DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 4th, 5th and 6th May 2019

Singapore Real Estate

Amber Park condo at East Coast sells 115 units in weekend launch
The latest in a string of East Coast launches, freehold luxury condominium Amber Park sold 115 units at an average S$2,425 per sq ft (psf) during its launch weekend. Some 150 units were launched over the weekend, out of the development’s 592 units, said City Developments Limited (CDL) and its sister company Hong Realty on Sunday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/amber-park-condo-at-east-coast-sells-115-units-in-weekend-launch
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/amber-park-sells-115-of-150-units-at-average-price-of-2425-psf

Overseas commercial and industrial assets, data centres, student housing on radar of Singapore investors: CBRE
Singapore investors’ interest in commercial and industrial assets overseas is expected to remain strong, with the export of capital to continue this year amid tight yields in the domestic market, according to CBRE. Aside from the commercial and industrial sectors, CBRE is also seeing “interest in alternative sectors such as data centres and student housing”, said Yvonne Siew, CBRE Asia Pacific executive director of global capital markets.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/overseas-commercial-and-industrial-assets-data-centres-student-housing-on-radar-of

UOB says Singapore home loans flat, with growth coming from region
United Overseas Bank is the second Singapore lender to feel the sting of last year’s property cooling measures. While UOB posted a rise in its overall mortgage book, the bank said it came from its regional markets. UOB reported higher net profit for its first quarter of 2019, up 8 per cent to S$1.05 billion, from S$978 million for the year-ago period on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/uob-says-singapore-home-loans-flat-with-growth-coming-from-region
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/govt-curbs-hit-uobs-spore-home-loans

Over 20 households living in 5-room and bigger flats sold part of lease to HDB under LBS scheme in Q1
Singapore: More than 20 households who live in 5-room and larger flats sold the tail end of their unit’s lease back to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the first quarter of this year under the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS), said HDB. In response to queries from CNA, the board said it received more than 200 LBS applications from owners of these bigger flats…
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/lbs-scheme-5-room-and-bigger-households-11500566

HDB unveils plans for new park in upcoming Bidadari estate
A rustic landscape with meandering hills, a boardwalk across a marshland and a unique rain tree “island” set in the middle of a lake. This will be a sight that will greet residents of the upcoming Bidadari estate, which will have 10,000 Housing and Development Board (HDB) units and be progressively completed by 2022.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-unveils-plans-for-new-park-in-upcoming-bidadari-estate
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/bidadari-estate-to-have-green-haven-with-lake-and-trails
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-unveils-plans-for-new-park-in-bidadari-estate-11504770
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-10-hectare-bidadari-park-be-completed-2022

Singapore Economy

Singapore factory growth drops to 2-year low
Manufacturing growth slipped to a more than two-year low last month after a brief uptick in March as the electronics sector continued to shrink. Singapore’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key barometer of activity in the manufacturing industry, slipped to 50.3 last month, down 0.5 point from the month earlier to its lowest reading since November 2016.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-factory-growth-drops-to-2-year-low
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/factory-outlook-dims-in-april-as-exports-output-slow

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Property Q2 bottom line rises 8.3% to S$120 million
Frasers Property’s net profit for the second quarter ended March 31, 2019, was up 8.3 per cent year-on-year to S$120.4 million, boosted by fair value changes. Revenue rose 11.1 per cent to S$934.25 million, on the back of stronger revenue contributions out of Australia, while earnings per share clocked 2.81 Singapore cents, up from 2.72 cents a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-property-q2-bottom-line-rises-83-to-s120-million
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-property-q2-profit-up-83-to-1204m-to-pay-24-cents-per-share

Taking urban regeneration to the next level
The progressive opening of the S$3.2 billion mega-mixed use development Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) starting from this year represents an important milestone for developer Lendlease in Singapore. It is the first time the Australian-listed group has delivered a residential product in decades, ever since it built some of Singapore’s first Housing Board (HDB) flats.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/taking-urban-regeneration-to-the-next-level

K-Reit, Tuan Sing, DFI lead share buybacks
For the four trading sessions from April 26 through to May 2, the Straits Times Index (STI) rallied 1.8 per cent while the Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index averaged a 0.1 per cent gain. This has brought the STI’s 2019 total return through to May 2 to 11.8 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/k-reit-tuan-sing-dfi-lead-share-buybacks

SPH updates S$1b medium-term note programme to debt issuance with perps
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has updated its S$1 billion multicurrency medium-term note programme to a S$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme, the group said in a Friday morning regulatory filing. This will allow SPH to issue perpetual securities on top of notes issued under the medium-term note programme.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sph-updates-s1b-medium-term-note-programme-to-debt-issuance-with-perps
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-updates-1b-medium-term-note-programme-to-debt-issuance

GIC buys 10% stake in 6th-largest container terminal operator
Singapore’s GIC has acquired a 10 per cent interest in Geneva-based Terminal Investment Ltd (TIL), the sixth-largest container terminal operator in the world, at an undisclosed price. The sovereign wealth fund said on Friday morning that it bought the stake from infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners and “other existing co-investors”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gic-buys-10-stake-in-6th-largest-container-terminal-operator
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/gic-buys-10-stake-in-worlds-sixth-largest-container-terminal-operator

Hong Lai Huat to sell Cambodia investment property for US$1.12m
Mainboard-listed property developer Hong Lai Huat Group is selling its investment property in Cambodia for US$1.12 million, the company announced on Monday morning before market open. The company said it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the property in Kandal Province, Cambodia. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hong-lai-huat-to-sell-cambodia-investment-property-for-us112m

Isetan not renewing lease of ‘loss-making’ Westgate store
Isetan Singapore will not renew its lease with JG Trustee (JGT) for its “loss-making” store in Westgate, the Japanese department store operator said in a regulatory filing on Monday before the market opened. According to terms of the lease, the company has the option to renew the lease for a period of three years by notifying JGT no later than six months prior to the expiry of the lease on Dec 22, 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/isetan-not-renewing-lease-of-loss-making-westgate-store
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/isetan-not-renewing-lease-of-loss-making-westgate-store

Manulife US Reit secures up to US$193m in loan facilities
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust’s trustee DBS Trustee has signed an agreement to secure up to US$193 million worth of loan facilities to refinance existing loans, partly finance a US property acquisition, and for general corporate and working capital purposes. The lenders are Bank of China’s Singapore branch, BNS Asia, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank’s…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/manulife-us-reit-secures-up-to-us193m-in-loan-facilities
https://www.straitstimes.com/uncategorized/manulife-us-reit-secures-up-to-us193m-in-loan-facilities

Resources Prima confirms Chongqing property deal off the table
Catalist-listed coal miner Resources Prima Group’s bid to buy a property in China has fallen through, the board confirmed in an update on Friday night. Its binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to take over the 2,332 square metre commercial property in Chongqing lapsed at the end of 2018, when talks did not yield any definitive agreement, and there was no deal to extend the MOU period, said the board.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/resources-prima-confirms-chongqing-property-deal-off-the-table

Lippo Karawaci a star performer in Asian junk-dollar bonds
A builder controlled by Indonesia’s billionaire Riady family has rebounded from the depths of distress to become one of the best performers in the Asia junk-dollar bond market. The turnaround by Lippo Karawaci, among Indonesia’s biggest developers, comes after moves to raise cash to pay down debt, and dovetails with two broader themes.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/lippo-karawaci-a-star-performer-in-asian-junk-dollar-bonds

Rich Capital’s property head joins The Place as COO
Mainboard-listed investment holding company The Place Holdings has picked Rich Capital Holdings’ former property head as its new chief operating officer (COO). Kam Tin Seah was named to the post on Friday, while predecessor Meng Kuang-Yi, brother-in-law of The Place executive chairman Ji Zenghe, became marketing director instead.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/rich-capitals-property-head-joins-the-place-as-coo

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Workforce of the future
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
Given the dynamic nature of digital technology, job roles are constantly being redefined as companies formulate business transformation, leveraging new technologies and automation to enhance economic value creation, improve job quality and augment employees’ skills.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/workforce-of-the-future

Isetan needs more than a store refresh
Competition is stiff on the retail battlefield, and Japanese department store operator Isetan Singapore is just one of the many casualties on the Orchard Road front-line. Sales are falling at its flagship Isetan Scotts store at Shaw House, despite the popularity of its basement supermarket where small families gladly pay a premium for clean and well-packed Japanese fare.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/isetan-needs-more-than-a-store-refresh

Consider an HDB enclave for singles
Singapore is a pro-family nation, with many government policies to encourage marriage. But many people are single not by choice, but due to lack of opportunity to find their right life partners. I suggest the Government build an HDB enclave for singles.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/consider-an-hdb-enclave-for-singles

10-year plan to help landscape sector bloom
As Singapore plans to add 1,000 ha of green spaces around the island in the next 10 to 15 years, it will also need green fingers. To encourage workers and companies in the landscape sector to boost competencies and skills, a 10-year industry transformation plan was launched yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/10-year-plan-to-help-landscape-sector-bloom

The balance between national progress and preservation of heritage
It may be one of the oldest Chinese temples in Singapore, dating back to the pre-colonial era when the Hakkas first built a shrine to the deity Tua Pek Kong more than two centuries earlier. But the actual Fook Tet Soo Khek temple in Palmer Road, which was built in 1844, has no official protection status. It is not the only historic site without one.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-balance-between-national-progress-and-preservation-of-heritage