DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 6th December 2017

Singapore Economy

Reserves help Singapore weather crises and keep economy stable: Heng Swee Keat
Singapore’s reserves give the nation long-term economic stability and also firepower to weather crises such as the global financial crisis, something many other economies do not possess, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Mr Heng said the reserves have been accumulated over many years as a result of prudent spending by past generations, and suggestions to tap it for Singapore’s growing spending needs should not be taken lightly.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/reserves-help-singapore-weather-crises-and-keep-economy-stable-heng-swee-keat
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/reserves-help-spore-weather-crises-and-keep-economy-stable

Fintech transforming banking, finance: Experts
From meeting the credit needs of a farmer in Jiangsu to those of a start-up being run out of a San Francisco garage, leaders of fintech companies yesterday discussed how technology and data have changed the way banking and finance work. Technologies like big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are helping to resolve two core issues in lending – providing a better estimate of risk, and in building trust, said industry experts at a panel discussion on the final day of the World Internet Conference here.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/fintech-transforming-banking-finance-experts

Singapore, China to further boost economic cooperation
Singapore and China will keep improving economic cooperation and deepening two-way investment ties even as both countries forge ahead with their economic transformations. The guidance came yesterday from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) after the Investment Promotion Committee (IPC) meeting in Beijing. The event – co-chaired by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang and China’s Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan – affirmed the bilateral economic ties between the nations, including cooperation in governmental projects.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-china-to-further-boost-economic-cooperation

Singapore will benefit from improving global outlook: Economist
Economies across the region are strengthening on the back of a pickup in the global outlook, said Bank of Singapore chief economist Richard Jerram. This will benefit Singapore as a trade-dependent economy and regional financial hub, particularly as the Asian middle class grows, he said at The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum yesterday. “Singapore has done much better this year than people expected at the start of the year,” he noted. “It has beaten government forecasts comfortably.”
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-will-benefit-from-improving-global-outlook-economist?login=true

Amazon launches Prime membership for Singapore, ends free shipping for non-members
American e-commerce giant Amazon announced the launch of its Prime membership programme for Singapore on Wednesday (Dec 6), ending a four-year period of free shipping to the Republic. Under the Free AmazonGlobal Saver Shipping option, shoppers in Singapore and Mexico were previously eligible for free international shipping with a minimum order of US$125 for qualifying merchandise.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/amazon-to-launch-prime-membership-for-singapore-ends-free-shipping-for-non-members
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/amazon-prime-service-makes-debut-singapore

Singapore Real Estate

Two tender closings signal developers’ unabating land appetite
Developers’ appetite for choice sites has shown no signs of letting up despite warnings from the government on over-exuberance in the property market. Two residential land parcels at Jiak Kim Street and Fourth Avenue under the government land sales (GLS) programme saw keen contest on Tuesday, with Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) setting a new price benchmark for the Jiak Kim Street site.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-tender-closings-signal-developers-unabating-land-appetite
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fcl-tops-bids-for-former-zouk-site-allgreen-tops-bids-for-fourth-ave-site
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/fcl-makes-9554m-bid-for-ex-zouk-site

Two Airbnb hosts in Singapore charged over illegal home-sharing
Two men in Singapore were charged on Tuesday with providing unauthorised short-term stays to tenants. The Straits Times understands they had used popular home-sharing service Airbnb. This is the first time someone is being hauled to court under new regulations against home-sharing since they kicked in on May 15.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-airbnb-hosts-in-singapore-charged-over-illegal-home-sharing
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/two-charged-for-short-term-rentals-via-airbnb-9470250
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/property-agents-charged-leasing-homes-short-term-stays-airbnb

Some landed property owners flouting rules by using PUB water in garden sprinklers
A few months ago, Sam Lee* showed his client, the owner of a Good Class Bungalow (GCB), his final proposal to develop her garden. He had put it together with advice from irrigation and water harvesting specialists because the client had indicated she wanted to use collected rain water for the sprinkler system.

The final cost came to about S$90,000. However, that was too expensive for the client, Mr Lee said, and she decided to cancel the harvesting system.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/the-landed-property-owners-breaking-the-rules-on-using-pub-water-9415956

Fresh Start in home ownership for over 30 families
More than 30 families have successfully applied for a Housing Board flat under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, said Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong in a Facebook post yesterday. The scheme, which was launched in December last year, aims to help families with at least one child below the age of 16 who live in public rental flats to buy a two-room Flexi Flat.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/fresh-start-in-home-ownership-for-over-30-families

Companies’ Brief

Mapletree Logistics Trust to sell Malaysia property for S$9.2m
The manager of Mapletree Logistics Trust said on Tuesday the trust plans to sell a property in Malaysia for about S$9.2 million. The property is located within the Senai Industrial Estate in Johor, and is an air-conditioned single-storey warehouse with an annexed two-storey office building.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-logistics-trust-to-sell-malaysia-property-for-s92m

GuocoLand subsidiary enters into JV with GuocoLand Assets to take part in land tender
GuocoLand Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary, GuocoLand (Singapore) Pte Ltd, entered into a joint venture and shareholders’ agreement with GuocoLand Assets Pte Ltd (GAPL). GuocoLand Limited, a member of the Hong Leong Group, said on Tuesday that parties entered into the agreement to, among other things, participate in land tender and govern the joint venture parties’ relationship.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/guocoland-subsidiary-enters-into-jv-with-guocoland-assets-to-take-part-in-land

Teambuild’s building blocks to success
Being a technology pioneer can come with an unexpected cost, as Teambuild Construction knows all too well. The firm has made such advances in innovations for the construction industry that it has become a magnet for a succession of curious government agency officials, delegates from Hong Kong and Malaysia, and even competitors. The star of this particular show is the company’s status as the first adopter here of what is called prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction (PPVC) technology.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/teambuilds-building-blocks-to-success

Broadway unit sells industrial property in US for US$3.69m
Broadway Industrial Group said on Wednesday (Dec 6) its wholly owned subsidiary Compart Engineering, Inc (CE) has sold an industrial building in the United States for US$3.69 million. The precision parts manufacturer said in a pre-market filing that the sale was a good opportunity for the company to dispose of an underperforming asset for “valuable consideration” and is part of a plan to strengthen its balance sheet. The property had been valued at US$3.17 million by Colliers International on June 2, 2017.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/broadway-unit-sells-industrial-property-in-us-for-us369m

Bankruptcy applications against Jason directors withdrawn
Two directors of flooring firm Jason Holdings had bankruptcy applications against them withdrawn yesterday. The applications were being made against executive director Sim Choon Joo and non-executive director Jason Sim Chon Ang.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/bankruptcy-applications-against-jason-directors-withdrawn

Views, Reviews & Forum

Repeated warnings on property market exuberance may have muted impact
Despite a series of warnings from the government on the risks of excessive exuberance in the property market, it remains to be seen whether market participants will pay heed and exercise prudence – going by the still-bullish land bids tabled since the latest warning.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/repeated-warnings-on-property-market-exuberance-may-have-muted-impact