DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3rd August 2016

Singapore Economy

Consumer confidence in S’pore low but stable in Q2: Nielsen
Consumer confidence in the Republic remained unchanged in the second quarter of 2016, staying at the lowest level since 2009. According to Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index, Singapore’s latest score of 88 points was flat from Q1 – mirroring most performances in the region’s developed economies, where confidence declined slightly or remained flat.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/consumer-confidence-in-spore-low-but-stable-in-q2-nielsen

Singapore’s weak July PMI backs economists’ downbeat views
A forward-looking indicator of the health of Singapore’s manufacturing sector has fallen farther in July, with economists seeing sectoral activity easing in the months ahead. The headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July was at 49.3, down 0.3 from the previous month, said Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) on Tuesday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-weak-july-pmi-backs-economists-downbeat-views
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/factory-activity-shrinks-for-13th-month-in-a-row
http://www.todayonline.com/business/manufacturing-slows-13th-straight-month
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-s-manufacturing/3007480.html

STB, NATAS launch Travel Agent Roadmap
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) jointly launched the Travel Agent (TA) Roadmap on Tuesday at the inaugural Travel Agents Industry Forum. The Roadmap, which seeks to enhance the capability and sustainability of the travel agent industry, focuses on three main areas: business transformation, technology and manpower. It outlines a suite of initiatives that will serve to guide and support travel agents to become “Designers of Travel Experience” – the key idea for utilising the Roadmap.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/stb-natas-launch-travel-agent-roadmap

Singapore Real Estate

Real Estate Sentiment Index in 2Q2016 showed less pessimism among developers
The overall market sentiment has shown signs of improvement in developers’ sentiment, although still pessimistic, according to 2Q2016 Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI). The composite sentiment index stood at 4.2 in 2Q2016, up from 3.8 in 1Q2016, which has lifted the weak sentiments in the last 11 consecutive quarters. The current sentiment index increased to 4.3 in 2Q2016 from 3.9 in 1Q2016 while the future sentiment index increased to 4.0 in 2Q2016 from 3.6 in 1Q2016. Some 64.7% of the developers expected the number of new launches to hold at the same level in the next six months in 2Q2016. More than half of them anticipated a moderate decrease in residential property prices in the second half of the year.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/real-estate-sentiment-index-2q2016-051158890.html

Consumers gain from home loan ‘price war’
A price war has broken out in the home loans market, with banks correcting their spreads to effective interest rates not seen for more than a year. This comes as interest rates in Singapore pulled back recently, as expectations for rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve dissipate. “We started the year with markets expecting four rate hikes but expectations are now down to only one rate hike this year,” said Mr Edward Lee, Standard Chartered head of Asean economic research.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/consumers-gain-from-home-loan-price-war

Fresh mortgagee listings in Q2 set record
A new high in fresh mortgagee sale listings was set in the second quarter in Singapore, according to data compiled by Knight Frank. A total of 31 fresh listings came up in auctions. The residential sector led the way with 21, followed by the industrial sector, six, and the office and the shops and shophouses sectors, two each. Despite the lower mortgagee sale success rate of 6.6 per cent in Q2 as compared to 10 per cent in the first quarter, the mortgagee sales of four properties surged 105.9 per cent in value from a quarter ago to S$12.1 million, representing 81.7 per cent of total auction sales.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fresh-mortgagee-listings-in-q2-set-record
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-sees-record-high-fresh-mortgagee-sales-listings-in-q2-knight-frank
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/fresh-mortgagee-sale-listings-hit-record-high-in-q2

Companies’ Brief

One Raffles Place stake boosts OUE C-Reit Q2 DPU
Revenue contribution from its majority stake in One Raffles Place gave a lift to earnings for office space landlord OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-Reit) in its second quarter. But the trust manager warned in its results statement that new office supply coming onstream in the second half of this year in both Singapore and Shanghai could raise vacancy rates in both markets.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/one-raffles-place-stake-boosts-oue-c-reit-q2-dpu
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-commercial-reit-q2-dpu-up-347

Higher management fees boost ARA’s Q2
Real estate fund management company ARA Asset Management on Tuesday posted a 9 per cent increase in revenue to S$40.3 million for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016. Net profit attributable to shareholders also rose 18 per cent to S$19.3 million, while earnings per share rose to 1.94 Singapore cents, up from 1.9 cents a year ago.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/higher-management-fees-boost-aras-q2
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ara-asset-managements-q2-earnings-up-18-on-higher-fees
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/strong-growth-in-management-fees-lifts-ara-asset-management-1h-net-profit

Views, Reviews & Forum

Did GuocoLand overpay for Martin Place site?
The private residential site along Martin Place that GuocoLand secured at a recent state tender has key attributes – including its prime location – that are a strong plus factor for any developer planning a condo project. But at a winning bid of S$595.1 million for the 99-year leasehold 1.6-hectare site, a talking point is whether the developer, which is part of the Malaysia Hong Leong Group helmed by Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan, has overpaid for the land.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/did-guocoland-overpay-for-martin-place-site

The new normal in property taxation
Investors, developers and others in the property industry seem to have conditioned themselves to believe that the Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) is a temporary measure as part of a broader effort to cool the property market. Introduced in 2011, it imposes an additional stamp duty of 7 per cent to 10 per cent for Singaporeans buying their second or subsequent properties. Foreigners pay more. With home prices falling, vacancy rates rising and unsold inventory looming, many believe that the ABSD could be lifted soon.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-new-normal-in-property-taxation