Far East Organization headed for rebranding - Singapore

Far East Organization headed for rebranding - Singapore

By ARTHUR SIM

FAR East Organization (FEO), headed by Singapore’s richest man, Ng Teng Fong, looks set to undergo a corporate rebranding exercise as it gears up for challenging times ahead.
 
‘We need to be much more attuned to the life of other international cities so that we understand the lifestyles and preferences of our customers.’
- Chief executive Philip Ng
Mr Ng’s son, Philip, who is also the company’s CEO, said that it will be ‘embarking on a formal and articulated programme to circumscribe a more visible corporate brand as well as define new sub-brands for our residential property sales and hospitality operations’.

The CEO also said: ‘In this next phase of our organisational development, we will continue to be true to the vision of our founder and this means we must all participate in making Far East Organization an entrepreneurial organisation.’

Mr Ng was addressing his staff through the company newsletter, Landmark.

In it, he also outlined the challenges it faced in the preceding year as well as those it faces in the years ahead.

Saying that 2007 had been ‘a rather chequered year’, he added: ‘Our performance across our spectrum of operations was somewhat uneven although business conditions for the better part of the year were quite rosy.’

While Mr Ng noted that ‘business risks have heightened’, and that ‘there are now cycles within a cycle as globalisation impacts on us’, he said: ‘We see opportunities for business growth as Singapore transforms into a vibrant, global city that has an international marketplace for real estate and real estate products.’

Mr Ng revealed that its property sales operations have already been augmented with ‘a network of regional offices and multi-country marketing channels’.

A substantial portion of FEO customers now come from overseas, including the Middle East, Europe, Russia, India and China, revealed Mr Ng. ‘They are much more demanding especially of international products for which they are prepared to pay international prices,’ he added.

‘We need to be much more attuned to the life and living of other international cities and markets so that we understand the lifestyles and preferences of our customers,’ he added.

To this end, FEO has already made considerable headway in fashioning new products for the global set, including The Scotts Tower, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Rem Koolhaas’s architectural firm, Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

Also in the works is the 108-room hotel, Quincy, located off Orchard Road and styled after the trendy hotel chain, W Hotel.

To date, FEO has a development landbank of 11 million sq ft in Singapore. In 2007, it invested $1.15 billion to acquire development sites that will yield some 2.7 million sq ft of buildable area.

Source : Business Times  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Transitional office site in Newton draws 8 offers

Singapore Transitional office site in Newton draws 8 offers 

UOB Kay Hian tops bullish bidding for attractive plot next to MRT with $34m offer

By Jessica Cheam 
GRAPHICS: G. CHANDRADAS
 
A PRIME transitional office site in Newton attracted eight bids by the close of its tender yesterday, a clear reminder that demand for office space remains high.
The surprise top bidder was not the usual developer, but brokerage UOB Kay Hian. It offered $34 million, or $242.5 per sq ft (psf) of gross floor area, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

This was 16.5 per cent higher than the second bid, an offer of $29.2 million, or $208 psf, from Sun Venture Investments.

Property experts said UOB Kay Hian could be relocating some of its back-room operations from the financial district or expanding its office space.

Other bidders for the tender launched on Feb 28 include Scotts Development, Hersing Corporation and Sim Lian Land.

Mezzo Development trailed the field with a bid of $11.9 million, or $85 psf, for the 93,461 sq ft site.

Market watchers said the 15-year leasehold plot’s attractive location next to the Newton MRT station fuelled the bullish bidding.

Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, said tight office supply and strong demand have sustained the growth in rentals.

For the first quarter this year, average Grade A office rentals in Raffles Place reached $17.63 psf per month - much higher compared with monthly gross rentals of $6 psf to $8 psf in the Scotts Road area.

Companies leasing the Newton site, which can yield a maximum gross floor area of about 13,000sq m, could reduce their occupancy costs, yet still enjoy a strategic location, said Mr Mak.

He noted that the top bid is the highest average price paid for a transitional office site since the initiative was launched in July last year to address supply concerns.

Earlier this year, the Government chose not to award the tender for a similar office site in Aljunied because the only bid was too low. Mezzo Development had offered $7.8 million, or $38.35 psf.

Mr Ku Swee Yong, Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development, said that if UOB Kay Hian relocates to the Newton site, it could gain by renting out its offices at UOB Plaza.

But Mr Mak reckons that the site will be used for expansion purposes. He added that the site could be merged with an adjacent land parcel, also a transitional office site. The tender for this plot closes on April 30.

As a result, the bidding for this site is expected to be relatively less aggressive.

Source : Straits Times  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore GIC says deep recession is but one of three likely outcomes

Singapore Condo unit to be auctioned off to recover money owed

Singapore Condo unit to be auctioned off to recover money owed 

By Joyce Teo 

AN UNUSUAL auction of an apartment worth over $1 million is scheduled for next week - after the mysterious disappearance of the owners.
The three-bedroom unit at King’s Mansion off Tanjong Katong Road has been vacant for more than 10 years.

Repeated attempts by the condo’s management corporation (MC) to get in touch with the owners and their lawyers have failed.

The four owners, all foreigners, owe possibly $30,000 or more in maintenance fees.

So the MC is taking the rare step of putting the flat up for sale to recover the money without the owners’ cooperation. The auction is set for next Wednesday.

Little information is available about the owners but it is believed they are Malaysians.

Although MCs are legally able to seize the property of debtor owners, such action is rare as few want to take action against their neighbours, property consultants say.

But this case is unusual as the owners have been absent from the freehold unit for so long - even ignoring the recent property boom.

The guide price for the 1,604 sq ft high-floor unit is about $1.1million to $1.2 million, said auctioneer Mary Sai of Knight Frank, which is conducting the auction. She said numerous attempts by the MC to get in touch with the owners and their lawyers had failed.

It is not known how much is owed by the owners as the MC has refused to comment.

But based on the condo’s current fees, it could be up to $35,000 over 10 years - not counting interest.

MCs are permitted to lodge a charge against an owner’s property if contributions are unpaid for more than 30 days after they have served a written notice of demand, said lawyer Vijai Parwani. They then have the authority to sell the property as if they were a registered mortgagee, he said.

If the owner wants to sell his property, he would not be able to complete the sale until the debt is settled.

MCs can also go to court or the Small Claims Tribunal to recover outstanding contributions. If owners still refuse to pay, the MCs can get a writ to seize and sell some household items to pay the debt, he said.

If the debt exceeds $10,000, the MC can apply to make the owner a bankrupt.

No matter what, seizing a defaulter’s property for sale is absolutely the ‘last resort’, said Mr Raymond Choo, executive director of Chesterton International’s property, assets and facilities management department.

It is a ‘tedious and costly’ process, he said.

It involves upfront costs, getting a resolution for the sale, doing a property valuation and engaging an auctioneer.

‘There are other ways you can use before you resort to the power of sale,’ he said.

Property consultants say they have not heard of any such cases recently as owners usually appear when threatened with a sale.

Ms Sai says the MC of Pandan Valley tried to put a unit up for auction a few months ago, but the owner appeared and paid up before the sale could happen.
 

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

S’pore welcomes close to one million visitors in March

S’pore welcomes close to one million visitors in March
SINGAPORE: A new record was set for visitor arrivals to Singapore for the month of March.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 908,000 visitors arrived in Singapore last month, representing a growth of 5.7 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

The average length of stay was 3.7 days. Visitor days were estimated to have reach 3.4 million days, an increase of 14.1 per cent in comparison to March 2007.

Indonesia was the top visitor-generating market, with 155,000 visitors arriving in Singapore. China was second with 98,000 visitors, followed by Australia, the United Kingdom and India.

All five visitor markets accounted for 48 per cent of total visitor arrivals for the month of March.

Gazetted hotels were estimated to reap S$189 million in room revenue, showing a growth of 16.8 per cent as compared to March last year.

The average room rate was estimated at S$238, representing a 23.8 per cent increase from last year.

The average occupancy rate for hotels was estimated to reach 87 per cent last month, falling four per cent from March 2007. - CNA/ac
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore GIC’s Dr Tony Tan clarifies ‘worst recession’ remarks just one of 3 scenarios considered

Singapore GIC’s Dr Tony Tan clarifies ‘worst recession’ remarks just one of 3 scenarios considered

SINGAPORE: Dr Tony Tan, the deputy chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), has clarified that recent comments made on the world facing its worst recession in 30 years is just one of three scenarios GIC is contemplating.

It is not the GIC’s forecast for the global economy.

The other two are an optimistic scenario where there is a recession in the US or globally, with an end to the credit crisis; and, a middle scenario where there is a mild US recession but no global recession.

Speaking at the GIC Staff Conference earlier this week, Dr Tan had said the world “could be facing a recession which is longer, deeper and wider than any recession that we have encountered in the last 30 years.”

He had also said that this could be mitigated if decisive and timely actions are taken by policy makers in the United States and elsewhere.

Putting those remarks in perspective, Dr Tan said that as part of GIC’s risk management discipline, it continuously reviews a range of economic scenarios which can affect its investment strategy.

Dr Tan explained, “In normal times, there will be a central scenario with a dominant probability, with the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios as outliers, each with much lower probability. However, in light of the current fluid and uncertain times, the probability of the pessimistic scenario, while not the highest, has risen to a level that warrants serious consideration by GIC.”

And this was why he had highlighted the scenario at the conference. - CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Mapletree Logistics Trust posts S$21m in Q1 earnings, up 37% on-year - Singapore

Mapletree Logistics Trust posts S$21m in Q1 earnings, up 37% on-year - Singapore

By Timothy Ouyang,
  

SINGAPORE : Mapletree Logistics Trust has booked a distributable income of S$21 million for the first quarter, up 37 percent compared to a year ago.

Mapletree Logistics will distribute 1.90 Singapore cents per unit for the first quarter, up from 1.48 Singapore cents a year earlier.

Net property income rose 45 percent on-year to S$37.4 million, while gross revenue shot up by 48 percent on-year to S$42.6 million.

Mapletree Logistics is continuing to see strong demand for its logistics space. It renewed 50,000 square metres of space in the first quarter, with 94 percent coming from existing tenants. Rentals in the first quarter jumped by almost 29% over the same period last year.

“Going forward, we have about another 124,000 square metres of space that are coming up for renewals in two major countries - Hong Kong and Singapore. And with that, we are looking at something like about a 12 percent increase in terms of rental reversion,” said Chua Tiow Chye, CEO of Mapletree Logistics Trust.

But given the overall market conditions, the REIT is delaying plans for a rights issue.

Chua said: “We will continue to monitor the situation, and at a right time, we will re-enter the market to raise fresh equity from new investors or existing investors.

“But for the time being, we have a strong, robust portfolio of existing assets, and from this we should be able to give our investors a good yield of DPU growth for the current year.”

The REIT manager also dismissed market speculation that it may merge its logistics and industrial trusts.

Mapletree Logistics said it will continue to stay focused on the logistics real estate market in Asia. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Economists not surprised by slower jobs growth forecast - Singapore

Economists not surprised by slower jobs growth forecast - Singapore

By Ng Baoying,
 
 

SINGAPORE : Jobs growth this year will come off the record highs seen last year. According to the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), the pace will come in at about 3-4 percent, down from the 7.7 percent jump in 2007.

Economists said these numbers do not come as a surprise, and some said this could even be a good thing.

The credit crisis in the US is keeping businesses across the globe on their toes. And economists said this is keeping companies cautious about hiring new blood this year. But in Singapore’s case, that is only part of the reason.

Said Philip Overmyer, Chief Executive of Singapore International Chamber of Commerce: “It’s important to keep in mind that from the time Singapore was founded, we’ve been working our way up the value chain. So we constantly have this turnover of companies where low-end companies… leave and higher value-added (companies)… come in.

“As long as there’s inflow at the top end, the overall economy is okay. The challenge is with individual employees because the higher end (companies with) high value-add jobs tend to employ fewer people.”

According to Overmyer, sectors that will keep growing include those related to daily necessities like food, commodities and healthcare. These are largely independent of what happens in the global economy.

While the drawbacks of a dip in new jobs are obvious, some said the cooling is a silver lining.

Assistant Professor Choy Keen Meng, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, NTU, said: “In a way, the slowing of economy and labour market is good because last year, a lot of people felt that the economy was overheating. Labour costs and business costs were rising too quickly, especially rentals.

“You see it coming down now, and it’s a good correction. The net effect of this slowdown - once everything blows over - is that we’ll be more competitive.”

Jobs growth aside, SNEF also expects demand for higher wages to grow on the back of inflationary pressures.

Overmyer said: “Companies will shift to a much more bonus, performance-based compensation and will try to keep baseline salaries constant. So if you really perform, you’ll get more money.

“Some companies that we talked to recently are starting to implement the monthly variable component. If there’s a big downturn in the economy, they can pull some salary back - in terms of the monthly variable component.”

But overall, economists said real wages are likely to lag behind. Although inflation is expected to come in at 5 percent for the whole year, they expect real wages to pull ahead by just 3 to 4 percent.

Even then, the net effect is not likely to be evenly distributed. Analysts said those at the lower end of the wage scale are unlikely to see much increases compared to those at the higher end. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa completes S$4b credit syndication

Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa completes S$4b credit syndication

By Wong Siew Ying

SINGAPORE : Resorts World at Sentosa has completed the syndication of S$4 billion in credit facilities for its resort development.

The tenure of the loan extends to 2015. The loan is one of the largest to be successfully undertaken in Singapore.

In a statement on Thursday, Resorts World said the borrowings were made at an interest rate of 175 basis points above the Singapore Swap Offer Rate.

A total of 10 banks were involved in the syndication, which is jointly underwritten by five original mandated lead arrangers - DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The credit facilities will fund two-thirds of the resort’s S$6 billion project cost.

Resorts World has since awarded more than S$2 billion in building contracts for works on four of its six hotels, as well as its main thoroughfare Festive Walk.

It said progress on the resort is on track for an early 2010 soft opening. - CNA /ls
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Every fourth Saturday of May is ‘Family Day Out’

Singapore Every fourth Saturday of May is ‘Family Day Out’

By Hiroshi Limmell

SINGAPORE: Starting this year, every fourth Saturday of May will be designated as Singapore’s ‘Family Day Out’.

This is the latest initiative by the National Family Council to encourage Singaporeans to spend more time with their family.

63-year-old Teresa Quah, a retiree, said: “It’s a very good idea to bring the family closer… help them communicate with each other.”

The National Family Week was launched 22 years ago, but not many people seem to be aware of such a campaign, going by a straw poll conducted by Channel NewsAsia.

To raise the profile of the National Family Week, organisers have decided to give their month-long campaign a new name. It is now called the National Family Celebrations, and campaign activities will be launched on 24 May at a carnival at the Singapore Flyer.

Organisers will be giving away 15,000 free tickets for rides on the Singapore Flyer as well as other attractions. There will also be special family packages at other places such as the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park.

Yeo Chuan Hong, a father of two, said: “This year, families can get together in their own time and take the extra effort to be closer.”

Over the years, activities organised for the family campaign have been expanded to last for almost a month.

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 25 April 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com