Defamation suits: Spare the content hosts

Defamation suits: Spare the content hosts 

By Chua Hian Hou 

POPULAR technology website VR-Zone has a team of moderators - including a lawyer - who spend hours daily trawling for and removing defamatory remarks made by the hordes of users who frequent its online forum.
Defamation lawsuits, said the site’s spokesman Terence Lee, have always been a headache for content companies like his, even if they had nothing to do with the comments.

So, it was with a loud cheer that Mr Lee greeted a recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims).

The council wants online intermediaries to be given some protection from defamation lawsuits.

Such protection, said Aims yesterday, will in one stroke solve two problems: It will stop lawsuits against content hosts who had not put up the allegedly defamatory material, and overzealous censorship by content companies worried about such prosecution.

Since the Internet ‘is potentially a medium of virtually limitless international defamation’, people are more likely to sue ‘borderline defendants with very little role in the dissemination of the defamation simply because the creators… may be difficult to locate or anonymous’, the report said.

Singapore’s defamation law allows people to go after the person who made the offending remarks, plus others in the ‘chain of publication’.

Currently, network service providers, including SingNet and StarHub which give users access to go online, are free from defamation lawsuits.

But Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must not have made the defamatory remarks and must agree to a ‘credible and authenticated’ request from the victim to remove the allegedly defamatory material. Such a request is called a take-down notice.

But it is not clear whether content hosts, from blogs to citizen journalism site Stomp, are similarly protected.

Since no case involving a content host had gone to trial, the law remains untested, said Aims.

This ‘ambiguous and uncertain’ position means content hosts ‘have little incentive to continue carrying, hosting or linking the allegedly defamatory material, and may in the face of a complaint err on the side of caution’ and simply remove the offending material, it added.

This ‘may lead to abuse by persons who wish to have truthful but unfavourable material removed’.

Aims’ recommendation: offer content hosts protection similar to that given to ISPs, for defamation.

It also suggested introducing a ‘put back’ notice, allowing users to force content hosts to reinstate the original material.

This, it said, would ‘prevent abuse of the take-down regime as a means of censoring speech’.

Nominated MP and lawyer Siew Kum Hong, who blogs, said it is ‘generally a good thing for all parties involved to have their rights and obligations clearly spelt out’. He is among several in the legal community involved in Aims report.

 
Source : Straits Times - 30 Aug 2008

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Three ways to tackle Section 33

Three ways to tackle Section 33 

By Jeremy Au Yong 

THE current wide-ranging ban on party political films stifles expression. It also stands in the way of works that could contribute to well-informed, rational and insightful debate on issues.
That is the view of the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims), which says the outright ban must go.

The council suggests three ways to liberalise Section 33 of the Films Act, which regulates such works.

It wants the public to give feedback on which of the three to recommend to the Government.

The first is to narrow the scope of the law, which now takes a ‘broad, drift-net approach’.

That will mean excluding only films that distort facts and mislead the viewer. What makes the cut and what does not will be determined by an independent, non-partisan citizens’ panel.

The second option is to repeal Section 33 from the Films Act and introduce several possible conditions, such as a blackout on new political films during election season.

The third option is to repeal the law in phases, by first narrowing its scope, then moving towards a total removal when ‘the negative risks of misleading films are assessed to have been minimised’, Aims said in its report.

In putting forward these three proposals, Aims chairman Cheong Yip Seng stressed that the council had not yet made up its mind on which one was best.

‘We feel that it’s better for us not to come out and say that this is where we’re leaning. Let’s hear what the public has to say and then we’ll process what they’ve suggested and we will then decide later, certainly before the end of the year,’ he said yesterday.

Two weeks ago, in his National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had hinted at moves to ease the current ban on party political films.

Yesterday, Aims also made two other recommendations on the regulation of online political content.

It wants a wider range of online content - including podcasts, videocasts, blogs and other new media tools - to be allowed as part of election advertising.

The Parliamentary Elections Act should be amended accordingly, it said.

Aims also wants an end to the current rule that requires websites dealing with political or religious issues to register with the Media Development Authority under the Class Licensing Scheme.

Political parties should still register their sites, but individual bloggers and webmasters should be exempt, it suggested.

As its 95-page consultation paper made its way across the Web yesterday, it drew generally positive reactions.

Businessman Alex Au, who runs the political blog Yawning Bread, welcomed the suggestion to do away with registration requirements.

On party political films, he would prefer Section 33 to be repealed completely, without caveats such as a blackout period during election time.

He painted one problematic scenario that could result if a blackout period were imposed.

‘If on the eve of Nomination Day, one side puts out a video, the other side does not get a chance to reply,’ he said.

Political analyst Terence Chong from the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies lauded the proposals on political content, calling them ‘good and long overdue’.

As for the ban on party political films, he believed it should be lifted completely.

‘We have more than adequate laws already to handle any problems from such films,’ he said.

 
Source : Straits Times - 30 Aug 2008

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Singapore Govt should engage online for forums

Singapore Govt should engage online for forums 

By Lynn Lee 

FROM paying taxes to renewing road tax, the Government has led the way in offering e-services to people here.
But its approach to interacting with Singaporeans online has been decidedly more conservative.

Yesterday, it was urged to change tack, and ramp up efforts to engage an increasingly tech-savvy population, or risk putting them off as well as losing touch with them and their concerns.

This call came from a panel appointed by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts to study the impact of new media on Singapore.

In a wide-ranging report released yesterday, the 13-member panel said that greater online engagement of Singaporeans was one of four pressing issues the Government needed to deal with, as it grapples with the changing face of new media.

To start, it could participate in online conversations, like responding to posting on blogs or online forums, said the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims) in its 95-page report. The report is available at www.aims.org.sg

Elaborating on it at a press conference, panel chairman Cheong Yip Seng said his view was that online petitions and forum letters on The Straits Times website (www.straitstimes.com) should also be taken seriously.

‘If it’s a seriously considered opinion, though posted only online, my colleagues and I feel that the Government should engage,’ said Mr Cheong, a former editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings’ English and Malay Newspapers Division.

The panel also had other recommendations.

They include training civil servants to respond to online comments - a different kettle of fish from writing press statements or letters to mainstream media.

Aims also felt people would need to be shown that their online feedback is being taken seriously. One oft-heard criticism was that it went into a ‘black hole’.

Finally, the council urged the Government to actively consult young people by setting up a youth panel.

It did not specify the age of panel members or its composition, but said they could act as ‘feelers’ for the Government by highlighting latest trends in computing and social networking, threats to youth and other cyber-safety issues.

On its part, the Government would have to think through its approach to online engagement, said Mr Cheong.

‘How do you engage? Do you respond to anonymous blogs? Do you only go to places in cyberspace that are more habitable? These are important details, I feel, that the Government should carefully study,’ he said.

Institute of Policy Studies researcher Tan Tarn How likened the Government’s approach to online engagement as ‘crossing the river by feeling each stone’.

This, he said, was prudent as such initiatives are new even in the most advanced countries elsewhere.

‘Making sure the first experiments here are successes will be essential in nipping any cynicism in the bud,’ he said.

 
Source : Straits Times - 30 Aug 2008

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Singapore Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel up for sale

Singapore Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel up for sale

Clarke Quay hotel on the market for $330m-$380m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) After a holding period of barely two years, a fund managed by LaSalle Investment Management which bought Swissotel Merchant Court in the Clarke Quay area is putting the 476-room property up for sale.

The hotel, which stands on a site with a remaining lease of about 85 years, is being sold subject to a long-term management contract with Swissotel, part of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.

The indicative price is understood to be in the $700,000 to $800,000 per room range, translating to an absolute quantum of around $330 million to $380 million.

The LaSalle Investment Management fund that currently owns the property bought it in late 2006 for about $250-300 million, it is understood.

The hotel, which stands on a site with a remaining lease of about 85 years, is being sold subject to a long-term management contract with Swissotel, part of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International.

Despite the softer visitor arrivals into Singapore lately, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the sole marketing agent for the property, is confident that investors will find the property appealing given that Asia’s hotel investment market is tightly held. ‘Long-term investors don’t take a weekly or monthly perspective, and the overall infrastructure being invested in Singapore gives them comfort on the long-term growth prospects here,’ says Mike Batchelor, managing director, investment sales (Asia) at JLL Hotels.

The hotel will be marketed through an international tender that will close on Oct 3.

‘Investor interest for the property is expected to be strong. We anticipate the property will attract interest from Europe and the Middle East as well as from the more traditional investment markets across North and South Asia,’ Mr Batchelor said.

In May last year, CDL Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust bought the nearby Novotel Clarke Quay in a deal that priced the 398-room hotel at $219.8 million or about $552,000 per room. Mr Batchelor argues that Swissotel Merchant Court’s average room size of 30 square metres is larger than Novotel Clarke Quay’s. Also, room rates are higher at Swissotel Merchant Court, which would allow for a higher pricing on the hotel. ‘Historically, hotels in Singapore have been transacted at net yields ranging from about 4 per cent to 5.5 per cent,’ he noted.

The LaSalle Investment Management fund reportedly bought Swissotel Merchant Court in 2006 from Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (owned by Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital), which had in turn acquired it as part of the entire hotel business of Raffles Holdings in 2005.

The hotel has three food-and-beverage outlets, conference facilities, an Amrita Spa complete with a fitness centre.

‘The incoming purchaser will also have the opportunity to further enhance the asset through the redevelopment of the prime riverfront space overlooking Clarke Quay,’ said JLL Hotels senior vice-president Tom Oakden.

‘The hotel’s ground floor space offers the ideal location for a new state-of-the-art indoor/out- door food-and-beverage facility, tying in well with plans to revitalise the riverfront precinct and new signature events such as The Singapore River Festival,’ he added.

Source : Business Times - 29 Aug 2008

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Singapore Ho Ching is world’s 8th most powerful woman

Singapore Ho Ching is world’s 8th most powerful woman

Temasek Holdings CEO also the only woman in Asia in the top 10 of Forbes’ ranking

By Michelle Tay

Ms Ho, credited with boosting Temasek’s investment portfolio, has been in Forbes’ top 10 list for two years.

TEMASEK Holdings’ chief executive Ho Ching is the only woman in Asia to feature in the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s fifth annual list of the world’s most powerful women.
The low-profile Ms Ho, who rarely gives media interviews, pipped several regional and global high-fliers to maintain a spot in the top 10, at No. 8 this year, down from No. 3 last year.

They include US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, No. 35; Myanmar’s Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, No. 38; Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, No. 41; and Mrs Laura Bush, wife of US President George W. Bush, No. 44.

Ms Ho, 54, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has headed the Singapore investment company since 2002 and is credited with boosting its investment portfolio by investing in Indian and Chinese telecom companies, for instance.

Forbes said that Ms Ho’s achievements in the past year included ‘moving more of the city-state’s money abroad’, such as Temasek’s move to take a 15 per cent stake in US financial giant Merrill Lynch for US$5 billion (S$7 billion) in December.

The Forbes top 100 list measures power as a composite of public profile based on press mentions and financial heft.

Temasek’s assets rose 13 per cent to $185 billion in the year ended March 31. Last month, it pumped an additional US$900 million into Merrill Lynch.

Ms Ho’s drop from the No. 3 spot last year to No. 8 this year appears in part to be the result of the spike in interest last year over Temasek’s take-over of Shin Corp, one of Thailand’s biggest telecom firms. That sparked a wave of protests which eventually led to the overthrow of then Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Said Forbes: ‘Her moving down is more a factor of other women attaining greater power and pushing her farther down. That said, being on this global list is a celebration of her achievements and certainly not a statement that her power is diminished.’

Ms Ho’s meteoric rise to No. 3 last year - she was 36th in 2006 - also came after Temasek’s portfolio had crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time.

Last year, she came in just behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who remains in top spot this year, and China’s Vice-Premier Wu Yi, who has dropped off the list after retiring earlier this year.

This year’s list comprises 23 who shape governments around the world, 54 business executives, and others who are high-profile media personalities and leaders of non-profit organisations.

Ms Sheila Bair, head of Federal Deposit Insurance, the embattled US bank-deposit insurer, debuts in second place as she tries to stave off financial panic amid a worldwide credit crisis.

PepsiCo’s chairman and chief executive Indra Nooyi, who was born in India, but is now a United States citizen, is No. 3.

US senator Hillary Rodham Clinton garnered the most media attention at No. 28, while media maven and global philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is No. 36.

The women on this list control US$26 trillion worldwide, said Forbes.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Aug 2008

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Anwar sworn in, then leads walkout -KUALA LUMPUR

Anwar sworn in, then leads walkout -KUALA LUMPUR

By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent

Mr Anwar being sworn in as a new MP in Parliament yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim fired his first salvo in Parliament yesterday just hours after he was sworn in as an MP by leading his colleagues on the opposition bench in a walkout.
They were protesting against a proposed Bill that makes it mandatory for criminal suspects to provide DNA samples.

The opposition maintains it is aimed at Mr Anwar, who has so far refused to provide the authorities with a sample in connection with a fresh sodomy case brought forth by the allegations of a former aide.

‘The government’s desire to push this Bill quickly proves they are power-crazy. They have not given MPs the time to scrutinise the Bill and exercise their responsibility,’ he told Parliament.

He later told reporters that the opposition had walked out after Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar refused to entertain their request to refer the Bill to a select committee.

Earlier Mr Anwar, dressed in a black traditional Malay suit and songkok, had taken the oath for new MPs and promptly took the corner seat reserved for the parliamentary opposition leader, which was vacated by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, three weeks ago. He was cheered on by opposition MPs who pounded their desks loudly for their new leader.

His seat is directly opposite Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s in the 222-member Parliament.

Datuk Seri Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and most Cabinet ministers were not present during the ceremony. State television’s live parliamentary coverage did not show the swearing-in ceremony, beginning only after a government minister rose to speak later during proceedings.

Mr Anwar decried the move to omit the ceremony, calling it a ‘nasty machination’ of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

He returned to Parliament after scoring a convincing win in Tuesday’s by-election in his bastion, the constituency of Permatang Pauh in Penang. He was MP for Permatang Pauh since 1982, losing that privilege after he was imprisoned in 2000 but regained the right to return to Parliament in April.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Aug 2008

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Developers weigh odds for launches after Ghost Month - Singapore

Developers weigh odds for launches after Ghost Month - Singapore

Some may want to test market now rather than risk deterioration in sentiment
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(SINGAPORE) Some developers have been quietly oiling their launch machinery in the past few weeks as they get ready for previews and launches, especially with the Hungry Ghosts Month ending this Saturday.

Boulevard Vue’s facade will be designed by well-known Japanese interior designer Super Potato. The freehold project’s 26 apartments (one per floor) are about 4,500 sq ft each, while the two duplex penthouses occupying the top four levels are 8,000-plus sq ft and 11,000-plus sq ft. 
With the property outlook expected to worsen before it gets better, there may just be an incentive for some to launch their projects sooner - or wait it out till late-2009/2010, a seasoned property consultant told BT.

Another consultant, Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow, said: ‘Whatever name you call it - preview, private invitation, etc, the aim is for developers to test the market. If the response is sufficient at the price they want, they’ll begin sales. If the response isn’t up to what they want, they won’t sell. As a developer, you don’t want to risk launching a project, selling a few units and getting stuck.’

Projects that have begun to be previewed this month include Far East Organization’s 85-unit freehold Miro at the corner of Lincoln and Keng Lee roads (at an average $1,600 per square foot) and a 54-unit cluster housing project at Greenwood Avenue. Units in the 103-year leasehold development range from 3,000 to 3,700 sq ft.

Over at Nathan Road, Tat Aik Group has been inviting potential buyers to view Nathan Residences, a 91-unit freehold project priced at around $2,000 psf on average.

Keppel Land is also expected to release this weekend in Hong Kong and Singapore about 30-40 units under the next phase of Reflections at Keppel Bay.

The average price is expected to be similar to the earlier phase launched around April last year, at about $1,800 to $2,000 psf. Deferred payment is expected to continue to be offered.

Hong Fok Corporation’s 360-unit Concourse Skyline apartments at Beach Road, KepLand’s 56-unit freehold Madision Residence near the junction of Bukit Timah and Keng Chin roads, and City Developments Ltd’s The Arte at Thomson are understood to be other projects that could hit the market soon.

In the high-end segment - where sentiment is weakest - Far East Organization, which has already sold two units at its 28-unit luxury development Boulevard Vue at Cuscaden Road, opened its showflat for the project recently and is expected to step up marketing activity.

The project’s 26 apartments (one per floor) are about 4,500 sq ft each, while the two duplex penthouses occupying the top four levels are 8,000-plus sq ft and 11,000-plus sq ft. Prices for low- and mid-level units in the 33-storey freehold project range from $3,600 psf to $3,900 psf.

BT understands the price tag for the bigger penthouse will likely be around the $4,500 psf mark, working out to an absolute sum of about $50 million. If achieved, the absolute amount would set a new record for a penthouse in Singapore.

Boulevard Vue’s facade will be designed by well-known Japanese interior designer Super Potato. BT understands that the unit layouts will be customised to buyers’ preference.

A critical factor affecting developers’ launch decisions is pricing, given the bearish sentiment.

‘Pricing will be more realistic for fresh launches, but for projects released earlier, it would be difficult for established developers to trim prices without upsetting earlier buyers, especially VIPs,’ the seasoned property consultant said.

Agreeing, Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore’s residential head Jacqueline Wong said: ‘Such developers may just hold the remaining units in the project if necessary and have another shot at selling them upon the project’s completion. For new projects too, the financially stronger players can hold off developing for a while.

‘However, developers who are fairly new or need the cashflow will have to be realistic in their pricing and will be more amenable to negotiating with buyers.’

Another industry observer said that instead of outright price cuts, it may be easier for developers to attract new buyers into existing projects by offering furnishing vouchers, guaranteed yields (for newly completed projects) or arranging for attractive mortgage packages.

A mid-sized developer said: ‘We have to accept the fact that prices have to be marked to market; otherwise we can’t sell enough units to generate the required cashflow. For sites bought within the past 12 months, developers would need to sell at least 50 per cent of the development to generate sufficient cashflow to finance the project’s construction - taking into account high land price paid and rising construction costs, among other factors.’

 
Source : Business Times - 28 Aug 2008

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Suspensions of trade should be kept short: Singapore SGX

Suspensions of trade should be kept short: Singapore SGX

Companies under suspension incur expenses, delay cash return to investors
By WINSTON CHAI

(SINGAPORE) Extending the suspension of a company’s share trading is not doing shareholders and the market any favour, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) said in its regulator’s column yesterday.
 
‘If the suspended company is unable to find an investment within the timeframe granted, cash should be returned to shareholders who can deploy the funds or re-invest according to their preference.’
 
- Singapore Exchange 
 
 
According to SGX, a firm should keep its suspension as short as possible. As time elapses, it becomes more challenging for companies to acquire suitable assets as viable options would already have been exhausted.

‘A longer suspension is not necessarily helpful in the search for viable alternatives. Companies under suspension incur expenses, draw down on assets and delay the return of remaining cash to investors,’ SGX said.

‘Proposals hurriedly put together near the delisting deadline, in our experience, are unlikely to satisfy SGX listing criteria. The prolonged wait for shareholders would have been in vain,’ it added.

A firm’s share trading may be suspended if it is facing financial difficulty or if it is deemed to be a ‘cash company’ with no viable core business. In the first scenario, a business is given a maximum of 24 months to submit and implement its resumption proposals.

Cash companies, on the other hand, have 12 months to find a new business, and an additional six-month extension may be granted on some occasions.

 
 
‘If the suspended company is unable to find an investment within the timeframe granted, cash should be returned to shareholders who can deploy the funds or re-invest according to their preference,’ the regulator said.

SGX added that suspended firms hoping to resume trading through major acquisitions and reverse takeovers (RTOs) should be aware that their proposals will be subjected to the same stringent standards that apply to IPO (initial public offering) applications. ‘Otherwise, unqualified listing applicants may obtain listing status by acquiring suspended companies,’ it said.

In addition, it urged companies that are mulling RTOs to weigh it carefully against the option of returning cash to shareholders. This is because ‘RTOs often involve substantial dilution of shareholding level of the incumbent minority shareholders’, it explained.

‘For the reasons outlined above, the Exchange does not have strong grounds for granting extensions of time without clear signs of distressed and cash companies submitting viable resumption proposals,’ it concluded.

 
Source : Business Times - 28 Aug 2008

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Singapore firms top wealth-creation chart

Singapore firms top wealth-creation chart

They occupy 33 of leading 100 positions in Asean in a Wealth-Added Index; SingTel heads the pack
By GENEVIEVE CUA

(SINGAPORE) Singapore companies have done a stellar job of creating wealth for shareholders, despite market volatility and a higher cost of capital.

 
The first-ever ranking of the top 100 South-east Asian companies in terms of US-based consulting firm Stern Stewart & Co’s ‘Wealth Added Index’ (WAI) finds a total of 33 Singapore companies on the list, the largest number among Asean markets.

In pole position is Singapore Telecommunications, as at June 30. Keppel Corp is ranked seventh, and CapitaLand ninth.

Stern Stewart has also come up with the top 100 WAI ranking for Singapore alone, as well as industry specific rankings. In the regional real estate sector, for example, Singapore companies accounted for eight of the top 10, led by CapitaLand and City Developments.

WAI is a metric developed by Stern Stewart in 2000, based on the idea that companies create value for shareholders only if their total returns - share price plus dividends - exceed an imputed ‘cost of equity’. The latter is the minimum return investors should earn for taking on the risk of investing in shares.

The strongest testimonial to the use of the wealth added metric is Temasek Holdings, which on Monday released its latest annual report. Temasek uses wealth added as an internal benchmark, and that extends even to its staff compensation structure.
As Temasek explains: Wealth added (also called economic profit) factors in the capital employed to produce the returns and the risks associated with each investment. ‘To achieve positive wealth added, we need to deliver more than the capital charge, which is the risk-adjusted hurdle applied to the capital employed.’ In the year ended in March, the group’s wealth added was minus $6.3 billion. The group’s five-year cumulative wealth added was a ‘healthy’ $60 billion above its risk adjusted cost of capital hurdle.

Erik Stern, president international of Stern Stewart & Co, said the firm set up an office here in 1997 mainly to work with the Temasek group. The firm maintained its office here for about five years. It has since closed it, but is looking to re-establish itself in the region.

‘To people who want to know more about economic value added (EVA) and the value mindset, I tell them to read the Temasek annual report. There is nothing better. So many companies want to look like they care about shareholder value. Read any annual report, then read Temasek’s. There is a very big difference.

‘(Temasek) acts and lives it. We’re thrilled to be associated with them; they make us look good. They know what this is all about.’

Stern Stewart first developed two metrics in the 1980s, one of which is economic value added (EVA), focusing attention on the cost of capital. EVA is a performance metric, to indicate whether a company has produced value for investors. Its calculation takes after tax operating profit and subtracts an annual charge - a sort of rental charge - on debt and equity.

It is unclear how widely used EVA or wealth added is among Singapore companies. SingTel uses a different metric internally. CapitaLand, however, includes an EVA calculation in its annual report, and tots up the group EVA attributable to equity shareholders.

Mr Stern said the metrics were developed in an effort to overcome the limitations of other metrics, such as total shareholder return, which simply measures the change in a company’s price plus dividends between two points in time.

Accounting measures like net profits and sales also do not provide any benchmark for performance, or help in investor decision making. ‘The concept of EVA is like meritocracy; there is no cutting corners. The objective is to get employees to think and act like owners, so that they act like the money they’re given is their own. That concept is very similar to the Singapore mindset.

‘I believe there is no accident that Singapore companies’ performance is good. People here are very modest. They say, let’s see what happens in the future, and there will be a lot of competition..

‘It pays to remember that capital has a cost and shareholders deserve to earn a return on that. If Singapore companies forget that they may find that the paradise they created will be owned by others. As great as they’ve done, what matters is going forward.’

One point of contention may be the calculation for the cost of equity, which is based on a market’s government bond adjusted by a company and market risk premium. Some of Stern’s input data are taken from Bloomberg.

Managers, he said, should focus on EVA as an internal measure, and not the share price. ‘Companies that consistently make good decisions will see strong performance. The marketplace is showing some fear of the future. The question is what can companies do about it.

‘Companies that are well managed usually do well in a downturn and take market share from those that are not well managed.’

There are four drivers of wealth added, which are quantified in the rankings. These are operations; strategy or growth expectations; external financing and governance. The proxy for the latter is a company’s cost of equity.

‘Our view of governance is that managers must earn the required rate of return as the minimum. But if they don’t earn that, they have not been a good steward of capital.’

Source : Business Times - 28 Aug 2008

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Singapore Condo site near Circle Line station up for sale

Singapore Condo site near Circle Line station up for sale
 
By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 
  

A LAND plot for a condominium has been made available for sale in Serangoon Avenue 3, next to the Lorong Chuan MRT Station on the new Circle Line.
Despite lacklustre activity in the private housing market, property consultants expect this 1.39ha site to be favourably received, given its choice location.

‘Although the current cautious mood and slow sale activity in the residential market have diminished developers’ appetite for development sites, there is a high probability that the site will be released for sale by tender because of its favourable location with good surrounding amenities,’ said Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

The plot is adjacent to Nanyang Junior College and near other schools such as St Gabriel’s Primary and the Australian International School. It is also close to Serangoon Gardens and the Chomp Chomp food centre, as well as the mega mall in the future Serangoon Hub.

Mr Mak expects site bids of between $83 million and $107 million, or $200 to $255 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area.

Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of business development and marketing at Savills Singapore, was slightly more optimistic. He said bids could come in at about $130 million, or $300 per sq ft of potential gross floor area, based on an expected selling price of $850 psf for the finished units.

‘There are a couple of smaller developers who may be in need of land, and who may find this medium-sized mass market property suitable,’ Mr Ku said. A new condo on the site could host 350 to 400 units of 1,000 to 1,200 sq ft each.

The Government yesterday said the site was open for applications by interested buyers. If a developer submits a minimum acceptable bid, it will trigger a public tender for others to submit offers.

 
Source : Straits Times - 28 Aug 2008

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