DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7th Jun 2018

Singapore Economy

Co-working spaces to help EDB match talent, attract foreign firms/
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is in discussions with co-working spaces here, including US co-working giant WeWork, to explore partnerships to help Singapore better talent match in technology fields and bring more companies to set up shop here. Assistant managing director at EDB Kiren Kumar said this at the official opening of WeWork’s second space here at 71 Robinson Road on Wednesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/co-working-spaces-to-help-edb-match-talent-attract-foreign-firms
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/using-co-working-spaces-to-match-talent

MAS asks Malaysian regulator to clarify position
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has asked the Malaysian regulator to clarify its position on the planned share-trading link after the announcement from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday that the project is being studied. MAS and Securities Commission Malaysia had said in February that they would work together to set up a stock market trading link by the end of the year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mas-asks-malaysian-regulator-to-clarify-position
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mas-asks-malaysia-clarify-position-stock-market-trading-link-10398174
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/kl-to-relook-plan-for-trading-link-with-spore

US-China trade war could destabilise global economy: Heng Swee Keat
While serious thinkers in the United States and China appreciate the potential impact and implications of a trade war between the two countries, the danger is if either side makes a miscalculation, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said. This could have dire consequences, destabilising the global economy, and have an unpredictable impact on financial markets.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/trade-war-could-destabilise-global-economy-heng
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/us-china-trade-war-and-its-impact-on-the-global-economy-heng-10400026

Sentosa businesses, residents prepare for inconveniences during Trump-Kim summit
As Singapore prepares to ramp up security on Sentosa Island ahead of Tuesday’s historic summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, some of those who live, work and operate tours on the resort island say they are concerned about how the security arrangements will affect them. Businesses said that June is the beginning of the peak period for Sentosa, which attracts some 19 million visitors annually.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sentosa-businesses-residents-prepare-for-inconveniences
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/business-as-usual-sentosa-during-trump-kim-summit-10398926
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/amid-uncertainty-businesses-and-hotels-gear-historic-summit

Singapore relooking road rules to allow for self-driving vehicles
Singapore: As Singapore drives towards a future with autonomous vehicles (AVs), the Ministry of Transport is starting to look at how road rules can be extended to self-driven vehicles in the future. Mr Chris Leck, director of the Futures Division at the ministry said on Wednesday (Jun 6) that those working on AVs are “quite aware” of the need to address issues like who has right of way during a situation between a human driver and an autonomous system.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/self-driving-cars-road-rules-singapore-mot-10397586

Singapore Real Estate

Three freehold plots up for sale
Three freehold plots, two of which are in prime districts, have been launched for sale, adding to the buffet of choice sites that developers looking to grow their landbanks can pick from. Elizabeth Towers, the largest of the three, is a high-rise residential redevelopment in Mount Elizabeth in District 9 with a reserve price of S$610 million, which translates to a land rate of approximately S$2,416 per square foot per plot ratio.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/three-freehold-plots-up-for-sale

FEC International buys Royal Oak Residence for S$93m
Hot on the heels of other recent property dealings here in the prime district, Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium International (FEC) has just acquired 21 Anderson Royal Oak Residence after about two years of entertaining offers. FEC’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Advance Delight Global Limited has agreed to purchase all of the issued and paid-up capital of Highest Reach Investments Limited, which owns through subsidiaries the freehold, 34-unit site at 21 Anderson Road, it said on Wednesday in a statement.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fec-international-buys-royal-oak-residence-for-s93m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hk-listed-fec-acquires-singapore-property

Resident sues condominium developer for negligence after e-scooter fall
An injured e-scooter rider’s legal suit against a condo developer could lead to the introduction of a regime of rules for the use of such mobility devices in condominiums. In the High Court case, Briton John Curtis, who lived at The Glyndebourne in Trevose Crescent at the time, is suing its developer for negligence after the e-scooter he rode on Jan 31, 2015, hit an allegedly unmarked elevated ledge on the ground of the basement carpark. It happened at about 6.30pm.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/resident-sues-developer-of-condo-after-e-scooter-fall

Companies’ Brief

Ascendas-Singbridge, Temasek to invest 20b rupees in Indian logistics, industrial centres
Ascendas-Singbridge and principal investor Temasek will together invest some 20 billion rupees (S$398.24 million) in projects in warehousing and manufacturing hubs in the key Indian cities of Mumbai, National Capital Region, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, among others.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/ascendas-singbridge-temasek-to-invest-20b-rupees-in-indian-logistics-industrial-centres
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascendas-singbridge-temasek-in-398m-tie-up

Shares in Thailand’s Minor jump on debt financing plan for NH Hotel dea
Shares in Minor International Pcl surged on Wednesday after it said it would look to debt financing for its takeover bid for NH Hotels – a deal valuing the Spanish chain at up to 2.5 billion euros (S$3.9 billion). The proposed purchase would be Thailand’s largest overseas hospitality deal and would give the acquisitive firm hotels with scale and presence in “hard-to-enter” cities across Spain, Benelux, Central Europe and Italy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/shares-in-thailands-minor-jump-on-debt-financing-plan-for-nh-hotel-deal

Deal for Raffles Education to sell Australia property for A$82m falls through
An A$82 million (S$83.5 million) deal Raffles Education entered into on April 16 with Australia’s Propertylink for the sale of a six-storey commercial building in Parramatta in New South Wales has fallen through as both parties were unable to reach an agreement over the terms of the sale. The said property is currently being leased out to Raffles Education’s subsidiary, Raffles College.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/deal-for-raffles-education-to-sell-australia-property-for-a82m-falls-through
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/thailands-minor-plans-39b-takeover-bid-for-nh-hotels

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

More supply, rule change needed to solve executive condo crunch
The executive condominium (EC) market is experiencing a supply crunch at a time when the sandwiched class of home buyers – which this property class caters to – could use some help. The government minted this public-private housing hybrid in the 1990s to cater to households whose monthly incomes are too high to qualify them to buy a new Housing and Development Board flat but who find a private home purchase out of reach.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/more-supply-rule-change-needed-to-solve-executive-condo-crunch

KL should also consider benefits of the HSR
It is premature to tie the fortunes of the Jurong Lake District so closely with the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) line (Jurong Lake District may be affected by scrapping of HSR; May 29). A world-leading precinct for high technology research, incubation and advanced manufacturing could rise from the district over the next decades, with or without the HSR.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/kl-should-also-consider-benefits-of-the-hsr