DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 8 Sep 2022 (Thu)

SINGAPORE REAL ESTATE

Grace Fu urges built environment sector to be more green, especially in design phase
The government is calling on the built environment sector to be more green, especially in the design phase. One suggestion by Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu is to replace electricity generated from fossil fuels. Another is to relook the construction processes to reduce carbon emissions. She was speaking to property developers at a Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore event. Ms Fu said the government will work with the industry through the Green Building Masterplan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHz8LDQZUps
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/singapore/story20220908-1310814

Horizon Towers takes another crack at collective sale at a reserve price of S$1.1b
99-year-leasehold Horizon Towers at Leonie Hill is launching for collective sale by tender at a reserve price of S$1.1 billion. Inclusive of an estimated S$277 million lease top-up premium, the unit land rate works out to about S$2,049 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 204,742 sq ft site, according to sole marketing agent JLL.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/horizon-towers-takes-another-crack-at-collective-sale-at-a-reserve-price-of-s11b

Oakwood serviced apartments up for sale at S$170m
Freehold serviced apartments Oakwood Studios, located at 18 Mount Elizabeth, has been put up for sale via an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise with a guide price of S$170 million, said sole marketing agent Edmund Tie & Company on Wednesday (Sept 7).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/oakwood-serviced-apartments-up-for-sale-at-s170m
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/oakwood-serviced-apartments-up-for-sale-at-170m

Frasers Property’s Sky Eden@Bedok 75% sold at S$2,100 psf average on launch day
Nearly 75 per cent or 118 of Sky Eden@Bedok’s 158 residential units have been sold at an average price of about S$2,100 per square foot (psf) on the first day of the property’s launch on Wednesday (Sep 7).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/frasers-propertys-sky-edenbedok-75-sold-at-s2100-psf-average-on-launch-day
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/sky-edenbedok-75-of-all-units-sold-on-first-day-of-launch

TE Capital, LaSalle Investment Management JV eye forward sale of new office project on Cecil Street
The TE Capital Partners and LaSalle Investment Management tie-up that owns the PIL Building along Cecil Street is considering a forward sale of the new 20-storey freehold office project to be built on the site.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/te-capital-lasalle-investment-management-jv-eye-forward-sale-of-new-office-project-on

HDB resale prices inch up 0.4% in August, volumes continue trending down
While prices of Housing Board (HDB) resale transactions logged their 26th consecutive month of increase in August, their volumes remained on a downtrend to potentially signal a drop in demand.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hdb-resale-prices-inch-up-04-in-august-volumes-continue-trending-down

SINGAPORE ECONOMY

Trade associations, chambers critical in Forward Singapore exercise: Low Yen Ling
Participation of not just individuals or Singaporeans, but trade associations and chambers (TACs) and business associations is critical in the Forward Singapore exercise, said Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Trade and Industry on Wednesday (Sep 7).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/trade-associations-chambers-critical-in-forward-singapore-exercise-low-yen-ling

Slower growth ahead for Singapore?
Latest figures suggest that Singapore’s pandemic recovery is slowing, even as significant global headwinds — including China’s slowdown, further supply chain disruptions, and potential escalations in geopolitical tensions — lie ahead.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/slower-growth-ahead-for-singapore

$8m boost for tourism and lifestyle businesses to help market S’pore as a destination
Singapore – Hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions here will be able to tap a new $8 million fund to help them promote Singapore as a choice destination for business and leisure.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/8m-boost-for-tourism-and-lifestyle-businesses-to-help-market-spore-as-a-destination

From SME to ‘SGE’: Asean holds opportunities for Singapore’s global enterprises
Changes in international economic conditions have led to a new era of rising costs, underscoring the need for Singapore and its local enterprises to become more competitive.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sme/from-sme-to-sge-asean-holds-opportunities-for-singapores-global-enterprises

Keeping Singapore open for business
Two recent developments attest to the strong signal that Singapore is sending out to the rest of the world: that the country is open for business. It has been announced that Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 will reopen for the first departing flights on Oct 11 after a break of more than two years, including all Singapore Airlines flights to South-east Asian destinations.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/the-straits-times-says-keeping-singapore-open-for-business

The road to better pandemic planning
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in many valuable lessons for Singapore, ranging from medical advances to how to keep the economy moving well in a crisis, but here is one that will be new to many people: the vital role that good urban planning can play.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-road-to-better-pandemic-planning

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM AND OTHERS

Singapore companies make beeline for reopened Vietnam
[Ho Chi Minh City] Just months after Vietnam reopened to international visitors, some Singapore companies are wasting no time heading to the South-east Asian country in search of opportunities, in areas from tech to lifestyle.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean-business/singapore-companies-make-beeline-for-reopened-vietnam

Singapore should be a hub for digital assets but not cryptocurrency
In his address to a seminar on Aug 29 entitled “Yes to Digital Asset Innovation, No to Cryptocurrency Speculation”, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon described cryptocurrencies as “highly hazardous” for retail investors and added that they needed to be more stringently regulated.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-should-be-a-hub-for-digital-assets-but-not-cryptocurrency

Nightclubs see bigger crowds with masks now optional, but unsure if good times will las
Partygoers came out in greater numbers over the first weekend that masks were no longer required in most indoor settings in Singapore, but nightlife operators are mixed on whether this will be a one-off spike or a sustained rise in demand.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/nightclubs-see-bigger-crowds-with-masks-now-optional-but-unsure-if-good-times