DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 8 Sep 2020 (Tue)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore condo resale volume hits two-year high in Aug: SRX
Resale volume of non-landed private homes in Singapore hit a two-year high in August 2020, with an estimated 1,052 units resold in the month, up 7 per cent from the 983 units resold in July 2020. Overall resale prices edged up 0.4 per cent month on month and year on year, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-volume-hits-two-year-high-in-aug-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-condo-resale-volume-hits-2-year-high-in-august-srx

Singapore investors snapping up Australia commercial properties despite pandemic
Singapore investors poured a total of A$1.2 billion (S$1.19 billion) into Australian commercial real estate in the first half of 2020, higher than the same period last year, according to Cushman & Wakefield data. It was A$972 million in H1 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-investors-snapping-up-australia-commercial-properties-despite-pandemic

Navigating the shifts in commercial landlord-tenant dynamics
The Singapore office market has steadily shifted from a landlord-friendly to a neutral tenant-friendly market as leasing activity continues to soften. It joins several other markets across the Asia Pacific region which have now become more tenant-friendly. What has changed in the Singapore commercial leasing market that has led to the shift?
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/navigating-the-shifts-in-commercial-landlord-tenant-dynamics

Singapore Economy

Private-sector economists lower full-year growth forecast to -6%
Private-sector economists now expect Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 6 per cent this year, worsening slightly from earlier expectations of a 5.8 per cent fall, according to the latest quarterly Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) survey of professional forecasters released on Monday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/private-sector-economists-lower-full-year-growth-forecast-to-6
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/economy-tipped-to-shrink-6-this-year

Employment expectations for Q4 worsen among businesses in Singapore
Employment expectations among businesses in Singapore have taken a turn for the worse for the last quarter of this year, while the overall business sentiment remains downbeat. On Tuesday, the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau’s (SCCB) latest quarterly survey of 200 business owners and senior executives showed the indicator for employment expectations declining to -13.19 percentage points in Q4, from -3.29 percentage points in the previous quarter. That level of sentiment is also the most negative for 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/employment-expectations-for-q4-worsen-among-businesses-in-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/employment-outlook-for-q4-worsens-for-businesses-in-singapore-survey

Job policies seen as key to supporting re-hiring, even as layoffs re-entry rate holds up
Residents’ hiring prospects held up in Singapore in the first half of the year, despite the Covid-19 downturn. But the time that it takes for retrenched workers to land on their feet will depend in the months ahead on both the path of the virus outbreak and job support from government measures, watchers remarked.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/job-policies-seen-as-key-to-supporting-re-hiring-even-as-layoffs-re-entry-rate

Tourism spillover from Mice restart will be minimal: analysts
Singapore will allow meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) events from October, with the attendance cap raised to 250, from the previous limit of 50 people. The reopening of the Mice sector, which contributed close to 1 per cent of gross domestic product before the coronavirus crisis, was pitched by policy-makers on Monday as critical to Singapore’s economic well-being.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/tourism-spillover-from-mice-restart-will-be-minimal-analysts
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-to-allow-bigger-mice-events-with-up-to-250-people
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/industry-players-welcome-move-to-restart-mice-sector

Events firm regained 50% of lost revenue with hybrid model
After the coronavirus pandemic hit, about 70 per cent of the contracted projects managed by events company MICE Depot had to be either reworked, delayed or cancelled. Of this number, one in five was an event involving overseas visitors, said company director Francis Tan.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/events-firm-regained-50-of-lost-revenue-with-hybrid-model

2 in 5 workers retrenched in Q1 found jobs by June: MOM
Retrenched workers in Singapore were able to find jobs despite weaker hiring sentiments, according to a survey released yesterday by the Manpower Ministry (MOM). Thirty-nine per cent of workers who were laid off in the first quarter of this year were able to find jobs by June. In 2018, 47 per cent of workers retrenched in the first quarter had found jobs by June that year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/2-in-5-workers-retrenched-in-q1-found-jobs-by-june-mom
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/companies-continued-to-hire-in-q2-but-at-slower-pace-mom

Companies’ Brief

HSBC Life Singapore appoints CIO, chief product officer
HSBC Life Singapore on Monday said it has appointed senior executives Philip Pang and How Chee Koon as chief investment officer (CIO) and chief product officer respectively. The appointments will further support the growth of HSBC’s insurance business in Singapore as it increases its manufacturing and distribution activities locally, it added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/hsbc-life-singapore-appoints-cio-chief-product-officer-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/hsbc-life-singapore-appoints-cio-chief-product-officer-0

Keppel Reit to issue S$150m 3.15% subordinated perps
Keppel Reit’s trustee has priced S$150 million of fixed-rate subordinated perpetual securities at 3.15 per cent, the real estate investment trust (Reit) manager announced late on Monday night. The new perps are expected to be issued on Sept 11 at par, and expected to be listed on the Singapore bourse on, or about Sept 14, the Reit manager said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-reit-to-issue-s150m-315-subordinated-perps

Samsung Elec wins US$6.6b Verizon order for network equipment
Samsung Electronics said on Monday that it has clinched a US$6.64 billion order to provide wireless communication solutions to Verizon in the United States, a major win for the South Korean firm in the next-generation 5G network market. Samsung’s global prospects for its network business have improved following US sanctions on its bigger rival Huawei, analysts said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/samsung-elec-wins-us66b-verizon-order-for-network-equipment
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/samsung-wins-9b-verizon-deal-to-supply-5g-network-solutions

Yanlord’s contracted pre-sales more than double to 12.03b yuan in August
Real estate developer Yanlord Land Group saw its contracted pre-sales from residential and commercial units as well as car parks more than double to 12.03 billion yuan (S$2.41 billion) in August, from 4.81 billion yuan a year ago.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/yanlords-contracted-pre-sales-more-than-double-to-1203b-yuan-in-august

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Price transparency guidelines to fight misleading practices kick in from Nov 1
In a move to protect shoppers from being misled, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has issued a set of guidelines to stamp out fake discounts and free offers as well as add-on fees in advertisements by businesses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/price-transparency-guidelines-to-fight-misleading-practices-kick-in-from-nov-1
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/guidelines-on-pricing-practices-to-kick-in-on-nov-1
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer-protection-laws-under-review-to-provide-more-teeth

Singapore must stay open to talent to keep discovering its future
Without meaning to do so, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) provided a glimpse at what the current focus on curbing the number of foreigners in Singapore really means when it commented on the big retrenchment exercise at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) last month.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-must-stay-open-to-talent-to-keep-discovering-its-future

A closer Asean will help region thrive post-pandemic
Asean governments need better coordination and closer integration to thrive in a post-Covid world and avoid a long-drawn recovery, especially in areas such as tourism, regional health infrastructure and supply chains.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/a-closer-asean-will-help-region-thrive-post-pandemic

US$200b IPO for Ant will be a cheap buy
The stock market continues to stampede away from the real economy. The US Federal Reserve is keeping near-zero interest rates and increasing its holdings in securities. All that liquidity has pushed the stock market to a record high.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/us200b-ipo-for-ant-will-be-a-cheap-buy

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

New infections drop to 22 – lowest daily figure since March 16
A total of 22 new Covid-19 cases was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday, the lowest daily figure in more than five months since March 16, when there were 17 cases. Meanwhile, several malls across the island – VivoCity, Lucky Plaza, AMK Hub and Paya Lebar Square – were among the latest places visited by infectious Covid-19 patients, MOH said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-infections-drop-to-22-lowest-daily-figure-since-march-16

Covid-19 safety rules to be implemented as Singapore allows bigger Mice events
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/measures-to-be-put-in-place

13,000 workers yet to go for routine testing barred from work
Some 13,000 workers who have yet to undergo rostered routine testing for the coronavirus as at Sunday will be barred from returning to work. Yesterday, the authorities said that the AccessCode status of these workers will remain red, meaning that they cannot return to work until they are tested.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/13000-workers-yet-to-go-for-routine-testing-barred-from-work

No home quarantine for PCA travellers from S’pore heading beyond Johor: KL
Individuals who travel from Singapore to Malaysia under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) will have to be quarantined in centres designated by the Malaysian government if their destination is beyond the southern state of Johor.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/no-home-quarantine-for-pca-travellers-from-spore-heading-beyond-johor-kl

Fewer curbs on business events in places coping well with pandemic
Places which have kept coronavirus infections largely under control lead the way in easing restrictions on business events like conferences and trade shows. Many, however, still stipulate a limit on the maximum number of attendees at these events, and impose hygiene and safety procedures such as social distancing, temperature scanning, mask wearing and contactless registration.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/fewer-curbs-on-business-events-in-places-coping-well-with-pandemic

Some malls struggling to comply with fire safety rules
Some shopping malls struggle to comply with fire safety rules even as they abide by Covid-19 safe management measures. A few have resorted to padlocking their entry and exit points to comply with occupancy limits imposed by the authorities.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-malls-struggling-to-comply-with-fire-safety-rules
*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