Special CPF housing grant for low-income families
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced a Special Central Provident Fund (CPF) Housing Grant aimed at helping low-income families buy their first Built-to-Order (BTO) flat from the Housing Development Board (HDB).The government will also spend S$10 billion to revive HDB heartlands...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
OCBC's mortgage applications see 20% dip
Mortgage applications at OCBC bank fell 20 percent in January, though it is still unclear how much the latest property measures have affected demand, the tighter home ownership rules and financing have curbed demand for new mortgage loans, especially for cheaper properties.“The speculative...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Singapore Land, UIC recover from 2009 losses
Singapore Land has announced that its net earnings for the year ended 31 December 2010 reached S$661.7 million, on the back of a S$538.5 million fair-value gain on investment properties.This is a reversal from the company’s net loss of about S$266 million in 2009, due to a S$608.6 million...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
Scheme for siblings to buy HDB flats scrapped
The Singapore government has acted quickly to end a programme that enables siblings whose parents live abroad to purchase Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, after discontent recently surfaced online over how it appeared to favour permanent residents (PRs) over citizens.The Housing Board will...
Continue Reading • 21 Feb 2011
US mortgage delinquency drops in Q4
The mortgage delinquency rate in the US dropped in the fourth quarter, as the economy eased but home foreclosures rose, said the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).Mortgage delinquency rate on single-family homes declined to 8.22 percent in Q4 from 9.13 percent in Q3, according to the MBA...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Singapore to strengthen position as financial hub
Singapore will work towards boosting its position as a financial centre by improving its capabilities in various areas, said Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.While Asia is not immune to risks from external shocks, particularly from the developed world, its potential and growth over...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Singapore economy blossoms by 14.5% in 2010
Singapore’s economy increased 14.5 percent last year, driven by the strong output in the manufacturing sector, which rebounded 29.7 percent in 2010.Ministry of Trade in Industry said the 14.5 percent growth in the economy last year was also attributed to the increase in electronics and...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Roxy-Pacific sees record earnings in 2010
Roxy-Pacific Holdings Limited has announced that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2010 reached S$12 million, up 103 percent from S$5.9 million over the same period in 2009.This increase came on the back of an eight percent growth in revenue to S$47.5 million in Q4, mainly...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
Lucas Chow joins FEO
Private real estate developer Far East Organization (FEO) has appointed Lucas Chow, former Chief Executive of MediaCorp, as its Executive Director, effective August 2011.Mr. Chow will provide strategic counsel to Philip Ng, Chief Executive of Far East, on new business growth and brand development...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2011
First-time borrowers in the UK get mortgage boost
The number of mortgages available to first-time home buyers who have smaller deposit has started to rise.It was revealed that mortgage lenders in the UK have been reintroducing higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages in recent months, with the total number of mortgage deals available at 90 percent...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
CBRE buys ING property unit for US$940m
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Group has reached an agreement to acquire the majority of the property investment management business of Netherlands-based financial company ING Group NV for US$940 million, making it the largest property investment manager in the world.The deal, which almost triples...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
More Singapore companies going global
Around 80 percent of Singaporean companies are planning overseas expansion in the next six months, with China and Indonesia being the most preferred destinations, according to the recent BT-UniSIM Business Climate Survey.About 60 percent of the respondents are looking to expand services or...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
JTC's RBF net allocation plummets
JTC has announced that net allocation of its ready-built facilities (RBF) fell sharply to -14,500 sq m in the fourth quarter of 2010, making it the third consecutive quarter during which terminations exceeded gross allocations.Net allocation for RBF stood at 9,400 sq m in Q1 2010 but dropped to...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
CMA posts strong full-year results
CapitaMalls Asia (CMA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, has posted a profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI) of S$421.9 million for the fiscal year 2010, up nine percent from the S$388.1 million recorded in 2009.“CapitaMalls Asia recorded a strong set of results in our...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
Koh Brothers see 15% net profit increase
Koh Brothers Group Limited has announced that its net profit attributable to shareholders rose 15 percent to S$12.3 million for the full year ended 31 December 2010 from S$10.7 million in the earlier period.The increase in net profit was attributed to the 10 percent growth in revenue to S$364.3...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
Singapore's 2011 inflation accelerates
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) expects Singapore’s economy to grow between four and six percent this year, attributed to the continuous recovery of the global economy.However, MTI warned that the inflation forecast for 2011 has been revised upwards.“For 2011, the inflation...
Continue Reading • 17 Feb 2011
Property measures not meant to crash the market
It is unnatural to expect property prices to remain strong, given the strong economic growth, a lot of liquidity and low interest rates, said Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan.He said that the property measures implemented on 13 January, which was the fourth set of cooling measures in...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2011
China to further increase mortgage rates
The central government of China will likely increase mortgage rates for second-home purchases, its latest step to curb property speculation.China is planning to increase the rate by as much as 1.2 times the benchmark rate in Shanghai and Beijing, according to a report.The government’s...
Continue Reading • 16 Feb 2011
Government cautious regarding property market
Following last month’s curbs, the government yesterday said it is ready to implement further cooling measures to prevent a property bubble in the market.National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that market sentiment in the country has remained bullish, with signs of renewed exuberance...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2011
Mortgage approvals in Australia see December jump
The number of approved home loans in Australia rose by more than twice, compared to economists’ forecast in December, as the country ended a record year for job growth.According to the statistics bureau, the number of mortgages approved for purchasing building homes climbed 2.1 percent from...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2011