DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th September 2016

Top Story

New HDB town in Tengah to be ‘forest town’
The first public housing estate to be developed in two decades, Tengah, will be markedly different from existing estates. It will feature a car-free town centre; its lush greenery and community farms will also set it apart from other Housing & Development Board (HDB) towns. To be located in the west, near Jurong East, Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok, Tengah will be about the size of Bishan, at about 700 ha. It is expected to have 30,000 public-housing units and 12,000 private ones when completed. Its masterplan was unveiled by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong at the HDB Awards Ceremony on Thursday.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-hdb-town-in-tengah-to-be-forest-town
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/masterplan-for-hdbs-upcoming-tengah-town-unveiled
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/new-hdb-town-heavy-on-greenery-light-on-cars?login=true
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/first-batch-of-tengah-hdb-flats-to-be-launched-from-2018/3110588.html
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/car-free-town-centre-among-draws-tengah-forest-town
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/peek-tengah-next-new-hdb-town-size-bishan
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tengah-live-its-name-forest-town
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tengah-get-spores-first-car-free-town-centre

HDB resale volume up 19.5% in August: SRX
HDB resale transactions in August rose 19.5 per cent to 1,879 flats, compared to a month ago as prices slipped 0.7 per cent, according to estimates by SRX Property. The price dip reversed a 0.7 per cent month-on-month increase in HDB resale prices in July in a continued streak of monthly fluctuations seen this year. R’ST Research director Ong Kah Seng noted that the HDB resale market now reflects a “compromise situation” between buyers and sellers, with the price levels now more closely matching buyers’ affordability and willingness to purchase. “August is a correction of prices to a long-established stability – any monthly increase is usually followed by a decrease in subsequent month, and vice versa,” Mr Ong observed.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-volume-up-195-in-august-srx
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/surge-in-hdb-resale-transactions-in-aug-as-prices-slip-srx
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/hdb-resale-prices-dip-delaying-market-rebound
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hdb-resale-prices-down-0-7-in-august-srx-property/3110562.html
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/slight-dip-hdb-resale-flat-prices-srx

Singapore Economy

A taste of future at upcoming coffee shops
A futuristic new breed of coffee shops – at the vanguard of a $4.5 billion nationwide IT transformation – could include features such as ordering via mobile apps or digital kiosks, and cashless payments. Operators keen to meet the challenge of bringing in this type of innovation can bid in a tender for shops at two sites in Tampines and Choa Chu Kang later this month. Interest could be strong but BreadTalk (Food Republic) and Auric Pacific (Food Junction) were yesterday unable to say yet if they would be in the running. This is just the first step in the plan to transform the food industry – and 22 other key industries.
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/a-taste-of-future-at-upcoming-coffee-shops
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/food-services-industry-needs-major-makeover-says-tharman

Singapore Real Estate

S-Reits’ total returns average 14.2% so far this year
Singapore’s real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) have achieved an average distribution yield of 6.7 per cent so far this year, beating the 3.9 per cent dividend yield for both the Straits Times Index (STI) and the MSCI World Reit Index. This was based on data compiled by the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) investor education portal, My Gateway. Looking at share prices alone, the FTSE ST Reit Index has appreciated 11.2 per cent year-to-date, outperforming the STI which has been almost flat this year, and its developer index counterpart which is actually down 2.6 per cent. SGX data also showed that in terms of total returns (which comprise distributions and unit price gains), S-Reits have averaged a return of 14.2 per cent in 2016 thus far.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-total-returns-average-142-so-far-this-year

S’pore property owners win big for sustainability
Singapore property owners were rewarded for their sustainability efforts in the 2016 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Real Estate Assessment results out on Thursday. CapitaLand was crowned regional sector leader of Asia in one of the diversified (ie mixed development) segments – the sixth year in a row it has achieved this. CapitaLand Mall Trust was named the regional sector leader of Asia in the retail segment, among all listed firms. Keppel Land, the property arm of Keppel Corp, also came in first in the residential (global), China and East Asia sectors, and third among developers globally.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/spore-property-owners-win-big-for-sustainability
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-keppel-corp-lauded-for-sustainable-practices?login=true

OCBC bullish on CDL’s investment in China’s mamahome
OCBC Investment Research has reiterated its Buy call on City Developments (CDL) after Singapore’s second largest-listed developer announced this week its foray into the fast-growing Chinese online apartment rental segment with a 100 million yuan (S$20 million) investment in mamahome. “We are overall positive on this investment, given its relatively manageable quantum and that it gives the group exposure to a business segment with significant potential for growth and future synergies,” said Mr Eli Lee, an analyst at OCBC, which has a S$9.89 fair value estimate for CDL stock. CDL shares closed at S$9.11 — up 0.6 per cent — yesterday, while the benchmark Straits Times Index ended flat at 2,894.48.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/ocbc-bullish-cdls-investment-chinas-mamahome

Companies’ Brief

TEE International awarded S$95m worth of contracts
TEE International Ltd, together with its subsidiaries and associated companies, were awarded new engineering contracts worth about S$95 million from August to September 2016. This brings the group’s total outstanding order book to about S$324 million. TEE’s wholly owned subsidiary, PBT Engineering Pte Ltd, was appointed as the main contractor to provide addition and alteration (A&A) and extension works to the existing AXA Tower, a 52-storey landmark Grade A office development along Shenton Way. The scope of work includes architectural, structural, landscape and mechanical and electrical (M&E) services, which will be completed in phases over 33 months from the commencement date.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/tee-international-awarded-s95m-worth-of-contracts

Banyan Tree partners Nef for Turkey resort
Resort and hotel developer Banyan Tree on Thursday said it is opening its first resort hotel in Turkey with Turkish developer Nef. This will be Nef’s first project outside of Istanbul. The 70-key resort, called Banyan Tree Bodrum, will open in Yalıkavak, Bodrum in spring 2017. Banyan Tree Bodrum will feature 14 spa suites each with a private pool, 40 standard rooms and 30 branded suites. Its Banyan Tree Spa will offer body care and facials, beach spa, and Turkish Bath.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/banyan-tree-partners-nef-for-turkey-resort

Two more Starwood brands to arrive in Singapore
Two more Starwood brands – The Luxury Collection and Tribute Portfolio – will make their debut in Singapore this year and next, taking the number of Starwood properties in Singapore to eight. The luxury Duxton Club will consist of two pre-war colonial heritage buildings offering guests different experiences. The 50-room Duxton House is slated to open in early 2017 while the 138-room Duxton Terrace, 200 metres away on Murray Street, will open its doors in July next year. Meanwhile, the 41-room Hotel Vagabond, located on Syed Alwi Road, will be up and running by October this year as it is being rebranded from an existing property to the Tribute Portfolio brand.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/two-more-starwood-brands-to-arrive-in-singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/starwood-to-launch-2-hotels-in-heritage-buildings-here