News Highlights Friday 22 February 2008

The Business Times, P1


Singapore’s Olympic dream comes true
Singapore has won the right to host the very first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010. The YOG, which will be held in August 2010, is expected to welcome some 5,000 athletes and officials and will offer contests in 26 different sports. Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, can stand to ride on the branding boom that comes with hosting the YOG. The government hopes that the YOG will be a platform to help bring up brand awareness of local companies, possibly through second-tier sponsorship.



The Business Times, P2


Maybank’s home loan promotion creates a buzz
Maybank’s promotional home loan package has drawn massive interest from new home buyers and home owners looking to refinance. Since the launch on Tuesday till end of Wednesday, it had received more than 1,500 inquiries and close to 200 applications. However, this is unlikely to spark a mortgage price war, with OCBC saying that banks are unlikely to be dragged into undercutting each other on rates.


The Business Times, P7

Auric Pac sells office building for $99m
Lippo unit Auric Pacific has sold One Phillip Street in the Raffles Place area to UK based New Star International Property Fund for $99.02 million or $2,736 psf of the 999-year leasehold building’s net lettable area (NLA). The price is about 2.6 times the $37.6 million it paid about two years ago. The property, with 36,194 sq ft NLA, is fully leased. The asset is New Star’s second major acquisition in Singapore. In May last year, it bought Parakou Building at the corner of Robinson Road and McCallum Street for $128 million or $2,013 psf of NLA.


The Business Times, P10

Office rents in Singapore on upward climb: property firms
According to CBRE, the occupancy cost for office space in Singapore is now higher than in Hong Kong. Total occupancy cost here hit US$10.42 psf per month (pm) at the end of last year, while that for Hong Kong was US$9.74 psf pm. CBRE considers office space in Hong Kong’s CBD as well as other areas outside the city area, while it only looks at Singapore’s CBD when calculating cost here. Prime office rents in Singapore rose 19.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the entire year, office rents rose a staggering 92.3 per cent. Separately, Savills predicts that office rents here could rise by another 15-20 per cent this year. Luxury home prices are expected to climb 8-12 per cent this year, after jumping 50 per cent in 2007.


The Business Times, P10

Tanjong Pagar hotel site may fetch $750 psf ppr
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday made available for application a reserve-list site in the Tanjong Pagar area. The 99-year leasehold site, at the corner of Gopeng Street and Peck Seah Street can be developed into a 30-storey hotel with about 330 hotel rooms. CBRE estimates that the plot could be worth $700-$750 psf of potential gross floor area (GFA). Around the middle of last year, URA sold nearby hotel sites at Tanjong Pagar Road for $573 psf per plot ratio (ppr) and $562 psf ppr.



The Business Times, P10

2 good class bungalows on Leedon Road up for sale
A pair of recently completed Good Class Bungalows at 38 and 39 Leedon Road have been launched. The asking price is about $35 million for each bungalow. The plots’ land areas are 22,000 sq ft and 21,000 sq ft respectively. Each five-bedroom, two-storey freehold house has a basement garage for up to five vehicles.


SJI International to open primary section
SJI International, the privately run arm of popular boys’ school St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), will open a primary section next month. It will have places for 200 boys and girls, but all of them will be foreigners. School fees at the primary section will be $17,000 a year – slightly lower than those at the Singapore American School and the United World College Southeast Asia (UWCSEA).



The Straits Times, H11

CapitaLand raises Ascott stake to 91.7%
CapitaLand is on track to delist its serviced apartment unit, The Ascott Group, after lifting its stake in the firm to 91.7 per cent. Ascott is the biggest operator of serviced apartments in Asia and Europe.



The Straits Times, H36

Development fees may jump for non-residential sites
Development charges will be revised again next month, and property consultants expect it to be raised for non-residential sites, such as land for hotels and hospitals. Development charges should not jump much for residential plots this time, after already having being jacked up a few times last year. Selected areas, however, could still see bigger fee hikes. These include Novena, Geylang, Ang Mo Kio and Orchard Boulevard, where recent strong land sales have pushed up values.


The Straits Times, H34

Quieter property market but outlook favourable in long run
According to the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS), the property market is expected to be quiet for the first half of this year. Sellers are lying low, with developers delaying launches and pushing back projection completion dates amid the construction squeeze. However, in the longer in run, the market outlook is favourable, considering the Singapore economy’s sound fundamentals.


The Business Times

Property sector braces for tougher times in 2008
Players feel squeeze from more credit woes and soaring construction costs (Read also ST's Quieter property market but outlook favourable in long run)



The Business Times

Parkway justifies record land bid with vision for a 'hospital of the future'
Focus will be on cardiology, oncology and orthopaedics (Read also ST's Nothing less than A-class rooms at Novena hospital)


The Straits Times

US growth forecast cut but S'pore economists unperturbed Outlook for Republic has already factored in a more severe slowdown for US