Singapore Vacant government buildings being turned into transitional dormitories

Singapore Vacant government buildings being turned into transitional dormitories

By S Ramesh,

SINGAPORE: There is a need to meet the immediate demand for dormitory facilities for foreign workers, so some vacant government buildings will be converted into transitional dormitories even as permanent ones are being built.

Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said this at the opening of the second Singapore Petrochemical Project Dormitories and Safety Training and Security Centre on Jurong Island.

Channel NewsAsia understands from the National Development Ministry that one of the sites for transitional dormitories is the former View Road Hospital building in Woodlands. Others are at Simpang (Simpang Residences) and recently tendered sites at Cochrane Crescent and Changi East.

Mr Gan noted that the demand for housing foreign workers has increased as more workers are needed to support the growth in various industries.

More land has already been set aside to build the dormitories and since February last year, both the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Jurong Town Council have released 11 dormitory sites to provide some 65,000 additional housing spaces.

The phased construction of dormitories in these new sites will be completed by 2010.

On Jurong Island, ExxonMobil’s new dormitories have been built to cater for some 9,000 workers. At the opening ceremony, Mr Gan also took the opportunity to emphasise the need for workplace safety.

He said while the Manpower Ministry can set mandatory training requirements for workers in high-risk work areas, it cannot provide continuous safety education and re-education for workers. That, ultimately, is the employer’s responsibility.

He added that the need to be vigilant on the workplace safety and health front is even more critical during periods of high workload and tight business deadlines.

Mr Gan said: “It is important for us to ensure that the safety message filters down to every level of the workers. Sometimes when the economic activity is high, workers tend to be in a hurry and safety tends to be neglected.

“Sometimes complacency will set in and that will lead to accidents. These accidents, many of them are avoidable.”

ExxonMobil’s workers go through extensive safety and security courses conducted in seven different languages.

Mr Gan said: “We have to ensure that their (foreign workers’) health is looked after, the place is hygenic and it doesn’t create public health problems. It is also important for us to ensure that their morale is high and will be able to be productive, if they are given proper housing.”

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 02 Aug 2008

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Colliers releases green design Singapore property guide

Colliers releases green design Singapore property guide

By Rachel Kelly,

SINGAPORE: A guide has been launched to help Singapore property players go green.

The “r.e. design” guide, produced by property consultant Colliers International, is Asia’s first green real estate guide.

It has received a warm reception around the region, but some say that costs and time are still a deterrent for developers to go green.

The guide is targeted at members of the real estate industry, including developers, landlords and tenants. It aims to help them tackle the challenges of going green.

The guide has already been launched in six other cities in the region, such as Hong Kong and Manila.

Colliers’ Calvin Yeo said: “We’ve had overwhelming response from all our clients in all the markets that we have launched the green real estate guide.

“In Singapore, we have embarked on a client engagement programme. It has been well received and some of our clients have progressed to do a green building audit.”

Colliers will be working closely with Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and other government agencies to promote green activities.

Industry players say that despite initiatives such as BCA’s Green Mark, which offers a grant of up to S$3 million for green buildings and projects, cost and construction timing are still impediments to “going green”.

Cushman & Wakefield’s managing director, Donald Han, said: “Green Mark buildings typically would be slightly more expensive - some of the materials you are sourcing such as recyclable materials are more expensive and not readily available.

“So again, it boils down to the cost as well as the timing. A lot of developers are always trying to find the fastest way to complete a building at the most minimum cost.”

There are currently over 120 Green Mark buildings in Singapore, with a further 200 under assessment.

Industry players say the real estate market will eventually reach a tipping point where green buildings will go from being optional to becoming a standard practice.

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 02 Aug 2008

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Singapore Banyan Tree completes S$60m notes offering

Singapore Banyan Tree completes S$60m notes offering

By Nick Fang,

SINGAPORE: Banyan Tree Holdings has successfully completed its additional singdollar notes offering.

The company had intended to raise S$50 million initially, but managed to rake in S$60 million instead on strong investor demand.

This brings its total notes issued to S$160 million to-date.

Banyan Tree had announced a S$400 million Multicurrency Medium Term Note Programme in October last year.

The latest notes will mature on 1 August 2011 and bear an interest rate of 5.5 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually.

The net proceeds raised will be used for general working capital, fund capital expenditure and investment requirements, as well as to refinance the existing borrowings of Banyan Tree and its units.

- CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 02 Aug 2008

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Developers must take own initiatives to go green: Leng Joo - Singapore

Developers must take own initiatives to go green: Leng Joo - Singapore

CDL MD says it’s not sustainable to have long-term govt subsidies

By JAMIE LEE

DEPENDING on the government for more subsidies to encourage developers to go green is not sustainable, said City Developments managing director Kwek Leng Joo.

Green guardians: Prof Koh (left) and Mr Kwek (right) were both at the signing of the MOU between CDL and NUS School of Design and Environment’s MEM programme
‘I don’t think it’s sustainable to look to the government for grants and subsidies on a long-term basis,’ said Mr Kwek, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the memorandum of understanding signed between the company and NUS School of Design and Environment’s Master of Science, Environmental Management (MEM) programme to work on green solutions for the building sector.

‘We have to make our own plans and it’s not a one-way street,’ he said, adding that while the returns may not be ‘direct and apparent’ now, green buildings will become more attractive to buyers who can lower their utility bills through green features such as photovoltaic cells when their prices fall over time.

City Developments currently audits the green practices of its contractors and those who score better stand a higher chance to bid for tenders for subsequent projects.

But Mr Kwek added that smaller developers are less likely to be able to influence construction and architectural firms to go green because they have little influence over the supply chain.

‘Perhaps if you are a very small developer. . . then you will not be in the position to influence, to help direct the other players in the whole value chain,’ said Mr Kwek. ‘But we can take up that role and we’ve been doing it.’

During the event, Tommy Koh, who chairs the MEM advisory committee, said he had proposed to the government in 1992 about the potential of solar energy, but the idea was shot down because it was not seen to be commercially viable.

‘How wrong they are,’ said Prof Koh, adding that Singapore is just at the beginning of its ‘green journey’.

‘We’ve not done a bad job in balancing the need to provide adequate housing for 4.6 million people and having room for garden, parks and nature,’ he said.

‘But we’ve also done some bad things. We’ve largely destroyed our mangrove forest. We need to reclaim land because we need additional space but in the process, we’ve destroyed most of our coral reefs,’ he added.

Source : Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

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Singapore URA gets $51m bid for hotel site

Singapore URA gets $51m bid for hotel site

At Kallang and Jellicoe roads, the 45,451 sq ft site costs $249.6 psf ppr

By ARTHUR SIM

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has received a committed bid of $51 million for a hotel site at Kallang and Jellicoe roads.

One property consultant is surprised the site was even triggered, given the state of the global economy and rising construction costs.

This works out to $249.6 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 45,451 sq ft site, which is on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales programme.

The site, which has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 204,363 sq ft, will now be put up for public tender.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak believes that barring any major shocks to the economy, the tender could attract bids in the range of $400-$450 psf ppr.

‘This is a relatively good site only two MRT stations from Raffles City and close to the future Kallang Riverside,’ he said.

But poor market sentiment or lower-than-expected visitor arrivals in the coming months could result in lesser bids of $330-$400 psf ppr.

While public tenders always draw bids higher than the trigger price, one property consultant said that he is surprised the site at Kallang and Jellicoe roads was even triggered, given the state of the global economy and rising construction costs.

‘Investors will have to now factor a much longer period for their return on investment,’ he noted.

The public tender for the site follows poor response to hotel development sites in Balestier Road and Race Course Road, with the former attracting a top bid of $172 psf ppr and the latter drawing no bid at all. URA has said that the government is evaluating the tendered bids for the Balestier Road site, the tender for which closed on July 16.

In this light, Mr Mak said that the trigger price for site at Kallang and Jellicoe roads, which can be compared to the government’s reserve price, seems ‘realistic’.

URA projects that a 455-room hotel can be built, which Mr Mak reckons would be positioned as a business-class establishment.

Including the site at Kallang and Jellicoe roads, there are 10 hotel development sites on the GLS reserve list.

According to URA, the reserve list for second-half of 2008 provides for total potential supply of 5,050 hotel rooms, including a white site at Outram Road.

There is one site on the GLS confirmed list, and including a commercial site at North Bridge Road, the confirmed list could potentially yield 700 hotel rooms.

Source : Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

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CapitaLand to launch Singapore freehold condo soon

CapitaLand to launch Singapore freehold condo soon

CAPITALAND plans to launch in the second half of this year a freehold condo - Urban Resort - with about 70 units on the Silver Tower site in Cairnhill. The average price is expected to be above $3,000 psf, CapitaLand Residential Singapore CEO Patricia Chia told reporters after the group announced second-quarter results.

CapitaLand has also sold 11 of the 40 units released so far at Latitude at Jalan Mutiara in the River Valley area at an average price of $2,400 to $2,500 psf. Over at Tong Watt Road, it has sold close to 30 of 80 units released recently at The Wharf Residence; prices range from $1,500 to $1,900 psf.

CapitaLand leads a consortium that will redevelop Farrer Court which is slated for launch in the first half of next year.

Asked about his outlook for the Singapore residential market, Mr Liew said: ‘Demand is still very good for the mass market. (For) the mid-range, there are still good signs of take-up; I think prices are still holding well for the mid-range.

‘But in the high-end, there’s not going to be massive demand. (In terms of prices), obviously it won’t be the $5,600 psf record price that we achieved for a penthouse at Orchard Residences last year. But prices will still be above $3,000 psf.

‘So prices will still be way above the last peak, pre-Asian crisis. Demand is still there. People who sold their properties through en bloc sales still have to buy apartments,’ he said.

Given Singapore’s limited land resource and with population projected to grow to 6.5 million, in the ‘long term, property prices will go up’, Mr Liew said, adding: ‘It’s a no-brainer.’

‘I think we’re overinfected with the housing slump in the US. That sort of mood comes to Singapore that property prices (here) will (also) go down. But look at the fundamentals, look at demand fundamentals. I think we are much stronger in Asia,’ Mr Liew noted.

The group’s earnings are underpinned by progressive recognition of $4 billion residential sales in Singapore in 2006 and 2007.

CapitaLand’s chief investment officer Kee Teck Koon said that in Singapore, the group has hardly any residential stock or inventory that it is holding. ‘So there is no issue of writing down. Most importantly, those new projects we’ve got, we have underwritten a value that is very supportable even at current prices,’ he added.

Source : Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

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Singapore Private home rents may wobble but won’t crash

Singapore Private home rents may wobble but won’t crash

Fears of their decline next year may be somewhat exaggerated
By UMA SHANKARI
(SINGAPORE) Recent media reports predicting that private home rents will take a steep dive next year are certainly alarming. But a closer look at the numbers suggests that they may not take such a beating after all.
Last week, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said that it expects rents to fall by 5-10 per cent on average next year. In the prime areas, rents could slide by up to 15 per cent, the property firm said.

The projections are based on two major assumptions: that a record number of homes will be completed next year; and that the tenant pool here will shrink significantly as corporations stop hiring expatriates or, in some cases, even send some expats home.

‘It’s a double blow,’ said CBRE Research.

However, developers and other analysts say that the number of completed homes may not be that high and the economic situation next year not that bad.

According to CBRE’s data, 13,400 homes will be completed next year. But official estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) put the number of landed and non-landed private homes expected to be completed in 2009 at a more modest 10,418.

Likewise, CapitaLand’s in-house estimates say that about 12,000 units will be completed from the second half of 2008 to end-2009.

 
 
‘It is a comfortable number,’ Patricia Chia, head of CapitaLand’s Singapore residential unit, told reporters at the developer’s second-quarter results briefing yesterday. Over the past six years, 8,000-8,500 private homes were completed on average each year, she said.

There are also demolitions to consider. CBRE said there will be 1,700-1,850 units demolished in 2009. Net supply next year could therefore come in even lower.

Take, for example, Q2 2008 numbers. According to Citigroup, while 2,587 units were completed in the second quarter, net supply was only 761 - implying that some 1,826 units were demolished. This partly helped occupancy rebound slightly to 93.9 per cent following three consecutive quarters of decline, the bank said in a recent report.

Rentals will also be helped by other factors, developers point out. Many of the new units coming onstream in 2009 and 2010 have already been sold, and not all of them will end up on the rental market.

The HDB market, where prices rose 4.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q2, is also cause for optimism. The number of HDB resale applications also rose 22 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

‘HDB upgraders who buy mass market private units will not rent out their new homes,’ said one developer. ‘Many of the units in new mass market condos completed in 2009 and 2010 will not be part of the supply for renters.’

For now, while rental growth is slowing down, it is still on the uptrend. Citigroup said that rentals rose 2.5 per cent quarter-on- quarter in Q2 - much slower than the 6 per cent increase seen in the first quarter.

But the other, bigger factor which could also lead to rents taking a precipitous plunge next year - the state of the macroeconomic environment - is still up in the air.

CBRE, for example, adopted scenarios in which the economic climate either stays the same or worsens in 2009 to arrive at its forecasts.

Other analysts, on the other hand, expect things to turn around in the second half of 2009.

For now, jobs growth is continuing apace, they point out. 70,600 new jobs were created in the second quarter, down only slightly from a record 73,200 jobs in Q1 and the second highest job creation rate on record.

The slowdown in services jobs creation to 37,600, from a record 46,500 jobs in Q1, was however a cause for concern. ‘We suspect much of this may have reflected a slowdown in financial services hiring,’ said Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng.

But while firms in the financial sector may hold off on hiring, companies in other industries should continue hiring next year. The overall pool of renters should therefore continue to climb in 2009.

‘There should be enough people looking to rent in the next 12-18 months,’ said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

Growth in mass market and HDB rents should continue next year, he said. But asking rents at large high-end apartments - of 4,000 sq ft and more - could fall as companies cut back on housing allowances for their employees, Mr Ku added.

As for overall rents, it’s anybody’s guess. Much depends on how quickly the world recovers from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis - or how much worse things get. But private home rentals here are unlikely to make a large reversal.

Source : Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

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CapitaLand gains dive, flat property market expected - Singapore

CapitaLand gains dive, flat property market expected  - Singapore

Interim earnings halved to $763m, but condo launches won’t be held back

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
CHINA ASSETS: CapitaLand has had to delay launches of residential projects due to bad weather delaying construction. — PHOTO: CAPITALAND COMMERCIAL LIMITED
 
PROPERTY giant CapitaLand expects the market to stay sluggish for a while but it is still preparing to launch three mid- to high-end condos here before Christmas.
‘For outlook…it’ll probably be very flat,’ said chief executive Liew Mun Leong at a results briefing yesterday that unveiled a plunge in first-half profit.

Prices in general will be ‘quite flat’, with a correction seen in the high-end segment, said Mr Liew after the meeting. He added that demand for mass market homes is ’still very good’ while mid-end home prices are holding well.

The picture in the high-end segment is not as rosy as prices have fallen after buyers bailed out of the market overnight. But CapitaLand said high-end prices remained relatively high.

‘High-end volume will slow down, prices will not hit $5,000 psf but will still be above $3,000 psf,’ said Mr Liew. ‘As I keep saying, it is much more than pre-Asian financial crisis prices.’ Home prices reached around $2,400 per square foot (psf) at the 1996 peak.

CapitaLand said in its results statement that sentiment in the local property market is likely to remain cautious for the rest of the year until there is greater stability in the global financial markets and improved credit environment.

But demand is still there, it said. Against this backdrop, CapitaLand is planning to release two projects in River Valley - the 127-unit Latitude in Jalan Mutiara and the 186-unit The Wharf Residence in Tong Watt Road.

It will also launch Urban Resort, which will have about 70 units on the former Silver Tower site in Cairnhill, at above $3,000 psf.

Pre-launch sales have started at the two River Valley projects. CapitaLand said it has sold 11 out of 40 units at an average of $2,400 to $2,500 psf during the preview for Latitude in the first half of the year. It has also sold ‘close to 30′ of 80 units at $1,500 to $1,900 psf since the preview for The Wharf held three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, CapitaLand reported a 43.5 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit to $515.2 million on the back of a 12.3 per cent fall in revenue to $820.1 million. The drop came largely on lower home sales and amid an absence of one-off gains.

First-half profit was $762.7 million, down nearly 50 per cent, while revenue fell 7.7 per cent to $1.45 billion.

CapitaLand has had to delay the launch of residential projects in China due to bad weather delaying construction.

Earnings before interest and tax from overseas contributed 54 per cent of the total, as China’s contribution rose on the fair value gain of Raffles City Shanghai. Australia’s contribution fell nearly 82 per cent due to provision for foreseeable losses on development projects and lower fair value gains.

Second-quarter earnings per share was 18.3 cents, down from 32.6 cents last year, while net asset value per share reached $3.68, up from $3.54 at the end of last year.

CapitaLand shares fell 23 cents to $5.47 yesterday.

Source : Strairs Times - 02 Aug 2008

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Sales of luxury and sports cars up 16%

Sales of luxury and sports cars up 16% 
 
LUXURY cars have been rolling off showroom floors despite lofty pump prices and escalating inflation.
In fact, more of such cars were sold in the first six months of this year than most previous corresponding periods.

Figures from the Motor Traders Association of Singapore and the Land Transport Authority showed that buyers snapped up 1,567 luxury and sports cars - up 16.2 per cent from the same period last year.

The figures exclude an unknown number of Nissan GT-R sports cars which cost $250,000 to $320,000 each and were available here since January.

Many of the high-end brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati are posting record sales.

The popularity of these cars, which cost $250,000 to $1.6 million each, contrasts with the overall weaker market. On the whole, car sales in the first half of the year dipped by 10 per cent, largely on the back of fewer certificates of entitlement being released.

Motor traders said the property boom, an influx of new wealthy residents as well as the launch of new models have been fuelling sales.

Lamborghini Singapore managing director Melvin Goh said: ‘Our buyers are getting younger and younger. The youngest is in his early 20s.’

Buyers of Lamborghinis, which cost above $800,000 each, are usually in their 40s.

Mr Goh, noting that most of his customers are businessmen, added: ‘We’ve been seeing a lot of new faces.’

The main beneficiaries of the high-end sales spike include Audi, Maserati and Jaguar, all of which have put out new models, like the Audi R8, Maserati GranTurismo and Jaguar XF.

Audi Singapore managing director Reinhold Carl noted that Audi has been the fastest-growing luxury car brand in the last two years. He attributed this partly to the R8 sports model, which has had ‘a halo effect’ on other models.

Cars in the quarter-million-dollar club which did not do as well as before include Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Lexus. For Mercedes and Land Rover, sales tipped towards the less-expensive models, such as the Mercedes C- and E-class and the Land Rover Freelander. On the whole, though, the two brands fared better than last year.

Lexus, which has not put out any new models recently, saw its first slowdown in overall sales since the brand arrived here in 1992.

While most retailers of luxury cars expect the high- end market to grow in the long term, some are bracing themselves for a short-term slowdown.

Mr Goh said: ‘This year is still fairly strong. The concern is whether next year will be as good.’

Industry observers pointed out that the buoyant high-end segment accounted for less than 5 per cent of the market.

Mr Mark Choong, chairman of Toyota distributor Borneo Motors, said car buyers in general will continue to be pressured by the rising costs of fuel, parking and Electronic Road Pricing.

‘Marginal buyers will drop out, and people will gravitate towards more fuel-efficient cars,’ he said.
CHRISTOPHER TAN

Source : Business Times - 02 Aug 2008

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