DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 6th July 2018

Top Story

Govt raises ABSD, tightens LTV limits to cool Singapore property market
In a bid to cool the residential property market and prevent prices from running ahead of economic fundamentals, the Singapore government has decided to raise the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) and tighten loan-to-value (LTV) limits on residential property purchases. The current ABSD rates for Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents (SPR) purchasing their first residential property will remain at zero and 5 per cent respectively.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/govt-raises-absd-tightens-ltv-limits-to-cool-singapore-property-market
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/higher-stamp-duties-tighter-loan-limits-for-home-purchases
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-property-cooling-measures-higher-absd-rates-loan-limit-10502710
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/government-introduces-new-round-cooling-measures
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/property-cooling-measures-cannot-be-discounted-dbs-ceo
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/singapore-steps-up-property-cooling-measures-after-strong-gains

Singapore Economy

Belt and Road opens new front in S’pore-China ties
Singapore and China are old friends which have been able to nurture and evolve bilateral ties over time to meet their needs and national interests. And today, 40 years after China opened up to the world, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an area which both countries can work on together, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday. “Historically, Singapore has been a key node along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and remains globally connected today,” Mr Teo said in a speech at the 24th China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair in north-western Gansu province.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/belt-and-road-opens-new-front-in-spore-china-ties
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-china-belt-and-road-partners-dpm-teo-chee-hean-10500940

Singapore Real Estate

Property stocks tumble in wake of new cooling measures
Shares in property stocks fell early Friday morning after the government’s surprise Thursday evening announcement of fresh property market cooling measures. By 9.03am, City Developments had shed 15 per cent, or S$1.81, to trade at S$9.40, while UOL Group was down nearly 15 per cent, or S$1.16, to S$6.59. Developer Oxley Holdings gave up 15 per cent, or six Singapore cents, to trade at 35 cents, while Capitaland was trading at S$3.06, down 12 cents or 4 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/property-stocks-tumble-in-wake-of-new-cooling-measures
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-property-bank-stocks-tumble-on-hit-from-new-cooling-measures
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-developer-stocks-may-fall-on-surprise-property-curbs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-developer-stocks-may-fall-on-surprise-property-curbs
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/property-stocks-slump-absd-new-cooling-measures-10503986
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-developer-stocks-seen-falling-after-surprise-property-curbs

Fresh property cooling measures spark last-minute buying frenzy
Homebuyers thronged the Park Colonial show suites on Thursday night to put down deposits for units as the developer hastily launched sales ahead of a planned July 14 launch date. The scenario was similar at the sales offices of Riverfront Residences, the launch date for which was to have been this weekend, and also Stirling Residences, originally slated to be launched on July 14.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fresh-property-cooling-measures-spark-last-minute-buying-frenzy
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/buyers-flock-to-showflats-before-new-rules-kick-in
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/absd-showflats-queues-property-cooling-measures-10503216
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/property-hunters-rush-make-buys-stamp-duty-hike-looms

Property players reel from sudden cooling measures
Many in the real estate industry were shocked by the sudden announcement yesterday of new property cooling measures that will take effect today. Developers were scrambling to launch new projects last night ahead of the measures taking effect, even as property buyers and sellers tried to understand the implications for their loans and purchases.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/property-players-reel-from-sudden-measures

HDB resale prices in June down 0.3% from May, SRX Property data shows
Resale prices of Housing Board flats fell 0.3 per cent last month from May, according to flash data released by real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday. The data also showed that prices fell by 1.9 per cent from the same month last year, and by 13.3 per cent since the peak in April 2013.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-in-june-down-03-from-may-srx-property-data-shows
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/49302/year-on-year-hdb-resale-prices-decrease-by-19-and-volume-is-up-by-134

NTUC Foodfare latest tenant to exit Kallang Wave
One of the biggest tenants at Kallang Wave Mall, NTUC Foodfare foodcourt, has packed up, raising questions over how businesses in the shopping centre beside the Sports Hub are faring. This comes after other major tenants such as fashion retailer Forever 21 and electronics chain store Harvey Norman also closed their outlets at the mall.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ntuc-foodfare-latest-tenant-to-exit-kallang-wave

Companies’ Brief

Mapletree Logistics in S$778m warehouse deal with HNA subsidiary
Mapletree Logistics Trust is strengthening its presence in Singapore with the acquisition of five modern, ramp-up logistics properties here from Hong Kong-listed CWT International for about S$778.3 million. CWT International is the subsidiary of debt-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mapletree-logistics-in-s778m-warehouse-deal-with-hna-subsidiary
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mapletree-logistics-trust-acquires-five-warehouses

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Property curbs: Ahead of the curve but too much?
The government has deemed it fit to curb the steep rise in private home prices in recent quarters with a surprise tightening of cooling measures on Thursday. The tough measures shocked many and also raised the pertinent question – why use a sledgehammer on a market that may be showing signs of finding its own equilibrium? With effect from July 6, the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) will be raised by 5 percentage points for Singapore citizens and permanent residents buying a second, third or subsequent residential property, as well as foreigners buying any residential property.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/property-curbs-ahead-of-the-curve-but-too-much

Latest property cooling measures: en bloc sales will bear the brunt
The surprise latest property cooling measures will likely dampen the collective sales market but it has in fact been clear for a while that en bloc sales bear watching. A marked improvement in home buying sentiment last year depleted developers’ residential land bank and led them to bid aggressively for sites both through collective sales and at state tenders. The higher land prices have contributed to developers launching projects at higher selling prices so far this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/latest-property-cooling-measures-en-bloc-sales-will-bear-the-brunt

New housing curbs expected, but extent of measures ‘heavy-handed’: Analysts
Singapore: The new property cooling measures announced on Thursday (Jul 5) were not entirely unexpected given the recent euphoria in the housing market, but the speed and timing at which the measures were introduced as well as the extent of the curbs were “heavy-handed”, some analysts told Channel NewsAsia. Among the curbs are a 5 percentage point hike in Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates for citizens and permanent residents (PRs) buying second and subsequent homes, as well as a 5 percentage point tightening for loan-to-value limits for all housing loans granted by financial institutions .
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/housing-curbs-absd-ltv-expected-but-heavy-handed-analysts-10503276

Dangerous escalation of trade tensions
Today we will witness the first salvos in a trade conflict between the United States and China which, if not defused, could escalate dangerously, with negative, if not calamitous, effects on the global economy.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/dangerous-escalation-of-trade-tensions

With the world ‘moving a little closer’ to a trade war, what’s the impact on Singapore?
Singapore: As trade friction between the United States and China heats up with mutually-threatened tariffs kicking in on Friday (Jul 6), the world seems to be “moving a little closer” to an all-out trade war – a scenario that will weigh on Singapore’s economy, economists said. While united in the view that a global trade war, if it happens, will have an impact on Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP), experts differed on the extent of the damage.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/with-the-world-moving-a-little-closer-to-a-trade-war-what-s-the-10501706