DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 5 & 6 Feb (Wed & Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Two shophouses off Serangoon Road up for sale with S$6.6m guide price
A corner pair of freehold shophouses at 24 and 26 Moonstone Lane is up for sale as a bundle with an indicative price of S$6.6 million, marketing agent CBRE said on Tuesday. The two-storey shophouses occupy a total site area of about 2,877 square feet (sq ft) and have a combined existing built-up area of about 4,628 sq ft.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-shophouses-off-serangoon-road-up-for-sale-with-s66m-guide-price

11 freehold commercial units at Balestier Point for sale at S$68m
A Portfolio of 11 freehold commercial units at mixed-use development Balestier Point is up for sale at S$68 million, exclusive marketing agent Savills Singapore said on Wednesday. Unit sizes range from 269 to 5,609 square feet, making up a total strata area of about 19,787 sq ft. The units can be bought individually or collectively, with the smallest unit priced at about S$1.2 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/11-freehold-commercial-units-at-balestier-point-for-sale-at-s68m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/11-shop-units-at-balestier-point-going-for-68m

2-storey commercial podium at Oxley Rise condo for sale with S$62.5m indicative price
A two-storey commercial podium at a mixed-use development at 71 Oxley Rise near the Orchard Road shopping belt is up for sale via expression of interest with an indicative price of around S$62.5 million. This works out to around S$3,800 per square foot on the podium’s strata area of 16,459 square feet (sq ft), exclusive marketing agent CBRE said on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/2-storey-commercial-podium-at-oxley-rise-condo-for-sale-with-s625m-indicative-price
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/commercial-podium-at-oxley-rise-up-for-sale

High-rise industrial facilities, agri-tech park feature in revamped Sungei Kadut industrial estate
One of Singapore’s oldest industrial estates will be revamped to support the transformation of traditional manufacturing industries as well as new growth sectors such as agri-tech and environmental technology. The masterplan for the 500ha area in Sungei Kadut, which is larger than Bukit Panjang town, was unveiled on Thursday (Feb 6).
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/high-rise-industrial-facilities-agri-tech-park-feature-in-revamped-sungei-kadut

Long-time tenants at Sungei Kadut moving into new facilities as part of estate’s revamp
After 40 years of operating out of a “good-class bungalow”, multi-material recycling and waste management company Wah & Hua will move into a “condominium unit” at the new high-rise industrial facility Kranji Green when it is completed next year. The six-storey Kranji Green, which will house waste management and recycling firms…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/long-time-tenants-at-sungei-kadut-moving-into-new-facilities-as-part-of-estates

Developers likely to proceed with launches amid virus outbreak
Residential projects slated for launch in the next couple of weeks appear likely to go ahead as planned for now. However, visitorship to showflats and transaction volumes could decrease amid concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, analysts say.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/developers-likely-to-proceed-with-launches-amid-virus-outbreak

Retail rents up but not much cheer for landlords
Have Singapore retail rents finally bottomed? That is a question some people have been asking after the Urban Redevelopment Authority recently released data showing a 2.9 per cent rise in the retail rental index for the Central Region in 2019 – reversing the 1 per cent fall in 2018. Last year’s retail rental gain was most pronounced in the prime Orchard Road shopping belt.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/retail-rents-up-but-not-much-cheer-for-landlords

Liquidity still aplenty for Singapore, with investors in the hunt for real estate yield
The economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak is expected to be short-lived, based on the current situation. The Singapore government has succeeded in putting in place multiple lines of defence to prevent the spread of the virus. Singapore currently has 24 confirmed cases of the virus, including the first four cases of local transmissions announced on Tuesday evening.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/liquidity-still-aplenty-for-singapore-with-investors-in-the-hunt-for-real-estate-yield

Yield from CPF may surpass that for private homes: Study
In property-crazed Singapore, owning real estate isn’t always the high-yielding investment you might think. The rate of return for private apartments in the Republic has slipped since 2011, when measures to cool the market were introduced by the Government. In fact, some units now have a lower yield than the country’s national retirement plan…https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/yield-from-cpf-may-surpass-that-for-private-homes-study

HNWIs in IPOs can turn from cornerstone to Tower of Babel
Real estate investment trusts (Reits) used to boast of cornerstone investments from the likes of sovereign wealth funds and major institutional investors in their initial public offerings (IPOs). This is less so today.Instead, a sizeable chunk of the cornerstone tranche in recent Reit IPOs – including the latest listing aspirant Elite Commercial Reit…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hnwis-in-ipos-can-turn-from-cornerstone-to-tower-of-babel

Hospitality S-Reits, integrated resorts most exposed to fallout from outbreak: Moody’s
The revenue-generating capacities of Singapore’s gaming sector and hospitality real estate investment trusts (Reits) will be the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to Moody’s Investors Service. This is because the two industries generate the majority of their revenue from foreign visitors, Moody’s said in a report on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hospitality-s-reits-integrated-resorts-most-exposed-to-fallout-from-outbreak

Singapore Economy

Construction workers’ leave of absence raises fears of project delays
Construction players are bracing themselves for possible missed deadlines, with some workers stuck in mainland China or away from work and the epidemic shaping up to be a force majeure event. The sector employs 341,200 foreigners – three-quarters of the construction workforce – although there is no public breakdown of their nationality.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/construction-workers-leave-of-absence-raises-fears-of-project-delays

Manufacturers’ group says delayed return of China workers affect 1-in-10 staff
Singapore manufacturers have been hit harder than other industries by the sudden shortfall of mainland Chinese rank-and-file workers here, The Business Times (BT) has learnt. With the continued spread of the coronavirus globally that began life in Wuhan, Singapore last week rolled out travel curbs like a freeze on new work permits from mainland China…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/manufacturers-group-says-delayed-return-of-china-workers-affect-1-in-10-staff

Commodities to take bigger hit from coronavirus than from Sars: analysts
Ripple effects of the novel corona-virus are being keenly felt in global commodity markets, and market observers are expecting it to have a longer and larger impact than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2002 and 2003. “The baseline is that the impact on commodities this time round is more told The Business Times on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/commodities-to-take-bigger-hit-from-coronavirus-than-from-sars-analysts
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/dbs-commodities-to-take-bigger-hit-from-coronavirus-than-from-sars

Companies’ Brief

GuocoLand unit to issue S$200m 3.4% notes
GLL IHT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of mainboard-listed property developer GuocoLand, will issue at par S$200 million worth of new notes maturing on Aug 10, 2025. The 5.5-year unsubordinated, unsecured notes carry a fixed coupon of 3.4 per cent to be paid semi-annually in arrears, according to a term sheet seen by The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/guocoland-unit-to-issue-s200m-34-notes

Frasers Property to redeem S$700m 5% perpetual securities on March 9
Frasers Property will be redeeming S$700 million of 5 per cent subordinated perpetual securities on March 9, which is the first coupon reset date, it said on Thursday. The redemption price will be S$250,000 for every S$250,000 in nominal amount of perpetual securities, together with the distribution accrued to, but excluding, March 9.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-property-to-redeem-s700m-5-perpetual-securities-on-march-9

Co-living firm Hmlet adds Tiong Bahru properties to collection
Singapore-based co-living company Hmlet has signed a collection of properties in Tiong Bahru, bringing the number of properties it manages in Singapore to 48. The properties occupy 18,000 square feet across seven locations: Hoot Kiam Road, Zion Road, Tiong Bahru Road, Moh Guan Terrace, Chay Yan Street, Tiong Poh Road and Guan Chuan Street.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-living-firm-hmlet-adds-tiong-bahru-properties-to-collection

Corporate turnaround whizz will need luck as WeWork’s new CEO
Sandeep Mathrani knows what it is like to lead a company out of trouble. His former employer, General Growth Properties (GGP), had been flattened by the economic recession of 2008.GGP, the second-biggest owner of shopping malls in America, named him as chief executive officer in 2011, as it was emerging from what was then the biggest real estate bankruptcy in US history.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/corporate-turnaround-whizz-will-need-luck-as-weworks-new-ceo

Manulife US Reit lowers Q4 DPU on enlarged unit base
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Manulife US Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) fell 5.9 per cent to 1.44 US cents for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2019, from 1.53 cents a year ago. This was mainly due to an enlarged unit base following a placement and preferential offering to partially fund its US$198.8 million acquisition of 400 Capitol Mall, it said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-lowers-q4-dpu-on-enlarged-unit-base
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-q4-dpu-slips-59-to-144-us-cents-on-enlarged-unit-base

Rich Capital, related parties facing legal suit by Batam project partner
Rich Capital and other parties are being sued by Karya Indo Batam (KIB) for alleged conspiracy and project mismanagement, among other things. KIB is involved in a property development project in Batam with an indirect subsidiary of Rich Capital, Oxley Batam Pte Ltd. The two parties had formed an equal joint-venture company, Oxley Karya Indo Batam (OKIB), to undertake the Oxley Batam Convention City Project.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rich-capital-related-parties-facing-legal-suit-by-batam-project-partner

OCBC, UOB extend US$44m green loan to Myanmar conglomerate
The Yangon branches of OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB) have extended a US$44 million green loan to Myanmar’s Shwe Taung Group. Close to US$30 million of the loan came from OCBC, while UOB provided the balance, according to a joint statement by OCBC and Shwe Taung on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ocbc-uob-extend-us44m-green-loan-to-myanmar-conglomerate

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

The way forward for GST hike in Singapore as funding needs rise
Faced with Singapore’s growing expenditures in healthcare, security and other forms of social spending, the government had announced during Budget 2018 that it plans to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by two percentage points from 7 per cent to 9 per cent, sometime between 2021 and 2025. This is expected to raise additional revenues amounting to almost 0.7 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product per year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-way-forward-for-gst-hike-in-singapore-as-funding-needs-rise

Top concerns include help for workers, GST hike
With less than two weeks before the Budget on Feb 18, support for workers, seniors and families are at the top of Singaporeans’ minds. Worries over climate change and the looming goods and services tax (GST) hike were also among key concerns in findings released yesterday by government feedback unit Reach and the People’s Association (PA).
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/top-concerns-include-help-for-workers-gst-hike

Relief measures expected amid coronavirus crisis
Singapore’s trade-dependent economy is unlikely to escape the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, but help for companies and employees is on its way as part of the upcoming Budget. The bumper surplus that has been accumulated over the past four years will give the country the financial ability to manage threats from the deteriorating economic environment.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/relief-measures-expected-amid-coronavirus-crisis