Bahrain opens up to Singapore companies
The Gulf state of Bahrain has just survived the latest wave of economic crisis, and is now looking for Singapore firms to invest in the Middle East and in the Gulf state.Mr. Kamal Ahmed, chief operating officer of the Economic Development Board in Bahrain, said that 36 million people in the Gulf...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
HK auctions land site after property cooling measures
Hong Kong has received a HK$2.876 billion (S$509 million) opening bid in an auction for a residential site, making it the first land sale in Hong Kong since the government implemented measures to crack down speculations in the housing market.Property prices in Hong Kong have increased by about a...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
Bonvests posts 26.5% net increase in Q1
Bonvests Holdings’ net profit increased 26.5 percent to $7.91 million during the first quarter ended March 31 on the back of firmer sales and a one-off gain from selling the Burger King business in Singapore.Bonvests, which is involved in hotel management and property development, reported...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
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
Condo owners give developer two alternatives
A small piece of a condo project encroaching onto state land is irritating some residents, and now they want the developer to either tear it down and rebuild the affected wall, or purchase over the 15-sq-m site from the government.The infringement occurred when the project was being constructed...
Continue Reading • 12 May 2010
Chip Eng Seng submits top bid for Simei residential site
CEL Development, a property arm of Chip Eng Seng, submitted the highest offer of $152.7 million, outbidding 17 other bidders for a residential site on Simei Street 3.The offer, which translates to $523 psf ppr, was higher than analysts’ earlier estimates of $295-$410 when the land parcel...
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
Chip Eng Seng and Cranecorp jointly acquires Perth site for A$20m
Chip Eng Seng Corporation and partner Cranecorp have jointly purchased a land parcel in Perth for A$20 million (S$24.9 million).The joint venture plans to turn the 1.02-hectare site at Scarborough into a mixed use development. There will be three blocks of 12 storey buildings, with 80 serviced...
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
STB gives green light for Dragon Mansion en bloc sale
The Strata Titles Board (STB) has approved the en bloc sale of Dragon Mansion to RL Developments, Roxy-Pacific Holdings’ wholly-owned unit.Under the sterner legislation governing en bloc sale, which was implemented in October 2007, Dragon Mansion is the first collective sale site to have...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
CapitaLand to build Raffles City in China
CapitaLand plans to construct Raffles City Shenzhen, a $1.25-billion commercial-cum-residential project, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. It will be the first integrated development of CapitaLand in Shenzhen under the Raffles City branding.The...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
URA auctions three sites for heavy vehicle parking
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will auction three land parcels at Senoko Drive and Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 at 2pm on June 3 at the URA Centre.The land parcels are being released to help meet the needs of fleet owners and transport operators for heavy...
Continue Reading • 11 May 2010
Landed home fever likely to become hotter this year
Demand for landed homes in Singapore is expected to become hotter this year with the number of sales transactions likely to exceed the 2,892 units sold in 2009.In Q1 2010 alone, more than 1,500 landed homes, excluding good class bungalows, were sold. They were worth around S$3.2 billion, compared...
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
Ski lodges in Hokkaido the new hot property trend
Some Singaporeans are splurging millions in Japan, particularly on freehold ski lodges and apartments in Niseko, a ski town in Hokkaido, just at a time when record property prices are making headlines in Singapore. In December 2009, Singaporeans shelled out US$20...
Continue Reading • 10 May 2010