News Highlights Wednesday 27 February 2008

The Straits Times

Hotel rates up, as visitor arrivals hit record
In January, 883,000 visitors arrived in Singapore, up almost 7% from a year ago. Average hotel room rate hit an all-time high of $237, fuelling concerns that Singapore risks pricing itself beyond the reach of more budget-conscious tourists from the region and China. Indonesia, mainland Chinese and Australians formed the top three groups of visitors. Cushman & Wakefield estimate that Singapore is short of between 1,000 and 1,500 rooms this year, this could mean prices rising further. However, 10 hotels are scheduled to open soon. They include Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Hotel, the Park Hotel Clarke Quay and Far East Organization’s Quincy Hotel off Orchard Road.

The Business Times

SLA to lead shift out of CBD with move to Novena It will rent space in IRAS building to ease office space crunch (Read also ST's SLA to move out of Shenton Way to Revenue House)


The Business Times

CapitaLand's strategy hints at outlook for residential market ...(M)any property developers are content to say that they are cautiously optimistic about the second half of the year, actions seem to tell a different story....


The Business Times

Tiong Bahru Plaza creates 19,000 sq ft retail space Asian Retail Mall Ltd (ARML) is giving up two floors of offices at Central Plaza and transferring the gross floor area to the next-door Tiong Bahru Plaza mall....


The Straits Times

A place for residents - and birds and trees Part of Sungei Ulu Pandan woodland to be cleared for flats, but natural lovers' concerns also heeded


The Straits Times, H3

HDB launches 494-unit Punggol project
HDB has released 494 flats, all four-room units, at Punggol Spring and has received 278 applications yesterday. They are priced between $204,000 - $259,000, about 2/3 of the current resale price in Punggol. HDB will release another 4,000 BTO flats between now and June, mainly in Punggol and Sengkang. There are also more than 200 units each in Punggol Vista, Fernvale Vista and Coral Spring from the recent BTO launches. Punggol Spring is expected to be completed by 2011. It is located within walking distance of the Damai LRT station.


The Straits Times, H4

Woodlands cemetery to make way for MRT depot
A 21ha site in Woodlands has been identified to build a depot serving the upcoming Downtown Line. Nearly 2,000 graves in a cemetery sitting on part of the land will be exhumed. The rail yard, to be located in Woodlands Road across from the Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate, is touted as the world’s largest underground train depot. It is twice the size of the Circle Line’s Kim Chuan Depot. Construction on the new depot will start in December this year and scheduled for completion in 2015, when the second stage of Downtown Line opens. The Downtown Line is a $12 billion 33-station MRT project, which will be built in three stages. First stage which will serve the Marina Bay area is expected to be completed in 2013. The second at Bukit Timah area to Bukit Panjang is slated for completion in 2015. The final stage that heads east to end at the Singapore Expo is scheduled to be completed in 2016. The line will intersect with other MRT lines, i.e. Botanic Gardens, Newton, Little India, Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Chinatown and MacPherson.


The Straits Times, H27

Citi targets million-dollar investors
Citibank has opened a Citigold Select Centre at 6th floor of Paragon Shopping Centre to cater to customers with more than $1 million to invest. The 6,000 sq ft centre cost $3.5 million to set up and uses technology such as video-conferencing, CitiAssist phone banking service, and operates entirely on wireless technology.


The Business Times, P9

Citibank opens branch for millionaires at Paragon
Citigold customers have investible assets of $250,000 and above, while Citigold Select clients have about $1 million to $14 million to invest. An estimated 38,000 people in Singapore are in this category, and Citibank’s revenues from this group surged 50% last year. Besides the usual suite of investment products in equities, commodities and currencies, Citigold Select clients enjoy tailor-made products structured by the bank to meet individual client needs.


The Straits Times, H27

German firm to site $809m chemical plant in Singapore
Lanxess, a German chemical giant has picked Singapore – Jurong Island, over Malaysia and Thailand as the site of US$575 million (S$808.7 million) plant. The investment will create at least 200 skilled positions including jobs for engineers and scientists, once the plant is ready in 2011. Lanxess has also committed US$70 million of its investment to install environmentally-friendly technologies. The Lanxess investment follow two other major chemical projects already under way – the US$3 billion Shell and US$4 billion ExxonMobil crackers, which are expected to come onstream by 2011. Lanxess’s investment will have spin-off benefits to Singapore’s economy by creating jobs for 150 engineers and 1,500 workmen to build the facility.


The Business Times, P8

GIC Real Estate buys five-star Tokyo hotel
GIC bought the Westin Tokyo hotel from Morgan Stanley at 80 billion yen (S$1.04 billion). The sale of 438-room hotels is a profit of 60% more than the 50.1 billion yen that Morgan Stanley agreed to pay in 2004 for the Westin from Sapporo Holdings Ltd, which was one of the biggest property purchases in Japan at that time.


The Business Times, P8

$95m tag for 16 terrace houses up for collective sale
Fort Terrace, a row of 16 terrace houses at Fort Road in the East Coast has been put up for collective sale with an indicative price of $95 million. The site, which is being marketed by Colliers International, has an area of 47,886 sq ft and a 2.1 plot ratio. The development charge is estimated at $23 million, as well as the cost to alienate some 10,964 sq ft state land which would be about $6.4 million. With this, the site would cost about $1,238 psf with breakeven price at $1,718 psf. The site can be developed to accommodate a high-rise condo with 67 units of 1,500 sq ft each. New developments nearby on Meyer Road are currently selling for between $2,100 and $2,200 psf. The market price for the individual homes at Fort Terrace ranges between $2.1 million and $2.3 million.