News Highlights Wednesday 28 May 2008

Nassim condo turns in surprisingly good sales
A luxury condominium in the Nassim area has turned in surprisingly good preview sales. Buyers have taken up 38 units at Nassim Park Residences, paying a whopping $10 million or more for each apartment. The 100-unit development, which United Overseas Land (UOL) is building on the former Nassim Park site in Nassim Road, is understood to be priced upwards of $3,000 psf. The project consists of only four-bedroom and penthouse apartments. Each of the four-bedders is believed to be at least 3,000 sq ft in size, while the penthouses are 6,000-7,000 sq ft. Nassim Park Residences is the first major luxury development to be released for sale this year. Some smaller projects have also seen brisk sales after discounts were offered. Over the Vesak Day weekend, Macly Group sold 60% of the 102-unit Vutton in Novena at a 10% discount off list prices, or about $1,100-1,400 psf.

- The Straits Times, H22



Raffles Education in US$150m ventures with India's Educomp
Raffles Education Corporation has embarked on two joint ventures worth a total of US$150 million in India and China. Its partner in both ventures is Educomp Solutions Ltd, the first education company to be listed in India. The joint venture in India, Raffles' first partnership in the country, will bring the group's entire suite of professional development programmes and courses to Educomp's student population. Educomp currently works with 6 million students and aims to widen its reach to 10 million students by 2010. Programmes will be rolled out over the next two to three years. In China, the joint-venture will bring Educomp's programmes and products for K-12 (from kindergarten through to 12 years) education to Raffles' operations in the country. Raffles Education Corp is the leading education company in China.

- The Business Times, P9




Govt rolls out two industrial sites
A confirmed list plot in Woodlands with Business 2 zoning and a reserve list plot at Kallang Pudding Road for Business 1 use are now open for application. Both sites are offered on 60-year leasehold tenures and have 2.5 plot ratio. Colliers predicts the 61,757 sq ft Kallang Pudding site, located in the established MacPherson/Al- junied industrial belt, will attract more attention with bids likely to be around $90-100 psf of potential gross floor area. The 180,835 sq ft plot at Woodlands Industrial Park E5 may fetch bids of only about $20-25 psf ppr.
- The Business Times, P10
Bankers brace for slowdown in loans growth
Growth in financial services slipped to 13.4% year-on-year from 16% in the preceding quarter, due to the US sub-prime crisis. Loans growth may have continued in Q1, but it is unlikely to be sustained. Given that some 55% of the growth in bank loans has been driven by the building and construction sectors, which are abating, core lending will be hit. More financial institutions are forecasting a downward trend in business, with Q1 of this year registering a net downturn in sentiment.
- The Business Times, P1
April visitors hit 826,000, a record for the month
Singapore welcomed 826,000 visitors - 0.8% more than in the same month a year ago and a new April record. Indonesia (131,000 visitors), China (107,000), Australia (63,000), India (63,000) and Malaysia (53,000) were the top five visitor-generating markets. Among the top 15 markets, Vietnam, China, and Australia registered the highest growth at 22%, 8% and 8% respectively.
- The Business Times, P10