JTC launches 2.83-hectare site for sale

JTC launches 2.83-hectare site for sale

Posted: 31 August 2011 0909 hrs

SINGAPORE: JTC Corporation has launched a 2.83-hectare site at the junction of Kallang Avenue and Lavender Street for sale.

The 60-year lease site has a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 3.0.

It is zoned for Business-1 White development.

Tender closes on October 27.

- CNA/cc

CCM wins S$100.5m contracts from HDB, Orion-One »« GuocoLand’s Q4 profit surges 79 per cent

GuocoLand’s Q4 profit surges 79 per cent

GuocoLand’s Q4 profit surges 79 per cent

04:46 AM Aug 27, 2011

Property developer GuocoLand yesterday reported its net profit for the fourth quarter ended June rose 79 per cent from the corresponding period a year earlier to S$93.2 million as revenue jumped 68 per cent to S$278.5 million.

This was mainly due to a higher contribution from development projects in Singapore and further revenue recognition from the completion of sale of an office block in Shanghai Guoson Centre. Other income rose to S$62.9 million from S$50.2 million due to a gain on revaluation of investment properties.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, net profit fell 3 per cent to S$130.2 million on the back of a 12-per-cent drop in turnover fell to S$647.3 million.

GuocoLand declared a first and final dividend of 8 cents a share, unchanged from the previous year.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

JTC launches 2.83-hectare site for sale »« S$320 million boost for SME innovation

S$320 million boost for SME innovation

S$320 million boost for SME innovation

04:46 AM Aug 27, 2011

SINGAPORE – The Government is setting aside S$320 million over the next five years to help 3,500 small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) exploit technology innovation to grow and to compete better in the marketplace.

The funding will be made available through SPRING Singapore’s Technology Innovation Programme (TIP).

It is substantially higher than the S$220 million committed in the last five years under the TIP that benefited more than 2,500 SMEs.

SPRING believes technology can be a key enabler to many companies by allowing them to reduce costs and increase productivity. SMEs have made their concerns about rising costs, especially labour costs, known recently.

Addressing this concern, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said yesterday: “We know that our SMEs are facing a unique set of challenges. Wage cost pressures are rising as a result of the tighter labour market and the increase in foreign worker levies. Other cost and competiveness issues also weigh heavily on the minds of business owners. The government is aware of these challenges and will work with you to address these issues and concerns.”

Mr Teo was speaking at the Entrepreneur of the Year Award presentation ceremony. He also highlighted the efforts of SPN International, which developed a unique nano-coating technology that has caught the eye of chip makers such as Hitachi, Samsung and Seagate.

Mr Jeff Chan, CEO of SPN, said: “For the past three years, we’ve benefited from more than a million dollars in subsidies from A*STAR and SPRING. This helped us to subsidise our operational costs.”

Mr Jimmy Fong of EpiCentre Holdings and Mr Eldwin Chua of Paradise Group Holdings were crowned the overall winners of The Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 – a Rotary/Asme award.

Mr Linus Goh, Global Head of Enterprise Banking & Financial Institutions, OCBC Bank, a main sponsor of the award said: “This year’s winners clearly demonstrate an ability to differentiate through customer focus and innovation to succeed in local and global markets.”

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

GuocoLand’s Q4 profit surges 79 per cent »« URA launches tender for Kaki Bukit industrial site

URA launches tender for Kaki Bukit industrial site

URA launches tender for Kaki Bukit industrial site

04:46 AM Aug 25, 2011

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched an industrial site at Kaki Bukit Road 4 for sale by public tender yesterday.

The 2.6-hectare site has a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.0. It is zoned for Business 2 development and will have a lease period of 30 years.

This is one of three industrial sites to be released for sale under the Confirmed List of the 2nd half 2011 Industrial Government Land Sales Programme, as announced by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on June 30.

The two other sites – Lavender Street/Kallang Avenue and Soon Lee Street – will be released for sale at the end of this month and in October, respectively.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

S$320 million boost for SME innovation »« HDB upgraders buying private

HDB upgraders buying private

HDB upgraders buying private

by Amanda Feng 04:46 AM Aug 19, 2011

SINGAPORE – Owners of public housing flats are purchasing more private properties due in part to new developments in the suburban areas and higher resale prices for HDB apartments.

HDB upgraders accounted for 39 per cent of all private homes purchased in the second quarter of this year, up from 37 per cent in the first quarter and 34.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report released by DTZ Research yesterday.

These buyers tend to purchase smaller units, and 50.3 per cent of the transactions for units smaller than 1,000 sq ft in the second quarter were by buyers with HDB addresses, DTZ said. This represents an increase from 47.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

DTZ said the increase can be attributed in part to new developments in the surburban areas.

Its analysis also showed that Singaporeans are continuing to drive demand at the lower end of the price scale. Singaporeans bought 69 properties, or 75 per cent of all transactions, priced at S$500,000 or less in the second quarter. In the first quarter, Singaporeans purchased 34 properties priced at S$500,000 or less.

ERA Singapore’s vice-president Eugene Lim puts this down to the strong resale market for public housing.

“HDB resale prices have been on the increase. People who have made money selling their HDB flats are able to upgrade into private properties,” he said.

“They are buying more small units as smaller units are within affordable quantum. Those in HDB addresses rarely have affordability exceeding S$1 million.”

Based on caveats lodged for both new and secondary sales, DTZ said that overall private property sales increased by more than 20 per cent to 8,458 units in the second quarter from 6,958 transactions in the first quarter.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

URA launches tender for Kaki Bukit industrial site »« Residential sites up for sale by tender

Residential sites up for sale by tender

Residential sites up for sale by tender

Posted: 25 August 2011 1546 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is putting up two executive condominium (EC) sites at Pasir Ris (Pasir Ris Drive 3 / Pasir Ris Rise) and Yishun (Yishun Avenue 7 / Canberra Drive) for sale.

The higher income ceiling of $12,000 and tiered CPF housing grants announced on August 15 will apply to these two projects.

The tenders will close at noon on October 11 and October 25 for the Pasir Ris and Yishun EC sites respectively.

The two developments are estimated to yield 1,115 housing units.

In addition to these executive condominium sites, the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched two residential sites at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris and Flora Drive under the Confirmed List of the second half of 2011 Government Land Sales programme.

The land parcel at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris has a site area of 1.7 ha and can potentially yield 355 units.

The tender for this site will close at noon on October 4.

Meanwhile, the site at Flora Drive has an area of about 3 ha and can potentially yield about 415 housing units.

The tender for this site will close at noon on October 19.

-CNA/ls/wk

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

HDB upgraders buying private »« Qualifying age for Primary Care Partnership Scheme lowered to 40

Qualifying age for Primary Care Partnership Scheme lowered to 40

Qualifying age for Primary Care Partnership Scheme lowered to 40

by Tan Weizhen 04:46 AM Aug 15, 2011

SINGAPORE – To help needy Singaporeans cope with outpatient medical costs, the Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS) will be expanded to include more patients. At the same time, the Government will increase subsidies to low income patients for prescription drugs and expand the list of drugs that will be subsidised.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday at the National Day Rally that the qualifying age for the PCPS will be lowered from 65 to 40. Its income ceiling will also be raised. More details will be announced by the Ministry of Health at a later date.

Under the PCPS, needy elderly patients and those on the public assistance scheme can receive subsidised outpatient care through their neighbourhood GPs or dental clinics. There are currently about 32,100 PCPS card holders.

During his English and Mandarin speeches yesterday, Mr Lee underlined the Government’s focus on the country’s ageing population. Mr Lee noted that, in time to come, elderly citizens with chronic ailments or those who require long-term care – such as patients with dementia – can become a heavy burden to their families.

While the 3M (Medisave, MediShield and Medifund) framework has worked well for inpatient care, Mr Lee said Singapore “can do better” in outpatient care.

Explaining why the qualifying age for PCPS was lowered, Mr Lee said: “Because when you have high blood pressure or cholesterol or diabetes, by the age of 40, it’s beginning to show up, particularly if you haven’t looked after yourself.”

Mr Lee also drew attention to patients – young and old – with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Said Mr Lee: “The pills can be expensive, particularly over a long period of time. The low income patients sometimes … may skip an appointment because they fear they can’t afford the pills.”

Mr Edward Leong, 55, welcomed the Government’s moves. Mr Leong, who has hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and kidney problems, spends about S$1,000 a month on medication as well as dialysis.

He said that his medical bills are due to go up once his daughter starts working, as the provider charges him according to the household’s financial ability. Mr Leong, who is also partially blind, added that he had been worried about his situation prior to yesterday’s announcements.

Mr Lee reiterated in his Mandarin speech that the Government will increase capacity and support for nursing homes.

He acknowledged that Asian families tend not to send their parents to nursing homes. However, quoting a New York Times article, he said that in recent years, old folks’ homes are sprouting up in many cities in China.

The Prime Minister noted that such a trend indicates an ageing population as well as changing traditional values. Singapore may face the same challenges, said Mr Lee. But he stressed that the issue must be handled carefully in order to avoid a situation where families “dump” their parents in hospitals or nursing homes.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Residential sites up for sale by tender »« US downgrade a boost for Singapore

US downgrade a boost for Singapore

US downgrade a boost for Singapore

While grey clouds loom in the global economy, the Republic’s AAA rating could give it competitive advantages

by Richard Hartung 04:46 AM Aug 12, 2011

Singapore is now rated as safer for investors than America. While the United States had its credit rating downgraded to AA+ by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) late last week, Singapore has retained its higher AAA rating. S&P says that this highest means an “extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments”.

Not only is Singapore as a whole ranked AAA, but local institutions and companies are rated highly by S&P too. Temasek Holdings is also ranked AAA, for example, as is Singapore Technologies Engineering.

Its banks are also well regarded on a global basis. Bloomberg rated Singapore banks among the strongest in the world in June, saying that OCBC “ranks as the world’s strongest bank”; DBS and UOB also placed in the top six.

While US politicians are wringing their hands in anguish, and while the risk of a global economic downturn may have increased, Singapore could gain relative benefits from the downgrade in the US rating.

Already earlier this year, Singapore’s bankers were travelling to the US to make pitches to American companies to move their funds and their transactions to Singapore. Companies may feel that placing all their deposits in a lower-rated US bank with a negative outlook from the ratings agencies is too high a risk, so moving funds to a Singapore bank could help to diversify the risk.

Now that Singapore has a higher rating than the US, companies and individuals alike may find moving their banking relationships here more compelling.

Mr Matt Huang from Macquarie Group told Bloomberg, too, that after the downgrade “there really is a global need for a reallocation and rebalancing”, and Singapore will be a beneficiary of that trend.

With US companies alone holding over US$1.9 trillion (S$2.3 trillion) in cash or the equivalent according to Reuters, getting even just a little piece of that pie could lift local deposits significantly.

You might ask, just how seriously do investors take such ratings?

Ratings agencies have been much maligned, in the US since S&P’s latest downgrade, and more widely before that when downgrades came late in the game during the 2008 global financial crisis. Yet investors still do use them for their investment decisions.

As US brokerage giant Schwab says, even though a rating is an opinion, “credit ratings do matter. Investors use them to compare the risks of various issuers and securities, just as banks often use credit scores to assess the risk of an individual borrower. A rating is only one of many metrics investors use when analysing bonds, but it is an important one”.

With the latest developments, Mr Peter Cohan explains on Forbes that “some public pension funds and mutual funds may be required to sell US Treasuries” since these funds can only hold AAA securities; he estimates that sales could amount to 3 per cent of their US Treasury holdings. Foreign investors may similarly reassess whether they want to invest in now-lower-rated US Treasuries.

In short, some organisations will now be looking for another place to park their money. Singapore’s AAA rating means it could be one of the destinations for investors’ funds.

Of course, investors could also consider putting their money in other countries with an AAA rating. Switzerland or Australia are alternatives. Marketing Singapore more proactively in the Middle East, Europe or the Americas, whether companies are looking at building a factory or simply placing excess funds, could help to increase investors’ comfort with Singapore as an attractive destination.

LOWER MORTGAGE RATES?

While the broader trend of the US downgrade could raise interest rates there and perhaps globally, interest rates here may eventually decrease a little as money flows in.

Banks that receive deposits and pay low rates to companies or individuals who are focused primarily on Singapore as a safe haven for their funds, may be able to loan out the money at lower rates. This means borrowers could eventually see lower interest rates on their mortgages or other loans.

Singapore and the region could also become a more attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). While acknowledging that the turmoil following the US rating downgrade could have a negative impact on exports, ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan also told the Wall Street Journal that if companies are “looking for a safer haven, this is it”. FDI in ASEAN could rise, and AAA-rated Singapore could be a prime destination for some of those investments.

Singapore companies could benefit from the changes as well. Along with the high ratings for Temasek and ST Engineering, Singapore Post has an AA- rating and SingTel is rated A+.

If companies like these need money to build new facilities, make an acquisition or conduct other activities, having a high rating while also being located in a highly rated country could give them a competitive advantage over other borrowers. While S&P downgrades to American companies following the US ratings drop did not occur solely because they are located in the US, Singapore-based companies could still be perceived as being less risky.

These advantages do not mean that everything is rosy. Singapore has reduced its GDP growth forecast for the year to 5-6 per cent, while some analysts have reduced their forecasts even further. Exports could fall if economies abroad grow more slowly, which could negatively affect the overall economy and employment.

Given that the change in the US credit rating is new and has not occurred before, it is difficult to forecast exactly what will happen next. But on a relative basis, it could give Singapore competitive advantages.

Richard Hartung is a management consultant who has lived in Singapore since 1992.

Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright

Qualifying age for Primary Care Partnership Scheme lowered to 40 »« HDB to launch 8,000 flats in Sept and 4,000 in Nov

HDB to launch 8,000 flats in Sept and 4,000 in Nov

HDB to launch 8,000 flats in Sept and 4,000 in Nov

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said it will launch 5,500 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in September and 4,000 BTO flats in November. The flats will be in different towns, such as Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang, Yishun, and Jurong East.

These two launches will bring HDB’s total BTO supply this year to 25,000 flats.

HDB will complement the September BTO launch with the launch of at least 2,500 flats under a Sale of Balance Flats Exercise. Taken together, HDB will launch a record 8,000 units in September.

For 2012, HDB will launch another 25,000 BTO flats.

Besides new towns like Punggol, flats will also be built in mature estates, such as Kallang, Whampoa and Tampines.

HDB also said that the changes to new income ceilings for the purchase of flats and executive condominiums announced by the Prime Minister at the National Day Rally last night, will take effect immediately.

With the revision of the household income ceiling for executive condominiums to S$12,000, the CPF Housing Grant will also be tweaked. It ranges from S$30,000 for those with household income of not more than S$10,000 to S$10,000 for those earning S$12,000.

There is no change to the S$10,000 income ceiling for the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), which was just raised a year ago.

HDB said it will also increase the supply of rental flats for low income Singaporean households. Some 57,000 units will be available by 2015, compared to 46,000 currently. Another about 4,000 rental flats will complete construction by next year.

-CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

US downgrade a boost for Singapore »« Income ceilings for HDB flats to be raised

Income ceilings for HDB flats to be raised

Income ceilings for HDB flats to be raised

By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 14 August 2011 2049 hrs

SINGAPORE: The government will raise the qualifying income ceilings of households for HDB’s Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and Executive Condos (EC), said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday evening.

The qualifying income ceilings of households for BTO flats will be increased from the current S$8,000 to S$10,000, and for ECs from the current S$10,000 to S$12,000.

Prime Minister Lee said HDB will also build another 25,000 BTO flats next year to meet demand and keep prices of new flats stable and affordable.

The pool of rental flats will also expand. About 7,000 new units will be built by 2013, and to create temporary rental units, the government will also postpone the demolition of old housing blocks under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

Mr Lee said the moves will ease the waiting time for needy Singaporeans who require rental flats. But beyond adding supply, Mr Lee said the government will need to address the deeper social issues behind the demand for rental flats.

The prime minister also made the commitment to keep housing available and affordable for Singaporeans.

To meet demand, the HDB is already building 25,000 BTO flats this year. And this has had some effect, with each new project seeing fewer applicants.

Still, many young couples, especially those earning just under the qualifying income ceiling of $8,000 a month, are concerned. They worry that with their incomes on the rise, they will breach the ceiling before they get their first flat.

Hence, the monthly income cap will be raised from the current S$8,000 to S$10,000.

For Executive Condominiums, the ceiling will be raised from the current S$10,000 to S$12,000.

“We are bringing more people into the HDB net, and you don’t have to worry so much. But the result of bringing more people into the HDB net is that there’s going to be more demand for the BTO flats,” said Prime Minister Lee.

Hence next year, HDB will be building another 25,000 new BTO flats.

Analysts said the measures will ease the concerns of many homebuyers, but they wonder if further reviews of income criteria are required.

“Much of the policies, like the CPF housing grant, are exactly the same as the (income ceiling) policy to be eligible for a brand new flat. So if there is an amendment now with the (income ceiling) for brand new flats, my question is: will there also be an amendment to the resale market policies, for example, the CPF housing grant?” asked Chris Koh, director of Dennis Wee Group.

Another policy that also has the S$8,000 income ceiling is the HDB housing loan.

But Mr Koh said that is unlikely to be changed as the concessionary interest rate loan is aimed at helping those who need a loan badly and who have a lower household income. Furthermore, raising the cap will likely drive more people to take up HDB loans.

“My view will be, what will banks say about it, because they’ll lose this potential group of home loans,” he said.

- CNA/al/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright

HDB to launch 8,000 flats in Sept and 4,000 in Nov »« Singles and seniors get more help for housing