Singapore, Iskandar Malaysia to get twin airport?
By Farah Wahida:In a bid to boost the aviation industry of southern Johor and Singapore, the planning authority of Iskandar Malaysia is looking to propose a twin-airport concept to the city-state, reported Star Property.According to Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, CEO of Iskandar Regional Development...
Continue Reading • 19 Mar 2013
NUS team tops green building competition
By Nikki De Guzman:A team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has emerged as champions of the second BCA-CDL Green Sparks Competition held recently at BCA Academy. An initiative by BCA and green developer CDL, the competition was organised to challenge tertiary students to come...
Continue Reading • 19 Mar 2013
Sysma's proposed rights issue to raise $16m
By Nikki De Guzman:Singapore-listed Sysma Holdings has proposed a renounceable non-underwritten rights issue of up to 95 million shares, each at an issue price of S$0.17 on the basis of one rights share per one existing ordinary share. Xiang Investment, Sysma’s sole controlling...
Continue Reading • 19 Mar 2013
Govt pledges 60 senior group homes by 2016
By Shabnam Muzammil:The government will build 60 new senior group homes by 2016 to allow the elderly to continue living within their community rather than in nursing homes, reported The Straits Times. Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing, said in Parliament that the...
Continue Reading • 18 Mar 2013
Property agent suspended, fined $10,000
By Nikki De Guzman:The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has convicted a property agent of three charges for breaching the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care when undertaking property transactions.54-year-old Chua Cheng Thian, Benny, who has been a salesperson for 17 years is facing a...
Continue Reading • 18 Mar 2013
Savills enjoys record growth, boosted by Asia
By Nikki De Guzman:Property firm Savills posted robust 2012 results, driven by its strong footing in the UK and a record year in Asia Pacific, reported The Telegraph. The UK-based consultancy saw a 36 percent rise in pre-tax profit at £54.2 million (S$102.06 million) last year, backed...
Continue Reading • 15 Mar 2013
Proposed housing curbs won't affect current owners: Khaw
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan clarified in his latest blog post today that regulations on public housing to make flats more affordable in future will apply to new buyers and not current homeowners. His statement was made in response to concerns from a...
Continue Reading • 14 Mar 2013
Sysma reports profit growth
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore-based Sysma Holdings has seen its half year net profit for 1H2013 increase by 17.7 percent to S$3.1 million, compared to S$2.6 million achieved during the same period last year. Sin Soon Teng (pictured), CEO of Sysma, said: “The half year results were...
Continue Reading • 13 Mar 2013
Number of super-rich Asians to surge
By Nikki De Guzman:The number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Asia is expected to surge by 88 percent in the next decade, the largest rate of increase of any region, according to intelligence firm Wealth-X. Asia will become the largest hub for HNWIs outside of North America by 2020, with...
Continue Reading • 13 Mar 2013
Global salary guide unveiled to help companies
By Nikki De Guzman: Human resources consultancy ECA International has launched a National Salary Comparison report which provides a guide on local pay levels among wealth managers across 55 countries.It allows companies to check whether an individual’s spending power would be maintained if...
Continue Reading • 12 Mar 2013
Khaw looking into suggestions to lower flat prices
By Nikki De Guzman:In a bid to keep HDB flats within the reach of Singaporeans, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has cited some "reasonable suggestions" for the public housing market, reported The Straits Times.Speaking at a community event in Woodlands yesterday, Mr Khaw...
Continue Reading • 12 Mar 2013
S'pore is most innovative city in Asia
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore has been named the most innovative city in Asia-Pacific, evidenced by the country’s dramatic evolution over the last 25 years, according to a survey by consultancy Solidiance.The report looked at six factors, like what a city has to offer and the amount...
Continue Reading • 12 Mar 2013
60000 public rental flats to be pushed out
By Shabnam Muzammil: The government will look to ramp up the number of rental flats available from 50,000 in 2012 to 60,000 this year, AsiaOne reported. During yesterday's Budget 2013 debate, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Dr Maliki Osman, said this figure is up from the...
Continue Reading • 12 Mar 2013
Brother of ex-US President Bush to chair S'pore developer
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Neil Bush (pictured), the younger brother of former US President George W Bush is set to become a major investor in Singapore-based developer SingXpress Land, which plans to change its name to SingHaiyi Group. The move will take place following a rights issue and share...
Continue Reading • 12 Mar 2013
Govt announces new housing measures, inclusive of singles
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:After 50 years of public housing, it is good to revisit some key policies. That is what National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in his budget debate speech today in Parliament where he outlined a slew of new measures to make housing more affordable and...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2013
Leading property portal unveils version 3.0
By Shabnam Muzammil:Vietnam’s leading property portal and PropertyGuru’s regional partner Batdongsan.com.vn recently launched its latest version 3.0, featuring greater efficiency, reliability and better access speed. It enables users to easily track accounts, manage listings and...
Continue Reading • 8 Mar 2013
S'pore will be 2nd most important city to the world's wealthy: report
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Singapore is expected to become the second most important global city behind London for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in 2023, according to The Wealth Report Attitudes Survey 2012 by Knight Frank. The survey polled 400 private bankers and wealth advisors...
Continue Reading • 7 Mar 2013
Strong rumours of further curbs to private housing loans
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The Monetary Authority of Singapore could be about to slash the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) for private residential properties in a further bid to moderate home prices, PropertyGuru understands. The move, which sources have indicated will be announced imminently,...
Continue Reading • 6 Mar 2013
Indian bank to buy up S'pore apartments
By Nikki De Guzman:In a bid to provide quality housing for its staff in Singapore, the State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it will invest in residential property in the city-state. According to reports, SBI will purchase at least 10 to 20 more apartment units to accomodate its...
Continue Reading • 6 Mar 2013
Mortgage giants to form new securitisation firm
By Nikki De Guzman:In a bid to reduce the US government’s involvement in the loan market, mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will create a new company to securitise home loans, said the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).“The overarching goal is to create something of value...
Continue Reading • 5 Mar 2013