F1 breakaway threat ends as Mosley agrees to step down

F1 breakaway threat ends as Mosley agrees to step down

Mr Mosley’s decision to quit ends a furore over a proposed budget cap that put him and major F1 teams at loggerheads.

PARIS: Mr Max Mosley has revealed there will be a unified Formula One championship next year after he agreed to step down as president of the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body.

Fota, the Formula One Teams’ Association, had threatened to form a breakaway series last Thursday. The rebel teams were just as determined to oust the autocratic 69-year-old from his position and resist the severe budget cap that he attempted to impose on the sport.

‘I will not be up for re-election, now we have peace,’ said Mr Mosley, after yesterday’s meeting of FIA’s World Motor Sport Council. ‘There will be no split. There will be one F1 championship.’

Before the Paris meeting, Mr Mosley had written to FIA member clubs insisting that he was prepared to run again for a fifth term. His 16 years in office will now come to an end in October.

Mr Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial supremo, said that he was ‘very happy common sense has prevailed’.

Mr Luca di Montezemolo, the Ferrari president and Fota chairman, praised Mr Mosley for ‘a very good fix’.

Mr Mosley had come under severe pressure as eight teams - Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP - were pressing on with breakaway plans after talks broke down over a £40 million (S$95 million) budget cap next season.

That would have left F1 facing a financial disaster and a championship lacking its marquee car manufacturers and star drivers. Yesterday’s meeting was billed as the last chance for a compromise.

While Mr Mosley’s budget cap was scrapped, teams agreed to other cost reductions, and to commit to F1 until 2012. Three new teams - Campos, US F1 and Manor - will join next season after pressure from Mr Mosley.

The embattled FIA president claimed: ‘My departure was planned - all the staff knew for months. But I couldn’t say it publicly because the moment you do, you lose all your influence.’

THE TIMES, LONDON, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Source : Straits Times - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Boom in resale homes

Boom in resale homes

Transactions up 71% in the second quarter, with HDB upgraders driving demand
By Joyce Teo

THE mini boom that started in the sale of new flats has now spread to the resale homes market, with transactions rocketing 71 per cent in the second quarter.

Sellers have quickly become attuned to the unexpected resurgence in demand and are jacking up asking prices, according to consultants Jones Lang LaSalle.

Much of the demand is coming from HDB upgraders who are still able to get reasonable prices for their flats, allowing them to move up the housing ladder.

The activity in the resale market follows strong sales of new private homes. Levels have exceeded 1,000 units every month since February compared with a monthly average of 330 units last year. Prices are also showing resilience amid the downturn, with resale prices beginning to rise in all categories.

The property sector rallies seem to contradict prevailing economic realities, industry experts acknowledge. DTZ’s head of Southeast Asia research, Ms Chua Chor Hoon, told a property seminar yesterday that it is too early to tell if the Singapore market is on its way to recovery: ‘Unlike Hong Kong, we don’t have a China behind us.’

Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of research for Southeast Asia, Dr Chua Yang Liang, told The Straits Times: ‘My concern is that the price rise in the resale market is not supported by economic growth or personal income growth.’ It is instead largely backed by money earned in the previous bull run, which is not sustainable, he said.

Resale demand, said Jones Lang LaSalle, is largely for finished projects, driven by the need for immediate occupation and good rental yields. Prelimary second-quarter estimates show HDB upgraders accounted for 46 per cent of resale deals, up 11 percentage points from a year ago.

HDB prices have not fallen much, so owners can still sell at attractive prices and upgrade to a private home. The demand has pushed up resale prices, even though affordability remains key.

While prices of freehold units were down 14.6 per cent on a per square foot (psf) basis in the second quarter, new mass market home prices were up nearly 7 per cent, said a CBRE Research statement yesterday. Subsale prices of 99-year leasehold apartments rose by 22 per cent in the second quarter.

When compared with prime market sectors, the mass market segment shows the highest rebound, said Jones Lang LaSalle. Average resale prices were up 9.4 per cent to $580 psf in the second quarter compared with the first quarter.

They are now 49 per cent above the low point of the second quarter of 2005 but remain about 17 per cent below the first quarter peak last year.

Average resale prices of prime luxury homes rose 7.8 per cent from the first quarter to $1,800 psf in the second quarter. But this is a fall of 45 per cent from the second quarter of 2008.

Some buyers are increasingly more willing to commit as they believe this discount is sufficient, said Jones Lang LaSalle. For instance, resale deals at Ardmore Park were done at an average of $2,146 psf in the second quarter compared with one deal at $1,976 psf in the first quarter.

Some analysts warn of too much exuberance given the ample supply and falling rents but others are more positive. A recent Credit Suisse report said that while new homes sales may slow, the resale market is likely to pick up the slack. An earlier UBS Investment Research report highlighted the rise in resale deals as evidence of sustainable recovery in the physical property market.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

94% of ION Orchard’s leasable space committed

94% of ION Orchard’s leasable space committed

By Ng Baoying

SINGAPORE: Almost all of ION Orchard’s space has been leased out and it is eager to pull in the crowds with its fashion and lifestyle boutiques. The upcoming shopping mall above the Orchard MRT station is set to open on July 21.

Some 94 per cent of the leasable space has been committed - 70 per cent of which is taken up by flagship stores and new or new-to-market concepts stores.

Food will also be big on the plate. More than one fifth of the 640,000 square feet available for leasing in the mall is dedicated to dining.

Itacho Sushi is just one of 60 food and dining outlets there that are either entirely new to the market or have new concepts.

Soon Su Lin, CEO, ION Orchard, said: “For new concepts, we have worked with the established local operators - both in fashion and food - to come up with new concepts that will be interesting for shoppers. We are happy to say many of them have, and we have them at our mall.”

ION Orchard boasts some 125 food and beverage outlets. Businesses said the prime location is a key factor in their decision to sign up amid the weak economic environment.

Maranda Barnes, director, TWG Tea Company, said: “We position ourselves as the finest tea company in the world. We wanted to be based in the finest mall, the most luxurious mall in Singapore and it’s a mall that has a little bit of everything.”

Dunkin Donuts, which shut down a few years back, is returning with an outlet in ION Orchard.

Benedict Tee, operations director, Golden Donuts, said: “We feel that ION has a strategic platform here in Orchard Road. We think that with its current branding and our branding, we will make a good partnership together.

“We are coming in with a different lifestyle, a cafe concept lifestyle. Besides donuts we are going to do coffee specialities. Ice blended coffees, hot beverages like lattes, and on top of that, sandwiches which will cater to the lunch crowd and younger generation.”

The mall said it is seeing multiple enquiries and very strong demand for the remaining six per cent of its net lettable space. However, the mall added that it will continue to be very selective about its tenants. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

ION Orchard to use technology to stand out from competition

ION Orchard to use technology to stand out from competition

By Ng Baoying

SINGAPORE: ION Orchard is set to be only the second new mall to open on Orchard Road in the past decade on July 21, but it will face competition from new malls springing up along the iconic shopping belt in the next few months.

The shopping centre said it is looking to stand out from the rest through the use of technology, such as a multi-media wall that can change the appearance of Orchard Road.

It said it will be offering a unique shopping experience for patrons, and hopes to draw shoppers with a mix of large outlets and new concepts.

Said Soon Su Lin, chief executive officer of ION Orchard: “We wanted our tenant profile to be engaging and refreshing, and we set ourselves the ambitious target of having more than 60 per cent flagships, new to market, new concepts.

“Today we have exceeded this target - we have 70 per cent of tenants who are flagships, new to markets, new concepts.”

Among the new brands that have yet to be introduced to Singapore include the trendy Japanese restaurant Itacho Sushi.

Meanwhile, local tea salon TWG Tea Company will be making its largest investment to date at ION.

Said Maranda Barnes, director of TWG Tea Company: “The boutique will also be a bit larger. We can feature some museum pieces as well. Different teas, tea samovars, tea accessories that are one-of-a-kind pieces that we were not able to feature before.”

ION Orchard is pulling all the stops to make sure it is a success.

Apart from its retail offering, ION Orchard will also change the look and feel of Orchard Road.

For example, a multimedia wall will be programmed to display different lights and colours at different intervals to match different themed events.

Said Soon: “There are various factors to make the success of a mall. We felt we need to integrate all of this. Besides a strategic location, having a unique iconic building is important as well because we want to this be a must-visit destination in Singapore for shoppers as well as visitors to Singapore.”

The mall has its own art programme and a 5,000 square foot art gallery.

There will also be a calendar of events and promotions to be held at ION Square, which is right in front of Orchard Road.

The mall is jointly owned by Singapore’s CapitaLand and Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai Properties.

- CNA/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

KSH Holdings secures construction contract from NUS worth S$83.4m

KSH Holdings secures construction contract from NUS worth S$83.4m

By Jonathan Peeris,

SINGAPORE: Mainboard-listed KSH Holdings has secured an S$83.4 million construction contract with the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The contract covers the construction of two blocks of residential colleges and five blocks of common facility buildings for the NUS University Town.

The firm said on Wednesday the new contract takes its order book to over S$438 million.

It plans to complete all its existing contracts by March 2011.

KSH said it expects the latest deal to have a positive material impact on the group’s financial performance for the financial year ending March 2010.

- CNA/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Asia developers eye new projects

Asia developers eye new projects

(SINGAPORE) Asian property firms are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel and several are positioning for an upturn even as the world economy struggles to recover from its worst recession in decades.

The mood among US and European executives at this week’s Reuters Global Real Estate Summit is glum, but Asian counterparts are more upbeat with some revealing plans for new projects in anticipation of an upturn later this year.

For instance, Chinese commercial property developer SOHO said it has built up a war chest of US$1.9 billion to replenish its land bank and intends to start new projects in Shanghai and Beijing in coming months.

Indiabulls, India’s third-largest listed property developer, aims to launch six to seven residential projects in the financial year ending in March 2010 on the back of an expected recovery in demand.

‘The general mood has been cautious, but there is also optimism. Asian companies in general are in much better shape compared to their peers in other regions,’ said Ayala Land chief financial officer and Asian Public Real Estate Association president Jaime Ysmael.

Spurring the optimism in Asia is a recovery in residential markets, with price cuts drawing buyers in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, where saving rates are high and banks are prepared to lend.

The volume of transactions in these places are close to levels seen during the bull market of 2007 and residential property values have begun to edge upwards as developers such as Singapore’s City Developments raise prices.

Asian property values did not rise as much as in the US and parts of Europe this decade. In dollar terms, property in countries such as the Philippines are cheaper than before the onset of the Asian crisis in late 1997.

Interest rate cuts and government stimulus plans are also helping regional property markets recover.

Singapore residential prices were supported by mortgage rates that were below rental yields, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report said this week.

‘At the current mortgage rate of around 2.75 per cent, our net cost of carry model implies that prices can rise by 30 per cent before home buyers enter negative carry,’ it said. The bank predicts Singapore home prices will rise 20 per cent next year.

Singapore’s housing market has been hit hard by the downturn, with home prices plunging nearly 14 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the steepest drop in over 30 years, according to government data.

Separately, Nomura said unemployment was stabilising in Hong Kong and forecasts home prices and rents in the Chinese territory will rise by 22 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, this year.

A poll of 10 analysts conducted in conjunction with the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit showed China home prices are expected to gain an average of 10 per cent between now and the end of 2010.

The outlook for Asia’s office market remained negative but most developers said rents have stabilised after falling sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008 and earlier this year.

Some investors said any pick-up may not be sustainable. - Reuters

Source : Business Times - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Ion Orchard, Orchard Central have healthy lease figures

Ion Orchard, Orchard Central have healthy lease figures

Ion is 94% leased, Orchard Central is 80% leased, say their developers

By UMA SHANKARI

ION Orchard, which is due to open in a month, is 94 per cent leased, the mall’s developer, Orchard Turn Developments, said yesterday.

Shoppers’ facade: Ion Orchard’s management hopes many of the 333 shops will open in time for the mall’s soft opening on July21. To give tenants an incentive, Ion Orchard said they will get 30% rebates off base rents
Previously, the developer said the mall was 80 per cent leased and it was in advanced negotiations for the remaining space.

At the other end of Orchard Road, 80 per cent of space in Orchard Central is also committed. Previously, developer Far East Organization said the mall was 65 per cent leased.

Orchard Central is already open to shoppers. Tenants have progressively opened for business since early June. The mall’s soft opening is slated for early July, by which time about 100 shops should be open, Far East says.

As for Ion Orchard, management hopes many of the 333 shops will open in time for the mall’s soft opening on July 21.

‘They (the tenants) are rushing to finish renovations and we hope as many of them as possible will open with us,’ said Soon Su Lin, chief executive of Orchard Turn Developments, which is building the mall. Orchard Turn Developments is jointly owned by CapitaLand and Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai Properties.

To give tenants an incentive to open on time, Ion Orchard said in March that they would get 30 per cent rebates off base rents if they opened for business by July 21. The response has been ‘very positive’ so far, Ms Soon said.

Neither Ion Orchard nor Orchard Central have given a recent update on asking rents. Ion Orchard has said previously that its rents range from $20 to $80 per sq ft per month (psf pm). Rents at Orchard Central range from $20 psf pm to more than $70 psf pm, Far East Organization said late last year.

But industry watchers have said that signing rents at most existing Orchard Road malls have since fallen, which means asking rents at Ion Orchard and Orchard Central could also have edged down.

Ion Orchard said yesterday that more than 21 per cent of its 640,000 sq ft of retail space will be dedicated to food and dining - with many casual and fine dining outlets offering local and international fare, plus food and confectionary stores and a gourmet supermarket.

28 restaurants and cafes will be spread over different levels of the mall, with the largest clusters on level 4 for fine dining, and basements 2 and 3 for casual dining. In addition, basement 4 will feature a food hall, with 80 stalls offering a range of cuisines for all tastes.

Ms Soon said that Ion Orchard remains on the lookout for suitable retail and F&B concepts for the 6 per cent of space that has yet to be leased.

Source : Business Times - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Private resale home deals shoot up in Q2

Private resale home deals shoot up in Q2

Average resale prices up from Q1 but still significantly below peak levels last year

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

THE buying frenzy at property launches has spread to the secondary market. The number of private homes sold in the resale market - excluding sub-sales - has risen to 1,464 units this quarter, based on Urban Redevelopment Authority caveat data at June 19.

One Devonshire: CBRE expects developers to sell 3,500 to 4,000 new private homes this quarter - 35-54% higher than the Q1 figure of 2,596
The figure is 71 per cent higher than the 856 units in Q1 this year, according to an analysis by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

And more caveats could surface when full Q2 data emerges, with sales matching - or even surpassing - the 1,706 units sold in the resale market in Q2 last year, JLL reckons.

Average resale capital values have risen in Q2 from Q1 but are still below last year’s peaks across all tiers - mass market, prime and luxury prime. This could be a key factor fuelling resale deals. Another factor could be HDB upgraders keen on buying a completed private home they can move into immediately. Also, rental yields from investing in completed property are higher than the measly interest rates earned on fixed deposits.

In another development yesterday, CB Richard Ellis said the median price per sq ft of freehold non-landed private homes sold by developers slipped 14.6 per cent from $1,051 psf in Q1 2009 to $898 psf in Q2, based on caveat data as at June 24.

HDB upgraders accounted for 65% of buyers of new homes in the first half of 2009.

However, once caveats for higher-priced projects like Martin Place Residences, The Wharf Residences and One Devonshire are lodged, the median psf price for Q2 is expected to be higher than the Q1 figure, CBRE added.

The firm expects developers to sell 3,500 to 4,000 new private homes this quarter, which would be 35 to 54 per cent higher than the Q1 figure of 2,596. The expected Q2 sales tally would be similar to levels achieved during the peak year of 2007, when developers sold an average of 3,700 units per quarter.

‘The stock market rally, coupled with strong liquidity and developers’ discounts, have resulted in a surge in new home sales this quarter,’ CBRE executive director (residential) Joseph Tan said.

JLL’s head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang said additional factors buoying buying sentiment include pent-up demand and the interest absorption schemes. However, he cautioned: ‘I don’t reckon the current activity in the market is likely to remain if prices continue to rise unsupported by GDP growth.’

CBRE said that based on caveats lodged so far, HDB upgraders accounted for 65 per cent of buyers of new homes in the first half of 2009, higher than their 44 per cent share for the whole of last year. HDB upgraders have also been active in the secondary market, accounting for 49 per cent of buyers of resale and sub-sale units, up from their 33 per cent share last year, the firm added.

Sub-sales and resales are secondary-market transactions. Sub-sales involve projects that are yet to obtain a Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC). Resales relate to projects that have received CSC.

JLL’s analysis shows the average resale capital value for non-landed homes in the mass market was $580 psf in Q2, up 9.4 per cent from Q1. It is also 17 per cent below the Q1 2008 peak and remains highly affordable to most HDB upgraders, JLL said.

In the luxury market, the average resale capital value rose 7.8 per cent quarter on quarter to $1,800 psf in Q2. Against the peak in early 2008, the latest Q2 figure was down 34 per cent.

Source : Business Times - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Gaming important part of IR revenues

Gaming important part of IR revenues

It will make up big chunk of Sentosa’s revenue, Marina Sands’ Ebitda: CLSA

By ARTHUR SIM

(SINGAPORE) The casinos may be a small component of Singapore’s integrated resorts (IRs) but both operators will be counting on gaming revenue for significant support.

Money spinner: CLSA says Marina Bay Sands is still likely to generate the highest Ebitda of any LVS casino globally, contributing 40 per cent of LVS’s group Ebitda
A report by CLSA reveals that for Marina Bay Sands (MBS), gaming Ebitda for 2011-2012 is estimated at US$700-800 million - about 75 per cent of total Ebitda.

For Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS), gaming revenue is expected to contribute about 70 per cent of overall revenue. While no value figure was given, CLSA said that up to 40 per cent of this will come from locals.

Andrew Hartley, Singapore country head at CLSA, said: ‘People assume the local market will be very quiet, which I think is wrong. Just look at the huge daily turnover in locally listed small-caps to see there are a lot of bored retirees out there just waiting for a chance to go and punt their pensions. Or go to Tanah Merah to see the families lined up to board the boats for a day of gaming on the high seas.’

How effective the $100 daily entry fee will be at deterring locals is unknown. However, CLSA believes - but cannot confirm - that the $2,000 annual entrance fee may allow unlimited access to both casinos.

‘We believe the strength of the local market will surprise,’ Mr Hartley said.

CLSA noted that in 2008, Las Vegas Sands (LVS), which owns MBS, provided guidance for MBS 2012 Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of US$1.2 billion. ‘Understandably, the company is no longer maintaining that guidance, as the world is in a different place than where we were previously,’ CLSA said.

However, MBS is still likely to generate the highest Ebitda of any LVS casino globally, with MBS contributing 40 per cent of LVS’s group Ebitda.

For LVS, in particular, profit targets will need to be met. CLSA said: ‘We understand that the debt covenants kick in after the first full four quarters. When opened, (LVS’s) credit facility will not be completely drawn down with payments made in 2010 and MBS will be still paying out for capex until Q2 2011 - around US$500 million in 2011. By that point, management should be generating at least S$800 million in Ebitda or there may be some debt covenants issues.’

The report said that LVS management expects gaming revenue to be biased towards VIPs rather than the mass market, with around a 60-40 split.

RWS, which is owned by Genting Singapore, will also target VIP and mass market players. About 30 per cent of the gaming tables are expected to be reserved for KJ (key junket) VIP players. To this end, RWS has recruited high-roller marketing veteran Mabel Lee, formerly with casino operator Wynn, to drum up business.

There is likely be a core of 20 KJ operators used by RWS, with a strong focus to solicit patrons from Indonesia, China and India, CLSA said.

Junket operators are important to the gaming industry. In Macau, one of the primary roles of junkets is facilitation, as there are limits on the amount of renminbi that can be brought into Macau - 20,000 renminbi (S$4,300) and US$5,000 per visit, which is less than the average bet in a VIP room.

To qualify as a VIP player, players need to register and have a minimum buy-in of S$100,000.

RWS will also have Universal Studios Singapore as a revenue generator. CLSA said that the overall building cost of about S$1.5 billion for USS is considerably cheaper than that of the estimated US$2 billion Universal Studios in Japan. This is largely due to cheaper construction materials, it said. As such, the estimated entry price of S$80 per adult will be cheaper than that at Universal Studios Japan, Orlando and Hollywood.

CLSA also said that RWS ‘is taking the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) business more seriously than we expected’. ‘We understand management have booked 38 events with more than 500 people.’

Over at MBS, CLSA said that the first Mice event has been booked for April 1, 2010.

CLSA expects both IRs to open in early 2010.

Source : Business Times - 25 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com