DAILY MARKET UPDATES 4th September 2008

S'pore to host global conference in Oct as Fusionopolis opens
World urban leaders and globalisation experts will converge on Singapore for Futuropolis 2058, next month. The two-day event from Oct 21-22 is organised as part of the opening of Fusionopolis. Futuropolis 2058 is a collaborative effort between Singapore's leading public research organisation, A*Star (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) and the Fulbright Academy for Science and Technology.
- The Business Times, P9
Hartawan unit to sell Jurong shophouse – Company Briefs
Hartawan Holdings has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Whitehouse Holdings Pte Ltd, had entered into an option agreement to sell a shophouse unit at Jurong East Street 13 for $4.8 million to Bon Investment Pte Ltd. The option of sale has been exercised and the group has received 10% of the sale consideration.
- The Business Times, P7
Lenders must ensure borrowers can afford instalments when due: MAS
Lenders must make sure that home loan borrowers can afford their instalments, says the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Observers say that given the worsening economic outlook and falling property prices, financing schemes offered by banks - that allow home buyers to make a 20% downpayment and then pay nothing until the TOP - will pose higher risks to banks. Maybank, OCBC and United Overseas Bank are offering the schemes. Standard Chartered Bank will launch one soon. DBS has stopped offering such schemes. MAS expects financial institutions granting housing loans to apply prudent credit assessment criteria.
- The Business Times, P9
Six more premium bus services
Six more premium bus services run by SMRT are starting from Monday to bring the total on the road to 74. Five services will link residents in areas like Hougang and Choa Chu Kang to the Central Business District. The sixth will provide a quick travel alternative for Bukit Panjang residents working in Jurong East. At least another six services are on the way and will be operated by SBS Transit and SMRT. Premium services, which have limited stops and charge higher fares, offer commuters a guaranteed seat and a faster ride to the city during weekday peak hours for about $3 or more a trip.
- The Straits Times, B5
CapitaLand sells Beijing office property for $498m
CapitaLand has sold Capital Tower Beijing in China for US$352 million (S$497.6 million) and expects to recognise a gain of $163 million from the deal. The group sold its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Hua Lei Holdings, which indirectly owns all of the office building. CapitaLand bought the two 35-storey towers while it was still under construction in 2005 and turned the project into an international Grade A office development. The unsolicited offer will allow CapitaLand to redeploy capital to undertake more quality developments in China, said CapitaLand.
- The Straits Times, B16
Morgan Stanley raising US$10b global property fund: source
Morgan Stanley is raising US$10 billion for a global property fund and plans to put US$1.5 billion or more of that into China, shrugging off concern about a property market downturn. The Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund VII Global is expected to begin investing worldwide before the end of this year. It will invest at least 10 billion yuan (S$2.1 billion) in China over the next few years, taking a gradual approach while focusing on the largest cities such as Shanghai. A property investment arm of Morgan Stanley plans to sell at least two serviced apartment projects in Shanghai. Morgan Stanley and other foreign funds, including Blackstone and Carlyle, are also looking for investment opportunities in high-end residential and commercial properties in China.
- The Business Times, P31
China banks urged to monitor exposure to property sector
China's banking regulator urged lenders to stress-test the impact of a cooling real estate market and to set aside more cash to cover potential losses from property loans. China's banks have cut lending to the property sector, due to stringent lending quotas and stagnant property prices in some markets. They provided 398.8 billion yuan (S$83.6 billion) in new loans to property developers and home buyers in the first half of this year, down 30% from a year earlier. Total loans to the property sector accounted for 18% of Chinese banks' local currency lending by the end of June. In Shenzhen, 1.7 billion yuan in mortgage loans had turned sour by the end of June, up 13.8% from the start of the year.
- The Business Times, P30
European property woes set to sour industry meeting
The mood will be competitive when Europe's largest property firms gather for one of their biggest annual meetings this week. The Epra/Nareit Europe Index of property stocks has nosedived more than 40% since January 2007. Global consultants Atisreal said Europe's real estate markets faced a dismal end to 2008, with investment transactions expected to halve on 2007 levels.
- The Business Times, P29
HK home transactions slump 60% to two-year low
The value of Hong Kong home transactions fell 60% to the lowest in more than two years in August. The total value of residential transactions last month fell to HK$15 billion (S$2.75 billion) from HK$37.8 billion a year earlier. The figure, the lowest since July 2006, represented a 40% decline from the previous month. The impact of credit market losses may be spreading to Hong Kong, with the threat of a global economic slowdown and a slump in the stock market leading potential homebuyers to expect to pay less for properties. The number of Hong Kong home transactions in August fell 54% from a year earlier, and 28.9% from July, to 5,284. Home prices in the city fell 4.4% between the end of June and August. Credit Suisse forecast a 5 to 10% drop in prices in the second half.
- The Business Times, P30
Bosch opens research and technology centre at NTU
The Bosch Group yesterday officially opened its Research and Technology Centre (Asia-Pacific) at Nanyang Technology University (NTU), as part of its plan to establish its regional headquarters for research and advance engineering in Singapore. Bosch will invest up to $30 million in a modern laboratory and high-tech equipment over the next five years.
- The Business Times, P9
Growth forecasts get another trimming
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)'s latest poll of economists shows that they have cut their forecasts of Singapore's 2008 GDP growth to a median 4.2%, down from 5.5% three months earlier. The poor GDP figures - GDP grew 2.1% in Q2, and contracted 6% against Q1 - prompted cuts to the growth forecasts. Following the release of dismal July industrial production data - output fell almost 22% - economists have cut their forecasts further. The economists also forecast 2.7% GDP growth in Q3, and 4.8% in Q4.
- The Business Times, P4
JPMorgan eyeing financing opportunities in Japan
JPMorgan Chase & Co said it expects Japan's beleaguered property market to rebound and will use staff gained from its acquisition of Bear Stearns to develop its real estate financing business. There is a lot of interest in buying real estate right now both from domestic real estate investors and foreign investors, said JPMorgan. A number of banks in Japan have tightened lending to small and midsized property firms, but large firms have been relatively unaffected.
- The Business Times, P29

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