DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 4 January 2022 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore private home prices jumped 10.6% in 2021 ahead of new cooling measures
Singapore – The growth in Singapore’s private home prices accelerated in the final quarter of last year, with a 5 per cent jump over the previous three months, underscoring the hot market that triggered December’s new property cooling measures.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/private-home-prices-jumped-5-per-cent-in-q4-last-year-the-most-since-2010

Recent cooling measures prove their worth as home prices outpace 2021 GDP growth
Singapore – With double-digit gains in Singapore’s private and public home prices last year outpacing the country’s preliminary 2021 gross domestic product growth of 7.2 per cent, the latest property cooling measures are timely.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/recent-cooling-measures-prove-their-worth-as-home-prices-outpace-2021-gdp-growth

Can the Reit IPO market rev up to help investors build retirement savings?
There is plenty of investment grade real estate in Singapore held outside of Reits, so listing them via Reits will add to the choice of instruments available for investors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/can-the-reit-ipo-market-rev-up-to-help-investors-build-retirement-savings

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s GDP up 7.2% in 2021; strong Q4 growth brings upside risks to 2022 forecasts
Singapore’s economic recovery ended 2021 on a stronger-than-expected note, stoking optimism among private sector economists – though most are sticking to their forecasts for 2022, for now. In the year ahead, high vaccination rates should support further reopening and lessen the risk of disruptive restrictions, while the recovery broadens across the services sectors, said economists.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-gdp-up-72-in-2021-strong-q4-growth-brings-upside-risks-to-2022

All eyes on S’pore’s reopening progress and VTL expansion for 2022 economic outlook
Singapore – While the pace of relaxation of mobility curbs may have slowed in recent months, Singapore is still on track in its strategy to treat Covid-19 as endemic, analysts said. Easing of domestic safety measures and broadening of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) without overwhelming the healthcare system will be key to achieve the 3 per cent to 5 per cent growth for 2022 forecast in November by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and reiterated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last Friday (Dec 31).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/all-eyes-on-progress-of-spores-reopening-vtl-expansion-for-2022-economic-outlook

Companies’ Brief

Centurion sets up exco to assist board with oversight duties
Mainboard-listed Centurion Corporation has set up an executive committee (exco) to assist its board with its oversight responsibilities, the property management company said in a bourse filing on Monday (Jan 3). The exco, which was established on Jan 1, is thus given some say when the board makes business decisions and evaluates major strategic initiatives including acquisition or disposal transaction, based on the authority delegated to the committee, Centurion stated.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/centurion-sets-up-exco-to-assist-board-with-oversight-duties

Merits of Mapletree merger must be seen through longer-term lens
As the world prepared on Dec 31 (Friday) to join in a chorus of Auld Lang Syne to welcome the new year, the managers of Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) were singing a different tune.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/merits-of-mapletree-merger-must-be-seen-through-longer-term-lens

S-Reits pivot to ‘new economy’ in tough 2021; look forward to brighter year ahead
Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) underperformed in 2021, weighed down by prolonged pandemic-related restrictions and growing fears of inflation and rising interest rates. The iEdge S-Reit Index edged up 0.9 per cent in 2021 and chalked up a total return of 5.2 per cent. In comparison, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 9.8 per cent and delivered a total return of 13.6 per cent over the same period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-pivot-to-new-economy-in-tough-2021-look-forward-to-brighter-year-ahead

Sale of Cathay cinema business in Singapore falls through on Omicron concerns
Singapore – Singapore-listed mm2 Asia’s deal to sell its Cathay cinema business to local investment firm Kingsmead Properties has fallen through, the company announced on Monday (Jan 3) in a filing on the Singapore Exchange.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mm2-asias-sale-of-cathay-cinema-business-falls-through-on-omicron-concerns
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/stocks/hot-stock-mm2-asia-up-98-after-deal-to-sell-cinema-business-falls-through

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Budget 2022 – a chance to brace for global minimum tax
On Dec 20, 2021, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released model rules to guide governments around the world with the implementation of a reform to the international tax system. Specifically, these rules define the scope and mechanism of the so-called Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rules under Pillar Two of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project (BEPS) 2.0 project, which will ensure that multinational enterprises (MNEs) are subject to a minimum of 15 per cent effective tax rate from 2023.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/budget-2022-a-chance-to-brace-for-global-minimum-tax

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Omicron wave imminent as cases climb to 17% of Covid-19 infections in Singapore: Ong Ye Kung
[Singapore] The Omicron variant now accounts for 17 per cent of Covid-19 cases in Singapore, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (Jan 3). This means that an Omicron wave is imminent and the country needs to be prepared, he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/omicron-wave-imminent-as-cases-climb-to-17-of-covid-19-infections-in-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/omicron-cases-now-make-up-17-of-covid-19-infections-in-spore-ong-ye-kung

464 new Covid-19 cases reported in S’pore; 187 Omicron cases detected
Singapore – Singapore reported 464 new Covid-19 cases as at noon on Monday (Jan 3), including 285 imported infections, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Monday’s case count was up from the 429 infections reported on Sunday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/464-new-covid-19-cases-reported-in-spore-187-omicron-cases-detected

Weekday crowds return to CBD eateries as workplace Covid-19 restrictions ease
Singapore – The lunchtime queue is back at the Central Business District on Monday (Jan 3) as employees streamed into offices on the first working day after the easing of workplace restrictions. Mr Jeremy Foo, founder of public relations agency Elliot and Co, told The Straits Times: “The crowds were smaller than pre-Covid-19 levels, but being so used to empty lunch venues, there seems to be less socially distanced walking space compared to last year.”
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/lunchtime-queues-return-to-cbd-as-curbs-ease-to-allow-more-employees-in-the-office

*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