Varsity Park For Sale District 05 -Apartment / Condo, 12.03.2008

Varsity Park For Sale District 05 -Apartment / Condo, 12.03.2008

TY : [C]ondo [D]uplex [H]iRise [L]oRise [T]ownHse [P]enthse [W]alkUp [M]asionette

TNR=Tenure, DT=District, BDRM=Bedroom, AREA=Built-In, STR=Storey, Price $K=In Thousand

Price are subject to changes , please call (+65) 91002985 for lastest update
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 22 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2271
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 700
PRICE$ — 1590000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 22 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1615
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 526
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 23 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2347
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 767
PRICE$ — 1800000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 26 #05 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1470
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 782
PRICE$ — 1150000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 28 #03 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1894
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 781
PRICE$ — 1480000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 30 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1659
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 796
PRICE$ — 1320000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 30 #05 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1636
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 947
PRICE$ — 1550000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 32 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1292
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 600
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 33 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1890
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 847
PRICE$ — 1600000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 34 #03
Tenure — 99
Area — 1475
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 34 #05
Tenure — 99
Area — 2207
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 748
PRICE$ — 1650000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2293
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 480
PRICE$ — 1100000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2293
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 523
PRICE$ — 1200000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #03 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1615
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 743
PRICE$ — 1200000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1615
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 854
PRICE$ — 1380000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1615
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 836
PRICE$ — 1350000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 36 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1313
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 594
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 42 #02 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 1429
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 826
PRICE$ — 1280000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 42 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2024
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 42 #03
Tenure — 99
Area — 1098
Age — BN
Room — 2
Psf — 619
PRICE$ — 1000000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 42 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1012
Age — 2
Room — 2
Psf — 741
PRICE$ — 1100000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 44 #05
Tenure — 99
Area — 2153
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 750
PRICE$ — 1614750
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 46 #01 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 1313
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 720
PRICE$ — 1150000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 46 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1313
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 780
PRICE$ — 1224000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 46 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1313
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 800
PRICE$ — 1250000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 46 #05 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1399
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 50 #01
Tenure — 99
Area — 1755
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 558
PRICE$ — 1400000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 50 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1550
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 780
PRICE$ — 1209000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 58 #02
Tenure — 99
Area — 1572
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 827
PRICE$ — 1300000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 58 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1894
Age — BN
Room — 4
Psf — 781
PRICE$ — 1680000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 60 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 2300
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 717
PRICE$ — 1650000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 62 #02 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 1346
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 892
PRICE$ — 1200000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 66 #04 BELOW
Tenure — 99
Area — 1313
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 838
PRICE$ — 1100000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 74 #03 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 1991
Age — BN
Room — 3
Psf — 482
PRICE$ — 1100000
Type — C
District — 5
Street — VARSITY PK, BLK 76 #02 ABOVE
Tenure — 99
Area — 1001
Age — BN
Room — 2
Psf — 849
PRICE$ — 1150000

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MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com ( email me )

http://www.hotvictory.com

82% of Internet users in Singapore shop online

82% of Internet users in Singapore shop online
THE number of Internet shoppers worldwide has risen to 875 million over the last two years, up 40 per cent, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits.
The survey was conducted from October to November 2007. A total of 26,312 internet users worldwide were polled.

Internet shopping is most popular in South Korea, where 99 per cent of those with Internet access use it to shop. The UK, Germany and Japan tie in second place with 97 per cent, while in Singapore, 82 per cent go online to shop.

In Singapore, travel bookings and reservations make up the bulk of transactions (71 per cent). Clothing, accessories and shoes make up 31 per cent. This differs from the global trend, as the most popular items worldwide are books (41 per cent) and clothings, accessories and shoes (36 per cent).

The most popular mode of online payment for Singaporean shoppers is the credit card, with 73 per cent of shoppers using it for transactions in the past three months.

In choosing which shops to patronise, online shoppers here tend to stick to those they know, with 60 per cent saying they buy mostly from the same site.
 
‘If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty,’ said Fiona Lee, director of online research, The Nielson Company, Singapore.
Source : Business Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Landed housing plot draws top bid of just $77.80 psf

Singapore Landed housing plot draws top bid of just $77.80 psf

Only one other offer made; poor show seen as sign of uncertain market
By UMA SHANKARI
IN what is seen as a sign of an uncertain property market, a landed housing parcel in Jurong West drew only two bids, and a low top bid of $11.8 million - or just $77.80 per square foot (psf) - at the close of a government land tender yesterday.
The higher bid, put in by Boon Keng Development, was significantly below what analysts had said the site could fetch. Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han, for example, reckoned that the plot would fetch $200-$250 psf of land area.

‘The price is really below expectation,’ said Mr Han yesterday. ‘But with the market sentiment being so weak, you can expect wild swings in prices. Developers will be sitting on the sidelines or might not want to bid their best prices.’

The other bid was put in by Sunway Concrete Products, a unit of Malaysian- listed Sunway Holdings. It offered $10.3 million, or $68.1 psf of land area.

Li Hiaw Ho, executive director for research at CB Richard Ellis, said that both bids were ‘relatively conservative’ and reflected the current cautious sentiment in the market.

The 99-year leasehold site on Westwood Avenue has a land area of 151,759 sq ft. Property analysts estimate that some 50-60 landed homes can be built on the site.
 
‘Nevertheless, based on the highest bid of $78 psf, terrace houses on this site could still be sold for $900,000 to $1 million each,’ Mr Li said. This is slightly higher than recent transactions of intermediate terrace houses in nearby Westwood Park and Westville, which were between $820,000 and $990,000 each.

Potential buyers, Mr Li added, could comprise locals working in the manufacturing firms in Jurong and Tuas, as well as academics at nearby Nanyang Technological University.

Market watchers, however, said that it is possible that the government might not award the site because of the low price.

The price looks especially low when considering other recent government sales of landed housing plots, Mr Han pointed out.

In October, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) auctioned off 12 sub-divided landed housing plots near Sembawang Beach which can be developed into a total of 57 landed homes. The auction fetched a total of $37.09 million, which worked out to about $285 psf of land area on average.

And in January, the government decided not to sell a short-term office site in Aljunied because the sole bid offered too low a price. The decision followed a recent string of lower-than-expected offers for state land.
Source : Business Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore GIC to invest 1b euros in Sintonia

Singapore GIC to invest 1b euros in Sintonia

(SINGAPORE) The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is investing about a billion euros (S$2.1 billion) in an infrastructure holding company, Sintonia SA. Under the deal, GIC Special Investments (GICSI) will acquire a 3 per cent stake in Sintonia SA from Sintonia SpA, which is controlled by the Italian clothing family Benetton. It will also subscribe to a capital increase in Sintonia SA to reach a fully diluted stake of about 14.3 per cent.
The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter, Sintonia said yesterday. After closing, the fully diluted ownership of Sintonia SA will be 66.6 per cent for Sintonia SpA, 14.3 per cent each for GICSI and a Goldman Sachs-managed infrastructure fund GS Infrastructure Partners, and 4.8 per cent for Mediobanca.

Among Sintonia’s assets are stakes in highway manager Atlantia and Telecom Italia, Italy’s largest phone group.

Sintonia said that it aims to raise about four billion euros to make investments in Italy and abroad and expand its platform of infrastructure investments.
Source : Business Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Foreigners snap up Singapore homes as rents start to bite

Foreigners snap up Singapore homes as rents start to bite

Their purchases could account for half of 2007 transactions on the secondary market
By ARTHUR SIM

(SINGAPORE) A record number of foreigners here have opted to purchase homes instead of renting them at ever-climbing rates.
 
 
According to an analysis of transactions of private residential properties by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, foreigners bought 6,536 non-landed homes from the secondary market in 2007 - the largest number since 1995.

They could account for more than 50 per cent of the secondary market transactions last year.

That is because while more than 20,000 non-landed homes were sold on the secondary market last year, this number includes the units from more than 100 collective sales. DTZ’s analysis does not include en bloc units - though earlier reports had put this figure at around 6,000 for the first half of 2007 alone.

Purchases by foreigners on the secondary market represent a 105 per cent increase in volume compared to 2006.

DTZ research senior director Chua Chor Hoon said that while some buyers were investors, there were also those who ‘are not on company budget and find it more worthwhile to buy rather than face escalating rentals, especially if they are going to be in Singapore for more than a couple of years’.

DTZ’s figures for 2007 reveal that rents of prime apartments and condominiums increased 45 per cent year-on-year in 2007 to average $4.80 per square foot (psf). This was attributed to the influx of expatriates and a tight supply of prime apartments, as numerous prime developments were demolished or slated for redevelopment after being collectively sold.

The percentage of foreigners buying non-landed property from the primary market (developer sales) was lower at 25.4 per cent, or 2,314 transactions out of a total of 9,089, reinforcing the assertion that foreigners are more inclined to buy a home for immediate occupation.

Indonesians and Malaysians remain the biggest foreign buyers here, accounting for 23 and 17 per cent of all foreigners in 2007 respectively, but Indians (12 per cent), Britishers (8 per cent), Chinese (7 per cent) and Koreans (7 per cent) are also well represented.

While foreigners bought non-landed homes in record numbers last year, boosting demand in the process, their absence in the landed homes sector (because of restrictions imposed by the government) did not stop a record number of landed homes being sold in the secondary market.

DTZ’s analysis reveals that of the total 5,211 landed homes sold in 2007, 4,823 were from the secondary market.

Apart from the bullish sentiment which ’spilled over’ from the non-landed sector last year, the landed sector also saw demand rise as it was still considered comparatively good value.

DTZ’s figures show that average capital values for non-landed freehold homes in the prime districts increased by 55 per cent year-on-year to $1,480 psf.

For freehold landed homes in the prime districts, average capital values of detached homes increased 31 per cent year- on-year, while average capital values of semi-detached and terrace homes rose 29 and 27 per cent respectively.

The situation was also exacerbated by the tight supply of new launches of landed homes in the year, estimated at around 650 units.

DTZ’s Ms Chua also believes that with speculation less rampant in the landed housing sector - ‘most buyers are owner-occupiers’ - prices are expected to be more stable and could even prove ‘more resilient’ if the downturn in the global economy is protracted.

However, DTZ expects future supply of landed homes to be relatively low at just 3,100 units over the next few years, so this could push up demand and prices for both primary and secondary market landed homes.

Speculation, defined by the number of subsales, was rampant among developer sales of non-landed homes last year, hitting an all-time high of 4,631 transactions - a 312 per cent year-on-year increase over 2006.

Interestingly, while subsale transaction volume in 2007 was just 27 per cent higher than during the previous peak of 1996, the value of subsales was almost twice as high, hitting $7.9 billion.

The fourth quarter, however, marked a shift in sentiment in the property market. Only 3,947 non-landed homes were transacted in the quarter, of which just 846 were sold by developers, reflecting a 64 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop. This was one of the worst performing quarters in the last three years.
Source : Business Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Raising Singapore HDB income ceiling will hurt needy

Raising Singapore HDB income ceiling will hurt needy 

I REFER to Saturday’s letter, ‘HDB ceiling doesn’t factor in late marriages’. Ms Xu Zhilin says the $8,000 income ceiling doesn’t consider the trend among Singaporeans of marrying late, resulting in a combined income that is slightly higher because they have worked for a few years. However, this ignores the point that there are many lower-income people in need of HDB housing, and Ms Xu is not alone in looking for a roof to start a family.

The critical factor in buying a flat is not how late you marry but how much you can afford to pay.

As one whose household income is half of hers, I have to say that if people like Ms Xu were allowed to enter the HDB market, prices would rise even further, putting housing out of reach of low-income earners.

The current rule is that four-room household incomes should be between $4,000 and $8,000.

I do not see why Ms Xu, with her $9,000-plus income, wants to compete in the market against a household earning half her income.

The same low-income people also face her stated problems of refurbishment and paying more for a resale flat, only their problems are double hers as they have half her income.

Prices of four-room flats now range from $200,000 to $300,000. If someone earning $4,000 a month must fork out $300,000 for a flat, there is little reason why someone earning $9,000 cannot afford a $600,000 flat.

Most people take 20 to 30 years to pay for their HDB flat. With Ms Xu’s income, she could probably pay for it in half the time, sell it for a profit, and move into private housing.

Ms Xu may not be a high flier, but having reached this level, her income is less likely to be static and thus she will have more options to move into private housing later. But incomes of the less well off are more likely to be static, giving them fewer prospects to move up. Where will they go when flat prices rise?

Ms Xu says she will have to spend the rest of her life either paying $100,000 more for an old flat or paying for a private condominium or executive flat. I say welcome to the real world.
Liew Lin Hai
 

Source : Straits Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Manufacturing grew 11.7% in January, EDB review shows

Singapore Manufacturing grew 11.7% in January, EDB review shows
 
‘Computational error’ leads to big changes in data on factory output

By Nicholas Fang 
REVERSAL: Revised EDB data shows that electronics actually expanded by 8.7 per cent, instead of contracting by 6.7 per cent in January.
 
A RARE but sizeable error by the Economic Development Board (EDB) means factory output actually surged by 11.7 per cent in January - not 6.9 per cent as reported earlier.
The EDB yesterday cited a ‘computational error’ in the manufacturing growth data it originally released last month. It said it had strengthened its processes to avoid such errors in the future.

The rosier revised figures, though, failed to inspire economists to upgrade their yearly forecasts, as the global outlook remained uncertain.

The most significant error in the EDB figures involved electronics output, which actually expanded 8.7 per cent. The initial report said the sector contracted 6.7 per cent.

The EDB said it detected a computational error that occurred in the application of its price deflator data - a technical adjustment made to the raw figures.

The EDB said in a statement that the surge in manufacturing output was boosted by the biomedical manufacturing segment, which grew 60.7 per cent instead of 59.8 per cent, as originally reported. The segment’s star performer was pharmaceuticals, though the sector’s growth rate remained unchanged at 63.1 per cent. Medical technology, another component of the biomedical cluster, improved 40.7 per cent instead of 32.6 per cent.

UNMOVED

‘With the US recession woes, S’pore’s peak factory months are likely to be hit. January is already two months ago.’
MR SONG, of CIMB-GK, on why he is not revising his forecast upward
 
Other revisions included chemicals, up 4.6 per cent instead of 4.3 per cent; precision engineering, down at 0.3 per cent from 1.3 per cent; and, transport engineering, which shrank by 9.4 per cent instead of 10.3 per cent.

The growth figure for general manufacturing industries was also slightly lower at 9.6 per cent, not 11.6 per cent.

Economists The Straits Times spoke to said such a significant revision was uncommon, and that any changes in the past usually involved minor adjustments reflected in the following month’s data.

Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin said the better overall manufacturing figures were a good sign.

‘It is encouraging to see that the contraction in the fourth quarter of last year did not extend into the first quarter of this year. But I would stop short of declaring a technical rebound, and that Singapore is decoupled from the United States.’

He pointed to softening US manufacturing orders for the global market and retail sales data as reasons why the revised January figures did not inspire him to change his own forecasts upward.

Mr Song Seng Wun, an economist with CIMB-GK, agreed: ‘With the US recession woes, Singapore’s peak manufacturing months in the middle of the year are likely to be hit, so I am going to leave my forecasts as they are.

‘After all, January is already two months ago.’
Source : Straits Times - 12 March 2008

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Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Lower than expected bids for Singapore Jurong site

Lower than expected bids for Singapore Jurong site 
 
A LANDED plot in Jurong West that was tipped by one consultant to fetch bids of over $30 million failed to even get to half of that.
Just two offers were placed for the 99-year leasehold Westwood Avenue plot, a stark reflection of the fast-deteriorating sentiment in the property market.

The top bid of just $11.8 million, or $78 per sq ft (psf), of land area came from Boon Keng Development, with Sunway Concrete Products offering $10.33 million, or just $68.1 psf.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han, who had tipped that the site could fetch more than $30 million, or $200 to $250 psf, said the offers were ‘defensive bids’ that would allow the developer to withstand a fallout from the global credit crunch.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said the ‘relatively conservative bids’ for the Jurong site, which is in an established residential area, reflects the market’s cautious sentiment.

Assuming the tender is awarded, terrace houses on the 14,098.9 sq m site, within a 10-minute drive of the Boon Lay MRT station, could sell for $900,000 to $1.1 million each, property consultants said.

These levels are just slightly above current prices being transacted in Westwood Park and Westville, said Mr Li. Recent deals of intermediate terrace houses in Westwood Park and Westville ranged between $820,000 and $990,000, he said.
JOYCE TEO

Source : Straits Times - 12 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Dip in Singapore CPF floating rate but members still get 4%

Dip in Singapore CPF floating rate but members still get 4% 
 
THE floating interest rate for Central Provident Fund (CPF) members’ Special, Medisave and Retirement Accounts (SMRA) will be 3.75 per cent for the period of April1 to June30.
This is a dip from the 3.9 per cent in the preceding three months.

However, CPF members will receive 4 per cent as the Government has promised to maintain this as the floor rate for two years, from Jan 1 this year.

Thereafter, the floor rate will be 2.5 per cent for all CPF accounts.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced during the National Day Rally last August that the interest structure for CPF members will be changed, so that they get better returns.

Starting from Jan 1 this year, the interest rate for savings in SMRA is pegged to the 12-month average yield of the 10-year Singapore Government Security (10YSGS) plus 1 per cent.

This market-based rate fluctuates every three months.

For the period January to March this year, it was 3.9 per cent, based on the average yield of the 10YSGS from Dec 1, 2006, to Nov 30 last year, plus 1per cent.

For April to June, it will be 3.75 per cent, based on the yield from March 1 last year to Feb 29 this year, plus 1per cent, according to a CPF statement.

Under the old system, the SMRA rate was a guaranteed 4 per cent.

Now, CPF members also get an additional 1 per cent interest on the first $60,000 of their combined CPF balances, with up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account.

The extra interest will go into their Special or Retirement Account to boost their retirement savings.

During a Parliament debate last year, Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, addressing worries over fluctuating returns, said the new rates should be viewed from a long-term perspective.

‘For members’ information, had the new SMRA formula been in place since the first issue of the 10-year SGS in 1998, the SMRA rate would have averaged 4.5 per cent,’ he said.

Source : Straits Times - 12 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Space crunch in Orchard pushes docs to Singapore Novena

Space crunch in Orchard pushes docs to Singapore Novena 

The area could turn into medical hub as more private doctors set up clinics there
By Jessica Jaganathan 
 
PRIVATE doctors are flocking to the Novena area as the squeeze on clinic space in the Orchard Road belt tightens.
The migration could turn the area into Singapore’s newest centre for private health services, some believe.

In the space of two years, developer Far East Organization has already sold or leased 92 per cent of the 145 medical suites at its new Novena Medical Centre (NMC).

Private doctors at the centre, which opened last October, are allowed to use some X-ray machines and labs in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), which is just across the street.

Developers in the area are also setting space aside for private doctors, as well as accommodation for patients and their families.

The spill-over of demand has prompted Far East to house another 64 clinics in its 28-storey hotel in nearby Sinaran Drive. The group plans to either sell or lease the suites when ready, which is likely to be by 2010.

Medical suites in Orchard
In Newton Road, SC Global Developments will also save space for medical suites in its upcoming office building, Newton 200.

Private specialists can also look to the Parkway Group’s new hospital in Irrawaddy Road, which is scheduled to open in July 2011. The group is setting aside 30 per cent of its space for them.

Medical suites in Novena occupy about one-third of the space that clinics in Orchard do. At about 24,154 sq m in total, they cover about the same area as Clarke Quay.

This spate of activity is fuelled by the Government’s plan to attract one million foreign patients a year by 2012.

Mr G.L. Yap, executive director for Far East Organization’s property services, said: ‘The infrastructure has to keep pace with expectations of growth.’

Foreign patients number more than 400,000 a year and come mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, with increasing numbers from China, the Middle East and developed countries. They come for a range of treatments, including day surgery and routine health checks.

Spending on so-called medical tourism averaged about $1.3 billion in 2006 and is expected to double by 2012, according to Dr Jason Yap, director of health-care services at the Singapore Tourism Board.

The space crunch is already being felt by medical centres at Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Paragon and Camden.

Company officials say that, save for three units, the buildings have been totally sold or leased out. While Paragon declined to say how many units it has, the three other centres have more than 540 suites.

The demand for medical suites has been pushing rents up, said property analysts. In the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, a suite was last sold for $5,000 psf, up from $4,017 last March.

Colorectal surgeon Francis Seow-Choen bought a unit at Novena two years ago because of high rents. For the past four years, he has also been renting a unit at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, where rents have risen to about $18 psf, from about $8 psf four years ago.

‘The rents here have risen astronomically,’ said Dr Seow-Choen. ‘Instead of being subjected to market forces, I’ve decided to buy a unit in Novena, which as an area has a lot of potential.’

The Singapore Medical Group moved its Sports Medicine Centre from Paragon to the NMC this year, because of the space crunch and the area’s attraction as a sports and medical hub.

Dr Jimmy Lim, a cardiologist who crossed over from TTSH to set up his own clinic at the NMC, said the new clinic allows his previous patients to visit him.

‘Having a restructured hospital and now a private hospital nearby is basically going to give my patients a wider choice when they use the in-patient facility,’ he said.

 Medical suites in Orchard
Gleneagles Medical Centre: 164 medical suites

Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre: 232

Lucky Plaza: 56

Paragon Medical Centre: Did not reveal exact number of suites but occupies 160,000 sq ft

Camden Medical Centre: 150

Ngee Ann City: 10

Shaw House: 4

Shaw Centre: 1

MEDICAL TOURISM
Foreign patients number more than 400,000 a year and come mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, with increasing numbers from China, the Middle East and developed countries

Source : Straits Times - 12 March 2008

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