DBS's China fund JV gets investor licence

Source : The Business Times, October 13, 2007

DBS Asset Management (DBSAM), a wholly owned subsidiary of DBS Bank, announced yesterday that its joint venture with China's Changsheng Fund Management Company has been granted the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) licence by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

Related link - http://tinyurl.com/23k3j2
DBS' news release

The joint venture, Changsheng Fund Management, is one of the first six sino-foreign fund management companies (FMCs) to receive approval under the QDII scheme.

With this licence, Changsheng will now be able to help its clients invest their funds in overseas markets.

Said chief executive officer of DBSAM Deborah Ho: 'This is exciting news for us. Our strategic investment and partnership with Changsheng combines DBSAM's expertise in investment management and Changsheng's local knowledge and distribution capabilities. This partnership underscores DBSAM's commitment to China and we look forward to helping our clients grow their wealth in a resurgent Asia.'

And right after getting the QDII licence, Changsheng will be launching its Selected Global Sector Fund which will focus on varied industries in the fast growing economies.

'The scale of the fund market and diversification of fund products in China have been growing rapidly. New fund products such as the Selected Global Sector Fund will certainly provide China's growing affluent market with wider choices,' said Ms Ho.

DBSAM holds a 33 per cent stake in Changsheng.

Business Of Death In A Discreet, Dignified Place

Source : The Straits Times, Saturday, October 13, 2007

URA releases details of proposed funeral parlour in Sin Ming. A future industrial development will shield it from nearby homes and access to it would steer traffic away from residential areas.

FUNERAL parlours in Hong Kong and Japan look just like modern office buildings, complete with lift lobbies.

But inside, they are kitted out with dining areas and large halls for wakes.

Often sited within mixed residential and industrial areas, they are what the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) here is looking to copy in the possible funeral parlour in Sin Ming, slated for the empty plot next to the Bright Hill Temple.

Yesterday, the URA released details of the parlour, assuring the residents of Sin Ming that it will be a quiet, discreet and dignified place that will not advertise the business of death so near to their homes.

The URA stressed that no decision had been made on where the parlour would be as a study was still ongoing. It said it wanted residents’ feedback.

Asked about alternative sites for the parlour - such as Mandai, already home to a crematorium and columbarium - the URA returned to its point that site details had not been finalised.

Its spokesman said: ‘We are looking at details on the siting of such parlours, the timing for implementation, the mitigating measures that would be needed to be in place to minimise disturbance to the surroundings.’

When The Straits Times asked via e-mail why Sin Ming was being considered despite the area’s lack of an MRT station, the URA replied that it was accessible by public and private transport.

It also said a future industrial development would shield the parlour from nearby homes and access to it would steer traffic away from residential areas. Rules would be set up on the design and operation of the parlour.

The URA spokesman said that Yishun, another proposed site, had been tendered out, but there were no takers. The feedback it received suggested that it was not centrally located.

The proposed Sin Ming site is near a school, HDB blocks, private condominiums and terrace houses.

Residents told Transport Minister Raymond Lim last Sunday that they did not like the parlour being near their homes because of the taboos surrounding death.

Other residents The Straits Times interviewed on Wednesday expressed concern about the noise from funeral processions, the chanting, incense fumes and traffic jams. These things would depress their property value, others said.

Operations supervisor Koh Kwee Pheng, 61, has had no luck selling his terrace house next to the crematorium in the last six months.

He said: ‘Plenty of buyers have come, but the moment they see the temple, they don’t want it. With a new funeral parlour here, it’s going to be worse for me.’

The principal of Ai Tong School, Mr Ng Keng Song, also said the site was ‘inappropriate’. ‘People performing the rites will not just create noise. Mourning families may instil fear in young minds,’ he said.

The area’s 12 existing funeral parlours are clustered in units in two single-storey blocks along Sin Ming Drive.

The 20-odd carpark lots there are barely enough for the crowds of mourners, say parlour operators.

Mrs Ang Yew Seng, who has managed Ang Yew Seng Funeral Parlour for 10 years, confirmed that traffic jams and illegal parking are the norm.

Parlour operators say they worry more about rising rentals and cost-cutting among themselves than about where they will be sited.

The URA noted that a majority of wakes here are still held in temporary venues like Housing Board void decks and tents along streets and in carparks. Also, most funeral parlours here are operating out of converted terrace factories, not purpose-built facilities.

A PROPERTY OWNER’S WORRY

‘Plenty of buyers have come, but the moment they see the temple, they don’t want it. With a new funeral parlour here, it’s going to be worse for me.’MR KOH KWEE PHENG, 61, who has had no luck selling his terrace house next to the crematorium in the last six months.

Buying Foreign Property? Do Background Checks First

Source : The Straits Times, Saturday, October 13, 2007

BUYERS should be aware of their legal rights and obligations in the foreign country.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) pointed out that the laws in other countries may not provide the same level of protection for property buyers.

The consumer watchdog also said that buyers should conduct their own checks before signing on the dotted line.

For instance - buyers could check with the country’s embassy on land-ownership laws.
It would also be a good move to check the track record of previous developments in the area. If there were previous problems, that could be an indication of trouble to come.

Lawyer Aziz Tayabali said: ‘If the developer is represented by a Singapore firm, the buyers should find out its obligations before signing anything.’

A reputable local representative will be less likely to desert buyers should something go wrong.

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of consultancy and research at Knight Frank, said buyers should also check out the property market in the country they are going into.

He pointed out: ‘In China, the property market is red-hot for new developments but the second-hand market is slow, so people who buy for investment would have to sell at a lower price compared to a new project.’

Prospective buyers should also try to understand why the developer is selling the properties in Singapore instead of in the home country, he added.

Mr Mak said: ‘Be cautious and do your research on whether that foreign market is facing a decline in prices or demand, or you could be buying into a risky market.’

Other Overseas Purchases Gone Bad

Source : The Straits Times, Saturday, October 13, 2007

IN 2002, 1,000 Singaporeans who paid up to $3,800 each to join Indonesian country club PT Magic Kingdom Island Resort Paradise were left stranded when the club went bankrupt. Despite collecting about $2 million, the club never started the resort project. In 2001, about 90 Singaporeans paid $16,000 for units in the Villa Temasek development in Bintan, but the developer disappeared before work was completed.

In 1996, more than 40 buyers in Singapore and Malaysia lost between US$54,000 and US$98,000 when an 816-unit condominium project in Bangalore, marketed by Singapore-based company Chesterfield International, was aborted. Chesterfield’s directors cannot be traced and not a cent has been recovered. In 1996, 18 Singaporeans shelled out between $30,000 and $70,000 each for houses built by Dragon Land in Qingdao, in China’s Shandong province. They turned out to be poorly constructed, with no amenities.

In 1995, some 37 investors paid between RM150,000 and RM400,000 for apartments at the 199-unit Anjung Seri Condominium in Johor Baru. The project was never completed.

Tanglin Village Proves Hot Property For Businesses

Source : The Straits Times, Saturday, October 13, 2007

Offers flood in for two recently released plots, with top rental offer at five times the guide rent















TANGLIN Village, the latest lifestyle hot spot in town, is drawing massive crowds to its range of newly opened shops and restaurants.

And where consumers and foodies flock, so do business people. They have descended on the prime Dempsey Road enclave in a bid to clinch the remaining pieces of land.

Tanglin Village’s short-term leases - usually for three years, as the land is slated for residential use after 2015 - have not deterred tenants, said the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). It said businesses are confident of reaping most of their investments in the first three years.

Offers have poured in for two Tanglin Village plots released recently, said the SLA, which is managing the development.

A former chapel site at 39C Harding Road drew a record 23 bids when its tender closed last month. The top rental offer was $56,000 a month - five times the guide rent, SLA said.

It was put in by Ponte & Partners, the Singapore-based firm that brought in German brewery Paulaner Brauhaus at Millenia Walk.

The Harding Road property, which has a gross floor area of 4,456 sq ft, is safeguarded for conservation. It sits on a 43,172 sq ft plot.

Most of the other bidders for the site were also from the food and beverage industry, including Da Paolo Ristorante Italiano, Palm Beach Seafood and Select Catering Services.

A second site, at 45 Minden Road, was similarly popular with 15 bidders lodging offers. The highest was $51,000 a month, or more than double the $22,000 guide rent.

It came from the Siam Silk Company, a unit of Thailand’s Thai Silk Company, which was founded by the renowned Jim Thompson.

If it is awarded the 30,631 sq ft property - which has 10,156 sq ft of gross floor area - the firm plans to open a Jim Thompson Thai restaurant and wine bar, said Mr Steve Benhar, corporate counsel for the Thai Silk Company. The eatery will feature private indoor dining and a garden bar.

The strong response to the two sites is testament to how hot Tanglin Village has become in recent months.

A year ago, a building with 13,000 sq ft of gross floor area drew only 11 rental bids - the highest just $23,000 a month. Oosh, an alfresco bar and restaurant, is now operating at the site.

Earlier this year, some 27 sub-tenant businesses faced the prospect of being evicted when their master tenant, Tanglin Warehouse, fell behind in its rental payments to the SLA.

This was averted after Tanglin Warehouse settled the arrears in full.

And things have picked up quickly since then. In the last six months, 25 firms have set up shop in the area, according to the SLA.

Their offerings run a wide gamut, from restaurants and shops to education and entertainment centres. Some tenants even use the space for offices.

The burst of activity has brought occupancy at Tanglin Village to more than 70 per cent, said the SLA’s chief executive, Brigadier-General (NS) Lam Joon Khoi.

‘Tanglin Village tenders so far have attracted a number of entrepreneurs to build their dream businesses,’ he told The Straits Times.

To better serve these tenants and their customers, the SLA intends to review ‘basic infrastructural improvements’, such as road paving, lighting and utilities, BG Lam added.

More tenants, including an international school, are also expected to make their homes in the area soon.

It is also understood that a brewery will open, as well as an Italian restaurant and an outlet for the Long Beach Seafood restaurant chain.

Tanglin Village’s success has spurred the SLA to examine uses for other enclaves such as Keat Hong camp in Choa Chu Kang - a former Singapore Armed Forces camp - and Phoenix Park in Tanglin Road, the former headquarters of the Home Affairs Ministry.