DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9th November 2017

SINGAPORE ECONOMY

One in three Asia-Pac CEOs see revenue boost in next 12 months: PwC
Business leaders in the Asia-Pacific are feeling increasingly confident in their companies’ growth prospects, with one out of every three chief executive officers (CEOs) believing that revenue will increase in the next 12 months. This is according to a new survey of 1,412 top executives from all 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) bloc, including 82 from Singapore.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/one-in-three-asia-pac-ceos-see-revenue-boost-in-next-12-months-pwc

Asia fintech investment coming of age: KPMG
Stronger signs of maturity from fintech investment trends in Asia emerged in the third quarter, with Chinese corporates having expanded beyond their domestic market to reach into South-east Asia, a KPMG report has said. Some US$1.21 billion was raised across 41 deals in Asia. This was up from about US$800 million across about 50 deals a quarter ago, and fairly steady in value terms compared to a year ago.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/asia-fintech-investment-coming-of-age-kpmg

Businesses should take the lead in sustainability: Heng Swee Keat
Businesses should lead the way in pursuing sustainable practices, urged Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. “It is a matter of survival, and of stewardship,” he said at the Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards last evening. “Climate change poses a real threat for small island states like Singapore.”
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/businesses-should-take-the-lead-in-sustainability-heng-swee-keat
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/minding-sustainability-in-business?login=true

SINGAPORE REAL ESTATE

Green thumbs up for Kampung Admiralty
Residents of the new 11-storey Kampung Admiralty complex have another reason to smile – Singapore’s first retirement community will receive an award for outstanding landscape architecture. With its “vertical kampung” design, the hub integrates residential units with shops, childcare and eldercare centres, and medical facilities. The first residents moved in only recently. On levels six to nine, the complex has a combined rooftop community park, edible garden and rainwater catchment area.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/green-thumbs-up-for-kampung-admiralty

COMPANIES’ BRIEF

Fair value, divestment gains lift CapitaLand’s Q3
Fair value gains from redevelopment projects and portfolio gains from recent divestments lifted CapitaLand’s net profit by 28.1 per cent to S$317 million in its third quarter. Excluding one-time items, operating profit after tax and minority interests for the quarter fell 18.8 per cent to S$204.5 million. This was due to lower handover of residential projects in China on the back of fewer units available for sale in the quarter, as well as the impact of divesting several commercial assets in Singapore.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/fair-value-divestment-gains-lift-capitalands-q3
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/capitalands-profit-up-28-to-317m-in-q3

Suntec Reit manager prices S$300m convertible bonds with S$50m upsize option
Suntec Reit’s manager has priced S$300 million in convertible bonds, with an upsize option of S$50 million. The bonds, which will mature on or about Nov 30, 2024, will bear interest of 1.75 per cent every year, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Limited, which manages the Reit, said on Thursday morning.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/suntec-reit-manager-prices-s300m-convertible-bonds-with-s50m-upsize-option
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/suntec-reit-manager-prices-s300m-convertible-bonds-with-s50m-upsize

Parkway Life Reit Q3 DPU up 10%
Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) on Thursday reported a 10.1 per cent year-on-year increase in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 3.37 Singapore cents for its third financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2017. The Reit attributed the rise mainly to the partial distribution of gains arising from the S$1.3 million divestment of four Japan properties in December 2016, and said that it will distribute it equally to unitholders over the four quarters in fiscal 2017.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/parkway-life-reit-q3-dpu-up-10
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/parkway-life-reit-q3-dpu-up-10

Keppel-KBS Reit IPO over-subscribed
The initial public offering (IPO) of Keppel-KBS US Reit received an overwhelming response from both institutional and retail investors. The Reit (real estate investment trust) manager said after trading closed on Wednesday that the placement tranche for 228,681,800 units to investors outside the US was over-subscribed.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-kbs-reit-ipo-over-subscribed

VIEWS, REVIEWS & FORUM

Singapore on right track in using AI for hospitality sector
Few countries have achieved as much success, and on so many different fronts, as Singapore in the past few decades. From economic growth and access to education, home ownership and healthcare, the list of achievements is a very long one. All this can be attributed to one key aspect: long-term vision.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-on-right-track-in-using-ai-for-hospitality-sector