China Jingye to build Universal Studios Singapore

China Jingye to build Universal Studios Singapore

It clinches $705m contract for infrastructural work
RESORTS World at Sentosa (RWS) yesterday said that it awarded a $705 million contract to a Chinese company for infrastructural work at Universal Studios Singapore.
The contractor, China Jingye Engineering Corporation (Singapore branch), is a subsidiary of the Chinese government-linked China Metallurgical Corporation (MCC) group.

China Jingye will handle the general building works of Universal Studios Singapore, including structural buildings, facades, walkways and an amphitheatre.

The installation of the theme park’s 24 attractions, designed and prefabricated by renowned theme-park ride manufacturers worldwide, will also be co-ordinated by China Jingye.

RWS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the listed Genting International group, said in a press statement that the MCC group is one of China’s top five construction-engineering companies.

The group has been involved in the structural design, consultation and project management of some of China’s biggest landmark projects, including the China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters, the Beijing Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium, and the new Beijing Opera House.

 
 
China Jingye has been in Singapore for 12 years. Last September, it won a $60 million contract to supply, fabricate and deliver 23,000 tonnes of structural steel to RWS’ $6 billion integrated resort on Sentosa.

The 49 ha development, positioned as Asia’s leading family destination, is slated for a soft opening in early 2010.

It has so far awarded $2.7 billion worth of building contracts.

Apart from theme park rides, RWS will feature the world’s largest oceanarium and the region’s first integrated destination spa.

Plans are in the pipeline for some 1,800 rooms, spread across its six hotels. Among them are Maxims Residences, Hotel Michael and Hard Rock Hotel.
 
Source : Business Times - 08 July 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Varying pace of sales at recently released Singapore projects

Varying pace of sales at recently released Singapore projects

Most private homes register slower sales at the weekend
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
DEVELOPERS selling private homes had a mixed bag of results at the weekend.
 
Strong sales: The 99-year-leasehold Livia in Pasir Ris, where previews started last Friday, has chalked up relatively strong sales of 160 units 
The 99-year-leasehold Livia in Pasir Ris, where previews started last Friday, has chalked up relatively strong sales of 160 units at an average of $650 per square foot (psf).

But sales were slower for most other recently released projects.

At Kovan Residences, another 20-plus units were sold at the weekend, taking total sales to more than 80 since the 99-year-leasehold project next to Kovan MRT Station was previewed at a private party on June 28.

The average price is between $870 and $900 psf.

Riding on the buying interest in Kovan Residences, MCL Land accelerated the preview of its 50-unit D-Pavilion, a freehold condo on Upper Serangoon Road slightly further away from Kovan MRT. It sold 10 units on Saturday and Sunday at an average price of $900 psf.

In Bishan, Sim Lian found buyers for another 59 units last week at its Clover By The Park condo, taking total sales to 254 since it previewed the 616-unit project on June 25.

The average price for the 99-year-leasehold project is $750 psf. Sim Lian also sold four units at The Amery in Telok Kurau last week, taking the total to 31 of the 78 units in the freehold development. The average price is $860 psf.

NTUC Choice Homes and Ho Bee Investment sold another 10 units at the weekend at Dakota Residences. The sales tally is 161 for the 348-unit, 99-year condo that is currently selling at an average price of $980 psf.

Commenting on the varying pace of sales, a developer said it is not unusual for transactions to taper off after the first weekend or two weekends of a launch, after initial demand has expressed itself and choice units are taken up.

Another developer said: ‘I think potential buyers are nibbling. If they see a project they like and it’s priced attractively, they’ll go in. But buyers are very price-sensitive.’

Giving his take, a property consultant suggested: ‘I’ve got the feeling these developers may be slowly pushing up prices; so demand has been tapering off.

‘Once a developer has sold at least 30-40 per cent of units in a project, it may be slightly more comfortable with cash flow.

‘It may then be prepared to sell the rest of the project at a slower pace if it can achieve higher prices.’

A more worrying reason could simply be that demand has dropped.

‘People ask themselves: ‘With all the global economic uncertainty, do I really need to buy a new home now?’ said a market watcher.

City Developments Ltd said yesterday that most of the buyers at Livia are Singaporeans, while foreign buyers come from China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Most people bought for owner occupation. The 160 units sold so far achieved prices of between $570 psf and $740 psf.

Prices start from $597,000 for a two-bedroom unit, $793,000 for a three-bedder and $991,000 for a four-bedder.

Hayden Properties starts to preview The Hamilton Scotts this week.

Prices are expected to start below $3,000 psf, though the average price is expected to be around $3,500 psf.

The freehold project comprises 54 apartments and two penthouses.
 
Source : Business Times - 08 July 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore CBD offices still available at $6-9 psf a month

Singapore CBD offices still available at $6-9 psf a month

Small pockets of space can be found in older buildings in the central district
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

THE average Grade A office monthly rental in Singapore touched $18.80 psf in Q2, while the vacancy rate for such premium space stands at a mere 0.6 per cent.
 
Older but cheaper: At Shenton House (foreground), asking rentals for units on the seventh and 25th floors are said to be in the $6.50 to $7.00 psf range 
However, small pockets of space ranging from a few hundred square feet to 3,000 sq ft are still available in older buildings in the Central Business District. For example, at Cecil Street, Shenton Way and Tanjong Pagar, monthly rents range from $6 psf to $9 psf.

At International Plaza next to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, a 400 sq ft unit without a window is going for a monthly rental of $6 psf, while a 1,500 sq ft unit on a higher floor has a $9 psf rental tag.

Over at Octagon along Cecil Street, two units (of 1,300 sq ft and 2,000 sq ft) are being offered at $7.80 psf.

At 146 Robinson Road, tenants are being sought for a few units of between 1,000 and 3,000 sq ft on various floors with an asking rental of $7.50 psf.

 
Bigger office spaces in the CBD are also becoming available.
 
 
 
At Shenton House, asking rentals for units on the seventh and 25th floors are said to be in the $6.50 to $7.00 psf range.

‘While there are many office buildings asking for double-digit monthly rents, users can still find office units at single-digit rents on the fringe of Raffles Place, such as Robinson Road and Cecil Street.

‘These buildings are mainly older and have smaller floor plates. In addition, they are mostly sandwiched between other buildings and offer very limited or no car park lots in the building,’ says Knight Frank director, business space (office) Agnes Tay.

‘We would expect smaller companies providing professional services and non-financial companies to find such options attractive in terms of rental levels and at the same time without compromising on the convenience of location. These tenants could be in fields like auditing, accounting, consultancy, legal services, design, shipping and IT,’ she added.

Tenants willing to pay slightly higher rents but still shy of Grade A rates also have several options in the CBD.

At UIC Building on Shenton Way, owner United Industrial Corporation has put on hold its development plans for the property and is said to have for leasing a total 43,000 sq ft comprising units of various sizes from 700 sq ft to 9,000 sq ft.

The asking rental is said to be about $11 psf. UIC is said to be offering tenants leases of three years but without options for renewal.

In more prime buildings such as the Arcade near Raffles Place MRT Station and 8 Shenton Way (formerly Temasek Tower), asking rents are higher, around $10.50-14.50 psf and $12-14 psf respectively, BT understands.

Bigger office spaces in the CBD are also becoming available, partly due to the government’s initiative to move its agencies out of the CBD to ease the acute shortage of prime offices.

Singapore Land Authority will be giving up seven floors or 92,569 sq ft at 8 Shenton Way when it moves to Revenue House in Novena in Q4 this year.

InfoComm Development Authority is also expected to give up some space at Suntec City by the year-end.

Swiss banking group UBS is also believed to be giving up about 47,000 sq ft of space it no longer needs on the 10th and 15th floors of Suntec City Tower.

The space may be available for lease as early as September, BT understands.

A UBS spokeswoman said: ‘We are giving up some space at Suntec City because we’ve achieved more efficient space usage. But even after releasing this area, we’ll still continue to occupy some 200,000 sq ft at Suntec City alone. In addition, since last year we’ve leased 230,000 sq ft at One Raffles Quay. So we would still have grown our Singapore footprint from 250,000 sq ft in 2006 to 450,000 sq ft.’

Industry observers are keeping their eye on other big office occupiers to see if they, too, would release excess space.

DTZ noted last week that the government’s efforts to create more immediate office space - such as releasing transitional office sites and awarding disused state properties to the private sector for conversion to offices - has helped to ease the supply crunch and pressure on rentals.

This CBD office shortage will be eased from 2010 as new office projects are completed.

‘Going forward, as companies and government agencies start to move out of the CBD and more new supply comes onstream, office occupancy is likely to ease and limit rental growth in the CBD for the rest of 2008,’ DTZ said.
 
Source : Business Times - 08 July 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Chinese conglomerate that built these landmarks… …snags $705m contract for Singapore Sentosa theme park

Chinese conglomerate that built these landmarks… …snags $705m contract for Singapore Sentosa theme park
 
Beijing’s National Stadium

Beijing’s performing arts centre

Deal goes to arm of state-owned group that built China’s steel industry
 
By Jessica Cheam 
HIGH-PROFILE JOB: China Jingye will be in charge of general building works and an amphitheatre for the Singapore version of the Universal Studios attraction.
IN A sign of the growing role of China construction firms in Singapore, a top mainland firm has landed a plum $705 million job to build the highly-anticipated Universal Studios theme park on Sentosa.
Mainland building firms have shaken off perceptions of poor quality work, after rapidly picking up experience in the construction explosion that has accompanied China’s spectacular economic boom.

Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) yesterday awarded the large contract to China Jingye Engineering, a unit of state- owned China Metallurgical Group Corp. The company founded and built China’s huge steel industry.

The Chinese firm has worked on some of China’s landmark projects such as the Beijing Olympic stadium and the new National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The deal is China Jingye’s biggest yet in Singapore and comes in the wake of high-profile investments made by China firms in Singapore’s building industry recently.

In February, for example, Qingdao Construction Group clinched the contract to design and build an HDB site in Bishan with the highest bid of $135.9 million.

‘Over the years, Chinese contractors have been increasingly able to successfully compete for higher-value contracts due to experience gleaned back home,’ said Knight Frank director for research and consultancy Nicholas Mak. Also, there is no longer the perception of second-rate quality that beset Chinese firms when they first made forays abroad, he said.

One construction industry source, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times that China firms are becoming bigger players in the local industry - in tandem with the growing building sector in Singapore.

‘These firms have access to cheaper labour and resources in China. We see them as healthy competition, which helps to ease some of the burden on the local contractors,’ he said.

A check with the Building and Construction Authority showed that foreign firms make up 26.4 per cent of major construction players in Singapore. Of this, China firms make up 4.17 per cent, Japan 9.72 per cent and South Korea 2.78 per cent. China once trailed Korea and its share could rise soon, said Mr Mak.

China Jingye has clocked 12 years in Singapore, and has worked on HDB projects and other contracts. It recently won a $60 million deal to supply 23,000 tonnes of steel to the $6 billion Sentosa resort development.

An RWS spokesman said it held a tender exercise and ‘chose the most suitable candidate based on suitability to deliver’. It declined to reveal details of the other bidders.

China Jingye managing director Tan Zhiyong said its ability to deliver projects on time and within budgets were key plus points. ‘We have done overseas projects apart from China, such as Australia, and have a good track record,’ he said.

China Jingye will be in charge of general building works such as structural buildings, facades, walkways and an amphitheatre at Universal Studios - which will feature 24 rides and attractions.

RWS said it is ‘on track for a soft opening in early 2010′. It has awarded $2.7 billion worth of building contracts to date.

 
Source : Straits Times - 08 July 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com