1,800 flats to go on sale at Dawson estate next year

1,800 flats to go on sale at Dawson estate next year 

Two 40-storey towers to be constructed under build-to-order system by 2014

By Joyce Teo 
 
A NEW generation of Housing Board flats is set to go on sale in about a year’s time at now-sleepy Dawson estate.
The 50-year-old Queenstown estate is set to be transformed with the construction of two striking 40-storey towers, designed by award-winning architects, SCDA Architects and WOHA Architects.

The towers, to boast about 1,800 flats, are being built under the HDB’s build-to-order (BTO) system - now the board’s main means of providing new housing stock.

HDB rarely builds new flats within a mature estate due to the lack of space. The new towers in Dawson will be nestled among gardens designed by landscape architects - a first for an HDB estate.

News that the flats will be on sale in a year’s time was unveiled by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development, at the HDB awards dinner yesterday.

She later told reporters that she expects very strong demand for the new flats.

Sales will start in the third quarter of next year. Construction could start six months after that and be completed in 2014, Ms Fu said.

At Dawson - Singapore’s first Housing Board estate - the SCDA-designed tower block is on a 2.2ha site and could feature about 800 flats. The other block, on a 2.7ha site, will have about 1,000 units.

The towers will have special features such as lofts, flexible flat designs, and sky villages or common high-rise space shared by every 10 floors.

But potential buyers can still influence the final design. Feedback is invited at an exhibition on Dawson estate before the consultants finalise their designs. The show at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh runs from today until Aug 10.

Home-hunter Lauren Shen, 27, a graphic designer, said: ‘The flats are exciting because they can be customised. I have applied for a flat in Punggol. If I don’t get it, I will wait for these new ones.

‘But it will depend on the prices. My chances may be limited because I think they will be very popular.’

A third new-generation development will be added later at Dawson by Surbana International Consultants. It will be launched when the site for it is cleared by 2011.

To tie the three developments together, HDB has asked award-winning local landscape architects Cicada to draw up a landscape plan.

The plans will rejuvenate Dawson estate, which has about 3,000 flats. Dawson eventually could boast about 10,000 new homes, most of which are expected to be public flats.

HDB is keen to preserve Dawson’s heritage and is seeking contributions of old photos, postcards, books and other items for use in a display.

Source : Straits Times - 31 July 2008

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Award-winning architects to design new Dawson Estate-Singapore

Award-winning architects to design new Dawson Estate-Singapore

By Wong Siew Ying,

 
 
Award-winning architects to design new Dawson Estate
 
SINGAPORE: Two award-winning private architects were officially appointed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Wednesday to put a new spin to the old Dawson Estate in Queenstown.

SCDA Architects Pte Ltd and WOHA Architects Pte Ltd were earlier commissioned to draw up plans for two separate public housing sites at the junction of Margaret Drive and Dawson Road.

The new flats will be launched for sale under the Build-To-Order system in the third quarter of 2009.

The 60-hectare Dawson district, which was first developed in the 1950s, will have new homes nestled among lush greenery.

SCDA’s plan features multiple layers of common spaces such as car parks, shops and facilities, while individual residential units can be combined to create lofts, which are ideal for home offices or larger families.

The 823-unit project will also be eco-friendly.

Chan Soo Khian, design director, SCDA Architects, said: “All the surface runoffs will be collected in retention tanks and these will then be used to irrigate all the landscape. The staircase would be integrated with solar panels.”

At a separate site in the same district, architects at WOHA spent over four months on their work. The project will also boast sky gardens and integrated facilities.

It is expected to be home to about 1,000 households, which will have plenty of opportunity to interact.

Richard Hassell, founding director of WOHA Architects, said: “Every apartment feels like it belongs to a smaller community of about 60 or 80 homes. The way we’ve done it is to make a space… so on the way from the lift to the front door, you always go through this space.”

These flats are expected to be ready in 2014 and their price tags will be unveiled next year.

To preserve the heritage of the area, HDB is also calling on the public to contribute items relating to Queenstown. These could be old photographs, postcards or even cinema tickets, which will be incorporated into the design of the new estate.

Subana International Consultants has been chosen to develop a third site in the Dawson Estate. The company will be officially appointed when the plot is cleared in 2011.

The plans will be on display at the HDB Hub from July 31 to August 10.
- CNA/so
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 31 July 2008

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Award-winners to design Singapore HDB flats

Award-winners to design Singapore HDB flats

SCDA, WOHA and Surbana named consultants for Dawson Estate flats
By EMILYN YAP

FLAT-BUYERS eyeing Dawson Estate in Queenstown will be spoilt for choice, as upcoming public housing will feature designer looks courtesy of not one, not two, but three local award-winning architectural firms.

 
Ms Fu: There will be challenges in keeping HDB flats affordable
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) said yesterday that it will appoint SCDA Architects, WOHA Architects and Surbana International Consultants as design consultants for the district’s public housing projects.

Dawson Estate comes under a ‘Remaking Our Heartland’ exercise that aims to transform public housing into vibrant homes for Singaporeans.

To showcase the regeneration of an old estate, HDB invited the three architectural firms last year to design public housing precincts in Dawson Estate based on new ideas and concepts.

Favourable response from the public led HDB to appoint all three as design consultants.

 
‘The participation of these firms will not only give HDB flat-buyers greater variety and choice, it will also bring a livelier, more attractive buzz to Dawson.’
 
- Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu 
 
 
SCDA and WOHA received their letters of appointment at a HDB awards dinner yesterday evening. The two sites which both firms worked on are vacant and ready for development.

HDB plans to launch the first batch of flats on these two sites for sale under the Built-to-Order system in the third quarter of next year.

Construction could start in the first quarter of 2010 and be completed in 2014.

HDB will appoint Surbana later, when the site it worked on is cleared and ready for redevelopment in 2011.

‘The participation of these firms will not only give HDB flat buyers greater variety and choice, it will also bring a livelier, more attractive buzz to Dawson,’ said Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu.

HDB has also appointed a local landscape architectural firm, Cicada Pte Ltd, to draw up a landscape masterplan. The plan will create a distinct identity for Dawson Estate and bring together the three different precincts.

To retain Dawson Estate’s heritage, HDB is inviting the public to contribute items from the district’s past. Selected heritage items will be woven into the new development.

Ms Fu said yesterday that the ‘Remaking Our Heartland’ programme has made much progress. Nevertheless, she added: ‘There will be challenges along the way, such as grappling with inflation and competing for resources amidst the global construction boom, while keeping HDB flats affordable.
Source : Business Times - 31 July 2008

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End of the road for 174 Singapore Seletar colonial homes

End of the road for 174 Singapore Seletar colonial homes

As aerospace park takes shape, many ‘black-and-white’ homes must go
By VEN SREENIVASAN

(SINGAPORE) The first phase of the $60 million Seletar Aerospace Park (SAP) project is nearing completion and Phase 2 is about to take off, so the agencies spearheading the redevelopment of the complex have been briefing residents and other tenants about the next step forward.
 
A significant number of the remaining units will be converted to offices and commercial outlets, including F&B and lifestyle clusters around The Oval/Parklane area.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Agency officials, led by Edwin Ho, JTC Corp’s assistant director for industrial parks, met tenants of the colonial ‘black-and-white’ residences last night to inform them that 174 of the 378 buildings could be demolished.

A significant number of the remaining units will be converted to offices and commercial outlets, including F&B and lifestyle clusters around The Oval/Parklane area.

But about 100 will be retained as residences.

All affected tenants will have to move out by this December, while those remaining will have to sign up to new tenancies.

Mr Ho assured everyone that all aspects of the development of SAP were being done with the input of ‘all stakeholders’ including residents, commercial tenants, aviation business operators, the Nature Society and other interest groups.

Other works in the upcoming Phase 2 of the massive project will be road widening and refurbishment of buildings which will be retained.

Phase 2 works will begin next January and stretch until 2013.

 
 
Phase 1 has essentially focused on the groundbreaking works for new tenants Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, and upgrading facilities for existing giants like ST Aerospace and Jet Aviation.

Besides the demolition of old buildings and refurbishment of others, key elements of Phase 2 will also include demolition of the old water reclamation plant located in the complex and the upgrading of the airport and the lengthening of the runway by some 300 metres.

The runway lengthening will be done for 14 hours a day for 18 months, starting this November, with works done at night.

Also starting next January will be works on construction of a new flyover from the Tampines Expressway, which will be the main entrance to the complex. There will also be some road diversions within the area.

A joint project of the EDB, CAAS and JTC Corp, the SAP will host an integrated aerospace industry cluster incorporating maintenance, repair and overhaul, design and manufacturing of aircraft systems and components, business and general aviation, and an aviation campus to train pilots, other industry professionals and technical personnel.

When completed in 2018, the SAP is envisaged to elevate Singapore’s status as an aviation hub, contribute $3.3 billion a year or one per cent of GDP and create jobs for 10,000 people.

Source : Business Times - 31 July 2008

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250m euro carbon trading fund to hit town

250m euro carbon trading fund to hit town

It looks at listing, making it the first of its kind in Singapore
By JAMIE LEE

(SINGAPORE) A carbon trading fund worth 250 million euros (S$532.4 million) could be listed in Singapore soon, making it among the first of such funds to debut here.
Asia Carbon Global, a Singapore-based company that offers carbon financing, advisory and trading services, is now in talks with a regional asset management company to bring it to Singapore, group director Dinesh Babu told BT yesterday on the sidelines of a press conference for Carbon Forum Asia 2008 that will be held in Singapore in November.

‘We’re trying to close in 250 million euros and try to ramp it up later,’ said Mr Babu, who declined to identify the financial institution. But the discussions should be wrapped up soon.

‘The expected time frame should be by the end of this year,’ he revealed, adding that discussions are still ongoing as to how to structure, position and launch the fund.

The company has not decided which platform to list on, though the Singapore Exchange and new commodity exchange Singapore Mercantile Exchange are possible candidates.

The new carbon fund would allow sellers of carbon credits to invest in renewable energy projects in the region besides the usual trading in carbon credits, which is what most carbon funds in the market offer, said Mr Babu.

 
 
‘It’s easy to guess that it’s going to be in the renewable energy and the energy efficiency sectors, rather than new emerging technologies because then it’ll be a high-risk fund,’ he said. ‘It’ll be more of typical projects like hydro, or solar, wind, or the industrial wastewater technologies.’

A plain-vanilla carbon trading model would not work in Asia because sellers of carbon credits ‘want some participation in the debt or equity of the project’, noted Mr Babu.

‘This type of carbon funds, which are going to come into Singapore in the future, will try to address that concern,’ he explained, adding that a second carbon fund valued at up to 150 million euros could be coming to Singapore as well. He declined to give more details on the deal, which is unrelated to his company.

Founded five years ago, Asia Carbon Global trades an average volume of 200,000 carbon credits, or certified emission reductions (CER), per month. It manages 25 million carbon credits globally, of which 4.6 million comes from Asia, and is now looking to consolidate its position in the Singapore market, said Mr Babu.

Plans for such carbon funds come on the back of growing interest in carbon trading and carbon funds in Asia, with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the South Korea Stock Exchange mulling carbon trading following studies on the market. The Multi Commodity Exchange of India has already started futures trading in carbon credits in January this year.

Singapore is also setting up the Singapore Mercantile Exchange by early next year, which would bring in future contracts in carbon credits along with contracts in energy, metals and agriculture. The country has been a key trading centre in Asia for over-the-counter (OTC) commodity derivatives trading in the region, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the global OTC commodities.

‘Singapore has an opportunity to take the leadership as a regional hub for carbon trading,’ said Sharad Somani, director of global infrastructure and projects group at KPMG. ‘It is close to the source (as) the surrounding region generates over 80 per cent of the carbon credits traded today, it is host to many regional and internationals companies, and the industries in Singapore are potentially buyers for such credits going forward.’

But he added that Singapore must beat its regional competitors in designing ‘an attractive policy and regulatory framework’ that would bring more companies to trade on the Singapore exchanges.

The global emissions market doubled in 2007, according to World Bank figures from May 2008, and has hit 47 billion euros in total. Asia makes up 80 per cent of the CER trading, with China comprising more than half of such trades.

Source : Business Times - 31 July 2008

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Singapore Maybank hopes to get $500m from Sing-dollar bond issue

Singapore Maybank hopes to get $500m from Sing-dollar bond issue

By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) Maybank is the latest to offer high-interest-bearing notes to interest-starved investors. It is also the Malaysian bank’s first Singapore-dollar bond issue - and further proof that the local market has become attractive for foreign issuers.
Maybank expects to raise at least $500 million from its maiden Sing-dollar issue launched yesterday. The indicative interest rate for the securities is 5.9-6.1 per cent, bankers said.

‘Current volatile equity market conditions, coupled with low deposit rates, have resulted in investors seeking alternatives,’ said Tan Lay Hoon, OCBC Bank’s head of capital markets, group investment banking.

‘Accordingly, Tier 1 capital instruments (preference shares or capital securities) issued by Asian banks that have nominal exposure to the US sub-prime crisis have received overwhelming interest,’ Ms Tan said.

Examples of such instruments include OCBC’s Class B perpetual preference shares and DBS Bank’s innovative Tier 1 capital.

‘Investors have become familiar with these instruments and are prepared to invest for higher yield albeit at higher risk,’ Ms Tan said.
Aimed at wealthy and institutional investors, Maybank’s notes are being sold through the corporate and private bank channels of DBS Group Holdings and OCBC Bank. The minimum investment is $250,000. There are many similar features to DBS’s preference shares sold in May, including a step-up clause which effectively makes the issue a 10-year security.

According to a term sheet seen by BT, the notes will form part of Maybank’s innovative Tier 1 capital and the proceeds will be used for working capital and to strengthen its capital base.

Maybank spokeswoman Priscilla Loke said the exercise is aimed at maintaining Maybank’s capital ratios as it pursues acquisitions.

Maybank has been on an expansion drive this year, though it has run into wall in trying to buy a controlling stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII).

Bank Negara yesterday revoked its approval for Maybank’s US$2.7 billion acquisition of BII as a result of recent changes in regulations in Indonesia.

In March, Maybank bought 15 per cent of Vietnam’s An Binh Bank for US$135 million. And in May it paid US$680 million for 15 per cent of Pakistan’s MCB Bank.

Separately, OCBC said yesterday its $50 million issue of 500,000 preference shares, sold through ATMs, was subscribed an overwhelming 11 times. In total 11,010 applications were received for 5.5 million preference shares amounting to $550 million, but only 2,021 were successful after balloting.

For those who applied for the minimum 200 shares, the balloting ratio was 15 out of 99 with 910 successful applicants, OCBC said.

Successful applicants who applied for higher number of shares received only a portion. Of the 31 who applied for 10,000 shares or more, the allotment was 1,000 shares.

Source : Business Times - 30 July 2008

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Singapore JTC Corp net surplus surges 51% to $1.17b

Singapore JTC Corp net surplus surges 51% to $1.17b

Performance fuelled by strong results across all segments, write-back of losses
By EMILYN YAP
DRIVEN by the strong economy and buoyant industrial property market, JTC Corporation yesterday reported a group net surplus of $1.17 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2008 - a 51 per cent jump from the previous year.

Mrs Ow: ‘We will keep a close watch on the market and share information on projected demand with private developers and industry associations’ 
The big improvement was fuelled by strong results across all segments. A write-back of impairment losses in a rising industrial space market also contributed to performance. Excluding the write-back and other exceptional items, the group net surplus is about 30 per cent higher than the previous year.

The FY2007 results do not take into account JTC’s divestment of $1.7 billion of flatted factories, stack-up buildings and ready-built assets to Mapletree Investments in July.

JTC still has similar properties in smaller parcels to sell. ‘There will be some that we are going to sell by trade sale,’ said CEO Ow Foong Pheng. ‘We will work through the programme and assess the best timing.’

The divestment plans are part of JTC’s strategy to gradually withdraw from industrial market segments with active private sector participation. But as the agency sells its portfolio of ready-built properties, it will continue to ensure the market stays competitive.

‘We will keep a close watch on the market and share information on projected demand with private developers and industry associations,’ Mrs Ow says in JTC’s annual report.

‘We will enhance supply mechanisms such as concept price tenders and Government Land Sales to include technical and user specifications where necessary, to plug any specific demand gaps that may arise.’

JTC saw record take-up rates for industrial land and space in FY2007. Net take-up for ready-built space was 2.65 million sq ft, while that for industrial land was 360 hectares - the highest level in 10 years.

Mrs Ow said demand for industrial space could slow as economic growth moderates. But JTC will continue to prepare industrial land ahead of time so it can meet higher demand once it comes.

Looking ahead, JTC will focus more on strategic projects to support Singapore’s industrial needs. ‘Innovation will be key to ensuring JTC’s sustained success,’ said Mrs Ow. The agency is working on projects that include a shared waterfront facility, small footprint high plot ratio factories and a ‘Very Large Floating Structure’ for oil storage.

JTC is also rejuvenating old industrial estates to optimise land use. For instance, it is redeveloping Tanjong Kling in the Jurong Industrial Estate into a focal point for high value-added manufacturing activity in food, electronics, environmental technology and oil and gas.

The JTC group has three subsidiaries - Ascendas, Jurong International and Jurong Port. Asked if there are plans to privatise any of them, Mrs Ow said: ‘We are still looking at it.’

 
Source : Business Times - 30 July 2008

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Hiring process drawn out as caution rules

Hiring process drawn out as caution rules

More eyes scrutinise candidates now in accounting, finance sectors
By CHUANG PECK MING

(SINGAPORE) In another sign of the slowdown in Singapore’s job market, employers are slowing their recruitment process - at least for jobs in the accounting and finance sectors.

Employers are now taking twice as long - eight weeks - compared to a year ago to sign up a new employee. The process is often prolonged because more senior decision makers in the company are involved, according to Ambition, a recruitment firm listed on the Australian Stock Exchange which has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

‘Recruitment is all about market confidence,’ said Guy Day, Ambition’s managing director. ‘There are numerous examples of where relatively junior positions have required video or telephone conference calls with very senior executives in corporate headquarters before an approval will be given.’

While this may be seen as overkill, Mr Day said it is certainly a sign of the times. Just last week US based executive search firm Hudson reported that more employers in Singapore are putting recruitment on hold even as managers continued to expect higher sign-on pay.

Only 43 per cent of those Hudson polled here planned to hire more in the current quarter - a three-year low - down from 54 per cent a year ago.

Ambition’s findings show ‘no concrete evidence of significant job losses’ here despite a slowing global economy and job cuts in the financial services sector in the US.

But the firm added: ‘Cost control will continue to be high on the list of priorities of employers and so it is not inconceivable that we might experience some redundancies in more cyclical industry sectors.’

According to Ambition, employers have tightened hiring requirements and employees are more cautious about switching jobs.

‘Last year, companies were willing to compromise on more criteria but today any candidate falling below their expectations in a hiring process will be passed over and the search will continue,’ Mr Day said.

While there is no question that hiring by investment banks is down from a year ago, there are some more encouraging signs out in the market, according to Ambition.

Life insurance firms are doing admirably well and the fund management sector has taken up some of the slack for financial recruiters, it said.

‘Both segments have historically been less visible or attractive to the best candidates when compared to top-tier investment banks, but there is an increasing interest in these industries as they grow rapidly across Asia and show strong signs of continued growth,’ Ambition said in a report.

Within the commercial sector, the information technology continues to do well in Singapore, along with the petrochemical, healthcare and biomedical businesses.

 
Source : Business Times - 30 July 2008

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Singapore JTC selling small factories to focus on bigger projects

Singapore JTC selling small factories to focus on bigger projects 

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
SLOWING: Mrs Ow expects JTC’s performance to be slower this financial year.
 
INDUSTRIAL landlord JTC Corp aims to sell more of its small factories and other industrial space this financial year as it shifts its focus to bigger industrial developments.
In late April, JTC sold $1.71 billion of properties to Mapletree Investments after ditching a plan to roll these assets into a real estate investment trust (Reit).

The upcoming sales will be on a smaller scale than the April sale, said JTC chief executive Ow Foong Pheng. She told reporters yesterday that it is considering the sale of ‘a handful’ of properties via tender this financial year.

The properties involved were deemed unsuitable for the proposed Reit. JTC scrapped that plan to list its high-rise, ready-built assets due to volatile market conditions. Instead, it sold 62 of these properties to Mapletree.

JTC is selling its ready- built assets in order to focus on strategic industrial developments that are too big and risky for the private sector.

These include Jurong Island and Tuas Biomedical Park, which attracted about US$8.8 billion (S$12 billion) worth of investments from players such as ExxonMobil, Lonza and Novartis in the last financial year.

At a press conference yesterday, Mrs Ow said JTC will still look at the possibility of privatising its subsidiaries Ascendas and Jurong International Holdings.

She said JTC’s performance this financial year is expected to be slower in line with the softening economic outlook. ‘For the financial years 2008 and 2009, we will not repeat the sterling performance in the 2007 financial year,’ said Mrs Ow.

JTC has already reaped the results of Singapore’s strong economic growth and a buoyant industrial space market in the past two years.

Releasing its latest financial results, JTC yesterday said its total surplus reached $1.18 billion for the year ended March 31, up a hefty 50 per cent from the previous year.

Its building and land income rose by 5 per cent to $1.1 billion.

Net take-up for its ready-built space reached a new record of 246,300 sq m while the industrial land segment registered a new record net take-up of 360 ha, the highest level in a decade.

Source : Straits Times - 30 July 2008

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Singapore Temasek pumps US$900m more into investment bank

Singapore Temasek pumps US$900m more into investment bank 

Infusion could bring its Merrill stake to above 10%, raising regulatory issues

By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent 
 
TEMASEK Holdings is making another huge investment in Merrill Lynch, a day after the giant bank stunned Wall Street with yet more multi-billion-dollar writedowns.
The Singapore investment firm will inject an additional US$900 million (S$1.23 billion) into Merrill in a deal that could well increase its stake to above 10 per cent.

The proposed deal, which will need the green light from American regulators, will also raise the prospect of a political row in the US over foreign holdings in key institutions.

Some see yesterday’s dramatic deal as a smart move that allows Temasek to protect its huge stake in Merrill. Others question if it is, in the words of one analyst, ‘throwing good money after bad’.

Temasek is responding to Merrill’s third round of fund-raising since last December. The bank is selling US$8.5 billion of new shares to help dig itself out of a black hole of toxic debt.

Merrill also said it would dump US$30.6 billion in sub- prime securities at fire-sale prices and write down a further US$5.7 billion.
Under the deal, Temasek will take up US$3.4 billion of new shares. But it will also get a rebate of US$2.5 billion on the initial US$5 billion it invested in Merrill. This makes a net additional investment of US$900 million.

The rebate is partly a compensation for the huge hit Temasek has taken on its initial investment - Merrill shares are less than half the US$48 a piece Temasek paid in December.

That December deal had a feature to compensate Temasek if its stake was diluted by Merrill later issuing new shares at a lower price. This is just what is happening now.

Temasek will get about 140 million new shares. The rebate effectively slashes the cost of Temasek’s existing shares in Merrill by more than half to US$21 a share, says Reuters.

But the deal is likely to push Temasek’s stake from 8.85 per cent to well over 10 per cent - and into the path of the US authorities, who are concerned about the influence of foreign investors on iconic US institutions like Merrill.

Temasek spokesman Myrna Thomas said a portion of the deal was ’subject to regulatory approval’.

Temasek had earlier sought to keep below the 10 per cent threshold.

Mr Teng Ngiek Lian, chief executive officer of Target Asset Management in Singapore, noted that ‘it looks like Temasek got a good deal’, as it got a huge US$2.5 billion refund to cover its paper losses.

Some analysts, however, question if pumping more money into the ailing bank is judicious.

One cited another Merrill investor, Korea Investment Corporation.

The sovereign wealth fund said it might avoid further investments in US banks, having ‘learnt a lot of good lessons’ from its US$2 billion investment in Merrill.

A Hong Kong-based analyst said: ‘It’s hard to tell now if Merrill is swallowing all the bitter pills at one shot, so it will only get better after this. We can only hope so, otherwise Temasek will be throwing good money after bad.’

Merrill has had a torrid time. Its fund-raising has now reached some US$21 billion as it seeks to handle the strain of almost US$19 billion in net losses in the past year.

It has now sold almost all of its toxic investments.

Wachovia analyst Douglas Sipkin told clients that Merrill was ‘closer to a bottom’, adding that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’.

 
Source : Straits Times - 30 July 2008

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Travel agents’ in weekend fairs a big success

Travel agents’ in weekend fairs a big success 

Strong sales raise hope that upcoming Natas fair will give industry a much-needed boost

By Lim Wei Chean 
 
MILLIONS of dollars in year-end holiday packages were sold during fairs held last weekend by three major travel agencies.
The glittering figure has lent some cheer to an industry that was hit hard by a lack of sales in June - traditionally a big holiday month among Singaporeans because of the four-week-long school break.

ASA Holidays said it rang up $6 million in sales over the weekend, while another powerhouse, Chan Brothers, said it had done $3 million worth of business.

A third company, SA Tours, said it was still tallying its receipts, but reported that sales were positive.

The big-sellers were tours to Europe and the United States. Trips to more exotic locales such as Turkey and Egypt did well too.

Some buyers were planning far ahead. ASA Holidays said it received bookings for holidays during Chinese New Year and the March school break next year.

The good showing - an ASA Holidays spokesman described it as ‘overwhelming’ - has left the industry cautiously optimistic that the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) fair, to be held at the Singapore Expo from Friday to Sunday, will give it a much-needed shot in the arm.

The Natas event, held twice a year, is the grand-daddy of travel fairs in Singapore, and this weekend’s event is no different.

There will be 1,000 exhibitor booths for the first time, occupying two full halls at Singapore Expo with 20,000 sq m of exhibition space.

The number of exhibitors has also grown from 120 to 160.

Travel agencies had initially feared that the slow sale of holiday packages for the June break meant Singaporeans’ appetite for travel had shrunk as higher prices for food, petrol and other essentials took a toll on spending.

SA, for example, saw sales drop by 10 per cent.

ASA’s spokesman, Ms Eileen Oh, said: ‘We were initially very worried about how the market was going to be.’

But insiders say that even though Singaporeans have tightened their belts by cancelling mid-year holidays, they are still prepared to splash out for an end-of-year getaway.

Natas chief executive officer Robert Khoo agreed.

Noting that ‘June is normally the peak travel season but it was quite quiet this year’, he said that if the cost of living continues to rise, Singaporeans could start taking one big holiday a year instead of multiple trips.

He added, though, that if a global economic slowdown drags on, things could take a turn for the worse.

Already, inflation and the appreciation of the Singapore dollar have taken a toll on the tourism industry here: Year-on-year arrival numbers for June dipped for the first time in 51 months.

Still, Mr Khoo is optimistic that the Natas fair will draw buyers in droves.

He is setting a target of 60,000 visitors to the fair, which would be a new record.

SA Tours spokesman Ruth Lim was also optimistic. She explained: ‘Singapore is a small country so people need to travel out to relax.’

Source : Straits Times - 30 July 2008

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Rents falling at most Singapore condos

Rents falling at most Singapore condos 

New supply of homes and weak demand could mark start of downward trend

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 

TENANTS, rejoice: rents have begun to fall at a majority of condominiums in Singapore on the back of fresh home supply and a turnaround in market sentiment.
Two in every three projects with a substantial number of leases saw rents drop in the second quarter from the previous three months, according to the latest data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

This marks a reversal from the last two years, when private home rents soared, especially in expatriate-friendly areas, due to an insufficient supply of rental homes and an influx of expat tenants.

Now, rents are dipping in almost every location around the island, but particularly in the two areas most popular with expats - East Coast and the central region around Orchard Road.

This could mark the start of a downtrend that experts say may worsen with more home completions, especially in the prime areas, where rents have reached stratospheric levels.

URA’s data analysed rents in developments with at least 100 units and that have 10 or more leases each in the first and second quarters this year. Of the 124 projects in this category, 80 - or about 64 per cent - saw rents drop between the two quarters.
But URA also has a more comprehensive rental index that covers all rental transactions, including those at projects with fewer than 10 leases. This showed that rents across the country rose 2.5 per cent overall in the second quarter, the smallest rise in three years.

Rents are taking a hit largely because the stock of homes available for rental has risen, property consultants said.

Several major projects have recently been completed that were heavily bought into by investors planning to rent out their units. These include the 640-unit Icon in Tanjong Pagar, a 430-unit tower at Sail @ Marina Bay, the 600-unit Citylights at Lavender, and the 546-unit Sea View in Amber Road.

Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and advisory at property firm Colliers International, said the ‘peakish’ rents could also be due to the current run of high inflation, pushing up living costs in general and making expats more resistant to any rental rises.

Another source of rental demand, collective sale sellers, has also dwindled due to the delay in demolishing several en-bloc sale estates amid a slow property sales market, she added.

Colliers’ own research showed that monthly rents of luxury apartments fell 3 per cent in the first six months of this year. A 1,000 sq ft apartment was fetching $6,730 in June, down from $6,930 in December last year.

But Ms Tay said luxury rents are unlikely to fall by more than another 10 per cent in the second half, as Singapore remains attractive to expats.

Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, agreed that the rental declines in the prime central districts will be ‘more gradual than elsewhere as their central location means there will be no lack of demand’.

‘At the other end of the rental market, in far-flung locations such as Changi and Pasir Ris, the declines are expected to be more pronounced as they will face the twin problems of weak demand and declining rentals,’ he added.

Source : Straits Times - 30 July 2008

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Park Central @ Ang Mo Kio gets over 1,000 applications so far

Park Central @ Ang Mo Kio gets over 1,000 applications so far

By Wong Siew Ying

SINGAPORE: Some 20,000 people have visited the showflats at Park Central@AMK, Singapore’s third condominium-style public housing development.

The project, launched last week, has received over 1,000 applications so far, marginally lower than City View@Boon Keng, a similar development nearer the city that went on sale earlier this year.

Applications for Park Central units will close on August 5.

David Liew, managing director of United Engineers Developments, said: “The people coming here, they are more cautious, they are more serious. They are asking about the qualifying criteria. What we are seeing is more genuine interest.”

All 578 units at Park Central come with the look and feel of a private residential home but they cost about 40 per cent less, at S$500 per square foot.

The developer says the resale flats around the area will not pose a threat to sales of Park Central. That is because many of the resale units are much older, at between 10 and 20 years old.

The developer believes many home hunters will prefer to buy brand new flats, even though they have to pay about 10 per cent more. The pricing of such projects built by private developers had caused a stir earlier this year.

City View@Boon Keng’s price tag of S$520 per square foot was a record for new public housing flats. Over 3,500 people applied for the 714 units, but only 66 per cent actually bought them.

Six months after its launch, the project’s marketing agent says 20 per cent of the units remain unsold.

Donald Yeo, executive director of HSR International Realtors, said: “If a project has a slower pace to get rid of the units, that does not mean the market cannot sustain the price. It’s still very competitive and I believe the prices are still realistic.”

Industry players expect prices at the next condo-style public housing project in Bishan estate to be even higher, partly due to the spike in construction cost.

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 July 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Temasek Holdings confirms S$1.2b investment in Merrill Lynch

Temasek Holdings confirms S$1.2b investment in Merrill Lynch

SINGAPORE: Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has pumped in an additional US$900 million (S$1.2 billion) in Merrill Lynch as part of the United States broker’s latest capital-raising effort.

Temasek Holdings said in a statement on Tuesday that it has committed US$3.4b in the public offering by Merrill Lynch.

Myrna Thomas, Managing Director, Corporate Affairs, Temasek Holdings, said: “Temasek confirms its commitment of US$3.4 billion in the Public Offering by Merrill Lynch, a portion of which is subject to regulatory approval.

“The commitment includes a sum of US$2.5 billion arising from a reset payment which Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay to Temasek as an adjustment to the price of Temasek’s original investment made in December 2007.”

The announcement came in the wake of Merrill’s July 17 report that it had racked up a net loss of US$4.89 billion for the second quarter, another sign of the devastation of the US real estate crash on financial markets.

The tarnished Wall Street star said on Monday it was selling off a large amount of asset-backed collateralized debt obligations (CDO) - the packaged US mortgage securities which have ravaged bank balance sheets around the world.

The move took US$11.1 billion off of its books, but only after scoring a huge loss on the sale. Merrill said the CDOs had a face value of US$30.6 billion and were sold to Lone Star Funds, a specialist in distressed assets, for just US$6.7 billion.

“The sale of the substantial majority of our CDO positions represents a significant milestone in our risk reduction efforts,” said Merrill chairman and CEO John Thain in a statement.

Thain said the CDO sale and the capital hike will “materially enhance the company’s capital position and financial flexibility going forward.”

The company said on Monday it expects to record a pre-tax write-down in the third quarter of about US$5.7 billion, which includes a US$4.4 billion loss on the CDOs being sold.

Merrill had already raised US$15.3 billion from capital markets earlier this year, including share sales to Temasek.

Temasek’s earlier investment though came with a requirement that if Merrill raised more capital within 12 months at a price lower that the US$48 that the Singapore fund paid, it would be compensated for the difference.

Tuesday’s announcement meant that Merrill has to pay Temasek US$2.5 billion - which Temasek is turning around to put back into Merrill, along with another US$900 million.

Merrill’s new fundraising comes on the heels of announcements earlier in July that it was shedding assets to raise new funds, including its 20 per cent stake in financial news and data group Bloomberg for US$4.4 billion, and its controlling interest in Financial Data Services for at least US$3.5 billion.

In its second-quarter report, it also wrote down over US$9 billion in soured investments, largely linked to bets on US mortgage investments that have been hit by a horrific housing slump after years of sizzling growth.

Merrill’s shares plunged 11.6 per cent Monday ahead of the news, falling US$3.19 to close at US$24.33.

- CNA/AFP/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 July 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Singapore JTC sees record take-up of its ready-built space in 2007

Singapore JTC sees record take-up of its ready-built space in 2007

By Timothy Ouyang,

SINGAPORE: JTC Corporation has reported a record take-up of some 246,300 square metres of its ready-built space last year, surpassing the previous record seen in 2005.

The bouyant industrial property market last year helped JTC to book a record surplus of S$1.183 billion, up 50 per cent from 2006. The numbers were also boosted by impairment loss write-backs of nearly S$159.4 million on its properties.

But JTC has hinted that the upward momentum is unlikely to continue this year.

Ow Foong Pheng, CEO of JTC Corporation, said: “We expect that it would follow how the economic projection will be. So FY 08/09, I think growth is expected to be slower and it will probably pan out in our industrial space demand as well.”

JTC saw some 360 hectares of its prepared industrial land taken up last year – the biggest in ten years.

Going forward, JTC said demand for industrial space this year is unlikely to be as strong as 2007. However, it would continue to invest in more research and development projects, and focus on producing more innovative industrial space solutions.

This includes taking on higher-risk projects that require specialised needs and bigger investments.

Mrs Ow said: “With a very vibrant and good group of private industrial developers out there, JTC can step back and allow the private market to play in the provision of more generic industrial space.

“But we will still keep an eye to ensure that there’s sufficient supply of ready-built factories to meet the needs of the industry. This will free JTC to move further upstream towards planning and developing more specialised parts that meet new needs.”

JTC is divesting 62 of its ready-built properties to Mapletree Investments, and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

- CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 July 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com