Catching Formula One race in high style - Singapore

Catching Formula One race in high style - Singapore

Grandstands will also be set up in the S’pore Flyer Garden
By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

FORMULA One (F1) fans hoping for a bird’s eye view of the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix can opt to watch it from the 165-metre tall Singapore Flyer.

The $240 million Flyer observation wheel, which is expected to open on March 1, 2008, can hold 28 guests in each of its 28 capsules, translating to 784 passengers for every half-hour long ride.
Singapore GP has forged a land-use and ticketing partnership with the Flyer under which Singapore GP will establish grandstands with adjoining marquees, lifestyle areas, entertainment and F&B outlets in the Singapore Flyer Garden and adjoining areas facing the track.

The grandstands - reserved for corporate buyers - will be standalone private buildings as opposed to a single large one.

Details are still being hammered out, but Flyer general manager David Beevers reckons ticket prices for corporate boxes in the Flyer Promenade could go between $3,500 to $4,500 each over the three days of the GP.

Pricing and the number of seats are expected to be released in late January 2008 by Singapore GP.

The $240 million Flyer observation wheel, which is expected to open on March 1, 2008, can hold 28 guests in each of its 28 capsules, translating to 784 passengers for every half-hour long ride.

Although tickets for the Flyer can be bought by the public, promenade ticket holders will get preference.

‘Given the number of private land owners around the circuit, the deal will be a good model to use with other interested parties,’ said Michael Roche, executive director of the Singapore GP.

Because the right to sell tickets remains solely with Singapore GP, the company is in talks with venues around the race circuit to engineer additional partnerships.

This will help ’secure unobstructed race views and maximise involvement from as many vantage points as possible’, said Alastair Hunt, Singapore GP’s circuit park manager.

Safety fences, the lighting system and advertising hoardings are expected to serve as obstacles and discourage viewing from unauthorised venues on the periphery of the track.

Singapore GP has also awarded to two companies - PICO Art International and Kingsmen Creatives - the contract to construct some of the grandstands, seating and corporate hospitality suites for the race. The five-year contract is expected to be worth $25 million.
Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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S’pore Land sales programme for 1H08 draws good reviews

S’pore Land sales programme for 1H08 draws good reviews

Large supply of mass market homes but govt holds back on office sites
By UMA SHANKARI
THE government will release a batch of suburban residential land parcels in the first half of next year but property analysts are divided as to whether there will be enough takers for the homes coming up on the sites.
And on the back of reports that Singapore could see an oversupply of office space come 2010, the government is releasing just one site for office use in its confirmed list in its land sales programme for the first half of next year.

The 21 residential sites on the list will yield 8,250 private homes, including executive condos. This compares to a supply of 8,000 private homes for the second half of 2007.

Eight of these sites - with the capacity for 2,840 homes - are on the confirmed list. The other 13 sites are on the reserve list.

Market watchers said that the large number of suburban residential sites seems to imply that the government is aware that housing prices in popular non-prime locations have risen substantially, which has in turn priced out HDB upgraders.

‘By providing sites in suburban locations that are within or near HDB estates, the completed units are likely to be less pricey as their land costs would be lower,’ said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director for research at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
The homes could also be suitable for expats, who are increasingly coming to Singapore on local terms, said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

‘As Singapore looks to grow its population, more expats earning in the mid-income range will be coming in,’ Mr Ku said. ‘These expats might not be able to afford homes in the prime districts and so could look at mass market homes.’

Among the sites offered, those at Lorong 2 Toa Payoh, Woodleigh Close, Tanah Merah Kechil and Bishan Street 14 are perceived as the best of the crop. These sites could fetch between $400 and $600 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), CBRE’s Mr Li said.

However, others said that it might have been more prudent of the government to put more sites on the reserve list instead of the confirmed list.

‘The market can be very fickle,’ said Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank. There is good demand for mass market homes at the moment, but this might not be the case in a few months, he said.

On the other hand, the government’s decision to hold off releasing more office sites was well received. In recent weeks, experts have said that Singapore could see a glut of office space after 2010 when several big projects - such as the Marina Bay Financial Centre and the redeveloped Ocean Building - come up.

Yesterday, the government said that it is only releasing one new white site on the confirmed list - bound by Rochor, North Bridge, Ophir and Beach roads and next to Parkview Square - for office and hotel use.

The white site can yield about 1.5 million sq ft of commercial space. Experts said that the site could go for $750-$1,000 psf ppr.

The only other new commercial site, located at North Buona Vista Drive, will be released on the reserve list. An estimated 1.3 million sq ft of commercial space can be developed on the land parcel.

The proximity of the site to one-north will likely see space there being sought after by the research institutes in one-north, said Mr Li of CBRE
Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Govt’s slate of land sales seen as prudent-Singapore

Govt’s slate of land sales seen as prudent-Singapore

List for H1 next year is roughly similar in scale to that for H2 this year
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) The Ministry of National Development is adopting a measured strategy in its Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, offering up a slate for the first-half of next year that’s roughly similar in scale to the offerings for H2 2007.Noting that the government is taking a “prudent approach”, some market watchers said the ministry is factoring in the recent caution in the property market triggered by the subprime crisis, but is not dumping land to ease a short-term supply crunch in, for instance, the office market.

“It’s not so bad, just 11 sites in all on the confirmed list. And of these, the eight private residential sites are in suburban locations like Choa Chu Kang, Tampines and Yishun, to cater to upgrader demand,” said a developer of yesterday’s GLS announcement.

For the first half of next year, the government is offering a total of 37 sites in H1 2008 - 11 in the confirmed list (down from 14 for the current H2 2007 programme) and 26 in the reserve list (one site fewer than in the current list).

The latest sites will yield about 8,250 private homes including executive condos (ECs), 4.4 million sq ft in gross floor area of commercial space and 5,850 hotel rooms. This is similar to the 8,000 private homes, 3.8 million sq ft commercial GFA and 6,500 hotel rooms supply for H2 2007.

And reflecting a market-led approach, the bulk of the supply for H1 2008 will continue to come from the reserve list, where sites are launched for tender only upon application by developers.

The latest confirmed list - where sites are released according to a stated schedule regardless of demand - will yield about 3,000 private homes, 1.6 million sq ft of commercial GFA and 1,670 hotel rooms - again close to the 3,000 private homes, 1.78 million sq ft commercial GFA and 1,810 hotel rooms in the current slate.

In all, MND has introduced 17 new sites, six in the confirmed list and 11 through the reserve list.
None of the two new sites with substantial office components are in the financial district, including the sizzling Marina Bay area.

Instead, one site - in the confirmed list - engulfs the Parkview Square development and is bound by Rochor, North Bridge, Ophir and Beach roads, and the other, a reserve-list site, is at one north, next to Buona Vista MRT Station.

“The authorities are adopting a more cautious approach on CBD office supply, despite an immediate supply crunch, because the sub-prime crisis is expected to lead international banks to downsize and scale down their office space requirements,” the developer suggested.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho also described the government’s tack as prudent.

“The current office crunch is a short-term problem. There’s over 10 million sq ft of supply on the horizon, most of which will be completed in 2010 and beyond; so in the mid-term there will be sufficient supply. There’s no point for the government to dump 99-year office sites now as the supply will only be completed in the mid-term because of construction time.

“That’s why government is pushing for conversion of state properties and transitional, 15-year lease sites to address the office shortage in the short- term.”

A seasoned market watcher observed a similarly measured strategy for the residential market, where the high-end segment is now taking a breather after runaway prices fuelled by speculators and specu-vestors earlier.

“MND’s focus is on ensuring there’s sufficient supply in the mid-tier and mass-market private housing segments. It’s offering a spread of suburban sites for upgrader private condos as well as four EC sites (through the reserve list), to make sure such homes are within the reach of genuine home buyers,” he added.

Three of the four EC sites are new additions - in Yishun, Jurong West and Sengkang East Avenue.

A developer welcomed the government’s decision to include, among its slate of eight residential sites on the latest confirmed list, two landed housing plots - at Westwood Avenue in Jurong West, and Sembawang Greenvale (Phase 2). “There’s really a shortage of landed housing sites,” he added.

He also viewed positively the fact that both hotel sites on the confirmed list - at Race Course Road in the Little India area and Balestier/Ah Hood roads - are in locations suitable for three- and four-star hotels, which are witnessing strong demand from the India and China markets in particular.

MND also highlighted additional sources of space the government will make available in H1 2008 - including about 1.3 million sq ft of commercial GFA from sources like interim use of vacant state buildings and transitional office sites; about 110 private homes including 90 serviced apartments at one north; and 780 hotel rooms.

MND said that 9.5 million sq ft GFA of offices, 4 million sq ft of business park space, 5.6 million sq ft of shops and 8,850 hotel rooms are expected to be completed by 2010.

For the private housing sector, about 44,500 new private homes are slated for completion by 2010, of which 40 per cent or 17,800 units will be in the Core Central Region, which includes all the high-end locations.

On the Singapore Exchange yesterday, the All Singapore Equities (Property) Index ended 12.09 points higher at 1,391.57.

“They are not releasing that many sites. They are calibrating supply very carefully in response to the economy,” the developer said.
Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Inflation poses pay dilemma for bosses - Singapore

Inflation poses pay dilemma for bosses - Singapore

Staff retention tricky as pay rises are eaten up: analysts
By CHUANG PECK MING
(SINGAPORE) Bosses have budgeted for bigger pay increases for their staff next year but much of the wage rise could be wiped out by increasing inflation - a prospect that is worrying employers already troubled by an exodus of staff.
‘They are all taking a wait-and-see stance for now,’ says Tan Yee Deng of consulting firm Hewitt Associates.

A recent poll of 126 employers by Hewitt shows that pay is projected to rise by an average 5.0 per cent next year, up from 4.7 per cent in 2007. A similar poll by HR Business Solutions covering 23,491 employers in 18 locations in Asia tips salaries to jump 5.1 per cent, against a 4.8 per cent hike this year.

According to Elaine Ng, managing partner of HRBS, the expected salary rise in the coming year will be the highest in five years.

‘Again, the financial services industry can expect the highest pay increase, averaging 6.5 per cent,’ she said.

Upping pay as the labour market tightened - and job-hopping becomes common - was relatively straightforward in 2007 as the economy looks likely to wrap up the year with growth of up to 8 per cent, while the inflation rate stays low at 2 per cent.

Ms Tan said that it is going to be tricky for employers in 2008 because growth is expected to ease, hitting the bottom line, but the supply of workers will continue to be tight. At the same time, the consumer price index (CPI), boosted by the spike in oil prices, is likely to shoot up even more sharply.

The CPI in October this year rose by a 16-year-high of 3.6 per cent. The government estimates that next year’s inflation will run at 3.5-4.5 per cent, and it is taking steps to help soften the impact on consumers.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang told Parliament last month that the 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.

Ms Tan, Ms Ng and Peter Lee of salary consultancy firm RDS all agreed that inflation could wipe out the real salary jump in 2008, putting employers in a spot because they still have to deal with the problem of staff retention.

Amid record job creation, the unemployment rate has fallen to a 10-year low of 1.7 per cent. The resident employment rate shot up to a new high of 76.5 per cent - among the world’s highest.

Recruiters expect the tight labour situation to persist until at least mid-2008, and Ms Tan and Ms Ng both said that employers are likely to bump up the projected pay hike for 2008 by up to three percentage points.

According to Mr Lee, dishing out fatter bonuses can only go so far, as employees are more keen on immediate pay rises. He anticipates that employers will make selective salary adjustments for the more ‘marketable’ staff. These can be as high as a 50 per cent raise.

Ms Tan said that labour scarcity and staff poaching have raised the pay expectations of employees. And compensation remains the most decisive factor in hiring and retaining staff, she said.

Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Bumper year for investment banks in Singapore

Bumper year for investment banks in Singapore

JP Morgan leads the pack with 300% rise in fees
By MATTHEW PHAN
(SINGAPORE) Investment banks earned over 45 per cent more in Singapore in the year to date than in the corresponding period last year, according to data from Thomson Financial.
Growth was driven by strong increases in fees across the three major segments of mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and debt capital markets, though fees from loans declined.

Among the banks, JP Morgan rose to top spot with a 300 per cent increase in fees to US$42 million from just 13 deals, while DBS Bank took second spot, down from first place last year.

The bulk of JP Morgan’s fees, or over 77 per cent, was earned from equity capital markets, where the bank has managed major IPOs this year, such as that of First Ship Lease Trust and Ascendas India Trust.

DBS saw a relatively small 5.8 per cent increase in fees to US$37.7 million, from 63 deals.

Other foreign banks also saw rapid growth this year, though none as much as pack leader JP Morgan.

Goldman Sachs earned US$31.2 million in fees from 10 deals, up 183 per cent from last year, with fees from M&A making up about three-fifths of the total.

In fourth place was Citigroup, with US$19.2 million from 17 deals, up 121 per cent. Merrill Lynch took fifth place with US$18.5 million from 7 deals, up 30 per cent.

M&A was by far the largest fee earner this year for the investment banks, bringing in US$366 million in fees from 471 deals, up 50 per cent from under US$244 million and 437 deals for the same period last year.

Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Bank and DBS were the top three earners from M&A activity.

Equity capital markets, the second largest segment, saw US$180 million in fees earned from 58 deals, up 45 per cent from 2006.

The debt capital markets saw the strongest segmental rise, of 59 per cent, to US$20.4 million. Standard Chartered topped the segment, with 34.5 per cent of the market.

Loan fees fell 20 per cent to US$15.5 million. HSBC was the top loans earner with US$2.52 million from 13 deals, while OCBC took second place with US$1.5 million in fees from 25 deals.

Industry-wise, banks earned the most fees from the real estate sector, the same as last year.

Real estate deals brought in US$152.7 million in fees from 83 deals in the year to date, accounting for 26.3 per cent of the total. For the same period last year, real estate brought in US$92.4 million in fees, accounting for 23.1 per cent of the total.

The second most lucrative industry was financials, which accounted for 13.5 per cent of fees earned so far this year.

The industrials sector accounted for the third largest slice, 11.5 per cent of the total, but this was down from 16.2 per cent last year.

The proportion of fees earned from high technology, media and entertainment, and retail also fell, while the consumer staples, healthcare and energy and power segments saw their proportion of fees increase.

Meanwhile, across Asia-Pacific (including Australia but excluding Japan) investment banking fees rose 36.3 per cent to over US$11.7 billion, with the financials sector earning banks the largest share, or nearly a quarter of all fees.

Fees from M&A and the equity capital markets grew strongly too. However, in contrast to Singapore, across Asia-Pacific, fees from investment bank loans grew by 62.7 per cent, while fees from the debt capital markets declined by over a tenth.

Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Foreign law firms to get bigger slice of local pie

Foreign law firms to get bigger slice of local pie

Liberalisation of legal services among key recommendations by review committee accepted by govt
By WEE LI-EN
(SINGAPORE) Wide-ranging measures to liberalise the legal services sector and boost Singapore as an international centre for legal services and education were announced yesterday.

The government said it has accepted the key recommendations of a committee headed by Justice VK Rajah, which completed a review of the legal sector in September.

The most significant measures relate to the liberalisation of legal services. Foreign law firms can now practise Singapore law in commercial areas by hiring Singapore-qualified lawyers. This will be the first time that foreign firms can practise Singapore law on their own.

But only a maximum of five foreign firms will be allowed to do so for a start. They have to compete for licences by submitting proposals that show a commitment to Singapore, such as the size and constituency of their local office, the work they will carry out and the countries they will service from Singapore.

The Ministry of Law said the scheme will take about a year to implement.

Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar said it is envisaged that the foreign firms will practise Singapore law in ‘high-end commercial, financial and banking’ work. ‘These are the first steps in a calibrated and measured approach towards the liberalisation of the legal services sector,’ he said. ‘It is not a big-bang approach. It is a move which signals that we have to move - and we are moving.’

The second scheme enhances joint law ventures (JLVs) between local and foreign firms.

Foreign firms can hire Singapore-qualified lawyers with more than three years’ experience to advise on Singapore law. This is limited to one Singapore lawyer per foreign lawyer.

Partners from Singapore firms will be allowed to hold partnership and administrative positions in foreign firms.

Foreign firms can share up to 49 per cent of the profits of the constituent Singapore law firm in permitted areas of cooperation.

Parties that prefer other arrangements can seek approval for such structures.

There are now six JLVs in Singapore. There were eight when the scheme was introduced in 2000, and four have ceased.

The government said it will review both schemes about 18-24 months after implementation, with a view to fine-tuning them before liberalising further.

Foreign firms will also be given wider scope in international commercial arbitration. They can now vet and draft Singapore law agreements incorporating arbitration clauses, and advise parties on their legal rights and liabilities in such agreements through Singapore-qualified lawyers they hire.

Foreign firms yesterday cheered the new schemes but said they needed time to decide which option to go for.

Wong Kien Keong, managing partner of JLV Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, said liberalisation will ‘enhance the attraction, retention and development of high-quality legal talents in the city’.

Paul Supramaniam, regional head of English law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said the firm will talk with clients and the local law firms it works with to decide which option will let it service its clients best.

Local law firms said they are confident of keeping and attracting talent, despite increased competition from foreign firms.

WongPartnership (WP) managing partner Dilhan Pillay said legal talent is globally mobile and the firm has been preparing for liberalisation.

‘The key is the attraction, retention, development and management of our talent pool, and as long as we continue to pay attention to these issues closely we will be able to continue to grow our talent pool to serve the needs of our firm and our clients,’ he said.

Stamford Law Corporation’s Yap Wai Ming said: ‘Even without these schemes, Singapore law firms are already a hunting ground for foreign law firms looking for good qualified lawyers to work in their London, Hong Kong, China and even Middle Eastern offices.

‘Our challenge is to make our good young lawyers who have partner potential see the value of local firms with both Singapore and regional practice with the option of equity and all-round practice as opposed to joining the assembly lines of large foreign law firms.’

DPM Jayakumar said the government considered the needs of the economy which has become more diversified in recent years.

‘A more mature and sophisticated legal market that can offer a whole range of legal services and cutting-edge services will in turn help to sustain the growth of other important sectors in the economy,’ he said.
Source : Business Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Rising inflation putting pressure on Singapore firms to raise pay by over 5%

Rising inflation putting pressure on Singapore firms to raise pay by over 5%

Current budgets may allow for measly 0.5%-1% hike in real wages

By Grace Ng

THE higher inflation tipped for next year is pressuring companies to raise wages by more than what they are currently prepared to give, according to human resources services company Hewitt.
Companies have, on average, budgeted a 5 per cent wage hike for next year, according to an April-May survey conducted by Hewitt covering 180 companies across sectors like hospitality, energy, retail and logistics.

About 11 per cent of the firms polled were Singapore-based; the rest are from overseas. Ninety are units of United States-based firms.

Inflation next year was expected to hit around 2.5 per cent when the survey was carried out. Recent data, however, suggests prices could shoot up by as much as 4 per cent to 5 per cent in the first half of next year.

If companies keep to their budgeted figures, real wage increases could come to only a measly 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent, at least during the early months of next year.

That may, in turn, spark a fresh round of musical chairs for junior and middle managers, especially in talent-strapped, high-growth sectors such as financial services, said Ms Tan Yee Deng, a Hewitt executive covering remuneration issues in Singapore and Malaysia.

Healthy growth
These employees, who have typically worked two to five years and earn $3,000 to $5,000 a month, will be hit hardest by escalating costs of living.

‘These people are the most likely to move to other jobs which offer much higher pay hikes than 5 per cent. So, we may see turnover rates much higher than the current 8 per cent to 12 per cent range for these positions in the first half of the year,’ Ms Tan said.

In the last few years, real wage increases among Singapore companies averaged about 3 per cent and closely tracked gross domestic product (GDP) growth and inflation.

The spectre of a US economic slowdown that could hit Singapore’s GDP growth next year, however, has placed Singapore companies in a quandary.

They must lift wages to retain talent in a tight labour market but they need to keep a lid on business costs, given the prospect of a slowing economy.

A senior executive of a US-based multinational electronics company said his firm ‘may revise the wage budget to address concerns about rising inflation’.

But retaining talent, rather than factoring for inflation, was the key element pushing Singapore companies, like power outlet maker Eubiq, to raise wages for most employees by between 7 per cent and 20 per cent.

‘We offer competitive wages to retain talent. It is also clear that living expenses are rising, so the minimum wage increase for our staff is 5 per cent,’ said Mr Ng Joo Kok, the firm’s director of global business.

Hewitt’s Ms Tan said companies could make their junior and middle-management staff feel more reassured in their current jobs by enlarging the fixed portion of their annual pay, so that they get a higher salary every month.
Source : Straits Times - 07 Dec 2007

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More Singapore hotel plots up for sale next year

More Singapore hotel plots up for sale next year

TEN hotel sites will be made available next year to meet demand from the fast-growing tourism sector.
Three are new sites in the Government’s land sales programme for next year, while the others are carried over from last year’s programme, said the Ministry of National Development yesterday.

One of the new sites is between Balestier Road and Ah Hood Road, near the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall. It had been put up for sale before but there were no takers, so the Government enlarged the parcel to include a park and an adjacent land plot.

The other two new sites are downtown. One is at the corner of Gopeng and Peck Seah Streets, and can host 330 hotel rooms. The other is at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue and Havelock Road, and can accommodate 260 rooms.

The Balestier Road site, which can hold 675 rooms, is on the confirmed list and will be released in March. The only other hotel site on the confirmed list is at the junction of Race Course and Bukit Timah Roads. It will be launched for sale in February.

All the other hotel sites on sale, including the Gopeng Street and Clemenceau Avenue plots, are on the reserve list. This means they will not be launched for tender until a developer puts in an acceptable bid.

The other reserve list plots are at Victoria Street, New Bridge Road, Kallang Road, Jalan Bukit Merah, Jalan Besar and Bernam Street.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Property players likely to zoom in on Singapore central locations

Property players likely to zoom in on Singapore central locations

Topping the list is multi-use ‘white site’ not far from Bugis MRT

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

DEVELOPERS, and eventually homebuyers, can take their pick from 21 plots that the Government will release for private housing between now and June.
Property players, however, are likely to zoom straight in on the handful of land parcels that are more centrally located, industry experts say.

At the top of the list is the multi-use ‘white site’ bounded by Ophir Road, Beach Road and Rochor Road. The property sits next to Parkview Square and is a stone’s throw from Raffles Hospital and the Bugis MRT Station.

The sale of this 2.74ha plot will ‘kick-start the development of the… Rochor Road/

Ophir Road corridor’, linking Marina Centre to the Bugis area, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said yesterday.

The site, which will be launched for sale in June, must have some area set aside for offices and hotels, but the rest of the space can be put to other uses such as residential.

For private housing alone, the MND has added 12 new sites to its land sales programme. Outside land sales, the Government will also offer about 110 private housing units, including 90 service apartments at one-north.
Bids will likely come in at $750 to $850 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for this site, said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

Apart from this plum plot, there are a few other attractive residential sites, consultants say.

One is a new site at the corner of Woodleigh Close and Upper Serangoon Road, next to the Blossoms@Woodleigh condominium. It is near the yet-to-be-opened Woodleigh MRT Station on the North-East Line.

About 270 homes can be built on the 1.07ha plot, to be launched for sale in April.

Another choice site is at the junction of Lorong 2 Toa Payoh and Lorong 3 Toa Payoh, within walking distance of the Braddell MRT Station.

This 1.4ha site can host 535 homes and will be put up for sale in February. It was previously on the reserve list for developers to indicate interest, but it saw no takers. It has now been moved to the confirmed list to be launched at a fixed date.

Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CB Richard Ellis research, picked out two more sites as being among the ‘best of the crop’.

The first, at Bishan Street 14, has an area of 1.2ha and can host a 535-unit project.

The other is a 1.19ha site at New Upper Changi Road.

These four residential sites may fetch prices in the range of $400 to $600 psf of potential gross floor area, Mr Li estimated.

Mr Mak has noted, however, that apart from the Woodleigh Close site, which is new, the other plots have been available for some time on the Government’s reserve list.

Reserve list plots will not be launched for sale unless a developer comes forward to bid for them. Usually, choice plots on the reserve list will move quickly.

Those that remain to be ‘recycled’ for the next round of land sales are generally less attractive.

This time, however, the ‘recycled’ plots are quite plum, said Mr Mak.

If even these sites cannot find takers, ‘maybe developers already have enough on their plates’, he said.

In that case, perhaps the Government is offering more sites than the market is ready to absorb, he suggested.

For private housing alone, the MND has added 12 new sites to its land sales programme, including the Woodleigh Close plot.

Others include sites at Choa Chu Kang Drive, Tampines Avenue 1, Upper Changi Road North, Chestnut Avenue, Upper Thomson Road, Sengkang West Avenue and Sembawang Road.

There are also three executive condo sites, as well as a plot for landed homes at Sembawang Greenvale Phase 2. This landed parcel will be put up for auction in February to cater to smaller investors.

Outside land sales, the Government will also offer about 110 private housing units, including 90 service apartments at one-north. It will also provide 120,000 sq m of commercial space.
Source : Straits Times - 07 Dec 2007

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Environment a pillar of CDL’s business - Singapore

Environment a pillar of CDL’s business - Singapore

Recipients of Singapore’s most prestigious green honours this year have shaped the country’s waterways, gardens and cityscape. Tania Tan speaks to the three winners of the 2007 President’s Award for the Environment, who will receive their awards today
GREEN MESSAGE: CDL’s South Beach project will feature an ‘environmental filter’ canopy. — PHOTO: CITY DEVELOPMENTS

THE building and construction industry has long been fingered as a major culprit for the world’s climate change woes, as forests absorbing carbon dioxide are decimated to make way for skyscrapers.
But home-grown property developer City Developments (CDL) hopes to show how the sector can improve its green rating.

For incorporating eco-friendly practices into its business model and promoting green outreach programmes, it has become the first private company to be honoured with the President’s Award for the Environment.

While many companies are taking green steps now, CDL made the environment a pillar of its business in the late 1990s, long before it became trendy.

‘We embarked on our green journey with the simple intent of conducting our business in a socially responsible manner,’ said managing director Kwek Leng Joo.

‘So this award is truly an honour.’

Today, green features such as energy saving lights, pneumatic waste disposal systems and multiple recycling corners have become landmarks of CDL’s 110 commercial and residential developments in Singapore.

A total of 16 of its buildings have also received the Green Mark Award conferred by the Building and Construction Authority to recognise environmentally friendly buildings - the most for any company here.

To help get the green message out to its stakeholders, CDL has rolled out a slew of programmes over the years, including Project Eco-office with the Singapore Environment Council. The annual campaign promotes green habits at the work place.

The developer has also started another pilot project recently. It is measuring the carbon emissions saved by adjusting air-conditioning temperatures up one degree in five buildings here, including Republic Plaza in Raffles Place.

‘We hope to show that small actions, at no cost, can make a big difference,’ said a CDL spokesman.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Dec 2007

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