DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 22 July 2022 (Fri)

SINGAPORE REAL ESTATE

Non-landed luxury property deals spike in Q2 as Singapore’s borders reopen
Enquiries for luxury properties in Singapore have shot up in tandem with increased visitor arrivals over the second quarter of 2022, leading to a spike in overall volumes transacted. According to a Huttons report released Thursday (Jul 21), foreign buyers of luxury homes in the latest quarter were mainly from China, Indonesia and the US.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/non-landed-luxury-property-deals-spike-in-q2-as-singapores-borders-reopen

Prices of private homes up 3.5% in Q2: URA
Prices of private residential properties rose 3.5 per cent in the second quarter versus the previous quarter, higher than the 3.2 per cent flash estimate released earlier this month, as well as the 0.7 per cent increase chalked up in Q1.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/prices-of-private-homes-up-35-in-q2-ura
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-private-home-prices-rise-35-in-q2-shrugging-off-cooling-measures

Singapore office rents rise 2.4% in Q2, prices fall 5.1%: URA
Figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released on Friday (Jul 22) showed that the rental index for offices rose 2.4 per cent quarter on quarter in Q2, from the 1.6 per cent rise in Q1.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-office-rents-rise-24-in-q2-prices-fall-51-ura

Singapore central retail rents down 0.5% in Q2, prices fall 1.2%
Rents of retail spaces in Singapore’s central region fell for the second quarter in a row this year. Q2 2022 rents slipped 0.5 per cent quarter on quarter following Q1’s 0.4 per cent decline, according to figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released on Friday (Jul 22).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-central-retail-rents-down-05-in-q2-prices-fall-12

HDB resale prices climb 2.8% in Q2, transaction volumes fall
The second quarter of 2022 saw a continued rise in Housing Board (HDB) resale prices compared to Q1, according to figures released by HDB on Friday (Jul 22). The resale price index for Q2 was logged at 163.9, 2.8 per cent higher than that in the previous quarter.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-climb-28-in-q2-transaction-volumes-fall

SINGAPORE ECONOMY

IMF lowers forecast for S’pore economy to 3.7% growth this year
Singapore – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its economic growth forecast for Singapore, in line with its recent warning that it will downgrade its estimates for the global economy later this month.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/imf-sees-singapore-economy-growing-37-this-year-with-inflation-at-48

Global chipmakers’ investments in Singapore
International semiconductor companies have announced substantial investments to expand their operations in Singapore, as part of plans to ramp up production capacity amid the global chip shortage. The Business Times looks at how much they have committed and how many jobs they’re creating, even amid an industry-wide manpower shortage.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/global-chipmakers-investments-in-singapore

Semiconductor firms in Singapore face acute talent crunch as they invest billions to create jobs
Singapore’s semiconductor industry is facing an acute talent crunch, even as chipmakers invest billions to expand their operations and create thousands of jobs in the city state. “Unfortunately, the local talent pool here is small. We are competing with many other industries for talent,” Ang Wee Seng, executive director of the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA), told The Business Times.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/semiconductor-firms-in-singapore-face-acute-talent-crunch-as-they-invest-billions

COMPANIES’ BRIEF

CapitaLand, Link Reit vying for NTUC’s S$4b mall portfolio: sources
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link Reit) are among bidders vying for NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Ltd’s S$4 billion portfolio of shopping malls in Singapore, people with knowledge of the matter said.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-link-reit-vying-for-ntucs-s4b-mall-portfolio-sources
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-link-reits-said-to-be-vying-for-ntucs-4-billion-shopping-malls

Mapletree Logistics Trust posts 5% rise in Q1 DPU to S$0.02268
Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) on Thursday (Jul 21) reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.02268 for the first quarter ended Jun 30, up 5 per cent from DPU of S$0.02161 in the year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-logistics-trust-posts-5-rise-in-q1-dpu-to-s002268

Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust Q1 net property income up 4.1% to S$81.5m
Mall and office landlord Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) on Thursday (Jul 21) said its net property income (NPI) for the first fiscal quarter ended June came in at S$81.5 million, up 4.1 per cent from the corresponding quarter last year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-north-asia-commercial-trust-q1-net-property-income-up-41-to-s815m

Mixed H1 2022 earnings expected; financials, select industrials set to outperform: analysts
Corporate earnings for the first half of 2022 are expected to be mixed as companies deal with the impact of rising input costs from higher inflation and a weakening macroeconomic environment.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mixed-h1-2022-earnings-expected-financials-select-industrials-set-to-outperform

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM AND OTHERS

Asia’s central banks forced to play catch-up in global rush to raise rates
Having bucked a global dash to tighten monetary policy for a year, Asian central banks find themselves scrambling to catch up in order to tackle rising inflation and defend weakening currencies.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/asias-central-banks-forced-to-play-catch-up-in-global-rush-to-raise-rates

askST: Can monkeypox be transmitted asymptomatically?
Singapore – With more than 14,000 monkeypox cases reported in more than 70 countries and territories mostly since May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday (July 21) to decide whether the outbreak constitutes a global health emergency.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/askst-how-long-is-the-isolation-period-for-monkeypox-patients

UPDATE ON COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019) SITUATION

CNA Explains: What we know about the new COVID-19 variant BA.2.75 or ‘Centaurus’
Singapore: As Singapore grapples with its latest wave of COVID-19 infections due to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants, an even newer mutant could be on the horizon – BA.2.75.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/new-covid-variant-centaurus-omicron-infectious-2825556

More than 3,200 Covid-19 patients have been prescribed oral antiviral drugs
Singapore – More than 3,200 patients across all healthcare settings have been prescribed either Paxlovid or Lagevrio, which are oral antiviral drugs that are being used to prevent people from falling very ill with Covid-19, as at July 10, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (July 21).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/more-than-3200-covid-19-patients-have-been-prescribed-oral-antiviral-drugs-moh

*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