Temasek and Charles Goodyear agree not to proceed with CEO appointment

Temasek and Charles Goodyear agree not to proceed with CEO appointment

SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings and Charles (”Chip”) W. Goodyear have mutually agreed not to proceed with the CEO appointment that was to have taken effect on 1 October 2009.

Mr Goodyear was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited on February 1 and CEO-Designate on March 1 to succeed Ms Ho Ching as CEO.

In a news release issued on Tuesday evening, Temasek said that four months into the leadership transition, the Board and Mr Goodyear concluded and accepted that there were differences regarding certain strategic issues that could not be resolved.

In light of the differences, both parties decided that it was in their mutual interests to terminate the leadership transition process and hence the executive relationship with effect from 15 August 2009.

Mr Goodyear will also step down from the Temasek Board, effective the same date.

Chairman of Temasek Holdings, Mr Dhanabalan was quoted in the news release as saying, “It is with much regret that both Chip and the Board have accepted that it is best not to proceed with the leadership transition.

“We wish Chip all the best in his future endeavours, and are happy that Ho Ching has agreed to continue as executive director and CEO.”

Mr Goodyear who voiced regret at being unable to continue with the leadership transition described Temasek as having “a fantastic platform”. Elaborating on the point, Ms Ho Ching said she hopes to complete the initiatives that started by Mr Goodyear.

“In the short time with us, Chip has started a number of initiatives which I believe will help strengthen the Temasek platform. I am sorry he is unable to continue with the leadership transition,” she said.

Mr Goodyear began his career at Kidder, Peabody where he advised corporations on mergers and acquisitions, and financing.

The former president of Goodyear Capital Corporation and former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Freeport-McMoRan Inc had also served as the chief executive and executive director, Chairman of the Office of Chief Executive for BHP Billiton.

Responding to Channel NewsAsia’s queries, Temasek chairman S Dhanabalan explained that the differences between Temasek and Mr Goodyear are not the issue, but they have helped both sides to arrive at the decision not to continue with the CEO appointment.

Mr Dhanabalan said: “The differences in and of themselves are not the issue but they have helped both the Board and Chip to assess that it is in our mutual interest not to continue with the planned leadership transition.”

He said that in the short time with Temasek, Mr Goodyear had started a number of initiatives with the objective to further strengthen the foundation of the firm, in terms of policies, work processes and systems. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel Newsasia - 22 July 2009

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Colliers says property investment activity rises in Q2

Colliers says property investment activity rises in Q2

By Mok Fei Fei, 938LIVE

SINGAPORE: Property consultancy Colliers International said the Singapore investment sales market experienced a surge of activity in the second quarter this year.

Both the private and public sectors garnered investment sales transactions totalling S$1.35 billion from April to June, nearly four times higher than the previous quarter.

Colliers said the renewed buzz in the investment market was supported mainly by returned interest following price corrections.

A turnaround in market sentiment on the back of improved economic outlook and the stock market rally also fuelled the increased activity.

For the residential sector, Colliers said market sentiment is likely to stay upbeat over the next six months, barring major setbacks like poor economic data.

However, it noted that home buyers remain price-sensitive. As such, sentiment must remain good and prices must be controlled for average monthly home sales to remain above the 1,000-unit level for the rest of the year.

On the industrial sector front, Colliers is predicting that the rents and capital values of industrial space could decline by up to 15 per cent for the second half of the year due to a large supply looming amid lower demand.

For the retail sector, the consultancy is forecasting that rents of retail space, especially those in Orchard Road, will contract by five to 10 per cent over the next 6 months.

And in the office space, Colliers expects rents and capital values of islandwide Grade A office space to remain depressed. - 938LIVE/vm

Source : Channel Newsasia - 22 July 2009

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Fragrance to launch at least 6 more home projects in H2

Fragrance to launch at least 6 more home projects in H2

Group posts 11.4% rise in Q2 net profit to $17.7 million

FRAGRANCE Group says it intends to launch at least another six residential projects with about 480 units in the second half of this year.

Slow market: H1 net fell 8.9% due to lower selling prices of Fragrance-built homes
It said this in its latest financial results statement, which showed it posted an 11.4 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 to $17.7 million. Turnover rose 33.1 per cent to $79.5 million.

For the first half, the group’s net earnings slipped 8.9 per cent year- on-year to $27.8 million despite a 15.5 per cent improvement in turnover to $130.3 million. The lower bottom line was partly due to lower profit margins by the property development business as a result of lower selling prices.

Earnings per share increased from 1.9 cents in Q2 2008 to 2.1 cents in Q2 2009. Net asset value per share rose from 15.3 cents on Dec 31 last year to 18 cents on June 30, 2009.

For Q2 2009, profit before taxation (PBT) from property rose 9.8 per cent year-on-year to $15 million and PBT from hotels increased 7.6 per cent to $5.9 million.

The group’s cash and bank balances stood at $25.7 million on June 30, 2009, up from $13.8 million on Dec 31, 2008. Its total borrowings decreased to $178.4 million from $212.1 million on Dec 31, 2008, mainly due to loan repayment relating to sold and completed projects, which was partly offset by new loans for development projects.

The group generated a positive cash flow from operations of $53.6 million during the first half of 2009. This arose mainly from the projects that were sold and completed during the period.

These proceeds were used to settle the borrowings pertaining to the sold and completed projects as well as purchase of property, plant and equipment.

Source : Straits Times - 22 July 2009

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