DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 09 April 2021 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

The effects of ageing on Singapore’s property market
Singapore has one of the fastest ageing populations in Asia, with 15 per cent of residents aged 65 and over in 2020 – a demographic that has steadily risen from 9 per cent in 2010. One immediate effect will be a rising need for affordable housing and better care for the elderly. What are some short-term and long-term trends that could emerge in the property market, and what factors might have impact on values? We find out in Brunch this Saturday in The Business Times Weekend.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/weekend/the-effects-of-ageing-on-singapores-property-market

Building and construction stocks surge in anticipation of recovery
The local construction industry is still reeling from the aftermath of Covid-induced lockdowns last year. But investors have already begun to look forward to an earnings recovery on the back of a rebound in demand – both locally and abroad. This past week, shares of building materials provider EnGro Corporation and ready-mixed concrete (RMC) supplier Pan-United Corporation (PanU) hit new 52-week highs.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/building-and-construction-stocks-surge-in-anticipation-of-recovery

HDB resale prices rise for 9th straight month in March
Delays in Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, rising private property prices and improving market sentiment drove demand in the Housing Board resale market, sending prices climbing for the ninth straight month. Resale prices rose 0.8 per cent in March from the month before, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX out on Thursday. Year on year, resale prices were up 9.5 per cent from March 2020. They are closing in on their all-time highs, with March prices 4.9 per cent lower than their peak in April 2013.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-rise-for-9th-straight-month-in-march-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hdb-resale-prices-up-for-nine-months-in-a-row

Singapore Economy

Setback for leadership succession as DPM Heng steps aside
Singapore’s leadership succession plans suffered a setback on Thursday as Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that he is taking himself out of the running to become the Republic’s next prime minister. Citing age and health as reasons, Mr Heng, who turns 60 this year, told a press conference at the Istana that he would have “too short a runway” to lead the country beyond the Covid-19 crisis should he take on the top job.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/setback-for-leadership-succession-as-dpm-heng-steps-aside
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/4g-ministers-to-pick-new-leader-as-heng-swee-keat-steps-aside
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/dpm-heng-to-give-up-finance-portfolio-in-cabinet-reshuffle
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/dpm-hengs-letter-to-pm
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lees-reply-to-dpm-heng
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heng-swee-keat-dpm-4g-leader-step-aside-pap-pm-lee-accepts-14581784

Investors unlikely to be rattled by DPM Heng’s decision
Investors are unlikely to be rattled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s surprise withdrawal from the running as Singapore’s next Prime Minister, watchers believe. “In terms of instability, there will be none,” political analyst Felix Tan told The Business Times. “The country will run as per normal, business will run as usual.” The confidence was in line with reassurances by Singapore’s political leadership on Thursday, as Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing suggested that investors can continue to expect coherence, continuity and stability in the country.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/investors-unlikely-to-be-rattled-by-dpm-hengs-decision
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-chan-address-impact-on-foreign-countries-investors

Possible picks for next 4G leader
With Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announcing that he would step aside as the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) fourth-generation (4G) leader, the spotlight is now on who is likely to succeed him. At a media conference yesterday, the party’s 4G leaders said they would need more time to select another leader from among them. Here are four core members of the 4G team who political analysts consider the likely candidates to replace Mr Heng as the team’s leader, and succeed Mr Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore’s prime minister: Mr Chan Chun Sing, 51; Mr Ong Ye Kung, 51; Mr Lawrence Wong, 48; and Mr Desmond Lee, 44.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/possible-picks-for-next-4g-leader

PM Lee to stay on until 4G team chooses new leader
With Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat stepping down as the fourth-generation (4G) leader, Mr Lee Hsien Loong will stay on as prime minister until the 4G team chooses a new chief. At the media conference announcing the move yesterday, PM Lee called Mr Heng’s decision to stand aside a “selfless” one. “His actions are made with the best interests of Singapore in mind, and they are fully in keeping with the spirit of public service and sense of duty that motivated him to step forward and stand for election when I asked him to do so in 2011,” he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/pm-lee-to-stay-on-until-4g-team-chooses-new-leader

Companies’ Brief

Keppel obtains licence to start sub-sea cable business in Singapore
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has been granted a Facilities-Based Operator (FBO) licence by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). In an exchange filing on Thursday, Keppel Corp said the licence gives Keppel Midgard Holdings the right to own, maintain and operate telecoms infrastructure in Singapore, and to provide telecommunications services in connection with the Bifrost Cable System.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-obtains-licence-to-start-sub-sea-cable-business-in-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/keppel-gets-licence-to-start-sub-sea-cable-business-in-singapore

Tuan Sing launches phase one of Opus Bay project in Batam
Tuan Sing Holdings has launched the first phase of Opus Bay, its township project in Batam, Indonesia. Spanning 125 hectares at the southern part of Batam, Opus Bay is expected to contain residential, retail, entertainment, and healthcare facilities, allowing it to become a “fully integrated” tourism and hospitality destination. The whole project will be launched in several phases over the coming 10 to 15 years, said the property development company.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tuan-sing-launches-phase-one-of-opus-bay-project-in-batam

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1353

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

2,500 to attend largest trade show since Covid-19 hit
Some 2,500 in-person business visitors, delegates and exhibitors will gather over three days for a trade show at Marina Bay Sands from June 30, in the largest such pilot since the Covid-19 outbreak. Organised by Conference and Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), the Architecture & Building Services event will have double the number of in-person attendees compared with the first two pilot large-scale meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) events.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/2500-to-attend-largest-trade-show-since-covid-19-hit

S’pore has great advantage in post-pandemic world: MAS chief
Singapore has made a name for itself as a beacon of trust, stability and resilience through the Covid-19 crisis, and has a big advantage in the post-pandemic world, given the greater premium placed on such qualities, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon yesterday. “We are a Global-Asia node, we are the conduit through which the rest of the world comes into Asia, and we want to be the conduit through which Asia reaches out to the rest of the world,” he added.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/spore-has-great-advantage-in-post-pandemic-world-mas-chief

Singapore Budget 2021

S$370m in excess JSS payouts wrongly credited to 5,400 businesses last Oct
Processing errors caused S$370 million in excess Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts to be credited to 5,400 businesses last October, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a joint media statement on Thursday. Such errors also resulted in S$1.2 million in excess foreign worker levy waivers and rebates being granted to 360 businesses in June and July.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/s370m-in-excess-jss-payouts-wrongly-credited-to-5400-businesses-last-oct
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/businesses-unfazed-by-jobs-support-scheme-error-say-situation-understandable
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/370m-in-wage-support-wrongly-paid-out-to-firms
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/excess-payouts-to-be-recovered-via-deductions-cash-payments

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

21 new virus cases in S’pore, all imported
There were 21 new Covid-19 cases confirmed at noon yesterday, taking Singapore’s total to 60,575. All were imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health. There were no community cases, and none from migrant workers’ dormitories.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/21-new-virus-cases-in-spore-all-imported

*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