DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 31st August 2017

Singapore Economy

‘Relax’: Nobel Laureate’s advice to Singaporeans anxious about jobs
There is palpable fear of job losses from technological disruption, judging by the responses from some 1,000 tertiary students in Singapore on Wednesday – an anxiety that caught at least one of four distinguished Nobel Laureates by surprise. The four Nobel Laureates in the field of economic sciences, who were in town as the first stop of a global UBS conference streamed live across the world, believe that Singapore remains relevant in these volatile times, noting that Singapore’s size, openness, and commitment to education will equip its next generation with the needed survival skills.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/relax-nobel-laureates-advice-to-singaporeans-anxious-about-jobs
http://www.todayonline.com/business/lack-jobs-major-concern-among-students-ubs-survey

Hiring in South-east Asia finance sector stays cautious
The banking and financial services industry (BFSI) in South-east Asia continues to display a cautious hiring outlook as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines report a positive yet slow recruitment growth rate, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI). The index is a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity by Monster.com, and tracks industries and occupations with the highest and lowest growth in online recruitment, which also includes data points from the BFSI sector.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hiring-in-south-east-asia-finance-sector-stays-cautious

Singapore Real Estate

Sentosa condo sold at loss of $3.8m
A waterway-facing luxury apartment at Seascape in Sentosa Cove has been sold at a loss of nearly $4 million. Owned by Dyna-Mac Holdings chairman and chief executive Lim Tze Jong, the 4,069 sq ft unit was bought for about $12.8 million in 2010, but the market for high-end homes on Sentosa has been in the doldrums for years. The downturn meant that the apartment could command only $9 million when it was sold last month, price data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sentosa-condo-sold-at-loss-of-38m?login=true

Two GCBs in Peirce Road up for sale for combined $65m
Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) rarely come on the market but two of the posh houses in a prime hilltop location are up for sale with a total price tag of around $65 million. The homes in Peirce Road, which are being sold together, are owned by high-profile developer Simon Cheong. They are among six bungalows in Peirce Road he bought in early 2006, reportedly for a total of $35 million. Three have reportedly been sold.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/two-gcbs-in-peirce-road-up-for-sale-for-combined-65m

Real estate, industrials top performers on SGX
Real estate firms, financials and industrials are the best-performing stocks on the local market, the Singapore Exchange said. While the Straits Times Index has generated a 13.2 per cent price gain so far this year, the eight real estate stocks in the benchmark averaged a 24.1 per cent increase over the same period. The STI’s four financial stocks have chalked up an average gain of 15 per cent, while the 10 industrial stocks have risen by an average of 13.6 per cent.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/real-estate-industrials-top-performers-on-sgx

Companies’ Brief

AA Reit obtains TOP for property redevelopment in Tuas
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit has received the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) for a redevelopment at 8 and 10 Tuas Avenue 20. With the redevelopment, the two land parcels have been amalgamated and will now be known as 8 Tuas Ave 20, said the Reit manager AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit Management on Thursday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aa-reit-obtains-top-for-property-redevelopment-in-tuas

FCT subscribes for its full allocation in Hektar Reit’s rights issue
Frasers Centrepoint Trust has subscribed for its full allocation in the rights issue of Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), with the amount of S$6.78 million funded by FCT’s internal resources. Hektar Reit announced on June 10 last year a proposed acquisition of 1Segamat Shopping Centre, a retail shopping mall located in Segamat, Johor in Malaysia. The property, which will be Hektar Reit’s sixth in its asset portfolio, has a net lettable area of about 223,438 square feet.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fct-subscribes-for-its-full-allocation-in-hektar-reits-rights-issue

Oxley unit exercises options for Yio Chu Kang property
Homegrown property developer Oxley Holdings said on Wednesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Oxley Garnet Pte Ltd, has exercised its options to purchase six units at 208 Yio Chu Kang Road. The units, which will be sold for a total purchase price of S$8.4 million, make up a 99-year leasehold property; the property has a land area of some 1,313.3 sqm zoned for residential use.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-unit-exercises-options-for-yio-chu-kang-property

TTJ unit and BCA end deal on workers’ dormitory
Structural steel fabricators TTJ Holdings says its wholly owned subsidiary, TTJ Design and Engineering Pte Ltd, and Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) have agreed to terminate a deal made earlier for TTJ Design to manage and operate a foreign construction workers’ dormitory in Upper Jurong Road. TTJ Holdings had announced in July 2016 that the group had won the tender to operate and manage this dormitory, which has a capacity of some 500 workers, for a tenancy period from August 2016 to July 2019.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ttj-unit-and-bca-end-deal-on-workers-dormitory

Views, Reviews & Forum

Singapore cannot afford to slow down
Much of the news these days reflects a world facing uncertain and anxious times. There is an increasingly disenchanted middle class questioning the benefits of globalisation. At the heart of this angst is a perfectly reasonable demand for good jobs. But it is important to make the right diagnosis to avoid blaming the wrong factor. The problem is not globalisation, and blaming trade and putting up walls will not help. The fact is that there is a digital revolution going on. The advancements in computing, broadband and mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing and genomics are all building on and amplifying one another.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-cannot-afford-to-slow-down