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The Leading Professional and Representative Body for the Real Estate Industry

DAILY NEWS

 

Daily News – 6th Jun 2018

Singapore Economy

Quarterly survey finds business sentiment at three-year high
Business sentiment in Singapore is at its most upbeat in three years, with the service and manufacturing sectors showing the most optimism about the coming third quarter, according to the latest Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) Business Optimism Index out on Tuesday.  The overall index climbed for the third straight quarter to hit +10.58 percentage points, up from +8.5 percentage points in Q2 2018 and +3.58 percentage points in Q3 2017. This was the highest score since Q3 2015.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/quarterly-survey-finds-business-sentiment-at-three-year-high
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/businesses-most-upbeat-in-three-years-quarterly-survey-shows

Singapore among ‘most resilient’ in face of risks
Singapore has been ranked among the world’s most resilient cities in the face of 22 man-made and natural risks considered in Lloyd’s City Risk Index (CRI) 2018, the insurer said in a statement on the report released today.  The biggest threat to the city-state is financial market crash, which could cost it up to US$1.3 billion of its annual economic output. This accounts for more than 40 per cent of total gross domestic product (GDP) at risk of US$3.2 billion, ranking Singapore third after Manila and Jakarta for the most GDP at risk among 13 cities in South-east Asia.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-among-most-resilient-in-face-of-risks

Singapore shares top spot with Australia, Sweden in tech readiness, study finds
Singapore is poised to be one of the most technologically ready economies over the next few years, alongside Australia and Sweden, a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found.  Titled “Preparing for disruption: Technological Readiness Ranking”, the new report released on Tuesday looked at 82 of the world’s largest economies, and focused on how future-oriented these business environments are.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/singapore-shares-top-spot-with-australia-sweden-in-tech-readiness-study-finds
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/spore-one-of-most-tech-ready-economies

Almost all government services in Singapore to go digital by 2023
Singapore – In just a few years’ time, Singaporeans will be able to apply for public housing, receive their Edusave Merit Bursary and handle nearly all their government dealings without having to leave home.  Apart from being able to access every single government service online, they will also be able to complete between 90 per cent and 95 per cent of transactions with the Government digitally by 2023, as Singapore’s Smart Nation push picks up momentum.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/almost-all-govt-services-to-go-digital-by-2023
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/e-payment-digital-signature-options-for-all-government-services-10368616
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nearly-all-govt-services-go-digital-2023-20000-public-servants-be-trained-data-analytics

Singapore to see financing spurt amid Asian growth
The expansion of Asian enterprises and demand for infrastructure development in the region will drive financing and capital-raising activities in Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon said yesterday.  Speaking at the Nomura Investment Forum Asia 2018 at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, he noted that more Asian companies are expanding regionally and globally. The need to fund this expansion has led to a surge in capital-raising in Asia and increased the depth and diversity of Asian assets.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-to-see-financing-spurt-amid-asian-growth

 

Singapore Real Estate

Katong Plaza to be put up for collective sale at S$188m
Freehold Katong Plaza will be launched for collective sale on June 7, 2018, with a S$188 million expected price, sole marketing agent Huttons Asia said on Tuesday, with the public tender closing at 2pm on July 16.  The expected price – of which 80 per cent goes to commercial owners and 20 per cent goes to residential owners – translates to S$1,969 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the mixed development, with S$13 million development charge added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/katong-plaza-to-be-put-up-for-collective-sale-at-s188m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/katong-plaza-on-sale-en-bloc-at-188m

Pomex Court sold for S$37.6m
Pomex Court, a three-storey, freehold, walk-up residential development in the Joo Chiat area, has been sold for S$37.6 million through a collective sale.  The price works out to S$1,014 per square foot per plot ratio. No development charge is payable, said Alvin Er, key executive officer of Century 21 House & Home Property, who brokered the sale.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/pomex-court-sold-for-s376m

APAC Realty to acquire new HQ in Toa Payoh for S$72.8m
APAC Realty, which operates a real estate brokerage under the ERA brand, plans to buy a commercial property located at 450, Lorong 6, Toa Payoh for S$72.8 million, it said on Tuesday.  The property spans 1,392 square metres and a gross floor area of 4,121 sq m, has 2,597 sq m of lettable floor area, including retail and auditorium space, as well as three levels of office space.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/apac-realty-to-acquire-new-hq-in-toa-payoh-for-s728m

Former real estate agent fined S$10,000 for failing to flag suspicious deal
[Singapore] A real estate agent’s client wanted to buy a Sentosa Cove house that cost almost S$24 million but he later found out that she was linked to one of China’s biggest Ponzi schemes involving S$10.8 billion. When Tan Yen Hsi, who used to be a senior marketing director at CBRE Realty Associates, alerted his senior management about the matter, the firm’s key executive officer told him to lodge a suspicious transaction report on the property transaction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/former-real-estate-agent-fined-s10000-for-failing-to-flag-suspicious-deal
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/fined-10k-for-not-flagging-suspicious-home-deal

Govt must avoid the formation of social enclaves: Chan Chun Sing
Singapore — Just as how Singapore prevented racial enclaves from forming in its housing estates, the country must avoid the formation of any social enclaves, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Tuesday (June 5).  To that end, the Government will “further refine” the design of precincts and public housing flats to “allow greater social mixing between people of different economic backgrounds”.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/govt-must-avoid-formation-social-enclaves-chan-chun-sing

Century Square reopens on June 6 after S$60 million facelift 
Singapore — Following a S$60 million makeover, Century Square shopping mall in Tampines will reopen on Wednesday (June 6), nine months after it closed its doors for refurbishment work last September.  Aside from a new facade and interior, the 210,000 square foot, six-storey mall will offer amenities and features such as free WiFi, bike stations with shower facilities, an e-doodling wall for shoppers, and a roof terrace.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/century-square-reopens-june-6-after-s60-million-facelift          

 

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust raises S$147.1m from preferential offering exercise
Frasers Logistics & Industrial Asset Management, manager of Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT), said FLT is set to raise gross proceeds of about S$147.1 million from an over-subscribed preferential offering exercise.  The manager of FLT said the equity raising exercise has attracted valid acceptances and excess applications for over 287.4 million of preferential offering new units.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-logistics-industrial-trust-raises-s1471m-from-preferential-offering

AusGroup to conduct 2nd informal meeting with holders of S$110m of 8.45% notes due October 2018
Ausgroup will be conducting its second informal meeting with noteholders on June 18 in relation to the consent solicitation exercise it plans to launch for its S$110 million of 8.45 per cent notes due October 2018, the construction engineering company announced on Wednesday.  Its first informal meeting with noteholders was conducted on May 16.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ausgroup-to-conduct-2nd-informal-meeting-with-holders-of-s110m-of-845-notes-due

Straits Trading to invest in fund managed by Savills
The Straits Trading Company will be investing in a fund managed by international property fund manager Savills Investment Management, via an indirect subsidiary.  Straits Trading announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary, Straits Real Estate Pte Ltd (SREPL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SRE Venture 7 Pte Ltd (SRE Venture 7), has agreed to subscribe for the Savills Investment Management Japan Value Fund II, LP.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/straits-trading-to-invest-in-fund-managed-by-savills

 

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Trust, ethics crucial to companies in advancing AI
Trust is the most important value in the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), said companies – as the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) on Tuesday unveiled a series of AI initiatives to grow the country’s digital economy, including an advisory council on the ethical use of AI and data.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/trust-ethics-crucial-to-companies-in-advancing-ai
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-council-to-look-into-issues-over-ai-use
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-council-to-advise-singapore-government-on-ethical-use-of-ai-10370190
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/advisory-council-ethical-use-ai-be-set

If blockchain ‘use case’ fails, MAS still benefits
Many of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) ‘use cases’ for its blockchain experiments – such as those on know-your-customer procedures, trade financing and cross-border payments – are likely to fail. And its managing director Ravi Menon is fine with that.  A ‘use case’ is a list of actions or event steps typically defining the interactions between a role and a system.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/if-blockchain-use-case-fails-mas-still-benefits

Conserved shophouses filled with memories
A long bid for conservation has come to a happy end for Mr Teng Tieu Guan, a former resident of Jalan Besar whose relatives lived in the area for decades.  He is the owner of 593 Serangoon Road, one of the eight pre-war buildings to recently achieve conservation status in Jalan Besar, which itself was gazetted as a conservation area in October 1991.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/conserved-shophouses-filled-with-memories

 

Global Economy & Global Real Estate

China offers to buy US$70b in US goods: report
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/china-offers-to-buy-us70b-in-us-goods-report

Grand plans for a New York tech hub in the bones of an old hotel
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/grand-plans-for-a-new-york-tech-hub-in-the-bones-of-an-old-hotel

Homebuilder woes are more good news for home depot and Lowe’s
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/homebuilder-woes-are-more-good-news-for-home-depot-and-lowes

China pushes state banks into home rental market at their own risk
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/china-pushes-state-banks-into-home-rental-market-at-their-own-risk-0

Exports, higher govt spending boost Australia’s Q1 growth
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/exports-higher-govt-spending-boost-australias-q1-growth

Indonesia’s coming digital disruption
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/executive-money/indonesias-coming-digital-disruption

Weak Japan figures hint at economic recession
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/weak-japan-figures-hint-at-economic-recession 

Philippines says May annual inflation at 4.6%
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/philippines-says-may-annual-inflation-at-46

German service sector growth at 20-month low in May- Markit
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/german-service-sector-growth-at-20-month-low-in-may-markit

Toronto home prices creep higher with sales mired in slump
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/toronto-home-prices-creep-higher-with-sales-mired-in-slump

Poland’s biggest builder calls on government to address labour shortage
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/polands-biggest-builder-calls-on-government-to-address-labour-shortage

 

Additional Articles of Interests – Local & Overseas Real Estate

Local & Overseas Real Estate – Full Article
http://business.asiaone.com/property/news
http://www.btinvest.com.sg/property
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/market-news
http://www.srx.com.sg/singapore-property-news
http://www.stproperty.sg/articles-property/singapore-property-news/c/11
https://www.edgeprop.com.sg/property-news

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