DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 3 Dec 2021 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Gloria Mansion tries for en bloc sale again with lower S$69m reserve price
Freehold hilltop condominium Gloria Mansion, located at 292 Pasir Panjang Road, is back on the market with a reserve price of S$69 million, exclusive marketing agent Strata AMC told The Business Times. The residential development was previously launched for collective sale in June 2018 with a S$79 million asking price.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gloria-mansion-tries-for-en-bloc-sale-again-with-lower-s69m-reserve-price

Singapore Economy

Sentiment poll shows slowing growth in Singapore factories; Purchasing Managers’ Index loses 0.2 point to 50.6 in November
Activity in the Singapore factory sector cooled further in November from its most recent peak in July, even though manufacturing across the region stayed in positive territory. Now, all eyes are on how the new, highly mutated Omicron variant of Covid-19 will affect activity, as the sector wrestles with earlier bouts of production and logistics disruption.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/sentiment-poll-shows-slowing-growth-in-singapore-factories-purchasing-managers

Companies’ Brief

CICT enters Australia market with acquisition of 2 office buildings for A$330.7m
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust’s (CICT) indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary has entered into a unit sale agreement to acquire 2 Grade A office buildings in Sydney, Australia for A$330.7 million (S$330.7 million). This would mark CICT’s first inroad into Australia, its second overseas developed market after Germany, the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) manager said in a bourse filing on Friday (Dec 3).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cict-enters-australia-market-with-acquisition-of-2-office-buildings-for-a3307m

Entities linked to Chip Eng Seng, SingHaiyi in S$650m bid for Peace Centre
Property player Chip Eng Seng and SingHaiyi joint venture and Ultra Infinity have made a joint S$650 million bid for Peace Centre/Peace Mansion (PCPM), by way of a private treaty, the companies announced on Friday (Dec 3).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/entities-linked-to-chip-eng-seng-singhaiyi-in-s650m-bid-for-peace-centre
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/peace-centrepeace-mansion-goes-for-650m-to-singapore-firms-in-private-treaty-deal

CDL to acquire Central Square for S$315m as part of Central area facelift
Property developer City Developments Limited (CDL) will acquire Central Square for S$315 million as part of its plans to redevelop its Central Mall properties and the surrounding area into a mixed-use lifestyle hub. Located at 20 Havelock Road, Central Square is a 99-year leasehold commercial and residential development in the Singapore River precinct…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-to-acquire-central-square-for-s315m-as-part-of-central-area-facelift-0

Roxy-Pacific to launch Mori at an estimated average price of S$1,900 psf
Mainboard-listed Roxy-Pacific Holdings will be launching its freehold condominium Mori on Dec 4, with an expected average price of S$1,900 per square foot (psf). Inspired by the Japanese wabi-sabi concept of finding beauty in simplicity, Mori comprises 2 residential blocks of 5 and 8 storeys each, an outdoor onsen, several pools and lounges, and an open-air gymnasium.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/roxy-pacific-to-launch-mori-at-an-estimated-average-price-of-s1900-psf

FLCT divests leasehold property in Melbourne, Australia for A$42.5m
Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT) is proposing to divest a leasehold property in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for a consideration of A$42.5 million (S$41.7 million). FLCT’s manager has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with an unrelated third-party purchaser for the sale of the property at 2-24 Douglas Street, it said in a bourse filing on Thursday night (Dec 2).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/flct-divests-leasehold-property-in-melbourne-australia-for-a425m

Mapletree Logistics Trust declares S$0.01461 DPU for advanced distribution
Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) on Thursday (Dec 2) said it will distribute S$0.01461 per unit for its advanced distribution for the period Oct 1 to Dec 1. The distribution is made in connection with a S$700 million private placement and preferential offering priced in November.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-logistics-trust-declares-s001461-dpu-for-advanced-distribution

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Cooling the cities of tomorrow in South-east Asia – A shift towards carbon neutrality
The COP26 summit produced a mixed bag of outcomes, with broad commitments by most governments on action to address the climate crisis. Turning such top-level pledges into sector-specific actions that can be taken now is a more challenging task. One energy-hungry feature of life today is the unrelenting pace of urbanisation, which brings with it an ever-increasing demand for electricity.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/cooling-the-cities-of-tomorrow-in-south-east-asia-a-shift-towards-carbon-neutrality

Governments may be more prepared for Covid than they think
There is an adage that you cannot have back-to-back financial crises. The implication is that a financial crisis causes people to be more careful – so any bank, investment firm, or investor who survives one crisis will not be taking big risks anytime soon.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/governments-may-be-more-prepared-for-covid-than-they-think

A perfect storm awaits businesses as compliance issues continue to mount up
Businesses, and those who manage their risks, have been subjected to excessive stress as a result of the pandemic. The fallout has been far reaching, and very few industries have escaped unscathed. In the corporate world, it is compliance teams that have been hit exceptionally hard.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/a-perfect-storm-awaits-businesses-as-compliance-issues-continue-to-mount-up

Vaccine inequity giving rise to variants
The detection in South Africa last week of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and its spread to four continents already, is another wake-up call for governments in high-income and developed countries to the fact that, as World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put it, “no country can vaccinate its way out of the pandemic alone”.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/vaccine-inequity-giving-rise-to-variants

Business travel could rebound in 2022, despite Omicron factor
There is optimism that business travel may soon return in a significant way next year, notwithstanding the emergence of the Omicron variant that has thrown a spanner in the works for the general travel sector. The reopening of borders in the West and Singapore’s string of quarantine-free Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) had earlier sparked hopes that firms would be more willing to resume cross border…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/business-travel-could-rebound-in-2022-despite-omicron-factor

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

1,101 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore; weekly infection rate up slightly at 0.70
[Singapore] The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 1,101 new Covid-19 infections in Singapore on Thursday (Dec 2), down from 1,324 on Wednesday. The intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate was at 56.4 per cent, down from 59.7 per cent on Wednesday, said the MOH in its daily update.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/1101-new-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-weekly-infection-rate-up-slightly-at-070
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/1101-new-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-weekly-infection-rate-up-slightly-at-070

Omicron variant lands in Singapore; 2 cases recovering in isolation wards
[Singapore] Two imported Covid-19 cases have preliminarily tested positive for the Omicron variant on Thursday (Dec 2), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said. Both cases were isolated upon arrival in Singapore on Wednesday, and had not interacted in the community.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/omicron-variant-lands-in-singapore-2-cases-recovering-in-isolation-wards
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/2-imported-covid-19-cases-in-spore-test-preliminarily-positive-for-omicron-variant

VTL travellers from Singapore exempted from South Korea’s new quarantine requirements
[Singapore] People will still be able to travel without quarantine between Singapore and South Korea under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, in spite of new border restrictions kicking in from Friday (Dec 3). The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Singapore said on Thursday that the VTL arrangement between the 2 countries will proceed without change at the moment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/vtl-travellers-from-singapore-exempted-from-south-koreas-new-quarantine
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/vtl-travellers-from-singapore-exempted-from-south-koreas-new-quarantine-rules?webview=true

Travellers told to be prepared for changes to year-end holiday plans as more Omicron cases surface
Singapore – The spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant around the world may scupper year-end holiday plans for some people in Singapore, with industry players warning travellers to be prepared for the situation to change quickly.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/travellers-told-to-be-prepared-for-changes-to-year-end-holiday-plans-as-more

Those who had Sinovac, Sinopharm jabs must get third dose to keep fully vaccinated status: MOH
Singapore – Some 70,000 people who took two Sinovac or Sinopharm jabs have till Dec 31 to get their third dose in order to keep their fully vaccinated status from Jan 1, while the grace period for children turning 13 next year to get fully vaccinated has been extended by two months to March 1.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/those-who-had-sinovac-sinopharm-jabs-must-get-third-dose-to-keep-fully-vaccinated

*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