DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 04 May 2021 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Ageing buildings take another crack at going en bloc
Some ageing buildings in the Orchard vicinity are hopping on the collective sale bandwagon, with Tanglin Shopping Centre (TSC) and Orchard Towers among those eyeing a collective sale, The Business Times understands.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ageing-buildings-take-another-crack-at-going-en-bloc

Condo market on resort island could see robust year
Prices at Sentosa Cove have been on an upward trend, rising from an average of $1,484 per sq ft (psf) last year to an average of $1,558 psf in the first quarter of this year. Data from SRX, 99.co and ERA Research showed that at least 25 condo transactions at Sentosa Cove were recorded in the first quarter of this year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-market-on-resort-island-could-see-robust-year

Listed developers are not going extinct
Listed property developer groups here are undervalued, going by the large discounts to net asset value (NAV) at which they trade. This phenomenon is not unique to Singapore. In property-crazy Hong Kong, behemoths such as Sun Hung Kai Properties and CK Asset Holdings also trade at significant discounts to NAV
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/listed-developers-are-not-going-extinct

ERA starts S$10m kitty for agents’ professional development
ERA Network Realty is contributing over S$10 million into a 2021 Covid-19 business-support plan to help more than 8,000 agents with their professional development. The plan comprises three grants – digital, training and career, which respectively cover digital adoption, skills upgrading and career progression.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/era-starts-s10m-kitty-for-agents-professional-development

Nelson Loh’s three luxury Sentosa Cove homes up for sale
Three Sentosa Cove homes co-owned by Novena Global Healthcare (NGH) co-founder Nelson Loh – one of two cousins who last year made an audacious bid to buy English Premier League football club Newcastle United – have been put on the market. A fourth property he co-owns, also located on Sentosa, was recently sold at a loss.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/nelson-lohs-three-luxury-sentosa-cove-homes-up-for-sale

Singapore Economy

Singapore’s April PMI up again for 10th straight month
Singapore’s manufacturers stayed optimistic in April, with the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading on Monday staying in expansion for the 10th straight month. April’s PMI reading rose 0.1 to 50.9, the highest since December 2018, on the index compiled by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM). A reading of above 50 indicates expansion, and one below that, contraction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-april-pmi-up-again-for-10th-straight-month

Singapore factory activity grows at fastest pace since December 2018
Singapore saw its overall manufacturing activity expanding last month at the fastest pace in more than two years, aided mainly by gains in new orders, new exports and employment. However, analysts said uncertainty about the new variants of Covid-19 poses downside risks to the outlook.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-factory-activity-grows-at-fastest-pace-since-december-2018

Companies’ Brief

DBS reinitiates ‘buy’ on emerging logistics play Cromwell E-Reit
DBS Group Research on Monday reinitiated coverage on Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (Cromwell E-Reit) with “buy” and a target price of 60 euro cents. The target price implies a target yield of 5.9 per cent and price to net asset value multiple of 1.18 times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dbs-reinitiates-buy-on-emerging-logistics-play-cromwell-e-reit

OUE C-Reit to redeem S$155m in convertible units
OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-Reit) will redeem some S$155 million of convertible perpetual preferred units (CPPUs) on June 1, the manager has said. It released an irrevocable redemption notice on Monday for the convertible securities, which had been issued as part of the payment for a stake in downtown office building One Raffles Place.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-c-reit-to-redeem-s155m-in-convertible-units

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1370

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Greater global response needed to win battle against pandemic
While financial markets and many people in industrialised countries appear to believe that the pandemic is over, it is accelerating globally with the worst potentially yet to come, as the tragedy in India underlines. World leaders were warned again at the weekend, including by World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus plus other health experts and scientists…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/greater-global-response-needed-to-win-battle-against-pandemic

India’s virus tragedy is a global concern
India’s daily addition to the Covid-19 caseload has moved from enormous to alarming, with the official number nudging 400,000. Many consider this a conservative figure, given that the cities may not be reporting the full count, let alone what is happening in the vast hinterland.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/indias-virus-tragedy-is-a-global-concern

Singapore sees jump in family offices as Asia’s ultra-rich set up camp
More affluent families have flocked to Singapore as a base to park their wealth in the midst of a worldwide pandemic last year, with the Republic’s safe haven reputation a firm draw especially for the well-heeled hailing from North Asia. Details have been scant on just how many there are in Singapore. But now, data analysis firm Handshakes estimates that 221 single and multi-family offices opened in Singapore last year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-sees-jump-in-family-offices-as-asias-ultra-rich-set-up-camp
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/family-offices-are-a-booming-business-but-present-challenges

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

17 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, eight are linked to TTSH cluster
[Singapore] Eight more Covid-19 cases have been linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster, including five patients from Ward 9D, where the first case in the cluster was picked up. All eight had initially tested negative for the virus, and were picked up in subsequent rounds of testing, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/17-new-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-eight-are-linked-to-ttsh-cluster
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/10-new-community-cases-with-8-linked-to-ttsh-and-2-to-ica-clusters

Hospitals increase capacity as load grows after TTSH cluster
Hospitals here are increasing their capacity to make sure that patients requiring medical care will continue to be attended to, as Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) dials down its load to focus on containing a cluster that emerged from one of its wards last week.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hospitals-increase-capacity-as-load-grows-after-ttsh-cluster

No entry to hospitals for visitors with recent trip to TTSH
[Singapore] Hospitals are imposing stricter restrictions on people who have visited Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) recently, in the light of the growing cluster there. At the weekend, hospitals started to decline entry to visitors, as well as those accompanying patients, if they had been to TTSH wards from April 18.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/no-entry-to-hospitals-for-visitors-with-recent-trip-to-ttsh
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hospitals-tighten-rules-for-those-who-have-visited-ttsh-0

Letting visitors take off masks in wards puts patients at risk
As the number of Covid-19 cases in the community surged over the past week, at least one public hospital has been lax with regard to visitors to its wards. About one in four visitors was spending time in the ward without wearing a mask.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/letting-visitors-take-off-masks-in-wards-puts-patients-at-risk

Malls in Novena feel impact of TTSH cluster
Lunchtime crowds still thronged two popular malls in Novena yesterday despite the Covid-19 cluster linked to the nearby Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), but businesses say footfall has been impacted. Diners and shoppers at Velocity and Square 2 whom The Straits Times spoke to said they were not overly concerned about the TTSH cluster, as they had faith that the authorities were handling the situation.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/malls-in-novena-feel-impact-of-ttsh-cluster

World travel body opposes vaccination as a travel requirement
The World Travel and Tourism Council is against vaccination as a travel requirement as it may lead to discrimination. The vice-president of government affairs at the organisation, Lola Uña Cárdenas, said at a dialogue on Monday that vaccination is not the only solution to re-opening borders safely.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/world-travel-body-opposes-vaccination-as-a-travel-requirement

Some safe opening of air travel possible this year: Minister
Some safe opening of air travel this year is possible if governments open up cautiously with regions that have a low number of domestic Covid-19 cases, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday. At the same time, measures should be tightened for places with high infection rates, he added in a speech at a virtual dialogue on reopening borders by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Business Advisory Council.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/some-safe-opening-of-air-travel-possible-this-year-minister

*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