DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5 August 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Siglap Shopping Centre relaunched for collective sale; price unchanged at S$120m
Local real estate consultancy OrangeTee Advisory on Wednesday announced it is relaunching Siglap Shopping Centre for collective sale in view of recent trends of aggressive bidding for government land sites. As with its previous effort in late October last year at putting the freehold site up for sale…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/siglap-shopping-centre-relaunched-for-collective-sale-price-unchanged-at-s120m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/siglap-shopping-centre-relaunched-for-collective-sale-at-same-120-million-price

Companies’ Brief

Keppel unit enters joint venture with Chinese developer to manage investment properties in China
Keppel Land China has, through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Yong Da Property Management (Shanghai), entered into a joint venture (JV) with a Chinese developer to jointly manage investment properties with potential for asset enhancement initiatives (AEI) in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-unit-enters-joint-venture-with-chinese-developer-to-manage-investment

Covid-19 impact expected to be limited for FY2021: FLCT
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the distributable income of Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust (FLCT) is about S$1.1 million for the nine months ended June 30, mainly due to rental waivers and allowance for doubtful receivables attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/covid-19-impact-expected-to-be-limited-for-fy2021-flct

EDB MD Chng Kai Fong to step down in Oct, succeeded by Jacqueline Poh
Chng Kai Fong, the managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will step down from the helm of the statutory board when his term ends in early October. In a release issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday, it was also announced that his successor will be Jacqueline Poh, currently Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) Strategy Group.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/edb-md-chng-kai-fong-to-step-down-in-oct-succeeded-by-jacqueline-poh

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

S-E Asia’s factory sector laid low by vaccination woes, Delta virus
Fresh outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant in South-east Asia have crippled its factory sector, disrupting global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and cars and threatening the US$3 trillion region’s recovery.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/s-e-asias-factory-sector-laid-low-by-vaccination-woes-delta-virus

Singapore must be a paperless society for pandemic resilience
It’s always concerning when surveys, naturally based on hard first-hand data, show that a situation is much worse than we thought it was. But that’s exactly what’s happened with the unnecessary spread of the coronavirus in some regional markets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-must-be-a-paperless-society-for-pandemic-resilience

Enterprise Singapore aims to catalyse over S$150m of investments in deep tech
Enterprise Singapore’s (ESG) investment arm is appointing more co-investors to catalyse over S$150 million worth of investments into deep tech sectors. The investment arm, Seeds Capital, will appoint another 13 venture capital firms as co-investment partners to bring the active pool of partners to 46, said ESG’s chairman Peter Ong on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/enterprise-singapore-aims-to-catalyse-over-s150m-of-investments-in-deep-tech

Climate and board diversity disclosures among topics in upcoming SGX consultation
Disclosure requirements must evolve in tandem with investor expectations, or the market and its issuers risk being left behind, said Tan Boon Gin, chief executive of Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/climate-and-board-diversity-disclosures-among-topics-in-upcoming-sgx-consultation

Singapore’s corporate governance in the pandemic year: performances and prospects
The Covid-19 crisis shows no sign of stopping and companies must be adaptable to thrive in such an operating environment. With the revised Code of Corporate Governance in effect, companies have taken steps to align their practices to the new code.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapores-corporate-governance-in-the-pandemic-year-performances-and-prospects
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/corporate-governance-improves-at-singapore-listed-companies
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-governance-and-transparency-index-2021
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-governance-and-transparency-index-inches-to-new-high-sats-ascott
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/governance-and-transparency-scores-up-most-among-companies-that-lagged-in-2020

Singapore banks restore dividends as allowances fall, see improved outlook
OCBC and UOB returned their dividend payouts to pre-pandemic levels as the Singapore regulator lifted the cap on dividends paid against their 2021 earnings. The move should signal that the Singapore banks see an improved economic outlook ahead, with the two lenders reporting lower allowances for bad loans as well.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-banks-restore-dividends-as-allowances-fall-see-improved-outlook

S’pore ranks 4th in world for how quickly start-ups turn into unicorns
Singapore came in joint fourth in the world for how fast its start-ups turned into unicorns, according to a global ranking by British price comparison website Money.co.uk. Singapore’s six unicorns took an average of six years and 11 months to cross US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) in valuation, giving them that status.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/spore-ranks-4th-in-world-for-how-quickly-start-ups-turn-into-unicorns

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

58-year-old unvaccinated woman dies from Covid-19
[Singapore] A 58-year-old Singaporean woman has died from complications due to Covid-19 on Monday (Aug 2). She had not been vaccinated and had no underlying medical conditions. The woman was confirmed to have the virus on July 29…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/58-year-old-unvaccinated-woman-dies-from-covid-19
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/58-year-old-unvaccinated-singaporean-woman-dies

8 bus drivers test positive for virus; experts say risk to passengers low
Eight bus drivers have tested positive for Covid-19 as at last Friday, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The Straits Times learnt that some drivers who had been in contact with confirmed cases were placed on quarantine or stay-home notice in recent weeks.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/8-bus-drivers-test-positive-for-virus-experts-say-risk-to-passengers-low

Fishery port: Spread via surfaces possible but unlikely to be major route, say experts
Transmission via contaminated surfaces at the Jurong Fishery Port is possible, though it is unlikely to be the dominant route of Covid-19 spread there, say experts. The largest active cluster in Singapore, which has more than 1,000 cases linked to it, began after a number of fishmongers who had visited the fishery port tested positive last month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/fishery-port-spread-via-surfaces-possible-but-unlikely-to-be-major-route-say

CGH outpatient treatments continue as usual despite cluster
A new Covid-19 cluster in a Changi General Hospital (CGH) ward was announced on Tuesday night, but hospital operations are running normally and patients can continue with their outpatient appointments, the hospital said yesterday morning.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/cgh-outpatient-treatments-continue-as-usual-despite-cluster

Hospital ward visits to be suspended till Aug 18
Visits to hospital wards will not be allowed from today to Aug 18 to reduce the potential transmission of Covid-19 there. The move comes after more community cases, including staff and patients of hospitals, were detected recently.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hospital-ward-visits-to-be-suspended-till-aug-18

Rise in clusters, cases not as worrying with more jabbed: Experts
Although the number of active Covid-19 clusters here crossed the 100 mark on Tuesday, the increasing vaccination rates provide a defence against the rising number of cases, said experts. Instead, the main metrics should be shifted to focus on the number of severe Covid-19 cases and deaths.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/rise-in-clusters-cases-not-as-worrying-with-more-jabbed-experts

Phylogenetic testing helps trace the connection between cases
Phylogenetic testing compares different virus genomes and helps scientists deduce the index case of a Covid-19 cluster. In the case of the Jurong Fishery Port cluster, the authorities were able to determine that the strains relating to the cluster were of the Delta variant and similar to what was seen in imported cases from Indonesia.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/phylogenetic-testing-helps-trace-the-connection-between-cases

Temasek to distribute free N95, surgical masks in end-August to stop Delta Covid-19 variant
Singapore – Another mask distribution exercise is to start this month. And, this time, Temasek Foundation will hand out free surgical and N95 masks. The Delta variant is twice as contagious as the other variants that caused Covid-19 last year…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/temasek-to-distribute-surgical-masks-to-stop-delta-the-doubly-contagious-variant-spreading

WHO wants moratorium on Covid vaccine booster shots
[Geneva] The WHO on Wednesday called for a moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots until at least the end of September to address the drastic inequity in dose distribution between rich and poor nations.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/who-wants-moratorium-on-covid-vaccine-booster-shots
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/who-calls-for-a-halt-on-booster-doses-until-at-least-end-sept

*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