PropertyGuru takes iProperty to court
AllProperty Media Pte Ltd, which owns Singapore’s leading online property portal, PropertyGuru.com.sg, has filed a law suit against iProperty in Singapore for defamation and copyright infringement. “We have had friendly relationships with all our competitors over the last few years...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2011
Tiong Seng wins Glyndebourne contract
Tiong Seng Contractors Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of construction group Tiong Seng Holdings, has been awarded a contract to build The Glyndebourne, a 150‐unit freehold luxury condo development in District 11.“We are extremely happy to be appointed the main contractor for this project...
Continue Reading • 21 Apr 2011
UK mortgage market to remain stagnant
UK home buyers will find it difficult to procure a mortgage this year and might have to wait until 2014 before it becomes easier to obtain a home loan, according to market research company Datamonitor.It revealed that while the mortgage market is unlikely to fall further, gross mortgage lending...
Continue Reading • 20 Apr 2011
Singapore inflation a close second to Malaysia
Rising global inflation is one of the major challenges for businesses struggling to recover from the economic downturn, according to the latest Global Economic Conditions survey of finance professionals.In Singapore, 69.1 percent of 97 accountants surveyed by the Association of Chartered...
Continue Reading • 20 Apr 2011
SGX Q3 earnings slip 10.2%
Singapore Exchange (SGX) recorded a net profit of S$67 million for the third quarter, down 10.2 percent from the previous year, mainly attributed to a slight boost in its securities clearing, which is SGX’s core business activity.In contrast, Q3 revenue rose 10.1 percent to S$169 million,...
Continue Reading • 20 Apr 2011
Keppel Land's Q1 profit jumps 45.5%
Keppel Land, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, has posted a net profit of S$92.1 million in the first quarter, up 45.5 percent from S$63.3 million a year ago, attributed mainly to the strong revenue from home sales in Singapore.Revenue for the quarter was also boosted by higher...
Continue Reading • 20 Apr 2011
Singapore general election set for 7 May
President S R Nathan announced yesterday, through the government gazette, that the 11th Singapore Parliament has been dissolved to make way for the upcoming elections on 7 May 2011.Overall, around 2,311,582 Singaporeans are eligible to vote in the upcoming 2011 general election, compared to the...
Continue Reading • 20 Apr 2011
Maybank launches two new mortgage products
Maybank Singapore has launched two new innovative mortgage products — hybrid rate and ceiling rate — to draw home buyers seeking to benefit from the current low interest rates.While a hybrid rate home loan caters to both fixed and floating mortgage rates, it differs from the common...
Continue Reading • 19 Apr 2011
CityDev clinches S$1.6b loan facility
Singapore property developer City Developments Ltd (CDL) has announced that its joint venture (JV) has clinched a S$1.6 billion loan facility.The five-year S$1.6 billion secured term loan will be used to refinance the existing S$800 million land loan on the South Beach site, as well as to finance...
Continue Reading • 19 Apr 2011
US mortgage rates rise for 4th straight week
Long-term mortgage rates in the US continued to gradually increase, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages surging for the fourth straight week.Freddie Mac noted that a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.91 percent in the week ending 14 April, an increase from 4.87 percent in...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport sold for S$299.5m
Mainboard-listed Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Imperial Development Pte Ltd, has acquired the 320-room Crowne Plaza Changi Airport from LC Development and its partner LaSalle Asia Opportunity II SARL for S$299.5 million.Under a signed deal, Imperial...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Tianjin Eco-city signs mega investment deals
Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City has signed six new investment deals, which effectively resulted in approximately 500 million yuan (S$95.2 million) in new investments.Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong witnessed the signing ceremony with He Lifeng, Deputy Secretary of Binhai New Area Party...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Mah: Lowering land costs will affect S'pore's reserves
Lowering land costs in order to cut new HDB flat prices is equivalent to raiding Singapore’s reserves, according to Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan.This is because the Chief Valuer sets the price for all land sold and the proceeds of the sales go into the reserves.In the latest...
Continue Reading • 18 Apr 2011
Top bank in Hong Kong raises mortgage rates again
Effective today, HSBC’s HIBOR-based rates in Hong Kong will be raised for the second time after last month’s hike.Currently, HSBC’s one-month HIBOR rate rests at 0.2 percent, while its three-month rate stands at 0.26 percent. The new mortgage rates will range at HIBOR plus one...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Favourable landscape for global property firms
The global economic and business environment is expected to be favourable for global property companies over the next few quarters, according to LaSalle Investment Management (Securities) in its recent Quarterly Review and Outlook.“The resilience of the world’s economy is an important...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
CapitaLand acquires 40% stake in Surbana Corp
CapitaLand Ltd, the largest property developer in Southeast Asia, has revealed its acquisition a 40 percent stake in Surbana Corporation, a private limited company, for S$360 million (US$288.8 million).“We entered into this partnership with Surbana to accelerate our expansion into the value...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
SP Setia acquires Singapore site for S$65m
SP Setia Berhad Group, through its unit SP Setia International (Singapore), has inked a private agreement with all 27 owners of Leong Bee Court to acquire the property for S$65 million (S$824 psf ppr), marking its venture into the Singapore property market.The group is planning to develop the...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
Govt plans more housing in Central, West regions
The Singapore government will boost housing in line with the population growth, and plans to expand towns like Sengkang, Choa Chu Kang, Yishun and Punggol over the next 45 to 50 years, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan at the URA Corporate Plan Seminar 2011.“Our current towns...
Continue Reading • 15 Apr 2011
UK mortgage fraud attempts jump 14%
Mortgage fraud attempts in the UK grew 14 percent to 32 in every 10,000 applications last year, according to research conducted by Experian, which also revealed that first-party fraudsters were responsible for 97 percent of the reported cases.The credit rating agency said that typical fraud...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011
S P Setia to tackle Singapore property market
Malaysia’s leading property developer S P Setia Bhd Group is planning to enter the Singapore property market this year, said Liew Kee Sin, Chief Executive Officer of SP Setia.“Singapore is a good market to enter but we will do it step by step,” said Mr. Liew at the Invest...
Continue Reading • 14 Apr 2011