DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 4th July 2017

Top Story

Private home prices seen rising as early as Q1 next year
The private housing market is close to its trough, say property consultants on Monday, given that the 0.3 per cent fall in the official benchmark price index in the second quarter is the smallest of the 15 quarters since the peak in Q3 2013. They expect the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s overall private home price index to start increasing next year, as projects on sites bought at high land prices come to the market. Wong Xian Yang, OrangeTee head of research and consultancy, said that the index could potentially bottom out in Q4, “as increasing demand would support current pricing levels”.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/private-home-prices-seen-rising-as-early-as-q1-next-year
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/private-home-prices-dip-03-in-q2
http://www.todayonline.com/business/private-home-sales-and-hdb-resale-prices-decline-second-quarter

Singapore Economy

Future Economy to involve tripartite partners: Heng
The government will consult its tripartite partners as it implements Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) recommendations, said Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat in a parliamentary reply on Monday. Mr Heng was responding to a question from Member of Parliament Liang Eng Hwa on the scope and terms of reference of the Future Economy Council. Mr Liang also asked how the new council intends to work and coordinate with the other economic agencies and efforts to tackle challenges of the future economy, as well as the desired outcomes set for the council.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/future-economy-to-involve-tripartite-partners-heng
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/future-economy-council-to-grow-transform-economy

Factory activity up for 10th month in a row
Factory activity rose for the 10th straight month in June, buoyed again by the electronics cluster, which continued to expand, albeit at a slower rate. he purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – an early indicator of manufacturing activity – posted a reading of 50.9 last month, a marginal increase from May’s reading of 50.8. A reading above 50 points to growth in the sector, while one below 50 indicates contraction
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/factory-activity-up-for-10th-month-in-a-row
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/singapore-manufacturing-pmi-improves-for-10th-straight-month
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-pmi-expands-for-10th-straight-month-in-june-9000258
http://www.todayonline.com/business/factory-activity-grew-10th-straight-month-june

SCCCI, Bank of China to give local firms a leg-up in China market
The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and the Bank of China have inked an agreement to help Singapore businesses make inroads into the China market. This was announced at the Singapore China Business Forum, organised by the SCCCI on Monday, to examine how businesses here can leverage China’s “Belt & Road” initiative to engage and partner Chinese businesses in exploring market opportunities in the region.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/sccci-bank-of-china-to-give-local-firms-a-leg-up-in-china-market
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/easier-for-spore-firms-to-enter-china-in-tie-up

Singapore Land Authority gets new deputy chairman and board members
Yeoh Oon Jin has been appointed deputy chairman of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) board for a two-year term with effect from Aug 1 this year, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) announced on Monday. Mr Yeoh is currently executive chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, and has been a member of the SLA board since Aug 1, 2016.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-land-authority-gets-new-deputy-chairman-and-board-members

Strong pipeline of blockbuster listings expected for H2: Deloitte Singapore
Market watchers are expecting Singapore’s initial public offering (IPO) market this year to perform better than last year, encouraged by decent performances of new entrants in the first half and great expectations on the impending listing of NetLink NBN Trust in the second half.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/strong-pipeline-of-blockbuster-listings-expected-for-h2-deloitte-singapore

Singapore Real Estate

S-Reits beat other Reit markets with 20% returns year to date
Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) have outperformed other Reit markets year to date, raking in about 20 per cent in total returns so far this year, but the managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s fundamental equity team attributes this to “price discovery”. Collin Bell told The Business Times in a recent interview that this outperformance comes after Singapore “massively underperformed” in the past two years, due to oversupply in various sub-sectors, along with more tepid economic growth expectations which affected leasing demand.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-beat-other-reit-markets-with-20-returns-year-to-date

HDB resale prices dip 0.1% in Q2; market seen stabilising
Resale prices for public housing dipped 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, moderating from a 0.5-per-cent decline in the first quarter of the year. Analysts continue to see a stabilising trend in the resale housing market, with increased transactions as well as a steady supply of build-to-order (BTO) flats moderating price movements. They also anticipate a flattish price trend for the full year.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-dip-01-in-q2-market-seen-stabilising
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-resale-flat-prices-declined-0-1-in-q2-flash-estimates-8998264

Companies’ Brief

CCT to sell Wilkie Edge to Lian Beng JV for S$280m
CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) said on Monday that it would sell Wilkie Edge to Lian Beng Group and the private investment firm of Super Group’s Teo family for S$280 million. Wilkie Edge is a 12-storey integrated development comprising office and retail units as well as a serviced residence, Citadines Mount Sophia. As at March 31, 2017, Wilkie Edge had a committed occupancy rate of 99.9 per cent and contributed 3 per cent to CCT’s first-quarter 2017 net property income.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cct-to-sell-wilkie-edge-to-lian-beng-jv-for-s280m
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/lian-beng-apricot-buy-wilkie-edge-for-280m

Sinarmas buys London building for £188.6m
Mainboard-listed Sinarmas Land on Monday said that it has completed the acquisition of 33 Horseferry Road, a freehold prime commercial building in London, for a net consideration of £188.6 million (S$337.6 million). The property is located in Victoria, one of Central London’s principal commercial and residential districts.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sinarmas-buys-london-building-for-%C2%A31886m

First Sponsor associate acquiring Dutch heritage hotel brand
First Sponsor Group, through a 33 per cent owned associated company, is acquiring Queens Bilderberg (Nederland). Under the purchase, for an aggregate cash consideration of 171.4 million euros (S$270.2 million), the property will be 95 per cent owned by the associate, FSMC NL Property Group BV, and 5 per cent owned by the Event Hotel Group. Queens Bilderberg (Nederland) is a Dutch heritage brand with a portfolio of 17 hotels across the Netherlands.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-sponsor-associate-acquiring-dutch-heritage-hotel-brand
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/first-sponsor-to-acquire-dutch-hotel-group

GLP receives ‘firm proposals’ from shortlisted bidders
Global Logistic Properties Ltd said on Monday that it had received “firm proposals” from shortlisted bidders, days after sources told Reuters that suitors had been narrowed to a management-backed Chinese consortium and a group led by Warburg Pincus. The US$10 billion-valued firm is Asia’s biggest warehouse operator, with clients including Amazon.com Inc and JD.com Inc, and is benefiting from rising demand for modern logistics facilities driven by a boom in e-commerce.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/glp-receives-firm-proposals-from-shortlisted-bidders-0
http://www.todayonline.com/business/glp-receives-bid-proposals-buyout-groups-seen-interested

Ascott Reit divests two properties in China for 980m yuan
Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) announced on Monday it has entered into two conditional sale-and-purchase agreements through its two wholly owned subsidiaries, Biyun Investments (Hong Kong) and Gaoxin Investments (Hong Kong), to divest two serviced residence properties in China for 980 million yuan (S$199 million) to an unrelated third party.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-reit-divests-two-properties-in-china-for-980m-yuan

Soilbuild awarded S$82.5m contracts by its chairman’s company
Soilbuild Construction Group has been awarded contracts worth S$82.5 million to build a general industrial factory development. In a filing on Singapore Exchange on Monday, the firm said it has been awarded the contracts by SB (Waterview) Investment Pte Ltd to erect two nine-storey blocks with a carpark on the first storey at 164 Kallang Way.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/soilbuild-awarded-s825m-contracts-by-its-chairmans-company