Ion Orchard, Orchard Central Have Healthy Lease Figures

Source : The Business Times, June 25, 2009

Ion is 94% leased, Orchard Central is 80% leased, say their developers

ION Orchard, which is due to open in a month, is 94 per cent leased, the mall's developer, Orchard Turn Developments, said yesterday.

Previously, the developer said the mall was 80 per cent leased and it was in advanced negotiations for the remaining space.

Shoppers' facade: Ion Orchard's management hopes many of the 333 shops will open in time for the mall's soft opening on July21. To give tenants an incentive, Ion Orchard said they will get 30% rebates off base rents

At the other end of Orchard Road, 80 per cent of space in Orchard Central is also committed. Previously, developer Far East Organization said the mall was 65 per cent leased.

Orchard Central is already open to shoppers. Tenants have progressively opened for business since early June. The mall's soft opening is slated for early July, by which time about 100 shops should be open, Far East says.

As for Ion Orchard, management hopes many of the 333 shops will open in time for the mall's soft opening on July 21.

'They (the tenants) are rushing to finish renovations and we hope as many of them as possible will open with us,' said Soon Su Lin, chief executive of Orchard Turn Developments, which is building the mall. Orchard Turn Developments is jointly owned by CapitaLand and Hong Kong's Sun Hung Kai Properties.

To give tenants an incentive to open on time, Ion Orchard said in March that they would get 30 per cent rebates off base rents if they opened for business by July 21. The response has been 'very positive' so far, Ms Soon said.

Neither Ion Orchard nor Orchard Central have given a recent update on asking rents. Ion Orchard has said previously that its rents range from $20 to $80 per sq ft per month (psf pm). Rents at Orchard Central range from $20 psf pm to more than $70 psf pm, Far East Organization said late last year.

But industry watchers have said that signing rents at most existing Orchard Road malls have since fallen, which means asking rents at Ion Orchard and Orchard Central could also have edged down.

Ion Orchard said yesterday that more than 21 per cent of its 640,000 sq ft of retail space will be dedicated to food and dining - with many casual and fine dining outlets offering local and international fare, plus food and confectionary stores and a gourmet supermarket.

28 restaurants and cafes will be spread over different levels of the mall, with the largest clusters on level 4 for fine dining, and basements 2 and 3 for casual dining. In addition, basement 4 will feature a food hall, with 80 stalls offering a range of cuisines for all tastes.

Ms Soon said that Ion Orchard remains on the lookout for suitable retail and F&B concepts for the 6 per cent of space that has yet to be leased.

Asia Developers Eye New Projects

Source : The Business Times, June 25, 2009

Asian property firms are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel and several are positioning for an upturn even as the world economy struggles to recover from its worst recession in decades.

The mood among US and European executives at this week's Reuters Global Real Estate Summit is glum, but Asian counterparts are more upbeat with some revealing plans for new projects in anticipation of an upturn later this year.

For instance, Chinese commercial property developer SOHO said it has built up a war chest of US$1.9 billion to replenish its land bank and intends to start new projects in Shanghai and Beijing in coming months.

Indiabulls, India's third-largest listed property developer, aims to launch six to seven residential projects in the financial year ending in March 2010 on the back of an expected recovery in demand.

'The general mood has been cautious, but there is also optimism. Asian companies in general are in much better shape compared to their peers in other regions,' said Ayala Land chief financial officer and Asian Public Real Estate Association president Jaime Ysmael.

Spurring the optimism in Asia is a recovery in residential markets, with price cuts drawing buyers in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, where saving rates are high and banks are prepared to lend.

The volume of transactions in these places are close to levels seen during the bull market of 2007 and residential property values have begun to edge upwards as developers such as Singapore's City Developments raise prices.

Asian property values did not rise as much as in the US and parts of Europe this decade. In dollar terms, property in countries such as the Philippines are cheaper than before the onset of the Asian crisis in late 1997.

Interest rate cuts and government stimulus plans are also helping regional property markets recover.

Singapore residential prices were supported by mortgage rates that were below rental yields, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report said this week.

'At the current mortgage rate of around 2.75 per cent, our net cost of carry model implies that prices can rise by 30 per cent before home buyers enter negative carry,' it said. The bank predicts Singapore home prices will rise 20 per cent next year.

Singapore's housing market has been hit hard by the downturn, with home prices plunging nearly 14 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the steepest drop in over 30 years, according to government data.

Separately, Nomura said unemployment was stabilising in Hong Kong and forecasts home prices and rents in the Chinese territory will rise by 22 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, this year.

A poll of 10 analysts conducted in conjunction with the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit showed China home prices are expected to gain an average of 10 per cent between now and the end of 2010.

The outlook for Asia's office market remained negative but most developers said rents have stabilised after falling sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008 and earlier this year.

Some investors said any pick-up may not be sustainable. - Reuters

NSW Home Sales Soar

Source : The Business Times, June 25, 2009

(SYDNEY) New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees revealed yesterday a record number of first home buyers in May showed there had never been a better time to enter the Australian property market.

About 7,300 first home buyers took advantage of government grants and stamp duty cuts, worth around A$178 million (S$207.9 million). It was the third record month in succession, with more than 21,000 first home buyers taking up the offers in that time, Mr Rees said.

'We're getting more young families into their first homes than ever before and helping them get on with establishing their lives,' he said.

The biggest amount of grants, which are worth up to A$24,000 for those buying new homes, were handed out for properties bought in Sydney's western suburbs.

Mr Rees noted the first home owner grants paid out in May were almost double those paid out in the same month last year. -- Xinhua

Demand For Taipei Office Space Rises

Source : The Business Times, June 25, 2009

(TAIPEI) The availability rate of prime office space in Taipei this year is likely to fall less than earlier expectations as closer ties with former political rival China helps boost demand for the island's real estate.

The availability rate for prime office space will likely be at about 15 per cent this year, compared with a March forecast of 18 per cent, Tony Chao, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle in Taiwan told reporters. Rents will also possibly fall by a smaller degree this year compared with a previous forecast of about 15 to 20 per cent, the property services company said.

'Rents could fall by about 15 per cent this year, with the drop becoming apparent in the third quarter,' Mr Chao said. 'But compared with Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, the rate of decline is considered small.'

Mr Chao also said he expected demand for office space from Chinese investors to pick up only from next year. 'I visited Beijing last month, and many state-linked companies expressed interest in coming to Taiwan. But there are still policy issues, and it typically takes about six months to find a space, so the market could be weak in the short term,' he added.

Easing tensions with China, which claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as its own, has spurred renewed interest in the island's economy. Its stock market has surged over 50 per cent since hitting a trough in January this year. -- Reuters

Resorts World On Track

Source : The Straits Times, June 25, 2009

OVER 80 per cent of the construction work at the Sentosa casino-resort has been completed, with only the last 20 per cent to go before its opening in first quarter of next year.

Works on the second phase of construction, two more hotels, the water theme park, marine life park and Marine Xperiential Museum will begin next year. --PHOTO: RESORTS WORLD AT SENTOSA

Resorts World at Sentosa gave a construction update on Thursday morning with its executive vice-president of projects Michael Chin giving the media a tour of the site.

'Everything is on track,' Mr Chin said.

Four hotels, the Universal Studios theme park, the half-kilometre stretch housing its retail and dining establishments and theatre for shows and casino will be ready for its opening next year.

This constitutes only 60 per cent of the 49-ha development. Works on the second phase of construction, two more hotels, the water theme park, marine life park and Marine Xperiential Museum will begin next year, said Mr Chin.

It will take up to two years before the final segment will be completed.

For now, the team is concentrating on rushing to complete the first phase.

Most of the construction work for Singapore's first Universal Studios is done, with only the fitting out and setting up of the rides to be done. These works are expected to be completed by August after which testings and commissioning will begin.

Because the casino-resort is opening during such economic downturn, Ms Krist Boo, its head of communications, said it has revised downwards the number of visitors expected from 15 million for its first year of operations to 12 to 13 million.

Still she said: 'We remain confident that we will draw the numbers.'