OCBC expects 30% drop in mortgage lending
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: OCBC Bank’s new mortgage sales for 2013 are expected to fall by up to 30 percent due to the recent property cooling measures. Nevertheless its mortgage book will not be significantly affected, said Chief Operating Officer Ching Wei Hong at the bank’s Q4 2012...
Continue Reading • 18 Feb 2013
Keppel Land in JV to acquire Shanghai property
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Keppel Land China has entered into a deal with its property fund management arm Alpha Investment Partners (Alpha) to acquire Lifehub @ Jinqiao (pictured), a mixed-use development in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China. “This is the first time that Keppel Land...
Continue Reading • 15 Feb 2013
Azerbaijan plans to acquire Asian properties
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Due to the growing investment appeal of properties across the Asia Pacific region, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) is studying the real estate markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia, according to media reports."If it is appropriate, in the...
Continue Reading • 14 Feb 2013
DBS mortgage growth could drop by half
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: In the wake of the latest property cooling measures, DBS Bank’s mortgage growth in Singapore could fall by 50 percent this year, said Chief Executive Piyush Gupta in a report by The Business Times. The bank’s Singapore loan book stands at about S$100...
Continue Reading • 8 Feb 2013
KSH sees earnings boost
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Property firm KSH Holdings Limited recorded a 179 percent increase in earnings to S$8.1 million, attributed mainly to revenue that grew 71.4 percent to S$52.2 million for the third quarter ended 31 December 2012. The company’s net profit attributable to...
Continue Reading • 8 Feb 2013
Bill to force developers to disclose discounts
By Andrew Batt: Singapore property developers will face tougher regulations if a proposed amendment to the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act is enacted into law.The Bill aims to protect the interests of buyers purchasing uncompleted units, and will force developers to publish details...
Continue Reading • 7 Feb 2013
S'pore developer sets foot in Medini Iskandar
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Global Capital & Development (GCD), the lead investor in Medini, Iskandar Malaysia has signed an investment deal worth S$1 billion with Singapore developer Link (THM) Holdings to build the Media Village @ Medini Iskandar. Sited on a 5.9ha plot, the development will...
Continue Reading • 7 Feb 2013
Ascott voted best again
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the serviced residence business unit of CapitaLand, has once again been named the Best Serviced Apartment/Residence Operator at the DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2013.Ascott has made a clean sweep of the awards in that category...
Continue Reading • 7 Feb 2013
Punggol residents against proposed road
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: A group of residents living near a forested hill in Punggol are urging the government to stop plans for a proposed road that would harm Punggol Waterway’s last natural feature, reported The Straits Times. But a spokesman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)...
Continue Reading • 6 Feb 2013
Singapore world's 6th most expensive city
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Climbing up from ninth place, Singapore is now ranked the world’s sixth most expensive city to live in, according to the latest survey conducted by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Tokyo regained top spot as the world’s most expensive city...
Continue Reading • 5 Feb 2013
6.9m population is worst case scenario: Khaw
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The projected 6.9 million population revealed in the government’s Land Use Plan is not a forecast or a target, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan. In a recent blog post, he said: “It is the worst case scenario. We hope we do not reach...
Continue Reading • 4 Feb 2013
New shareholders for Raimon Land
By Andrew Batt: High-end Thai developer Raimon Land has new majority shareholders.In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand published on Friday evening, the company said that its previous major shareholder, IFA Hotel & Resort 3 Ltd, sold 893 million shares to JS Oil Pte Ltd at THB2.40...
Continue Reading • 4 Feb 2013
Ascendas CEO to step down
By Shabnam Muzammil: Singapore-based Ascendas Group announced that its President and CEO Chong Siak Ching (pictured) has resigned to assume the role of CEO of the National Art Gallery.Commencing on April 1, she will also head the cluster of three visual arts institutions under the Ministry of...
Continue Reading • 4 Feb 2013
Ascott grows presence in Vietnam
By Shabnam Muzammil:The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has secured a contract to manage the Somerset West Central Hanoi (pictured), a 252-unit serviced residence in Hanoi, Vietnam that is set to open in 2016. This follows the recent opening of the 100-unit Somerset Vista in Ho Chi Minh City’s...
Continue Reading • 4 Feb 2013
2 new commercial belts for Singapore
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:Singapore will get two more commercial hubs – the Southern Waterfront City and the North Coast Innovation Corridor, according to the government’s new Land Use Plan. The development in the south will start from Marina Bay and extend to Pasir Panjang, while the...
Continue Reading • 1 Feb 2013
S'pore's estates to become denser by 2030
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:The future success of the government’s land use plans will depend on market timing and clarity on the details of development, said Alice Tan, Senior Manager for Research at Knight Frank Singapore. “To fulfil the optimisation of land use in the medium to long...
Continue Reading • 1 Feb 2013
Govt's land use plan meets housing needs: expert
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: To cope with a larger population that could hit 6.9 million by 2030, Singapore will ramp up land supply to 76,600ha, an increase from the current supply of 71,000ha. The Land Use Plan released today by the Ministry of National Development (MND) will see 13,000ha or 17...
Continue Reading • 1 Feb 2013
Govt announces land use plan to sustain 6.9m population
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The Ministry of National Development (MND) today released a Land Use Plan Paper that aims to ensure Singaporeans enjoy a high-quality living environment over the next two decades and beyond. The detailed report comes just days after the government's Population White...
Continue Reading • 31 Jan 2013
Aptitude bulks up management team
By Romesh Navaratnarajah:In a bid to strengthen its core management team, Aptitude Real Estate Advisory has welcomed two new Singapore property investment sales specialists onboard. Charles Hoon (pictured), previously Director, Investment Sales Team at CBRE Singapore, has been appointed...
Continue Reading • 31 Jan 2013
Mapletree deal to be S'pore's biggest Reit IPO
By Nikki De Guzman: Property giant Mapletree Investments, a unit of Temasek Holdings, aims to raise US$1.2 billion (S$1.5 billion) in its initial public offering (IPO) of a real estate investment trust (Reit) backed by assets in Hong Kong and China, reported Bloomberg. The deal is expected...
Continue Reading • 30 Jan 2013