Q2 earnings for listed companies surge
Following a slow start, Singapore-listed companies started to pick up in the second quarter, due to continued economic recovery.The 105 firms that released their Q2 financial results posted a combined net profit of $3.676 billion, which represents a 47.1 percent year-on-year-increase. Out of the...
Continue Reading • 10 Aug 2010
UOL Q2 profit soars to $147.8m
Property developer UOL Group has posted a net profit of $147.8 million in Q2, recovering from a $20.1 million net loss over the same period last year. The company’s gains in the second quarter were attributed largely to its hotel operations, property investments and developments, as well as...
Continue Reading • 10 Aug 2010
Ascott Reit to sell Jakarta property
Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has entered into an agreement to sell its Jakarta property, Country Woods, for about $33.91 million. The price tag, which was the highest sale price offered in a bidding process, is 60 percent above the $21.2-million valuation of the property. Ascott Reit...
Continue Reading • 10 Aug 2010
Banks in China told to stop third-home loans
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has ordered all banks in four key cities, including Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, to stop offering mortgage loans for third home purchases, according to Reuters.Meanwhile, banks in other cities must increase down payments to 60 percent...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
GIC set for IPO of GLP
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is gearing up to launch the so-called second biggest initial public offering (IPO) in the country.According to sources, GIC has added three other financial organisations to its group of underwriters for the upcoming public listing of its...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
Sino-Ocean Land purchases two Shanghai sites
Malaysian property developer Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd, through its two subsidiaries, has purchased two sites in Baoshan District in North Shanghai for RM884 million, according to a report by the Shanghai Daily and the Shanghai Morning Post.The two land parcels, which were gazetted for homes,...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
Cheung Kong profit up 4% in H1
Hong Kong property developer Cheung Kong Ltd has posted a 4-percent increase in profit for the first half of 2010, attributed to the rise in property sales increases.The company’s profit rose to HK$11.9 billion (S$2.1 billion) from HK$11.5 billion, surpassing the HK$7.76-billion estimate of...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
Australand expects growth in its residential business
Australand, Capitaland's Australian unit, expects its residential development business to drive earnings growth in the next 18 months.Currently, Australand gets 80 percent of its earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) from recurrent income attributed to its investment properties, while the...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
M&C posts 24% increase in Q2 profit
City Developments' (City Dev) London-listed hotel arm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) has announced that its net profit in Q2 rose 23.8 percent to £20.3 million (S$43.6 million), which was mainly attributed to the increase of revenue per available room (RevPAR).M&C’s...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
BCA raises Green Mark standard
Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has announced that all new buildings will need to follow a higher Green Mark standard starting in December, as the city continues its bid for a leaner and greener economy.The higher standard will help buildings save another 10 percent of...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2010
Five US states to receive foreclosure prevention aid
The US government has allocated a US$600 million “Hardest Hit Fund” intended to help some 50,000 stressed homeowners in five states with high jobless rates.Housing agencies in the US states of Rhode Island, Oregon, South Carolina, North Carolina and Ohio can spend the money for...
Continue Reading • 5 Aug 2010
CDL to sell land parcel in KL
Kwek Leng Beng, owner of City Developments Ltd (CDL) is in talks to sell a land parcel located in the Jalan Bukit Bintang shopping belt in Kuala Lumpur for more than RM3,000 (S$1,282) psf, a deal that could fetch a new record price for a land sale transaction, according to a report from...
Continue Reading • 5 Aug 2010
Roxy-Pacific posts 39% rise in H1 profit
Specialty property and hospitality group Roxy-Pacific Holdings Ltd has posted a net profit after tax of S$21.9 million in the first half of this year, up 39 percent from S$15.7 million over the same period last year.The increase was due to a 42 percent jump in revenue, which was attributed mainly...
Continue Reading • 5 Aug 2010
CapitaLand records $476.1m net profit in Q2
South-east Asia's largest property developer CapitaLand has posted a net profit of $476.1 million in the second quarter of this year, and the company said it will set up a new business unit in Vietnam and China aimed at affordable housing.The company has bounced back from a $156.9 million net...
Continue Reading • 5 Aug 2010
Project completion period for private homes cut
The government has announced that it will cut the amount of time given to property developers to build private residential projects on state land by a year. The move was done to guarantee the availability of adequate homes in order to meet demand.Every government land sale site comes with a...
Continue Reading • 5 Aug 2010
Australia could see higher interest rates in 2010
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), has put a hold on interest rates, but some economists have warned mortgage holders to be very cautious about the current level of borrowing costs.The central bank kept interest rates at 4.5 percent for the third consecutive month. However, some economists said...
Continue Reading • 4 Aug 2010
Ayala Land looks to expand in China
Ayala Land, Inc. has announced that its unit Regent Wise Investments Limited has inked an equity joint venture agreement with Singapore-based Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. to develop a $220-million residential project in China.The project will be located in...
Continue Reading • 4 Aug 2010
CMA posts positive Q2 results
Capitamalls Asia (CMA) is planning to invest nearly $1 billion in new projects in Singapore, Malaysia and China in the second half of 2010.Liew Mun Leong, chairman of CMA, told The Business Times that capital from the sale of Clarke Quay and the successful listing of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust...
Continue Reading • 4 Aug 2010
UK mortgage lenders demand high deposits
Mortgage lenders in the UK continue to demand high down payment, making it difficult for homebuyers to secure mortgages to purchase homes. About 58 percent of mortgage deals offered today need a minimum down payment of 25 percent, while only 8 percent require a minimum deposit of 10 percent of...
Continue Reading • 3 Aug 2010
Oxley Land unit acquires stake in Golden Flower Group
An associate company of Oxley Land has acquired a majority stake in Golden Flower Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesian businessman Nico Po, and owns a residential site located at 55 Devonshire Road.The deal is believed to have valued the freehold site at approximately $1,380 psf...
Continue Reading • 3 Aug 2010