Business forum launched to attract more Indian companies

Business forum launched to attract more Indian companies
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 June 2007 1329 hrs

SINGAPORE: Indian companies now form one of the largest contingents of foreign firms in Singapore.So the top 25 companies operating out of Singapore decided to join forces and launch the India Business Forum.The Forum aims to be the voice of Indian firms and promote India in Singapore and the region.
It was jointly launched by Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang and visiting Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

There are at least 2,600 Indian companies operating out of Singapore.

That’s more than double the number just five years ago.

And the newly-launched India Business Forum wants to be a platform for these companies to help them do business in and out of Singapore.

Mr Pranab Mukherjee said: “An effective forum will be very welcomed and a timely initiative, coming as it does when the two governments are working actively to raise the bilateral relationship to new heights. It can make a critical contribution to the appreciation of Brand India in Singapore.”

Girija Pande, Chairman of the India Business Forum, said: “Indian business today is globalising at a very fast pace…….They are taking over companies or setting up new manufacturing facilities or services companies and all of them need to be represented. There are really two roles for this forum. One is to represent the interests in the country they operate and second is to project and be the voice of corporate India.”

And, Singapore welcomes constructive proposals from the Forum on how to improve the business environment here.

Minister Lim told the Forum: “The strong and growing presence of Indian companies in Singapore is the best testament to the deepening economic linkages between India and Singapore. Looking ahead to the future, I am confident that the successes of your member companies will serve as further inspiration for other Indian companies to come to Singapore.”

India’s captains of industry say the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed between the two countries is already showing good results.

There has been an increase in trade between the two countries and companies from both sides are investing in each other’s countries.

In fact, the Indian industry captains feel the investments from Singapore companies in India are just the tip of the iceberg and much more can be done.

Already, Singapore is among the top five foreign investors in India. - CNA/ir

CPF Minimum Sum withdrawal age may be raised to 65

CPF Minimum Sum withdrawal age may be raised to 65
Posted: 20 June 2007 1659 hrs

SINGAPORE: The age when a person is allowed to withdraw the CPF Minimum Sum could be raised from 62 to 65 in the near future.This is one suggestion by Minister-in-charge of ageing issues, Mr Lim Boon Heng, who has just returned from a study trip to Japan.
Under the law, CPF withdrawal is tied to the prevalent retirement age. So if the retirement age is raised, then the CPF drawdown age would be raised as well.

In May, a tripartite committee studying the issue of employing older workers in an ageing workforce said hiring older workers beyond the age of 62 would become part of Singapore’s employment laws within the next five years.

To cope with an ageing population, Japan and some European countries are already raising the age at which national pensions are paid out to 65 and beyond.

By 2013, all Japanese will not be able to draw out their national pensions until they are 65.

Singapore may follow-suit, with its CPF system. That is because the average life expectancy of the elderly is now 82. So Singaporeans need to think about how to stretch their savings.

Mr Lim said: “I think it is quite reasonable to raise it to 65, if our objective is to raise the employment rate of this group of people, but I think we should do so cautiously.

“So we should make employment happen. We should not leave people in a situation where they can’t get a job and yet the minimum sum drawdown age is raised. So we must first make sure… that the employment rate [is] going up.”

The government is already getting employers and employees to negotiate terms of re-employment, once the worker hits the retirement age at 62.

Extending this retirement age is not a law yet, as the government first wants to explore what types of issues will crop up and how they can be resolved.

In Japan, the reemployment law states that the employer is obliged to offer a job to someone who has reached the age of 60 until he is 65.

But how this is done is open to discussion. For example, employers can pay the worker less, or arrange for another job for the worker.

And the Japanese government is now thinking of raising the retirement age to beyond 70.

It has even set a target of 90 per cent employment for those aged 60 to 65 by the year 2030.

Currently, 52.6 per cent of Japanese in this age group are employed.

In Singapore, this figure is 41.9 per cent.

During his study trip, Minister Lim also visited nursing homes and day care centres in Japan.

Many of the elderly in these centres are subsidised by a long-term care insurance implemented by the state seven years ago.

But since it kicked in, financial outlay grew from S$45 billion to S$87 billion last year.

So it is becoming clear to the Japanese that this is unsustainable.

Mr Lim said such an example showed that the responsibility of caring for the old, should not rest on the state.

“As the Japanese are realising, it is the family that should look after the old and it is the community that should support the family to look after the old. This is the lowest cost option for any society,” said Mr Lim.

And to help families, Singapore could take a leaf from Japan’s example, where there are courses for caregivers, who also have a support network.

Mr Lim is also against giving state funding to these caregivers.

In Japan, families cannot claim from the long-term care insurance when they stay home themselves to look after the elderly, but they can claim if they hire external help.

“This is a choice which people have to make based on their set of values. And the set of values that I would like to maintain and promote is that it is the duty of the family to look after its old.

“Payment to family members breaks that link and I think it would cheapen the care that the family members give to their old if we equate that with payment,” said Mr Lim.

Also, there is already the Eldershield plan, which allows the individual or his family to decide what to do with the payouts.

As for singles, Mr Lim said there are provisions made for them, such as the building of studio apartments.

But as far as possible, he wants to encourage even singles to live in their own homes, and better still with their families. - CNA/yy

Dengue at epidemic level: 401 hit last week

Dengue at epidemic level: 401 hit last week

NEA to begin listing clusters with 10 or more cases to alert residentsBy Arti Mulchand & Tania Tan

THE dengue situation has reached the epidemic level for the first time this year - with weekly cases hitting 401 last week, up from 293 the week before.

The last epidemic was in 2005.

The number of people struck so far this year is 2,868, more than double last year’s 1,392 for the same period.

The situation has arisen despite stepped-up anti-dengue efforts and was aggravated by the hot weather and unusual intermittent rain.

These factors together favoured the breeding conditions for the Aedes aegypti, the dengue-causing mosquito. Ten of the 77 currently open clusters have 10 or more dengue cases.

A cluster forms, or ‘opens’, when two or more dengue cases occur within two weeks and the victims’ homes are less than 150m apart. A cluster is ‘closed’ when it is dengue-free for two weeks.

Worst hit are Kim Keat Road/Kim Keat Close and the West Coast Drive/West Coast Walk areas, with 23 cases each.

Also badly hit: Admiralty Road West with 19 cases, Tampines Street 22 with 15, and West Coast Road, also with 15.

Four of the 10 clusters have been open for over a month. West Coast Road and the Ho Ching Road/Tao Ching Road/Yung Sheng Road cluster are of particular concern - indoor breeding persists despite officers’ efforts.

Since yesterday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has started listing details of all clusters with 10 cases of dengue or more on its website to alert residents.

It now has more than half of its 500-strong team of environment health officers focused on the 77 open clusters, in a bid to break the Aedes transmission cycle.

Because they show signs of possible clusters, Yishun, Marsiling, Woodlands, Bedok North, Ang Mo Kio and Taman Jurong will be combed daily for breeding spots.

On NEA’s radar are 44 other areas where residents are vulnerable - they have had little or no exposure to the Den-2 virus dominant now. In 2005, the dominant virus was Den-1.

The agency has covered all bases and there is no need for additional measures, said Mr Satish Appoo, director of the NEA’s Environmental Health Department.

For instance, it has stepped up checks on homes since May, when more than 171,000 home inspections were done - nearly double the number done in April.

Mr Appoo said: ‘We just need residents’ cooperation. The simplicity of vector control is that if you remove the breeding, you remove the problem.’

The spike may also not be permanent, he added.

Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director of the Communicable Disease Centre, is less optimistic. The NEA has done well, she said, but the multiple ‘non-controllable’ factors, like the change in the virus strain and the weather, may mean that a let-up may not occur.

She said that each year, dengue cases usually rise before hitting a peak in mid-August or September before beginning to come down, and if that trend is followed, ‘caution’ would still be necessary.

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

China seeks peaceful rise: MM Lee

China seeks peaceful rise: MM Lee

Beijing complying with trading norms, focused on catching up with rest of worldBy Goh Sui Noi, Senior Correspondent

CHINA is learning how to operate within the international system because it sees that as the best way forward, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said yesterday.

Beijing has accepted and is plugged into the world trading system, working within the rules of the game, and buying and selling on the open market, he added.

Noting that the Chinese were determined to play catch-up with the rest of the world, he said: ‘Their definition of their rise is a peaceful rise.’

Mr Lee was answering a question on whether China would be content to comply with regional and international norms as it rose in power or seek to create a new status quo.

In a speech earlier, he said China recognised that, historically, the emergence of a new big power had caused displacement of existing international systems, leading to wars. The rise and fall of Germany and Japan in the 20th century were examples the Chinese cited.

‘They are determined not to travel this route,’ he said in his speech at the East Asian Institute (EAI) 10th anniversary lectures on the economic and social challenges to China’s growth.

The Chinese saw the success of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, which had access to the world - to technology, knowledge and markets. They saw that they needed the same access and therefore joined the World Trade Organisation.

And despite provocation from the Japanese over the Yasukuni Shrine, they pushed for a win-win relationship with their technologically superior and more advanced neighbour, Mr Lee noted.

Sino-Japanese ties deteriorated from 2001 as a result of then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to the shrine, which commemorates, among the Japanese war dead, 14 war criminals involved in the invasion of China during World War II.

But the relationship warmed after Mr Shinzo Abe became prime minister last year.

Pointing to forecasts that China’s gross domestic product would be as large as Japan’s by 2030, Mr Lee said: ‘By the time they get there, we hope (they) will have a different generation in charge at all levels.’

This new generation would be different from the current leaders in that they would have studied or travelled abroad, and would have English as their first foreign language.

Mr Lee believed that this generation would ‘want to be admired and not just feared by the world’.

‘They will want to improve the nature of their society and make it as attractive and admirable as any Western society or Japanese society,’ he said.

He added that the world should encourage China to move in this direction.

In his speech, he also noted that China had since 1997 made a policy change from dealing with Asean countries bilaterally to engaging the region multilaterally through mechanisms such as the Asean Regional Forum.

‘China leaders may also have realised that multi-lateralism could increase credibility in China’s rise being peaceful and not a threat to the world,’ he suggested.

‘Asean is an opportunity for China to demonstrate that its rise is indeed peaceful and benign,’ he added.

Mr Lee was peppered with questions from Chinese participants, including one on how to tackle corruption.

He replied that this was a phase China had to go through in its transition from a planned to a free market economy.

However, he believed that the Chinese leaders could put it down because ‘at the core, they are not on the take’, so they could go down the line and clean up the government.

He stressed the importance of having a clean centre, noting that this was the case with Singapore, which, through its policy of benchmarking salaries of top government officials to those of the private sector, was able to keep a relatively corruption- free administration.

Asked for his view of the Chinese people’s demand for greater political rights, he said his observation was that young people in China wanted to succeed in life. To do so, China needed to grow and needed stability and policies that encourage growth.

Politics like those in Taiwan and South Korea were not conducive to growth, he noted.

Mr Lee yesterday noted that the EAI was the only research institute in South-east Asia studying contemporary China and lauded it for building a reputation through balancing policy-related research with academic study.

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

S’pore-India ties get boost with launch of two forums

S’pore-India ties get boost with launch of two forums

Ministerial panel, Strategic Dialogue will promote cooperation at different levelsBy Lee Seok Hwai

SINGAPORE and India turned a new page in bilateral relations yesterday, launching two new forums to steer and develop cooperation.

Foreign Minister George Yeo and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee agreed to set up and lead a Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC), which will be the highest-level official channel for the discussion of mutual interests and exchange of ideas between the two countries.

At the same time, they announced the launch of the bilateral Strategic Dialogue, which they said would gather together government officials, lawmakers, industrialists, academics and media representatives, all of whom influence decision-making, to explore new areas of cooperation.

The JMC will set the broad framework and direction for the development of India-Singapore relations, and complement existing exchanges such as those between the defence and economy-related ministries.

‘It’s a landmark agreement - for the first time between the two countries we’ve agreed to establish a regular forum at a ministerial level,’ said Mr Yeo at the signing ceremony.

While the date of the first meeting has not been set, Mr Yeo said he hoped the leaders will meet once a year.

Mr Mukherjee, the Indian External Affairs Minister, said the JMC will spur the growth of India-Singapore relations.

‘It demonstrates the maturity, depth and range of our rapidly developing bilateral ties,’ said Mr Mukherjee, one of India’s most experienced and senior leaders.

And underscoring the strength and openness of Singapore’s relationship with India, Mr Yeo said of the Strategic Dialogue: ‘We agreed that there will be no limits to what we’ll talk about.’

The Strategic Dialogue will be co-chaired by Indian Ambassador Satinder K. Lambah and Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh.

Plans for its inaugural session are in the pipeline.

India and Singapore have traditionally been strong partners, given their common cultural heritage, and economic ties have been flourishing since they inked the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2005.

Trade jumped 40 per cent last year to US$13 billion (S$20 billion), as Singapore became India’s second-largest source of foreign direct investment.

During a 50-minute meeting before speaking to the media, Mr Yeo and Mr Mukherjee also said they hoped the Asean-India free trade agreement negotiations would be concluded by the end of the year.

And Mr Mukherjee yesterday predicted even closer ties.

‘Both our countries have similar views and perspectives. The potential for bilateral cooperation between India and Singapore is immense,’ he told reporters.

The diplomats also emphasised Singapore-India cultural collaborations, such as the Nalanda project to revive an ancient Indian university, as well as a new study on Indian independence fighter Subhas Chandra Bose.

‘Singapore and India are bound by history, culture and blood,’ Mr Yeo said.

Mr Mukherjee, who is in Singapore on a three-day visit, earlier attended the launch of the book Chalo Delhi - a collection of writings and speeches of Bose, who rallied tens of thousands of Indians in South-east Asia to topple British colonial rule in the 1940s.

The Indian minister later called on President S R Nathan and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Istana.

Today, he will deliver a public lecture, India’s Foreign Policy Priorities, at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

Where to eat or shop? Just ask your phone’s Concierge

Where to eat or shop? Just ask your phone’s Concierge

By Tham Yuen-C

SINGAPOREANS and tourists can now access a new free cellphone service that recommends places where they can eat, shop and even party.Called The Digital Concierge, users can sign up for free and download the software for their phones at www.digitalconcierge.sg

Once that is done, they simply click on an icon that will appear on their phones, and can then navigate the Concierge much like a typical mobile phone menu.

The system is currently on trial. For now, it will tell users what shopping centre, restaurant or nightspot is closest to where they are - for free.

When it is fully operational next year, it will deliver news about shopping bargains to a user’s phone even as he walks through a mall, let visitors interact with one another via an online social network that they can access through their devices, and even give information such as the hotels within a particular area.

Other content, such as a restaurant search engine and daily news snippets, will also be available then, but this

will require users to connect to the Internet using their phones.

During the nine-month trial period, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) - which developed the system together with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) - hopes to collect feedback from merchants and at least 5,000 users.

This will help fine-tune the service, said Mr Tan Eng Pheng, the IDA’s cluster director for finance, tourism, trade and manufacturing, before it is officially launched next year.

The system, unveiled yesterday on the sidelines of the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) trade show, is one of the key programmes under the country’s IT Masterplan, which maps out the direction of Singapore’s infocomm development until 2015.

A budget of between $3 million and $10 million has been set aside for the Concierge, the IDA said earlier this year.

Explaining the aim of the service, IDA chief executive Chan Yeng Kit yesterday said: ‘We hope to elevate the experience of tourists here through the use of technology.’

The STB has been working with merchants and hotels to include their information in the service for free.

STB deputy chairman and chief executive Lim Neo Chian said: ‘This initiative will not only benefit visitors… but also enhance the tourism industry’s business competitiveness, efficiency and growth.’

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

Bigger payouts over longer period for new ElderShield

Bigger payouts over longer period for new ElderShield

Premiums just slightly up in revamped version as insurer Aviva joins inBy Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

ELDERSHIELD, the national severe-disability insurance scheme for those over 40, will give policy holders bigger payouts over a longer period - at only slightly higher premiums.Policyholders who turn 40 on or after Sept 30 will automatically get on this new basic ElderShield scheme.

If they become severely disabled, they will get monthly payouts of $400 for up to six years - up from the current $300 a month over five years.

The new potential payout is $28,800, 60 per cent more than the current $18,000. But premiums are only 15 to 30 per cent higher.

The 750,000 existing policyholders on the five-year-old scheme will not be left out: They may choose to stay with the current scheme at the old premium and payout rate, or switch to the new one by paying an adjustment fee and the new premiums.

The adjustment fee will vary with age. Policyholders will be sent letters about how much this will be for them.

This change comes as part of a revamp of ElderShield, aimed at giving an ageing nation of policyholders more choices in coverage plans to suit their needs and their means. All policyholders will also be able to pick from a menu of ‘add-on’ coverage - with additional premiums payable - to customise disability plans for themselves.

Along with the revamp, a third insurer, Aviva, has joined NTUC Income and Great Eastern to sell ElderShield plans. Its competitive bid was instrumental in setting the new premium and payout rates. NTUC Income and Great Eastern will match these rates come September, when the Health Ministry’s new contract with insurers begins.

ElderShield cover is automatically given to Central Provident Fund members when they turn 40, but anyone can opt out then. Premiums pegged to the age at which people join are paid yearly from their Medisave accounts.

Policyholders stop paying premiums when they start getting payouts from a claim; they also stop paying premiums at age 65, although payouts will still be made if disability strikes at any time for the rest of their lives.

The payouts kick in when policyholders become unable to perform at least three of six stipulated daily tasks.

A member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health (GPCH), Dr Lam Pin Min, urged people to switch to the new scheme because of the ’significant improvement in the payout with a nominal increase in the premium’.

Following a visit to the Peacehaven nursing home yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that his ministry would reward Aviva for its competitive rates by giving it half the new cohort of those who turn 40; the other two insurers will get 25 per cent each.

All three insurers will offer the supplementary schemes which, for extra premiums, could offer higher payouts, payouts over longer periods or under less-stringent definitions of disability.

Premiums for these add-ons can be paid out of Medisave, but policy holders may only draw on Medisave for up to $600 a year for these. Amounts above this are to be paid for in cash.

Madam Halimah Yacob, who heads the GPCH, cautioned against spending too much on add-ons. Mr Khaw agreed, saying that, for himself, a policy yielding about $1,500 a month for 10 years would be enough.

No cap has been imposed, however, on the amount of Medisave to pay the premiums for the basic scheme, which can be as high as $3,130 for a woman joining it at the age of 64. The premium is high because she would only pay it twice, until she reaches 65.

Mr Khaw said it was therefore advisable to join ElderShield at age 40, while annual premiums are at about $20

Source: The Business Times, 20 June 2007

Many CEOs of foreign firms in town for trade show

Many CEOs of foreign firms in town for trade show

By Leslie Goh SEVERAL chief executives of foreign companies are among the more than 30,000 overseas delegates in town to attend the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) trade show.

They will visit the exhibition at the Singapore Expo, hold business meetings and deliver speeches.

The CEOs include Mr Simon Bureau, 45, of Vectis, which provides consulting services to companies planning to move into South Korea’s competitive Web or mobile arenas.

He spoke at the BroadcastAsia show, part of imbX, on South Korea’s experience in developing its mobile and Web sectors, and the lessons to be learnt from it.

He said that the imbX events are ‘fairly comprehensive’ and of good value.

Another CEO who is here is Mr John Humphreys, managing director of Global Innovation Centre, which is involved in high-tech design, manufacturing, electronic and infocomm technology capabilities.

His mission is to drum up business for his company and sign contracts with business partners.

Other CEOs attending the trade show include:

Mr Bill Barney of Asia Netcom, a submarine cable subsidiary of China Telcom.

Ms Zai Banu of Singapore-based Oak3 Films. She is a panellist for a BroadcastAsia conference discussion group on mixing live action with animation; and

Mr Ricky Wong, co-founder and chairman of Hong Kong telco City Telecom (HK). He is a panellist at the CommunicAsia conference discussion on industry structure and value creation in Asia.

Source: The Business Times, 20 June 2007

CapitaLand pays $9m for No 8 Tong Watt Rd In Singapore

CapitaLand pays $9m for No 8 Tong Watt Rd in Singapore

June 20th, 2007

CapitaLand is understood to have bought No 8 Tong Watt Road off River Valley Road in the Mohamed Sultan area, at an auction last week for $9 million, bridging a gap in the row of houses it owns on the street.

With the latest acquisition, CapitaLand owns about 77,000 sq ft land area (stretching from Nos 1 to 17 Tong Watt Road) and which can be developed into around 293,000 sq ft gross floor area. That would be enough for almost 200 apartments averaging 1,500 sq ft. The stretch is zoned for residential use with a 3.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area).

CapitaLand had bought the earlier properties at Tong Watt Road through at least two batches since 1999. Based on earlier reports, only the facade of the properties needs to be preserved, and the rear of the shophouses could be redeveloped up to 10 storeys high.

No 8 Tong Watt Road, which CapitaLand purchased last week, had been put up for auction by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRA) to recover property taxes owed to it.

The 999-year leasehold, three-storey terrace house has yet to be restored and is the River Valley Conservation area. It has a land area of 2,751 sq ft.

Bidding for the property at the Knight Frank auction on Friday began at $6 million. The bidding was confined to just two to three parties, who drove the price up to $9 million before CapitaLand won.

Meanwhile, another group of properties that had been put for sale by its owner at the same auction - a row of six restored conservation shophouses at South Bridge Road - was sold hours before the auction began. The buyer, believed to be a Singapore investment company, paid more than the $20 million-22 million indicated price.

The six freehold shophouses at Nos 252 to 262 (even numbers) South Bridge Road, near the junction with Temple Street have a total land area of nearly 8,500 sq ft and a floor area of around 16,600 sq ft. Other properties sold at the auction include two adjoining refurbished shophouses at Nos 762 and 764 North Bridge Road, with a total freehold land area of 2,890 sq ft. They fetched $3.2 million. A three-bedroom apartment at the freehold Holland Peak in District 10 fetched $1.54 million or $1,008 psf of strata area.

Knight Frank’s auction saw the sale of 21 Senoko Loop, a detached factory building, for $3.65 million. The building has a floor area of about 71,860 sq ft with a land area of 114,345 sq ft. The site has 24-year leasehold tenure with effect from Aug 16, 1992.

Source: The Business Times, 20 June 2007

A balancing act on property prices in Singapore

A balancing act on property prices in Singapore

June 20th, 2007

The latest government land sales programme reflects the balancing act that is required to respond to the booming property market in Singapore. The government announced last week its biggest ever land sales programme, offering a total of 41 sites in the second half of this year comprising 14 through the confirmed list and 27 in the reserve list.

The 14 confirmed-site offer is double the seven in the H1 2007 programme and also the highest figure since the reserve list system was introduced in 2001. The 41 plots the government is offering for the second half can potentially yield 8,000 private homes and 3.8 million sq ft gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 6,500 hotel rooms. But the programme - despite its scale - is no sledgehammer response to rising demand and prices.

Worth noting is the fact that none of the 20 residential sites in the programme are in prime district locations, where prices have climbed the steepest. It is a clear indication that the government, while keen to keep prices in the mass market affordable for Singaporeans, is willing to let market forces regulate prices in the luxury segment. The market has welcomed the approach, and property stocks rose the day after the programme was announced.

There was something to take away too, for those keenly watching rising office rentals - which have created fears that Singapore’s attraction to businesses may be eroding away. The government, in announcing its land sales programme, took pains to highlight the additional sources of office space that will be coming onstream. This will include around 1.4 million sq ft of space from vacant state buildings, small plots for office and other commercial uses and transitional offices. In all, the government said 6.9 million sq ft of office space will be completed by 2010, including the first phase of the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

While the latest land sales programme is generally welcomed as a measured response to developments in the property market, more may have to be done. For one, some would argue that the government cannot afford to leave the prime segment alone if there is a continued escalation in prices and rentals.

At stake could be Singapore’s efforts to attract and retain top-end foreign talent. A recent American Chamber of Commerce survey found that 61 per cent of the senior US executives polled were dissatisfied with housing prices. And the sharp increases in property prices have pushed up Singapore one notch to be the fifth most expensive city for expatriates in Asia and the 14th most expensive in the world, according to a Mercer survey this week.

The government has enough firepower in its arsenal - from land sales to legislative measures - to bring to bear on the property market. But it still faces the challenge to strike the correct balance between supply and demand, and between allowing the property sector to thrive and the need to maintain Singapore’s competitiveness. It’s a fine balancing act that needs to be performed.

Source: The Business Times, 20 June 2007

Earlier date set for hearing on Horizon Towers’ sale

Earlier date set for hearing on Horizon Towers’ sale

June 20th, 2007

The hearing on the disputed Horizon Towers en bloc sale has been brought forward to next month, thus averting fears that the $500 million deal could be derailed by a closure deadline.

Collective sale agreements have to be closed within six months of being signed or go back to the sales committee - a potentially divisive procedure that can kill a sale.

That gave Horizon Towers - its deal was agreed on Feb 12 - a cut- off date of Aug 11. But that raised a serious problem for the sellers as the dispute hearing was not scheduled to be held until September.

But The Straits Times learnt yesterday from a reliable source that the Strata Titles Board had rescheduled the hearing for five days, starting on July 26.

The two blocks at Leonie Hill have been pledged to be sold en bloc for $500 million to Hotel Properties (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Qatar Investment Authority, the investment arm of the Emirate of Qatar.

The deal won backing from 84 per cent of the owners - exceeding the 80 per cent requirement - but it still needs approval from the Strata Titles Board.

Since that initial agreement, eight owners have objected to the sale. Efforts by the board to broker a compromise have come to nought, so a full hearing has been called.

It is understood that the dissenters object in principle to procedures leading up to the sale and not to the actual price offered.

But their sentiments are shared by several other unit owners who initially consented to the sale but are now unhappy over the price.

They point to the recent property boom that has seen the neighbouring Grangeford Apartments, which is five years older than Horizon, going for an asking price of more than $2,000 per sq ft (psf).

This dwarfs the $800 psf agreed for Horizon Towers.

The mood now is in stark contrast to the rejoicing late last year, when the owners were jubilant at the price the 23-year-old Horizon Towers had fetched.

Most owners in the 199 apartments in the 210-unit estate would walk out with about $2.3 million, while owners of the 11 penthouses would reap $4 million or more.

If the deal fails to meet the Aug 11 deadline, the initial deposit advanced to the sellers would have to be returned but it is unclear if they would face any liabilities if the sale does not go through.

Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim of Drew & Napier, who is acting for the sellers, said yesterday: ‘This is not a straightforward situation.’

He declined to comment on what would happen if the sale is aborted.

On Monday, more than 100 residents attended an extraordinary general meeting that sought to replace the existing sales committee.

Senior Counsel C.R. Rajah of Tan, Rajah and Cheah, who is acting for several owners, said they had a right to convene the meeting and decide who should represent them. But he stressed that the meeting had nothing to do with calling off the contract to sell the property.

One resident suggested that the existing committee resign en masse to enable others to be appointed. Another expressed concern over legal costs if the move triggered legal action by the buyers.

‘I would prefer not to be sued and I would want my money faster,’ said one resident.

Another resident feared that a new sales committee could raise legal questions and add to the general uncertainty over whom residents had to deal with.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament and senior lawyer Shriniwas Rai, who is representing a client-owner, proposed that the meeting be adjourned for six weeks to allow the differing parties to resolve the matter amicably. The suggestion was taken up by residents.

Senior Counsel K.Shanmugam of Allen & Gledhill, who is acting for HPL, said when contacted yesterday: ‘There is a contract and we are expecting the contract to be fulfilled.’

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

Improve in public transport now rather than later

Improve in public transport now rather than later

June 20th, 2007

‘Location, location and location’ determines largely a property’s value. Being accessible equates to convenience, resulting in precious time saved from mind-numbing rides in cramped buses on clogged roads and expressways.

With property prices going skywards, the average Singaporean is being priced out of central locations, having to move farther and farther away.

As the population increases and road congestion sets in, it becomes clear that improving public transport is the only viable option to at least maintain the quality of life of the working and middle class who rely solely on such means of travel.

The benefits are manifold. Property prices in outlying areas will be given a shot in the arm, providing capital gains to owners.

Traffic will ease as more people opt to take public transport.

Pollution will be reduced.

Newly connected areas could potentially experience ‘jump-started’ development.

More time can spent with friends and family.

Precious meals eaten at home and moments spent with children in the morning and evening would tip the work-life balance favourably.

With regard to costs, surely expanding the road network and expanding the MRT system with the Downtown extension, Bukit Timah line, Eastern and Jurong region lines now would be cheaper than embarking on such major projects later on.

Given the length of time involved from planning to completion, a sooner-rather-than-later approach to this issue should be adopted as hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans will be affected by them. The timeframe of having the Bukit Timah line completed by 2015 is simply too prolonged.

City planners should not neglect outlying areas and the heartlands. There is more to Singapore than the integrated resorts and the boom in the luxury-property sector.

Surely no efforts should be spared in bringing the birth-rate up?

Varughese E. K. Mathew

Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007

Singapore ranked 14th costliest city for expats

Source: The Straits Times, 18 June 2007

URA gets $116.2m bid for Anson Rd commercial site

URA gets $116.2m bid for Anson Rd commercial site

The minimum committed bid for 0.25-ha site on reserve list works out to
about $460 psf ppr

By ARTHUR SIM

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has received a minimum committed bid
of $116.2 million for a commercial site on Anson Road. This works out to
about $460 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The site, which was put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales
(GLS) programme in October 2006, will now be put up for public tender.

The 0.25-ha site has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 23,418 sq m
(252,069 sq ft) and a building height restriction of 50 storeys. URA also
says the site configuration can provide a floor plate of 1,800 sq m.

Savills Singapore director of marketing and business development Ku Swee
Yong believes the site could fetch bids of between $900-$1,000 psf ppr.
‘Foreign investors are also likely to be keen to bid,’ he added.

Late last month, a nearby GLS commercial site at Anson Road/Enggor Street
was put up for public tender after the URA received a committed minimum bid
of $172 million. The tender closes next month.

Using some recent transactions in the Grade A office sector as a benchmark,
Mr Ku believes capital values for new developments could reflect the current
asking prices of $1,700 psf. Prices for commercial property have been
increasing significantly.

In February, Kim Eng Properties paid $44 million for a 0.13-ha commercial
site at New Bridge Road/North Canal Road. The public tender, which saw 11
bids for the site, closed with Kim Eng’s bid reaching $758.40 psf ppr, 25
per cent higher than the next highest bid.

The latest public tender will be launched in about two weeks’ time. A tender
period of about eight weeks will be allowed for the site.
 

Source: Business Times, 19 June 2007