DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7th June 2017

Top Story

Masterplan details for Punggol North to be fleshed out towards end-2017
JTC Corporation will be fleshing out more details of its masterplan for Punggol North towards the end of this year, and more details on the Jurong Innovation District (JID) next year. These are among key projects where the government is hoping to catalyse new growth areas, test innovations and co-locate complementary activities and services. Such new districts could attract existing companies here that wish to transform themselves as well as new entrants, JTC’s development group assistant CEO David Tan told The Business Times.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/masterplan-details-for-punggol-north-to-be-fleshed-out-towards-end-2017

Singapore Economy

Singapore business confidence for Q3 up, but shaky
Business confidence in Singapore improved for a second straight quarter, but sentiment is still shaky among certain sectors, a private-sector survey has found. Notably, the respondents think they can sell more and rake in more profits over the next few months, after having expected dismal performances in this and the last quarter. The Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) Business Optimism Index (BOI) survey, conducted every quarter, polls 200 business owners and senior executives on whether they expect increases, decreases or no changes in six areas (such as sales, profits and employment) in the coming quarter.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-business-confidence-for-q3-up-but-shaky
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/local-business-confidence-improves-for-the-2nd-straight-quarter-despite-downside
http://www.todayonline.com/business/business-sentiment-continues-rise-firms-most-optimistic-2-years

IE Singapore to offer more overseas workshops to SMEs
IE Singapore has tied up with two new partners to organise more in-market workshops for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia. The new partners are Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Human Capital Singapore, joining current partners Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ie-singapore-to-offer-more-overseas-workshops-to-smes
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/more-ie-workshops-focusing-on-s-e-asia

Singapore Real Estate

Scheme to ensure good project managers
The Society of Project Managers (SPM) yesterday launched an Accreditation of Project Managers (APM) scheme, with the aim of standardising what it means to be a project manager in the built environment industry. This is in response to more people claiming to be project managers, without having sufficient experience or education, to the detriment of those who hire them, said SPM.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/scheme-to-ensure-good-project-managers

Drop in number of construction worksite deaths
The construction sector saw one workplace death in the first five months of this year, down from an average of six deaths per quarter last year. There were 24 workplace deaths in the sector last year, 17 of which occurred in the first six months of the year. The sole death this year happened in March, when a worker was hit by a steel plate at a construction site near Changi Airport.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/drop-in-number-of-construction-worksite-deaths?login=true
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/deaths-construction-sites-fall-q1-more-can-be-done

Self-storage sector still packing them in
Investors are piling into the local self-storage sector, which is enjoying strong growth, thanks to increasing affluence and higher population density, said property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle. It noted in a report yesterday that yields on local self-storage facilities – they range from 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent – are more attractive than other traditional, higher-priced assets such as offices. The self-storage industry is relatively young in Asia but is becoming more prevalent, given the region’s crowded cites, higher home prices and increased affluence.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/self-storage-sector-still-packing-them-in

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Logistics acquiring seven Aussie properties for A$169.3m
Taking advantage of three growing industrial markets in Australia, Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) is making its first portfolio acquisition of seven industrial properties there for approximately A$169.3 million. The portfolio, which comprises four completed properties and three properties under development, has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 9.6 years. All properties are 100 per cent leased or pre-committed.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/frasers-logistics-acquiring-seven-aussie-properties-for-a1693m
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/flt-to-buy-seven-aussie-properties-for-175m

Straits Trading buys stake in Sydney office building for A$119m
A unit of The Straits Trading Company Limited is acquiring a stake in an office building in Sydney, Australia, in line with its capital redeployment strategy, the group announced on Tuesday. The diversified investment company with interests in real estate, hospitality and resources is investing about A$119.0 million (about S$122.7 million) for a share of the property located at 320 Pitt Street through its subsidiary Straits Real Estate, and will be funded by internal resources and bank borrowings.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/straits-trading-buys-stake-in-sydney-office-building-for-a119m

Lian Beng-led consortium might be nearing exit from Prudential Tower
A consortium led by Lian Beng Group which bought Keppel Reit’s space in Prudential Tower near Raffles Place MRT Station in 2014, seems to be nearing an exit from its investment in the building. Epic Land Pte Ltd, in which Lian Beng owns a 32 per cent stake, has just put up for sale the sole retail unit in the 30-storey office building – a space of 5,715 square feet at street level – for sale through a tender. The guide price is S$20.8 million, which works out to S$3,639 per sq ft (psf), said CBRE, which is handling the tender that will close on July 11.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/lian-beng-led-consortium-might-be-nearing-exit-from-prudential-tower

CapitaLand eyes doubling of AUM in Japan to S$5b
CapitaLand Limited said it sees potential to grow its assets under management (AUM) in Japan to S$5 billion, doubling from its AUM of over S$2.5 billion as at March 31. This will be achieved by exploring opportunities across asset classes, including tapping various capital sources and third-party assets, said Lim Ming Yan, president and group CEO of CapitaLand. “CapitaLand’s continual effort to reconstitute and optimise our portfolio in Japan is taking shape,” Mr Lim added.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/capitaland-eyes-doubling-of-aum-in-japan-to-s5b
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/capitaland-looking-forward-to-more-happi-opportunities?login=true

Wing Tai unit disposing of Winnamax Investment for S$270.8m
Wing Tai Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary, Wing Tai China, has entered into a deal to dispose of its 100 per cent interest in the issued share capital of and shareholders’ loans to Winnamax Investment. The deal, worth S$270.8 million, was agreed with Xu Chang Co, the group said in a filing to the local bourse.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wing-tai-unit-disposing-of-winnamax-investment-for-s2708m

Aspial’s property arm to raise S$21.9m net proceeds from Catalist spinoff
The property development arm of Aspial Corp is expecting to raise net proceeds of about S$21.9 million from a Catalist initial public offering (IPO) spinoff via World Class Global (WCG), its offer document on Tuesday showed. The 136 million invitation shares comprise 3.98 million shares to be offered to the public, and 132.02 million shares to be placed out, with shares of both tranches priced at S$0.26 apiece.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/aspials-property-arm-to-raise-s219m-net-proceeds-from-catalist-spinoff
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/aspial-spin-off-world-class-global-to-debut-on-june-15-0

Astaka Holdings tops off S-E Asia’s tallest residential towers
SGX Catalist-listed Astaka Holdings on Tuesday announced the completion of the building structure for its twin residential towers at the One Bukit Senyum township in Johor, Malaysia. Astaka Holdings is a Malaysia-based integrated property developer.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/astaka-holdings-tops-off-s-e-asias-tallest-residential-towers

AXA IM seeking to raise AUM for ‘alternative real estate’
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM), the fund house of French insurer AXA, is looking to raise its assets under management (AUM) for “alternative real estate” from the current US$3.5 billion to about US$5-6 billion globally over the next two years. Alternative real estate is used to describe what is less commonly seen as investible real estate such as student housing, healthcare assets, hospitality and data centres.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/axa-im-seeking-to-raise-aum-for-alternative-real-estate

Ayala Corp’s tip for business longevity
The head honcho of a 183-year-old Philippine family business-turned-diversified corporation has this one takeaway to offer for business longevity – keep family-related issues separate from business-related ones. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, the chairman and chief executive of Ayala Corporation, which goes back seven generations of Ayalas, said: “Because the moment those two things are mixed in a corporate setting – you don’t differentiate them – it is a recipe for problems later on.”
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ayala-corps-tip-for-business-longevity

Views, Reviews & Forum

China’s Belt and Road Initiative augurs well for Singapore, Asia
Last month, I had the privilege of attending the “Belt and Road” forum in Beijing, China’s biggest diplomatic event this year. The summit gathered heads of 29 nations, over 60 international organisations including the IMF and World Bank, and many private organisations. Since that gathering, much ink has been spilt on what One Belt One Road, since renamed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), augurs for Asia and the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, reactions have been mixed, with supporters applauding China’s leadership in an increasingly inward-looking world and detractors concerned about its growing influence and hegemonic ambitions.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-augurs-well-for-singapore-asia

Home owners alerted amid spike in cases of fallen windows
There were 28 cases of fallen windows in the first five months of this year, almost double that in the same period last year. No injuries resulted from these cases. Last year, there were 16 such cases in the first five months. This year’s figure is higher than the last five years’ average of 24 cases.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/home-owners-alerted-amid-spike-in-cases-of-fallen-windows?login=true