Lippo-linked fund sells Singapore Anson 79 stake

Lippo-linked fund sells Singapore Anson 79 stake

A REAL estate fund linked to Indonesia’s Lippo Group has sold its stake in an Anson Road office block - achieving a 139 per cent gain in just two years.
Ferrell Asset Management said yesterday it sold the 12 floors it owned at Anson 79 for $215 million - more than double the $90 million it originally paid in January 2006.

The buyer is SEB Asset Management, part of German pension fund manager SEB. It bought 12 floors of office space in nearby Springleaf Tower in October.

SEB’s purchase price for the 117,423 sq ft of freehold office space at Anson 79 worked out to $1,831 per sq ft (psf) of strata area. This was slightly lower than the $2,088 psf of net lettable area the company paid for the 99-year leasehold Springleaf Tower.

One reason is that Springleaf Tower is a newer development that commands higher rents, according to market experts. ‘No doubt, Anson 79 is freehold, but it is an older building that was completed in 1992,’ said one expert.

Asking rents were $10.50 psf in September at the now fully-occupied Springleaf Tower. At Anson 79, average rents stand at $5 psf due to locked-in leases, but the latest rent achieved there is $9.50 psf.

Property consultants estimate SEB’s entry yield at Anson 79 to be about 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent. The sale agreement was struck in September but completed only last week.
Source : Straits Times - 25 Jan 2008

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Singapore Normal stream girl sets record with 7 O-level distinctions

Singapore Normal stream girl sets record with 7 O-level distinctions

Grades of Swiss Cottage Secondary student Diana Beetsma are best in the stream’s history

By Jane Ng
DIANA Beetsma, 17, yesterday made education history by having the best O-level scores achieved by a Normal stream student since the stream was introduced in 1980.
The Swiss Cottage Secondary student chalked up seven distinctions - six A1s and an A2. The A2 grade was for mathematics, a subject she had failed consistently. Now, it is the grade she is most pleased about.

‘I worked the hardest for maths, sometimes even studying it for the whole day at the expense of other subjects,’ she said.

Acing the subject became even more touch and go for her when she fell ill on the day of the paper.

While working on it, she spent 30 minutes crouching in pain and another 20 minutes throwing up in the toilet.

Her invigilator suggested that she skip the paper, but she wanted to carry on.

DETERMINED TO SUCCEED

‘I had already worked so hard, and my sister and teachers would always give me extra help. I had to do it for them.’

DIANA BEETSMA, 17, on how she plugged away at her maths paper even though she was ill. She is seen here hugging her sister Sufyani, 20, while her parents, Mr Louis Beetsma, 57, a senior executive, and Madam Habibah Akib, 56, a finance officer, look on.

‘I had already worked so hard, and my sister and teachers would always give me extra help. I had to do it for them.’

She credited her mathematics teacher, Madam Ong Lay Kwan, for being instrumental in helping her do well by boosting her confidence in the subject despite her earlier failing grades.

‘She told me I had to believe in myself. There was no doubt in her mind at all that I could do well as long as I tried hard. That gave me a lot of confidence,’ she said.

Diana’s other distinctions were for English, Malay, combined humanities, principles of accounting, food and nutrition, and science.

The next highest scorer in her cohort was Edmund Kwek Jun Wei of Yishun Town Secondary, with five A1s.

The overall top performers in last year’s O-level exams were two Singaporeans - Pearlyn Ler, of the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS), and Kim Chan Xinhui, 17, from Methodist Girls’ School.

Pearlyn scored nine A1s and one A2 - for Higher Chinese - while Xinhui notched up A1s for all her subjects except Japanese, her third language, for which she scored an A2.

The girls’ achievements stood out because, as in past years, foreigners dominated the top ranks: The pick of the O-level crop featured 11 foreigners out of 19.

In the Normal stream, nine in 10 of the 3,516 Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students who sat for one or two O-level subjects passed them.

From next year, Normal stream students can take more than two O-level subjects in one sitting, which is expected to result in even better grades for them in future.

Going by past records, 60 per cent of Secondary 5 students who sit for the O levels do well enough to qualify for polytechnic studies.

Yesterday, Diana said her role model was her sister Sufyani, now 20, also from Swiss Cottage, had six distinctions - four A1s and two A2s - when she took the Normal (Academic) route to the O levels in 2004. Though not a record at the time, her grades were good enough to top the school, and Diana said she was motivated to do as well as her sister.

Sufyani, who went on to National Junior College and is now reading psychology in the National University of Singapore, said students simply need self-confidence to do well.

The girls have an older sister working as a case management officer and an older brother studying in the Singapore Management University.

Their father, Mr Louis Beetsma, 57, a Dutch-Chinese Singaporean, is a senior executive, and her mother, Madam Habibah Akib, 56, is a finance officer. They live in a flat in Woodlands.
Source : Straits Times - 25 Jan 2008

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Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa builds S$80m bridge to ease visitor traffic

Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa builds S$80m bridge to ease visitor traffic

By Hasnita A Majid/ Hoe Yeen Nie

SINGAPORE: Resorts World at Sentosa has started work on a new vehicular bridge which costs S$80 million.

The new bridge is aimed at easing visitor traffic as over 15 million of them are expected to visit the Resort when it opens in early 2010.

The 710-metre, 3-lane bridge will run parallel to the existing causeway which connects Sentosa to the mainland.

And when completed in September 2009, both will be merged.

To help alleviate congestion near the Telok Blangah junction, existing admission booths will be relocated by Sentosa Leisure Group within the island, along Gateway Avenue.

By April, Gateway Avenue will be diverted to make way for the development of RWS.

From the vehicular bridge, drivers will then coast along Gateway Avenue, before the road fans out into seven lanes. Lanes and traffic directions are still being finalised.

The winning bid went to McConnell Dowell, an Australian-based engineering and construction company.

Resorts World at Sentosa said this is the first vehicular bridge of this scale to built by a private developer in Singapore. -CNA/vm
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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Boat Asia 2008 sails into Singapore Marina at Keppel Bay

Boat Asia 2008 sails into Singapore Marina at Keppel Bay
SINGAPORE : Boating enthusiasts are in for a treat come April, when Boat Asia 2008 docks at the Keppel Bay marina, the latest to open on mainland Singapore.

The top-draw annual event will feature on-water display of luxury motor yachts, sail boats, keel boats and catamarans, mega yachts and super yachts at the marina which has the capacity for 170 yachts including mega-yachts of up to 250 feet.

Visitors to the marina situated on the private Keppel Island will also get to check up on the the latest speed boats, jet skis and sailing yachts, marine equipment and accessories, as well as luxury resorts and properties at the on-land displays.

Efforts are being made to make this a social calendar highlight for the region, with Boat Asia being set amidst a carnival atmosphere. There will also be an Exclusive Gala Dinner night with champagne, live music and fine cuisine, to be attended by distinguished guests and captains of industries from Singapore and the region.

According to the Merrill Lynch and Capgemini World Wealth Report 2007, Singapore, India and Indonesia all enjoyed double-digit growth in High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), who are willing to pay for top-dollar luxury collectibles such as luxury yachts and boats. Such items, which include jets and cars, accounted for about 30 percent of “Investment-of-Passion dollars” made by such individuals.

Boat Asia’s producer, TMX Show Productions Pte Ltd (TMX) has said it’s confident that the 2008 event should see even bigger deals being concluded, with the rising number of wealthy individuals in the region who are drawn to Singapore as a centre for their investments or leisure activities.

Boat Asia 2008 will be held at the Marina at Keppel Bay from 24 to 27 April 2008. - CNA/sf

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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Singapore Private property prices to grow more slowly amid market uncertainty

Singapore Private property prices to grow more slowly amid market uncertainty
By Yvonne Cheong
SINGAPORE : Private property prices will see slower growth in the first quarter of this year, amid the current upheaval in global financial markets and a possible US recession.

That is according to property consultants who said prices will be supported by rentals which will continue to climb higher this year.

There has been frenzied buying and selling in the financial markets, but according to consultants, that is not likely to be replicated in the property sector.

“What the uncertainty is doing is that it’s keeping speculative investors at bay and injecting realism into the minds of potential genuine purchasers. So, we’re unlikely to see the frenzied level of buying as we’ve seen in the first half of last year. So the net result is likely to keep price growth in check moving forward,” said Tay Huey Ying, Research & Consultancy Director of Colliers International.

According to the latest numbers from the URA, the number of private residential properties transacted fell to 328 in December, after hitting a high of 1,800 units in August last year.

“We suspect there will be more choices available for new projects from second half of February right up to the March and April period. That’s when I think we’ll see continued demand spillover into the market, particularly onto the mass as well as mid-end projects,” said Donald Han, MD of Cushman & Wakefield.

While that demand is expected to support prices in the mass market segment, property consultants said the current market turmoil may impact on the high-end segment.

Still, they believe that prices will hold up because of strong rentals.
“If you look at last year, rentals are expected to rise by as much as 40%. This year, we expect rents to go up by at least about 15-20 percent, so that would potentially provide a higher yield in terms of investing in Singapore residential property market,” said Han.

Private property prices were up by about 30% last year. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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Germany’s SEB Group buys 12 floors of Singapore Anson 79 for S$215m

Germany’s SEB Group buys 12 floors of Singapore Anson 79 for S$215m

By Loh Kim Chin

SINGAPORE : Germany’s SEB Group has bought 12 strata-title floors of the office building Anson 79.

It is paying S$215 million to Farrell Asset Management for some 10,300 square metres of Grade A office space.

SEB already owns another nearby Grade A office building Springleaf Tower.

Anson 79 is a 23-storey building in Shenton Way and is within walking distance of Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

It has an occupancy of around 98 percent with Kellogg Brown & Root and Mitsubishi Chemicals among its tenants.

SEB Asset Management is the specialist real estate and securities investment house of the SEB Group in Germany. - CNA /ls

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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S’pore shares firm on hopes that the worst is over

S’pore shares firm on hopes that the worst is over

Singapore share prices closed 2.23 percent higher Thursday on expectations that the worst of recent market turmoil may be over, dealers said.

They said the market continued a rebound from losses of 7.76 percent during the first two days of the week in line with fears of investors worldwide who sent global equity markets tumbling over the fate of the US economy.

The blue chip ST Index rose 66.47 points to 3,050.09.

There were 594 advances against 288 declining issues.

Given prospects of further interest rate cuts in the United States, investors should gradually accumulate shares that have been battered in the last few weeks, said Phillip Securities research head Chan Wai Chee.

The dramatic, 75 basis-point interest rate cut Tuesday and the US$145 billion stimulus package announced by President George W. Bush on Friday helped calm markets somewhat, dealers said.

“I don’t think the US will go into recession,” Chan said.

For trade-dependent Singapore, domestic demand should help cushion the impact of a global economic slowdown, he said.

Banking shares rallied, with DBS Group gaining 66 cents to S$18.46, United-Overseas Bank up 56 cents to S$17.58 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. rising seven cents to S$7.68.

Among property stocks, City Developments rose 52 cents to S$12.22, CapitaLand gained 30 cents to S$6.14, Wing Tai up 11 cents at S$2.24 and Keppel Land finished 29 cents higher at S$6.24.

Blue chip shares were mixed.

Bourse operator Singapore Exchange gained 91 cents to S$10.10 and Singapore Airlines was up 28 cents at S$15.86, but Singapore Telecommunications finished seven cents lower at S$3.69. - AFP/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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Singapore Property developer Evergro posts full-year earnings of S$196,000

Singapore Property developer Evergro posts full-year earnings of S$196,000

By Loh Kim Chin
SINGAPORE : Property developer Evergro has reported full-year earnings that are sharply lower than the previous year.

It booked a profit of S$196,000 compared to the S$7.5 million in 2006.

Evergro says there was no divestment gain this time, after it recorded returns from selling a property company in the previous financial year.

Also dampening the financial numbers were higher administrative and other expenses, which included a S$2.2 million land use tax in China.

Evergro expects the Chinese government to introduce further measures to cool the property market.

These may be in the form of credit tightening, financing of real estate projects and control of foreign investments. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Jan 2008

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