DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3rd October 2018

Singapore Economy

Plan to tap tech to provide better, faster public services
There will be a fundamental re-engineering of the Government so that it can tap technology to provide better and faster public services at a fraction of the cost. This will involve radically overhauling or replacing its existing IT systems and revamping its processes. It will move away from a system where individual agencies build their own e-citizen services and applications, to a more centra-lised approach that will enable such e-services to be created more efficiently.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/plan-to-tap-tech-to-provide-better-faster-public-services
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/software-suite-to-speed-up-development-of-apps-for-govt-e-services

Singapore Q3 bond market stuns with quadrupling of issue value
The Singapore dollar bond market made a remarkable recovery in Q3 following an abysmal show in the April-to-June quarter, when financial markets were whipsawed by trade-war fears and rate-hike uncertainty. September was particularly strong, with S$3.7 billion in deals, mainly from banks and government entities; it was also the best month since the S$3.8 billion printed in October 2017.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-q3-bond-market-stuns-with-quadrupling-of-issue-value
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sgd-bond-market-in-q3-is-both-hot-and-tepid

S’pore factory activity returns to slower growth
Singapore’s factory activity grew at a slower pace last month, with fewer new orders and new exports, in line with a similar trend across Asia and Europe – a signal that the fallout from the US-China trade conflict may be growing. After a brief bounce in August, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key indicator of manufacturing activity, returned to slower growth last month by dipping 0.2 point to 52.4.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-factory-activity-returns-to-slower-growth
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/singapore-manufacturing-outlook-cools-in-september

Singapore Real Estate

Good urban design increasingly important: Heng Swee Keat
Singapore needs to continue finding innovative and sustainable ways to improve its urban design, given its space constraints and competing needs for residences, industries, leisure and amenities, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday. This was one of three areas, on top of productivity and technology, which the Republic can capitalise on, he said at the launch of a three-day event on architecture and building services at Marina Bay Sands.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/good-urban-design-increasingly-important-heng

Katong Park Towers gets Court’s nod for en bloc sale to proceed
The sale of Katong Park Towers has been given the green light by the High Court, following some owners’ objection to the sale over factors like the method of apportionment. An order of sale was made for Katong Park Towers following a High Court hearing on Tuesday, Edwin Lee of Eldan Law told The Business Times. He represented the collective sale committee.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/katong-park-towers-gets-courts-nod-for-en-bloc-sale-to-proceed

Faber Garden tries again for en bloc – at unchanged S$1.18b price
After having failed to find a buyer earlier this year, owners at the billion dollar en bloc hopeful Faber Garden on Angklong Lane are trying again – at the same reserve price of S$1.18 billion. The freehold 544,738 sq ft site off Upper Thomson Road will relaunch its tender on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/faber-garden-tries-again-for-en-bloc-at-unchanged-s118b-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/faber-garden-in-fresh-bid-to-go-en-bloc-at-same-price

Owner asks $41m for Three Buckley duplexes near Newton
The owner of freehold residential project Three Buckley in the Newton neighbourhood has put the development up for sale by expression of interest with an asking price of $41 million. The property at 3 Buckley Road is zoned for residential use and may be built up to a gross plot ratio of 1.4 times its land area of 1,444.64 sq m (15,550 sq ft). The asking price represents a land rate of $1,657 per sq ft.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/owner-asks-41m-for-three-buckley-duplexes-near-newton
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/owner-asks-s41m-for-three-buckley-duplexes-near-newton

No plans for Govt to buy back flats hit by ethnic quotas
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong has turned down an MP’s suggestion that the Government buy back HDB flats from owners who cannot sell them owing to the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP).
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/no-plans-for-govt-to-buy-back-flats-hit-by-ethnic-quotas

Shaping Singapore
Over the course of her tenure as head of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing Development Board (HDB), Cheong Koon Hean has played a key role in transforming Singapore’s physical environment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub/leading-women/shaping-singapore

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand invests S$27m in co-working operator in push to build offices of the future
CapitaLand is investing S$27 million in a co-working operator in line with its strategy to build offices of the future that integrate both conventional office space and flexible space. Through subsidiary CL Kingdom Investment, it invested S$13.5 million for a 50 per cent stake in The Work Project Kingdom (TWPK), and will extend another S$13.5 million in shareholder loans to the co-working operator.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-invests-s27m-in-co-working-operator-in-push-to-build-offices-of-the-future
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-takes-50-stake-in-co-working-operator

Wheelock Properties hits 90% delisting threshold
Wheelock Properties (Singapore) is set to bow out from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after a takeover offer crossed the threshold for delisting by a hair’s breadth. According to a filing with the exchange, as at the close of voluntary unconditional general offer at 5.30pm on Oct 2, parent firm Wheelock and Company’s stake in Wheelock Properties (Singapore) amounted to 90.1 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wheelock-properties-hits-90-delisting-threshold
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/wheelock-properties-to-delist-following-buyout

Resources Prima to acquire Chinese developer in RTO
Indonesian coal miner Resources Prima Group has entered into a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hing Chung Group to fully acquire ChongQing HuangYang Property Development for S$33 million in what will result in a reverse takeover of Resources Prima.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/resources-prima-to-acquire-chinese-developer-in-rto

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Next on BT: homes of the future
They are more comfortable and more energy-efficient. That’s what the smart homes of the future aim to be. The latest episode in the Smart City series explores various methods to make homes in land-scarce Singapore more sustainable, liveable and safer using smart technology.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/next-on-bt-homes-of-the-future