DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 8 February 2022 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Will Singapore levy a property-related ‘wealth tax’ at Budget 2022?
Some form of wealth tax looks to be on the cards at Singapore’s upcoming Budget 2022, and watchers believe it is likely to be related to property. “An expansion of the existing scope of stamp duty and property tax may also be a feasible option given that a large proportion of wealth is in the form of real estate,” said See Wei Hwa, tax partner at KPMG Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/will-singapore-levy-a-property-related-wealth-tax-at-budget-2022

Cooling measures won’t stop wealth creation through owning homes but do combat inequality
Financial inequality can stem from disparity in wages and wealth among people. Tools to combat the former can include raising wages of lower-wage workers, curbing excessive pay of top management, and ensuring progressiveness in income tax.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cooling-measures-wont-stop-wealth-creation-through-owning-homes-but-do-combat-inequality

Singapore Economy

Upcoming GST hike seen as key to improving fiscal sustainability
At least 3 forms of taxes could come under focus at Singapore’s upcoming Budget 2022, as the government is likely to make fiscal sustainability a top priority after it spent the last 2 years containing the economic fallout from Covid-19, watchers said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/upcoming-gst-hike-seen-as-key-to-improving-fiscal-sustainability

Budget 2022 statement to be delivered at 3.30pm on Feb 18 by Lawrence Wong
Singapore – Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will deliver Singapore’s Budget 2022 statement on Feb 18 in Parliament at 3.30pm. The Straits Times will offer live coverage of the announcements as they are delivered in Parliament.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/budget-2022-statement-to-be-delivered-on-feb-18-by-lawrence-wong

Companies’ Brief

Hotel Grand Central to sell office building in Australia for A$80.8 million
Hotel Grand Central (HGC) has reached an agreement to sell an office building in Melbourne for A$80.8 million (S$77.1 million), it said on Monday (Feb 7). The property was purchased in 2013, with a 7-year lease to the then-vendor, Victoria University, for A$51.45 million (including stamp duty).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hotel-grand-central-to-sell-office-building-in-australia-for-a808-million

Keppel Corp names inaugural chief digital officer and chief sustainability officer
Keppel Corporation on Monday (Feb 7) announced 2 new leadership appointments to drive digital transformation and sustainability. Manjot Singh Mann, chief executive of telco M1, will take on the role of chief digital officer to lead the group’s digital strategy, while Keppel’s current director of group corporate communications Ho Tong Yen will be appointed chief sustainability officer.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-corp-names-inaugural-chief-digital-officer-and-chief-sustainability-officer

Covid-19 had ‘no material impact’ on FLCT’s portfolio despite challenges to retail segment
The Covid-19 pandemic has dented Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust’s (FLCT) distributable income by about S$0.2 million for Q1 2022, but this has not been material to the real estate investment trust (Reit), said its manager in a business update on Monday (Feb 7).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/covid-19-had-no-material-impact-on-flcts-portfolio-despite-challenges-to-retail

Spooked by rate-hike fears, S-Reit sell-off could offer opportunity to dive in
Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) have suffered a scathing sell-off so far in 2022, as fears over impending US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes loom. But could the run on Reits have been grossly overdone?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/wealth-investing/spooked-by-rate-hike-fears-s-reit-sell-off-could-offer
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/s-reits-in-favour-despite-rate-hikes-ahead

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

What must organisations do when collecting, using or disclosing personal data?
Singapore – More than $2.68 million in fines has been collected by Singapore’s privacy watchdog from entities found to have breached the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) over the past six years.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/tech-news/what-must-organisations-do-when-collecting-using-or-disclosing-personal-data-0

Working from home: How to stay secure online
Singapore – The recent spate of scams targeting bank users in Singapore underscores how cybercrime is a real danger that we cannot take lightly. But working from home and accessing work resources on home networks invariably raises cyber-security risks, as we go about our jobs cloistered far from the safe harbour of the office network and without easy access to the IT department.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/tech-news/working-from-home-how-to-stay-secure-online-0

Gearing up for the new hybrid work norm
Singapore – With the start of the new year, organisations are paying attention to hybrid work again as many employees find themselves working partly from home and partly in the office.
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/tech-news/gearing-up-for-the-new-hybrid-work-norm-0

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

7,629 new local Covid-19 cases in Singapore; 1,165 patients hospitalised
Singapore – There were 91 more patients hospitalised with Covid-19 on Monday (Feb 7), bringing the number to 1,165, from 1,074 the day before. However, the number of new locally transmitted cases fell to 7,629 from 7,639 the day before, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/7629-new-local-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-1165-patients-hospitalised

*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