DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3 Jul 2020 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore H1 property investment sales down 45%: C&W
Singapore’s property investment volume fell 45 per cent to S$6.13 billion in the first half of the year, according to preliminary data from Cushman & Wakefield released on Thursday. In the second quarter, preliminary investment volume stood at S$3.06 million, remaining stable from the first quarter’s volume of S$3.07 billion.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-h1-property-investment-sales-down-45-cw

Demand down, costs up, but builders will rein in bids
Singapore contractors are facing a double whammy – plunging demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic while needing to fill their order books but without being able to pass on all the additional costs of measures to ensure a safe working environment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/demand-down-costs-up-but-builders-will-rein-in-bids

S’pore property investment sales fall 45% in first half of year: Report
Property investment sales slumped in the first half of the year amid the pandemic, although the market showed signs of stabilising in the second quarter, a report out yesterday showed. Investment sales for the six months to Tuesday hit $6.13 billion, a fall of 45 per cent from $11.24 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/spore-property-investment-sales-fall-45-in-first-half-of-year-report

Singapore Economy

China joins S’pore-NZ initiative to keep supply chains open
China has pledged to uphold trade and supply chain connections during the coronavirus pandemic. The commitment to maintaining cross-border flows of necessities was launched by Singapore and New Zealand in March. Since then, several nations from across the world have joined the pact.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/china-joins-spore-nz-initiative-to-keep-supply-chains-open

S’pore to be a reliable node in global supply chain: Chee Hong Tat
Singapore has to build its reliability as a node in the global supply chain, while also keeping an eye on the resilience of its own internal supply networks, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-to-be-a-reliable-node-in-global-supply-chain-chee-hong-tat

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Singapore, NZ, Chile show the way in next-gen trade agreements
Last month, in a low-key, virtual signing ceremony, three Asia-Pacific governments took an important step that we may look back on as a turning point in international commerce. Singapore, New Zealand and Chile signed a new kind of trade agreement – the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA)…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-nz-chile-show-the-way-in-next-gen-trade-agreements

Is economic inequality really a problem? Yes, but the answer is less obvious than you think
It is impossible to ignore the stark disparities of income and wealth that prevail in the United States, and a great many of us are troubled by this state of affairs.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/is-economic-inequality-really-a-problem-yes-but-the-answer-is-less-obvious-than-you-think

It wont be business as usual post-Covid-19
The pandemic has been a mere six months but to many company heads, it probably seems longer. Running a business in times like this is stressful to say the least. Businesses everywhere, in every sector, have been tested to their limits.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/it-wont-be-business-as-usual-post-covid-19

Going back to good old gut feel
Trusting one’s intuition has largely given way to following routine procedure, but it remains a valuable management tool – if used correctly
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/going-back-to-good-old-gut-feel

Here’s how to pave the road ahead in the ‘new normal’ of travel
Just seven months ago, anyone could easily book a trip to any destination in the world with a click on a computer mouse. Today, we are facing a completely different reality. With unprecedented lockdowns and international travel restrictions, Covid-19 has brought about the fear of contagion and overall global uncertainty, more than any other pandemic in modern times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/heres-how-to-pave-the-road-ahead-in-the-new-normal-of-travel

UOB joins DBS to make second rate cut this year on flagship savings account
Singapore (The Business Times) – UOB has joined its Singapore banking peers in deepening cuts to interest rates tied to flagship savings accounts, reflecting the prolonged low-interest rate environment. Singapore’s third-largest retail bank will from Aug 1 lower all rates on its UOB One account for account balances up to $75,000.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/uob-joins-dbs-to-make-second-rate-cut-this-year-on-flagship-savings-account

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Coronavirus: Phase two will likely stay in place for months
Restrictions such as limiting gatherings to groups of five people or fewer will likely remain for some time despite more activities resuming under phase two of Singapore’s reopening, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/phase-two-will-likely-stay-in-place-for-months

Rise in community cases ‘not unexpected’ with reopening, testing
It is “not unexpected” that coronavirus cases in the community have gone up of late – and will continue to increase – as Singapore progresses further in Phase Two of its reopening and testing is expanded, said the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on Covid-19 at a virtual press conference on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/rise-in-community-cases-not-unexpected-with-reopening-testing

Net to be cast wider to identify close contacts of Covid-19 patients
Singapore will cast the net wider around every Covid-19 case to identify close contacts to stem the spread of the disease, following a rise in the number of cases in just two weeks into the reopening of the economy.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/net-to-be-cast-wider-to-identify-close-contacts-of-covid-19-patients

188 new virus cases in S’pore, including 10 in community
Three places including West Mall, Paya Lebar Square and IMM are among the newly added locations visited by Covid-19 patients, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. A patient also visited Fu Chan Coffee Shop at Block 145 Teck Whye Avenue while infectious.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/188-new-virus-cases-in-spore-including-10-in-community

Tests for residents in Tampines HDB block with 9 Covid-19 cases
Testing has been offered to residents of 58 households living in the same section of Block 111 Tampines Street 11 in which nine confirmed Covid-19 cases have emerged. Speaking at a virtual press conference yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the Health Ministry detected a case living in the block on June 23.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/tests-for-residents-in-tampines-hdb-block-with-9-covid-19-cases
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/58-households-placed-under-surveillance

Coronavirus: See a doctor even if it is just a sniffle, advises Lawrence Wong
Despite having enhanced testing and tracing capabilities, the authorities have urged the public not to let their guard down and called on everyone to stay vigilant and take all necessary precautions.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/see-a-doctor-even-if-it-is-just-a-sniffle-advises-lawrence-wong
*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