DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 05 May 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

Old, outdated properties sitting on US$40b of untapped value in Asia-Pacific: JLL
Real estate investors and landlords of older assets may be missing out on income opportunities and cost savings if they do not upgrade or repurpose their buildings, according to a JLL report. Across the Asia-Pacific, rental rates for aged and outdated buildings are 10-40 per cent lower than well-managed, up-to-date properties in similar locations, the real estate consultancy’s research found.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/old-outdated-properties-sitting-on-us40b-of-untapped-value-in-asia-pacific-jll

Singapore Economy

Reverting to Phase 2 ‘unlikely to derail Singapore’s recovery’
The tightening of Covid-19 community measures is not likely to pose too large an obstacle to the ongoing recovery – as long as this does not last much longer than the planned duration of May 8 to 30, said economists and business associations. On Tuesday, Singapore’s Covid-19 taskforce announced stricter limits on social gatherings and employees at the workplace, as well as a reduction of activity and event sizes, alongside stricter border controls.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/reverting-to-phase-2-unlikely-to-derail-singapores-recovery
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/behaviour-of-people-holds-key-to-success-of-singapores-tighter-covid-19-measures

Restaurants may see spate of cancellations with tighter cap on social gatherings
Restaurants in Singapore are anticipating some cancellations ahead of Mother’s Day celebrations this weekend, as limits on social gatherings will be reduced from groups of eight people to five from this Saturday to May 30. To mitigate this, some eateries are calling customers to offer takeaways, or to get them to change the size of their bookings.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/restaurants-may-see-spate-of-cancellations-with-tighter-cap-on-social-gatherings

Companies’ Brief

Ascendas Reit to buy remaining 75% stake in Galaxis for S$534m
Ascendas Reit is buying the remaining 75 per cent equity stake in Galaxis, a business park at one-north for about S$534.4 million. Including the acquisition fee of about S$5.4 million, stamp duty, professional and other fees and expenses of S$4 million, the total purchase cost is about S$543.8 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-to-buy-remaining-75-stake-in-galaxis-for-s534m-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-to-buy-remaining-75-stake-in-galaxis-for-534m

OUE in joint venture to acquire controlling stake in Indonesian retailer Matahari
Property developer OUE: LJ3 -1.4% on Wednesday morning announced it had established a joint venture (JV) company with Auric Bespoke I – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Auric Capital Holdings – with the intention of acquiring up to a 40 per cent stake in Jakarta-listed PT Matahari Department Store Tbk (Matahari).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-in-joint-venture-to-acquire-controlling-stake-in-indonesian-retailer-matahari
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-in-tie-up-to-acquire-controlling-stake-in-indonesian-retailer

OUE C-Reit’s Q1 net property income dips due to rental rebates
OUE Commercial Reit (OUE C-Reit) on Tuesday posted a 1.6 per cent drop in its first-quarter net property income to S$61.1 million, due to provision for rental rebates to some retail tenants, partially offset by lower property operating expenses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oue-c-reits-q1-net-property-income-dips-due-to-rental-rebates

Tighter Covid-19 curbs could hit retail, office Reits again
With tighter curbs on gathering sizes, employee caps in the workplaces as well as smaller allowable event sizes, in response to the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, analysts believe that downtown retail Reits and office Reits could be affected once again in the near term.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tighter-covid-19-curbs-could-hit-retail-office-reits-again

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1371

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Managing the K-shaped recovery
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic started, sending economies into a tailspin, economists have been dipping into their alphabet soup trying to figure out the shape of the recovery to come. Would it be a “V”, they asked – a sharp upturn from a trough? Or a “U” – a rebound from a rounded bottom?
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/managing-the-k-shaped-recovery-0

Avoiding another circuit breaker
That the Covid-19 situation here has taken a more concerning turn is clear from the stringency of yesterday’s string of announcements, including that people will be allowed to gather only in groups of five, down from eight now. The restrictions also apply to households, which will be able to receive only five distinct visitors daily.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/avoiding-another-circuit-breaker

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Singapore returns to tighter Covid-19 curbs on gatherings, workplaces, gyms
Singapore is tightening Covid-19 community measures from May 8 till May 30, such as by reducing group sizes back to five from eight currently, lowering the cap for employees returning to the workplace, tightening event size rules, and closing high-risk settings such as indoor gyms.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-returns-to-tighter-covid-19-curbs-on-gatherings-workplaces-gyms
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/limit-on-employees-who-can-return-to-workplace-back-at-50-as-covid-19-measures-are
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/indoor-gyms-fitness-studios-to-close-from-saturday-to-may-30
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/return-to-phase-2-stricter-rules-on-social-gatherings-to-curb-virus

No need for circuit breaker in current situation: Wong
Singapore’s Covid-19 situation right now is not the same as it was when the nation first entered the circuit breaker in April last year, so there is no need to impose such measures at the moment, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/no-need-for-circuit-breaker-in-current-situation-wong

S’pore cannot afford to shut its borders for a long time: Wong
As a small country that is not resource-rich, Singapore cannot afford to shut its borders for a long time, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday. Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, was explaining why Singapore did not close its borders to India earlier, given the raging outbreak there.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/spore-cannot-afford-to-shut-its-borders-for-a-long-time-wong

17 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, five are linked to TTSH cluster
[Singapore] There were 17 new coronavirus cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) as at Tuesday noon, taking Singapore’s total to 61,252. Of these, five are from the community while none were from migrant workers’ dormitories.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/17-new-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-five-are-linked-to-ttsh-cluster
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/three-visitors-among-five-coronavirus-cases-added-to-ttsh-cluster

TTSH cluster: 9 fully vaccinated cases had mild to no symptoms
More cases of worrisome variants that are circulating around the world have been detected here, and while vaccination may not prevent a person from getting Covid-19, it can protect people from becoming severely ill with the disease, the authorities said yesterday at a multi-ministry task force press conference.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ttsh-cluster-9-fully-vaccinated-cases-had-mild-to-no-symptoms

TTSH cluster sparked by new variants
New viral variants that have originated in India – and are fuelling the devastating second wave there – are believed to have sparked Singapore’s largest active cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). Seven cases in three local clusters were found with B16172, a sublineage of a variant from India…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ttsh-cluster-sparked-by-new-variants

TTSH stops taking in new patients, defers appointments
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) stopped admitting new patients yesterday, in an effort to conserve manpower and focus on containing the Covid-19 cluster that has emerged there. It has also begun to defer medical appointments and move them online, as the cluster – Singapore’s first in a hospital…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ttsh-stops-taking-in-new-patients-defers-appointments

26 places cleaned after visits by TTSH cluster cases
A total of 26 public places visited by Covid-19 patients linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) cluster have undergone deep cleaning and disinfection. These included locations such as the Kopitiam foodcourt at TTSH, Masjid Hajjah Fatimah in the Kampong Glam area, City Harvest Church in Jurong West and FairPrice at Toa Payoh Hub.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/26-places-cleaned-after-visits-by-ttsh-cluster-cases

Singapore extends travel-history tracking, stay-home notice period to 21 days for higher-risk arrivals
Singapore is further tightening border and quarantine measures for travellers from higher-risk countries or regions, looking at longer travel-history periods and requiring a 21-day stay-home notice (SHN) to be served in dedicated facilities.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-extends-travel-history-tracking-stay-home-notice-period-to-21-days-for
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/travellers-from-higher-risk-places-to-serve-21-day-shn

S’pore govt agencies working with hotels to build up SHN capacity for travellers from higher-risk places
Singapore – More hotel rooms could be used as stay-home notice (SHN) facilities as the authorities extend the SHN period for travellers from higher-risk places from 14 to 21 days. Education Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the multi-ministry task force handling Covid-19, said government agencies are engaging with hotels to build up sufficient capacity for these needs as tightened border control measures go into force on Friday just before midnight.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/govt-agencies-working-with-hotels-to-build-up-shn-capacity-0

Reduced crowd sizes, stricter requirements for pre-event testing
Stricter rules for large events will take effect from Saturday until May 30, as Singapore tightens its Covid-19 measures to tackle the recent spike in cases here. The maximum number of people allowed to attend live performances and business-to-business events will be reduced from 750 to 250, with pre-event testing required if the number of participants exceeds 100.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/reduced-crowd-sizes-stricter-requirements-for-pre-event-testing
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/clearer-rules-on-b2b-events-welcomed-could-tamp-down-rising-anxiety

Compulsory TraceTogether check-ins at venues brought forward to May 17
Singapore – Visitors to shopping malls, offices, schools, places of worship and other venues with higher footfall will have to use either the TraceTogether (TT) app or token to check in from May 17. This is two weeks earlier than the previously announced date of June 1.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/compulsory-tracetogether-check-ins-at-venues-brought-forward-to-may-17

*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