DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 2nd, 3rd and 4th, March 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Florence Residences sells close to 60 units on launch weekend
The property market has not yet fully recovered from last year’s onslaught of cooling measures, going by first weekend sales at one of this year’s most-anticipated condo launches. The Florence Residences in Hougang released 200 units for its first phase of sales on Saturday, of which close to 60 units or 30 per cent were sold.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/florence-residences-sells-close-to-60-units-on-launch-weekend

Co-living beckons to private equity investors
As co-living gains traction around the world, it is drawing attention not just from young people looking for an affordable, communal way of living, but also from investors eyeing its promises of stable returns and potential for growth amid rapid urbanisation.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-living-beckons-to-private-equity-investors

Tekka Place on track for soft opening by year’s end
Tekka Place, a new hospitality and retail integrated development at the Rochor Road-Serangoon Road gateway into Little India, is on track for a soft opening by the end of this year. The development, which stands where the shopping mall The Verge used to be, had its topping-out ceremony on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tekka-place-on-track-for-soft-opening-by-years-end

Retail space at Little India mall draws interest
Nearly half the net lettable retail space in Little India’s upcoming Tekka Place has been committed or is under advanced negotiations, its developers said yesterday. The complex being built on the site of the former Verge mall comprises a 10-storey main block and a seven-storey annex, and is on schedule to open by the end of the year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/retail-space-at-little-india-mall-draws-interest

More singles book 2-room Flexi flats, application rates down
Singapore: More first-timer singles have been able to buy a new 2-room Flexi flat since the July 2013 Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise, the Housing Development Board (HDB) said in a statement on Sunday (Mar 3). As part of the Government’s efforts to provide more housing options for single citizens, first-timers aged 35 and above have been able to buy a new 2-room Flexi flat in non-mature estates.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-housing-singles-book-2-room-flexi-flats-application-rates-11307102
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-singles-succeed-getting-2-room-flexi-flats-backlog-clears

Balancing risks, pursuing growth
For architect Daniel Cerf, there are few things in life more enjoyable than appreciating a work of art. “It’s all about you and the art piece – whether it’s noticing the play of contrasts, or thinking about the elements in the composition, or feeling the range of emotions evoked by the artist,” said the chief executive officer of ARA Trust Management (Cache), which manages SGX-listed warehouse owner Cache Logistics Trust.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/balancing-risks-pursuing-growth

Companies’ Brief

CDL buys £15.4m site in Leeds to build rental housing
Property group City Developments Limited (CDL) has expanded into the UK private rental sector (PRS), with a £15.4 million (S$27.5 million) acquisition of a freehold site in Leeds, from Alpha Real Trust. This translates to about £80, or S$142 per square foot for the 193,752 sq ft site.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-buys-%C2%A3154m-site-in-leeds-to-build-rental-housing
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-expands-into-uk-rental-property-with-28m-buy-of-leeds-site

ARA Asset Management to acquire Seoul Square
ARA Asset Management has agreed to acquire an office building called Seoul Square in South Korea, the company announced on Thursday. The vendor was KR1 CR-REIT – a private real estate investment trust (Reit) in South Korea, an ARA spokesman told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ara-asset-management-to-acquire-seoul-square

Pacific Century’s FY18 net profit slides 42.7%
Pacific Century Regional Developments, owned by Hong Kong magnate Li Ka-shing’s son Richard Li, saw its full-year net profit in 2018 fall as the share of profit from associated companies diminished. Its net profit for the full year ended Dec 31 was S$49.96 million, down 42.7 per cent from a year ago. The group attributed it largely to a lower share of profit from associated companies; it stood at S$36.5 million, down 55.7 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/pacific-centurys-fy18-net-profit-slides-427

AMP Capital’s proposed sale to partner managing AA Reit did not take place on Feb 28
Completion of the proposed sale of AMP Capital’s 50 per cent interest in the management entities of AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit (AA Reit) to AIMS Financial Group did not take place on the expected date of Feb 28 as previously announced. This was revealed in a regulatory filing to the Singapore Exchange on Friday evening by the Reit Manager, AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT Management.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/amp-capitals-proposed-sale-to-partner-managing-aa-reit-did-not-take-place-on-feb

Sim Leisure Group ends debut on Catalist 23% lower at S$0.169
Penang theme park developer Sim Leisure Group (SLG) made its Catalist debut on the Singapore bourse on Friday, opening at S$0.17 – 22.7 per cent lower than its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.22 per share. One market observer noted that this could be due to a lack of interest in the market, or that the company’s valuation was too high.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sim-leisure-group-ends-debut-on-catalist-23-lower-at-s0169
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sim-leisure-group-makes-catalist-debut

Transcorp gets green light to hold AGM by Mar 31
Transcorp Holdings got the green light from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for more time until March 31 to hold its annual general meeting (AGM).The original deadline was Thursday. It had requested for more time as it could not prepare the annual report for the fiscal year ended Oct 31 2018 in time to allow for sufficient requisite notice to shareholders prior to the date of the AGM.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/transcorp-gets-green-light-to-hold-agm-by-mar-31

Transcorp cancels China project MOU, requests refund of S$6m good faith deposit
Transcorp Holdings has cancelled a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dongshan Dibao Property to develop residential apartments, recreational facilities and retail units in Fujian, China, and is asking for the full refund of the S$6 million it paid in a good faith deposit by March 31, 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/transcorp-cancels-china-project-mou-requests-refund-of-s6m-good-faith-deposit

Reclaims Global prices IPO shares at S$0.23 each; targets Catalist debut on March 11
Construction service provider Reclaims Global on Friday launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 20 million shares at S$0.23 each. The offer opened on March 1 and will close at noon on March 7, the company said in a media release. The shares are set to debut on the Singapore Exchange’s Catalist board on March 11.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/reclaims-global-prices-ipo-shares-at-s023-each-targets-catalist-debut-on-march-11
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/reclaims-global-launches-catalist-ipo-at-23-cents-per-share

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Are you cyber-safe?
This week’s topic: What role do businesses play in Digital Defence? How is your organisation boosting its digital security?
Chia Ngiang Hong
President
Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
Technology expands the reach of communication and connectivity within organisations and across industries.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/are-you-cyber-safe

Illegal floor found in industrial building
The lift stops on the eighth floor. But there is a ninth. To get there, people enter an office pantry on the eighth storey, key in a password on a keypad on the wall, and a door – disguised as a display shelf – unlocks. Behind it are two flights of stairs. Go up, and one finds an entire floor spanning over 5,000 sq ft.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/illegal-floor-found-in-industrial-building

$7m house legally belongs to firm, not buyer’s son: Top court
A property worth more than $7 million changed hands when an appeal court ruled it belonged to a family-owned company instead of only one of the children as found by the High Court last year. The man had argued earlier that his father had bought the house for him but registered it in the company’s name so that it would not go to his wife in the event of a divorce.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/7m-house-legally-belongs-to-firm-not-buyers-son-top-court