CITYVIBE, a new three-storey retail and entertainment complex opposite Clementi station and next to the future Clementi Central Hub, is for sale through an expression of interest exercise at an asking price said to be $140 million. This could work out to a 5-5.25 per cent net yield for the property, which will have a […]
Archive | January 11, 2008
Phoenix site to rise again as hotel-retail complex
Straits Trading in talks to redevelop site; new complex to roll out in 2011 (SINGAPORE) A new 580-room hotel and a retail complex with a net lettable area of about 150,800 square feet is slated to come up on the Specialists’ Shopping Centre and Hotel Phoenix site in 2011. OCBC Bank, which owns the land […]
Office redevelopment worsens space crunch; rents soar
CBD supply fell 3.7% y-o-y in Q4 2007 to 19.98m sq ft ONLY 341,180 sq ft of new office supply became available for the whole of last year. At the same time, 1.02 million sq ft of office space was taken away, as a result of buildings undergoing redevelopment or addition and alteration work. A […]
50% chance of recession in Japan: Goldman
View contrasts with upbeat reports from World Bank, OECD on major economies IN TOKYO JAPAN’S economy could follow that of the US into recession this year, investment bank Goldman Sachs warned yesterday, underlining a growing gulf between analysts in the private and public sectors over prospects for the global economy in 2008. A senior Bank […]
NEWS OF ASSET SALE: Eng Wah shares soar to record high
CINEMA group Eng Wah Organisation’s share price shot up by 16.5 cents to 85 cents – an all-time high – on news that its portfolio of properties was up for sale. The counter went as high as 91 cents during the day. Eng Wah’s properties could be worth as much as $190 million so, based […]
JLL sees more intensive land use near Buona Vista Station
Area undergoing development to turn it into commercial and R&D hub LAND use around Buona Vista Station is likely to be intensified to maintain the buzz from the development of one north and optimise the area’s improved accessibility when the new Circle Line intersects with the existing East-West Line. Making the point in a study […]
Pearlbank Apartments up for collective sale at $750m
THE 38-year-old Pearlbank Apartments development at Pearl’s Hill has been put up for collective sale at an indicative price of $750 million. Marketing agent Knight Frank says that with a lease upgrading premium estimated at $143.3 million, the unit rate works out to be $1,456 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), assuming the […]
Ho Bee-IOI tie-up wins Sentosa’s Pinnacle site
Bid of $1.1b seen as relatively low as US sub-prime crisis dampens market IT was the last chance for a bite of the sweet Sentosa Cove pie, but only three developers tendered for The Pinnacle Collection site with Ho Bee Investment and Malaysia’s IOI Properties partnering to put in the winning bid of $1.1 billion. […]
Home-buying move may spur EPF withdrawals
RM9.6b will be unleashed yearly if all members take up KL’s offer: CSFB IN KUALA LUMPUR A GOVERNMENT initiative to boost home ownership is expected to ‘free up’ billions of ringgit from a national social security fund, and boost property sales. Beginning January, members of Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) are allowed monthly withdrawals to […]
Hektar Reit aims to quadruple mall portfolio
Trust is focusing for now on Malaysia with its growing retail market MALAYSIA-LISTED Hektar Reit (H-Reit) plans to quadruple its mall portfolio in about four to five years as it rides on Malaysia’s growing retail market, a senior member of the trust’s management team said. Zalila Mohd Toon, chief financial officer of the trust’s manager, […]
Yanlord has landbank in 8 Chinese cities
For 9 months last year, value of pre-sold units doubled to $1.1 billion ONE of the companies whose shares are joining the STI this year is Yanlord Land Group, a top-tier property developer in China. Founded in 1993 by chairman Zhong Sheng Jian, who is now a Singaporean citizen, Yanlord has expanded its landbank into […]
Beijing to expand CBD fourfold
(BEIJING) Beijing is to relocate several thousand households to quadruple the central area of the Financial Street district, where many banks and insurers are headquartered. The district is to grow from the current 1.18 square kilometres to 4.77 sq km. Most of those to be relocated live in the western part of the area, the […]
China property bond risk rises to record
Analysts cite moves to cool market, curb loans to developers to fund expansion (SINGAPORE) The risk of property developers in China defaulting on their debt rose to a record, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The cost to protect bonds sold by Agile Property Holdings Ltd, Shimao Property Holdings Ltd and Hopson Development Holdings Ltd […]
Japan only has itself to blame for its economy
However it is hardly alone in shooting its economy in the foot By WILLIAM PESEK JR AS ECONOMISTS buzz about a Japanese recession, officials in Tokyo are racing to assign blame. An unfolding global slowdown is the most mentioned excuse. Fallout from the US sub-prime debacle is a close second. Surging oil prices also are […]
Oil shock, recession top global risks in ’08: report
(GENEVA) A sharp downturn in the global economy is the most likely and the most serious threat to the world in 2008, according to a report released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Fears of a US recession coupled with a sudden spike in oil prices replaced terrorism, pandemic disease outbreaks and short- term […]
Bids for transitional office site fall short of expectations
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has named the bidders for a 15-year leasehold transitional office site at Mountbatten Road. The top bid came in at $14.9 million or $69.17 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) – 14 per cent less than the last site awarded, in Tampines. Of the three bids received, the […]
Eng Wah properties put up for sale
Portfolio worth around $190m; bulk of proceeds may go to shareholders (SINGAPORE) Eng Wah Organisation, the subject of a reverse takeover, has put a portfolio of five cinema, retail and office properties up for sale, which sources suggest could be worth about $190 million. The five are Toa Payoh Entertainment Centre and Jubilee Theatre at […]
Job data suggests US recession is here: Merrill
Never in past 60 years has jobless rate risen 60 points without a recession (SINGAPORE) A US recession is a reality, says Merrill Lynch in a Jan 7 report, calling for a defensive strategy and investments in high-quality bonds. The firm’s North American economist David Rosenberg said last Friday’s employment data ‘strongly suggests’ an official […]
Last Sentosa Cove condo plot sold for $1.1b
THE last condominium plot in Sentosa Cove has been awarded to Ho Bee Investment and Malaysia-listed IOI Properties for a whopping $1.097 billion. They put in a land price of $1,822 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) – slightly above the previous benchmark of $1,799.78 psf. The bid, at just 14 per cent […]
Plunge in key interest rate may lead to cheaper home loans
Interbank lending rate drops to lowest in three years and is expected to fall further by mid-year HOMEBUYERS could be in for some cheer in the coming months after a recent plunge in a crucial interest rate that indirectly determines how banks set mortgages. The three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor), as it is called, […]
9 tenants, developer in legal dispute over Square2 mall
Retailers sue over empty pledges; Novena Point counter-sues for unpaid rent SLUGGISH business in the shopping mall sitting above the Novena MRT station has led to a legal tussle between a group of disgruntled tenants and the developer. The nine tenants of Square2 have sued the developer for misrepresentation, claiming that they were made several […]
Sunway keen on more projects in Singapore
Malaysian firm eyes more HDB design-and-build developments THE recently launched condominium-like public housing project in Boon Keng was a first in many respects, wowing home seekers with city views from extended balconies at new benchmark prices. What is less well-known, however, is the fact that it also marks the first time a foreign company is […]
Bond yields point to huge property bubble in China
HONG KONG – THE bond market is telling Asia’s richest man Li Ka Shing that he is sitting on a Chinese property bubble that is bigger than the one deflating in the United States. Bonds of China’s Agile Property Holdings yield 7.03 percentage points more than US Treasuries, double the premium in July and 1.65 […]
Developing nations to lift world economy amid US slowdown
They will be the biggest drivers of global growth as pace slows to 3.3% this year: World Bank DEVELOPING nations will be key in helping the global economy mitigate the drag from a slowing United States. With their domestic economies coming into their own, poor countries will be the world’s biggest growth driver this year, […]
