News Highlights Friday 20 June 2008

Developers get more wriggle room with H2 land sales
Supply from the confirmed list of the Ministry of National Development's (MND) H2 2008 land sales programme is less than half that in H1. Although the supply on the H2 reserve list has been increased so that the total supply is about the same as in H1, market watchers reckoned that not many reserve list sites will be triggered for release. In all, MND is offering 40 sites in H2. 8 are on the confirmed list, down from 11 in H1, and 32 are on the reserve list, up from 26. The latest confirmed list will yield about 1,120 private homes, 50,000 square metres of gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 700 hotel rooms. The overall H2 programme will generate 7,960 private homes, 400,000 sq m of commercial GFA and 5,750 hotel rooms. MND is offering subdivided landed housing plots under the third phase of Sembawang Greenvale. New plots on the reserve list include a white site next to Jurong East MRT Station, which will have an office component and could generate about 385 homes. Several new condo sites are also on the reserve list - including one next to Lorong Chuan MRT Station and another next to the Dakota Residences project. In the private residential sector, some 56,500 new private homes are expected to be ready between Q2 2008 and 2011, of which 23,300 are in the Core Central Region.

- The Business Times, P1





Choice GLS sites could still generate interest
The Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for H2 2008 has been released, with several new choice sites identified, including those at Dakota Crescent and Serangoon Avenue 3. And with land prices expected to be more attractive, the momentum of land sales could still be maintained. Four non-landed sites on the confirmed list from the H1 2008 GLS programme were sold, with a further two sites tendered and pending award. Compared with the eight sites that were awarded from the H2 2007 GLS programme, it appears that the global economic slowdown has not stopped developers from buying land. A Dakota Crescent site under the H2 2008 GLS programme is likely to receive a lot of interest, as it is close to the new Kallang Riverside. Savills believes that bids for the site could be between $350 and $400 psf ppr. Another choice site is a white site at Jurong East Street 13, in the future Jurong Gateway. The site can yield an estimated 385 residential units but 63,840 sq m of space must be set aside for commercial use.

- The Business Times, P3





Capitol site and two new growth areas up for sale
The Government will sell the huge 1.45ha prime site housing Capitol Theatre and Stamford House in December. Any development must include a hotel. The North Bridge Road plot featuring the Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building, Stamford House and Capitol Centre is one of eight confirmed sites under the H2 2008 land sales programme. The four buildings currently have about 250 retail and office tenants, most of whom will move out by next May.

- The Straits Times, P3





CDL sells Commerce Point for $2,200 psf
City Developments Ltd (CDL) is believed to have sold the 19-storey Commerce Point near Raffles Place MRT Station for about $181 million or $2,200 psf of net lettable area. The buyer is said to be Morley Fund Management, part of the Aviva group. The 999-year leasehold building has a total net lettable area of 82,160 sq ft. In June last year, Hong Leong sold the freehold 1 Finlayson Green for about $231 million or $2,650 psf based on its existing net lettable area of about 86,500 sq ft. The buyer was a unit of UK-based property fund group Develica, said to be leasing space in the building at a monthly rent of about $13 to $16 psf. Lippo unit Auric Pacific sold One Phillip St to UK-based New Star International Property Fund for $99.02 million or $2,736 psf of NLA in February this year.

- The Business Times, P8




Work begins on Woodsville Interchange
Construction of the $130 million Woodsville Interchange began yesterday. When completed in end-2011, it will feature three road tunnels and a flyover to seamlessly connect Serangoon Road, Bendemeer Road, Upper Serangoon Road and Macpherson Road. These four roads and their connecting slip roads to and from the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) make up the Woodsville Interchange.

- The Straits Times, H16




Siltronic and Samsung open $1.4b wafer plant in Singapore
The US$1 billion (S$1.37 billion) Siltronic Samsung Wafer manufacturing plant on 8 ha in the Tampines high-tech park is a 50-50 joint venture between Siltronic, a unit of German chemical conglomerate Wacker Chemie, and South Korean electronics giant Samsung. It is Singapore's first 300mm wafer fab plant and only one of about 20 worldwide capable of making the product at that diameter.

- The Straits Times, H24




World Bank raises China growth forecast
The World Bank raised its growth forecast for the Asian giant to 9.8% from 9.4%. Amid weaker and uncertain global prospects, China's growth will be supported by strong international competitiveness and a robust domestic economy, said the World Bank. But China's growth is moderating as investment in factories, construction and other fixed assets slows. Adjusted for inflation, real growth in investment spending slowed to 16% in the January to May period. The World Bank forecasts that the consumer price index will rise 6% for all of this year. The Chinese government has set a growth target for this year of 8%.

- The Straits Times, H23



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