DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5th September 2017

Top Story

Singapore developers seek to top up their landbank
The recent pick-up in residential sites acquired by Singapore developers suggests that they have finally come around to the prospect of a more decisive recovery in Singapore’s residential market, and the downside of a depleting landbank. Despite earlier concerns of gung-ho foreign developers crowding out local developers for residential sites sold by the government, Singapore developers are coming out in force in the collective-sale market and other private land deals.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-developers-seek-to-top-up-their-landbank

Singapore Economy

Greater partnership with Chongqing augurs well for Singapore
In deepening ties with Chongqing, Singapore can look at ways to ramp up financing for infrastructure projects along the One Belt One Road route, in part by taking aim at the expected 800 billion yuan (S$166 billion) pipeline of public-private partnership projects in the strategically located Chinese city alone. Speaking at the second Singapore-China (Chongqing) Financial Conference in Chongqing on Monday, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon said greater partnership with the Chinese city would allow Singapore to participate in an initiative that he described as “breathtaking in its strategic vision”.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/greater-partnership-with-chongqing-augurs-well-for-singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/spore-chongqing-tie-up-helps-chinese-firms-save-money
http://www.todayonline.com/business/spore-chongqing-step-financial-co-operation-cci-gathers-pace

‘If you don’t already have a BRI plan, you’re too slow off the mark’
Singapore did not take China’s proposal for the Silk Road Economic Belt seriously at first – until it became clear that Beijing was putting its money where its mouth was. The amount is not measly. Channelled through state development institutions and commercial banks, the sum runs up to US$300 billion. “And that’s excluding all the financial resources that the central state-owned companies are also putting aside for investments,” said Ho Chee Hin, group director of the China Group at International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the trade promotion agency responsible for pushing Singapore companies to venture abroad.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/if-you-dont-already-have-a-bri-plan-youre-too-slow-off-the-mark

Singapore manufacturing PMI hit 51.8 in August, a high since November 2014
The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading for Singapore’s manufacturing sector hit a record high of 51.8 since November 2014 and recorded its 12th month of consecutive expansion. The August 2017 print is an increase of 0.8 point from the previous month, based on the latest data released by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) on Monday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-manufacturing-pmi-hit-518-in-august-a-high-since-november-2014
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/sustainable-growth-0
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/factory-activity-up-for-12th-straight-month?login=true
http://www.todayonline.com/business/factories-get-busier-august-underpin-spore-economic-growth

Singapore Real Estate

Over 1,000 property agents unite against PropertyGuru’s price hike
More than 1,000 property agents upset about a recent price hike by Singapore’s largest property portal have banded together to lobby their interests, including by planning a boycott of PropertyGuru. The group, Agents United, is also looking into forming a union. The move comes amid a wave of uncertainty in the industry, as property agencies consolidate and brokers grapple with a growing do-it-yourself culture among home buyers.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-1000-property-agents-unite-against-portals-price-hike

Cladding of Singapore Pools building fails fire-safety tests
The Singapore Pools building in Middle Road has been found to have cladding that does not adhere to fire safety standards, joining a list of 15 other buildings that have non-compliant material on their facades. Meanwhile, checks are ongoing for another 20 buildings. They include Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, JTC LaunchPad @ one-north and Guoco Tower.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cladding-of-singapore-pools-building-fails-fire-safety-tests
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-pools-building-latest-found-to-have-combustible-9184920

Companies’ Brief

Manulife Reit coy about location of next acquisition
The management of Manulife US Reit, which over the weekend announced its acquisition of an office building in New Jersey for US$313.2 million, is keeping mum on which other US cities it is planning to expand into next. One thing clear though is that it will probably not enter gateway cities such as New York because of low office yields there.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-reit-coy-about-location-of-next-acquisition

Fragrance Group buys Britain’s 300-year-old Crown Hotel
Mainboard-listed property company Fragrance Group has acquired the 300-year old Crown Hotel in Britain for £7.2 million (S$12.7 million). Announcing the acquisition in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday, the group also said it has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Britain, called Fragrance UK-Harrogate, which is principally a property investment holding company and has a paid-up capital of £1 million.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fragrance-group-buys-britains-300-year-old-crown-hotel

Smart mapping to help city planning
AS one of the world’s fastest growing cities it is important that Singapore leverages smart technologies to ensure that ongoing developments can meet the needs of citizens now and in the future, says Mr Thomas Pramotedham, chief executive officer of Esri Singapore. Esri helps cities and organisations leverage location-based analytics to develop sustainable solutions that allows them to solve real world challenges and deliver better business outcomes, he adds.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub-projects/enterprise-spotlight/smart-mapping-to-help-city-planning

Views, Reviews & Forum

Letting Jurong evolve into a hip CBD
Once, Jurong Industrial Estate reshaped Singapore’s economic geography, confounding sceptics who thought that such an ambitious project would never succeed. Today, plans for a Jurong Lake District build on a legacy of bold thinking, careful planning and meticulous execution, once associated with the industrial estate. If the new district lives up to its promise of dramatic change, it will rival the contributions to Singapore’s economic and social space that will flow from Changi’s Terminal 5 and Tuas megaport. A revitalised Jurong will be to the land what those two transformative exercises in national planning will be to the air and the seas.
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/letting-jurong-evolve-into-a-hip-cbd