News Highlights Thursday 14 February 2008

The Business Times, P29

S’pore world’s 7th most expensive office location
Singapore has jumped 10 places to become the world’s seventh-most expensive office location. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s (C&W) report on office occupancy costs, prime office rents rose 78% in Singapore last year. Occupancy costs are now at US$130.48 psf per annum, up from US$954 psf per annum in 2006. Rental increases here were the fifth highest globally last year. C&W executive managing director (South-east Asia) Arsh Chaudhury said that rental growth in Singapore was led by strong demand from the banking and services sectors coupled with limited supply of quality office space.



The Business Times, P30

Revision of DC rates expected to be ‘moderate’
The coming March 1 revision of development charge (DC) rates is generally expected to be more moderate than the past couple of revisions, which imposed steep rises. That’s because on the whole, land price increases have slowed considerably in the past few months. And collective sales, which traditionally account for the lion’s share of private-sector land sales, have virtually ground to a halt. Most consultants project smaller average DC rate increases for residential and commercial use this time. However, JLL is predicting bigger hikes for industrial and hotel use, as hotel and industrial sites sold at government land sale (GLS) tenders in recent months have fetched top bids significantly higher than the land values implied by current DC rates.



The Straits Times, H18

China Square Food Centre to be converted into office space
The three-storey China Square Food Centre in Telok Ayer Street is set to undergo a $10 million transformation into an office block. Singapore’s office supply is so tight that one businessman has already expressed interest in renting all the office space there. If he does, he will get naming rights for the building. The property’s owner, Wah Kiaw Developments, a property developer, aims to capitalize on the strong office rental market. While a few smaller new office buildings will be ready to hit the market this year and next year, the supply crunch will ease only in 2010. That is when a large injection of Grade A office supply at the huge Marina Bay Financial Centre will be ready. Once the renovation is done, it will boast a leasable area of about 11,000 sq ft of food and beverage outlets and a banking hall on the ground floor, about 38,000 sq ft of office space on the second and third floors, and carpark lots in the basement. Wah Kiang is hoping for rents of $16 psf, similar to those charged by some office buildings in the CBD. The China Square Food Centre, with a gross floor area of around 58,000 sq ft, has 30-year tenure.


The Business Times, P7

$46.5m capital gain boost for Bt Sembawang
Thanks to a one-time capital gain, Bukit Sembawang Estates has reported third-quarter net earnings of $52.4 million, more than eight times the net profit of $62.5 million it generated for the corresponding quarter last year. The one-time capital gain of $46.5 million for the three months ended Dec 31, 2007 came from the sale of more than two million shares in HSBC Holdings plc. Bukit Sembawang had earlier said that the share sale was to reduce the group’s bank borrowing. In view of the uncertain climate in the property market, Bukit Sembawang sad it is reviewing the launch of the two projects – the 102-unit freehold development Paterson Suites and the 123-unit The Vermont on Cairnhill.



The Business Times

Average monthly household income grows at fastest pace in 10 years
But income inequality widens despite govt effort
(Read also ST's Household incomes up but rich-poor gap widens)



The Straits Times

Coping, adapting and going forward
(Edited excerpts of MM Lee's interview by UPI's Arnaud de Borchgrave, Part 1
(Look for Part 2 tomorrow)