Sinagpore commercial real estate for sale Near Casino Raffles Place

Sinagpore commercial real estate for sale Near Casino Raffles Place

Phillips Street ( Office ) Building For Sale

16 Storey Includes a Penthouse & a double entrance lobby.

It has strata subdivided into 14 units

Site 4,015sqft

Plot Ratio 12.6

Gross Floor Area 52,907sqft, Net Floor 36,292sqft

Asking Above S$ 106 million

Singapore Real Estate - Buy , Sell , Rent ,invest , Singapore Property

Buy, sell and rent Singapore real estate: private property, residential apartments, commercial and industrial properties. HDB flats for sale and rental. Foreign investors, buyers, tenants or relocating expats can easily find their ideal landed house, bungalow, semi-d, terrace, condominium, townhouse, private apartment, HDB, HUDC, office, shop, factory, warehouse & land right here.

MINDY YONG

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Inflation may hit 5% in Q1 ‘08 as oil, food prices head north

Inflation may hit 5% in Q1 ‘08 as oil, food prices head north

But Singapore’s competitiveness still intact: Hng Kiang
By UMA SHANKARI
(SINGAPORE) Singapore’s inflation rate could hit 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 on the back of record oil prices and higher food and transportation costs, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang told Parliament yesterday.
‘We expect (inflation in) the first quarter of next year to reach the peak of between 4 and maybe even 5 per cent,’ Mr Lim said.

For the present quarter, the consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise at least 2.7 per cent, he said.

The index rose 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2007, one per cent in the second quarter and 2.7 per cent in the third quarter.

‘Food prices have risen mainly due to dearer imports arising from supply disruptions in some of our major food import sources,’ Mr Lim said.

Similarly, oil prices have reached historical highs in recent months due to strong global demand, tight supply and low global inventories, he said.

The index in the first quarter of 2008 will also be high because it will be compared to the first quarter of 2007’s relatively lower base, he said. But inflation is expected to moderate in the second half of 2008, Mr Lim added.

Singapore’s central bank - the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) - has an official inflation forecast of 1.5-2 per cent for 2007 and 3 per cent for 2008.

MAS has allowed the Singapore dollar to appreciate in recent months to ease inflation. The government has also taken steps to cool the booming property market, which experts said is contributing to inflationary pressure.

The new forecast for the first quarter of 2008 is ‘a bit shocking’, Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin told a news wire.

Dr Chua said that the central bank may need to tighten policy again, possible before its next scheduled meeting in April.

Yesterday, Members of Parliament also voiced fears that rising prices could affect Singapore’s ability to attract foreign companies.

In response, Mr Lim said that Singapore is still competitive in this respect.

‘We are tracking our competitiveness position very closely and so far we are in quite a good position,’ he said.

Mr Lim pointed out that Singapore’s inflation rate was still lower than what other countries are seeing. And while wages here climbed in 2006 and in the first three quarters of this year, the increases came on the back of a long period where wages did not move up much, he said.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the government is unlikely to impose controls on food or utility prices in response to rising inflation, but will continue to use other ways to help Singaporeans cope with the cost of living.

He was speaking at the People’s Action Party annual convention after a party member had asked how the PAP-controlled government could help lower-income Singaporeans cope with rising prices.
Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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No plans for more measures to cool Singappore property market: Mah Bow Tan

No plans for more measures to cool Singappore property market: Mah Bow Tan

By UMA SHANKARI
(SINGAPORE) No further measures are planned to cool Singapore’s booming property market, the government said yesterday, following the end of the deferred payment scheme (DPS) for buying uncompleted private properties.
‘There is no need and there is no intention for us to take any further action,’ National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said in Parliament yesterday.

The DPS allowed homebuyers to put down just a 10 per cent or 20 per cent of the price when purchasing a property, with the rest due only upon the project’s completion.

Critics said that this was fuelling speculative activity and driving up property prices - leading to the government’s Oct 26 announcement that it was withdrawing the scheme.

When asked in Parliament yesterday if the government would look at more measures - such as increasing interest rates - to rein in property prices, Mr Mah said that no further measures are planned. But the government, he said, will continue to monitor the property market closely to ensure that property prices are supported by economic fundamentals.

He added: ‘The government will make sure that there is sufficient supply to meet the demand of private housing.’ As at the end of September, there were about 65,000 units planned or under construction, he said. Private home prices in Singapore have climbed 22.9 per cent since the start of the year on the back of a supply crunch, official data shows.

The increase in property prices and rentals has contributed to inflation hitting a 12-year high of 2.9 per cent year-on-year in August - and the figure could rise further.

During Parliament yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said that inflation could hit 5 per cent in the first quarter of next year.

Mr Mah told Parliament that while it is too early to ascertain the overall impact of withdrawing the DPS, he is confident that the move will pay off.

‘I believe that over time, the withdrawal will encourage homeowners to be more financially prudent and dampen some of the speculative activity in the market,’ he said.

In the longer term, the withdrawal will encourage the property market to grow in a healthier and more sustained manner, he added.

The DPS was introduced in 1997 when the economy was in recession and the property market was slow. Before the end of the scheme, up to 90 per cent of buyers in some high-profile projects launched by Singaporean developers were opting for such payment schemes, reports have said.

The government said that ending the scheme would compel investors to have enough funds or bank loans available before they agree to buy properties.

Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Record manufacturing investment expected - Singapore

Record manufacturing investment expected - Singapore

9 billion-dollar projects announced in last 18 months
By CHEN HUIFEN

SINGAPORE’S manufacturing investment commitments this year are expected to hit a record high, having attracted a number of major projects worth billions of dollars in various industries.

Coming out tops: Mr Tureikis accepting the award for Tetra Pak, which was the overall Maxa 2007 winner
‘Over the last 18 months, nine projects, each worth more than $1 billion in investments, were announced: four in chemicals, three in electronics, one in biomedical science and one in solar energy,’ said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday. ‘EDB (Economic Development Board) expects to end this year with manufacturing investment commitments in Singapore reaching a record high.’

Mr Lee was speaking at the opening ceremony of networking event Global Entrepolis@Singapore yesterday evening when he made those comments. He stressed that his government is fully committed to keeping manufacturing a key pillar of the Singapore economy, with the manufacturing sector accounting for about 28 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

At the event yesterday, Mr Lee also presented the Manufacturing Excellence Awards (Maxa) to six finalist companies which were lauded for achieving world-class distinction in manufacturing standards. The six are: Tetra Pak Jurong Pte Ltd, Kenwood Electronics Technologies Singapore, 3M Singapore Pte Ltd, Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Co Pte Ltd (SSMC), Beyonics International Pte Ltd and Siemens Pte Ltd.

Tetra Pak Jurong emerged the overall Maxa 2007 winner. The company stood out for its production system, which leverages on a unique approach to ensure operational improvement and downtime minimisation. Being one of the biggest Tetra Pak packaging materials plants in the world, the Singapore facility also serves as a R&D and application development centre.

‘We are greatly honoured to emerge as the overall Maxa winner among the top manufacturers in Singapore,’ said Tetra Pak’s South and South-east Asia supply chain director Alberto Tureikis. ‘This helps to raise the manufacturing standard in Singapore.’

Kenwood was selected for the Maxa Innovation Award, while 3M and SSMC were honoured for operational excellence. Homegrown Beyonics was named for the Singapore Advantage Award.

According to Kumar Bhattacharyya, chairman of this year’s Maxa judging panel, the applicants this year were of higher calibre, even though there were fewer entries received. All of them had exploited the strengths of Singapore, including its integrated economic structure, and the R&D culture.

‘Innovation and change has to be continuous,’ said Prof Bhattacharyya, who is also a professor of manufacturing and director of Warwick Manufacturing Group at the UK’s Warwick University. ‘It has got to be relentless in a world where everybody is chasing the last Singapore dollar to make it world competitive, especially when you are surrounded by countries that are relatively low cost.’

Representing the highest national accolades in manufacturing, the Maxa winners this were picked from 10 entries and selected by a panel of judges that included representatives from Sony Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Singapore, McKinsey & Co, the EDB and the Singapore-MIT Alliance.

Although the total entries received this year is a far cry from the 43 last year, EDB managing director Ko Kheng Hwa is of the view that quality matters more than quantity, and the standards displayed by this year’s finalists have topped last year’s.

Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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DTZ: $500m was best en bloc price possible - Singapore

DTZ: $500m was best en bloc price possible - Singapore

Site unattractive; but ex-sales committee member says higher offers were received
By MICHELLE QUAH

$500 million - the amount it eventually attracted - was realistically the best price Horizon Towers could have fetched in an en bloc sale, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung director Tang Wei Leng told the Strata Titles Board (STB) yesterday.

Vinyard Holdings of Hong Kong offered $510 million, said Mr Henry Lim.

She was one of several marketing agents invited in early 2006 to make a presentation on the en bloc sale potential of the development to its newly formed sales committee.

Ms Tang’s testimony to STB yesterday suggests the eventual price of $500 million obtained by the Horizon Towers sales committee was the highest it could have hoped for, given some of the development’s shortcomings.

Ms Tang said the Leonie Hill 99-year leasehold development was a challenge to market, compared with other sites in the area.

She described the site as unattractive because it had a limited view, was oddly shaped and impossible to sub-divide. She also said the two access roads leading to it were not an advantage.

She compared it to its neighbouring development The Grangeford, which she said had a regular shape, a full view of Orchard Road and a Grange Road address.

Her testimony comes in the face of some of the arguments put up by minority owners - those who did not agree to the en bloc sale.
It is the minorities’ case that the collective sale of Horizon Towers should not be allowed because the deal was done in bad faith - as the sales committee did not do its best to secure the highest possible price.

Still, the minorities’ case got support when former sales committee member Henry Lim returned to the stand later yesterday. He had first testified last Friday.

Yesterday, he said the sales committee received a higher offer than the $500 million from Hotel Properties (HPL) and its partners, which was eventually accepted by the bulk of the owners.

Mr Lim said Hong Kong developer Vinyard Holdings, through its Malaysian lawyers Chan & Shu, offered $510 million for Horizon Towers. He said he made attempts to contact them but was advised by lawyer David Ang of Drew & Napier not to pursue the offer as Chan & Shu was an ‘unknown name’.

Mr Limsaid last Friday that there were at least four offers comparable to or better than HPL’s $500 million bid. He said three out of nine of the sales committee members were happy with the HPL offer but rushed into the deal and had failed to consult the majority owners before accepting it.

The hearing continues today.

Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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Soilbuild bags industrial site for $12.2m - Singapore

Soilbuild bags industrial site for $12.2m - Singapore

JTC Corporation has awarded a 21,871 square metre (235,417 sq ft) industrial site at L7 Pioneer Road/Tuas Avenue 11 to property-based Soilbuild Group Holdings for $12.2 million.

Based on the maximum plot ratio of 1.4, the cost for the site works out to be $398 per sq metre/gross plot ratio. The industrial site is on a 30-year lease and development of the site is expected to take place in 2008-09.

Soilbuild said in a statement yesterday that its subsidiary SB (Westcove) Investment will act as a single-purpose vehicle to hold and develop the factories. Total development cost, including the land, is estimated at about $43 million. The project will be funded by the group’s internal resources and bank borrowings.

With this latest acquisition, Soilbuild has a total of more than 1.4 million sq ft of business space properties for development over the next two years.

Its other projects in the pipeline include the logistics and warehousing development at Penjuru Lane with gross floor area of about 410,000 sq ft and a development at Tuas Crescent (gross floor area of about 740,000 sq ft) for engineering companies and supporting industries in the oil and gas, and marine clusters. Both projects are slated for completion in 2008 or 2009.

The listed group’s completed projects include its flagship 8-storey Eightrium @ Changi Business Park for MNCs, the 12-unit Kranji Linc for light industries, the 15-unit Senoko Food Connection for food industries, and 33-unit Pioneer Lot for light industries.

Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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IRAS to raise annual values of HDB flats - Singapore

IRAS to raise annual values of HDB flats - Singapore

Market rental values have increased significantly, it says
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

THE Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is raising annual values (AVs) for all Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat types for the first time in about four years, to reflect the ’significant increase in their market rental values’.
From Jan 1, 2008, the average AVs will go up between 18 and 25 per cent, with the biggest hike for three-room flats.

IRAS’ spokeswoman noted that IRAS regularly reviews AVs of properties in Singapore to reflect their prevailing rental values.

‘In the case of HDB flats, however, AVs had not been increased since 2004 as they had been supportable by actual rental evidence. The AVs of most private residential properties have already been re-assessed to reflect the current market rental levels during the year,’ she added.

In a joint statement with the Ministry of Finance, IRAS yesterday said it will be revising upwards the AVs of most properties, including HDB flats.

Generally, HDB flats in more centralised and popular areas like Bishan, Bukit Merah and Marine Parade would have higher AV increases, compared with other areas, the statement added.

The property tax rate in Singapore is set at 10 per cent of a property’s AV, although owner-occupied residential properties enjoy a concessionary 4 per cent tax rate.

Island-wide, the average AV hike in percentage terms for the various HDB flat types are: 20 per cent for one-room and two-room flats, 25 per cent for three-room flats, 18 per cent for four-room flats, 20 per cent for five-room flats, and 18 per cent for executive flats.

However, the increase in AVs for owner-occupied HDB flats does not translate to a proportionate increase in property tax actually payable, due to the property tax rebates granted by the Government, including those announced as part of the GST Offset Package in Budget 2007.

As a result, 90 per cent of all HDB flat owners will not pay more property tax in 2008 even after the AVs of their flats go up.

For four-room, five-room and executive flat owners, about 15 per cent will pay a higher property tax but the increase will be less than $40, or about $3 a month.

All HDB flat owners will receive their valuation notices and property tax bills by Jan 1.

‘IRAS encourages HDB flat owners to join the Giro scheme as it allows them to enjoy up to 12 interest-free monthly instalments,’ the joint statement said.
Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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3 Bukit Timah S’pore properties up for joint collective sale

3 Bukit Timah S’pore properties up for joint collective sale

By KALPANA RASHIWALA
THREE adjoining freehold properties at Robin Drive, off Bukit Timah Road, have been put up for joint collective sale.

On the market: Credo Real Estate has indicated a price range of $128-138 million for the combined plots, which have a total land area of 64,878 sq ft
Credo Real Estate, the marketing agent representing the majority owners of Robin Court and Robin Star and the sole owner of No 1 Robin Drive, has indicated a price range of $128-138 million for the combined plots, which have a total land area of 64,878 sq ft. This reflects a unit land price of about $1,500-1,600 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $8 million development charge.

Based on this, the breakeven cost for a new condo on the site works out to about $2,075-2,190 psf, Credo executive director Yong Choon Fah said. The combined site of the three properties is large enough for a condo with about 43 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area) and a five-storey maximum height.

Robin Court comprises 15 apartments, Robin Star 10 apartments, and No 1 Robin Drive is a detached house with a pre-school operating on its site.

Owners controlling more than 80 per cent of share values in each of Robin Court and Robin Star, and the sole owner of No 1 Robin Drive have agreed to the sale, Credo said. The tender for the three properties closes on Dec 12.

Source : Business Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Annual values of HDB flats to rise - Singapore

Annual values of HDB flats to rise - Singapore

By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent

GET ready to pay more property tax next year. Along with the rise in home prices, the taxman is revising the value of most properties upwards.
However, rebates given to offset the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) hike this year will soften the move’s impact.

The annual values of all types of Housing Board (HDB) flats will be raised from Jan 1, said the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) in a statement yesterday. This means property taxes, which amount to 4 per cent of the annual values of owner-occupied homes, will rise.

Asked about private homes, Iras said: ‘The annual values of most private residential properties have already been reassessed to reflect the current market rental levels during the year. The average increase for these private residential properties is about 20 per cent.’

Annual values of private residential properties in the central core area have generally increased between 20 per cent and 50 per cent this year.

The annual values will increase by an average of 18 per cent for HDB four-room and executive flats and 20 per cent for one-, two- and five-room flats. Three-room flats will face the greatest increase of 25 per cent.

Most HDB flat owners, however, will not pay higher taxes even after the revision, because of property tax rebates granted earlier this year to offset the impact of the GST hike.

Currently, owners of all one- and two-room flats, as well as 13 per cent of owners of three-room flats, do not pay property taxes because of earlier GST rebates.

The 2007 GST offset package gives all owners who are living in their property an extra $100 rebate annually for next year and 2009.

This means 90 per cent of all owners of HDB flats will not pay more property tax next year. In fact, 60 per cent of three-room flat owners will pay zero property tax, while 40 per cent will pay less tax than now.

About 15 per cent of owners of four- and five-room and executive flats face a hike in tax payable, but not more than $40.

The last time the annual values of HDB flats were raised was in 2004, and that doubled the number of home owners paying property tax. The increase brought in an extra $40 million a year for the Government.

Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Manufacturing investments set to reach another high - Singapore News

Manufacturing investments set to reach another high - Singapore News

Projects worth $20b already clinched this year, trouncing old mark of $9.2b

By Bryan Lee
STRONG COMMITMENT: The Government is fully committed to keeping manufacturing a key pillar of the economy, said PM Lee at the opening ceremony of Global Entrepolis @ Singapore. — ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

MANUFACTURING investments into Singapore are poised to soar to a new high this year - more than twice the previous record.
Nine projects, each worth at least $1 billion, have been announced in the past 18 months.

Of these, five - worth about $20 billion in total - were clinched this year, trouncing the previous record of $9.2 billion achieved in 2000 and again in 2001.

‘The Government is fully committed to keeping manufacturing a key pillar of the economy,’ Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday at the opening ceremony of Global Entrepolis @ Singapore, a four-

day business networking event that some 10,000 people are expected to attend.

‘The EDB (Economic Development Board) expects to end this year with manufacturing investment commitments in Singapore reaching a record high,’ he told 700 business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs, as he kicked off the annual event at the Suntec City ballroom.

The eye-popping figure underscores the successful transformation of the industrial sector, which has had to progress to more complex activities as low-value production moves to cheaper locations like China.

The new wave of mega investments has been going into the production of high-value goods, such as cutting-edge, cancer-fighting drugs and memory chips found in Apple’s hugely popular iPod music players.

Oil giant ExxonMobil is building a petrochemical plant that is believed to cost at least US$4 billion (S$5.8 billion), while Norway’s Renewable Energy Corp is setting up a three billion euro (S$6.3 billion) facility that will be the world’s biggest integrated solar panel factory.

All these have come as a result of sustained efforts to invest in local talent, upgrade capabilities and keep borders open to foreign talents, said Mr Lee.

He went on to announce a new scholarship for the hot growth area of clean energy.

‘We need to nurture a pool of industry and technology leaders,’ said Mr Lee.

The programme will fund 130 master’s and doctorate students over the next five years for study and research in relevant fields.

Mr Lee said Singapore will continue to maintain a bias towards science and technology in tertiary education, even as a fourth publicly-funded university is being set up.

‘This will help to create a workforce capable of keeping up with the demands of new growth industries with high technology requirements.’

In the near term, however, Mr Lee said there is some economic uncertainty caused by global financial turbulence, although ‘it does not alter the picture of a dynamic and resilient Asia’.
Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Lippo may launch new Reits worth $5.8b

Lippo may launch new Reits worth $5.8b

By Lee Su Shyan, Assistant Money Editor

INDONESIAN conglomerate Lippo Group plans to list two or three real estate investment trusts (Reits) worth about US$4 billion (S$5.8 billion) in Singapore within the next two to three years, its president Stephen Riady said yesterday.
He spoke after the launch of Lippo’s Lippo-Mapletree Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIR Trust), the second the group has sponsored after First Reit, which has a portfolio of hospital assets.

Mr Riady was upbeat, saying: ‘I believe Asia is in a long-term bull market, and this will be for at least the next 10 years’.

He said that the new Reits would most likely centre on hotels, offices and shopping malls. It was unlikely Lippo would list a residential Reit as earnings from such assets would be more volatile.

Mr Riady said Lippo had not been affected by the scrapping of the property deferred payment scheme. None of its three residential projects to date - including Newton One - had offered the scheme, yet all had sold well.

Next month, Lippo’s Sentosa Cove development, Marina Collection, will be launched. Buyers will be given free membership in the One Degree 15 club.

The newly launched LMIR Trust, priced at the lower end of the indicative range at 80 cents, will raise around $516 million.

Recent market turbulence has seen Japan’s Asia Pacific Land Trust’s issue being postponed and Saizen Reit’s price falling 14 per cent on its debut last Friday.

Still, LMIR Trust is upbeat, saying it has secured global and local institutional investors. The projected yield is about 7.3 per cent for next year - higher than the average of 5.1 per cent for other Reits in Singapore - and the distribution per unit is 5.84 cents.

The trust’s seven malls are in Greater Jakarta and in nearby Bandung. The tenants include Indonesian department store Matahari and Giant supermarket.

Ms Viven Sitiabudi, the chief executive of the trust manager, said investors are keen on Indonesia’s retail sector ‘given the country’s robust economic fundamentals, underpinned by a growing and affluent urban middle-class population’.

LMIR Trust’s offer will close on Thursday and trading will start next Monday.

Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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Budget changes to Income Tax Act okayed

Budget changes to Income Tax Act okayed

PARLIAMENT yesterday gave the green light to changes to the Income Tax Act, including dropping the corporate income tax rate to 18 per cent, a change announced in the Budget this year.
Minister of State (Finance and Transport) Lim Hwee Hua highlighted other key changes which had already been aired in the Budget.

For example, to promote Singapore as a philanthropy hub, the rule requiring charities to spend at least 80 per cent of their annual receipts on charitable objects here within two years if they want to get income tax exemption, has been scrapped.

The Act has also been tweaked after a review of existing tax policies and incentive schemes to ensure that they remain relevant.

One change will allow the deferral of claim for accelerated capital allowances. Instead of having to claim this allowance over three consecutive years, companies now have the flexibility to claim it one year and defer the rest.

The tax regime for real estate investment trusts (Reits) has also been enhanced.

More of the income streams earned by these Reits will enjoy tax transparency, meaning that the Reit does not have to pay tax on this income.

Some income tax data sharing with government agencies has been allowed to facilitate those seeking social assistance.

On the personal income tax front, there were changes to the criteria for the parenthood tax rebate.

Where parents are divorced, the Act will make it clear which parent is allowed to claim the rebate for a particular child.

As for working mothers’ child relief, only one claimant - either the biological mother or the stepmother - will be able to claim the relief.
Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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Move to cover all employees for work injuries

Move to cover all employees for work injuries

ALL employees, regardless of salary, will be covered for work injuries in a proposed amendment to the Workmen’s Compensation Act introduced in Parliament yesterday.

About one million more employees, including white collar workers, are expected to gain under the changes, first set out in a public consultation paper by the Ministry of Manpower in May this year.

Currently, the Act covers all manual workers, and non-manual workers earning $1,600 or less a month.

The Workmen’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill will, however, still exclude members of the uniformed services and domestic workers.

The ministry is also proposing to raise the maximum payout levels for those killed on the job, from $111,000 to $140,000, and for those suffering permanent disability, from $147,000 to $180,000.

Other new Bills tabled yesterday:

An amendment to the Human Organ Transplant Act such that Muslims, like other Singaporeans, will be deemed to have consented to having their organs harvested when they die - unless they opt out.

Muslims are now not covered by the Act, introduced in 1987, as it was deemed contrary to their beliefs. They had to opt in to be donors. An edict from Muslim leaders in July declared organ donation a life-saving gesture in line with Islamic teachings.

Proposed amendments to the Housing and Development Bill.

It paves the way for the Housing Board’s new upgrading scheme, the Home Improvement Programme.

This programme replaces the more extensive Main Upgrading Programme and focuses on more practical changes within each flat, like fixing spalling concrete in ceilings and replacing toilets.

The Bill seeks to allow the HDB to conduct polling for the programme on a block basis - rather than the current precinct basis. It also seeks to recover co-payments from home owners according to specific cost-sharing ratios.

The Customs (Amendment) Bill, which reclassifies existing customs offences.

The Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) No. 2 Bill, which empowers such authorities as the National Environment Agency and the Land Transport Authority to impose penalties for late payment of fees.

Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

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Mindy Yong

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Singapore Property market: No further plans to cool it

Singapore Property market: No further plans to cool it

Govt assurance dampens speculation on capital gains tax

By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent
GOOD NEWS: The announcement should bring relief to property market players, hit by uncertainty after the deferred payment scheme was scrapped. — BT FILE PHOTO

THE Government is not planning any fresh measures to cool the property market for now, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday.
His statement effectively hosed down speculation that a capital gains tax might be reintroduced to stop people flipping units for quick gains.

The news brought some relief to players in the property market, which has been hit by uncertainty after the scrapping of the deferred payment scheme two weeks ago.

The 10-year-old scheme, allowing people to buy property with a downpayment but no further payments until the completion of the project, was abolished to curb speculation.

Now, buyers have to make progressive payments while their homes are being built.

The change spooked developers, and was seen as the reason why there were only two bids when the tender for a residential site in Enggor Street in Tanjong Pagar closed on Nov 1.

MINIMAL INTERFERENCE
‘Our bias is really not to over-regulate or to interfere in the market if we don’t have to.’
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER MAH BOW TAN, saying there is no need for any fresh measures to cool the property market for now
WELCOME ANNOUNCEMENT
‘This is good news for the market. It brings stability.’
MS TAY HUEY YING, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International, on the assurance that no new measures are in the pipeline
That followed a sizzling 22.9 per cent growth in private home prices in the first nine months this year. Sub-sales, when uncompleted properties change hands, made up almost 22 per cent of total sales in central Singapore from July to September.

Addressing questions on the scrapping of the scheme in Parliament yesterday, Mr Mah said it was too early to ascertain its overall impact.

But he did not think genuine home buyers would be unduly affected because they could still get home loans from banks. Over time, the change will encourage the property market to grow in a ‘more healthy and sustained manner’, he said.

Responding to a question from MP Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC), he said the Government will closely monitor the market to ensure that prices are supported by economic fundamentals, and that there are sufficient private homes.

He said there is no need for any new measure, and that the Government is not considering any for the property market now. ‘Our bias is really not to over-regulate or to interfere in the market if we don’t have to,’ he said.

If a capital gains tax - which was introduced in 1996 but lifted in 2001 - was imposed again, it would dampen foreign investor sentiment, said the director of research and consultancy at Colliers International, Ms Tay Huey Ying.

‘This is good news for the market. It brings stability.’

Mr Mah stressed that there was no reason to panic over a perceived shortage of homes, as there was a stock of 65,000 private homes in the pipeline at the end of September this year.

About two-thirds are likely to be built and made available over the next three years.

Still, househunters such as bank executive Luanne Lim were disappointed at the Government’s declaration. The 33-year-old bank executive, who feels private homes have become ‘unaffordable’, said: ‘I think people can still afford to speculate without the deferred payment scheme.’

On the public housing front, Mr Mah said the Housing Board was ramping up its building programme to meet demand for new homes.

MP Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC) asked about the supply in the next three years, saying newly-weds found it harder to get new HDB flats.

But Mr Mah said about 4,000 flats will be launched under HDB’s build-to-order programme this half year.

He did not think the HDB should meet all demand for new flats. If it did, it would be laying the groundwork for a future oversupply problem.

These same newly-weds would then find it hard to sell their homes if they wanted to upgrade. It was better to channel some of the demand for new flats to the resale market, he said.

Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

S’pore Inflation could hit 5% early next year, then taper off

S’pore Inflation could hit 5% early next year, then taper off

By Li Xueying

AS CONSUMER prices continue to rise, inflation in Singapore will likely surge to 4 or 5 per cent in the first quarter of next year.

But it should taper off by the second half of the year to ‘more normal conditions’, said Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang yesterday.

The average rate for next year should be around 3 per cent.

Fuelled mainly by rising global oil and food prices, inflation recorded a 13-year high of 2.9 per cent in August. It is expected to dip to 2.7 per cent in the last quarter, Mr Lim told Parliament.

But it was his 2008 forecast that made analysts and consumers sit up yesterday.

Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin said that the 5 per cent rate predicted would be a ‘historic high’ in the 25 years since 1983. The previous high was in July 1991, when it hit 4 per cent.

Most economies, including Singapore’s, size up inflation by tracking the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. The CPI measures the cost of a basket of goods and services consumed by most households.

Yesterday, Mr Lim cautioned against ‘interpreting a rise in the headline CPI as necessarily reflecting an increase in the cost of living’.

It depends on the individual household’s spending. ‘Switching to cheaper products can reduce the cost of living despite a rise in the CPI,’ he added.

A CPI increase may also not reflect actual hikes in consumer prices. For instance, flat prices soared, but flat owners do not pay rent.

Higher inflation, he said, should also be viewed against rapid economic growth, with the gross domestic product rising more than 6 per cent on average since 2003 and wages also on the up.

‘Against this backdrop, we should not be surprised to see inflation rise above the unusually low levels seen in recent years.’

However, MPs such as Madam Halimah Yacob worry that residents, especially the elderly on fixed incomes, are feeling the pinch. ‘They go to the market with a similar sum of money. But they can buy less,’ she said.

Mr Lim promised: ‘The Government will continue to keep a tight watch to ensure that inflation remains low.’

He sketched out how the landscape will look like next year.

Explaining why there will be a spike in inflation before it plateaus, he cited two reasons: First, it is as compared to the first quarter of this year, when inflation was at 0.5 per cent and oil prices were low.

Second, the ‘one-off’ effect of the goods and services tax hike, which will be felt until next June.

Thereafter, the trend will ‘revert to more normal conditions in the second half of next year’.

The numbers come against a global backdrop of rising oil and food prices, such as more expensive chicken due to costlier feed. Adverse weather in food-supplying countries has also reduced supply, even as demand has risen.

Diversifying sources is one way to maintain more stable food prices, Mr Lim said, but there was a limit to this given the worldwide increase in food prices being seen now.

But inflation has not affected Singapore’s economic competitiveness, he said.

‘We are tracking our competitiveness position very closely and so far we are in quite a good position,’ he said, adding that inflation here was lower than in other countries.

He noted that imported inflation has been reduced because of the policy of gradually appreciating the Singapore dollar.

Other watchers suggest more aggressive measures. Citigroup’s Dr Chua, for instance, believes that the economy is in danger of overheating.

He called on the Government to re-prioritise projects, given that unemployment is already at a low.

‘The economy cannot be growing at that pace - it is reaching a bottleneck, there’s a supply constraint, with wage, price, rent increases. It is costly for everyone.’

Source : Straits Times - 13 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com