DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9 June 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Real Estate

Fewer viewings drive 11.4% fall in condo resale volumes in May after four-month climb
Fewer viewings resulting from tighter restrictions during Singapore’s heightened alert period saw condominium resale volumes slide 11.4 per cent month on month in May, property analysts noted on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/fewer-viewings-drive-114-fall-in-condo-resale-volumes-in-may-after-four-month-climb
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-up-09-to-new-high-in-may-volume-dips-114-amid-covid-19-curbs

Thailand’s The Strand accepts crypto as payment but others see limited prospect in property deals
Despite its volatility, cryptocurrency is becoming an alternative way for consumers to make purchases in South-east Asia, from food and coffee to luxury cars. But properties? Just last month, Singapore-based digital exchange Zipmex partnered Thai luxury developer One.Six Development to facilitate crypto payments for a 188-unit condo in Bangkok.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/thailands-the-strand-accepts-crypto-as-payment-but-others-see-limited-prospect-in

Crypto buyers now looking to purchase a physical home
Thai developer One.Six’s target buyers for The Strand, its 30-storey “ultra-luxurious” condo in Bangkok, are affluent, seasoned investors aged 25 to 35, said its co-founder Chawin Athakravisunthorn. In contrast, the typical property buyer in Thailand is often older, or “the parents of this generation”, he added.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/crypto-buyers-now-looking-to-purchase-a-physical-home

BT Explains: Why office landlords aren’t fretting over banks cutting space
The trend of Singapore banks trimming office space is not spelling doom and gloom in the leasing market. Who’s been scooping up these workspaces, and which landlords have exposure to them? The Business Times takes a closer look.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/bt-explains-why-office-landlords-arent-fretting-over-banks-cutting-space

Singapore Economy

Too early to tell what G-7’s historic tax deal would mean for Singapore: Lawrence Wong
It is too early to say what the G-7’s historic tax deal targeting tech giants would mean for Singapore, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday, although he noted that all jurisdictions will need to adjust their tax systems and rules.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/too-early-to-tell-what-g-7s-historic-tax-deal-would-mean-for-singapore-lawrence
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/too-early-to-say-how-global-corporate-tax-rule-changes-will-impact-singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/spore-will-ensure-its-tax-system-is-in-line-with-global-norms

Singapore-based suppliers that fail to cut emissions may lose US$146.6b in annual revenue: survey
Singapore-based suppliers stand to lose US$146.6 billion in export revenue if they fail to cut carbon emissions in line with multinational corporation (MNC) clients’ net zero plans, according to a Standard Chartered (StanChart) survey released Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-based-suppliers-that-fail-to-cut-emissions-may-lose-us1466b-in-annual

Companies’ Brief

Bukit Sembawang may offer Reit-like dividends as ‘land bank king’
Bukit Sembawang Estates has enough inventory to sell for the next decade, with the land the developer controls still pegged at “extremely low” historical cost valuation, said a fresh DBS Research report. This pipeline could give Bukit Sembawang room to offer dividends at “Reit-like” yields.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/bukit-sembawang-may-offer-reit-like-dividends-as-land-bank-king

Knight Frank’s Tan Boon Leong and Ng Ee Kiat join JLL
JLL is welcoming Knight Frank’s Tan Boon Leong and Ng Ee Kiat to its logistics and industrial team with immediate effect, the real estate services firm announced on Tuesday. The pair will take on newly created roles focused on serving leasing and capital market clients, JLL said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/knight-franks-tan-boon-leong-and-ng-ee-kiat-join-jll

EHT unit surrenders Queen Mary floating hotel property to California city
Urban Commons Queensway (UCQ), a unit of embattled Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT), has surrendered the Queen Mary property – a former ocean vessel-turned-floating hotel – to the City of Long Beach, California, on June 4.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eht-unit-surrenders-queen-mary-floating-hotel-property-to-california-city

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

G-7 tax deal – not quite the perfect storm for Singapore just yet
During her press conference on June 5 following the close of the G-7 Finance Ministers Meetings, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen remarked that “by collaborating with one another on the global minimum tax, governments protect their national sovereignty to set tax policy, because . .
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/g-7-tax-deal-not-quite-the-perfect-storm-for-singapore-just-yet

Taking a holistic view of resilience will go a long way to ensure success
The Covid-19 pandemic battered South-east Asia’s economies in 2020 and sent private equity investors running for cover. Deal value fell 26 per cent year-over-year and contracted 16 per cent versus the previous five-year average.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/taking-a-holistic-view-of-resilience-will-go-a-long-way-to-ensure-success

Contactless payments usurp cash to become new king
Digital payments have exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic. The recent Mastercard New Payments Index found that there were one billion more contactless transactions worldwide in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period one year before.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/contactless-payments-usurp-cash-to-become-new-king

Investor beware when it comes to SPACs
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have grown in popularity over the past few years with SPAC initial public offering (IPO) capital in the US increasing from US$3 billion five years ago to US$76 billion in 2020.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/investor-beware-when-it-comes-to-spacs

Six mega-trends hedge fund investors in Asia should take note of
The confluence of the global economy re-opening, ongoing accommodative monetary policy and incremental fiscal stimulus brought about inflation concerns in Q1 this year. It also compressed an entire year’s worth of price movements into just three months…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/six-mega-trends-hedge-fund-investors-in-asia-should-take-note-of

Liquidity key to success of Singapore’s carbon exchange
Singapore’s platform for carbon offsets, Climate Impact X (CIX), will have competitors when it is rolled out at the end of the year, with more such platforms possibly emerging in the bid to tap the climate business boom and help companies decarbonise.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/liquidity-key-to-success-of-singapores-carbon-exchange
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/how-carbon-credits-work

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

86-year-old woman linked to TTSH cluster dies of Covid-19 complications at KTPH
An 86-year-old Singaporean woman died of complications from Covid-19 on Monday, bringing Singapore’s death toll to 34. The woman – called case number 62680 by the Ministry of Health (MOH) – was previously an inpatient in Ward 9D at Tan Tock Seng Hospital from April 20 to April 22.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/86-year-old-woman-linked-to-ttsh-cluster-dies-of-covid-19-complications-at-ktph-0
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/86-year-old-woman-linked-to-now-closed-ttsh-cluster-dies

Residents calm as testing operation kicks off in Punggol
In a slow and orderly manner, residents of Sumang Walk in Punggol walked into a pavilion in their street to get swabbed for Covid-19 yesterday morning. They had been called for a special Covid-19 testing operation by the Ministry of Health (MOH), after cases of coronavirus infection were
detected among those living in a Housing Board block in the estate.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/residents-calm-as-testing-operation-kicks-off-in-punggol

Risk of infection at hair, nail salons likely higher than at other retail shops
Two more Covid-19 cases were linked to a barber shop in Bedok on Monday, bringing the total number linked to the Atatcutz Singapore cluster to eight. The cluster was announced last Saturday. The earliest case detected in the cluster was a 26-year-old Malay-sian man who works as a delivery rider for Pizza Hut in Hougang Green. His infection was confirmed on June 1.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/risk-of-infection-at-hair-nail-salons-likely-higher-than-at-other-retail-shops

Will those who are vaccinated need Covid-19 booster shots and, if so, when?
SINGAPORE – Discussion about the need for annual Covid-19 booster shots has come to the fore, with news of some infections among people who have been vaccinated. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in an address on television last week, hinted that such booster shots may be needed.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/will-those-who-are-vaccinated-need-covid-19-booster-shots-and-if-so-when

Pregnant women start getting jabs at KKH
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) has started inoculating its pregnant patients against Covid-19, with the first six women getting their jabs yesterday. The move comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that it would allow pregnant women to book slots for Covid-19 jabs from last Friday…
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/pregnant-women-start-getting-jabs-at-kkh

*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