DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 6 August 2021 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Demand for Sentosa Cove bungalows mirrors buzz in luxury housing market
The buzz in the luxury housing market on mainland Singapore seems to be extending to the Sentosa Cove bungalow market. A total of 14 villas have been sold year to date in the waterfront housing district, exceeding the 13 deals for the whole of last year, based on List Sotheby’s International Realty’s (List SIR) analysis of caveats data captured in URA Realis.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/demand-for-sentosa-cove-bungalows-mirrors-buzz-in-luxury-housing-market

International Plaza set to kick-start mixed-use collective sale bid
International Plaza in Tanjong Pagar is set to embark on its first mixed-use collective sale attempt that could potentially smash records in terms of unit numbers and value. The 50-storey leasehold commercial-cum-residential building – one of Singapore’s biggest integrated developments…
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/international-plaza-set-to-kick-start-mixed-use-collective-sale-bid

Top property agents bag lion’s share of HDB resale transactions
New entrants in Singapore’s real estate agency scene may face “significant barriers” in improving their sales, especially in mature HDB towns, as a small proportion of the industry dominates the market. The Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) noted the “highly skewed” competitive landscape and uneven sales performance among individuals brokering transactions of resale flats.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/top-property-agents-bag-lions-share-of-hdb-resale-transactions

HDB resale prices rise for 13th straight month in July, though growth pace slows
Demand for Housing Board resale flats remained strong in July, with prices continuing to climb and more flats changing hands despite tightened Covid-19 measures in the second half of the month. HDB resale prices rose for the 13th straight month, advancing 0.5 per cent in July compared with June, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-rise-for-13th-straight-month-in-july-though-growth-pace-slows
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-resale-prices-rise-for-13th-straight-month-in-july-though-growth-pace-slows

EIP, ensuring accessibility key to keeping public housing inclusive, says Indranee
With the housing market reflecting growing income inequality here, Singapore needs to think more deeply about how to keep public housing inclusive and accessible to all, Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/eip-ensuring-accessibility-key-to-keeping-public-housing-inclusive-says-indranee

Singapore Economy

S$216m in rent support to be disbursed to over 38,000 tenants, owner-occupiers
Over 38,400 tenants and owner-occupiers will get their first Rental Support Scheme (RSS) payouts directly from the government, without going through landlords, from Friday. The first round of payouts totals S$216 million and comes ahead of schedule by two week, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a joint press statement on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/s216m-in-rent-support-to-be-disbursed-to-over-38000-tenants-owner-occupiers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-38400-to-get-direct-rental-aid-ahead-of-schedule

Encouraging signs of recovery for Singapore’s retail in H2 2021: economists
Singapore’s retail sales in June continued to rebound from last year’s “circuit breaker”, albeit at a slower pace, but economists see encouraging signs. Total sales grew 25.8 per cent year on year in June, easing from the 79.9 per cent surge in the previous month, attributed to base effects from Singapore’s partial lockdown last year, said the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/encouraging-signs-of-recovery-for-singapores-retail-in-h2-2021-economists
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-retail-sales-up-258-in-june

Companies’ Brief

Chip Eng Seng posts S$99k H1 net profit, reversing year-ago loss
Things are looking up at Chip Eng Seng. The property player is back in the black with a S$99,000 net profit for the half-year ended June, a turnaround from its year-ago loss of S$24.4 million. Chip Eng Seng posted a H1 revenue of S$622.4 million, more than double the previous year’s H1 topline of S$290 million.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/chip-eng-seng-posts-s99k-h1-net-profit-reversing-year-ago-loss

Koh Bros turns around previous year’s S$17.8m loss to post S$2m H1 net profit
Mainboard-listed construction player Koh Brothers Group posted a net profit of S$2 million for the six months ended June 30, reversing from a net loss of S$17.8 million in the preceding year, on the construction industry’s road to recovery.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/koh-bros-turns-around-previous-years-s178m-loss-to-post-s2m-h1-net-profit

Mapletree issues $600m of fixed-for-life perps at 3.7%
Mapletree Investments’ wholly owned subsidiary Mapletree Treasury Services has launched and priced $600 million of 3.7 per cent perpetual securities under its US$5 billion (S$6.8 billion) Euro medium-term note programme.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mapletree-issues-600m-of-fixed-for-life-perps-at-37

Roxy-Pacific Holdings H1 net profit more than doubles to S$5.9m
Property and hospitality group Roxy-Pacific Holdings on Thursday posted a first-half net profit of S$5.9 million, up 110 per cent from S$2.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the six months ended June 30 was S$141.2 million, up 20 per cent from S$118.1 million, thanks to higher sales from its property development and property investment segments.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/roxy-pacific-holdings-h1-net-profit-more-than-doubles-to-s59m

Hong Kong’s ESR to buy ARA for US$5.2b to create world’s third-largest listed real estate asset manager
Hong Kong-listed logistics real estate company ESR Cayman is set to acquire the entire share capital of real estate fund manager ARA Asset Management for US$5.2 billion to create the world’s third-largest listed real estate asset manager.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hong-kongs-esr-to-buy-ara-for-us52b-to-create-worlds-third-largest-listed-real-estate

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1426

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

US, China need to be working together
Remarks by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the virtual Aspen Security Forum this week addressed relations between the United States and China, and provided a timely reminder about the risks and implications that can arise from increasingly fraught ties between the two.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/us-china-need-to-be-working-together

Singapore banks ride wave of recovery, but keeping an eye out for Asean
Singapore banks are on the watch for signs of asset quality deterioration in Asean, given fresh lockdowns and resurging Covid-19 cases in the region, but strong capital levels and ample provisions should be more than enough to help them tide through, analysts have said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-banks-ride-wave-of-recovery-but-keeping-an-eye-out-for-asean

Why Africa should matter to Singapore companies
Some years ago, when I first visited Africa, I was struck by the vibrancy and enterprise of its youthful population. I have since visited over 15 countries on the continent and that palpable sense of opportunity still prevails.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/global-enterprise/why-africa-should-matter-to-singapore-companies

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Time for Singapore to firm up Covid-19 exit strategy: Experts
Singapore should implement its exit strategy from Covid-19 restrictions soon, given that the number of people stepping up to be vaccinated has tailed off. These days, only about 8,000 are coming forward daily for their first dose.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/time-for-singapore-to-firm-up-covid-19-exit-strategy-experts

96 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19, 38 unlinked
There were 96 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases reported late on Thursday afternoon. Of these, 38 were linked to previous cases and were already quarantined, while another 20 linked cases were not in quarantine when detected. The remaining 38 were new unlinked cases, up from 30 on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/96-new-locally-transmitted-cases-of-covid-19-38-unlinked

79-year-old unvaccinated man dies from Covid-19; virus death toll hits 40 in Singapore
A 79 year-old Singaporean man died from complications due to Covid 19 on Wednesday. He went to Sengkang General Hospital the same day with shortness of breath and low blood pressure, and tested positive for the virus.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/79-year-old-unvaccinated-man-dies-from-covid-19-virus-death-toll-hits-40-in
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/covid-19-death-toll-rises-to-40-as-79-year-old-unvaccinated-sporean-dies

Travellers from Taiwan need not serve SHN from Aug 7 if they test negative for Covid-19
[Singapore] Travellers entering Singapore from Taiwan will not have to serve stay-home notice (SHN) from 11.59pm on Saturday, provided they test negative for Covid-19 upon arrival. Those who were in Taiwan for at least 21 days before leaving for Singapore will take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test when they arrive, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday. They can go about their activities if they test negative.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/travellers-from-taiwan-need-not-serve-shn-from-aug-7-if-they-test-negative-for
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-eases-border-measures-for-travellers-arriving-from-taiwan

Thinner crowds at hospitals as visitor ban kicks in
Crowds were seen at several local hospitals yesterday, the first day of the barring of visits to hospital wards islandwide, but most of the people were there for outpatient treatment. The Straits Times saw only a few individuals at the ward registration counters of Singapore General Hospital (SGH), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/thinner-crowds-at-hospitals-as-visitor-ban-kicks-in

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation