DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7 Jul 2020 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Two freehold industrial properties for sale
Two industrial properties – a warehouse at 12 Tagore Drive and two strata units at 205 Henderson Road – are going up for sale, with indicative prices of S$55 million and about S$8 million respectively. The properties will be put up for sale via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise on Tuesday, marketing agent Colliers International said in a statement on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-freehold-industrial-properties-for-sale

Springleaf Tower’s level 22 office floor up for sale with guide price of over S$26m
An entire office floor on level 22 of Springleaf Tower is up for sale via expression of interest with a guide price in excess of S$26 million, sole marketing agent Savills Singapore said on Monday. The renovated office floor has a strata area of about 10,527 square feet, and will be sold on a vacant possession basis. It comes with exclusive use of the lift lobby, pantry and restrooms.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/springleaf-towers-level-22-office-floor-up-for-sale-with-guide-price-of-over-s26m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/springleaf-tower-floor-for-sale-at-over-26m

Singapore Economy

Singapore finds staycations can’t fill $27.7 billion tourism hole
Residents of Singapore, a city-state smaller than New York City, have few such options, presenting a massive problem for its battered tourism industry. With borders closed to foreigners, hotels and tourist attractions need to count on “staycationers” to plug the gap in an industry that brought in almost US$20 billion (S$27.7 billion) in revenue last year. It’s a tall order.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-finds-staycations-cant-fill-277-billion-tourism-hole
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-finds-staycations-cant-fill-us20b-tourism-hole

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand expects H1 operating patmi to fall 25-35 per cent
CapitaLand expects its first half-year net profit to be “materially and adversely” affected, based on preliminary estimates. Operating patmi – which refers to profit from business operations excluding any gains or losses from divestments, revaluations and impairments…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-expects-h1-operating-patmi-to-fall-25-35-per-cent
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-expects-drop-in-half-year-profits

Geberit’s quarterly sales drop as pandemic hammers construction sector
[Zurich] Swiss plumbing supplies company Geberit on Monday reported a 15.9 per cent drop in second-quarter sales and did not provide an annual outlook as construction activity declined during the coronavirus pandemic. Geberit, whose products are used in new construction and renovation projects, is seen as an indicator for the broader construction sector.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/geberits-quarterly-sales-drop-as-pandemic-hammers-construction-sector

Maybank KE positive on Malaysia’s 4D operators
Maybank Kim Eng has remained positive on Malaysia’s number forecast operators (NFOs), maintaining “buy” calls on Magnum and Berjaya Sports Toto, which are both listed on Bursa Malaysia. It has a target price of RM2.51 for Magnum, which closed at RM2.25, up two sen or 0.9 per cent, as at 12.23pm on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/maybank-ke-positive-on-malaysias-4d-operators

Staycation reopening a plus for hospitality S-Reits: DBS
DBS Group Research on Monday said the reopening of hotels for staycations in Singapore will be positive for all hoteliers in the Republic, including Ascott Residence Trust and Frasers Hospitality Trust.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/staycation-reopening-a-plus-for-hospitality-s-reits-dbs

United Hampshire US Reit collected 80% of base rents from retail tenants in June
United Hampshire US Real Estate Investment Trust (United Hampshire US Reit) on Monday said it collected around 80 per cent of base rents from retail tenants in June. It collected around 77 per cent of base rents in May, and 82 per cent in April.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/united-hampshire-us-reit-collected-80-of-base-rents-from-retail-tenants-in-june

Yanlord records 29.8b yuan in property pre-sales
Chinese property developer Yanlord Land Group recorded 29.8 billion yuan (S$6 billion) in total contracted pre-sales from residential units, commercial units and car parks in the first half of the year, a 65 per cent increase from the previous year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlord-records-298b-yuan-in-property-pre-sales
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-stock-watch-yanlord-land-hi-p-ara-logos-logistics-trust-united

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Keeping global supply chains open
As the only two advanced small nations in the Asia-Pacific, there has always been strong economic complementarity between New Zealand and Singapore. Their ties also encompass defence, cyber security, education and tourism. New Zealand pilots were involved in the defence of Singapore during World War II and, until 1989, New Zealand, which like Singapore is part of the Five-Power Defence Arrangement, even had an infantry battalion and air units stationed here.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/keeping-global-supply-chains-open

Navigating supply chain disruptions for banks
Banks need to enhance their digital capabilities so that firms can quickly receive trade financing support, without the need for physical interaction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/navigating-supply-chain-disruptions-for-banks

US Big Tech builds appetite for startup pie in South-east Asia
US tech giants have made some recent high-profile investments into South-east Asian startups, the latest being Google’s plans to join Indonesian e-commerce player Tokopedia’s funding round, which aims to raise US$500 million to US$1 billion. Whether these investments will turn into proxy wars – as it has with Chinese tech majors – is still a question up for debate.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/us-big-tech-builds-appetite-for-startup-pie-in-south-east-asia

AMTD Digital eyes controlling stake in Singapore fintech FOMO Pay
AMTD Digital is looking to acquire a controlling stake in Singapore-based one-stop Quick Response (QR) code payment aggregator and payment gateway provider FOMO Pay, the two companies announced in a joint statement on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/amtd-digital-eyes-controlling-stake-in-singapore-fintech-fomo-pay

Oil edges higher as traders weigh supply against virus impact
OIL edged higher in London to trade above US$43 a barrel as investors weighed tightening crude supplies and robust US economic data against surging coronavirus infections. Brent rose 1.1 per cent after climbing 4.3 per cent last week. Libya’s oil exports are expected to fall this month as forces opposed to the government continue to block shipments…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/oil-edges-higher-as-traders-weigh-supply-against-virus-impact

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Covid-19 patients visited Jewel, Orchard Road malls while infectious
Several malls in Orchard Road as well as Jewel Changi Airport are among places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. More than 20 locations, including malls such as Plaza Singapura, Ion Orchard and Tang Plaza, were added to the MOH online list of locations that Covid-19 patients have visited for at least 30 minutes.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/covid-19-patients-visited-jewel-orchard-road-malls-while-infectious

NCID studying to see if coronavirus naturally airborne
The National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) is carrying out a study to determine if the coronavirus is naturally airborne, and infectious in such a form. But even if it is, the current measures in place here would be sufficient to reduce transmission rates, NCID senior consultant Kalisvar Marimuthu said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/ncid-studying-to-see-if-virus-naturally-airborne

Another coronavirus will hit humans within a decade, warns expert
Covid-19 is the third coronavirus to jump from animals to humans, but it will not be the last, warns Professor Wang Linfa, director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/another-coronavirus-will-hit-humans-within-a-decade-warns-expert

Coronavirus: Contact tracing app update fixes battery drain in iPhones
An app update rolled out at the weekend allows TraceTogether to run in the background on iPhones to exchange Bluetooth “handshakes” with nearby devices for contact tracing. Previously, the app had to run in the foreground, which drained the battery and meant users could not use their handsets for anything else. Android devices do not face the same issue.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/contact-tracing-app-update-fixes-battery-drain-in-iphones
*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