DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 9 December 2021 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Singapore luxury home sales soar to new high
Sales in the luxury sector are on a roll as Singapore reopens progressively. In particular, deal volumes of high-end housing have climbed to a fresh record. Activity in the posh residential market – specifically, residential units priced above S$10 million – has stayed buoyant this year and even outperformed sales of watches and jewellery, said the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) at the National University of Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-luxury-home-sales-soar-to-new-high-0

Mandarin Gardens owners turned nose up at S$3 billion tag; will latest en bloc effort succeed?
Some owners at the sprawling Mandarin Gardens, which houses more than 1,000 units, are again eyeing an en bloc sale of the 99-year leasehold condominium as the market regains momentum. The mega development, near East Coast Park, formed a collective sale committee (CSC) on Sunday (Dec 5), and will soon select the committee chairman and other key positions, Lianhe Zaobao reported on Wednesday (Dec 8).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/mandarin-gardens-owners-turned-nose-up-at-s3-billion-tag-will-latest-en-bloc-effort

Tanjong Katong Complex to be closed for renovation in 2023
[Singapore] The iconic Tanjong Katong Complex, a shopping mall in Geylang Serai frequented by Malays here, will be closed for major renovation works from the second half of 2023, as part of plans to increase its footfall and transform the district.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tanjong-katong-complex-to-be-closed-for-renovation-in-2023
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tanjong-katong-complex-to-be-closed-for-renovation-from-2023

Singapore Economy

Singapore to grow 6.9% in 2021, 4% in 2022: private-sector economists
Private-sector economists expect Singapore’s full-year growth to be 6.9 per cent in 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) latest quarterly survey of professional forecasters released on Wednesday (Dec 8).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-to-grow-69-in-2021-4-in-2022-private-sector-economists
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/private-sector-economists-raise-singapore-2022-growth-forecast-to-4-mas-survey

Businesses negatively impacted by Covid-19 drop to 32% as sentiments rebound: SBF poll
Business sentiments in Singapore rebounded in 2021, with the proportion of companies that reported being negatively impacted by Covid-19 halving to 32 per cent, from 63 per cent a year ago. Nevertheless, of those that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, nearly 7 in 10 said they expect to take more than a year to fully recover.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/businesses-negatively-impacted-by-covid-19-drop-to-32-as-sentiments-rebound-sbf
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/recovery-on-horizon-for-singapore-firms-amid-covid-19-pandemic-sbf-survey

Companies’ Brief

Oxley unit could pay up to A$14.3m over troubled Australian units
A wholly owned subsidiary of mainboard-listed developer Oxley Holdings Oxley: 5UX +1.06% will cough up as much as A$14.3 million to cover costs related to subsidiaries under voluntary administration in Australia, the board said in an update on Wednesday (Dec 8).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/oxley-unit-could-pay-up-to-a143m-over-troubled-australian-units

First Reit kick-starts pivot into developed markets with maiden Japan acquisition
After a tumultuous restructuring and recapitalisation exercise that was mooted around the end of 2020 and completed in May this year, First Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit) stands ready to embark on the next phase of its growth strategy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/first-reit-kick-starts-pivot-into-developed-markets-with-maiden-japan-acquisition

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

CapitaLand needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat for Singapore’s largest Reit to multiply
CapitaLand traded at significant discount to its book value until the real estate giant restructured itself earlier this year, in an exercise that saw its property development business going private while its real estate investment management activities and lodging business remained in the public market under an entity called CapitaLand Investment (CLI).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/capitaland-needs-to-pull-a-rabbit-out-of-the-hat-for-singapores-largest-reit-to-multiply

Precautionary response needed to deal with Omicron variant
(Financial Times) – The shadow of the Omicron variant hangs over the global economy. Even though we remain largely ignorant of its transmissibility, virulence and ability to evade the protection of vaccination or prior infection, there is no better time to take stock of the economic lessons from the past two years in order to help set policy now.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/precautionary-response-needed-to-deal-with-omicron-variant

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Saliva ART developed by S’pore scientists just as accurate as PCR tests, results in 15 minutes
Singapore – Scientists here have developed a saliva antigen rapid test (ART) which is just as accurate as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, yet takes only around 15 minutes to detect Covid-19. The self-administered test has an accuracy rate of 97 per cent and is able to detect different Covid-19 viral variants, including Omicron.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/local-scientists-develop-saliva-art-that-can-detect-covid-19-as-accurately-as-pcr-tests-in

askST: What happens if I am unvaccinated and need treatment for Covid-19?
Singapore – From Wednesday (Dec 8), those who are unvaccinated “by choice” against Covid-19 and become infected will have to pay for their own treatment. We answer some questions you may have on this topic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/askst-what-happens-if-i-am-unvaccinated-and-get-infected-with-covid-19

Pfizer, BioNTech say booster dose needed to fight Omicron
Pfizer and BioNTech said initial lab studies show a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine may be needed to neutralise the Omicron variant, results that will accelerate booster-shot drives around the world.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pfizer-biontech-say-booster-dose-needed-to-fight-omicron
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/omicron-threat-may-be-countered-with-extra-dose-of-vaccine

*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