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DAILY NEWS

 

Daily News – 31st August 2018

Top Story

Developer sentiment hit by new cooling measures: survey
Developer sentiment has dampened significantly following the government’s announcement of new cooling measures, according to a survey conducted by National University of Singapore (NUS) and Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas).  Outlook for the prime residential and suburban residential sectors were the hardest hit, while office, business park/hi-tech space and hotel/serviced apartment were relatively unaffected.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developer-sentiment-hit-by-new-cooling-measures-survey

Singapore Economy

Ministers in fresh round of mega-deal trade talks
Fresh ministerial talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal began on Thursday afternoon, with Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing hoping for a clear plan by November.  “The substantial conclusion of RCEP by end-2018 will reaffirm our region’s continued support for free trade against the backdrop of rising protectionist sentiments,” he told his counterparts, opening discussions on the sidelines of the Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/ministers-in-fresh-round-of-mega-deal-trade-talks
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/aseans-economic-tie-ups-with-plus-3-nations-vital-says-chan-chun-sing
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/rcep-talks-gain-urgency-amid-rising-protectionist-sentiments-10668106

Mega-trade deals can pave way for bigger pacts: Heng Swee Keat
Globalisation needs its defenders, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday, while calling on countries to embrace broader trade pacts and international mechanisms.  Mega-trade deals like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) can pave the way for even bigger projects, he said, in a dialogue at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs’s 11th Asean & Asia Forum.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/mega-trade-deals-can-pave-way-for-bigger-pacts-heng-swee-keat
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/globalisation-needs-to-be-defended-heng-swee-keat
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heng-swee-keat-us-china-trade-war-asean-forum-10667228

ACE inks MOU to give leg-up to Austria and S’pore startups
Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Advantage Austria and the Global Incubator Network (GIN) to promote international business opportunities for startups across Singapore and Austria.  The MOU signing was attended by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who is in Singapore for a three-day official visit. Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman was also present at the signing.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups/ace-inks-mou-to-give-leg-up-to-austria-and-spore-startups
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-austria-share-digital-aspiration-pm-lee
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/mou-inked-to-boost-business-for-start-ups-in-austria-and-spore

Two initiatives to equip 12,000 over 3 years with AI knowledge
Talent development in Singapore’s burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) scene is set to receive a boost with two new nation-wide initiatives announced on Thursday.  Speaking at an event commemorating AI Singapore’s (AISG) first anniversary, Minister for Communication and Information S Iswaran said there is a consensus among governments, industry leaders and recruitment firms worldwide that there is a global shortage of AI talent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/two-initiatives-to-equip-12000-over-3-years-with-ai-knowledge
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/leg-up-for-ai-with-moves-to-develop-singaporean-talent

Decision on Singapore and Malaysia rail projects out soon
Singapore and Malaysia should be able to announce their joint decisions on the RTS and HSR soon, said Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport in a Facebook post on Thursday.  He was referring to the planned rail links between both countries – the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System and the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/decision-on-singapore-and-malaysia-rail-projects-out-soon
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/decisions-on-rail-projects-with-malaysia-soon-khaw
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/malaysia-spore-closer-to-win-win-deal-on-hsr-says-kl-minister
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/high-speed-rail-rts-singapore-malaysia-joint-decisions-soon-khaw-10666642
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/johor-government-third-link-singapore-bridge-pulau-ubin-10667018
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/decision-high-speed-rail-and-rapid-transit-system-msia-expected-soon-khaw

Bloomberg moves business forum from Beijing to Singapore
Fallout from the trade war between the United States and China has prompted Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire media executive and former mayor of New York City, to relocate what was planned as a conference of global business and political leaders in Beijing.  Organisers in New York are moving the event to Singapore, where it is to take place over two days in the first week of November. According to people with knowledge of the planning, Mr Bloomberg made the decision after a Chinese partner asked organisers last week to postpone the event, which was to rival Davos, the elite annual conclave in Switzerland.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/bloomberg-moves-business-forum-from-beijing-to-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/forum-moved-to-spore-amid-us-china-trade-war
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/bloomberg-new-economy-forum-launch-singapore-us-china-10667474

Singapore Real Estate

Panel plans tougher action to boost workplace safety
In a bid to make workplaces safer, a tripartite committee has proposed ways to get tougher on companies that have a poor safety and health record.  This includes a preliminary recommendation for government agencies to standardise their procurement criteria, used to track and disqualify errant contractors from public-sector projects.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/panel-plans-tougher-action-to-boost-workplace-safety

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand buys prime residential site in Ho Chi Minh City
CapitaLand has bought a 60,732 square metre prime residential site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for 1.38 trillion Vietnamese dong (S$81.4 million) in cash, the property developer said on Thursday during the midday trading break.  Under the deal, CapitaLand’s wholly owned subsidiaries, CVH Sparrow, CLV Investment 2 and CLV Investment, have acquired 100 per cent of the charter capital of BCLand Joint Stock Co from parties unrelated to CapitaLand.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-buys-prime-residential-site-in-ho-chi-minh-city
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-pays-81m-for-prime-residential-site-in-ho-chi-minh-city

Moody’s cuts CMT’s outlook to ‘negative’
Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday changed the outlook on all CapitaLand Mall Trust’s (CMT) ratings from “stable” to “negative”, following CMT’s announcement earlier this week that it will acquire the remaining 70 per cent stake in Infinity Mall Trust which holds Westgate.  That said, it has affirmed the A2 issuer and senior unsecured ratings of most of CMT’s debt.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/moodys-cuts-cmts-outlook-to-negative
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/moodys-changes-cmts-rating-outlook-to-negative

Keppel pares stake in Keppel DC Reit by 4.08% for S$74.96m, recognises S$17m gain
Keppel Corporation on Thursday evening said its wholly owned subsidiary, DC Reit Holdings, has signed a sale and purchase agreement to sell about 55.1 million units in Keppel DC Reit, representing about a 4.08 per cent stake, for S$74.96 million.  The units were sold for at least S$1.36 per unit or any such higher price that UBS as the placement agent was able to procure, taking into account the last transacted price per unit of S$1.40, and the volume-weighted average price per unit of S$1.3986 for the full market day on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-pares-stake-in-keppel-dc-reit-by-408-for-s7496m-recognises-s17m-gain
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-pares-stake-in-keppel-dc-reit-by-408-for-7496m-sees-17m-gain

Lum Chang offers investors an exchange of notes due 2019 for higher-coupon notes
Construction cum property developer Lum Chang on Thursday invited holders of its outstanding S$50 million 5.5 per cent notes due 2019 to exchange their notes for a “like principal amount” of Singapore dollar-denominated notes due 2021 that carry a higher coupon of 5.8 per cent.  The latter will come under its S$300 million multicurrency medium term note programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lum-chang-offers-investors-an-exchange-of-notes-due-2019-for-higher-coupon-notes
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/lum-chang-offers-to-exchange-notes-due-2019-for-higher-coupon-ones

KOP breaks ground on integrated Shanghai ski resort
Property developer KOP has broken ground on an integrated ski resort in Shanghai, which will pave the way for its luxury hotel brand Montigo Resorts to break into China.  Called Wintastar Shanghai, the six billion yuan (S$1.21 billion) ski resort is being jointly developed by Shanghai Lujiazui Development (Group) Company, KOP subsidiary Wintastar Holdings and Shanghai Harbour City Development (Group) Co.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/kop-breaks-ground-on-integrated-shanghai-ski-resort
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/kop-to-build-indoor-ski-resort-in-shanghai

IFA clarifies recommendation for Wheelock offer
PrimePartners Corporate Finance, the independent financial adviser (IFA) to the recommending directors, has clarified its advice on the offer to take Wheelock Properties (Singapore) private as “fair and reasonable”.  In a clarification letter late on Thursday, the IFA said that due to “market feedback,” it wishes to reword a paragraph in its IFA letter “to address any perception of an inconsistency between our opinion and our recommendation to the recommending directors in relation to the offer”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ifa-clarifies-recommendation-for-wheelock-offer-0 

Global Economy & Global Real Estate

Trump to back US$200b China tariffs as early as next week, sources say
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/trump-to-back-us200b-china-tariffs-as-early-as-next-week-sources-say
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/trump-said-to-back-200-billion-china-tariffs-early-as-next-week?srnd=premium-asia

Trump Threatens to Pull U.S. Out of WTO If It Doesn’t ‘Shape Up’
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/trump-says-he-will-pull-u-s-out-of-wto-if-they-don-t-shape-up?srnd=premium-asia

Consumer spending, inflation up in July; incomes cool
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/consumer-spending-inflation-up-in-july-incomes-cool

Record London Rents Lure Overseas Landlords to Housing Market
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/record-london-rents-lure-overseas-landlords-to-housing-market?srnd=premium-asia

China key factory index beats expectations for August
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/china-key-factory-index-beats-expectations-for-august
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-31/china-factory-gauge-unexpectedly-rises-in-august-amid-trade-war?srnd=premium-asia

Malaysia’s consumption tax revenue to be half previous level
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/malaysias-consumption-tax-revenue-to-be-half-previous-level

As debt levels rise, more Thais struggle to keep up
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/as-debt-levels-rise-more-thais-struggle-to-keep-up

Canada economy grew 2.9% in Q2
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/canada-economy-grew-29-in-q2

Argentina hikes interest rates to 60% – world’s highest – as peso plummets
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/argentina-hikes-interest-rates-to-60-worlds-highest-as-peso-plummets
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/argentina-hikes-interest-rates-to-60-as-peso-goes-into-freefall

Additional Articles of Interests – Local & Overseas Real Estate

Local & Overseas Real Estate – Full Article
http://business.asiaone.com/property/news
http://www.btinvest.com.sg/property
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/market-news
http://www.srx.com.sg/singapore-property-news
http://www.stproperty.sg/articles-property/singapore-property-news/c/11
https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-new

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