DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5th Sep 2019

Singapore Real Estate

S$20m more for green building fund
The government is shelling out an additional S$20 million to encourage more eco-friendly building innovations. National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who announced this and several other measures to boost productivity in the construction sector on Wednesday, said the top-up of the green buildings innovation fund is aimed at encouraging developers and researchers to team up to come up…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/s20m-more-for-green-building-fund
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/green-building-innovations-fund-gets-20m-boost-0
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/bca-s-green-building-innovation-grant-gets-s-20-million-top-up-11873016

St George’s Road shops and apartments up for collective sale at S$26.5m
Three shops and the residential units above them along St George’s Road have been launched for an en bloc sale via private treaty, at an asking price of S$26.5 million. Located at 2, 4 and 6 St George’s Road, the 4,403 square feet (sq ft) freehold site has a plot ratio of three and gross floor area of 13,210 sq ft, said sole marketing agent Jie Sheng Housing Agency on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/st-georges-road-shops-and-apartments-up-for-collective-sale-at-s265m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/en-bloc-sale-of-dgrove-villas-condo-in-district-10-relaunched-at-slightly-lower

D’Grove Villas condo in District 10 relaunched for collective sale at S$392m
Freehold high-rise condominium D’Grove Villas in prime District 10 has been put up for collective sale again, this time at a slightly lower asking price of S$392 million, according to sole marketing agent Centaline Singapore. This translates to a unit land rate of S$2,908 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the residential redevelopment site.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/dgrove-villas-condo-in-district-10-relaunched-for-collective-sale-at-s392m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/st-georges-rd-shops-apartments-up-for-collective-sale-at-265m

32 shophouses along Lavender St, Serangoon Rd for sale with S$138m guide price
A portfolio of 32 freehold city-fringe shophouses located along Lavender Street and Serangoon Road has been launched for sale by public tender at a guide price of S$138 million, marketing agent JLL announced on Wednesday. Assuming no development charge is payable, the indicative price for The Lavender Collection translates to S$1,736 psf (per square foot) on the estimated GFA (gross floor area), or about…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/32-shophouses-along-lavender-st-serangoon-rd-for-sale-with-s138m-guide-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/32-shophouses-in-lavender-st-serangoon-rd-for-sale-at-138m

Singapore Economy

Economists slash Singapore’s 2019 growth forecast to 0.6%
Private-sector economists have sharply lowered their full-year growth forecast for Singapore to 0.6 per cent, down from their 2.1 per cent prediction in June, in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) latest quarterly survey of professional forecasters released on Wednesday. The downgrade “is hardly surprising given the escalation of the US-China trade conflict since the last survey”, combined with much weaker…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/economists-slash-singapores-2019-growth-forecast-to-06
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/economists-slash-singapore-2019-growth-forecast-to-06
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-gdp-growth-forecast-slashed-trade-tensions-risk-11871190
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-2019-growth-forecast-slashed-06-trade-tensions-remain-top-risk-mas-survey

Companies’ Brief

CDL secures S$250m sustainability-linked loan from DBS
Real estate group City Developments Limited (CDL) has obtained a S$250 million three-year revolving credit facility from DBS Bank to promote the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This SDG Innovation Loan is a green financing concept focused on innovations, CDL and DBS said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-secures-s250m-sustainability-linked-loan-from-dbs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cdl-bags-250m-sustainability-linked-loan-from-dbs

Frasers Centrepoint Trust joins FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Developed Index
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) will be included in the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Series (Global Developed Index) from Sept 23, 2019, its manager Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management (FCAM) said in a bourse filing on Thursday morning. The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Series is an international real estate investment index developed by FTSE Group in cooperation with the European…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-centrepoint-trust-joins-ftse-epranareit-global-developed-index
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-centrepoint-trust-joins-ftse-epranareit-global-developed-index

Ascott eyes millennials with its first lyf co-living space at Funan
CapitaLand business unit The Ascott has opened lyf Funan Singapore – its first co-living property spanning around 121,000 square feet (sq ft) in gross floor area. The nine-storey lyf Funan property comprises 412 rooms across 279 apartments. Five apartment types ranging from 18 to 105 square metres are available, with room rates from S$150, excluding taxes, to cater to both short and long stays.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-eyes-millennials-with-its-first-lyf-co-living-space-at-funan
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascott-opens-first-lyf-co-living-space-at-funan-targetted-at-millennials

GuocoLand to launch freehold Meyer Mansion on Sept 13
GuocoLand will open the sale of units in its freehold condominium Meyer Mansion on Sept 13. The public preview will be held on Saturday. GuocoLand declined to divulge the pricing for the project but analysts expect prices to be above S$2,700 per square foot (psf).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/guocoland-to-launch-freehold-meyer-mansion-on-sept-13
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/meyer-mansion-condo-launch-set-for-sept-13

Fragrance Group acquires Min Yuan Apartments; plans to build hotel development
Fragrance Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Fragrance Victory has acquired Min Yuan Apartments at 62 Waterloo Street for S$141 million. The property, with a tenure of 999 years, has a land area of 1,359.1 square meters at a plot ratio of 4.2. Upon redevelopment, it may yield a potential gross floor area of 5,708.22 square meters, subject to payment of development charge of approximately S$19.55 million at…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fragrance-group-acquires-min-yuan-apartments-plans-to-build-hotel-development

ESR-Reit secures railway firm as tenant at 8 Tuas South Lane
ESR-Reit has secured a new lease for about 168,846 square feet (sq ft) at its 8 Tuas South Lane property to Singapore railway firm P-Way Construction and Engineering, the industrial Reit’s (real estate investment trust) manager said on Thursday morning. P-Way will use the space to supply steel fabrication works, store railway equipment and parts, and provide dormitory services for its employees.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/esr-reit-secures-railway-firm-as-tenant-at-8-tuas-south-lane
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/esr-reit-secures-railway-firm-as-tenant-at-8-tuas-south-lane

JPMorgan Chase bets on six HK property stocks
JPMorgan CHASE & CO has landed on six property stocks that can best weather the Hong Kong turmoil after applying a worst-case scenario that envisages home prices plunging 30 per cent, retail sales falling by a similar amount and prime office rents sinking 40 per cent. While a worst-case scenario may seem a rather grim starting point, analysts at the New York-based investment bank said in a report earlier this…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/jpmorgan-chase-bets-on-six-hk-property-stocks

GIC nears deal for majority stake in Oxford Group’s Fairmont hotels
[Toronto] Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is nearing a deal to buy a majority stake in Oxford Properties Group’s Fairmont portfolio, which consists of four of Canada’s most iconic hotels, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are advanced and a deal could be announced in coming weeks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. The exact price of…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gic-nears-deal-for-majority-stake-in-oxford-groups-fairmont-hotels
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/gic-nears-deal-to-buy-majority-stake-in-canadas-fairmont-hotels

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Make long-term home ownership HDB’s focus
Fascinating questions about public housing in Singapore, its successes and its secondary gains were raised in recent letters (Time to relook paradigm on public housing, and Wrong to withhold subsidies based on ‘lottery effect’, Sept 3). Many Singaporeans can recognise good money-making opportunities, and buying an HDB flat is one of them.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/make-long-term-home-ownership-hdbs-focus