GST package: $630m given out last year -Singapore

GST package: $630m given out last year  -Singapore

By Yeo Ghim Lay

PROJECT manager Dianna Ng received $200 in cash from the Government to help her cope with the goods and services tax (GST) increase.
The 25-year-old used the money to pay for her daughter’s childcare and her mobile phone bill.

The mother of one, who lives in a four-room HDB flat and earns $2,600 a month, is among more than 2.2 million Singaporeans who received these GST credits last year, with more going to the needy.

These credits, along with the Senior Citizens’ Bonus - a payout to older Singaporeans - meant that about $630 million was given out by the Government last year, the Finance Ministry said yesterday.

The payouts are part of a $4 billion Government package to help Singaporeans cope with the hike in the GST, from 5 per cent to 7 per cent in July last year.

In all, more than 2.2 million Singaporeans benefited. They made up almost 97 per cent of the 2.3 million Singaporeans who were eligible, and had signed up by the deadline on Dec 31.

The 2.2 million include more than 97 per cent of Singaporeans living in one- to three-room flats.

All adult Singaporeans are eligible for the GST credits. The amount they receive depends on their assessable income - salary plus income from other sources - and the annual value of their home.

The payouts can range from $100 to $1,000.

The Straits Times understands that most Singaporeans would have received GST credits payouts of $200 to $250.

But Singaporeans aged 55 and above would have received more if their assessable income is $100,000 or less a year. They are eligible for the Senior Citizens’ Bonus.

The ministry said more than 95 per cent of Singaporeans aged 55 and above received the GST credits and the bonus.

Despite the high take-up rate, there were 79,000 who did not register. More than half of these live in private properties with annual values in excess of $10,000, said the ministry.

One of those who decided to forgo the cash is Mr Peter Koh, 60, managing director of a dormitory operator. He earned about $30,000 a month last year as the principal officer of an insurance company. He left in September to start his current business.

‘I didn’t see the need for the payout,’ said Mr Koh, who lives in a condominium. ‘I think the money should go to those who need it more than I do.’

The credits and bonus are to be paid over four years - from last year till 2010. Eligible Singaporeans can expect a letter in May to inform them of how much they can receive in this year’s payout.

Those who signed up last year need not do so again.
Source : Straits Times - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore Pools to take bets on F1?

Singapore Pools to take bets on F1?

By Leonard Lim

BETTING on Formula One is set to rev off here.
The Straits Times understands that Singapore Pools, the country’s only legalised bookmaker, will take bets for the 18 races on this year’s calendar, starting with the season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix on March 16.

A well-placed source told The Straits Times: ‘F1 betting is a done deal.

‘There are plans to touch up parts of the SportsBuzz Paradiz Centre outlet to accommodate motor-racing fans.’

The Paradiz venue, which has 31 television screens, can hold up to 500 punters. They can place live bets on English Premier League games while watching live telecasts.

The source also revealed that a local motor-racing expert was invited to give a talk to Pools staff on the sport recently.

When contacted, a Singapore Pools spokesman said they were looking into the matter and that if they were to go ahead, an announcement would be made at the appropriate time.

Pre-race F1 betting has been around for years in other countries.

Overseas bookmakers such as Ladbrokes accept bets on things such as the fastest qualifying lap for each Grand Prix, the race winner, the number of cars that complete the race, the first driver to retire, and the winners of the overall Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles each season.

Apart from offering odds on the overall Drivers’ and Constructors’ champions, Singapore Pools is also understood to be considering introducing live betting for each race at its SportsBuzz outlet at Paradiz Centre.

This follow the success of live betting offered for S-League and EPL soccer games, for which punters at SportsBuzz can place bets up to five minutes before a match ends.

Details are still being worked out for the F1 live betting scenario, though it is believed Singapore would be the first country to offer such a service if it takes off.

Said the source: ‘If one driver is leading by, say, 20 seconds, he’s almost a virtual winner, even if it’s midway through the race.

‘These are considerations we’re looking at and trying to iron out how best to handle them.’

Source : Today - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore OWNERS SUE REGENT EN BLOC BUYERS

Singapore OWNERS SUE REGENT EN BLOC BUYERS
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by Loh Chee Kong

SINGAPORE has seen several ugly en bloc tussles but this is a first. Themajority owners, having agreed to sell their condominium, are now suingthe buyers. A group of 25 at the 31-unit Regent Garden (picture) is alleging thatdeveloper Allgreen Properties has breached the sale and purchase agreementby grossly undervaluing the condominium. The owners filed a claim last Monday with the High Court to declare thatthey are no longer bound by the agreement, which saw the condominium soldfor $34 million last April. On Friday, Allgreen struck back.

It announced that it will “vigorouslycontest this action and the claims and allegations made by the majorityvendors”, and has applied for a court order to force the majority ownersto complete the transaction. According to court documents obtained by Today, the dispute centres on twoissues. The majority owners, represented by Senior Counsel Molly Lim,allege that Allgreen had overstated the development charge by more than $6million, thereby depressing the sale price by that sum.

They also claim the developer gave “disproportionately high” proceeds tothe six erstwhile minority owners to secure full consent. The latter havesince agreed to the sale and have applied to withdraw their objections,set to be heard Jan 30 by the Strata Titles Board (STB). Now it is the majority owners who want to be heard by the STB, which anexperienced en bloc lawyer, who declined to be named, said puts the STB inan “interesting” position. The law now gives STB power to hear all objections, but the Regentagreement was signed before the legislative change.

According to Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng, he has “nevercome across a case where the majority owners sought to rely on thefluctuation in the development baseline gross floor area to renege ontheir agreement with the developer”. “It is also my experience that it is not uncommon for the developer tocontribute to the payment of a premium to minority owners in order toprocure their consent to the collective sale,” he said in a courtdocument.

Bernard and Rada Law Corporation associate director M Kumaran, whooversees his firm’s en bloc cases, said the majority owners would have acase if the buyers had misrepresented the development charges. “This sort of matter has been taken up to court but not in the context ofen bloc sales,” he said.

Source : Today - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore A-Reit distributable income up 15% in Q3

Singapore A-Reit distributable income up 15% in Q3

ASCENDAS Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) yesterday reported distributable income of $47.2 million for the three months to end-December, up 15 per cent from a year earlier.
Getting bigger: A-Reit’s portfolio comprised 79 properties at the end of 2007, compared with 68 properties a year earlier
Gross revenue for the third quarter of its financial year, which ends on March 31, rose 13 per cent to $80.2 million, due mainly to additional rental income from a string of completed acquisitions, including the Courts and Giant warehouse retail facilities in Tampines and the completed asset enhancement at The Alpha building in Science Park II.

A-Reit’s distribution per unit for the three-month period was 3.56 cents, 11 per cent higher than a year ago.

For the nine months ended Dec 31, A-Reit’s distributable income came to $138.3 million, up 14 per cent from the same period a year ago. Gross revenue rose 14 per cent to $237.8 million.

The trust’s annualised distribution per unit of 13.92 cents - based on the 10.44 cents for the nine months ended December - translates into a distribution yield of 6.4 per cent, based on A-Reit’s closing price of $2.19 yesterday. The counter ended nine cents higher in yesterday’s trading.
A-Reit’s spokeswoman declined to comment on market speculation that Australia’s Goodman Group is poised to exit Ascendas-MGM Funds Management, a 60-40 joint venture between Ascendas Pte Ltd and Goodman International that manages A-Reit.

A-Reit’s portfolio comprised 79 properties at the end of 2007, compared with 68 properties a year earlier. The trust’s portfolio includes logistics and distribution centres, business and science park buildings, and light industrial and high-tech industrial properties.

In Q3, A-Reit’s portfolio occupancy rate rose to a high of 98.7 per cent, from 96.1 per cent a year ago. The trust’s properties in the business and science park sector achieved a 46.1 per cent increase in renewal rental rates versus existing rental rates while lease renewals for its high-tech industrial properties were at rental rates 71.5 per cent above existing rents, said A-Reit in a statement.
Source : Business Times - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore Transport Central - on its way to wean you off cars

Singapore Transport Central - on its way to wean you off cars

LTA will play central planner; more operators in bus industry to raise efficiency
By SAMUEL EE

(SINGAPORE) In moves that will nudge car owners to hop onto public transport for a quick and comfortable ride, the government has unveiled plans to integrate bus and rail services and to open up the basic bus service industry to more operators.
The changes were announced yesterday by Transport Minister Raymond Lim and are part of a land transport review which seeks to make public transport the preferred mode of travel.

Among the initiatives being rolled out:

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will take a centralised bus planning role from end-2009.

There will be more bus lanes and an extension of the full-day bus lane scheme.

On the road, buses will have priority over other vehicles when exiting bus bays and at major junctions.

After 2009, the bus service industry will be gradually opened up and routes tendered out.

A review of the rail network, cars and the road system was also undertaken and the respective details will be announced over the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday, Mr Lim said that the land transport review sought to answer the key question: What will it take for the majority of Singaporeans to choose the bus or MRT over the car? With the current 8.9 million daily journeys today set to jump to 14.3 million by 2020, making public transport the centrepiece of Singapore’s land transport system is crucial.

‘We will invest in quality, not just system capacity,’ he said. ‘We need to ask: Can people get to a train station or bus stop quickly and comfortably?’

More competition - but of a different kind - is seen as a key element in this strategy.
By next year, buses may not just be adorned with the familiar SBS Transit or SMRT colours. Competition will be introduced to raise efficiency and service levels. There are about 3,700 public buses today, of which 2,900 are SBST’s. Mr Lim said that economies of scale are limited for bus operators with a fleet size above 500 buses.

‘Our intention is to introduce competition ‘for’ the market, where operators compete periodically for the right to provide a package of bus services designed by the LTA,’ he explained. ‘This is different from competition ‘in’ the market or head-on competition for market share, which would be detrimental to an integrated public transport system where the emphasis is on cooperation to grow the overall pie.’

The LTA could not say how many new operators are expected to enter the field but currently, there are only a handful of private bus operators with a fleet of 50 buses or more. Ironically, the market leader is ComfortDelGro Bus, a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corp, the parent company of SBST, with more than 300 buses.

But as with other private bus operators such as Woodlands Transport and Yeap Transport, its mainly school and tour buses are not suited for basic bus services.

‘These private companies will have to invest in new buses if they want to tender for the routes,’ said one bus company executive. ‘But they have also been known to cooperate among themselves as joint ventures, so we will have to see.’

To solve the problems of waiting time, travel time and overcrowding, the government wants to make the hub-and-spoke system seamless. This model, using buses to ferry commuters to a hub from which they will continue their journey on another bus, is more efficient than a direct bus service.

‘We need to improve the connectivity of our hub-and-spoke system, in particular, the integration between the feeders, trunk buses and MRT,’ said Mr Lim. ‘Only then can we ensure seamless transfers and make the whole public transport journey as convenient as possible.’

Currently, the two public transport operators - SBST and SMRT Buses - plan bus routes based on commercial considerations with minimum service obligations. As part of the new people-centric approach, LTA will become the central planner. By 2015, the target is for 80 per cent of public transport commuters to complete their journeys within an hour - up from 71 per cent today. And by 2020, the gap between public transport and car journey times will be reduced, with the former not taking more than 1.5 times the latter - down from the current 1.7 times.

To shorten waiting time for buses and reduce crowding, at least 80 per cent of bus services must be run at peak frequencies of 10 minutes or less by August 2009, compared with 15 minutes today.

Source : Business Times - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore CAAS picks Thales for $300m radar upgrade

Singapore CAAS picks Thales for $300m radar upgrade

Lorads III, replacing Lorads II, will boost safety and efficiency of air traffic control at Changi
By QUAH CHIN CHIN
THE Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has awarded its tender for a new air traffic control system to Thales Aerospace Asia.
Known as the long range radar and display system III (Lorads III), the new system will use designs and technologies that will enable air traffic controllers to handle increasing air traffic with safety. The system will replace the current Lorads II.

Lorads III will employ advanced surveillance and communications technologies to build tighter safety nets and streamline air traffic management processes, said CAAS.

The statutory board added that Lorads III is meant to last for the next decade and beyond.

The contract, worth over $300 million, was awarded to Thales after a ‘rigorous qualification and evaluation process’, said CAAS. Three other bidders also vied for the tender.

CAAS director-general and chief executive Lim Kim Choon said that Lorads III was developed to ‘further enhance safety and efficiency of management of aircraft operations in and out of Changi Airport’.

He added: ‘More efficient air traffic management will bring about greater efficiency for airlines which, in turn, translates to more fuel savings.’

Thales will customise the system to suit CAAS’s specific requirements, and will provide both technical and operational training to traffic controllers for them to adapt to the new system.

Thales has set up a regional customer support centre here to provide after-sales support for Lorads III.

The new system will be implemented in two phases, the first to be completed in 2010, and the second in 2012.
Source : Business Times - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore Regent Garden en bloc sale contested

Singapore Regent Garden en bloc sale contested

By UMA SHANKARI

(SINGAPORE) Allgreen Properties’ purchase of Regent Garden via a collective sale is now being contested by the majority sellers of the property, the company said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange yesterday.
BT understands that the majority owners, who together own 25 of the 31 units and over 80 per cent of the share value in Regent Garden, are saying that the sale price of $34 million was agreed to as a result of a mistake regarding the development charge.

Based on subsequent valuation reports - they claim that the true market value of Regent Garden should be between $39.7 million and $42 million.

BT understands that Regent Garden’s sales committee did not officially ascertain the development charge before entering into the agreement with Allgreen.

There is also some unhappiness at the higher prices the minority owners walked away with.

The majority owners now want the High Court to declare that the collective sale is no longer binding.

Alternatively, they are asking that they be paid an additional sum of $5.7-$6.7 million, ‘be placed in the same position’ as the minority owners of the property’, or be paid damages, according to Allgreen’s statement.

Allgreen said that it intends to ‘vigorously’ contest the claims. ‘The company’s position is that the agreement is and remains valid and binding at the original sale price of $34 million,’ it said.

Regent Garden’s sales committee filed the originating summons in the High Court on Jan 10. Allgreen was served with the summons on Jan 14.

Allgreen had previously obtained unanimous consent to the sale of Regent Garden, it said.

Allgreen also said that it commenced legal proceedings in the High Court yesterday for an order that the majority sellers complete the transaction in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The minority owners, who have agreed to complete the transaction, have joined these proceedings ‘because they have an interest in the matter’, Allgreen said.

Allgreen is being represented by Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier, while the minority sellers are represented by Ang Cheng Hock of Allen & Gledhill.

The majority owners are being represented by Molly Lim of Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC.
Source : Business Times - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore Hotel rooms during F1 race period going fast

Singapore Hotel rooms during F1 race period going fast 

By Christopher Ong and Leonard Lim 

RATES of $1,000 a night and higher have not deterred Formula 1 fans from snapping up trackside hotel rooms for the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix.
Hotels ranging from the glitzy Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore to the Peninsula-Excelsior Hotel are already fully booked for the Sept 26 to 28 race. This is despite significantly higher than normal room rates of over $1,000 per night for the Ritz (about a 100 per cent increase) and $300 for the Peninsula (about a 50 per cent increase).

Two other hotels - Swissotel The Stamford and Pan Pacific Singapore - anticipate a 100 per cent occupancy rate.

One reason for the higher rates is that the Government will be imposing a special hotel tax on total room revenue from Sept 24 to 28 - the week of the race.

The tax will range from 30 per cent - for the 11 trackside hotels - to 20 per cent for all other hotels.

Trackside hotels such as Marina Mandarin ($1,500 per night) and Fairmont Singapore ($1,830) are still entertaining bookings.

The Fullerton has yet to confirm rates, but will place those interested on a wait-list.

The high take-up rate is not confined to trackside hotels.

The Four Seasons, along Orchard Boulevard, also managed to sell out all of its rooms from Sept 20 to 28.

The race will be held on Sept 28. Qualifying sessions begin on Sept 27.

Tourists are expected to form a significant portion of the 100,000 fans expected for the grand prix, and they are expected to spend around $100 million on hotels, and at food and beverage outlets, nightspots and the like.

Corporate hospitality packages ranging from $3,500 to $7,500 per head have also been selling well. These were put on the market by race organisers Singapore GP in November.

A Singapore GP spokesman declined comment, but it is believed that suites in areas such as the pit area and exclusive Paddock Club are close to being sold out.

Singapore Transport minister announces major changes in land transport

Singapore Transport minister announces major changes in land transport
By Asha Popatlal,
SINGAPORE: Major changes are expected in land transport after more than a year-long review to improve the situation.

In the first three major announcements, Transport Minister Raymond Lim zoomed in on changes to the bus system, which serves two-thirds of all commuter trips today.

Speaking at the opening of the Land Transport Gallery, he outlined the urgency of the problem, stressing that with trips poised to increase 60 per cent between now and 2020, the only option is to steer people towards taking more public transport.

For that to happen, Mr Lim said, not just the quantity, but also the quality of public transport would have to improve tremendously.

Currently, the system is fragmented between two operators - SBS and SMRT - which plan the routes based on commercial considerations and minimum service obligations.

But the result is this: there are more than 250 bus services in all but only 1 in 3 come every 10 minutes or less and some even take more than half an hour to arrive.

Then there is the problem of feeder services that make circuitous loops before arriving at the interchange.

So firstly, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will take over the central planning of the bus network, with the commuters’ ease of journey as the main focus.

Buses will also get more priority on the roads, with more full-day bus lanes and making it mandatory for cars to give way to buses at bus bays.

More integrated public transport hubs, like the ones at Toa Payoh, Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio, will be upgraded to make transfers easier. Five more hubs will be upgraded and two more are already being upgraded.

And from next year, commuters will pay for distance travelled, regardless of the number of transfers made.

LTA will also introduce an integrated season pass for both bus and rail travel, regardless of operator.

And more travel information will be made available via panels, text messages and websites.

The second big change will be to introduce competition among operators, including opening the market to new players.

Mr Lim said: “They found that introducing some form of competition, or even just the real threat of competition, is an effective way to keep bus operations efficient and raise service standards.”

The Ministry says there are limited economies of scale for fleets above 500 buses.

And since the country has a 3,700-strong bus fleet, Singapore could potentially have more than two operators.

The island will be carved up into different regions and potential operators will bid for these in a competitive tender.

The third major change is for the LTA to keep its pulse on the community’s transport issues through regular dialogue with grassroots members.

More changes, including those to the ERP system, are expected in the following weeks. - CNA/ac/vm/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 19 Jan 2008

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Singapore PUB awards contract for NEWater plant at Changi to Sembcorp

Singapore PUB awards contract for NEWater plant at Changi to Sembcorp
SINGAPORE: PUB has awarded the contract for the fifth and largest NEWater plant at Changi to Sembcorp Utilities.

Under this Design-Build-Own-Operate agreement, Sembcorp will supply NEWater to PUB over a 25-year-old period from 2010 to 2035.

The Changi NEWater Plant which will be constructed within the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, and will have a production capacity of 50 million gallons per day.

Initially, it will have a capacity of 15 million gallons per day in 2009, which will be ramped up to 50 million gallons per day by 2010.

Its first-year price is S$0.29966 per cubic metre.

With the addition of this new plant, NEWater will meet 30 per cent of Singapore’s current water needs by 2010.

The Changi NEWater Plant is the second NEWater project by the private sector.

In tandem with the construction of Changi NEWater Plant, PUB is also expanding the NEWater network of pipelines.

There are 20 tenders, worth over S$400 million, for the laying of 87 km of NEWater pipelines.

The completed pipeline will run from Changi NEWater Plant to Jurong, Tuas, Jurong Island and Sentosa. It will also be linked to existing NEWater pipelines in the Bedok, Seletar, Kranji and Ulu Pandan clusters. - CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 19 Jan 2008

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