DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7th September 2018

Singapore Economy

HSR still holds out deals for firms with longer-term horizon
The postponement of the High Speed Rail (HSR) project would likely incur missed opportunities for infrastructure firms in the short-term, while pushing companies to take a long-term view when considering their plans for the Jurong Lake District. Economists that The Business Times spoke to said that there could be some impact from Malaysia and Singapore hitting pause on the project, though with the HSR delayed rather than cancelled, deals could still materialise over a longer time frame.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/hsr-still-holds-out-deals-for-firms-with-longer-term-horizon
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/delay-not-likely-to-affect-prices-of-property-say-experts

Singapore-KL high-speed rail deferment: Singapore agreed on deferment to show goodwill to neighbour
At a press conference after signing a new deal to defer the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project by nearly two years, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan noted on Wednesday that the original bilateral agreement inked in 2016 had no provision for a suspension.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-agreed-on-deferment-to-show-goodwill-to-neighbour

Singapore-KL high-speed rail deferment: Hitting pause button will allow KL to review project specifications
When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced plans to scrap the high-speed rail (HSR) to Singapore within days of returning to power, it was ostensibly because Malaysia could not afford to add to liabilities worth RM1.1 trillion (S$366 billion) his government claimed to have inherited from the hitherto long-ruling Barisan Nasional.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/hitting-pause-button-will-allow-kl-to-review-project-specifications
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/issues-at-play-in-projects-future

Singapore Real Estate

First study on impact of declining HDB leases seen leaving out too many factors
What’s said to be the first attempt to quantify the price impact of declining leases on HDB flats has drawn criticism that the study ignores too many of the factors that operate in the Singapore property market. The study by UrbanZoom, a homegrown artificial-intelligence-enabled research portal, found that HDB flats would depreciate, on average, 0.67 per cent per year across the first four decades as their leases run down.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/first-study-on-impact-of-declining-hdb-leases-seen-leaving-out-too-many-factors

Prices of HDB resale flats rise 0.1% in August
Resale prices of Housing Board flats rose 0.1 per cent in August from July, according to flash estimates released by real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday. August is the first full month since surprise measures aimed at cooling the private residential market took effect in early July. But it is also traditionally a quieter month, as it coincides with the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/prices-of-hdb-resale-flats-rise-01-in-august
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/prices-of-resale-hdb-flats-inch-up

Companies’ Brief

Keppel unit wins JTC deal for cooling system
Keppel Corp’s infrastructure arm has clinched a S$275,000 contract for the initial design phase of a new district cooling system plant in the Jurong Innovation District. The contract, awarded by JTC Corp to Keppel DHCS, could lead to a contract for the final phase of the project for a 30-year term to build, own and operate the plant if JTC approves it, Keppel said in a filing on Thursday during the market’s midday break. Keppel DHCS is wholly owned by Keppel Infrastructure, which is in turn wholly owned by Keppel Corp.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-unit-wins-jtc-deal-for-cooling-system
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-wins-initial-design-contract-for-cooling-system-plant-in-jurong-innovation

Ascendas Reit to place out 178 million units to raise S$450m
Ascendas Reit plans to raise gross proceeds of at least S$450 million through a private placement of 178 million new units at between S$2.528 and S$2.606 per unit. That represents a discount of between 3.65 to 6.53 per cent of the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of S$2.7047 per unit traded on Thursday. The issue price will be determined following a book-building process.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-to-place-out-178-million-units-to-raise-s450m
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-prices-s452m-placement-at-s254-per-unit-22-times-subscribed
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-launches-private-placement-to-raise-at-least-s450-million
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/ascendas-reit-raises-452m-with-private-placement-22-times-subscribed

Facebook to build S$1.4b data centre in Singapore, its first in Asia
Facebook will build a S$1.4 billion data centre in Singapore, its first such in Asia and its 15th in the world. To be located in Tanjong Kling (formerly known as Data Center Park), it will support “hundreds of jobs” and form part of Facebook’s growing presence in Singapore and the region, the company said on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups/facebook-to-build-s14b-data-centre-in-singapore-its-first-in-asia
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/facebook-to-build-14b-data-centre-here
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/hundreds-jobs-available-facebooks-s14-billion-facility-singapore-slated-open-2022

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Architects have the ability to inject sustainable goals into their building designs
The birth of new technologies that resemble figments of science fiction has changed the facets of human life and altered our behaviour. Climate change is an everyday reality and governments are bracing themselves for more acute environmental changes in the future. These two forces of change – one we embrace, the other we want to stop – have made tremendous impact on the architecture, engineering and construction industry, including the way architects design.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/architects-have-the-ability-to-inject-sustainable-goals-into-their-building-designs

Flexibility needed for minority-race flat owners
The Housing Board’s Ethnic Integration Policy has been a good way to ensure diversity in heartland estates and prevent the formation of ethnic enclaves. However, as HDB estates mature, minority-race flat owners, such as Indians and Malays, will find it difficult to find another Indian or Malay buyer. The critical mass of this small group of potential buyers is just not there.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/flexibility-needed-for-minority-race-flat-owners