Microsoft seeks allies in new bid for Yahoo

Microsoft seeks allies in new bid for Yahoo 
 
MICROSOFT is preparing a new bid for Yahoo’s search business and has approached other media companies about joining it in a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo’s break-up, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Microsoft has already held talks with Time Warner and News Corp, among others, the newspaper quoted people familiar with the discussions as saying yesterday.

The talks are preliminary and are unlikely to result in a deal with Yahoo, the paper said.

In related news, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the United States Justice Department had opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal struck last month that would allow Internet titan Google to provide some search advertising for Yahoo.

Google and Yahoo officials have said since the deal’s announcement that they would delay its implementation for a voluntary Justice Department review. But a formal investigation signals that the department may have found some cause for concern.

Lawyers familiar with similar investigations said that the kind of legal requests being issued by the Justice Department in this case - ‘civil investigative demands’ - are not used for routine matters.

‘They don’t do it without having identified significant issues,’ said Mr M.J. Moltenbrey, a former director in the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

The investigation underscores the high-stakes fight under way to control Internet advertising and, by extension, the content it supports. Google, according to its competitors and critics, could gain a monopoly in Internet advertising if the deal with Yahoo is permitted.

One of the largest chunks of Internet advertising today is ’search advertising’, or the advertisements that run alongside Internet search results delivered by the major search engines: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Google’s is the dominant search engine, while Yahoo’s and Microsoft’s efforts run a distant second and third.

Under the Google-Yahoo deal, announced on June 12, Google would provide search advertising to Yahoo for some but not all Yahoo searches in the US and Canada.

The two would share the advertising revenue, with Yahoo estimated to receive as much as US$800 million (S$1.1 billion) annually from the agreement.

Asked whether Microsoft had been issued a demand for information in the investigation, a company spokesman declined comment.

WASHINGTON POST, REUTERS

Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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Singapore Business parks and high-tech sites gaining popularity

Singapore Business parks and high-tech sites gaining popularity 

By Chua Hian Hou 
 
BUSINESS parks and other high-tech industrial sites in Singapore have become increasingly popular among eligible tenants.
According to a new report released yesterday by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the overall occupancy rate at business parks probably hit a new high of 90 per cent last month, up from 88 per cent in March.

To rent space at sites like Changi Business Park, prospective tenants must meet certain criteria. These include carrying out research and development work.

Rental rates at these high-tech spaces are heading north. The rates may be cheaper than ultra-high-tech business parks and prime office space, but they were expected to have risen 6.8 per cent last month to $3.15 per sq ft per month from the first quarter.

The popularity of these sites, the report said, was due to the ‘limited availability and continued rental increases’ of office space in the Republic, although the dizzying upward spiral in rental rates had abated in recent months.

Nevertheless, prime office spaces can cost upwards of $16 per sq ft per month - far more expensive than in business parks.

Last year, prime office rents nearly doubled on the back of tight office space and a strong demand from occupiers, including global financial institutions expanding their operations in Singapore. This was on top of the 50 per cent-plus rise that prime office rents registered in 2006.

More business park and other high-tech sites are being built in Singapore. Recently, two business park sites in one-north were awarded.

Biopolis Phase III, which will have a gross floor area of 41,505 sq m when completed late next year, is being built by Crescendas Bionix.

Solaris, formerly known as Fusionopolis Phase 2B, will be built by Soilbuild Group Holdings. When completed by June next year, Solaris will have a gross floor area of 50,271 sq m.

Industrial landlord JTC Corp has also launched a new ‘concept and price’ tender at Changi Business Park.

This site will have a maximum gross floor area of 47,006 sq m, of which 40 per cent is designed for hotel and retail use. The tender will close next month.

——————————————————————————–
The sites are becoming more attractive because of the ‘limited availability and continued rental increases’ of office space, says a CBRE report

Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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Industrial production evaluate rebounds, snaps 6 months autumn

Industrial production evaluate rebounds, snaps 6 months autumn

Purchasing Managers’ Index for June stands above 50, manufacturing signalling

By Chua Hian Hou

A key indicator of manufacturing industry has finally shown signs of a rebirth after six months of decline.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose 1.6 points to 50.6 last month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector, while one below 50 shows contraction.

The increase marks a welcome turnaround May ’s PMI 49 - the lowest since the dot.com bubble burst in 2001 and the third consecutive monthly reading is gone below 50.

The Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) compiles notes asking factory purchasing managers about their expectations for the next month.

SIPMM CEO Janice Ong said last month l ‘increase was ‘better than expected ‘and could signal that manufacturing has bottomed out and was moving towards a moderate recovery during the second half of the year.

She attributed the jump to ‘higher production and stocks of finished products and higher inventory level ‘.

But she warned that “all imports and employment indices remain in contraction mode, indicating the position of local manufacturers cautious about the uncertainty and volatility external environment ‘.

The well-hoped-for manufacturing was also resumed at the risk of further slowdown in demand overseas, now in its fourth month of contraction, largely due to “the deteriorating level of confidence American consumers and businesses’, “said Ong.

She added that new orders were mainly from domestic rather than foreign customers, and if the alien does not look in the next three months, growth could well spraying.

CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said yesterday that he hoped ‘lowest numbers are behind us ‘.

He pointed out that the first half of the year is traditionally a quiet period, if things should go look for manufacturers.

On the macroeconomic level, ‘is still waiting for China as it ’s done all right, and USA ‘PMI has also rebounded, so not everyone ’s closing shop ” Song said, referring to widespread Doom and darkness surrounding the global economy.

He added that while the industry is not likely to be a superstar artist this year, the new reading, we hope, means it can ‘at least remain in the dark ‘.

Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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Key player in Jade saga reaps huge profit from Singapore home sale

Key player in Jade saga reaps huge profit from Singapore home sale 

Anthony Soh plans to use proceeds to pay off his mortgage and step up legal fight to clear his name

By Lee Su Shyan, Assistant Money Editor 
Bought for $7.95m last year

Sold for $11.8m this year
 
THE businessman at the centre of the bungled Jade Technologies buyout is cashed up for his legal battles in Singapore and Australia after pocketing a huge profit from the sale of his lavish home.
Dr Anthony Soh had to take a big cut from his asking price of $13.88 million for the Windsor Park Road bungalow, but the dramatic rise in property prices over the past year still meant he could walk away well ahead.

He bought the 21,800 sq ft house in January last year for $7.95 million and spent $400,000 on renovations but sold it for $11.8 million - a profit of $3.85 million.

Dr Soh told The Straits Times in May that he wanted to sell the house to pay off his mortgage with OCBC Bank, and raise cash for legal fees he expected to incur in his fight to clear his name following the Jade buyout.

He has instigated legal actions in Australia against failed Melbourne broker Opes Prime and investment bank Merrill Lynch over the seizure of millions of Jade shares.

The profitable sale of his house will allow him to step up his legal fight.

‘I now have extra funds to hire two Queen’s Counsel to fight Merrill and others who took my shares,’ said Dr Soh last night.

He pledged the Jade shares to Opes to secure a loan. When the broker went belly up in March, however, Merrill, an Opes creditor, seized the stock.

This left Dr Soh with insufficient funds, forcing him to abort the Jade buyout. He contends that Merrill had no right to sell what he considers to be still his shares. This contention is at the heart of the legal action he has started in Australia against the investment bank and Opes.

The debacle had also resulted in a number of inquiries being launched into Dr Soh’s role in the events that left many investors in the red after their Jade shares plunged in value.

Funds from the house sale will also likely be used to fund legal costs on this front.

The buyer was businessman Jonathan Lim Keng Hock, who moved fast after reading about the property in The Straits Times on May 28.

Sources close to Mr Lim, 47, said he promptly made an appointment that day to view the lavish bungalow, which boasts a swimming pool and a badminton court.

Mr Lim, who had been looking for a place for months, signed the option agreement the following day.

Property agents said the $11.8 million price was a fair one, given the subdued state of the market and considering that the house, while a good class bungalow, is not in the prime Bukit Timah district.

Dr Soh told The Straits Times last night: ‘I am pleased that the buyer of the house is happy with the deal. He likes the house and got it at his price.’

Mr Lim is the main investor and chairman of electronics firm SNF Corporation. His stake of 26.99 per cent is worth about $3.68 million

He is also the founder and managing director of Romar Positioning Equipment International, a private firm that makes automation equipment for handling and welding in the energy and transportation industries.

The firm has more than 180 staff, a turnover exceeding $90 million and estimated profits of about $11 million. It was acquired by a European multinational corporation earlier this year.

 
Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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New long-term passes for 200,000 foreigners

New long-term passes for 200,000 foreigners 
 
FOREIGNERS studying, working or visiting here on a long-term basis will be issued new identity-card-like passes in the coming months in a government move to enhance national security.
It will not affect low- or mid-level skilled foreigners on work permits or S-passes. These workers are already issued cards with security features.

The new long-term pass will replace the stamp endorsement on the travel documents of long-term visitors and the paper-laminated cards issued to foreigners working and living here.

More than 200,000 foreigners will be affected by the change, which was announced yesterday in a joint statement by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Earlier, in April, the two agencies had told The Straits Times that they were looking into giving these foreigners new identification cards as a safe and secure means to identify individuals and ease travel.

The new card will have better security features than the existing paper-laminated cards.

It will have biometric features similar to those found in the Singapore identity card, including a photograph and fingerprint of card holders aged 15 and older.

The paper-laminated card has neither. It essentially contains such personal particulars as the name, date of birth and foreign identification number of the pass holder.

With the new card, officials from the ICA and MOM can verify the card holder’s identity through face and fingerprint matching.

It will also deter forgery and fraudulent use of the card, said the two agencies.

Foreigners who have to apply for the new card include those on long-term visit passes and students, as well as professionals on employment passes and their families.

It will be introduced in phases. The first to get them will be new long-term visit pass and student pass holders. They will be issued the cards in the coming months.

Those holding the paper-laminated passes will switch to the new card in phases or when they renew their passes.

Professionals on employment passes and their family members living here will get the cards from next April.

Entrepreneurs starting a business here, university students on vacation work and trainees on attachment will also get them from next April.

More details on the card, such as its design and security features, will be given later, said the statement.

Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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More US students seek Asian experience - WASHINGTON

More US students seek Asian experience - WASHINGTON
 
By Bhagyashree Garekar, US Correspondent 
INTERACTING IN A GLOBALISED WORLD: Ms Shayna Brownstein, 21, a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology , was one of 30 students who did a short-term study programme at NUS. — PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHAYNA BROWNSTEIN
 

 
IN WASHINGTON - SO WHAT if economists say the continents are decoupling, young Americans figure the future is pretty much entwined.
More American students than ever are heading to universities in Asia, including in Singapore, to get up close and personal with the big growth story.

Among other things, they hope the experience will give them an edge at the workplace.

‘As the world becomes more globalised, I will probably be interacting more and more with Asians at work,’ said Ms Shayna Brownstein, 21, an industrial-engineering student at the Georgia Institute of Technology and one of 30 students from the college who did a short-term study programme at the National University of Singapore.

After 51/2 weeks in Singapore, she was headed to Beijing for a similar programme at Qinghua University before returning home to Atlanta.

There are many others.

From the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, 40 undergraduate students have just spent six weeks at the Singapore Institute at Management. Last year, Buffalo sent 28 students.

Some of the students are spending an entire semester or a year in the graduate courses.

Unlike Europe, Asia has never been a favourite destination for American students. Now China stands at No. 10, just ahead of Japan, says a 2007 report by the New York-based Institute of International Education.

And, of more than 223,000 American students who studied abroad in the 2005-06 academic year, 58 per cent chose Europe and only 9 per cent went to Asia.

But while the overall figure for those headed overseas was up by 8 per cent, the proportion who went to Asia jumped 26 per cent.

In the worldwide market for overseas education, estimated to be worth at least US$2.2 trillion (S$3 trillion), Singapore is seeking a niche with a distinctive and catchy message.

‘Singapore’s universities are marketing themselves to American students as fun places from which to understand Asia,’ said Mr John Conceicao, Director of the Education Services Division at the Singapore Tourism Board.

The three universities - NUS, NTU and the Singapore Management University - have more than 80 partnerships with US schools for undergraduate student exchange.

The drive is part of Singapore’s Global Schoolhouse project to attract 150,000 international students by 2015.

Already, there are students from about 120 countries in Singapore, although nine out of 10 come from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam and South Korea.

‘Americans don’t usually opt for full-fledged tertiary courses. So stints in Singapore are marketed as weeks-long study-abroad opportunities or as exchange programmes lasting a semester or two,’ said Mr Conceicao.

‘What we say to them is that Singapore is a good springboard for having an Asian experience. Cliched as it is, this is where East meets West.’

The message seems to be hitting home.

Mr Michael Swift of AsiaLearn, set up last year to promote overseas study opportunities, said: ‘I do see increasing interest in Asia among American students. They are paying attention to news on Asia and how this will likely impact on their future.’

He described Singapore as the perfect starting point for students in Asia for the first time.

‘The city is easy to navigate, English is one of the official languages and the universities are excellent,’ he said.

Asia is still perceived as a venue for those majoring in language or Asian Studies, he said. ‘However, I believe there is a larger audience of students curious about these lands, but lacking confidence to embark on a study-abroad programme to Asia.’

Professor Stephen Dunnett, Vice-Provost for International Education at the University at Buffalo, said Singapore is a safe introduction to cross-cultural encounters and what appeals to students is the very urban, modern, and Westernised environment.

‘They can find their favourite junk foods,’ he said. ‘They meet students who wear the same kind of clothes, use the same iPods, even use the same Americanisms. It is not a culture shock that you might get, say, in China or Japan.

‘But, as the students soon discover, Singapore is very Asian below the surface, while being very comfortable.’

Another attraction: it is easy to travel from Singapore to other South-east Asian cities.

Mr David Schwartz, 21, a Georgia Tech student, said he was glad he had used his time to travel in the region.

‘It allowed me to see how a large portion of the world lives, which is a lifestyle that I have never been able to see before. It really was a humbling experience,’ he said.

The students also said Singapore campuses stacked up well.

Said Ms Brownstein: ‘NUS is much more similar to Georgia Tech than I had imagined. The professors teach in a very similar style. The facilities are as good. The food courts and the landscaping, though, are far better.

‘I truly enjoyed lunchtime conversations I had about Singaporean culture, food, ethics, education system, and many other topics. These insights will stay with me.’

For Filipino-American Justin Jimenez, 22, a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, spending five months at NUS last year helped him understand his heritage.

‘As an Asian-American, connecting to my roots in Asia is very important to me. It helped me to understand my place in the world - something not many Americans understand, or even feel is necessary to understand,’ he said.

 
Source : Straits Times - 03 July 2008

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Singapore Private home prices may have peaked

Singapore Private home prices may have peaked 

URA estimates show mere 0.4% rise between April and June, the lowest growth in 4 years

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 

 
GROWTH in private home prices ground to a halt in the second quarter, dragged down by dismal market sentiment and a poor showing in the luxury segment.
But things were cheerier among cheaper homes, with prices of suburban condominiums and HDB resale flats continuing to climb.

Private home prices inched up 0.4 per cent between April and last month, according to flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

This is the smallest rise in about four years and a stark drop from the 3.7 per cent rise recorded in the first three months of the year.

On the supply side, there were 67,700 private residential units as at the first quarter, of which 56,500 are expected to be completed between this year and 2011. Some 42,700 units, or 63 per cent, in the pipeline are unsold.

Experts were divided on whether the market has peaked. While home sales have been in the doldrums since late last year, recent launches - at lowered prices - have been encouraging.

Some consultancies, like DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, predicted that private home prices are ’set for further corrections’ with bigger developers likely to follow in the footsteps of smaller ones and cut prices to move sales.

Prices will come under pressure from two other factors - speculators dumping units and more homes coming on the market as construction ends, DTZ added.

Its analysis of selected projects showed that prime freehold flats actually fell in price by 4.7 per cent in the second quarter while values of suburban and landed homes were unchanged.

Ms Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ’s senior director of research, said: ‘This is just the beginning of a decline. Prime properties have started to come down and while the mass market is still holding, we’re no longer seeing increases.’

URA data showed that condos in the prime central region led the slowdown in the second quarter, with prices creeping up just 0.2 per cent. City-fringe home prices rose 0.7 per cent while those of suburban condos increased by 1.3 per cent.

The star performer was the HDB resale market, where prices climbed 4.4 per cent - more than the 3.7 per cent growth in the first quarter.

Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, said the demand for HDB flats was likely boosted by too-high prices of private homes.

But the private home market ‘has probably peaked and prices will come down, if not in the next month, then in the following months’, he added.

Mr Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank’s director of research and consultancy, added: ‘If sales volumes don’t pick up much and if the United States posts very weak economic growth, we could see a price decline by December.’

But other consultants painted a brighter picture.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho noted that 1,200 to 1,400 new homes were sold between April and last month, almost double the 762 sold between January and March.

Most of the projects that sold well were mid-tier or mass market condos, with average prices between $775 per sq ft (psf) and $1,225 psf, he said.

‘Despite prices softening a little, volume has improved in the last four weeks and this might encourage more developers to launch products.’ This could boost transactions in the next two quarters, which may lead to a strengthening of prices, Mr Li added.

Dr Chua Yang Liang, Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of South-

east Asia research, was more cautious. ‘Demand remains favourable in the suburbs, thanks to strong economic growth and a rise in average wages in the first quarter,’ he said. But the market is expected to ‘continue to swing from month to month till we see a clear stability in either volume or price level’.

Source : Straits Times - 02 July 2008

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Prices of Singapore HDB resale flats still climbing

Prices of Singapore HDB resale flats still climbing 

4.4% jump in second quarter, given strong demand, tight supply and higher valuations

By Jessica Cheam 
 
THERE is a buzz in the property market and it is in the heartland.
HDB homes are continuing their bull run - even as private home prices stagnate - with prices rising 4.4 per cent in the second quarter.

This is according to flash estimates released by the Housing Board yesterday.

The latest jump is higher than the 3.7 per cent first-quarter rise in HDB flat prices.

Housing experts point to an underlying healthy level of demand for resale flats, tight supply and higher valuations as key reasons for the rise.

The onward march of HDB flat prices comes after prices rose 17.4 per cent last year.

In contrast, private home prices inched up only 0.4 per cent this quarter, compared to 3.7 per cent in the previous quarter, flash figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed.

Last year, private home prices soared 31 per cent.

One reason public flats are outperforming private homes now is that HDB price rises are still lagging behind those of private homes which shot up in the housing boom, say market watchers.

Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said HDB prices still have room to rise as they were slow to take off at the start of the recent property boom.

Higher valuations of resale flats are also likely to have contributed to the price rises, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.

He expects public-housing prices to continue their rise, by another 5 per cent, for the rest of this year. That would mean a full-year jump of about 13 per cent.

Both men agreed that the tight supply of HDB flats is another factor keeping the market buoyant, with demand from upgraders, downgraders and permanent residents.

‘With Singapore’s economic fundamentals still intact, the buzz in the HDB resale market is expected to continue in 2008,’ said ERA Realty’s assistant vice-president Eugene Lim.

‘A buoyant HDB resale market is good news for developers of mass-market condominium projects as HDB upgraders are their primary target market,’ he added.

However, with the stream of new flats coming into the market, some demand will move away from the resale market to new flats, he said.

During the first half of this year, HDB launched 4,524 new flats.

Subject to demand, HDB said in a statement that it plans to offer about 3,900 new flats under the Build-to-Order system over the next six months, in towns such as Punggol, Sengkang and Bukit Panjang.

The full data for the second quarter will be released at the end of the month.

 
Source : Straits Times - 02 July 2008

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Mapletree, Arcapita in real estate JV

Mapletree, Arcapita in real estate JV

Fund to hold $1.7b portfolio of industrial properties
By EMILYN YAP

MAPLETREE Investments has entered a joint venture with Arcapita Bank to form a private real estate fund called Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT). The fund will hold the $1.71 billion portfolio of high-rise, ready-built industrial properties acquired from JTC Corporation.
 
Sealing the partnership: Hiew Yoon Khong, CEO of Mapletree Investments (left) and Martin Tan, executive director, co-global head of real estate, Arcapita Bank, at the Toa Payoh North industrial estate 
Mapletree will hold a 25.1 per cent stake in MIT, while Arcapita will hold 56.5 per cent. Mapletree Industrial Fund, a pan-Asian private real estate industrial fund sponsored by Mapletree, will own the rest.

‘We will explore the possibility of listing this portfolio as a Reit in due course, possibly in combination with other Mapletree industrial assets,’ Mapletree’s CEO Hiew Yoon Khong said yesterday.

MIT took official control of the industrial properties yesterday. The portfolio comprises 39 blocks of flatted factories, 12 amenity centres, six stack-up buildings, one ramp-up building, three multi-tenanted business park buildings and one warehouse building. Mapletree’s wholly owned subsidiary Mapletree Industrial Fund Management will manage the properties.

Mr Hiew said Arcapita’s involvement as a joint-venture partner in MIT supports ‘our view that this is a high quality portfolio of real estate’.

Headquartered in Bahrain, Arcapita provides syariah-compliant alternative investments and counts high net worth individuals and institutions among its investors. The bank opened its Singapore office in January.

‘The properties in the portfolio are attractive and well-diversified in terms of tenancy, location and asset type, and are well placed to continue to perform strongly,’ Mapletree and Arcapita said in a joint statement yesterday.

The partnership marks Arcapita’s first major investment in South-east Asia and its first venture with Mapletree. ‘The acquisition of this JTC portfolio, given its scale and quality, is an excellent start for Arcapita’s Singapore office as we seek to increase our investments and presence across Asia,’ said Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik.

 
Source : Business Times - 02 July 2008

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Singapore Tampines site to anchor H2 industrial land sales

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Singapore Prime property districts’ prices show 1st fall in 4 years: DTZ

Singapore Prime property districts’ prices show 1st fall in 4 years: DTZ

Downward pressure may increase as speculators dispose of units, it says
By ARTHUR SIM
(SINGAPORE) Property prices in the prime districts of District 9, 10 and 11 have registered their first fall in four years and DTZ Debenham Tie Leung believes that this downturn in sentiment could spill over to the non-prime districts.
 
 
In an analysis of resale prices based on its own basket of properties, DTZ found that prices of private residential properties in Q2 this year reflected the first correction in the past four years, led by non-landed residential units in the prime districts.

DTZ’s basket of properties for prime freehold non-landed resale residential homes include Cairnhill Crest, The Pier at Robertson and Botanic on Lloyd and capital values averaged $1,410 per square foot (psf) in Q2 2008, reflecting a 4.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (qoq) decline. Capital values had remained at $1,480 psf for the two previous quarters.

While it should be pointed out that luxury home prices have reached new heights in recent years, DTZ said that it also tracks a separate basket of luxury properties which includes premier developments like Ardmore Park.

Outside the prime districts, capital values of freehold and leasehold non-landed resale residential units remained unchanged, averaging $750 psf and $610 psf respectively, holding steady at this level for three consecutive quarters after both sectors registered 7 per cent increases in Q4 last year.

And the outlook for rest of the year is likely to be challenging.

 
‘Besides smaller developers, some of the bigger developers are also likely to reduce selling prices to move sales especially for developments that have been on the market for some time.’
 
- DTZ 
 
 
 
 
DTZ said that with high inflation compounding the expected economic slowdown globally, prices of private residential properties are set for further corrections.

‘Besides smaller developers, some of the bigger developers are also likely to reduce selling prices to move sales especially for developments that have been on the market for some time.’

‘In addition, the sub-sale market is expected to be active with speculators disposing their units, especially those who have purchased multiple units on Deferred Payment Schemes and are most likely to dispose some or all units to avoid stretching their financial limits,’ it added.

While some speculators may feel that renting remains an option for them, DTZ said that as rentals come under pressure in 2009-2011 due to the surge in new home completions, it is unlikely that speculators will want to hold on to their units for rental income.

DTZ does believe that there was significant wealth creation in the run-up to the recent ‘economic boom’ of 2006 and last year, and there is ‘pent-up demand’ from many who have been waiting for an opportune time to buy. ‘Take-up will eventually pick up when the market senses that prices have bottomed,’ it added.

On the pick-up in sales towards the end of Q2 2008 for ‘attractively located and reasonably-priced projects’, DTZ’s executive director (Residential) Margaret Thean said: ‘At the end of the second quarter, we began to witness the return of market confidence and an improved buying sentiment. Some residential projects are enjoying sell-out status while others are being are well-received. This is clearly indicated by the sell-out status of projects such as Suites 123 while Nassim Park, Parc Sophia, Dakota Residences and Clover by the Park received encouraging response.’

Source : Business Times - 02 July 2008

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High returns, strong S$ spur investment in US

High returns, strong S$ spur investment in US

Singapore’s direct investment in US hits new highs
By CHUANG PECK MING

(SINGAPORE) The United States is back prominently on the radar screens of Singapore companies looking to acquire or set up businesses overseas.
Direct investments from Singapore surged suddenly from some US$20 million in 2006 to US$6.27 billion last year, according to the latest figures released this week by the US Department of Commerce.

And these exclude the US$5 billion bailout Temasek pumped into Merrill Lynch, or the US$6.88 billion that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation sank into a distressed Citigroup. Those count as portfolio investments.

The big jump in direct investments from Singapore to the US in 2007 came a year after returns on them bounced back, hitting a five-year high of US$174 million. It will bring Singapore’s cumulative direct investments in the US to some US$8.68 billion.

The increase could also result from the rise in the Singapore currency against the US dollar, which makes it cheaper for Singapore companies to invest in the US. Between end-2006 and end-2007, the Singapore dollar rose 6.2 per cent against the greenback, appreciating from S$1.5415:US$1 to S$1.4463:US$1.

The surge in direct investments in the US last year did not come just from Singapore. ‘Outlays by investors from the Asia and Pacific region rose substantially in 2007, as outlays by investors from Australia, Singapore and (South) Korea increased significantly,’ the Commerce Department says in a report.

Led by Australia - which saw its investments rise nearly three times from the year before to US$15.22 billion - the region’s direct investments in the US more than doubled from US$15.76 billion in 2006 to US$36.93 billion last year.

European investments went up 37 per cent to US$146.5 billion, with the increase more than accounted for by the British.

‘Outlays by investors from Australia in the real estate and rental and leasing industry more than tripled,’ the Commerce Department says.

The investments from Singapore - the third largest from the Asia-Pacific, after Australia and Japan, went into the manufacturing, wholesale trade and finance and insurance sectors, excluding banks.

For the region as a whole, the biggest chunk of the investments - US$15.48 billion - were sunk in manufacturing, followed by real estate and rental and leasing (US$11.65 billion).

Globally, US$276.8 billion in foreign direct investments flowed into the US last year, up 67 per cent from 2006. They were the second largest on record and the highest since 2000, when new investments peaked at US$335.6 billion. In 2006, investments jumped 81 per cent.

‘The increases in both years (2006 and 2007) were significantly larger than the overall increases in US merger and acquisition activity and broke a pattern of more moderate annual growth from 2002 to 2005,’ the Commerce Department says.

‘The strong growth in spending in 2006 and 2007 coincided with declines in the value of the dollar against many major currencies.’

 
Source : Business Times - 02 July 2008

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Singapore Mass market stays buoyant as buyers find price is right

Singapore Mass market stays buoyant as buyers find price is right

Flash estimates for Q2 show overall private home prices flattening; steady HDB resales keep mass market more active
By ARTHUR SIM

(SINGAPORE) Flash estimates for property price indices are in with numbers suggesting that price-sensitive buyers are bargain hunting or scaling down their expectations altogether.
 
 
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released estimates for the Q2 2008 price index for private residential property yesterday with prices rising just 0.4 per cent - a mere crawl compared to the 3.7 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

While this represents the slowest growth in four years, Jones Lang LaSalle’s local director and head of research (South East Asia) Chua Yang Liang also notes that it is the, ’steepest’ quarterly rate of change since Q3 2000.

Much of the activity was in the mid and mass-market as reflected by URA’s index for three geographical regions. Prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by just 0.2 per cent in Core Central Region (CCR) and 0.7 per cent in Rest of Central Region (RCR), but climbed a more robust 1.3 per cent in Outside Central Region (OCR).

Dr Chua added that demand remained favourable in the OCR supported by average nominal wage increases in the Q1 2008 and ‘dislodged residents of collective sale sites’.

 
‘The market is not short of buyers and many astute investors have been shopping around, looking to scoop up value buys.’
 
- ERA Realty Network assistant vice-president Eugene Lim 
 
 
 
 
Also robust was the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) resale market with estimates for the quarter revealing that the HDB Resale Price Index increased by 4.4 per cent over the previous quarter, and higher than the 3.7 per cent increase in Q1 2008.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak said that the mass market is ‘influenced’ by HDB’s resale market and added that, ‘the resale market has been steady’.

Indeed, while HDB resale volume did fall to 6,360 units in Q1 2008, a 6 per cent drop compared to Q4 2007, it actually increased by one per cent on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.

By comparison, secondary market private property transactions of 2,304 units in Q1 2008 was a fall of about 40 per cent, quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) and a fall of 57 per cent, y-o-y, while primary market transactions of about 762 units was a fall of about 48 per cent in Q1 2008 q-o-q, and a fall of 84 per cent y-o-y.

ERA Realty Network assistant vice-president Eugene Lim also believes that a buoyant HDB resale market could boost HDB upgrader sentiment, but he pointed out that the strength of the HDB resale market can be attributed to ‘upgraders, downgraders and permanent residents’. On the last group, Mr Lim estimates that based on in-house data, permanent residents account for about 20 per cent of the buyers in the HDB resale market.

And attention is likely to continue to be diverted away from high-end products.

‘The market is not short of buyers and many astute investors have been shopping around, looking to scoop up value buys,’ added Mr Lim.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho noted that in the private property market, most of the transactions were mid and mass-market projects with the majority of transactions in the $750-$1,000 psf price bracket.

As such, Mr Li expects sales volume of new launches to rise to between 1,200-1,400 units in Q2 2008, compared to just 762 units in Q1 2008.

Property consultants have so far been careful to not use the ‘F’ word to describe home prices. Most believe prices have ‘plateaued’ or ’softened’, but not ‘fallen’.

Colliers International director (research and advisory) Tay Huey Ying even believes that home prices have, ‘remained stubbornly resilient to the extent that they continue to post a y-o-y increase of 20.4 per cent’.

Ms Tay also added that for the first six months of the year, home prices rose by 4.2 per cent. ‘(Developer’s) current pricing strategy can be described as competitive, that is either similar to current market prices or marginally lower than competitors,’ she added.

Ms Tay believes that home prices will continue to resist ‘downward pressure’ and expects prices to hold steady or decline marginally by not more than 3 per cent in Q3 2008.

Saying that mass-market prices have generally not been ‘chased up’ or preyed upon by the ’speculative element’, Ms Tay believes this sector could be the best performing for the rest of the year.

This however needs to be put in context.

Knight Frank’s Mr Mak does point out that prime property prices have increased by 52.4 per cent over the last two years. ‘On this basis, it is not surprising that this market segment will lead the slowdown in price growth,’ he added.
Source : Business Times - 02 July 2008

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Is Gallery Hotel on the market?

Is Gallery Hotel on the market?
THE Gallery Hotel in the River Valley area - the first ‘funky’ hotel in Singapore when it opened in 2000 - could go on the market soon, sources say.
BT understands that the hotel’s owner has been talking to several parties with a view to appointing an agent to market the property.

But when contacted by BT, the chief executive of The Gallery Hotel Pte Ltd Ted Ngo said: ‘At this moment, as far as I am concerned, there is no plan to sell Gallery Hotel or to appoint a marketing agent.’

The Gallery Hotel Pte Ltd, which manages the 223-room freehold hotel, is a fully-owned subsidiary of Robertson Quay Investment Pte Ltd (RQI) which owns the property.

Mr Ngo is also a director of RQI and his family is the company’s controlling shareholder. Other RQI shareholders include the Ang and Lim families.

Industry observers polled by BT estimated a wide range of prices for the property at Robertson Quay - from around $450,000 to $900,000 per room. This translates to an absolute price range of about $100 million to $200 million.

Mr Ngo said that the hotel’s average room rate so far this year is above $200, an improvement from almost $180 achieved last year, which was higher than the 2006 rate of close to $150.

 
 
He did not deny that there has been interest in the hotel.

‘I have been getting unsolicited enquiries from all sorts of people since the passing away of my father (Ngo Kheng Hoon) in September 2006,’ he said. ‘I presume someone must be very keen to acquire our property and he is very persistent.

‘Speaking on a personal basis, I don’t see any reason why Gallery Hotel should be on the market. We are doing very well. Singapore is a hot spot for tourism. Our shareholders are getting fantastically good returns compared to just a few years ago. It is hard to get similar returns from other sources these days.’

The property was originally known as Gallery Evason Hotel when it opened in September 2000 but the Evason name was dropped in January 2002 when Six Senses Hotels, Resorts and Spas, owner of the Evason brand and manager the hotel, dropped out.

A property consultant said: ‘There is scope to add value to the property by refurbishing and repositioning it, which would create some upside for an investor. Because the hotel can be sold without an ongoing management contract, the asset may be more appealing to potential investors, who will be free to manage the hotel themselves or appoint an established hotel chain to operate it for them.’

Source : Business Times - 01 July 2008

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Singapore Ophir/Rochor Rd white site for sale

Singapore Ophir/Rochor Rd white site for sale

But developers are not expected to bid bullishly
By ARTHUR SIM

A 2.7 hectare prime white site at Ophir/Rochor Road has been offered for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) - but developers are not expected to bid bullishly.
The site, in the new Beach Road/Ophir-Rochor Corridor, has been put on the confirmed list of the first-half 2008 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

And according to URA, it is a ‘natural extension from the established convention, office, hotel hub at Marina Centre’.

But given current quiet market conditions and rising construction costs, property analysts say that developers are unlikely to bid strongly. Bids are expected to range between $600 and $900 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Cushman and Wakefield managing director Donald Han believes the site does not compare with a ’super prime’ Beach Road site awarded in September 2007 for $1,068.6 psf ppr.

He also said that with a North Bridge Road site already identified as part of the second-half GLS programme, ‘developer and investor interest in the Ophir/Rochor Road site could be diverted’.

The new ‘corridor’ will be a 24/7 mixed-use area comprising integrated office, hotel, retail, entertainment and residential projects, according to URA.

 
 
‘New developments in the Beach Road/Ophir-Rochor Corridor will inject vibrancy and activities into this part of the city and form a new office cluster for financial and business institutions that will complement the existing financial district at Raffles Place and Marina Bay,’ it says.

The first development site for sale in the ‘corridor’ will have a maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of about 160,000 sq m, (1,722,224 sq ft). At least 40 per cent of the total GFA is for office use, with at least 15 per cent for hotel and hotel-related uses. The remaining GFA can be for office, hotel or other complementary commercial and residential use.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that if awarded, the office development is likely to be ready in 2013 and could offer city-fringe office occupiers an option to ‘upgrade or expand into a higher-grade quality building without moving into the CBD’.

Mr Li said that occupancy rates in the Beach Road/City Hall area remain strong at 93.3 per cent.

Although the market is subdued, sites on the confirmed list are generally expected to sell faster compared to those on the reserve list.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung executive director Ong Choon Fah reckons the Ophir/Rochor Road site could appeal to developers who want to position a project ‘differently’.

‘Not everybody wants to be in Marina Bay,’ she said.

Source : Business Times - 01 July 2008

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