Economy grew more than expected in Q1
Singapore’s economy grew 2.3 percent in Q1 2014 on quarter-on-quarter basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced. This is more than the preliminary estimate of 0.1 percent, according to media reports. The growth was primarily due to the robust performance in the manufacturing...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2014
Tenants hold the upper hand
Singapore’s soft rental market can be attributed to increased supply combined with lower housing budgets for expatriate workers, according to new research from Knight Frank.Tenants around the world, as well as in the city-state, have more bargaining power while, in many cases, landlords...
Continue Reading • 21 May 2014
Mapletree to further expand beyond Asia
Mapletree Investments delivered a net profit of $859.4 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2014 (FY13/14).This is a 7.8 percent fall from a year ago, mainly due to a lack of disposal gains compared to last year. Total revenue for FY13/14 was $548.6 million, compared to $686.3 million in...
Continue Reading • 16 May 2014
CBRE appoints Global Chief Economist
Richard Barkham (pictured) will join CBRE Group on 16 June as Global Chief Economist, the company announced today. The 16-year veteran of the real estate industry will be based in London and will report to CBRE’s Global Head of Research, Nick Axford. As CBRE’s Global Chief Economist,...
Continue Reading • 15 May 2014
CDL Q1 profit down 13%
Property developer City Developments Ltd (CDL) saw its net profit drop 13 percent to $119.7 million in Q1 2014 from $137.7 million over the same period last year.This comes as sales fell 5.4 percent to $734.2 million, according to media reports.Moreover, profit from sales of investment properties...
Continue Reading • 15 May 2014
Decreased revenue from Hiap Hoe's properties
Singapore-listed Hiap Hoe Limited’s revenue grew 2.8 percent to $31.2 million in 1Q 2014, compared to $30.3 million in the same period last year.In 1Q 2013, revenue was generated entirely from its development properties. However, this quarter saw income from rental, hotel operations and...
Continue Reading • 14 May 2014
Koh Brothers' property division boosts profit
Koh Brothers Group’s net profit increased 45 percent to $4.7 million in 1Q 2014, from $3.3 million in 1Q 2013, mainly due to higher profit contributed by its real estate division. Francis Koh, Managing Director and Group CEO of Koh Brothers, said, "The group’s ability to achieve...
Continue Reading • 9 May 2014
GRESB continues sustainability survey
GRESB, an organisation assessing the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios around the world including Singapore, is currently collecting sustainability data from property companies and private funds.To help participants benchmark their organisations’ sustainability...
Continue Reading • 8 May 2014
UOL records growth in 1Q 2014
UOL Group Limited announced a 69 percent rise in net attributable profit to $120.8 million for Q1 2014, from $71.7 million in Q1 2013.The increase was mainly due to the land sale in Malaysia, which netted a gain of $44.3 million. The Singapore-listed group’s revenue rose 65 percent to...
Continue Reading • 8 May 2014
New RES exam syllabus starts this month
Starting from May 2014, the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) examination will be conducted based on the revised syllabus. The revised RES examination syllabus was rolled out by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) in January this year after it was reviewed. The review took feedback from the...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2014
PropertyGuru shines amid market gloom
Real estate portal PropertyGuru Malaysia remains a popular platform for sellers, buyers and real estate agents despite Malaysia’s cooling property market, revealed figures from Google Analytics.The portal’s property listings surged by 60 percent at the end of 2013 to reach the current...
Continue Reading • 6 May 2014
Roxy-Pacific Q1 net profit up 27%
Singapore-listed developer Roxy-Pacific Holdings saw its net profit increase 27 percent to $15 million in Q1 2014 from $11.8 million during the same period last year, on the back of strong revenue growth of 48 percent to $79.5 million.The group’s higher revenue was the result of stronger...
Continue Reading • 5 May 2014
Savills snaps up Studley
Real estate advisory firm Savills has announced the proposed acquisition of Studley, Inc, a leading independent commercial real estate services firm specialising in tenant representation in the United States.The deal will take place for up to US$260 million, payable in instalments between...
Continue Reading • 5 May 2014
Taiwan tie-up for Knight Frank
Global property consultancy Knight Frank has partnered with REPro International, one of Taipei’s leading real estate brokerage and consulting firms, to form a long-term strategic partnership in Taiwan.The REPro Knight Frank partnership will become an integral part of the Knight Frank Global...
Continue Reading • 5 May 2014
Mapletree, Oakwood ink mega-bucks deal
Mapletree Group and US-based Oakwood Worldwide have signed a massive deal to open more than 100 new properties around the world over the next five years. Mapletree, a real estate development, investment and capital management company headquartered in Singapore, will acquire a 49 percent stake in...
Continue Reading • 30 Apr 2014
Keppel Land, NTU get top marks for greening efforts
Property firm Keppel Land will receive this year's Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Champion award, along with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), for their efforts in developing environmentally-friendly buildings. This latest accolade adds to Keppel Land's 32 Green Mark...
Continue Reading • 30 Apr 2014
Ho Bee Q1 net profit sinks 92%
Singapore developer Ho Bee Land has reported a 92 percent plunge in net profit to $4.1 million for the first quarter of 2014 over the same period last year. Group turnover for the period amounted to $17.1 million, 72 percent lower than the corresponding period last year.In a statement, the...
Continue Reading • 29 Apr 2014
Aspial acquires yet another Melbourne property
Singapore-listed Aspial Corporation has signed an agreement with City Light Properties to purchase a freehold property in Melbourne’s central business district for A$26.8 million, via its subsidiary WCL-A Beckett (Vic). Located at 54-64 A’Beckett Street, media reports said the site...
Continue Reading • 29 Apr 2014
CapitaLand's net profit down 1.7% in Q1
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s largest property developer, achieved a net profit of $182.8 million for Q1 2014, down 1.7 percent year-on-year as prior year comparison included a one-time portfolio gain of $58.7 million. Revenue for the group also fell 3.4 percent from a year ago to $612.6...
Continue Reading • 28 Apr 2014
Ascott Reit's revenue, profit up 16%
Ascott Residence Trust's (Ascott Reit) revenue for Q1 2014 increased by 16 percent to $80.4 million compared to the same period last year. Gross profit also grew 16 percent to $39.2 million in the quarter. The revenue increase is due mostly to the additional $7.9 million from Ascott Reit's...
Continue Reading • 24 Apr 2014