DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th January 2018

Top Story

MAS puts more scrutiny on bank loans for property development
A spate of aggressive land deals by developers last year has prompted the Singapore central bank to take a closer look at the way banks are financing development projects. The Business Times understands that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is collecting more data from banks through a new survey sent out to them last month. Some of the information sought by the MAS includes the size of banks’ exposures and details of the loan facilities granted for each project such as the key covenants and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, sources say.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mas-puts-more-scrutiny-on-bank-loans-for-property-development

Singapore Economy

Singapore dollar surges to 2015 levels
The Singapore dollar continues to fly and is at levels last seen three years ago as global investors pour into local assets. The SGD was quoted at 1.3256 on Monday morning, unchanged from last Friday, levels last seen in May 2015. The greenback steadied somewhat in the afternoon to 1.3317. The SGD traded to 1.3256 last Friday, weighed by USD weakness and improving risk appetite that is driving portfolio inflows into Singapore assets, said Maybank Singapore in a Monday note.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-dollar-surges-to-2015-levels

Singapore needs to go beyond tax perks and develop new trump cards, says Heng
Singapore needs to develop its competitive advantages beyond tax incentives, given the trend of lower tax rates around the world, said Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat in Parliament on Monday. The tax cuts the US is offering companies may enhance its tax competitiveness vis-à-vis other countries, and companies with US linkages are likely to be analysing the details of the US tax reform package and reviewing their options, he said.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-needs-to-go-beyond-tax-perks-and-develop-new-trump-cards-says-heng

Local tech start-ups can carve niche in China: IE Singapore
As tech giants like Google and Uber can attest, China is a brutal place for global start-ups, but it could be a promising one for ambitious Singapore firms, said IE Singapore. The trade agency believes local start-ups should not be deterred by the fact that plenty of companies have failed in China but, instead, take a more strategic approach.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/local-tech-start-ups-can-carve-niche-in-china-ie-singapore

MOU opens doors in India for S’pore tech startups
Singapore tech startups will now be able to pilot innovations in India and acquire best practices from Indian tech companies, following a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday. The MOU aims to facilitate business partnerships and knowledge exchange between Singapore and Indian companies in the tech sector.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/mou-opens-doors-in-india-for-spore-tech-startups
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/spore-tech-firms-to-pilot-innovations-in-india

Stricter loan limits to curb over-borrowing
Borrowers can no longer go from one moneylender to another to become “over-indebted”. In the latest move to regulate the industry, Parliament yesterday approved changes to the Moneylenders Act which, among other things, set an overall loan ceiling. This is a departure from the current caps, which restrict how much they can borrow from individual moneylenders.
http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/stricter-loan-limits-to-curb-over-borrowing

Singapore Real Estate

Analysts stick to ‘buy’ on CapitaLand
Stock watchers were happy campers on last week’s news that CapitaLand is dropping 20 malls from its retail asset portfolio in China. RHB Research Institute Singapore upgraded the stock to a “buy” call, from its previous “neutral” stance, in a note on Monday morning. Meanwhile, other analysts dug in and reiterated earlier “buy” positions, with DBS Group Research putting out a report of its own on Monday too.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/analysts-stick-to-buy-on-capitaland
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/analysts-reiterate-buy-call-on-capitaland-after-mall-divestment

Companies’ Brief

Frasers Centrepoint to raise S$300m from perpetual bond issue
Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) is planning to raise S$300 million from a bond issue, the real estate company said in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing on Monday night (Jan 8) after market close. The bonds will carry a fixed interest rate of 4.38 per cent per annum and be issued by its wholly-owned subsidiary, FCL Treasury.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/frasers-centrepoint-to-raise-s300m-from-perpetual-bond-issue
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fcl-to-raise-s300m-from-perpetual-bond-issue

TEE International, TEE Land flag loss for Q2, half-year
Mainboard-listed TEE International and its subsidiary TEE Land have issued profit guidances, warning they expect a loss for the second quarter and half-year ended Nov 30, 2017, based on a preliminary assessment of their unaudited second quarter and half-year financial results. The loss was mainly attributed to an impairment loss of S$6.2 million on the proposed disposal of the group’s shareholding in its 31.88 per cent owned Thai associate, Chewathai Public Company Limited as announced on Dec 20, 2017; as well as an impairment loss of S$1.8 million for the unsold units in Peak I held by its subsidiary, TEE Land Limited.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tee-international-tee-land-flag-loss-for-q2-half-year

Imperium Crown gets SIAS queries over governance practices
The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) has queried Catalist-listed real estate developer Imperium Crown over certain decisions as cited in the firm’s corporate governance report, a regulatory filing by Imperium on Monday showed. SIAS questioned the property firm based on its corporate governance report, which showed among other things that Imperium Crown had granted a S$48,000 payout to its former CEO, John Lyn Hian Woon.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/imperium-crown-gets-sias-queries-over-governance-practices