News Highlights Tuesday 6 May 2008

JLL re-entering housing project sales business
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is poised to re-enter the Singapore residential project sales business. It has clinched appointments to market Floridian, a 336-unit freehold condo development in Bukit Timah by Far East Organization and Wing Tai Holdings, and Lippo's Centennia Suites at Kim Seng Road. JLL will focus on the upper end of the Singapore residential market and will also market Singapore residential projects through their international office network. JLL believes that the proportion of foreign buying in the Singapore housing market will continue to increase. JLL views the current slowdown in housing sales here as temporary - driven by sentiment, not fundamentals. The fundamentals for Singapore and Asia remain very strong, even though ‘we're being somewhat sidetracked by the world credit market’.

- The Business Times, P32



Low interest rates not likely to help housing
Low or negative real interest rates are often cited as one factor supporting housing prices. But Citibank believes that in today's market, negative real interest rates will at best be a 'cushion' in the near term, and that income growth is probably stronger in explaining housing price trends. A strong labour market not only improves housing affordability but lifts rental demand from foreigners, thereby increasing rental yields and the attractiveness of residential property. Negative or low interest rates may prove supportive of housing demand if they coincide with a rebound in incomes and sentiment that many expect with the launch of the integrated resorts. Citi also believes that official figures for new housing supply could be over-estimated in the context of heightened construction bottlenecks and spiralling material costs.

- The Business Times, P32




New Master Plan expected to see selective changes
URA’s Master Plan 2008 will see changes in land use and increases in plot ratios, but these will be selective and focused on growth areas, said DBS Vickers. The strategic initiatives from the Master Plan will filter down to improved growth fundamentals for various economic sectors, with the property sector being a key and obvious beneficiary. DBS expects much of the key significant land use and plot ratio changes to be concentrated in certain strategic areas - Seletar (aerospace industrial use), Jurong (new regional centre), Paya Lebar (commercial hub near city fringe), Marina Bay (white sites and residential), Novena (medical and healthcare), Kallang Basin (residential) and Ophir-Rochor (mixed development). With the phased opening of the Circle Line from 2009 onwards, an increase in plot ratios is expected for undeveloped state land sites that are close to Circle Line MRT stations, and in particular those that intersect with existing MRT stations.

- The Business Times, P31



Two industrial sites and good class bungalow up for sale
2 freehold industrial sites - at 18 Howard Road and 27 New Industrial Road, in the north-eastern part of Singapore - are for sale by tender at indicative prices of $30 million ($272 psf ppr) and $14 million ($278 psf ppr) respectively. CBRE said the sites are zoned Business 1 under Master Plan 2003, meaning 40% of gross floor area can be used for purposes such as offices, showrooms or workers' dormitories. The 18 Howard Road site is a 44,000 sq ft vacant plot in Macpherson Industrial Estate. The 20,000 sq ft 27 New Industrial Road is in the New Industrial Road cluster. Separately, DTZ is marketing a 999-leasehold Good Class Bungalow (GCB) site in Yarwood Avenue. The 69,540 sq ft site, close to Binjai Park, has been put up for sale through an expression-of-interest exercise at an indicative price of $750-$800 psf.

- The Business Times, P10




S'pore is key commodities hub: UBS
UBS is moving its head of commodities for the Asia-Pacific from Hong Kong to Singapore - betting that the Republic is poised to become the regional centre for commodities trading. Transparent laws, geographical location, efficiency in shipping and its global view give Singapore an edge over other countries. UBS has more than doubled its commodities team in the region since January last year with a significant majority based here.

- The Straits Times, H16




Asia is key to Merrill's global strategy, says CEO
While Asian markets are likely to be affected by the US woes to varying degrees, Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain pointed out that the region is still the perfect match for Merrill's strategy to become a top global wealth management and investment banking player. Singapore, China, India and Russia are among the key fast-growing markets where he sees great opportunities. The bank is on track to move its global services centre for its private banking and global markets to a new building in the Republic, which has a capacity for 2,000 employees, by next year.

- The Straits Times, H18



Lanxess moves Asian marketing HQ to S'pore
Germany’s Lanxess - which is investing 400 million euros (S$845 million) in a mega chemicals plant on Jurong Island - is relocating its Asian marketing headquarters for leather chemicals, including key personnel, from Hong Kong to Singapore from this July. Lanxess chairman hinted at even bigger plans for the Republic, when he said that Singapore will become an important new manufacturing hub, taking on more manufacturing projects here for the group. Top personnel in its leather business unit, including Frank Paus, head of global marketing, and Jurgen Hackenbroich, marketing head for Asia-Pacific, will be relocated here.

- The Business Times, P10




Expect hi-def movies, telemedicine
The Next Generation National Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) promises to deliver services such as high-definition movie streaming, 3D virtual world learning, video-conferencing and more when it is rolled out by 2010. With access speeds of 1Gbps or more, the upcoming network will be more than 10 times quicker than the fastest broadband package available today. The Next Gen NBN, which is expected to be available nationwide by 2015, also promises to create a more competitive broadband market in Singapore.

- The Business Times, P4