News Highlights Monday 17 March 2008

Sky-High Parking
The Hamilton, coming up at 37 Scotts Road on the former site of Hotel Asia will be the first residential high-rise in Singapore and the 3rd in the world after New York and Dubai, to have a private car porch for each apartment. The 56-unit development has not been launched yet. Hayden Properties, a joint venture between local financial consultancy company KOP Capital and Emirates Tarian, a subsidiary investment company of the Emirates Investment Group is unable to give any indicative price for its units averaging 3,000 sq ft in size. However, the URA website reports that apartments in the vicinity have been going for around S$4,000 psf.

- The Straits Times, P3




DBS may soon get go-ahead for up to 8 new branches in India
DBS is poised to receive approval to open 6 to 8 branches in India in a mid to penetrate the world’s second fastest growing economy. DBS, which operates a branch each in Mumbai and new Delhi, might be allowed a new branch in a metropolitan city such as Mumbai or Chennai for every branch that it opens in a Tier II city such as Varanasi or Moradabad. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank go-ahead will help to better the already excellent bilateral relationship between the two countries.

- The Straits Times, H19



HK houses going for HK$300m
Houses at The Peak are fetching close to HK$300 million and are still rising, epitomizing the hot luxury property market in Hong Kong. In the last quarter of 2007 alone, luxury residential prices at The Peak rose by 11.8 per cent, and another 25 per cent growth in the luxury sector is expected this year. The top buyers of the super-luxurious homes are estimated to comprise of 50 to 60 per cent mainland Chinese, with second-generation wealthy or celebrities, with a few expatriates making up the rest of the numbers.

- The Business Times, P1