonged geopolitical situation” was a key concern for business.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/maybank-q3-profit-down-cites-geopolitical-tensions-as-key-concern

Amplefield back in black for FY18 with net profit of S$620,000
Catalist-listed Amplefield posted a net profit of S$620,000 for the year ended Sept 30, 2018, reversing the previous year’s loss of S$612,000, the property developer and construction services provider announced on Thursday night after the market closed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/amplefield-back-in-black-for-fy18-with-net-profit-of-s620000
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/amplefield-returns-to-black-with-full-year-620000-net-profit

Khazanah sells 16% of IHH to Mitsui for RM8.42b
IN what marks the first portfolio rejig under a new chief, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is selling a 16 per cent stake in Malaysia- and Singapore-listed IHH Healthcare to Japan’s Mitsui & Co for RM8.42 billion (S$2.8 billion).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/khazanah-sells-16-of-ihh-to-mitsui-for-rm842b
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/khazanah-selling-rm842b-stake-in-ihh-healthcare-to-mitsui-in-portfolio

Expand Construction tops in this year’s E50 Awards
Expand Construction emerged the overall champion at this year’s Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards, sending a clear signal that businesses can still triumph over the challenges in the external environment. The company, which placed third last year, outdid the field for the first time – a remarkable feat, considering the woes faced by the languishing construction industry in the past few years.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/expand-construction-tops-in-this-years-e50-awards
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/expand-construction-builds-on-innovation-to-bag-award

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Argentina, Singapore to start talks to avoid double taxation
Singapore and Argentina will start talks next year on a pact to avoid double taxation, and are looking to conclude negotiations on an in-vestment treaty by the first half of next year. The timeframe for both agreements was announced yesterday as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri renewed their commitment to boost economic ties between their countries.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/americas/argentina-spore-to-start-talks-to-avoid-double-taxation
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-argentina-economic-ties-free-trade-agreement-10982764

Thales launches Singapore digital centre
French technology and aerospace company Thales has added Singapore to its digital factory network. The launch event was officiated by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Thursday. The opening of the Singapore centre, after France and Canada, is to bring Thales closer to its Asia-Pacific customers and partners, and foster closer collaboration in addressing the challenges faced by local organisations, said Olivier Flous, vice-president of digital transformation and digital factory, Thales.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/thales-launches-singapore-digital-centre
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/france-tech-and-aerospace-firm-thales-boosts-asia-pacific-presence-with-singapore-digital
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/french-aerospace-firm-thales-expands-singapore-operations-with-new-digital-lab
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/french-firm-thales-invest-over-s31-million-digital-factory-start-spore

Emerging digital token ecosystem draws regulators’ eye
An industry association that will oversee digital tokens like bitcoin and devise efficient ways to regulate the sector officially started on Thursday (Nov 29). The Token Economy Association (Tea) is already working with the Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Start-ups Singapore to launch a code that spells out best practices in a range of areas.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/emerging-digital-token-ecosystem-draws-regulators-eye

Singapore needs more fraud-busters; lenders tapping data analytics to fight financial crime
Singapore, which is increasingly using technology to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, faces a shortage of skilled data analysts who can help banks track down illicit cash flows. The skills gap could be addressed by importing foreign talent and training locals, according to a report released on Thursday (Nov 29) by a partnership of banks, the financial regulator and police – the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Industry Partnership (ACIP).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/singapore-needs-more-fraud-busters-who-are-skilled-data-analysts

Canada’s Ontario disappoints with new climate plan
Ontario unveiled a plan Thursday to combat climate change by replacing its cap-and-trade system with a fund to help companies reduce emissions – prompting criticism from environmentalists and Canada’s federal government.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/canadas-ontario-disappoints-with-new-climate-plan

China planning purge of US$176b loan market
China is preparing to end its US$176 billion experiment with peer-to-peer lending. Alarmed by a surge in defaults, fraud and investor anger, Chinese authorities are planning to wind down small- and medium-sized P2P lending platforms nationwide, people with knowledge of the matter said. Regulators may also order the largest platforms to cap outstanding loans at current levels and encourage them to reduce lending over time, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/china-planning-purge-of-us176b-loan-market

Upcoming summit marks critical stage in climate debate
World leaders are making final preparations for the annual UN climate summit which starts in Poland on Sunday. The meeting, on the three-year anniversary of the inception of the landmark Paris deal, is as urgent as it is important with two areas of crucial business to transact.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/upcoming-summit-marks-critical-stage-in-climate-debate

It’s time to consider injecting CPF capital into the Singapore bourse
As competition between capital markets across the Indo-Asia Pacific grows, it is time Singapore’s Ministry of Finance reviews the policy of not allocating pension fund capital to underwrite liquidity in Singapore’s equities markets. Such a move would also complement current efforts to build up the city-state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as it seeks to transition towards an innovation economy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/its-time-to-consider-injecting-cpf-capital-into-the-singapore-bourse