Mapletree acquires first US serviced apartment asset
Mapletree Investments has acquired The Cascades, a 184-unit freehold apartment complex in Silicon Valley, United States for US$70 million (S$87.3 million). The property in Sunnyvale is nestled on 214,000 sq ft of land and has a gross building area of around 210,000 sq ft spread across six...
Continue Reading • 28 Aug 2014
Singapore investor sentiment hit record high in Q2
Singapore investor sentiment climbed to its highest level in Q2 2014 since Q1 2013, on the back of a more positive view of the property, fixed income as well as mutual fund sectors, according to the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index as reported in the media. Notably, investor sentiment rose by...
Continue Reading • 27 Aug 2014
Housing sector drags inflation down in July
Singapore's inflation dipped to 1.2 percent in July from 1.8 percent in the previous month on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis. Core inflation climbed to 2.2 percent from 2.1 percent in June, lower than Barclays' forecast of 2.3 percent. “The main cause of the decline in headline inflation was...
Continue Reading • 26 Aug 2014
GuocoLand appoints new MD for Singapore
Cheng Hsing Yao was appointed Managing Director of GuocoLand Group's Singapore property division earlier this month. With more than 16 years of experience in real-estate, urban planning and architecture, Cheng is now responsible for the company’s operations and management. He was previously...
Continue Reading • 25 Aug 2014
OCBC may sell property firm stake to Thai billionaire
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) is in talks to sell its stake in United Engineers Ltd (UE), a Singapore property and construction company, to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, according to media reports quoting sources familiar with the matter. The discussions are at an early...
Continue Reading • 22 Aug 2014
Oxley reports 74% profit drop in Q4
Homegrown developer Oxley Holdings posted a 74 percent plunge in net profit for the fourth quarter ended 30 June 2014 to $9.8 million compared to $38 million in Q4 2013. Group revenue in the period also fell 70 percent to $82.9 million from $277.3 million the year before. In a statement,...
Continue Reading • 22 Aug 2014
36% of young Singaporeans have no savings
A number of Singaporeans within the age of 20 to 35 years old have zero savings, revealed a survey by EnjoyCompare.com as reported in the media. According to the report, 36 percent of the respondents have no savings, while a quarter have put aside less than $6,000 for rainy days. In...
Continue Reading • 15 Aug 2014
Koh Brothers' net profit soars 138% in Q2
Koh Brothers Group's net profit jumped 138 percent from $4.8 million in Q2 2013 to $11.5 million in Q2 2014. The record profit was on the back of higher group revenue mainly due to its real estate division which contributed higher sales in Q2 2014 and H1 2014, said Francis Koh, Managing...
Continue Reading • 15 Aug 2014
CDL's net profit slides 32.8%
City Developments Limited (CDL) recorded a 32.8 percent decline in its net profit in Q2 2014 from $205 million in Q2 2013 to $138 million. However, its core earnings (excluding divestment gains in H1 2013) increased by 89.7 percent to $137.9 million in Q2 2014 against $72.7 million for the...
Continue Reading • 14 Aug 2014
UOL makes first foray in London
Heron Plaza site sold to UOL Group for £97 million. Singapore-listed developer UOL Group has bought a prime development site in London’s financial district from property investment company Heron International for £97 million. Located in the Bishopsgate area, the Heron Plaza site will be...
Continue Reading • 14 Aug 2014
KSH records decline in revenue, net profit
KSH Holdings announced a net profit of $9.6 million in the first quarter ended June 30, 2014 (1Q FY2015), compared to $11.4 million in the previous corresponding quarter (1Q FY2014). Group revenue, which comprises project revenue and rental income from investment properties, stood at $62.5...
Continue Reading • 13 Aug 2014
S'pore adjusts growth forecast to 2.5 to 3.5%
Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for this year has been narrowed to 2.5 to 3.5 percent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced today. Previously, the 2014 growth forecast was at two to four percent. The country’s economy grew by 2.4 percent on a...
Continue Reading • 12 Aug 2014
Ho Bee Land reports 54% profit slump
Property developers facing challenging conditions. Singapore-listed developer Ho Bee Land suffered a net profit decrease of 54 percent year-on-year to $12.2 million in Q2 2014. But group turnover for the three months jumped to $26.8 million compared to $6.1 million during the same period...
Continue Reading • 12 Aug 2014
Frasers Centrepoint's net profit down 60%
Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL)'s 3Q FY13/14 revenue and profit before interest and tax (PBIT) rose 41 percent and 56 percent from the previous corresponding quarter to $575.4 million and $160.3 million, respectively. The growth was driven by revenue from overseas markets as a result of...
Continue Reading • 12 Aug 2014
SGX welcomes Chinese developer
China-based property player Chiwayland International Ltd traded on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for the first time on Wednesday. The company also embarked on its maiden overseas foray in Brisbane, Australia via a 50:50 joint venture with Property Solutions Pty Ltd, a...
Continue Reading • 8 Aug 2014
Send a video to OCBC and win a home loan
To commemorate Singapore’s 49th National Day, OCBC has launched a video contest, in which all participants will be eligible for a variable mortgage package with low interest rates, according to media reports. The interest rate for the first year is fixed at 0.49 percent, while the second and...
Continue Reading • 7 Aug 2014
Crowdfunding site's revenue crosses $1 million mark
As at early August 2014, CoAssets has crossed the $1 million revenue mark within their first year of operation. “This figure is a combination of collected income as well as MOUs signed with the various developers, who will be using our crowdfunding services in the coming months. Profit wise,...
Continue Reading • 7 Aug 2014
JLL Singapore buys 20% stake in PropNex International
JLL has acquired a 20 percent stake in PropNex International, the project marketing arm of PropNex. This is in line with JLL’s strategy to grow and invest its residential business in South East Asia. Since 2007, its acquisitions include Property Edge (agency/high-end project sales), DST...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2014
CapitaLand's net profit up 14.5%
CapitaLand Limited recorded a net profit of $438.7 million in Q2 2014, marking a 14.5 percent increase year-on-year. This was due to improved operating PATMI, higher revaluation gains from investment properties and write-back of impairments.The group’s operating PATMI for the second quarter...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2014
Amendments to Land Acquisition Act passed
The amendments on the Land Acquisition Act will benefit land owners whose land is acquired for development, according to Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah and reported in the media.Passed in Parliament on Tuesday, the changes effectively removed the “betterment levy” or...
Continue Reading • 6 Aug 2014