News Highlights Tuesday 3 June 2008

Soilbuild clinches JTC award to build stack-up factory
JTC Corporation has awarded the development of its stack-up factory to Soilbuild Group Holdings. Soilbuild won the tender to build, own and operate a business facility on a site at Tanjong Kling, with a land area of 565,800 sq ft and a maximum gross floor area of 1.41 million sq ft. The site is on a 30-year lease, with an option to renew for a further 30 years. A five-storey development is slated for completion by early 2010. It will comprise 45 units, with sizes ranging from 23,700 to 60,300 sq ft. Total development cost is likely to be around $208 million. JTC noted an increase in demand for industrial space in the past three years and this momentum is expected to continue as more investment projects are anchored in Singapore.

- The Business Times, P5



IE Singapore, Brazil renew trade ties
International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and its Brazilian counterpart Apex Brasil renewed a memorandum of understanding to promote and enhance trade, investment and the relationship between the two countries. Apex Brasil and IE Singapore have jointly facilitated seminars and projects to link Singapore and Brazilian companies in the areas of real estate, ICT products and services, and airport services.

- The Business Times, P9




Iran property boom likely to continue
A property boom in Iran has been powered by the country’s economic policies. Property prices surged by more than 100% in 2007, after rising by about 65% in 2006 and more than 50% in 2005. Some economists see a huge scope for the market to keep rising as, with interest rates below inflation, Iranians seek a store of value in property. A real estate agent said that when there is no other opportunity to invest, and interest rates of banks are around 16%, money naturally flows to real estate. With 1 million prospective owners coming on to the market each year and only 600,000 new homes a year, a politician said there was a shortage of 1.6 million homes.

- The Business Times, P29




Indian firm to invest in Johor cybercity
India's Mumbai-based Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd (Sunil Mantri) plans to pump in some US$100 million to participate in the development of Bandar MSC Cyberport in Kulai, the first Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) cybercity in Johor. The project is a 60 ha information, communication and technology (ICT) city development. It will be a mixed development with residential, commercial and ICT spaces targeting the IT operations of MNCs, while developing local technology companies and technopreneurs.

- The Business Times, P30




India can sustain high economic growth: PM
India will be able to sustain high economic growth despite challenges, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, and the government's aim was to contain inflationary expectations without hurting expansion. The Indian economy grew 9% in 2007/08 and the central bank estimates that it will expand 8-8.5% in the fiscal year ending March 2009. India’s wholesale price inflation rose an annual 8.1% in the middle of last month.

- The Business Times, P17




Old Dubai clings to its fading heritage as new city rises
The United Arab Emirates' hub has become a byword for ostentatious wealth, speckled with jaw-dropping developments. But Emirates officials have begun to wake up to the value of Dubai's historic sites, partly reflecting a popular demand for tangible links to a fast disappearing past, and also because of the realisation that history can boost tourism.

- The Business Times, P30




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