Henderson introduces property equity funds in China
Henderson Global Investors, an independent asset management firm with US$93.8 billion worth of assets as of end-2009, is introducing a set of property equity funds in China.Citibank China will exclusively distribute the Henderson Horizon Global Property Equities Fund, Henderson Horizon Pan...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2010
Lankom Electronics to acquire two property firms in $586m RTO deal
Lankom Electronics, which was recently included in the watch-list of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), has proposed purchasing two property firms in a $586-million reverse takeover (RTO) deal.Lankom will buy Modena Property Development and Newage Investment Holding under a signed conditional...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2010
Cheung Kong to launch luxury condo at West Coast
Cheung Kong, a Hong Kong property developer, is set to launch a luxury condominium at West Coast.With an expected recovery in the leasing market and demand from expatriates, it remains upbeat for the high-end residential property segment.This latest development by Cheung Kong is expected to stand...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2010
Park Hotel Group's Grand Park Orchard set to open in July
Grand Park Orchard, a flagship property of Park Hotel Group, is set to open in July after an $80-million makeover. The five-star 308-room hotel located at Orchard Road was formerly known as Park Hotel Orchard. Room rates are expected to be about $350 per night.With its eight-storey-tall media...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2010
Economy to register robust 9.5% growth in Q1, say economists
According to economists, Singapore's economy is expected to see a robust 9.5 percent growth this quarter, though it will be more of a technical rebound.Economists in the private sector who were polled in February by the Monetary Authority of Singapore produced forecasts ranging from 6.8 percent...
Continue Reading • 11 Mar 2010
Biggest drop recorded for Australian home loans in a decade
The number of home loans in Australia for the month of January 2010 declined by 7.9 percent, the biggest drop since June 2000, as the market continues to move slowly following the phasing out of the First Home Buyers grant last year and increasing interest rates.A report by the Australian Bureau...
Continue Reading • 10 Mar 2010
Lippo acquires bigger stake in OUE
Lippo, a major Indonesian conglomerate, has acquired the property group Overseas Union Enterprises (OUE) in a $957-million deal that raised its stake to about 88.52 percent.The Indonesian company, through Golden Concord Asia, acquired a 44.3 percent stake at $11 per share from Usaha Tegas, a...
Continue Reading • 10 Mar 2010
Lian Beng wins $144m design-and-build condo contract
Lian Beng Group has won a $144 million building contract for a condominium project at Dakota Crescent.The design-and-build contract was awarded by UOL Development (Dakota) Pte Ltd. The project is comprised of 616 apartment units in four 20-storey blocks and three 19-storey blocks, and a...
Continue Reading • 10 Mar 2010
Average home transactions in the high-end market rose to $1.78 million
As property developers launched more upmarket projects, the average private home transaction value sold in the market rose to $1.78 million per unit in the first two months of 2010, according to a study conducted by CB Richard Ellis.This is higher by 37 percent than the $1.3 million average price...
Continue Reading • 10 Mar 2010
Government grants smaller flats instead of reducing lease tenure
Instead of reducing the 99-year lease tenure to make HDB flats more affordable, the government prefers other methods to assist those with lower income to acquire their own flats, said Mr. Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development.According to Mr. Mah, HDB now offers additional grants to the...
Continue Reading • 10 Mar 2010
Singapore mortgage volume could decline in 2010 but values expected to grow
Singapore banks are unlikely to see an increase in the volume of home loans this year. According to several analysts, the number of home loan transactions are not expected to increase from last year, as demand eases out from the mass market property segment. But support could come from interest...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
CREO mulls AIM exit for Singapore listing
In a quest to tap stronger capital flows and a deeper investor base in Asia, China Real Estate Opportunities (CREO), one of the biggest firms in London's AIM (Alternative Investment Market), may give up its UK listing to be quoted in Singapore.The company, which owns around £840 million...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
Government will not introduce further measures to cool property market
National Development Minister, Mah Bow Tan, has said that although the government is closely monitoring the property market, it will not introduce further measures for now.“If there are signs that the market will overheat again, we are ready to introduce additional measures to stabilise the...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
CapitaMalls Asia acquires Chengdu project for $114 million
CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) has purchased the Chengdu development from CapitaRetail China Development Fund II (CRCDF II) for 554.2 million yuan or $114 million.The Chengdu development is comprised of residential, office and retail components.The acquisition was made through the purchase of a 100...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
JTC to lease out 95,000 sq ft of office space at its HQ
JTC Corporation will lease out about 95,000 sq ft of office space at its headquarters near Jurong East MRT Station. A tender exercise was conducted recently to appoint a sole marketing agent to help it find tenants for the building.The space to be leased represents around 21 percent of the...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
MND announces changes to the Reserve List System
Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan, has announced three changes to the reserve list system under the government's land sales programme.With immediate effect, the government has reduced the deposit required on Reserve List sites for successful applicants from the current five percent...
Continue Reading • 9 Mar 2010
HDB extends mortgage assistance
According to Grace Fu, the Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of National Development & Ministry of Education, the recent announcement made by HDB to extend second concessionary loans is to help flat buyers manage their mortgage obligations and not to promote property...
Continue Reading • 8 Mar 2010
RWS prepares for possible glitches at Universal Studios' soft opening
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has announced that the soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore (USS) will be on March 18. However, it is unclear how many attractions will be operational by that time.In a statement released on Friday, RWS said: “It is possible that certain attractions may...
Continue Reading • 8 Mar 2010
Changes in housing policy not enough for some PRs to take up citizenship
The government has sharpened the differentiation in housing benefits enjoyed by Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs), but some PRs claim it is not enough for them to take up citizenship.Parliament recently revealed that a household comprising of one citizen and one PR would have to...
Continue Reading • 8 Mar 2010
New property measures protect genuine Singapore home-owners
The Government announced new property measures on Friday that will aim to further safeguard the interests of Singaporeans for whom their property purchase is primarily for residence, rather than financial investment.The most notable measure was the extension of the second HDB concessionary loan...
Continue Reading • 8 Mar 2010