DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3 June 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Raising land supply may aggravate housing issues
Adjusting the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) remission deadline on government land sales (GLS) sites and allowing a change of use for hospitality properties may help reduce pressure on housing developers in the short run, amid the construction industry’s labour shortage.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/raising-land-supply-may-aggravate-housing-issues

HDB resale prices climb for 11th straight month in May: SRX
HDB resale prices rose 1.2 per cent in May 2021 from the previous month to remain on their upward trajectory for the eleventh straight month, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX Property released Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-climb-for-11th-straight-month-in-may-srx

Strong leasing interest for part of StanChart space in MBFC
The asset manager of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) has received strong interest from potential tenants for about 200,000 sq ft office space that it has been actively marketing in the development’s Tower 1. This is part of the roughly 400,000 sq ft currently leased to Standard Chartered (StanChart) in the tower.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/strong-leasing-interest-for-part-of-stanchart-space-in-mbfc

Ang Mo Kio residential site tender awarded for $381.4 million
Singapore (The Business Times) – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has awarded the tender for a private housing site in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 to United Venture Development (2021) for $381.4 million, or $12,031 per sq m of gross floor area.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/ang-mo-kio-residential-site-tender-awarded-for-s3814m
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ang-mo-kio-housing-site-awarded-to-uol-led-group-for-s3814m

Singapore Economy

Global economic growth set for strongest pace in 50 years, expected to expand 6.1%: BOS
This year’s global economic growth could be at its strongest pace in five decades, following strong rebounds first in China and now the United States and United Kingdom, according to the Bank of Singapore’s (BOS) chief economist Mansoor Mohi-uddin.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/global-economic-growth-set-for-strongest-pace-in-50-years-expected-to-expand-61

S’pore manufacturing slows, but sector grows for 11th month
Mobility curbs at home and abroad to contain a flare-up of Covid-19 slowed manufacturing activity in Singapore last month, even as the sector grew for an 11th month. However, analysts said that, assuming the Covid-19 curbs are lifted as scheduled, the full-year trajectory for the manufacturing sector remains sound.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-manufacturing-slows-but-sector-grows-for-11th-month

Singapore unemployment situation keeps improving in April for citizens, residents
Singapore’s unemployment rates for residents and citizens continued to decrease in April, though the overall unemployment rate stalled, according to a Manpower Ministry (MOM) release on Thursday. The overall, resident and citizen unemployment rates have been declining since September’s peak.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-unemployment-situation-keeps-improving-in-april-for-citizens-residents

Companies’ Brief

Mapletree Investments FY21 net profit grows 4% to S$1.85b
Property developer and manager Mapletree Investments on Wednesday posted a net profit of S$1.85 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2021, a 4 per cent increase from the previous year. It said in a press statement that this was underpinned by significant investments in global logistics and data centres.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mapletree-investments-fy21-net-profit-grows-4-to-s185b

Lendlease Reit’s perp issue signals potential acquisition: CGS-CIMB
A recent fundraising initiative by Lendlease Global Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (LReit) could be a sign that an acquisition is on the way, said brokerage CGS-CIMB in a Tuesday report. LReit had last month issued S$200 million in perpetual securities at 4.2 per cent per annum.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lendlease-reits-perp-issue-signals-potential-acquisition-cgs-cimb

EHT unitholder KP Poh says he didn’t keep US$1.9m from Urban Commons’ founders
Poh Kay Ping, a unitholder of Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT), has refuted claims by Urban Commons Queensway (UCQ) that he and his company – Poh Altan Resources Company (PARC) – were beneficiaries of funds taken out of an EHT unit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eht-unitholder-kp-poh-says-he-didnt-keep-us19m-from-urban-commons-founders

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Opening borders and living with Covid-19 as a new normal in Singapore
Early moves to shut borders have been key for many Covid-19 success stories in keeping infection rates safely low. But such lockdowns come at a cost to economies and societies, and are unsustainable in the long run for an interconnected world.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/opening-borders-and-living-with-covid-19-as-a-new-normal-in-singapore

Small business owners raise concerns over ventilation guidelines
Fashion retailer Goodluck Bunch is looking to improve ventilation at its store but cracking open the windows to let fresh air in is not the most convenient solution in the two-storey shophouse in Bali Lane. The windows can be opened up to about 20cm only, said the shop’s creative director Quek Swee Ying.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/small-business-owners-raise-concerns-over-ventilation-guidelines

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Stop-work orders for 26 builders that flouted virus curbs
Twenty-six builders have been ordered to stop work for three days for flouting Covid-19 curbs. They were among more than 65 builders found to have violated safe management measures since these were tightened on May 16.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/stop-work-orders-for-26-builders-that-flouted-virus-curbs

24 Covid-19 community cases here, including 5 unlinked
A nursing home staff, massage therapist and NTUC Fairprice employee are among 24 Covid-19 cases in the community reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday night. The NTUC Fairprice employee and nursing home staff are among the five unlinked cases.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/24-covid-19-community-cases-here-including-5-unlinked

4 new cases at MINDSville@Napiri cluster; 22 preliminarily test positive
The MINDSville@Napiri cluster has grown to 27 cases after the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday announced four new cases, with 22 others having preliminarily tested positive for Covid-19. The four new cases at the home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities comprise a 30-year-old nursing aide and three residents aged between 47 and 64. All have been fully vaccinated and were symptomatic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/4-new-cases-at-mindsvillenapiri-cluster-22-preliminarily-test-positive

6 Hua Zai workers who tested positive for Covid-19 were living together, working in 2 places
Singapore – Six of the 10 workers linked to a chain of transmissions involving roast meat chain Hua Zai were living together and had worked in two different outlets, prompting experts to say that it is highly likely for cross-infections to occur when masks come off – at rest areas and in shared accommodation.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/6-hua-zai-workers-who-tested-positive-for-covid-19-were-staying-together-working-in-2

DIY test kits a useful tool in Covid-19 fight, but experts flag concerns
Do-it-yourself (DIY) Covid-19 test kits will be a useful tool in Singapore’s arsenal to fight the coronavirus as they are quick and convenient to use, said experts yesterday. But the experts also flagged potential areas of concern, such as the under-declaring of results, with one suggesting that the authorities regulate such kits and integrate them into government health systems.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/diy-test-kits-a-useful-tool-in-covid-19-fight-but-experts-flag-concerns

MOH gives green light to Sinovac shot under special access route
Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine will be allowed under the Special Access Route (SAR), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. This follows the announcement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday that it had approved the shot under its emergency-use listing.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/moh-gives-green-light-to-sinovac-shot-under-special-access-route

Getting food from the eatery to your door safely
As Singapore remains on heightened alert, food delivery and takeaway purchases have increased. While the risk of the virus being passed from food handlers to consumers is low if proper hygiene is followed, a contact-free delivery service will minimise unnecessary contact between them, since orders are placed on doorsteps and purchases paid without cash transactions.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/getting-food-from-the-eatery-to-your-door-safely

Access to Sinovac shot welcomed by frequent travellers to China
Some frequent business travellers to China have been waiting for months for the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to be approved for use here, as taking it would make it easier for them to enter China again in future. With the Singapore government’s recent announcement that it is opening up access to certain alternative vaccines via private healthcare providers, these travellers may now get a shot.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/access-to-sinovac-shot-welcomed-by-frequent-travellers-to-china

WHO says Delta variant is of concern
Geneva • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that one strain of a Covid-19 variant first detected in India is now considered “of concern” and has been dubbed “Delta”, while two other strains have been downgraded.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/who-says-delta-variant-is-of-concern

*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