News Highlights Friday 11 April 2008

HDB to sell unsold flats on a less frequent basis
Starting July 1, the HDB will hold fewer launches – but each launch will boast more flats. It will sell three-room and smaller unsold flats once every three months, instead of once a month. The bigger flats – three-room premium and above – will be sold half-yearly starting Oct 10, instead of every two months. Propnex chief executive said it will help unsuccessful buyers avoid having to re-apply for a dwindling pool of unsold flats every month or two. Already, demand is strong. 1,752 applications had been made for 490 four-room and bigger flats in the north and west zones. The 76 four-room flats, 371 five-room flats and 43 executive flats are in various towns such as Bukit Batok, Jurong East and Yishun. The HDB will now set aside 90% of the flat supply in these exercises for first-time buyers. They will also enjoy double the chances compared to regular applicants under the ballot to determine their queue position.

- The Straits Times, P33




HDB gets 1,752 applications for 490 flats
On the first day of the February bi-monthly sales exercise, almost 10,000 people applied for just 278 flats in sought-after mature estates such as Toa Payoh, Tampines and Bedok. Of the 490 flats offered for sale yesterday in the North and West Zones, 1,752 applications were received on the same day. The response was somewhat lukewarm, perhaps because 377 units out of the 490 units offered are in Jurong West, an area that is not considered popular. From April to September, HDB will be offering 5,000 new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in towns such as Punggol, Sengkang, Woodlands and Bukit Panjang. This will bring the total planned BTO supply for January-September to 6,100 units.

- The Business Times, P12




Economy surprises with robust 7.2% Q1 growth
The 7.2% flash estimate of Q1 growth – against sub-6% consensus forecasts, and up from the preceding Q4’s 5.4% pace – most surprise on the upside. The economy grew almost 17% in Q1, according to the figures based on January and February data. The manufacturing sector’s 13.2% recovery was due to a surge in the biomedical cluster and a better showing mainly by the electronics and chemicals industries. Growth was fairly broad-based across the economy, with the services sector maintaining pace at 7.6%, led by the financial services. Construction growth slowed, but to a still robust 14.6%. The Monetary Authority of Singapore – which unexpectedly tightened monetary policy yesterday – said that Singapore’s economic growth is likely to ease in the next few quarters. It also said that Singapore’s consumer price inflation is expected to remain elevated in the first half of 2008, projecting inflation rate to come in at the 4.5-5.5% range.

- The Business Times, P1




MAS signals it will allow stronger Sing dollar to fight inflation
The MAS effectively gave a one-time boost to the Singapore dollar to fight inflation. The MAS said that it would re-center its policy band for the trade-weighted Sing dollar, or S$NEER, at the prevailing level of the S$NEER – widely believed to be the near the top of the previous tolerated range – while leaving the slope and width of the band unchanged. The shift would help to moderate inflation while providing support for sustainable growth in the economy. MAS’s latest move is also intended to arrest expectations of future inflation. But rising prices will remain a worry despite a stronger Sing dollar, which will not ease inflation pressure from domestic sources such as higher housing costs. Yesterday, the Sing dollar strengthened 1.8% to a high of S$1.3572 in afternoon trading, before easing slightly to S$1.3572 at 7pm.

- The Business Times, P1



China revises 2007 GDP growth to 11.9%
China revised its GDP growth for 2007 to 11.9% from 11.4%. The upward revisions reflected greater output in the services sector than was initially reported. Services grew by 12.6% last year, compared with an initial estimate of 11.4%. China’s currency also nudged past 7.0 yuan to the US dollar yesterday.

- The Business Times, P23