News Highlights Thursday 10th April 2008

M&C in venture to invest US$46m in 2 Indian hotels
Millennium and Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C), a subsidiary of City Developments Limited, has announced a joint venture company in India with Rakindo Developers Pvt Ltd – M&C Rakindo Hospitality – to invest US$46 million in developing two hotels in the south of the country. The hotels, currently under construction in Chennai and Bangalore, will be managed under a new brand that will target business travelers. The 120-room hotel in Chennai is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2009, while the 300-room hotel in Bangalore will come onstream in the first quarter of 2010. Rooms are expected to cost between US$100 and US$120. Data from the 2007 Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels India Digest reports strong growth in RevPAR (revenue per available room) in three major Indian cities – Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai – as a result of inadequate supply to meet the robust demand over the last 5 financial years.

- The Business Times, P45




Credo Real Estate looks to spread its wings
Credo Real Estate, the No 1 collective sales broker last year with $2.17 billion of deals, plans to branch into new areas of business – including auctions, residential project marketing, valuation and even property funds management. Despite the quieter en bloc sales market, brokering collective sales will still be the mainstay of Credo’s business.

- The Straits Times, P19




Soilbuild clinches Fusionopolis contract
Mainboard-listed Soilbuild Group Holdings has clinched the Concept-and-Fixed Price Tender (CPT), called by JTC Corporation, to develop and lease Fusionopolis Phase 2B. The proposed development, estimated to cost about $148 million, is a multi-tenanted facility at one-north in the Buona Vista area. It sits on a 7,734 sq m site with a plot ratio of 6.5, which translates into a maximum gross floor area of 50,271 sq m. It will comprise an office space white component of about 7,200 sq m and a retail space of 300 sq m. The development is expected to be completed by the second half of 2009.

- The Business Times, P44




St George launching projects here
London mixed-use developer St George is launching its latest projects in Asia. The first is One The Tower at Battersea Reach, a 17-storey feature on the south bank of the Thames. Prices start from £800,000 (S$2.19 million) or £900 psf. The next is Aquarius House at St George Wharf, which offers views of the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. Prices start from £399,950 or £800 psf. DST International Property Services is marketing the developments in Singapore and Malaysia.

- The Business Times, P45




Amber Glades (30 & 32 Amber Garden) - advertisement
- Freehold, land area 40,917 sq ft
- Residential plot ratio 2.8
- Close proximity to Parkway Parade and Marine Parade Central
- For sale by tender


- The Business Times, P42




Large Landed/Condominium Development Site at District 15 for Sales by Tender - advertisement
- Lorong J/K Telok Kurau
- Tenure: 105 years/999 years commencing 26 January 1939
- Land area: approximately 101,662 sq ft
- Outline permission granted for 5-storey condominium development with plot ratio 1.4

- The Business Times, P44




S’pore, Indonesia firms to build $55m power plant
Home-grown Biofuel Industries announced plans for a $55 million Jurong power plant it would develop jointly with Indonesian firm PT Medco Power Indonesia (MPI). Construction will start in the middle of this year and take two years to complete. MPI is a unit of MedcoEnergi, which is listed on the Jakarta and Luxemborg stock exchanges.

- The Straits Times, H18




US$945b: IMF’s estimate of losses from sub-prime crisis
The IMF points out that the crisis is spreading beyond the US sub-prime market, to the prime residential and commercial real estate markets, consumer credit and the corporate debt markets. Of the US$945 billion of total losses, US$565 billion will be due to residential mortgage debt, US$240 billion will come from commercial real estate debt, US$120 billion from corporate debt and US$20 billion from consumer credit debt. US$720 billion will come from security debt. The IMF points out that emerging-market countries have been broadly resilient so far.

- The Business Times, P1




US heading for recession: IMF
The US will tip into a recession this year, and there is a 2.5% chance world growth will drop to 3% or less, a level that can be considered recessionary, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF said the global expansion of the past several years was losing ground in the face of a major financial crisis brought on by a downturn in the US housing sector. The brunt of the crisis will be felt in the US and Western Europe. Emerging and developing economies have been less affected by the financial market turbulence, and their growth is set to remain above trend, led by China and India. Economic growth in Asia, excluding Japan, will remain robust this year.

- The Straits Times, P18




Indonesia Q1 growth a steady 6.2-6.3%, underpinned by consumer spending
Indonesia’s economy is estimated to have grown by around 6.2-6.3% in the first quarter from a year ago, as steady consumers spending underpinned growth. Head of fiscal analysis at the finance ministry said that steady consumer spending should support growth, despite problems in the global economy and inflation. The government has cut its GDP growth forecast for 2008 to 6.4% from 6.8% because of concerns over the global economy.


- The Business Times, P19