DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th April 2019

Singapore Real Estate

String of public agencies lease offices at Funan
A string of government bodies have leased office space at the revamped Funan in the North Bridge Road/Hill Street location. These include the Department of Statistics (DOS) , organ of state Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), which are leasing a total of 8,590 sq m (or 92,462 sq ft) of net lettable office space in the South Tower office block of Funan.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/string-of-public-agencies-lease-offices-at-funan-0

Dairy Farm en bloc bid fails, Laguna Park relaunched for sale
It’s a tale of two large collective sale sites – while the Dairy Farm estate failed to hit the 80 per cent threshold needed, Laguna Park was re-launched for sale. The collective sale agreement for Dairy Farm estate expired on April 6 with 71.35 per cent of owners signing, falling short of the signatures required to get the mandate to launch an en bloc tender. This was after the reserve price was raised from S$1.688 billion to S$1.84 billion as a sweetener.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/dairy-farm-en-bloc-bid-fails-laguna-park-relaunched-for-sale
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/laguna-park-makes-4th-bid-to-sell-en-bloc-with-148b-price-tag

Expression of interest launched for Big Box mall
The receivers and managers of Big Box Pte Ltd are conducting an expression of interest (EOI) exercise for its Big Box mall in Jurong East. It has a remaining land tenure of 30 years from March 23, 2007 (18 years unexpired). The site area is approximately 606,639 square feet (sq ft), and total gross floor area is about 1.4 million sq ft. The eight-storey Big Box mall was constructed in 2014 and originally used as part of a warehouse retail scheme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/expression-of-interest-launched-for-big-box-mall
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/expression-of-interest-exercise-launched-for-big-box-mall

Singapore Economy

Singapore, Malaysia working on agreement to suspend RTS Link
Singapore and Malaysia are working towards a supplementary agreement to suspend a cross-border rail link between Woodlands and Johor Baru. Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Monday that the Attorneys-General and officials from both countries are working on an agreement to effect a suspension of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-malaysia-working-on-agreement-to-suspend-rts-link
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-kl-to-work-out-six-month-rail-link-suspension
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/rts-link-suspended-johor-singapore-malaysia-new-agreement-11422674
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-and-malaysia-working-agreement-suspend-johor-singapore-rail-link-six-months

Singapore’s finance minister sees solid South-east Asia growth despite risks
[Singapore] Singapore and other South-east Asian economies are poised to remain resilient in the face of increasingly dour signs on the global economy, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Economies in the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations “and Asean as a group both continue to grow quite well even this year and next,” Mr Heng told Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin on the sidelines of meetings of the regional bloc in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore%E2%80%99s-finance-minister-sees-solid-south-east-asia-growth-despite-risks
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-07/singapore-s-heng-sees-solid-southeast-asia-growth-despite-risks

Companies’ Brief

Two OUE Reits join consolidation trend with proposed merger
Consolidation in the Reit sector appears to be gaining momentum – two OUE units announced a merger on Monday to create a S$6.8 billion diversified real estate investment trust (Reit) whose unit price could rise over time with increased liquidity and institutional interest. Under the proposed scheme, OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-Reit) will pay each holder of OUE Hospitality Trust (OUE H-Trust) stapled security S$0.04075 cash plus 1.3583 new OUE C-Reit units.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/two-oue-reits-join-consolidation-trend-with-proposed-merger-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/plan-to-merge-oue-c-reit-and-oue-h-trust
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/oue-commercial-buy-oue-hospitality-reit-11422890

Tuan Sing acquires remaining 51% stake in Indonesian company
Tuan Sing Holdings has acquired the remaining 51 per cent stake in PT Titian Damai Mandiri (TDM) through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Lachenalia, from PT Graha Baru Khatulistiwa for 26.010 billion Indonesian rupiah (approximately S$2.48 million). TDM holds a land allocation letter from the Batam Authorities, granting it the rights to acquire 40 hectares of land in Marina City, Batam. According to a valuation report issued by Wiseso Saladin…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tuan-sing-acquires-remaining-51-stake-in-indonesian-company

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

How commuting times affect HDB flat prices
A Commuting to work is often time-consuming, expensive and stressful, even on the good days. No wonder most people dread it. Economists dislike commuting as much as anyone and have studied how commuting patterns affect many economic outcomes, such as productivity, where businesses choose to locate and pollution. One particular area of interest has been the trade-off between choosing where to live and the price of housing.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/how-commuting-times-affect-hdb-flat-prices

Want to blast proof a building? Just wrap it
Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) who set out to create a material that can be used on buildings to make the walls and columns stronger have come up with a wrap that is not only bomb-resistant, but also capable of withstanding earthquakes. They say that by using the material in repair and reinforcement works, historical structures can be preserved and buildings with high footfall can be made safer.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/want-to-blast-proof-a-building-just-wrap-it