Over 2,300 applications for Singapore AMK condo-style HDB flats

Over 2,300 applications for Singapore AMK condo-style HDB flats

By UMA SHANKARI

UPCOMING Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project Park Central @ AMK received over 2,300 applications - or four times the 578 units on offer - when submissions closed at midnight on Tuesday, developer United Engineers (UE) said yesterday.

Maison Royale: Asking price for the 20-unit project is at least $50m. Some 40 units of about 1,000 sq ft each can be built on the condo site in Newton
But this does not mean that the project will definitely be fully sold, analysts said. For the previous DBSS project City View @ Boon Keng, some 3,500 applicants vied for 714 flats, but only 460 homes were sold after the first round.

Under the Housing Board’s DBSS scheme, the developer has flexibility in designing and pricing the flats.

The average selling price for units in Park Central @ AMK is $490-$500 per square foot (psf), said UE. Four-room flats will go for $433,000-$567,000, while five-room apartments will sell for $534,000-$689,000.

Park Central will fare better than City View as the pricing is more attractive, analysts said. ‘At City View @ Boon Keng, the majority of the flats were priced higher than $600,000, which was an obstacle for buyers,’ said Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president of property agency ERA Asia-Pacific. ‘At this price ($490-$500 psf) you should be able to sell.’

City View also faced the problem of applicants who in the end did not meet the required criteria to buy HDB flats.

But for Park Central, UE believes that most of the applicants are eligible buyers with genuine interest.

‘We have tried our best to minimise non-eligible applications that could distort application numbers and delay processing time,’ said David Liew, managing director of UE’s property development division. ‘However, how the applications will eventually translate into real sales figures greatly depends on the market conditions at the point where the selection process begins.’

Developers and analysts here are more upbeat about the HDB and mass market private home segments compared with the rest of the residential market.

Right now, the key seems to be pricing. Developers who price homes below their competitors’ and those willing to drop prices seem to be clearing units.

For example, local developer Roxy-Pacific Holdings on Tuesday said that it has launched six projects since Chinese New Year. To date, some 114 - out of a total 165 offered - have been sold.

‘The market is of course challenging,’ said Teo Hong Lim, chief executive of Roxy-Pacific. His company’s advantage, he said, was in the pricing. Apartments in the six projects were mostly sold for $800-$1,100 psf - even though they are located in the more central areas of Singapore. Roxy-Pacific hopes to push out another three developments by the end of this year.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Rising building cost squeezes mass market projects more

Rising building cost squeezes mass market projects more

Developers’ margins for prime projects less affected: Jones Lang LaSalle study

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

A 20 per cent rise in construction costs will shrink developers’ profit margin for a mass-market private condo by 55 per cent; but for a project in the prime districts, the profit margin will contract by 25 per cent, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) study on the impact of rising construction costs on the property market.

The sensitivity analysis assumed land cost of $1,600 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area (GFA), base-case construction cost of $500 psf of GFA and selling price for the condo of $2,520 psf for a prime condo project. For a mass-market project, land cost and base-case construction cost were each assumed at $300 psf of GFA, and a selling price for the condo of $720 psf was imputed.

In both cases, a 20 per cent base-case developers’ profit margin was worked into the model, and the effects of construction costs rising by 10, 15 and 20 per cent respectively on profit margins studied.

‘As construction costs are usually at a bigger proportion to suburban land costs compared with the high land prices transacted in prime residential projects, any increase in construction costs will present a greater change in the profit margins in a mass-market project than that in a prime residential project,’ the study observed.

Given current weak outlook for home prices, ‘the unceasing escalation in building tender prices will definitely impact the profitability of residential developments’, JLL argued. ‘This will affect developers’ sentiments, which will be evidenced in their future land-bidding strategies,’ it added.

‘Rising construction costs … and … a ceiling selling price, will put downward pressure on land tender prices.’

- JLL study

‘Rising construction costs, coupled with a ceiling selling price, will put downward pressure on land tender prices,’ the study predicted.

A BT story last month highlighted that, for the first time in at least two decades, construction costs for some 99-year leasehold condo sites bought at state tenders are actually higher than land costs. This is taking place against the backdrop of soaring construction costs and a weak home price outlook, resulting in developers lowering their land bids.

JLL’s study pointed out that pricing of mass-market condos, typically built on 99-year leasehold suburban sites bought at Government Land Sales (GLS) tenders, tends to be more illiquid. Prices of such entry-level private housing is often benchmarked against public housing prices as this market appeals to public housing upgraders. ‘For affordability reasons, developers are also resistant to push the prices of such mass market projects beyond a certain level at the risk of being priced out of the market,’ the study said.

Going forward, with concerns of weakened market sentiments and rising construction costs, it will be interesting to see how many 99-year leasehold residential sites will be triggered for release from the GLS Programme’s reserve list, as well as whether bids put in for the residential sites on the confirmed list will still be as competitive and will meet the government’s reserve price, JLL said.

‘Another question posed will be whether the government will be ready to accept tender bids that will fall below market expectations,’ it added.

The government launches reserve list sites for tender only upon successful application by a developer that undertakes to offer a minimum price acceptable to the state, while confirmed list sites are launched according to a prestated schedule regardless of demand.

This year, the government did not award the Ten Mile Junction site in Choa Chu Kang (which was to have a residential component) and a landed housing plot at Westwood Avenue in Jurong, as the respective top bids were too low.

In the private land segment, the en bloc sales market has been weak because of a ‘price misalignment between developers and collective sale site owners’ arising from developers being less willing to match the asking prices, JLL noted.

The Building and Construction Authority’s Building Tender Price Index rose 23.7 per cent last year and market watchers expect it to continue increasing this year.

High construction demand and competition for limited resources, insufficient tendering capacity among contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers, as well as volatile commodity prices, have contributed significantly to the increase in building tender prices.

Rising construction costs will lead to diminishing profits for developers as well as bearish land strategies, JLL said.

JLL also highlighted other implications of rising construction costs. With the government announcing the delay of $4.7 billion of public sector projects to ease pressure on construction demand, the potential benefits from these public sector projects, especially from public health care, will be delayed, JLL said. The construction of the new complex that will house the Communicable Disease Centre as well as a new hospital in Jurong, are among the projects delayed.

‘In addition, rising construction costs have also been a concern for the public housing sector, especially issues on whether increased costs will be passed on to the public,’ JLL’s report said.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Maison Royale put up for collective sale

Singapore Maison Royale put up for collective sale

By UMA SHANKARI

MAISON Royale, a freehold residential site in Newton, has been put up for collective sale.

Maison Royale: Asking price for the 20-unit project is at least $50m. Some 40 units of about 1,000 sq ft each can be built on the condo site in Newton
Owners of the 20-unit project are asking at least $50 million. Including an estimated $300,000 development charge (DC) and taking into account a plot ratio of 2.8, the price works out to $1,273 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

In contrast, nearby Lincoln Lodge was sold for $243 million, or $1449 psf ppr including an estimated DC of $413,000 in June last year at the height of the en bloc frenzy.

The project was bought by a consortium comprising Koh Brothers, Heeton Holdings, KSH Holdings and Lian Beng Group. Their offer was the highest of several bids then. The developers have yet to tear down Lincoln Lodge to put up a new development, and have instead allowed occupants to keep renting for at least six months from the sale completion date in July this year.

The comparatively lower price for Maison Royale is in line with current weaker market sentiment, said Charles Chua, head of investment sales at PropNex Realty, which marketing the project.

‘Maison Royale is priced at a level where developers can feel that it is still worthwhile for them to go in,’ he said.

Maison Royale is on 14,107 sq ft of land. It is located at the junction of Newton and Surrey roads, a three-minute walk from Novena MRT station. Some 40 units of about 1,000 sq ft each can be built on the site, PropNex said.

If the site is sold for $1,265 psf ppr, the breakeven cost will be around $1,665 psf, it said. The successful developer could launch the apartments in the new development at around $1,915 psf, the firm added.

The tender for Maison Royale closes on Sept 9.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Occupancy level of Singapore JTC ready built facilities hits new high

Occupancy level of Singapore JTC ready built facilities hits new high

Business park segment contributed to 51% of total RBF net allocation in Q2

By ARTHUR SIM

THE net allocation for JTC ready-built facilities (RBF) in Q2 2008 reached 84,100 sq m, 2.2 times higher than the 38,300 sq m in the previous quarter.

This boosted the occupancy level by one percentage point to a new JTC record level of 94.9 per cent.

JTC said the performance was supported by a strong gross allocation of 159,100 sq m, the highest level since 2004.

Of the total RBF net allocation, 50.8 per cent was contributed by the business park segment. Gross allocation increased from 5,800 sq m in Q1 ‘08 to 45,400 sq m in Q2 ‘08 due to the newly available business park space at Fusionpolis, which accounted for 93 per cent (42,116 sq m) of the gross allocation for business park space in Q2 ‘08.

For the business park segment, related and supporting services industries contributed to a gross allocation of 44,200 sq m.

As a result of new supply coming on-stream at Fusionpolis, the occupancy level for business park space declined marginally by 0.4 per cent from the last quarter to 94.3 per cent.

Termination at 2,700 sq m remained largely unchanged in Q2 ‘08.

Stack-up factory space contributed 31 per cent to RBF net allocation. However, termination level increased to 75,000 sq m in Q2 ‘08, higher than the 51,200 sq m in Q1 ‘08.

The demand for flatted factory space fell by 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (qoq) to 1.22 million sq m in Q2 ‘08, with corresponding supply remaining unchanged at 1.399 million sq m.

JTC said that negative net allocation for flatted factory space in Q2 ‘08 of 6,900 sq m marked the first negative quarter since Q2 ‘07.

This was driven by a 15 per cent lower (qoq) gross allocation to 53,400 sq m and a 62 per cent higher (qoq) termination to 60,300 sq m in the quarter.

According to JTC’s report, the electronics sector accounted for the highest termination of flatted factory space at 33,100 sq m in Q2′ 08, up from 5,000 sq m in the previous quarter.

The net allocation of JTC prepared industrial land (PIL) fell to 34 ha in Q2′ 08 from 114.9 ha in the previous quarter.

Gross allocation of 64.1 ha in the quarter was lower compared with 120.4 ha registered in the previous quarter.

PIL also saw a higher termination level of 30.1 ha in Q2′ 08 compared with 5.5 ha in Q1′ 08.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 54 per cent of the Q2′ 08 total PIL allocation. Within the manufacturing sector, the biomedical manufacturing segment was the highest taker of PIL at 57 per cent.

The net allocation for the JTC generic land segment dropped to 26.7 ha in Q2 ‘08 from 81.8 ha in Q1 ‘08, a fall of 67 per cent.

The net allocation for JTC specialised parks declined to 7.3 ha in the quarter, an 80 per cent drop from 33.1 ha in the preceding quarter.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Asian prime office prices may fall 10%

Asian prime office prices may fall 10%

(SINGAPORE) Asian real estate prices may fall further and prime office values decline 10 per cent before year’s end, Singapore-based property investor Pacific Star Group said.

‘Most markets are peaking over the next 12 months, or even trending downwards,’ said Frank Vaessen, president of fund management at Pacific Star, which manages US$3 billion of assets globally. ‘Broadly speaking, the bottom could come sometime in late 2009 or early 2010.’ Faltering economic growth and the global credit contraction may ease demand for office and retail space in Asia. Rising inflation and falling equity markets may also dampen sales of homes in the region.

The price declines will bring valuations to a more ‘normal’ level after markets rose rapidly the past year, Mr Vaessen said yesterday.

Japan and South Korea’s office markets are expected to have the best performance in Asia as they benefit from a supply shortage, Mr Vaessen said. Both markets are set to offer property investors returns of as much as 13 per cent over the next five to seven years, he said.

Retail space in Beijing and Shanghai may also offer higher investment returns, Mr Vaessen said. Investors should stay away from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, he added, citing Vietnam’s accelerating inflation and volatile currency and political instability in Thailand and Malaysia. — Bloomberg

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Ascott Raffles Place makes 50 units available first - Singapore

Ascott Raffles Place makes 50 units available first - Singapore

THE plush Ascott Raffles Place, the former Asia Insurance Building (AIB), had a soft opening yesterday, with its owner, the Ascott Group, making 50 units available.

National heritage building: The 146-unit premium serviced residence, the former Asia Insurance Building, will be officially launched in October
The remaining units of the 146-unit premium serviced residence project will be ready by its official launch set for October.

An Ascott press statement yesterday said the property, a national heritage building and South-east Asia’s tallest tower in the 1950s, was restored at a cost of $60 million.

It will be equipped with meeting rooms, WiFi connectivity, an infinity pool, jacuzzis, a fully equipped gymnasium, a fitness studio, a lounge bar and a fine-dining restaurant by award-winning Julien Bompard.

Ascott Raffles Place, situated within walking distance of the Raffles Place Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, is also close to a wide range of restaurants, cafes, pubs, shopping outlets and the upcoming Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

The property is the latest addition to The Ascott Group’s seven serviced residences in Singapore, including Citadines Mount Sophia, which will open in 2009.

AIB was the first modern highrise office building erected in Singapore after World War II. It symbolised Singapore’s development as an important financial hub, and is one of the few remaining highrise buildings from the 1950s.

The property was designed by Dr Ng Keng Siang, the first Singaporean member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The 52-year-old landmark was gazetted as a conservation building by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in April 2007.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Singapore Government to adopt ‘NRIC’ system for businesses

Singapore Government to adopt ‘NRIC’ system for businesses

From Jan firms need to use just one reference number

By WINSTON CHAI

INSTEAD of having to contend with multiple reference numbers from different public sector agencies, all businesses operating in Singapore will soon be able to use a single identification code for all dealings with the government.

From next January, companies will be given a so-called Unique Entity Number (UEN) to replace the different identification numbers that are being used by local authorities.

The move is spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra). Once in place, companies will enjoy the convenience of using one identification number for tasks such as filing corporate tax returns and submitting CPF contributions, much like how the NRIC number is used by Singapore citizens today for all government transactions.

Currently, agencies like the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) and Singapore Customs rely on different reference numbers to identify businesses but these will be replaced by the UEN.

Fifty-one agencies will standardise on the UEN from Jan 1, 2009, and these include IRAS, CPFB and Acra. The remaining government bodies will adopt the new system from next July.

For the 330,000 local companies and businesses that are registered with Acra, their registration numbers will be used as their new UEN. These firms make up 85 per cent of all registered entities in Singapore.

The remaining 15 per cent of registered organisations, which include foreign companies, societies and limited liability partnerships or LLPs, will be issued new UENs by post.

The government has set up a new website (http://www.uen.gov.sg) to educate companies on the change.

From October, a new search function will also be added to this site to allow users to search for a company’s UEN.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Insurers line up to serenade Asia’s rich

Insurers line up to serenade Asia’s rich

They enter private banks’ turf to advise on wealth distribution instead of accumulation

By SIOW LI SEN

(SINGAPORE) Asia’s rich and high net worth clients have long been wooed by private banks. Now insurance companies have also set their sights on them.

Mr Thomson: Wealth preservation and wealth distribution have become two important areas in financial planning for baby boomers
Prudential Assurance and Great Eastern Holdings are poised to launch insurance products aimed at this group. Manulife Singapore set up a dedicated office in Great World City in June to sell products to rich Asian baby boomers.

Swiss Life, Switzerland’s market leader for pension and life insurance products, opened its Singapore office in April - not just its first in Asia, but also outside Europe.

Insurers are vying with each other to catch the eye of rich Asians who want to preserve their wealth and also ensure that it is properly distributed among their children.

Not that private banks need worry. All the insurers say they sell their products through private banks as well as financial advisers, brokers and their own agents specially trained to handle this group of clients.

Insurers say Singapore offers rich pickings as they can cater to expats from the United States and Europe as well as Asian millionaires.

AIA Singapore was the first to set up a specialist unit to cater to high net worth (HNW) clients in 2004.

Colin Hughes, AIA Singapore vice-president and head of brokerage and HNW bancassurance, said his unit is doing very well.

‘The local Singaporean market is now happy that it can buy this type of policy from a Singapore-registered company as opposed to having to buy offshore. Our production expectations from this market have been exceeded,’ said Mr Hughes.

Rich Asians have been looking to offshore insurers for their insurance needs generally called universal life products - not an ideal situation as these would not be tailored to the local market.

‘The market is still dominated by universal life products, mainly provided by non-Singapore domiciled companies and distributed through brokers based on referrals from private banks,’ said Thomas Vonrueti from Swiss Life Singapore branch.

He has found that Asian clients have different needs from those in Europe in that many families have all their assets in their businesses.

Asian entrepreneurs want insurance which, on their death, can pay out to their children without the businesses being liquidated, he said.

He has seen families where a daughter is running the company instead of the sons and the father wants to make sure that the business does not have to be sold once his estate is divided up.

A Swiss Life product called the variable universal life allows a high sum assured of up to US$35 million.

‘Clients generally used this to secure liquidity in case of death,’ said Mr Vonrueti.

He has had a few Asian clients ask for the high sum assured but not in Europe, he said.

To assure a sum of US$35 million would cost a 50-year-old healthy male living in Singapore a single premium of US$8 million, he said.

According to Manulife Singapore president and chief executive Darren Thomson, in the past, the rich here and in the region have been given advice focused primarily on wealth accumulation.

‘However, wealth preservation and wealth distribution have become two important areas in financial planning for baby boomers,’ he said.

Singapore’s population, as well as that in other Asian countries, is ageing dramatically, said Mr Thomson.

Manulife will be launching a variable annuity with effective wealth distribution during retirement for the HNW.

This product comes with a guaranteed bonus in the first 15 years that will increase the initial investment to 175 per cent. The minimum investment is S$250,000.

According to the World & Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2007, Asia’s HNW wealth is growing at an annual rate of 7 per cent and is expected to reach US$10.6 trillion by 2010. Asia represents 25 per cent of HNW individuals globally, with Singapore capturing 23.3 per cent of this share, ranking next to Hong Kong.

Singapore is expected to have the highest concentration of millionaires by 2017 with HNW wealth hitting US$1.6 trillion. Also, the number of mass affluent residents in Singapore is also on the rise and will reach 600,000 by 2011.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

New Yahoo election tally shows big protest vote - SAN FRANCISCO

New Yahoo election tally shows big protest vote - SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO - YAHOO has released a recount of the vote for its board that revealed a strong protest vote against five of nine directors, including chief executive Jerry Yang.
The Internet company said revised vote tallies showed 33.7 per cent of votes withheld for Mr Yang, also the company’s co-founder, or more than twice the opposition to his reappointment to the board in the first count.

Mr Yang has been under pressure for months over failed attempts by Microsoft to buy Yahoo and over questions about his leadership, but early results from last Friday’s shareholder vote suggested the tide was turning in his favour.

The initial tally showed 85 per cent of votes going to him.

The stunning new twist in the Yahoo saga came after one of its largest and most critical shareholders, Capital Research Global Investors, called for a probe of the shareholder vote upon finding discrepancies in the results.

Analysts were split on whether the recount, while potentially emboldening for critics, was a symbolic embarrassment to the leadership or a new threat to its power.

‘That’s a big negative vote against the Yahoo board, but it doesn’t change anything,’ RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Sandler said. ‘It is a statement that they shouldn’t be under any illusion that their support is broad.’

‘The recount somewhat lowers the credibility of the management team,’ Sanford C.Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay said. ‘Assuming this was all a mistake, it is particularly unfortunate: Management doesn’t have the mandate they appeared to have had’ coming out of the annual meeting, he added.

Yahoo said it had been informed by the company’s inspector of elections that Broadridge Financial Solutions, a proxy voting intermediary for major investors, had made significant errors in reporting votes at its annual shareholder meeting.

Three other directors, including chairman Roy Bostock, also received strong protest votes of between 32 and 40 per cent. The three are members of Yahoo’s compensation committee and have borne the brunt of criticism over the company’s refusal to do more to link executive pay to performance.

A fifth director - Mr Gary Wilson, former chairman of Northwest Airlines - had 28 per cent of votes on his re-election withheld.

The remaining four directors each won more than 90 per cent of votes in favour of their re-election.

RBC’s Mr Sandler said the investor saga was likely to drag on for the next few quarters until the company concluded its previously announced partnership with Google, reached a deal with Microsoft, or sold one of its Asian properties to help the company remain independent.

REUTERS

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Firms to get one ID for all Singapore govt dealings

Firms to get one ID for all Singapore govt dealings

Move will streamline way businesses and organisations deal with public agencies

By Chua Hian Hou

SIMPLIFYING MATTERS: Businesses and local firms will retain their Acra registration numbers as their Unique Entity Numbers while other organisations will be given new ones for use with government agencies.

MODERN life has become a bewildering clutter of identification (ID) numbers and other passwords.
But for about 385,000 companies and other organisations here, relief is at hand from this tyranny of having to recall multiple ID numbers.

Starting next year, Singapore-registered entities will need just one ID number when dealing with the various government agencies.

This will streamline the way Singapore businesses and other organisations deal with government agencies. Currently, each agency requires a different ID number.

The new Unique Entity Number (UEN) system will provide greater convenience to organisations dealing with the Government, said Ministry of Finance director Phoon Chew Ping yesterday.

The system will be similar to the way that Singapore citizens use their identity card number.

Entities that will benefit include businesses, companies, partnerships, societies, representative offices and trade unions.

The system will also improve the efficiency of various government departments in their dealings with these organisations, Ms Phoon said.

Currently a typical trading firm, for instance, might have to recall four ID numbers.

It would update its corporate information via the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s (Acra) business or company registration number using one ID number.

It would need another number when dealing with Singapore Customs for import or export matters. At tax time, the firm would need to fish out yet another number when dealing with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

Then one more ID number is required when submitting employee contributions to the Central Provident Fund Board.

The UEN system will provide an organisation with a single, unique number.

This number will be its identity for both over-the- counter and online dealings with the Government.

For logistics firm TNT Express Worldwide, this change cannot come fast enough.

The UEN, which will replace ‘at least three to four numbers’, said TNT’s customs and support manager Alex Seah, ‘will make it simpler and more efficient for us in our transactions with the Government’.

Singapore Business Federation chief executive officer Teng Theng Dar also cheered the initiative.

The new identifiers, he said, will ’simplify and reduce possible errors caused by the use of multiple numbers, thus speeding up transactions…and enable companies to manage their time more productively - and to them, time is money’.

About 85 per cent of the 385,000 Singapore-registered entities here, comprising 190,000 local companies and 140,000 businesses, will use their current Acra number as the UEN.

The other 55,000, comprising schools, trade unions, cooperative societies, managing corporations, limited-liability partnerships, representative offices, embassies and other entities, will be issued a new UEN by post within the next three months.

Starting next January, 12 government agencies that have the most interaction with these 385,000 entities will discontinue the use of their existing numbers and switch to the use of the UEN. The other agencies will make the switch by July.

Source : Straits Times - 07 Aug 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com