DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 8th June 2018

Top Story

Better sales likely despite dismal June launches
The availability of options from upcoming property launches in District 19 this year and benchmark pricing may have caused a slow-down in purchases last weekend. Of course, one should not rule out the effect of the school holidays on the subdued take-up rates at the latest property launches. The market may also be finding it hard to digest simultaneous launches of large projects in the same weekend.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/better-sales-likely-despite-dismal-june-launches

Singapore Economy

Singapore tops global survey on safety
Some 94 per cent of adult Singaporeans feel safe walking alone at night, compared with the global average of 68 per cent, according to a global study by research firm Gallup. The results showed that Singaporeans feel safer than residents of any other place in the world, putting the Republic on top of the Law and Order Index, ahead of Norway, Iceland and Finland. Hong Kong and Uzbekistan are joint fifth.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-tops-global-survey-on-safety

More opportunities for SMEs as Singapore Government reveals multi-billion-dollar IT spending plan
Singapore: There are opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to be had as the Singapore Government revealed a S$2.4 billion to S$2.6 billion IT spending budget for the new financial year.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-opportunities-for-smes-as-singapore-government-reveals-10401548
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/govt-award-s26b-ict-contracts-march-2019

Singapore Real Estate

House-price inflation in Asia ‘under control’
Cooling measures and an accommodative monetary policy have helped to control house-price inflation in Singapore among other Asia-Pacific nations, a housing report published by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) on Thursday has found. The study noted that mortgage credit expanded across the region, albeit at a slower pace compared to six months ago, while monetary policy remains highly accommodative – which has lowered mortgage interest rates, and eased mortgage financing conditions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/house-price-inflation-in-asia-under-control
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/regions-residential-property-sectors-still-resilient-report

May resale prices for flats dip 1.8% y-o-y: SRX
Resale prices of Housing Board flats rose 0.5 per cent in May from April, according to flash estimates released by real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday. Prices in May have dipped 1.8 per cent from the same month last year, and are down 13.1 per cent since the peak in April 2013.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/may-resale-prices-for-flats-dip-18-y-o-y-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hdb-resale-prices-rise-05-in-may-from-april-volume-slips-53-srx
https://www.srx.com.sg/research/48712/hdb-resale-prices-increase-by-05-volume-slips-down-by-53

Singapore ‘will be top urban real estate market in Asean, regardless of Obor’
The recent cancellations of several mega-projects in Malaysia, including the high-speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and the China-backed East Coast Rail Link, have not derailed China’s One Belt, One Road (Obor) project. This is according to a research report by Andrew Haskins, Colliers International’s executive director of research, released on Thursday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-will-be-top-urban-real-estate-market-in-asean-regardless-of-obor

Low Keng Huat buys 3 plots in Cairnhill for S$100m
Singapore-listed property developer Low Keng Huat on Thursday said its subsidiary Glopeak Development has entered into an agreement for the purchase of 67 Cairnhill Road and two adjacent plots – lots 836C and 844T of Town Subdivision 27 – for S$100 million. The freehold site has a land area of 1,839.5 sq m, or 19,800 sq ft, is zoned for residential use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2014 Master Plan and has an allowable gross plot ratio of 2.8 times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/low-keng-huat-buys-3-plots-in-cairnhill-for-s100m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/low-keng-huat-unit-in-deal-to-buy-site-in-cairnhill

Companies’ Brief

Sembcorp, Ascendas-Singbridge formalise agreements to develop Andhra Pradesh capital
A shareholders agreement for a joint venture company between a Sembcorp and Ascendas-Singbridge consortium, and the Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC), has been finalised for the development of a 684-hectare startup area in Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sembcorp-ascendas-singbridge-formalise-agreements-to-develop-andhra-pradesh

WCG to net A$147m in Australia sales proceeds
Singapore-headquartered property group World Class Global (WCG) expects to recognise A$147.3 million (S$150.1 million) in sales proceeds from the first-phase handover of its Australia 108 skyscraper residence in Melbourne, subject to the settlement by purchasers of 277 completed residential units in the development.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wcg-to-net-a147m-in-australia-sales-proceeds

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Beyond a new CEO, a reset for CapitaLand?
Capitaland’s announcement last Friday evening that its president and group chief executive officer Lim Ming Yan would be retiring at the end of this year surprised quite a few in the market. BT’s check with equity analysts covering the company drew few comments. However, some sources suggest that Mr Lim could have come under pressure from the board over the returns that the group has been generating, including the vital metric of return on equity (ROE).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/beyond-a-new-ceo-a-reset-for-capitaland

Smart tech poised to make cities cleaner and safer
Cities could save hundreds of lives and lower carbon emissions by using smart technologies such as real-time crime mapping and intelligent traffic signalling, researchers said on Thursday. Cutting-edge tools would help lower crime rates, commuter times and fatalities, said the report by the McKinsey Global Institute analysing the use of smart technologies in 50 cities worldwide.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/smart-tech-poised-to-make-cities-cleaner-and-safer

Experts sketch benefits of building ‘Digital Silk Road’
People think the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is all about building physical infrastructure, such as roads and ports. Few are aware of the importance of information technology in this ambitious plan. Technologies from data analytics to artificial intelligence play a big role in how industries develop, experts told a BRI forum here yesterday, as they made a case for the growing importance of this digital dimension of the BRI.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/experts-sketch-benefits-of-building-digital-silk-road

Unrealistic to expect bailout for older flats
With the increasing number of properties with a shorter lease balance, there have been calls from certain quarters for the Government to intervene (Grappling with issue of ageing HDB flat leases, June 5; Clarity on HDB leases needed for retirement planning, by Ms Cindy Tan, May 22; and Seniors facing problems selling old flats, by Mr Ronnie Lim Ah Bee, April 3). All buyers of Housing Board flats or leasehold private properties are made aware, prior to signing the purchase agreement, that upon expiry of the lease, the land reverts to the state.
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/unrealistic-to-expect-bailout-for-older-flats