DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7 Jan 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore shophouse market stays on hot streak with three new sales
The buzz in the Singapore shophouse market continues, with the sector attracting high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and families here and from abroad, in addition to property investment groups. The latest deals include three adjoining conservation shophouses at 8, 9 and 10 Craig Road which went for S$29.28 million. Singapore-based property investment group 8M Real Estate is buying the three-storey shophouses from Hong Kong-based Harilela Group, founded by businessman and philanthropist Hari Harilela.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-shophouse-market-stays-on-hot-streak-with-three-new-sales

Five Desker Road shophouses up for sale with S$20.3m indicative price
A portfolio of five conserved shophouses at 99, 103, 105, 106 and 107 Desker Road is up for sale with an indicative price of S$20.3 million. This translates to S$1,701 per square foot (sq ft), based on an estimated total built-up size of 11,932 sq ft. The portfolio includes a row of three adjoining shophouses with prominent frontage, allowing flexible and efficient space usage, exclusive marketing agent Colliers International said on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/five-desker-road-shophouses-up-for-sale-with-s203m-indicative-price

Two freehold factory units in Mandai up for sale with S$18m guide price
Two freehold factory units at 94 and 96 Mandai Estate are up for sale with an indicative price of S$18 million, marketing agent Colliers International said on Wednesday. The two-storey terrace factory units in the Mandai Estate industrial cluster are currently tenanted and are to be sold with the tenancies, Colliers said. One is an intermediate unit and the other, a corner terrace factory unit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-freehold-factory-units-in-mandai-up-for-sale-with-s18m-guide-price

Holland Rise GCB site up for sale with S$68m indicative price
A Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow (GCB) site comprising three adjoining plots of land is up for sale via expression of interest with an indicative price of S$68 million, exclusive marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield said on Wednesday. The freehold, vacant plots are located in the Holland Rise GCB Area and have a combined land area of 52,992 square feet. They are accessible via two cul-de-sacs, one at Holland Rise and another at East Sussex Lane.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/holland-rise-gcb-site-up-for-sale-with-s68m-indicative-price

The future of offices – when workers have choices
Coronavirus will not kill the office. If anything, it figures to be more dynamic than ever. The ability to work remotely will not drive most people away from cities and offices, but it will enable many to live and work in new ways and places – while causing its fair share of disruption.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/the-future-of-offices-when-workers-have-choices

Companies’ Brief

New CDL directors bring diverse skills and perspectives
Kwek Leng Beng, Executive Chairman, City Developments
I refer to recent media reports about changes to the Board of Directors of City Developments (CDL). The reports have focused on CDL’s investment in China’s Sincere Property Group, which surely must be viewed against the backdrop of a fast-changing business environment, made even more challenging by the global pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/new-cdl-directors-bring-diverse-skills-and-perspectives

Oxley gets S$106.4m investment from Hong Kong PE firm
Property developer Oxley Holdings has received a S$106.4 million investment through a convertible note issuance to funds managed by Dignari Capital Partners (DCP), a private equity firm based in Hong Kong. The convertible notes, with an aggregate principal amount of up to US$80 million, will bear a coupon interest of 4.5 per cent per annum (calculated on an actual/360 day count basis) and is payable semi-annually.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-gets-s1064m-investment-from-hong-kong-pe-firm
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oxley-gets-1064m-investment-from-hong-kong-private-equity-firm

UOBKH restarts coverage of ARA Logos with ‘buy’ call, S$0.85 target price
UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) has re-initiated coverage on ARA Logos Logistics Trust with a “buy” recommendation and target price (TP) of S$0.85, as it deems the counter a laggard play with an attractive yield spread over the next two years. In a report on Wednesday, analysts Jonathan Koh and Loke Peihao forecast a distribution per unit (DPU) of 4.9 cents each for 2021 and 2022. This translates to an attractive distribution yield of 8.1 per cent and yield spread of 7.3 per cent for 2021-2022, in their view.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/uobkh-restarts-coverage-of-ara-logos-with-buy-call-s085-target-price

First Reit to diversify into new markets post-restructuring
If First Reit’s restructuring and recapitalisation exercise proves successful, the manager intends to diversify its portfolio into new geographies – including nursing homes in Japan, hospitals in China and Myanmar, and other healthcare assets in Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia – with the help of its new sponsor’s network.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-reit-to-diversify-into-new-markets-post-restructuring

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1293

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

New pricing model timely as one-size- fits-all rules for HDB flats passé
Incorporating public housing as part of the landscape in the upcoming Greater Southern Waterfront that also comprises offices and private housing is bold and laudable. There is clearly a desire on the part of the government to ensure that the new seafront downtown will not be a playground for only the wealthy but also cater to Singaporeans of lesser means.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/new-pricing-model-timely-as-one-size-fits-all-rules-for-hdb-flats-pass%C3%A9

Expect some dollar weakness in 2021, but there’s little to suggest a sudden crash
Many observers are converging towards a highly downbeat 2021 outlook for the US dollar. This view is at times associated with a surging risk appetite, the end of a strong dollar cycle or a twin deficit crash. Given the seeming random walk nature of exchange rates, forecasting the dollar’s 2021 outlook could be an act of hubris. That said, the dollar may indeed fall this year, but an overly negative narrative is unwarranted.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/expect-some-dollar-weakness-in-2021-but-theres-little-to-suggest-a-sudden-crash

Uneven Asean growth expected in 2021 amid some stumbling blocks
Even as the building blocks put in place over the course of 2020 positions the Asean region for growth in the coming year, market watchers agree growth will be uneven and not without its stumbling blocks. How, for instance, will the policies put forth by President-elect Joe Biden affect US-China relations (and its subsequent ripple effect throughout the region) or even US-Asean relations?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/uneven-asean-growth-expected-in-2021-amid-some-stumbling-blocks

Opportunities remain despite end of HSR
Malaysia’s proposal to change a fundamental feature of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) agreement, which Singapore could not accept, has led to the termination of the project. This is an unfortunate outcome because the rail link would have benefited both countries and contributed to the infrastructural connectivity that would have added to Asean’s integration as a single economic region.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/opportunities-remain-despite-end-of-hsr-0

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Restaurant worker one of two new cases in community
A Korean man, 24, who works at the Azur restaurant in Crowne Plaza Changi Airport was among the two unlinked community cases announced yesterday. The work permit holder has also preliminarily tested positive for the more infectious B117 strain of Covid-19 and is pending further confirmatory tests.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/restaurant-worker-one-of-two-new-cases-in-community

2,500 entered S’pore via reciprocal green lanes and 2 tested positive
About 2,500 travellers arrived in Singapore via reciprocal green lanes from June 8 to Dec 25 last year, with two among them testing positive for Covid-19, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said. Some 835 of the travellers came from three Asean states – Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, he said in Parliament on Tuesday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/2500-entered-spore-via-reciprocal-green-lanes-and-2-tested-positive

Bunker tanker at centre of new cluster quarantined
NewOcean 6, a bunker tanker at the centre of Singapore’s latest Covid-19 cluster, has been quarantined and will cease all operations until further notice. The vessel, which is operated by Palmstone Tankers & Trading, will need to review all its procedures before it is allowed to resume operations, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/bunker-tanker-at-centre-of-new-cluster-quarantined

Get two shots within 21 to 28 days: WHO
People should get two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within 21 to 28 days, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, as many countries struggle to administer the jabs to ward off Covid-19 cases. Vaccines are seen as the best way out of the global health crisis. But with jabs in limited supply, the WHO has been examining how to use them effectively.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/get-two-shots-within-21-to-28-days-who
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/who-recommends-2-doses-of-pfizer-shot-within-21-to-28-days
*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