Better margins boost BBR's Q1 results
BBR Holdings, which has a $520-million order book, has announced that its net earnings for the first quarter this year has increased 61.9 percent to $4.49 million.“Based on our strong order book, coupled with our balance sheet strength and projected steady income streams, our profitability...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
Sim Lian's Q3 net profit jumps 38%
Sim Lian Group, a property and construction group, has posted a 38-percent year-on-year increase in its net profit to $18.4 million for Q3 ended March 31, saying it expects to achieve a set of profitable operating results this year.The improved bottom line during Q3 was on the back of a...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
Home loan offers in UK for customers only
Mortgage lenders in the UK are restricting one in four home loans to existing customers.Different mortgage loan deals are up to 2,948 from 1,686 since July last year, according to market analyst Defaqto.However, 26 percent of these loans can only be taken out by building societies’ and...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
A home away from home
Tomo Takuma, the manager of World Financial Center Project, City View Co and Shanghai Hills Forum, need not worry for a long time to come about having a home away from home.Mr. Takuma has won Ascott's 25th anniversary grand draw worth $100,000. This gives him free stays with Ascott for 25 years....
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
Thakral Corporation's Q1 net profit more than doubled
Thakral Corporation's net profit for the first quarter had more than doubled, which is boosted by a one-off gain and stronger sales from a property disposal.Net profit for Q1 ended 31 March 2010 stood at $2 million, higher than $792,000 recorded in the same period last year.This translates to...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
Sunway REIT tipped to raise RM1.5 billion
The planned listing of Sunway City Bhd's Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will raise around 1.5 billion ringgit (S$646 million), according to sources.With a fund size of 2.78 billion units, the REIT is set to become the largest in Malaysia upon its listing for Q3 or Q4 this year.The listing...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
OUE to be Lippo's Singapore flagship
Lippo Group of Indonesia has laid out its growth plans for Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), especially now that it is in sole control of the company.Stephen Riady, president of Lippo and OUE's executive chairman recently, said OUE will be the company's Singapore flagship.Ties between the Riadys...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
Mortgage brokers in Australia face new penalties
Mortgage brokers in Australia may face jail terms or heavy fines under new consumer credit laws that dispute the obligations that some of the banks impose on them to meet mortgage sales targets, based on a report by the Australian Financial Review. The Mortgage &...
Continue Reading • 10 May 2010
Jittery market sends IPOs below offer prices
Earlier expectations of a sparkling year for initial public offerings (IPOs) have all but been dashed, with the present market maulings knocking the air out of new listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). With market sentiment becoming jittery recently, many of the...
Continue Reading • 10 May 2010
OUE to boost hotel management segment
Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd’s hospitality division, Meritus Hotels & Resorts (MHR), is planning to boost its hotel management segment by aggressively expanding its portfolio over the next five years. “We're trying to grow the brand. We've just signed...
Continue Reading • 10 May 2010
UE's net profit more than trebles to $28m in Q1
United Engineers' net profit for the first quarter of 2010 has more than trebled to $28.2 million, as sales of residential apartments propelled an increase in revenue. The group posted a 32 percent increase in revenue to $195.9 million. The improvements were...
Continue Reading • 10 May 2010
Mortgage lending in the UK down in March
Based on data released by the Bank of England, the number of mortgages sold to home buyers during the first three months of the year decreased by 20 percent compared to the previous quarter. The decline in mortgage numbers indicated that the recovery in the housing market has stopped....
Continue Reading • 7 May 2010
PLife REIT's DPU up 9.7% in Q1
Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (PLife REIT) saw its distribution per unit (DPU) for Q1 increase 9.7 percent to 2.07 cents, from 1.89 cents in the last quarter. This translates to an annualized DPU of 8.28 cents and an annualized distribution yield of 6.09...
Continue Reading • 7 May 2010
Sing Holdings issues earnings warning for its Q1 performance
Property developer Sing Holdings has issued an earnings warning, as it expects to post a net loss in its Q1 results ending March. In a filing to the Singapore Exchange, the developer says that the loss is attributed to showflat and marketing expenses for "The...
Continue Reading • 7 May 2010
FCT keen to buy Malaysian malls
According to Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), it is planning to purchase malls in Malaysia to diversify its business and is confident of maintaining historical revenue growth rates. FCT, which has four suburban malls in Singapore, reported a 7.5-percent annual...
Continue Reading • 7 May 2010
MND proposes new statutory board to curb errant agents
The Ministry of National Development (MND) will set up a new statutory board to better safeguard consumer interest and enhance the professionalism of the property agency industry.The proposed statutory board – the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) – will enforce a new framework to...
Continue Reading • 7 May 2010
OCBC posts record profit in Q1
OCBC Bank has posted a record quarterly net profit of $676 million during the first three months of 2010, exceeding analysts' estimates of about $500 million for Q1. Net profit was up 24 percent on-year on the back of a significant reduction in allowances and...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2010
Profits up 77% for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne has recorded a profit of 12.2 million pounds or S$25.5 million in the first quarter, up 77 percent from the same quarter last year. The Q1 profit of the hotel group was attributed to the signs of recovery in some market segments led...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2010
Mortgage stress in Australia affecting 40% of recent homebuyers
According to a new research, the rapid increase in the mortgage rates in Australia means that a growing number of recent first-time homebuyers are suffering with huge mortgage debt, and could even lose their homes. An exclusive study conducted by financial services...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2010
Wearnes subsidiary to acquire 78% stake in China property firm
Shenyang Huaxin International Realty Co Ltd (SHIR), a subsidiary of WBL Corporation Limited (Wearnes) has entered into a RMB 400-million joint venture agreement to acquire a 78-percent interest in Suzhou Industrial Park Jian Wu Heng Ye Property Development Co Ltd. The...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2010