DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3rd May 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Landmark Tower sale completion facing delays
Owners of Landmark Tower are getting increasingly anxious after several delays to the completion of the S$286 million collective sale of the Chin Swee Road project. The sale was first announced in May 2018, but the consortium of buyers – comprising ZACD Group, Sin Soon Lee Realty and MCC Land – is hoping for this to be completed by August this year. Nearby are two other en bloc projects:
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/landmark-tower-sale-completion-facing-delays

Amber Park to be launched at average price of S$2,425 psf
City Developments Limited (CDL) and its joint venture partner, Hong Realty (Private) Limited, will launch the freehold, 592-unit condominium Amber Park in the East Coast area on Saturday. Early-bird prices start at S$1.088 million for a one-bedroom plus study unit and S$1.608 million for a two-bedroom-plus-study unit; the price for a four-bedroom unit starts at S$3.438 million and a five-bedroom premium unit, S$4.98 million, CDL said in a statement on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/amber-park-to-be-launched-at-average-price-of-s2425-psf
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cdl-hong-realty-to-launch-freehold-amber-park-condo-at-average-s2425-psf
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/amber-park-condo-with-rooftop-deck-being-launched

K Hotel in Geylang up for sale with S$25m asking price
Freehold K Hotel in Geylang has been launched for sale at an asking price of S$25 million, exclusive marketing agent JLL announced on Thursday. Located in the city fringe, K Hotel occupies a land area of 3,725 square feet, and an estimated gross floor area (GFA) of 12,238 sq ft, equivalent to a gross plot ratio of about 3.29.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/k-hotel-in-geylang-up-for-sale-with-s25m-asking-price-0

Companies’ Brief

ARA US Hospitality Trust prices IPO at US$0.88 per stapled security; expects to raise US$498m
ARA US Hospitality Trust has priced its initial public offering (IPO) at US$0.88 per stapled security, according to registration documents on May 2. The IPO comprises nearly 379.8 million stapled securities subject to an over-allotment option, comprising an international placement of over 328.6 million stapled securities to investors outside the US, and an offering of over 51.1 million stapled securities to the public in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ara-us-hospitality-trust-prices-ipo-at-us088-per-stapled-security-expects-to-raise
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ara-h-reit-prices-ipo-at-88-us-cents-per-unit

Oxley’s Chevron House sale a better deal for buyer than seller: DBS analysts
Analysts at DBS Group Research are of the view that the “buyer is the bigger beneficiary” in Oxley Holdings’ deal to sell Chevron House for S$1.025 billion, although Oxley and some industry sources disagree. The sale comes just 16 months after the debt-laden property developer acquired the 32-storey office tower in Raffles Place for S$660 million in December 2017.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxleys-chevron-house-sale-a-better-deal-for-buyer-than-seller-dbs-analysts

OUE H-Trust gets the runs
Last year’s food poisoning debacle at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore turned up some nasty, if belated, symptoms in results on Thursday. OUE Hospitality Trust (OUE H-Trust) will pay out 1.18 Singapore cents in distribution per stapled security (DPS) for the first quarter, down 6.3 per cent on the year before, on falls in both net property income and gross revenue.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-h-trust-gets-the-runs

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singaporeans spend more time on property searches than on bedtime stories with their children: poll
Singaporeans on average spend three times longer on property searches, than on reading bedtime stories to their children, or speaking to their parents, data from a new HSBC report showed. According to HSBC’s 2019 Beyond the Bricks survey, Singaporeans spend an average of 3.29 hours each week on property-related window shopping, reading property magazines,
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singaporeans-spend-more-time-on-property-searches-than-on-bedtime-stories-with-their
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sporeans-search-for-property-more-than-read-to-kids-poll

Questionable property ads popping up on social media
When the Government implemented property cooling measures last July, individuals were cautioned against over-leveraging in property purchases. Recently, Facebook has been flooded with property ads offering free seminars and free guides advocating owning “multiple properties with no money down”, or “a condo on a $6k combined salary”
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/questionable-property-ads-popping-up-on-social-media

Hard to pick clear winner between two upcoming US hotel Reit listings
It is a tough one to pick a winner between ARA US Hospitality Trust and Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT). The two Reits have many similarities between them – investment mandates, time of launch of their initial public offering (IPO), DBS Bank being their sole issue manager and a common cornerstone investor in veteran property tycoon Gordon Tang.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hard-to-pick-clear-winner-between-two-upcoming-us-hotel-reit-listings

Towards asset-based welfare policies
Successful social welfare policies distinguish between routine life-cycle demands and unpredictable events. Successful policies encourage people to prepare for routine events by saving and insuring. The government remains the insurer of last (not first) resort by building financial and other buffers to stand ready to help deal with major natural disasters, economic or financial crises, and ‘black swan’ events.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/towards-asset-based-welfare-policies

How smart logistics can enable the future of retail
The rapid growth of e-commerce is fundamentally changing the retail landscape. According to a joint report by Google and Temasek, South-east Asia’s online economy is on track to exceed US$240 billion by 2025. With more businesses jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon, customers today expect speed and convenience at any point of their shopping journey:
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/how-smart-logistics-can-enable-the-future-of-retail

A new era for payments is dawning in Singapore
This is the dawn of a new era for Singapore’s payments system. As part of its Smart Nation vision to become “a leading economy powered by digital innovation”, the government has been working on a range of initiatives to digitise payments.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/a-new-era-for-payments-is-dawning-in-singapore

Misuse of condo residents’ addresses sparks concern
Residents of a Jurong West condominium have found foreign workers registered under their addresses without their knowledge and are looking for answers. Those affected have raised concerns over being taxed for rental income despite not having rented out their units and fear they could be on the hook if their purported tenants get into trouble with the law.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/misuse-of-condo-residents-addresses-sparks-concern