Ascott, RMZ Corp to develop Bangalore serviced residence
The Ascott Limited (Ascott), CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with India’s leading property developer, RMZ Corp, to develop a 203-unit serviced residence in Bangalore.Under the agreement, Ascott will hold a 50...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2011
Guocoland net profit down 64% in Q2 2010
Guocoland has announced that its net profit for the second quarter ended 31 December 2010 fell 64 percent to S$21.6 million, from S$60.4 million in the previous year, driven by lower gains from Chinese development projects.Revenue in Q2 also sank 55 percent to S$162.8 million over the same period...
Continue Reading • 28 Jan 2011
UK mortgage lending lowest in December
Mortgage lending in the UK dropped in December to its lowest level since 1999, while net lending fell to nearly £880 million, the lowest total in more than 11 years, according to the British Bankers’ Association.The UK mortgage market rounded off with a tough year, with net mortgage...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
Singapore named Asia's best property investment destination
Singapore has been ranked the best property investment destination in Asia, driven by the country’s robust economic growth and brisk activity in the high-technology and financial industries.Singapore is among the preferred investment target markets in Asia by investors who are ready to...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
Singaporean investors optimistic on markets
Singaporean investors are upbeat on markets and returns and will likely take a more aggressive stance in their investments, according to a newly launched investor sentiment index.JP Morgan Asset Management recently launched the JP Morgan Investor Sentiment Index, which is based on a half-yearly...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
Ascendas India Trust net income down 12%
Singapore-based Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust), which focuses on real estate investment in India, has posted a 12 percent year-on-year decline in net income to S$17 million in the third quarter ended 31 December 2010.The decline was attributed to lower-than-usual real estate expenses because of...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
FCOT Q1 net property income down 2.4%
Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) saw a 2.4 percent year-on-year decline in net property income to S$22.95 million for the first quarter ended 31 December, 2010.The trust’s gross revenue also slid 2.3 percent to S$28.98 million in Q1.The decline was due to “lower contribution from Cosmo...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
CRCT's 2010 net property income up 5.8%
CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, achieved a net property income of RMB382.3 million for the fiscal year 2010, up 5.8 percent from the previous year.“We delivered a strong set of results in FY 2010. Our portfolio occupancy rate at end-2010 was 98.1...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
CDLHT poised to acquire Studio M Hotel
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) is poised to acquire Studio M Hotel, located in the Mohamed Sultan area, possibly this year, suggest many analysts.Studio M Hotel, which opened in April 2010 and which is owned by CDLHT’s sponsor, London-listed Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, is deemed as a...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
A bumper year for Accor's Asia Pacific expansion
Accor, the world’s largest hotel operator, announced that it signed more than 70 new development contracts in the Asia Pacific last year, which will add more than 16,000 hotel rooms to the company. The record number of new contracts in a single year will retain Accor’s leading...
Continue Reading • 27 Jan 2011
AllProperty Media partners with Malaysia's Redberry
AllProperty Media, which owns Singapore’s leading property portals, www.PropertyGuru.com.sg and www.CommercialGuru.com.sg, has announced a joint venture agreement with Malaysian media company Redberry.This comes a week after AllProperty Media announced its acquisition of FullHouse Media Sdn...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2011
US mortgage rates ease
The average 15-year fixed and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the US have dropped recently, according to the US Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.71 percent from 4.77 percent, while the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 4.08 percent...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2011
S-Reits to continue acquiring assets
Real estate investment trusts in Singapore (S-Reits) will likely continue acquiring assets this year, as funding is still available and interest rates remain low, said Moody’s Investors Service.”S-Reits will use their well-capitalised balance sheets to continue acquisitive growth...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2011
Keppel Corp's full-year profit up 12%
Keppel Corporation has announced that its net 2010profit before exceptional items surged 12 percent to S$1.419 billion from S$1.265 billion in the previous year.“I am pleased to announce that 2010 was another record year for Keppel Corporation. Net profit grew by 12 percent to a new high of...
Continue Reading • 26 Jan 2011
Singapore slips in 2010 globalisation rankings
Singapore has slipped to third sport on the Globalisation Index 2010 rankings, behind Hong Kong and Ireland, which occupy the first and second places respectively.The annual index, which measures how globally connected the world’s 60 biggest economies by gross domestic product (GDP) are in...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2011
FCT's Q1 gross revenue up 19%
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) has announced that its gross revenue for the first quarter ended 31 December, 2010 surged 19 percent year-on-year to S$27.6 million, mainly due to the acquisitions of YewTee Point and Northpoint 2.The company’s net property income rose 17 percent to S$18.6...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2011
HK's new mortgage loans rise in December
The value of new mortgage loans approved in Hong Kong totalled HK$31 billion in December, up 11.3 percent from November, according to data released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).However, the value of new mortgage loans approved declined in December, down 23 percent to HK$28.9 billion...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2011
Keppel Land's Q4 profit climbs eight-fold
Singapore’s third-largest property developer, Keppel Land, has announced that its net profit in the fourth quarter of 2010 reached S$841 million, nearly eight times its S$106.9 million net profit in the previous year.This was attributed to its S$426 million fair value gain from investment...
Continue Reading • 25 Jan 2011
AllProperty Media acquires North Malaysia's leading property site
AllProperty Media Pte Ltd, which owns Singapore’s leading property portal, PropertyGuru.com.sg, has signed a deal to acquire FullHouse Media Sdn Bhd, the company behind North Malaysia’s leading real estate site, FullHouse.com.my.Under the agreement, AllProperty Media will acquire the...
Continue Reading • 24 Jan 2011
Authorities must address asset bubbles decisively: MAS
Real estate bubbles can develop quickly and authorities are determined to deal with these risks, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) MD Heng Swee Keat.In dealing with asset bubbles, policymakers must communicate their willingness and resolve to take tougher measures when needed, said...
Continue Reading • 24 Jan 2011