For Rent UE Tech Park / UE Print Media Hub / 257 Jln Ahmad Ibrahim

For Rent UE Tech Park / UE Print Media Hub / 257 Jln Ahmad Ibrahim

UE Tech Park at 8 & 10 Pandan Crescent (West Coast Area)
Sizes: 8,000 sq ft to 43,000 sq ft
Gross Rental: from $1.50 psf per month negotiable
Suits: Warehousing/Non-pollutive Clean Manufacturing

UE Print Media Hub at 61 Tai Seng Avenue (opposite future MRT station)
Size Range: 2,500 sq ft to > 45,000 sq ft
Gross Rental: from $1.80 psf per mth negotiable
Suits: Printings/Printing-related/Publishing

Proposed Development at 257 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim (Benoi Sector)
Sizes: 120,000 sq ft to 630,000 sq ft
Gross Rental: Any reasonable offer will be considered
Suits: Logistics Use/Warehousing
Completion Date: Estimated to be end 2009

Office Space at UE Square at 83 Clemenceau Avenue
100% Full till 3Q 2008

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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http://www.hotvictory.com

Soilbuild buys site for Singapore condo project

Soilbuild buys site for Singapore condo project
(SINGAPORE) Listed developer Soilbuild Group Holdings yesterday said that it bought a landed site off Meyer Road which it plans to amalgamate with Margate Mansion for a small luxury condominium project.

Margate Mansion: Will be amalgamated with another site for a luxury condominium
The group’s latest purchase is 10 Margate Road. It paid $30.8 million for the 16,967 sq ft freehold site. Together with Margate Mansion, total land cost - including a development charge of about $18.4 million - works out to $88.8 million or $987 per sq ft (psf) per plot.

Soilbuild said that its purchase of Margate Mansion, a collective sale site, is still pending the Strata Titles Board’s approval.

The group bid $58 million, or about $882 psf per plot including an estimated development charge then of $6.5 million, for the 34,804 sq ft freehold site. Development charges have since been revised upwards.

The combined land area for the two sites is 51,771 sq ft. Based on a plot ratio of 2.1, gross floor area for the amalgamated site is 108,719 sq ft.

Assuming average unit sizes of between 1,500 and 2,000 sq ft, the site can be redeveloped into about 50 to 70 luxurious residential units.

The East Coast site, in district 15, has easy access to the East Coast Park Expressway and is about 10 minutes from Suntec City and the Central Business District.

Soilbuild said that the group’s latest purchase will be funded by internal resources and borrowings.

Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

Singapore home price gains set to slow

Singapore home price gains set to slow

Buyers holding back purchases on US sub-prime fears, says Frasers CEO

(SINGAPORE) Singapore’s home prices will probably increase at a slower pace as buyers hold back their purchases amid the US subprime crisis, said Lim Ee Seng, chief executive officer of Frasers Centrepoint Group.

‘The sub-prime crisis has shaken investors’ confidence. We are still looking to boost our land bank, but we are opportunistic and won’t pay current values because our costs would be too high.’
- Mr Lim

Losses related to US housing mortgages have sapped consumer confidence, Mr Lim said. Some buyers returned apartment units bought at the Singapore-based company’s new project, Soleil@Sinaran near the city’s downtown, forfeiting initial deposits, he said in an interview late on Tuesday.

The outlook among homebuyers may also slow land purchases by developers including Frasers, one of the biggest buyers of older apartments in the city-state’s downtown, where they’re torn down for new home developments through so-called en bloc sales.

The developer is a unit of Fraser & Neave Ltd, the city’s biggest beverage maker.

‘The sub-prime crisis has shaken investors’ confidence,’ he said. ‘We are still looking to boost our land bank, but we are opportunistic and won’t pay current values because our costs would be too high,’ he added, referring to the purchase of existing apartment buildings to increase its land holdings.

Singapore’s home prices have climbed 14 consecutive quarters since 2004, soaring to a 10-year high this year as the island- state’s economy posted its longest economic expansion since 1991. The developer’s outlook for property sales also indicates its appetite may ease for new land purchases.

The price gain has helped the developer on earlier purchases of existing apartments, which are sold at a profit.

An example is the St Thomas Suites development in the city’s downtown, where apartments were recently sold at $2,189 a square foot.

For a 2,605-square-foot apartment, the latest sale recorded by the government, the price was $5.7 million.

‘We bought the site of St. Thomas Suites at $600 per square foot,’ Lim said. ‘But nearby properties put up for en bloc sales are asking over $1,800, and a developer has to sell at at least $2,500 to cover costs.’ - Bloomberg

Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

$3m govt aid for Singapore companies to hire jobless

$3m govt aid for Singapore companies to hire jobless

By OH BOON PING
THE government is launching a $3 million assistance scheme to encourage firms here to recruit unemployed people on flexible work arrangements.
Administered by Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and NTUC, the one-year ‘Flexi-Works!’ Programme will provide companies with up to $100,000 each, and this can be used for job redesign or training, said Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Kim Yong yesterday.

This came as the tightening labour market means that businesses will need new sources of manpower to support their growth. Therefore, ‘we should tap the economically inactive population as a viable source of manpower’.

Mr Gan was speaking at the launch of a road-map that provides guidance to small and medium-sized enterprises on how to implement re-employment policy and age-friendly human resource practices.

An initiative of The Enterprise Development Centre @ the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (EDC@ASME), it covers three areas of assistance.

The first is to keep firms informed of existing and prevailing changes to the re-employment laws as well as the latest updates on this area. The second area of assistance is the provision of a guide to help firms implement re-employment policy and age-friendly human resource practices.
The last area is introducing a new platform where firms that have successfully implemented effective re-employment practices can share their experiences with fellow ASME members and other companies.

Their stories will be published on ASME’s website based on different re-employment strategies, including job redesign, flexible work arrangements and workplace re-engineering.
Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

Shoplifting, wastage cost Singapore retailers US$179m

Shoplifting, wastage cost Singapore retailers US$179m

Retail shrinkage is caused by customer theft, employee theft, pricing or accounting mistakes
By CHOW PENN NEE
SHOPLIFTING and wastage in shops cost the average Singaporean household $271 annually. This is the ‘tax’ on honest shoppers as retailers lose millions through shoplifting and wastage.
A study conducted by the Centre for Retail Research in the UK and sponsored by Checkpoint Systems Inc - a NYSE-listed supplier of retail shrink management solutions - yesterday said that retail shrinkage (stock loss from crime or waste expressed as a percentage of retail sales) in Singapore was US$179 million this year, representing an average shrinkage rate of 1.25 per cent of sales. This has risen from 1.19 per cent last year.

Singaporean retailers regarded more than half of shrink loss as being caused by customer theft and the remainder by employees.

The study was conducted in 32 countries around the world, including 25 countries in Western and Central Europe, as well as the US, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

The results from these countries show that global retail shrinkage cost retailers US$98.6 billion.

For Singaporean retailers, the cost of retail crime was US$185 million, compared with US$108.1 billion globally.

Around the world, the largest source of shrinkage was customer theft (shoplifting), responsible for 42 per cent of losses. Employee theft accounted for 35 per cent while 17 per cent of the global cost was caused by pricing or accounting mistakes.

‘The phenomenon of shrink must be taken seriously in the context of a global economy,’ noted George Off, CEO of Checkpoint Systems Inc.

‘Shrink cost has an immediate impact on the margins of the global retail industry - an industry on which the world’s economy, particularly in many developing or recently developed regions, depends for growth and stability.’

The most frequently stolen items from retailers in Asia-Pacific are alcohol, cosmetics and skincare, ladies’ apparel, perfumes and speciality food such as meat, cheese and seafood.

In Singapore, the cost of retail crime due to customer theft, employee theft and supplier fraud were $144 million, $66 million, and $21 million respectively in the period of study.
Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

Singapore CDL Q3 earnings jump 32.1% to $169.5m

Singapore CDL Q3 earnings jump 32.1% to $169.5m

Nine-month profit soars 128.5% to $490m; record full-year profit seen
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) looks headed for record profits for full-year 2007 after achieving net earnings of $169.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, and $490 million for the first nine months. Third-quarter earnings were up 32.1 per cent and nine-month earnings 128.5 per cent from the corresponding periods last year.
Market watchers reckon that for the full-year, the property and hotel group should be able to surpass its best showing of over $500 million net earnings about a decade ago.

On the group’s prospects, CDL said yesterday: ‘With the outstanding sales achievements over the past few years, this has enabled the group to lock in its profits, placing it in a rewarding position to perform well in the next few years as profit will continue to be recognised progressively.’

CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng said that ‘continued capital appreciation in the next few years is likely and the prospects for the property sector continue to be good’.

In the first nine months, the group sold 1,590 homes with sales value of $2.9 billion. The group is planning to launch a few residential projects in the coming months, including the 40-unit Wilkie Studio in the Mount Sophia area, the 77-unit Shelford Suites off Dunearn Road and a 228-unit condo on The Quayside Collection site at Sentosa Cove. Another project in the pipeline is a 336-unit condo at the former Lock Cho apartments site on Thomson Road.
Despite the initial ‘knee-jerk’ impact on market sentiment following the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme, Mr Kwek highlighted that ‘the fundamentals in the economy and property market in Singapore remain very well-founded and strong’ and ‘there is still room for sustained growth’.

Office rentals are still improving and the rental market for the next two to three years looks strong. ‘Several key leases are up for renewal next year and beyond and this will significantly enhance rental yields,’ he said.

The group has a size-able commercial portfolio of 4.3 million sq ft lettable area, which offers it several options. However, as many of CDL’s office buildings have a low historical cost, and given the group’s strong balance sheet, ‘there is no immediate urgency to monetise this commercial portfolio even though there is a market trend to recycle capital’, Mr Kwek said.

The group’s strategy of maintaining a land bank helps CDL respond quickly to changing market demands, to create value for its shareholders in the mid to long term without the need to bid aggressively for new sites. CDL’s current land bank can be developed into 9.12 million sq ft gross floor area.

CDL’s 32.1 per cent improvement in Q3 earnings was achieved despite last year’s third quarter being buoyed by $150.9 million one-off divestment gains from the sale of its long leasehold interest in four Singapore hotels to CDL Hospitality Trusts.

For the first nine months, profit before income tax from property development was $385 million, up 165 per cent from the corresponding year-ago period, with contributions from projects like City Square Residences, Tribeca, Monterey Park, St Regis Residences, The Sail @ Marina Bay, The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove, Parc Emily, Edelweiss Park, Residences @ Evelyn and Botannia Residences.

The group is expected to begin booking profits from The Solitaire from Q4 2007, while profits from One Shenton and Cliveden at Grange will only be recognised in stages from next year onwards.

Profit from rental properties in the first nine months jumped from $8.3 million to $44.6 million.

Other listed property groups also continued reporting improved earnings for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2007 on the back of fair-value gains on investment properties, strong residential sales and their ability to progressively recognise earnings on units sold based on the percentage of project completion.

Like CDL, many groups can be expected to post record earnings for full-year 2007. CapitaLand’s net earnings for the first nine months more than tripled to $2.08 billion - double the $1.018 billion record for the whole of last year.

Analysts say next year developers should still be able to book strong residential development profits from progressive recognition of profits for units already sold. However, a critical factor that could affect their bottom lines is office valuations.

Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

‘Singapore Penthouses cost $20m, $30m…where am I to go?’

‘Singapore Penthouses cost $20m, $30m…where am I to go?’

Apportionment method is unfair, argue some penthouse owners. HORIZON TOWERS HEARING
By MICHELLE QUAH
(SINGAPORE) The minority owners of Horizon Towers who are objecting to the en bloc sale of the development took the stand for the first time yesterday, putting forth their reasons as to why the collective sale should not go through.
Arguments on how the penthouse owners would be penalised by the apportionment method - and how the price they would receive would not get them similarly sized units in the same area - were just some of those presented to the Strata Titles Board (STB) tribunal.

Ng Eng Ghee, a penthouse owner who is objecting to the en bloc sale, pointed out that the apportionment of the proceeds was unfair to owners such as himself.

The apportionment method used by Horizon Towers will assign proceeds to units according to an equal mixture of land area and share value. But Mr Ng pointed out that the share value assigned to a penthouse is only seven, compared to a share value of five for the smaller units, even though his penthouse is almost double the size of the smaller apartments.

This would result in him getting a much lower price for his unit, on a per-square-foot basis, than the smaller units. But Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah - who represents the majority owners - pointed out that Mr Ng also contributes to the maintenance of the condominium according to his share value.

Mr Ng then lamented that the $3.8 million that he would get for his over-5,000 sq ft penthouse would not enable him to buy another comparable unit in the Orchard Road area. He said in his affidavit that he has not seen another penthouse that would suit him and his family of five people and two large dogs more than his Horizon Towers unit, which even has a private rooftop pool.

‘Penthouses in the area cost $20 million, $30 million, $15 million. I saved for all this time, so that I could retire at this point. Now, where am I going to go?’ he said.

The apportionment method used by Horizon Towers was also objected to by Ong Sioe Hong, the sister of Metro Holdings group managing director Jopie Ong.

She also expressed her displeasure with some of the sales committee members who bought extra units in the development at the time the committee was formed to explore the potential of an en bloc sale. She felt that this gave them a different ‘tolerance of pain’ as these extra units were investments to them, rather than homes.

But Mr Rajah then asked her whether, if the sales committee members had bought extra units for the purposes of making money in an en bloc sale, they would not then wish to get as high a price for Horizon Towers as possible. Ms Ong said that she felt that their agenda was different.

It is the minorities’ case that the en bloc sale of Horizon Towers to Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) and its partners was done in bad faith, as the sales committee had not followed due process in conducting the sale, such as by seeking out other more attractive offers for the development. Harry Elias Partnership, which represents one group of minorities, called the collective sale ‘a comedy of errors’.

The high-profile hearing is expected to end today, after which the STB tribunal will deliberate on whether to grant a collective sale order to Horizon Towers. But even this decision will not necessarily spell the end of this saga.

For one thing, the tribunal needs to grant the order before the sale completion deadline of Dec 11. Even if it does, the minorities can still appeal against that decision. And if the tribunal decides not to grant an order, there is the possibility that HPL will proceed with the lawsuit it has filed against the majority owners for breach of the sale and purchase agreement.
Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

CDL’s profit up 32%, aided by sales of Singapore luxury homes

CDL’s profit up 32%, aided by sales of Singapore luxury homes

By Gabriel Chen
CITY Developments (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng believes that Singapore’s property market is likely to remain healthy and that there is still room for sustained growth.
‘Continued capital appreciation over the next few years is likely, and the prospects for the property sector continue to be good,’ said Mr Kwek yesterday.

Shareholders would have beamed at his optimistic outlook, but some were left scratching their heads wondering when the company, flush with cash, would utilise its outstanding Section 44 tax credits.

CDL is among several big companies that still have unused tax credits, which expire on Dec 31.

On Tuesday, Hong Leong Finance announced a special dividend to partially utilise its outstanding credits.

And Singapore Computer Systems has announced an interim dividend of three cents and a special dividend of one cent per share - the first time the company has given a dividend in two years.

Still, tax credits aside, investors cheered a strong performance by South-east Asia’s second-largest developer, which released its third-quarter results yesterday.

Net profit for the three months ended Sept 30 rose 32 per cent to $169.5 million, compared with $128.3 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

Aided by strong luxury-home sales in Singapore, revenue shot up 19.7 per cent to $796 million last year.

Earnings per share for the quarter rose from 14.1 cents to 18.6 cents, while net asset value per share rose to $5.51 as at Sept 30 from $5.21 as at Dec 31 last year.

While Mr Kwek acknowledges that the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme for property purchases has had an initial ‘knee-jerk’ impact on market sentiment, he expects confidence and buying interest to return.

‘The high-end property market, having reached record highs, is likely to see a more judicious growth,’ he said.

Singapore’s position as a growth hub in the Asia-Pacific will augur well for the property market, he added.

The group’s total land bank stands at 4.48 million sq ft, with a gross floor area of 9.12 million sq ft.

Source : Straits Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

Singapore Building boom set to extend past 2010 as Govt delays projects

Singapore Building boom set to extend past 2010 as Govt delays projects

Industry welcomes move that will ease strain on resources such as manpower

By Jessica Cheam

SINGAPORE’S construction boom now looks assured to keep rolling until 2010 and beyond, major industry players said yesterday.
They were welcoming a government move to postpone some public sector building projects in order to ease the squeeze on resources such as labour and materials.

On Tuesday, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) announced the rescheduling of public projects worth at least $2 billion to 2010 and beyond.

Mr Desmond Hill, the president of the Singapore Contractors Association, which represents local contractors, said yesterday that it ‘makes sense that construction demand should be spread out’.

‘The uptake of projects has been too fast, and we’re facing a manpower shortage. This move ensures that our construction boom can be extended past 2010,’ he said.

Mr Andrew Khng, a director of Tiong Seng Contractors, added: ‘Contractors’ books are quite filled. With this move, ongoing projects will not have to fight tooth and nail with projects coming onstream for resources. People will be more relaxed.’
The complete list of projects to be postponed has yet to be finalised.

But they will range in value from about $10 million to $400 million each, BCA told The Straits Times yesterday.

Projects affected include the National Addiction Management Centre, the Communicable Disease Centre and an extension of the Changi Prison Complex.

Extensions for both the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum, worth some $67 million, will also be rescheduled, BCA said.

This will help cut overall demand for extra manpower in the next two years by a sizeable 20 to 40 per cent.

Annual construction demand, in the doldrums for the last three years, is expected to hit $19 billion to $22 billion from this year to 2009.

Besides manpower, the industry is facing a resources crunch too, as it scrambles to meet deadlines. The prices of raw materials such as steel bars and cement have risen by more than 20 per cent over the last year, and construction equipment is in short supply.

This is due partly to a global rise in building activity, especially in markets such as China and India.

But prices of raw materials are expected to stabilise in the next year or so, when demand eases, said Mr Ong Pang Aik, the chairman of construction group Lian Beng Group.

Mr Hill also called for a review of the industry’s dependency ratio of local to foreign workers, recently changed to one local worker to every five foreign workers.

With the buoyant economy fuelling high pay packages in some sectors, the building industry is facing difficulties finding local workers, said Mr Hill. ‘Perhaps a 1:6 or 1:8 ratio could be allowed.’

BCA has said that most resources for the next two years will be channelled to major projects such as the two integrated resorts and infrastructure projects, and to meet social housing needs.

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Chua Thian Poh said that the Government’s move will ‘go a long way towards alleviating the critical resource shortage fuelled by the boom in the industry’.

Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore executive director Chia Hock Ji said yesterday that the move was ‘helpful as the situation is quite tight’. He added that most firms would welcome more foreign workers.

Ultimately, any ease in demand that will help bring down prices would be a relief for the industry, said Mr Hill.

Source : Straits Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

How to get housewives, retirees back to work? New fund may help - Singapore

How to get housewives, retirees back to work? New fund may help - Singapore

Firms can tap $3 million fund for initiatives aimed at pool of 600,000 potential workers

By Keith Lin
EVERY hour, two security officers patrol the Tradehub 21 industrial park in Boon Lay Way - on bicycles.
But this could change soon. Their bosses want to introduce golf buggies as a way of attracting more older workers to join the company.

KH Security Agency sees it as the solution to the uphill task of getting workers.

Yesterday, eyes lit up when news broke of a new fund that promises to give companies up to $100,000 to implement flexible or part-time measures at the workplace.

The $3 million government fund, called the Flexi-Works! scheme, was launched yesterday and is aimed at coaxing housewives and retirees to work again.

It received loud cheers from companies like KH Security. Said its operations manager Gary Harris: ‘This is timely given the dire manpower shortage facing our industry, especially after strict rules were introduced following the Sept 11 attacks on who we can hire.’

Only Singaporeans and permanent residents, plus Malaysians, can be security officers, he added.

Horticultural company Candy Floriculture is eyeing housewives. Its boss, Madam Sharen Goh, says she intends to tap the fund to hire and train more housewives to take up such jobs as florists and tree decorators.

Now, only three of her 32 workers were housewives previously.

‘Mothers are by nature more caring, which makes them very ideal horticulture workers,’ she said.

All employers interviewed as well as the labour movement applauded the fund as a way to help ease the shortage in the current tight labour market, with employers hungry for workers.

Latest official figures show the pool of housewives and retirees to be around 600,000.

The fund was announced yesterday by Minister of State for Manpower Gan Kim Yong at a seminar for small and medium-size enterprises.

He said many women and retirees aspire to work again, but prefer to do so on a part-time or flexible basis.

And, he added, ‘as the labour market continues to tighten, businesses will need new sources of manpower to support their growth’.

At the same time, the Government would like housewives and retirees to come out to work, ’so that they can be economically active; they can also be secure financially for their retirement in their old age, and at the same time, contribute positively to the economy’, he said.

Hence, the new scheme which lets companies use the money for a range of activities, from redesigning jobs to subsidising training costs.

In the initial 12 months, it aims to entice 1,500 to help fill the thousands of jobs being created.

Latest Manpower Ministry figures show about 171,500 jobs were created in the first nine months of this year.

But companies struggle to fill many of them, as Singapore’s unemployment rate in September hit a level not seen since the 1997 Asian financial crisis: 1.7 per cent.

Still, some housewives struggle to find work, said MP Halimah Yacob, NTUC’s deputy secretary-general.

‘Many are keen to work, but don’t want to do it full-time or spend too much time travelling to the workplace, because it takes them away from their family responsibilities,’ said Madam Halimah, who also heads a working group of government officials, unionists and employers that is looking at ways to attract women back into the workforce.

For housewife Elsie Quek, 47, the prospect of flexi-work is delightful. The former clerk, who quit her job in the 1980s to raise her two children, hopes to work from home.

‘This way, I can earn extra income while still having time to cook and go grocery shopping for my family,’ said Mrs Quek, whose husband is a surveyor. Her daughter is now 21 and son, 13.
Source : Straits Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com

$6m boost for Singapore HDB shops to draw crowds

$6m boost for Singapore HDB shops to draw crowds

About 1,500 retailers at 14 suburban centres will get help to upgrade common areas and hold promotional events

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

SUBURBAN shoppers may soon get to relax in a trendy beer garden in Tampines or watch bird-singing competitions in Serangoon North.
These new attractions are not bound for spiffy heartland malls, but humbler HDB estates, where retailers are in line for a $6 million makeover to attract more shoppers in the first exercise of its kind.

About 1,500 small shops at 14 suburban centres - many struggling to compete with more vibrant rivals - will benefit from this facelift under a pilot scheme, the HDB said yesterday.

The areas were selected from 19 applications and unveiled by Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu. They include blocks in Marine Parade, Bedok, Toa Payoh, Serangoon North, Tampines and Changi Village.

Some proposals for improvements include an amphitheatre for Jurong West and a modern glass roof over a Teck Whye pedestrian mall.

This sprucing up is part of the new Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) scheme, first mooted in Parliament in March to help older HDB shops compete with malls.

One estate that has already been transformed with help from the HDB is Sunset Way, which benefited from another HDB programme called the Restructuring Programme for Shops (RPS). This scheme gives payouts to shops that are better off closing down or regrouping.

In Sunset Way, once-struggling businesses selling vegetables, fruit and the like have been replaced by shops and alfresco eateries offering Thai and Japanese cuisine, and even a steakhouse.

As a result, the area has been revitalised and is packing in the crowds.

‘When we looked at the performance of the shops in HDB estates, we realised that some of the shops have been affected by either changes in the way that we shop or changes in social demographic factors,’ Ms Fu said at a media briefing.

‘There is a need to renew and rejuvenate our shop centres.’

Under the new ROS scheme, the HDB and town councils will help foot the bill to upgrade common areas, such as by adding block awnings.

They will subsidise half the cost for shop owners, or up to $10,000 per shop, and the full cost for shop tenants, or up to $20,000 per shop.

The HDB will also help pay for promotional activities to draw crowds to the shops.

For example, in pet-shop hub Serangoon North, retailers have plans for bird-singing competitions and fish exhibitions.

One shop owner, Mr Benjamin Wee, managing director of Petmart in Serangoon North, said: ‘If you look at an area like Ang Mo Kio, there are so many shoppers and it’s doing so well. We hope to be like that.’

The promotions will take effect within six months to a year, while construction and upgrading will take at least a year. In a year’s time, the HDB will review the pilot scheme.

It has also continued its RPS scheme. So far, two batches of tenants, or 219 shops, have been cleared to build void decks or common facilities such as senior citizens’ centres. The third and last batch of 74 tenants was selected yesterday, marking the end of the $12.5 million programme.

The HDB will also spend up to $4 million to lower electrical upgrading charges for shops.

‘I hope you will appreciate that HDB is really going out of its way,’ Ms Fu told reporters. ‘If you are looking at HDB as a private-sector commercial space owner, it would not have to do this.’
Source : Straits Times - 15 Nov 2007

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com

http://www.hotvictory.com