Ho Bee, Banyan Tree win Mipim awards- Singapore

Ho Bee, Banyan Tree win Mipim awards- Singapore
HO BEE Group and Banyan Tree Holdings have won two of the seven categories in the inaugural Mipim Asia Awards held in Hong Kong.

The Berth by the Cove: The Mipim Asia Award is the first for the Sentosa development
Mipim, the Marche international des professionnels de l’immobilier, is a real estate and city development fair that also honours innovative and outstanding buildings.

Over 100 projects from 15 different countries across the Asia-Pacific region were submitted to the Mipim Asia Awards.

‘The quality of the final projects is a testimony to the high standards in Asian real estate today,’ commented Robert Lie, president of the jury and chairman of ING Real Estate Investment Management Asia (Hong Kong).

Ho Bee on Wednesday won in the Residential Developments category with its Sentosa development, The Berth by the Cove, by architects Axis Architects Planners.

This is the first award for The Berth, and Ho Bee general manager of marketing and business development Chong Hock Chang added that it is also ‘the first true waterfront housing in Singapore’.

He said: ‘The development is designed such that you either face the vast South China Sea or the enchanting waterways within the Cove. Further, it is also the first of its kind to have its own berthing facilities.’

On the efforts of Axis Architects, Mr Chong said: ‘They may be a local architect but the team has proven themselves to be able to compete against the best in the region by helping us bag this prestigious award.’

Banyan Tree Holdings won in the Hotels and Tourism Resorts category with its Banyan Tree Lijiang in China by Architrave Design & Planning.

Banyan Tree managing director (Design Services) Ho Kwoncjan explained that each Banyan Tree Resort is designed to blend into its natural surroundings, using indigenous materials as far as possible and reflecting the landscape and architecture of the destination.

‘Whether redesigning rustic Tibetan farmhouses as lodges, or visualising a resort within an intimate village setting, we promote the uniqueness of indigenous cultures,’ he said.

Source : Business Times - 30 Nov 2007

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JTC awards two industrial sites by tender

JTC awards two industrial sites by tender
JTC Corporation said yesterday it has awarded two industrial sites - one at Commonwealth and the other in Jalan Tepong.
The 120,300 sq ft site at L1 Commonwealth Drive/Lane went to WHB Pte Ltd, which submitted the highest of 14 bids received. WHB paid $51.2 million, or $170 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The 30-year leasehold site has a 2.5 plot ratio, giving it a maximum floor area of 300,700 sq ft.

The Jalan Tepong site was awarded to EL Development, which is fully owned by Evan Lim & Co Pte Ltd. The company submitted the highest of six bids received. It paid $9.5 million, or $30 psf ppr, for the site. The 23-year leasehold site has a land area of 224,600 sq ft and 1.4 plot ratio, giving it a maximum floor area of 314,500 sq ft.

The tender for the L1 Commonwealth Drive/Lane parcel was launched on Sept 21 and closed on Nov 2. The tender for the Jalan Tepong parcel was launched on Sept 28 and closed on Nov 9.

JTC is Singapore’s biggest industrial landlord.

Source : Business Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Singapore HDB to put Bishan site up for sale

Singapore HDB to put Bishan site up for sale

THE Housing Board yesterday said that it will release a residential site at Bishan Street 14 for sale by tender.
The 129,200 sq ft site has a 4.9 plot ratio - giving it a gross floor area of 632,900 sq ft. The site has a lease of 99 years.

Analysts said that the site could fetch between $370-$450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - which will bring the total price paid by the successful developer to anywhere between $234.2 million and $284.8 million.

Private apartments in the Bishan area are now selling for about $800 psf in the resale market. Construction costs for mass market condos now stand at about $300 psf, contractors told BT. Knight Frank’s director for research and consultancy Nicholas Mak expects the site to be popular with developers. ‘Even with the current turbulence in the market, developers are still looking out for good sites.’

A residential site in Ang Mo Kio sold by the HDB in September set a new record for suburban land prices, fetching some $601 psf ppr. The site also drew a bullish 14 bids.

But this Bishan site is less plum as it is further from the MRT station, observers said. Market sentiment has dipped since the tender for the Ang Mo Kio site closed two months ago.
The site is being made available under the government’s reserve list system.
Source : Business Times - 30 Nov 2007

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SLA auctions off 6 infill sites for $30.6m

SLA auctions off 6 infill sites for $30.6m

Some of the 99-year leasehold residential land parcels went for bargain prices
By UMA SHANKARI

THE Singapore Land Authority (SLA) yesterday auctioned off six 99-year leasehold residential land parcels for some $30.6 million in all - but some of the sites went for bargain prices.
A 16,690 sq ft good class bungalow (GCB) site at Eng Neo Avenue was picked up by a buyer for at the starting auction price of $6 million - which works out to $360 per square foot (psf). The buyer, Foo Chee King John, said that he was lucky to have won the site at such a good price.

‘Leasehold land on Sentosa can go for over $1,000 psf,’ he pointed out. The land, he said, is for his own private use.

And another GCB plot, also on Eng Neo Avenue, was sold to individual buyer Hu Nan Lee for $12.1 million - significantly above the starting price of $9.5 million. But the 29,200 sq ft site was still considered a good buy as it went for $414 psf.

The auction was SLA’s first for infill sites, the government agency said. Over 120 individuals and companies turned up for the auction, including professionals, businessmen, construction companies and niche developers.

Other than the GCB sites, SLA also auctioned off one other site in one of Singapore’s prime districts - a 6,290 sq ft semi-detached housing plot Moonbeam Walk, which is in District 10. The site fetched $3.9 million (as compared to the starting bid of $3.3 million), which works out at $626 psf.

The three other sites, at Somme Road, Jalan Insaf and Bedok Close went for $3.8 million, $3.5 million and $1.3 million respectively. The price works out to $353 psf for the Somme Road site, $508 psf for the Jalan Insaf site and $307 psf for the land parcel on Bedok Close.

The Somme Road plot proved to be the most popular of the six land parcels on offer and there were altogether 64 bids before it was awarded to Sarda Pte Ltd.

‘We are very encouraged by the strong bids shown at this auction,’ said SLA chief executive Lam Joon Khoi. ‘We will consider releasing more infill sites to help meet the current market demand for high quality residential properties.’

Source : Business Times - 30 Nov 2007

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S’pore Mfg firms here bullish on global trade

S’pore Mfg firms here bullish on global trade

They see it reducing costs and making new markets accessible: survey
By LYNETTE KHOO

MOST Singapore manufacturers look at globalisation as an opportunity to grow their businesses, as it makes new markets more accessible and offers cost savings via outsourcing, a study by Grant Thornton International showed.
The accountancy firm’s International Business Report 2007 ranked Singapore third, after Malaysia and India, in the proportion of businesses that view globalisation as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Singapore’s percentage balance - the difference between the proportion of businesses indicating an opportunity and those indicating a threat - was 64 per cent, after Malaysia’s 73 per cent and India’s 72 per cent.

‘The rise in global sales highlighted the importance of exporting in Singapore,’ said Aw Eng Hai, a partner with Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, the Singapore member firm of Grant Thornton International.

He said that globalisation has brought about an increase in the number of manufacturers that are exporting, which makes manufacturing a key investment focus. ‘With a surge in demand for consumer durables, and the advancement of emerging economies, manufacturing will be a key pillar of Singapore’s economy,’ he said.

However, the report showed that manufacturers in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand see globalisation as a threat rather than an opportunity. Their respective percentage balances were negative 13 per cent, negative 6 per cent, and negative 5 per cent.

According to the report, global manufacturing businesses were most concerned about the impact of raw materials and energy on cost pressures.

In Singapore, 69 per cent of manufacturers viewed raw material prices as having the biggest impact on cost pressures, compared to 61 per cent of globally, while 27 per cent of Singapore manufacturers cited energy costs, compared to 45 per cent worldwide.

Other key concerns among Singapore manufacturers included staff costs, which were cited by 46 per cent of them compared to 36 per cent of global manufacturers.

The manufacturing study was part of a series of reports produced using data from the Grant Thornton Business Report, which was conducted worldwide with more than 2,700 manufacturers.
Source : Business Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Top-end property ’still good value’ despite higher prices

Top-end property ’still good value’ despite higher prices

Cost competitiveness in S’pore unlikely to be hit, says panel in HK to promote sector

By Vince Chong, Hong Kong Correspondent
NOT OUTPRICED: While some condo units near Orchard Road (left) now cost twice as much as certain homes near New York’s Times Square, they are still nowhere near the world’s priciest homes, say developers. — PHOTOS: ST FILE PHOTO, REUTERS

THERE is little danger that Singapore’s high-end property prices will affect its cost competitiveness, said a panel promoting the country’s real estate prospects.
Mr Daryl Ng, the executive director of Sino Group, one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, said it was healthy that prices of top-end homes in Singapore have finally caught up with those in other global cities such as New York and London.

‘There is good value in Singapore…where prices were a laggard compared with those in other international cities,’ he said yesterday at Mipim Asia, a major property conference and exhibition being held in Hong Kong this year.

Mr Ng is the son of Sino Group chairman Robert Ng and the grandson of group founder Ng Teng Fong.

The panel was addressing a question from an audience member on whether Singapore’s costly homes would price the city out, especially as some Orchard Road flats now cost twice as much as apartments near New York’s Times Square.

The head of property firm Savills Singapore, Mr Michael Ng, noted that while Singapore homes might be getting pricey, they are still nowhere near the world’s costliest residences.

There is still some way to go before they hit prices such as $15,000 per sq ft (psf), fetched recently in London, he said.

Mr Richard Johnson, who heads the Istithmar Real Estate fund, added that high prices are simply part of a market cycle. ‘We’re at the top of the cycle in Singapore. It’s just tough luck.’

An official from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) noted that while high-end homes have exceeded $5,000 psf, there are still ‘good quality, suburban homes available for $500 to $600 psf’.

‘What we are seeing now is market segmentation,’ said Mr Marc Boey, a deputy director at the Singapore agency.

‘Compared with the 1990s, we are now seeing demand not just from Indonesians and Malaysians but also from people in Monaco, London and the Middle East.’

Mr Boey also told The Straits Times that the URA and the Singapore Tourism Board were in Hong Kong to woo hotel developers that have little or no presence in Singapore, ahead of a revised Government Land Sales programme due out in two weeks.

The programme opens sites to developers for bidding.

Many companies have expressed keen interest in building hotels, ranging from smallish ones of about 300 rooms to those with about 500 rooms, said Mr Boey.

Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Keen interest at first SLA auction for small plots - Singapore

Keen interest at first SLA auction for small plots - Singapore

Sites snapped up by individuals, firms at prices ranging from $1.3m to $12.1m

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
SOLD FOR $3.54M: Bids opened at $2.9 million for this Jalan Insaf site, suited for two semi-detached homes or a bungalow. — PHOTOS: SLA

MORE than 120 eager buyers yesterday crowded into a room at M Hotel hoping for a bargain deal at a first-of-its kind auction of six small plots of land.
The buyers were mostly hoping to buy a plot on which to build their own dream home.

And after some brisk bidding, six of them each left with a 99-year leasehold plot - some with what they saw as bargains.

The plots sold at prices from $1.3 million to $12.1 million, for a total of $30.64 million.

It was the Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) first auction of residential ‘infill’ sites.

‘Infill’ sites are pockets of state land, located in the midst of an established housing estate, that have been left untouched by nearby developments or were once used for public purposes.

The six sites were mostly hotly contested, reflecting strong interest in the attractively-priced sites.

The bidders included professionals, businessmen, construction firms and niche developers, said SLA in a statement.

Included in an SLA sale for the first time were two good- class bungalow (GCB) parcels, which were sold to individual buyers for up to $12.1 million.

Still, one of the two top-end plots - a 16,689 sq ft site - attracted just one bidder. Fund manager John Foo met with zero competition when he bought the smaller of the two plots at Eng Neo Avenue for $6 million or $359.50 per sq ft (psf).

He reckoned he got a good deal for the site, which is for his own use. ‘Sentosa leasehold plots can be over $1,000 psf while District 10 GCB plots are going for $800 to $1,000 psf.’

The other GCB plot, at 29,201 sq ft in size, attracted more bidders. Bids came in hefty $50,000 increments but bidders did not hesitate long as they fired in a total of 52 bids, driving the price up from $9.5 million to $12.1 million.

The interest is not surprising, given that GCB sites, particularly one as big as 29,201 sq ft, are quite rare, said Ms Mok Sze Sze, Jones Lang LaSalle’s director and head of auction and sales.

The successful buyer, Ms Hu Nan Lee, is a Singaporean who is overseas. Her representative said it is meant for her own use.

Of the six plots, the most popular was one at Somme Road. It attracted a whopping 64 bids before local firm Sarda clinched it at $3.76 million.

Sarda’s price was 52 per cent above the $2.48 million opening bid for the 3,547 sq ft residential site, which comes with commercial use on the first floor.

A 6,971 sq ft site in Jalan Insaf, suitable for a pair of two-storey semi-detached houses or a bungalow, was sold to Lye Holdings for $3.54 million, up from the starting bid of $2.9 million.

Avadh, another firm, paid $1.3 million for a 4,228 sq ft site in Bedok Close, suitable for a two-storey bungalow. The opening bid was $880,000.

Both Sarda and Avadh have a shareholder in common: Mr Shriniwas Rai, the veteran lawyer and former Nominated Member of Parliament.

Another firm, Liverland Investments, bought a 6,293 sq ft Moonbeam Walk site for $3.94 million. Bids for the site, which can be used to build a pair of two-storey semi-detached houses, opened at $3.32 million.

Ms Mok said the strong response shows people are open to buying leasehold plots to build their dream homes.

SLA’s chief executive, Mr Lam Joon Khoi, said: ‘We will consider releasing more infill sites to help meet the current market demand for high quality residential properties.’
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Pacific Star sets up Asian property fund

Pacific Star sets up Asian property fund

SINGAPORE-BASED investment firm Pacific Star has shrugged off concerns about global share markets to launch a fund that banks on Asia’s property prospects.
The company has set up the Asia Real Estate Prime Development Fund and aims to make US$400 million (S$578.2 million) worth of real estate investments.

The fund will invest in prime residential apartments, serviced residences and mixed development projects in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

Its first deal is under way - the purchase of a 49 per cent stake in two Bangkok freehold residential projects. The developer is Asian Property Development, one of Thailand’s largest listed residential property developers.

Both projects will target local buyers in the upper-middle-income group.

Pacific Star, although one of the newer property fund houses in Asia, is growing fast. It has launched three other funds, including the US$580 million Eureka Office Fund, which owns commercial properties such as Temasek Tower, One George Street and The Adelphi.

It was also behind the Macquarie Meag Prime Real Estate Investment Trust, which is listed in Singapore and owns stakes in shopping malls Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City.

Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Prices rise, buyers hoard tinned pork as supplies dry up

Prices rise, buyers hoard tinned pork as supplies dry up

Made-in-China pork luncheon meat now costs up to 60 cents more

By Marcel Lee Pereira & Lin Xinyi
ELUSIVE MEAT: Tinned meat has been hard to obtain since AVA suspended all imports from two China factories. The price of one brand has gone up by 20 per cent and buyers are scrambling to stock up.

THE prices of China-made pork products have soared following the now severe shortage in supplies.
Retailing at about $2.90 just last week, a can of Shanghai Maling B2 pork luncheon meat now sells for up to $3.50.

The current shortage began in August, when the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) rejected and destroyed a consignment of canned pork products from two food processing plants in China.

In these products, the AVA had found traces of nitrofurans, a banned antibiotic fed to pigs to treat illnesses.

It suspended all canned pork imports from the factories, which produce the two most popular brands here, Maling and Gulong.

The other six Chinese factories still on the AVA’s approved list have played it safe by not selling to Singapore at all, in case their canned pork also gets the boot.

As the shortage continues, provision shop owners in the heartland have reported a small rush as customers try to stock up.

One of them was contractor Teo Yew Lam, 42. He was spotted buying nine cans of various pork products at a single go in a Toa Payoh provision shop yesterday.

He said: ‘I have been looking for these products for a month now, but many places tell me they’ve run out. My son and nieces enjoy having it (stewed pork) for lunch with rice. I came to check on impulse and luckily they did have some.’

Some shop owners resort to hiding the stuff for their regular customers. ‘If we display it all, buyers will take as many as they can,’ said shop owner Desmond Lim, 34.

Last year, about 7,000 tonnes of Chinese pork products were imported here. The China-made products also have the lion’s share of the market.

Supermarkets and retailers say they are trying to get more of Denmark’s Tulip brand of pork luncheon meat, now going for $2.45.

Distributors say there is no end in sight to the current impasse with the Chinese goods.

Mr Ted Ngo, the managing director of Yit Hong, which deals in Maling luncheon meat and Narcissus canned pork products, said it was ‘up to the authorities to decide’ on standards to which both sides can agree.

Meanwhile, hawkers like Madam Ang Wen Xie said they had run out of luncheon meat about three weeks ago. ‘When my customers ask for luncheon meat, I have no choice, I offer them a chicken hotdog instead.’
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Tharman right man for job: Observers

Tharman right man for job: Observers

Appointment as new finance minister is no surprise given his ability, experience and record

By Keith Lin & Grace Ng

SINGAPORE has had only six finance ministers since it became self-governing in 1959, and from tomorrow there will be a seventh.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 50, joins the select list when he takes over the post Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has helmed since 2001.

To observers and the financial community, it is a natural progression in his career and he is the right man for the job.

Mr Tharman spent much of his professional career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the central bank and financial regulator.

He become its managing director and was credited with helping liberalise Singapore’s banking sector.

He quit to join politics in 2001 and was one of the seven newcomers thrown into the political deep end as they were given appointments right after being elected.

Even in 2001, the talk among financial analysts was that given his MAS pedigree, he was certain to take over the finance portfolio from Mr Lee when the latter succeeded then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong.

Mr Lee kept the Finance post on becoming Prime Minister in August 2004, but Mr Tharman became MAS deputy chairman that same year.

That, and his appointment as Second Finance Minister in May last year signalled there was no change in course and his delivery of this year’s Budget was further confirmation of this.

With the promotion announced yesterday, he joins the ranks of other finance ministers: Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr Lim Kim San, Mr Hon Sui Sen, Dr Tony Tan, Dr Richard Hu and PM Lee.

The appointment is no surprise to MPs and finance industry observers.

They pointed to his natural flair for figures and his proven record in spearheading Singapore’s ambitions to become Asia’s financial hub.

Said DBS chief executive officer Jackson Tai: ‘Tharman has his fingerprints all over the development of Singapore’s sound and vibrant financial markets. His credibility and vision will reassure market participants across the globe looking for a safe haven, in a region characterised by rapid growth and volatility.’

Citibank Singapore chief executive Jonathan Larsen added: ‘Tharman took on a role as managing director of MAS during Singapore’s transition period towards a more liberalised banking sector. He has been instrumental in helping the financial sector to thrive and attract multinational players to set up operations here.’

But there remain challenges: improving Singapore’s competitiveness despite growing pressures from an ageing population and widening income gap, cost of living issues, and meeting the pressures of globalisation.

But as West Coast GRC MP Arthur Fong put it: ‘As Education Minister, even though he is not a trained educator, he put his heart into the job, and it showed. So going into the role of Finance Minister, you know he not only has the heart, but the technical capabilities as well.’

Indeed, Mr Tharman is credited for having an indelible mark in Education - a portfolio he will keep until after next year’s Budget.

He is credited, among other things, for allowing mainstream schools to run budgets and operations more independently; boosting prospects for Institute of Technical Education students; and making significant changes to streaming.

Said Mr Fong: ‘He exceeded a lot of people’s expectations by putting the fun back in learning. ‘Teach less learn more’ wasn’t just a convenient term. He put it to work to allow not only children but also parents, to enjoy new ways of learning.’

Agreeing, businessman Anson Lim, 50, a father of three boys, said Mr Tharman got schools and parents to realise that children have different abilities and intelligences:

‘He introduced direct school admission where kids like my sons managed to get into good schools based on their other abilities, such as sports and the arts.’

But Mr Tharman himself said he was only keeping up the momentum and direction of change since he took over from Mr Teo Chee Hean in 2003.

Still, that Mr Tharman is getting another heavyweight portfolio is a reflection of the confidence PM Lee has in him, said analysts, who noted he was among the fastest risers of the 2001 cohort along with Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen.
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Demand for subsidised Singapore HDB rental flats surges

Demand for subsidised Singapore HDB rental flats surges

Rise - fuelled mainly by soaring open market rents - has doubled waiting time for those in queue

By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent
RENTAL SQUEEZE: Eligible households now face a five- to 11-month wait for a rental HDB flat, compared with two to six months a year ago. — ST FILE PHOTO

SOARING rents in the open market are forcing more people to opt for subsidised HDB rental flats, but the extra numbers have doubled the waiting period.
Eligible low-income households now must wait five to 11 months to move into a rental HDB flat, compared with two to six months a year ago.

The pressure had been mounting for some time: In the financial year that ended in March, HDB’s stock of one- and two-room rental flats dropped slightly, but it had to deal with an 11 per cent increase in applications.

Most of the 3,000 or so applicants in the queue now are unlikely to get a home until the first quarter of next year, when the first batch of recently- refurbished flats comes on stream.

Members of Parliament, who have noticed the longer wait among their needy residents, have cited another factor: People who were unable to sell their flats during the property downturn are now offloading their flats to repay debts but find themselves priced out of the hot market.

An MP for Aljunied GRC, Madam Cynthia Phua, said: ‘The alternative is to rent a flat on the open market, but that is increasingly very expensive.’

Rents for HDB flats have shot up in the past year, in some cases by more than 30 per cent.

Families who have recently sold their flats are also caught by a longstanding HDB rule that requires them to wait 30 months after selling their flat before being eligible for subsidised rental homes.

Many turn to their relatives, but Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong said: ‘In cases where they have no relatives, or have conflict with the rest of their families, some end up sleeping on Changi Beach, at void decks and so on.’

The HDB allocates subsidised rental flats to families earning no more than $1,500 a month. Depending on their income and whether they have had a previous housing subsidy, they pay $26 to $205 a month for a one-room flat, and $44 to $275 for two-room flats.

These rates are far lower than in the open market, where the median monthly rental for a two-room flat in Queenstown in the July to September period was $800.

The squeeze on rental flats is hitting applicants like Ms Jannath, 41, hard. The former cleaner, who has no savings, sold her four-room flat a few months ago to help pay for her unemployed husband’s medical bills.

The HDB helped her in June by waiving the 30-month waiting debarment period for a rental flat.

Her family must leave its four-room flat by Dec 5, but the waiting list for rental flats has meant that she has yet to get one.

Ms Jannath told The Straits Times: ‘They can give me (a flat) anywhere…I just want a shelter for the three of us.’

In March, the HDB was managing about 42,000 one- and two-room rental flats, with about 95 per cent occupied. More are coming on stream from next year.

The Board is converting three blocks in Boon Lay and Woodlands into 938 rental units expected to be ready early next year. Next year, it will also convert two blocks in Redhill to about 290 rental homes and build 976 units in Choa Chu Kang, Sembawang and Yishun.

The stock is more limited on the open market, with only about 16,000 rented out.

The HDB said: ‘HDB rental flats are…limited in stock. They are meant for poor and needy households…Those who can afford to buy or rent from the open market, as well as those with family support, should not turn to rental flats…and compete with more needy families.’
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Tharman takes over from PM as Finance Minister

Tharman takes over from PM as Finance Minister
By Li Xueying
IN A widely-anticipated promotion, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam becomes Finance Minister from tomorrow.
He retains his other heavyweight portfolio as Education Minister - for now.

He will hold this post until after the Budget debate next year, ‘when he will relinquish the appointment and the Prime Minister will make consequential changes to other Cabinet appointments’, said a statement from the PM’s Office last evening.

The brief three-paragraph statement left unanswered the question of just who will take over at the Education Ministry (MOE).

After six years at the helm of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), PM Lee Hsien Loong will step aside for Mr Tharman, who became Second Finance Minister in May last year.

Given his solid background and acumen in finance, he is a natural choice for the job, said industry insiders.

Economist Chua Hak Bin described him as ‘one of the chief architects’ of Singapore’s current financial sector, who will bring ‘a lot of credibility and experience’ to the post.

Mr Tharman, 50, was managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore before joining politics in 2001.

Earlier this year, in a sign he was moving up, he was given the task of delivering the Budget speech, usually the heavy responsibility of the Finance Minister.

Said Mr Tharman yesterday: ‘I have had the benefit of getting a good run-up period with PM at MOF. The priorities have been set, and this is not about a change of course.’

While his promotion was no surprise, what caught everyone’s attention was the hint of other changes to come in the Cabinet. PM Lee himself said last year he planned to make changes mid-term, as a ‘continuing exercise to invite new talent to strengthen the Cabinet’.

Just who will be the next Education Minister?

Several MPs suggested Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, who was Second Education Minister from 2004 to 2005, as a possibility.

Others named Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, a Minister of State for Education, as a potential candidate for the post. The former Navy chief entered politics last year.

MP Halimah Yacob has her bet on Dr Ng: ‘In attributes and capability, I don’t think there would be any problems.’

But the current minister is not done yet. Mr Tharman said he still has ’some things to do’ at MOE in the next few months.

‘And I am sure that the next minister will take it further. We keep evolving and improving the system where we can, stay close to the ground, and avoid making sudden breaks.’
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Philippine troops storm hotel to end coup attempt

Philippine troops storm hotel to end coup attempt

Small group of rebels calling for ouster of President surrenders after 7-hour stand-off

By Alastair McIndoe, PHILIPPINES CORRESPONDENT

MANILA - ELITE military and police units stormed the Manila Peninsula Hotel yesterday, ending a short-lived coup attempt by a small group of Philippine soldiers and others who had called on the army to mutiny.
The seven-hour siege ended when government forces fired tear gas into the lobby of the hotel and battered its glass doors down with an armoured personnel carrier. Gunfire was heard, but there were no casualties.

The rebel soldiers, a senator and a handful of priests who had occupied the five-star hotel in the upscale Makati business district were arrested.

Afterwards, the government imposed a midnight-to-dawn curfew in the capital.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said on national television that he hoped the curfew would be needed for only a day to ‘ensure a return to peace and order’.

Most of the 350 hotel guests had been evacuated before the assault, but more than 100 people, including hotel staff and journalists, were caught in the midst of the action.

It was uncertain whether any Singaporeans were in the hotel at the time of the coup attempt, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that those already in the Philippines should take precautions.

Among those hauled away were Senator Antonio Trillanes, a former Navy lieutenant awaiting trial for a 2003 mutiny, and Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, who is on trial for his alleged role in a plot to oust President Gloria Arroyo last year.

About 30 soldiers who were armed with M16 rifles, some priests and journalists were also taken into custody.

The incident began after Trillanes and some other soldiers walked out of their coup trial. Military policemen who were supposed to be guarding them allowed them to go free.

Shortly before noon, they barged into the hotel, along with other soldiers who had joined them, as many guests were sitting down to lunch. The dissidents quickly overpowered security guards before taking over a whole floor.

In statements he made later, Trillanes seemed to be trying to rally a military-backed ‘people power’ revolt to unseat Mrs Arroyo.

The stand-off lasted about seven hours, and shortly after the hotel was stormed, the rebels surrendered, saying they did not want the violence to escalate.

The attempt was another in a long line of coup plots against President Arroyo.

She has survived three before yesterday’s attempt.

She has also fought off three impeachment attempts in a six-year presidency plagued by allegations of electoral fraud as well as a string of political and financial controversies.

The latest attempt to grab power will come as a further embarrassment to the Arroyo administration, and add to doubts about the country’s stability in the minds of foreign investors.

Analysts said the failure of yesterday’s mini-rebellion also showed a level of fatigue with ‘people power’.

As Mr Donald Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, put it: ‘People are sick and tired of this kind of irresponsible actions… and we cannot let a minority group just create this kind of destabilisation.’
Source : Straits Times - 30 Nov 2007

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Allco Reit calls off plans to raise $150m

Allco Reit calls off plans to raise $150m

ALLCO Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), which owns commercial buildings in Singapore, Australia and Japan, has cancelled a plan to raise up to $150 million, citing market conditions.
The trust said it was not proceeding with its plan to raise capital by offering up to 175.2 million new units to existing unit holders.

‘There is no pressing need for Allco Reit to be raising capital at this time,’ said Mr Nicholas McGrath, the chief executive of Allco Reit’s manager.

The Reit had meant to use capital raised from the offering to pay off some of the debt taken on when it bought properties in Singapore and Japan.

‘However, given current market conditions, the manager has concluded that it is not prudent to raise equity at this time,’ the Reit said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Saizen Reit - which owns properties in Japan - saw the price of its units plunge 13 per cent on its debut.

As well, APL Japan Trust - which has a portfolio of residential buildings in 12 Japanese cities - postponed its initial public offering.

It said that it was concerned about post-listing weakness amid poor market sentiment.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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Private sector not using Govt’s bonus as benchmark - Singapore

Private sector not using Govt’s bonus as benchmark - Singapore

Small firms especially will find it hard to bump up payouts amid rising costs for rent, materials

By Gabriel Chen
THE Government’s move to hand civil servants a year-end bonus of two months’ pay has raised the bar for private companies already struggling to retain talent in a tight job market.
The bumper payout - it follows a half-month bonus in July; a similar one is on the cards for March - will make the civil service a more attractive place to work.

Not only could it stem the drift of talent from the public to the private sphere, it could reverse the direction if firms act like Scrooge this Christmas.

Some bosses have dismissed the significance of the Government’s move, saying that the private sector is a different entity with its own way of calculating bonuses.

Maybank Singapore, for example, has a bonus scheme linked to the company’s performance and ‘will not apply the same formula as the civil service’, said human resources head Wong Keng Fye yesterday.

It is a similar story at air freight firm The National Forwarder (Singapore). ‘We normally base the bonus on our own performance and don’t use the Government as a guideline,’ said managing director Rajoo Amurdalingam. The firm paid a two-month bonus last year and will probably give 21/2 months this year, depending on its performance in the next few weeks.

Remuneration consultants back the view of these bosses, saying that comparing private enterprise and the civil service is like comparing apples and oranges.

But HR experts warn that even though head honchos might dismiss the Government’s generous bonus, their employees will take note, especially with resignation rates rising and job-hopping growing more rampant.

‘While the corporate office might not use the civil service bonus as a benchmark, employees certainly will,’ says Mr Pan Zaixian of recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.

Some firms, already facing rising wage costs and a severe labour shortage, will have tough calls to make.

SC Auto general manager Rachel Lee told the Straits Times: ‘If we don’t follow suit, we’ll see a lot of resignations on the table.’

Wages for welders and other skilled workers at SC Auto, which designs and makes luxury coaches, have risen 7 to 10 per cent this year.

While Ms Lee says she will not cave in and hand out higher bonuses at the expense of her bottom line, she has to manage expectations. Last year’s bonus was about 11/4 months.

For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which need to manage capital and cover rising costs for raw materials, demands for higher wages and bonuses could hamstring cash flow.

‘I don’t think SMEs will raise bonuses because of the Government’s move,’ said Mr Kang Puay Seng, a co-founder of soya drink maker Mr Bean. ‘They have to prepare for rainy days.’

This year, his commodity costs, for sugar and beans, for instance, have risen sharply, while rents for his outlets have soared by 20 per cent. With these costs constricting the balance sheet, bonuses are likely to be similar to those paid last year, he said.

Mr Tim Hird, the managing director of recruitment agency Robert Half Singapore, said companies are employing more creative strategies to attract, retain and manage talent.

These include providing flexi-work benefits, hiring on a contract basis, using older workers and implementing structured career development plans.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

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