Costa Del Sol - EAST-District 15 - District 16

Costa Del Sol - EAST-District 15 - District 16

Costa Del Sol is situated off the ECP, off Upper East Coast Road. It comprises of seven towers, each at 30 storey high. Each unit
is built to cater to the panoramic views of the sea across the complex. Expect to see a undisturbed, panoramic view of the sea if
you live above the 12th storey.

Living at Costa Del Sol would also mean you would enjoy its strategic location and stunning views, but its wide array of facilities,
beautiful architectural features, quality interior finishes and spatial living.

Developer: Japura Development Pte Ltd
PROPERTY TYPE: APT
LOCATION: BAYSHORE RD
DISTRICT: 16
POSTAL CODE: 469986
TENURE: 99
EST. TOPDATE: 2003
TOTAL UNITS: 906
Unit Area
PENTHOUSE 1991 -2626
4 BED ROOM 1475 -1561
3 BED ROOM 1227 1346
2 BED ROOM 947

Sell, Rent, Invest, Buy, Singapore Property

Mindy Yong

mindy@mindyyong.com

Tel: (+65) 91002985

Fax: (+65) 64021826

National Council on Problem Gambling rolls out code of practice

National Council on Problem Gambling rolls out code of practice By Foo Siew Shyan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 05 July 2007 1910 hrs SINGAPORE: The National Council on Problem Gambling has rolled out a Responsible Gambling Code of Practice, targeted at existing operators and clubs which run jackpot rooms. The code was launched at the inaugural Problem Gambling Conference on Thursday, with the aim of reducing potential problem gambling among customers. The code contains practical steps to help operators curb problem gambling. Says Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Community Devt, Youth & Sports Minister, “The real reason for coming up with this voluntary code was that even as we are fairly sure that we’ve set some good rules to regulate the two impending integrated resorts, there’s been much feedback that we also need to look at the current operators… “…particularly those that provide gambling facilities, like the machines, the slot machines, and the lotteries. These currently do not operate under a strictly enforced legislative framework.” Under the code, operators are urged to display notices to remind customers not to gamble excessively. They should also provide problem gambling helplines. “What I do need is to get the best operators and then let the public know who are these better or best operators, and that in turn will put peer pressure on the others to shape up and improve the practices,” says Dr Balakrishnan. So far, 14 operators, including Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools, have agreed to adopt the code. Says Juliana Lim, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Singapore Pools, “This code formalises the things we’ve been doing previously, sets the national standards. The only change we expect is that the training of staff now will have to be in accordance with a training programme which they are also developing as well.” The National Council on Problem Gambling is working with the Community Addictions Management Programme at the Institute of Mental Health to design a staff training programme. Singapore Turf Club says it will have counsellors to re-train staff, to spot potential problem gamblers. The Council hopes to implement the code in the last quarter of this year. Also on the cards by year’s end - the setting up of an international panel of experts on gambling addiction research - to help the government chart effective policies. - CNA/yy

More than half the places left in most schools

More than half the places left in most schools
By Maria Almenoar

THE first phase of the Primary1 registration drew to a close yesterday, with more than half the places in most schools still unfilled.
This was the case at six of 10 popular schools The Straits Times checked with: Ai Tong School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ (Primary), Nanyang Primary, Raffles Girls’ Primary, South View Primary and Tao Nan School.
Red Swastika School, Henry Park Primary, Rulang Primary and Rosyth School have slightly more than half their places taken up.
The lower numbers come as no surprise to principals.
They told The Straits Times that last year they had a bumper crop of applicants since the children were born in the year 2000, a Dragon Year, which is considered auspicious by Chinese parents.
This year, about 41,000 pupils are expected to register, compared to last year’s 47,000.

Phase 1 of the Primary 1 registration exercise - which guarantees a place - is for children with siblings already studying in the school of choice.
This came as a relief to parent Ong Kim Choo who was able to get her daughter Shi Qing into Nan Chiau Primary, where her older daughter is in Primary 3.
‘At least I know for sure she has a place and I don’t have to worry about waiting for a later phase,” said the 38-year-old accounts assistant.
The next phase, Phase 2A(1), will be held tomorrow for children whose parents have been members of the school’s alumni association on or before June 30 last year.
Children with parents who are on the school advisory or management committees may also apply.
Source : The Straits Times, 05 July 2007

COE rates for cars hit lowest in 3 months

COE rates for cars hit lowest in 3 months
THE cost of certificates of entitlement (COEs) for cars fell to their lowest in three months at yesterday’s tender, as the higher goods and services tax (GST) rate dampened car buying.
The COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc fell by 5.1 per cent to close at $14,801, while that for cars above 1,600cc dropped 7.9 per cent to $17,399.
The rate for open category COE, used mainly for cars, fell by 6.1 per cent to $17,400.
Mr Mark Choong, managing director of Toyota distributor Borneo Motors, called it ‘the GST effect’. Showroom traffic had been weak in the weeks running up to July.
Yesterday’s tender drew 5,516 bids for car COEs, 6.2 per cent fewer than last month.
The COE rate for commercial vehicles also settled at a three-month low: 10.8 per cent lower at $4,909. Two months ago, it was $10,000. The rate for motorcycles inched up 2.8 per cent to close at $1,082.
Vehicle buyers hoping for more COEs to be released in October may be disappointed. This is because the number of vehicles taken off the road has fallen. In the first five months of the year, deregistrations shrank by 17.7 per cent to 39,123 units.
Source : The Straits Times, 05 July 2007

Addicts, worried relatives call gambling hotline

Addicts, worried relatives call gambling hotline
A 17-MONTH-OLD gambling hotline run by a non-profit organisation has pulled in about 600 calls, with half from gamblers seeking a quick fix for their debt problems, and the other half mainly from their worried relatives and friends.
The director for family service and support from the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, Mr Wong Kwong Sing, said that, clearly, gamblers were prone to thinking that their debts - rather than their addiction to gambling - was the problem.
‘Most gamblers who call us don’t call back or commit to counselling, once they find out they can’t get money from us to settle their debts,’ he said.
Referring to the other half of calls coming from family and friends of gambling addicts, he noted that they used the hotline to find a way to mend strained ties and help the addict with his problem.
For them, the hotline is a lifeline for emotional support, said Mr Wong. ‘It’s a good sign that family and friends have taken the initiative to call. Otherwise, we would not have been able to reach this group of problem gamblers.’
At least eight gambling addicts have completed the society’s 16-session face-to-face counselling programme, with none of them having fallen back to their old ways.

Mr Wong will share the society’s experience in dealing with problem gamblers and their families during Singapore’s first gambling conference, which begins today.
The two-day event at the Orchard Hotel has attracted about 500 local and international participants, one of the largest turnout for such a conference, said plenary speaker Dr Jeffrey Derevensky, who has dealt with youth gamblers in Canada.
One-third of the participants are educators and school counsellors, which indicates a high level of awareness of the need here to educate students about the risks of gambling.
The National Council on Problem Gambling, which is organising the conference, said it hoped the conference would enhance awareness about problem gambling, its trends, the methods of treating addiction and the training opportunities available for service professionals and educators.
The council was set up in August 2005 by the Government to tackle social problems linked to gambling ahead of the 2010 opening of the two mega integrated resorts here, which will include casinos.

Source : The Straits Times, 05 July 2007

Govt gives assurance to calm office space market

Govt gives assurance to calm office space market 
URA promises to provide more data; plot for temporary offices in Scotts Road released
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 
THE Government is taking a host of steps to calm the office property market amid an acute shortage of space that has sent rents soaring.
It is releasing sites for office development and has promised to provide more detailed information about the market.

This comes as prime office rents in May jumped 85 per cent over a year ago, said property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield yesterday.

A 1.04ha plot in Scotts Road earmarked for temporary offices was launched yesterday. It will be the first-ever office site to have a 10-year lease, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The short-term lease is crucial because while offices are in short supply now, about 12.6 million sq ft of commercial space may be completed by 2010 - with most able to be used for offices, said the URA. About 2.6 million sq ft of this space is likely to come from the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

But only about 2.37 million sq ft of offices were occupied each year between 2004 and last year, said the URA. This may lead to an oversupply problem after 2010, which may be why the lease for the Scotts Road site is ‘not likely to be renewed’.

The agency expects the site to host a low-rise office building ‘that can be built quickly in about a year’.

It should have three to four storeys with a maximum gross floor area of 168,627 sq ft, it added. The tender for the site will be based solely on price and closes on Aug 1.

If the URA receives good response to this site, it will release more such sites that it has already identified.

Property consultants said this could prove a viable short-term solution to the office squeeze.

‘The beauty of transitional sites is that they will help to ease the supply crunch to some extent, but can minimise the possibility of a supply glut in the future,’ said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at property firm Colliers International.

However, some market watchers cautioned that the project may prove financially tricky.

‘It is going to be a cash play for any developer coming in,’ said Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.

He believes the site could sell for $150 psf per plot ratio, or about $25 million, and that the developed building would fetch monthly rents of up to $8 per sq ft.

This puts the site’s yield at up to 15 per cent - not particularly attractive for a 10-year leasehold site, he said.

Apart from this site, JTC Corporation is to release a slew of business park sites in the next months, the URA said. These will provide ano- ther 1.3 million sq ft of business park space, which can be used to house the backroom operations of some firms.

The URA also said it would release more detailed information about office rentals and vacancies. This data, due out on July 27, will be ‘grouped based on the geographical location of the properties, among other things’.

And in an unusual move, it advised the public to interpret rental projections by consultants with caution. In particular, it pointed to a recent report by property firm Savills Singapore that warned Singapore’s office rents could surpass Hong Kong’s by the end of next year.

‘The consultants may not have taken into consideration the additional supply of office and business park space that will be generated from the latest Government initiatives,’ the URA said.
Source : The Straits Times, 05 July 2007

Govt gives assurance to calm office space market

Govt gives assurance to calm office space market
URA promises to provide more data; plot for temporary offices in Scotts Road released

THE Government is taking a host of steps to calm the office property market amid an acute shortage of space that has sent rents soaring. It is releasing sites for office development and has promised to provide more detailed information about the market.

This comes as prime office rents in May jumped 85 per cent over a year ago, said property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield yesterday.

A 1.04ha plot in Scotts Road earmarked for temporary offices was launched yesterday. It will be the first-ever office site to have a 10-year lease, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The short-term lease is crucial because while offices are in short supply now, about 12.6 million sq ft of commercial space may be completed by 2010 - with most able to be used for offices, said the URA. About 2.6 million sq ft of this space is likely to come from the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

But only about 2.37 million sq ft of offices were occupied each year between 2004 and last year, said the URA. This may lead to an oversupply problem after 2010, which may be why the lease for the Scotts Road site is ‘not likely to be renewed’.

The agency expects the site to host a low-rise office building ‘that can be built quickly in about a year’.

It should have three to four storeys with a maximum gross floor area of 168,627 sq ft, it added. The tender for the site will be based solely on price and closes on Aug 1.

If the URA receives good response to this site, it will release more such sites that it has already identified.

Property consultants said this could prove a viable short-term solution to the office squeeze.

‘The beauty of transitional sites is that they will help to ease the supply crunch to some extent, but can minimise the possibility of a supply glut in the future,’ said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at property firm Colliers International.

However, some market watchers cautioned that the project may prove financially tricky.

‘It is going to be a cash play for any developer coming in,’ said Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.

He believes the site could sell for $150 psf per plot ratio, or about $25 million, and that the developed building would fetch monthly rents of up to $8 per sq ft.

This puts the site’s yield at up to 15 per cent - not particularly attractive for a 10-year leasehold site, he said.

Apart from this site, JTC Corporation is to release a slew of business park sites in the next months, the URA said. These will provide ano- ther 1.3 million sq ft of business park space, which can be used to house the backroom operations of some firms.

The URA also said it would release more detailed information about office rentals and vacancies. This data, due out on July 27, will be ‘grouped based on the geographical location of the properties, among other things’.

And in an unusual move, it advised the public to interpret rental projections by consultants with caution. In particular, it pointed to a recent report by property firm Savills Singapore that warned Singapore’s office rents could surpass Hong Kong’s by the end of next year.

‘The consultants may not have taken into consideration the additional supply of office and business park space that will be generated from the latest Government initiatives,’ the URA said.

Source : Business Times - 5 July 2007

Heeton expects bonanza from prime project

Heeton expects bonanza from prime project

PROPERTY group Heeton Holdings could recoup its entire initial investment in its exclusive The Lumos condo by selling just two penthouses and a few mid-sized units during this weekend’s pre- invitation launch.

The company is confident that over a third of the 53 units at the prime Leonie Hill site will be snapped up at this Saturday’s ‘by- invitation-only’ event for special guests.

‘We have not issued any price list,’ said Danny Low Yee Khim, the Sesdaq-listed company’s executive director and chief financial controller. ‘But I expect property agents will have indicative prices benchmarked against neighbouring properties in the vicinity. Some are apparently coming with blank cheques from their invited clients.’

Key among these ‘neighbouring properties’ is SC Global’s Marq On Paterson Hill, which set a new record last week when a unit was sold for $5,100 per square foot (psf). And all 21 apartments in the first phase of that 66-unit luxury development - just down the road from Lumos - have been taken up at an average selling price of $4,137 psf.

Market watchers reckon units at The Lumos could fetch well over $3,000 psf. At this price, Heeton and Koh Bros (each has a 50 per cent stake in the project) stand to make some $220 million - or $110 million each - in profit.

This works out to about 50 cents per share for Heeton, and 24 cents per share for Koh Brothers.

The two firms bought the site - previously Hilton Towers - in April 2006 for $79.2 million, or about $880 psf per plot ratio, including a development charge of about $3.9 million. Coupled with construction cost, the total cost is said to be well under $1,200 psf.

Mr Low reckons the company will recover most of its land cost by selling its two penthouses, which, together, have a floor area of almost 12,000 sq ft.

‘If they go at $4,000 psf, we are looking at almost $50 million, which more than covers our 20 per cent loan on land cost,’ he said. ‘All we need is to sell a few more units and we’re home free.’

Mr Low describes Heeton’s move into property development as a necessary move for a company which previously sustained itself largely on rental incomes of its market stalls around the island. ‘The 198 wet market stalls delivered steady yields of about 16 per cent in good times and bad,’ he said. ‘But we, as a company,
came to a stage where we needed a quantum leap. And the logical choice was property development.’

Its investment properties include the Sun Plaza in Sembawang which it jointly owns with Koh Bros, Woodgrove in Woodlands, and Tampines Mart.

Then there is its 13-floor 39-unit freehold building at Kee Seng Street, within the financial district. It is estimated to be worth about $80 million in its current state. Mr Low said that Heeton would be looking into redevelopment plans for this property, which has a plot ratio of 3.9.

Meanwhile, the company is selling the last seven units in its 17-unit The Elements@Stevens project at Stevens Road - a project which could yield some $13 million in profit.

Last month, it joined hands with Koh Brothers, KSH Holdings and Lian Beng Group to buy the freehold Lincoln Lodge for $243 million. The consortium wants to buy a 3,358 sq ft plot of adjoining state land for about $3 million.

Mr Low said that the next phase would also include high end developments in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. ‘Ultimately, Singapore will account for 75 per cent of contribution, with offshore operations accounting for the rest.’

All this is heady stuff for a low profile company with earnings of just $4.5 million in FY2006, and $3.9 million in 2005. Some analysts estimate the RNAV of Heeton to be $1.40, based on current projects and surplus from prospective revaluation of its investment properties such as Sun Plaza.

Source : Business Times - 5 July 2007
 

Lian Beng buys freehold cluster in Mountbatten

Lian Beng buys freehold cluster in Mountbatten
It pays $42m for 47,400 sq ft site with 8 semi-Ds in private treaty

LIAN Beng Group has acquired a cluster of eight freehold semi- detached houses along Mountbatten Road for $42 million through a private treaty, the company said yesterday.

The average price for the site works out to about $633 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), inclusive of a development charge (DC), Lian Beng said. The company did not specify the amount of DC payable.

The 47,400 sq ft land parcel, which includes an adjoining piece of state land, has a plot ratio of 1.4 - giving it a maximum gross floor area of 66,400 sq ft. The site has the potential to be redeveloped into a 60-unit condominium averaging 1,100 sq ft each, Lian Beng said.

‘Going by current market prices in the vicinity, the redeveloped units with condo facilities should be able to fetch $1,100 psf and above,’ said Donald Han, managing director of property firm Cushman & Wakefield, which brokered the deal.

The project is expected to contribute positively to the group, said Lian Beng. ‘This transaction is yet another step by Lian Beng Group to further its advancement in the property development business, which is synergistic with our existing core business,’ said Ong Pang Aik, the company’s managing director.

Lian Beng’s core business is construction and the group is principally involved in the construction of residential, industrial, institutional and commercial projects, and civil engineering projects as a main contractor.

The latest acquisition comes two weeks after Lian Beng joined hands with three other property players to buy the freehold Lincoln Lodge off Newton Road for $243 million.

Together with Koh Brothers, Heeton Holdings and KSH Holdings, Lian Beng paid $1,449 psf ppr for Lincoln Lodge, including an estimated development charge of $413,000.

Shares of Lian Beng closed 0.5 cents down at 49 cents yesterday. The stock has appreciated 127.9 per cent since the start of the year.

Source : Business Times - 5 July 2007

GuocoLand seeks $1b loan for en bloc buy

GuocoLand seeks $1b loan for en bloc buy
It’s asked banks for proposals to fund Leedon purchase

GUOCOLAND Ltd may borrow as much as $1 billion, a record loan for the Singapore-based developer as rising demand for homes boosts prices in the city-state, bankers said.

GuocoLand asked banks in Singapore to submit proposals for the loan to fund the purchase of a condominium development close to the city’s downtown, three bankers said, asking not to be identified before the company makes an announcement.

The developer, controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, said in April it’s buying Leedon Heights from the existing owners for S$835 million. GuocoLand is raising a record amount of funds this year as the company expands in Singapore and China, where economic growth is fueling demand for new homes.

‘It is not difficult getting funds from financial institutions in today’s environment where there is a lot of liquidity,’ said Wallace Chu, analyst at DBS Vickers Research. ‘Banks are willing to lend to companies as long as they have a good story to tell.’

Loh Hui Yin, GuocoLand’s spokeswoman in Singapore, declined to comment on the loan.

GuocoLand raised $690 million in April selling bonds convertible into its shares, its biggest debt offering. It’s also planning a rights issue of about $555 million.

Rising property prices have led to a surge in demand for land. GuocoLand and other developers are tearing down older apartments at a record pace to rebuild newer projects that are expected to fetch higher prices.

Singapore home prices rose 7.9 per cent in the second quarter from the previous three months, the fastest pace in almost eight years, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. In comparison, China’s average housing price in 70 major cities rose 6.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, the biggest gain in 18 months, the National Development and Reform Commission said in June.

GuocoLand borrowed $100 million from banks in February, Bloomberg data show. The loan, its biggest then, was arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. The loan GuocoLand is now seeking will more than double its long-term borrowings, which increased to $786.5 million as of June 2006, from $567 million a year earlier.

In the past 12 months, GuocoLand bought an apartment complex, known as Palm Beach Garden, in the eastern part of Singapore for $75 million and Sophia Court, a condominium in the downtown area, for $230 million, according to the company’s website.

In China, it bought a 90 per cent stake this year in Beijing Cheng Jian Dong Hua Real Estate Development Co Ltd for US$750 million. The Chinese company owns the development and land use rights to the Dongzhimen site, a 106,000 sq m land parcel in Beijing.

Source : Business Times - 5 July 2007