Source : The Business Times, July 16, 2008
Hiap Hoe Limited said its associate, HH Properties Pte Ltd (HHP), has emerged as the top bidder for a land parcel at Balestier Road/Ah Hood Road with the ender price of $73.3 million.
The tender was for a hotel and commercial/residential development.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is evaluating the tender and the company will make the necessary announcement in the event that HHP is awarded the tender. -- BT Newsroom
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
25-Year-Old Joo Chiat Complex Gets A Makeover
Source : The Straits Times, July 16, 2008
Shop owners hope business will improve after upgrading is completed next month
IN AN attempt to compete with Singapore's shiny new mega malls, the 25-year-old Joo Chiat Complex in Geylang Serai is getting a makeover.
Shop owners in the centre, which specialises in Malay baju, textiles and crafts, are eager to see the dim atrium, worn washrooms and old floors spruced up.
The sterile grey walls and monotone tiles are on their way out. As are the old awnings, which are making way for fire-resistant canopies.
The building is also getting neon signs, a CCTV security system and a better air-conditioning system, a Housing Board spokesman said in an e-mail message to The Straits Times on Monday. The HDB owns the centre.
The upgrades, which started in March and are expected to be completed next month, were welcomed by most shop owners.
'The complex is so old that people would rather shop at VivoCity. The interior is dark, the lights are dim, everything is rusty,' said curtain seller Jimmy Saw, 50, who has been running the family business there for 25 years.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times
Shop owners hope business will improve after upgrading is completed next month
IN AN attempt to compete with Singapore's shiny new mega malls, the 25-year-old Joo Chiat Complex in Geylang Serai is getting a makeover.
Shop owners in the centre, which specialises in Malay baju, textiles and crafts, are eager to see the dim atrium, worn washrooms and old floors spruced up.
The sterile grey walls and monotone tiles are on their way out. As are the old awnings, which are making way for fire-resistant canopies.
The building is also getting neon signs, a CCTV security system and a better air-conditioning system, a Housing Board spokesman said in an e-mail message to The Straits Times on Monday. The HDB owns the centre.
The upgrades, which started in March and are expected to be completed next month, were welcomed by most shop owners.
'The complex is so old that people would rather shop at VivoCity. The interior is dark, the lights are dim, everything is rusty,' said curtain seller Jimmy Saw, 50, who has been running the family business there for 25 years.
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times
CapitaLand Sets Up $1.4b China Private Equity Fund
Source : Reuters, Jul 16, 2008
CAPITALAND, South-east Asia's biggest property developer, said on Wednesday it had established a US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) private equity fund in China to acquire property assets and to invest in new projects.
The fund has the option of a final closing by the end of December, which could boost its size to US$1.3 billion, it said in a statement.
CapitaLand, which would indirectly hold a 50 per cent stake in the fund, may reduce its stake to 45 per cent if there is strong investor demand, it said. -- REUTERS
CAPITALAND, South-east Asia's biggest property developer, said on Wednesday it had established a US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) private equity fund in China to acquire property assets and to invest in new projects.The fund has the option of a final closing by the end of December, which could boost its size to US$1.3 billion, it said in a statement.
CapitaLand, which would indirectly hold a 50 per cent stake in the fund, may reduce its stake to 45 per cent if there is strong investor demand, it said. -- REUTERS
Tampines Court Owners File Appeal
Source : The Straits Times, Jul 16, 2008
ANGRY owners at Tampines Court have opened up two fronts in their battle to save their estate's $405 million collective sale.
One bid saw the sales committee lodge a High Court appeal to overturn a ruling by the Strata Titles Board (STB), while some owners made a direct plea to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
The 10 or so owners went to a weekly Meet-The-People session on Monday night to voice their concerns to Mr Mah, the MP for the Tampines ward.
The Straits Times understands that Mr Mah, in his capacity as a local MP, has agreed to appeal to the STB on the owners' behalf to bring forward a crucial hearing date.
The timing of that hearing - scheduled to let some sale objectors have a say - is also at the centre of the sales committee's legal appeal.
The committee wants the High Court to overturn an STB ruling on when the hearing should be held.
The board said on Friday the hearing should go ahead as planned on Aug 7.
The date, however, comes after the sales agreement legally expires on July 25. If the hearing is held on Aug 7, the sale cannot be done as scheduled on July 25, effectively killing it.
Two sales committee members said in an affidavit filed on Monday that the STB failed to take into account that any hearing after July 25 'will be academic', as the sales agreement would expire and the buyers were unlikely to extend the deadline.
The buyers - Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint - have already said they 'are ready to complete the deal', but 'the onus was upon the vendors to secure the STB order within the agreed timeframe'.
The estate's tight deadline stemmed from a sales committee decision to delay lodging its application for STB approval of the sale until Jan 7 this year although all the necessary conditions had already been met as early as July 25 last year.
It told the board that it wanted to await the outcome of legal challenges over the contentious Gillman Heights sale, as this could have a bearing on the fate of the Tampines Court deal.
As it turned out, the High Court last month cleared the way for the Gillman Heights deal and, in so doing, removed any potential obstacle to the Tampines Court sale as well.
Some owners told The Straits Times that they felt this deadline mess was the STB's fault.
Madam Irene Cheang said it was the board's duty to see the sale through within the six-month guideline, and that it had been inefficient in processing the sale.
STB registrar Bryan Chew stood by the board's decision on the date of the hearing.
The time needed to get a sale approved depends on a variety of factors, including the number of objectors, the size of the estate and the complexity of the case, he said.
'This is not the first time that we've taken more than six months,' he added.
The STB said it had pencilled in the Aug 7 date after listening to sale objectors from June 16 to 18 and 'taking into account the availability of all parties and the board'.
It has become a nerve-wracking time for the owners, as many have committed themselves to other properties.
Owner K. Balasubramaniam, 55, said residents could lose about $200,000 should the sale fail. He said the average open market value of a typical unit was $500,000 - while each owner would get about $700,000 should the sale go through.
Lawyers for the majority and minority owners declined to comment.
The Straits Times understands that there will be a High Court hearing this afternoon. It will be closed to the public.
ANGRY owners at Tampines Court have opened up two fronts in their battle to save their estate's $405 million collective sale.
One bid saw the sales committee lodge a High Court appeal to overturn a ruling by the Strata Titles Board (STB), while some owners made a direct plea to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
The 10 or so owners went to a weekly Meet-The-People session on Monday night to voice their concerns to Mr Mah, the MP for the Tampines ward.The Straits Times understands that Mr Mah, in his capacity as a local MP, has agreed to appeal to the STB on the owners' behalf to bring forward a crucial hearing date.
The timing of that hearing - scheduled to let some sale objectors have a say - is also at the centre of the sales committee's legal appeal.
The committee wants the High Court to overturn an STB ruling on when the hearing should be held.
The board said on Friday the hearing should go ahead as planned on Aug 7.
The date, however, comes after the sales agreement legally expires on July 25. If the hearing is held on Aug 7, the sale cannot be done as scheduled on July 25, effectively killing it.
Two sales committee members said in an affidavit filed on Monday that the STB failed to take into account that any hearing after July 25 'will be academic', as the sales agreement would expire and the buyers were unlikely to extend the deadline.
The buyers - Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint - have already said they 'are ready to complete the deal', but 'the onus was upon the vendors to secure the STB order within the agreed timeframe'.
The estate's tight deadline stemmed from a sales committee decision to delay lodging its application for STB approval of the sale until Jan 7 this year although all the necessary conditions had already been met as early as July 25 last year.
It told the board that it wanted to await the outcome of legal challenges over the contentious Gillman Heights sale, as this could have a bearing on the fate of the Tampines Court deal.
As it turned out, the High Court last month cleared the way for the Gillman Heights deal and, in so doing, removed any potential obstacle to the Tampines Court sale as well.
Some owners told The Straits Times that they felt this deadline mess was the STB's fault.
Madam Irene Cheang said it was the board's duty to see the sale through within the six-month guideline, and that it had been inefficient in processing the sale.
STB registrar Bryan Chew stood by the board's decision on the date of the hearing.
The time needed to get a sale approved depends on a variety of factors, including the number of objectors, the size of the estate and the complexity of the case, he said.
'This is not the first time that we've taken more than six months,' he added.
The STB said it had pencilled in the Aug 7 date after listening to sale objectors from June 16 to 18 and 'taking into account the availability of all parties and the board'.
It has become a nerve-wracking time for the owners, as many have committed themselves to other properties.
Owner K. Balasubramaniam, 55, said residents could lose about $200,000 should the sale fail. He said the average open market value of a typical unit was $500,000 - while each owner would get about $700,000 should the sale go through.
Lawyers for the majority and minority owners declined to comment.
The Straits Times understands that there will be a High Court hearing this afternoon. It will be closed to the public.
Property Counters Lose Ground Over Rising Costs, Pricing Power Concerns
Source : The Business Times, July 16, 2008
CITY Developments Ltd fell the most in more than four months, leading declines by Singapore developers after Credit Suisse Group AG said that rising construction costs and an inability to raise prices will erode profits.
City Developments, Singapore's second-largest developer, fell 58 cents, or 5.3 per cent, to $10.36 at the close of trade. CapitaLand Ltd, its closest domestic rival, dipped 21 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $5.60, its biggest decline in three weeks, and Keppel Land Ltd, the third-largest real estate firm, lost 6 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $4.65, its weakest since Sept 13, 2006.
Singapore private home prices rose at the slowest pace in almost four years in the second quarter on concerns that the global credit squeeze will dampen economic growth. Prices of so-called mass market homes, defined as those that cost between $1,000 and $1,200 per square foot, may change 'marginally' this year, said CapitaLand chief executive officer Liew Mun Leong in an interview on July 10.
Developers' profits may decline because of 'the risk of increasing construction costs', weaker confidence and lower 'pricing power, even for mass-market projects', Credit Suisse analyst Tricia Song wrote in a report yesterday.
Singapore's private home sales rose 82 per cent as slowing price increases attracted buyers. A total of 801 residential units were sold last month, compared with 441 in May, and 284 in April, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said on its website yesterday.
Still, a higher proportion of new homes available for sale was not sold in the month, said Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at Knight Frank in Singapore. 'This would result in a gradual increase in the number of unsold properties in the developers' inventory,' he said.
Singapore's biggest developers will start reporting second-quarter earnings at the end of this month. -- Bloomberg
CITY Developments Ltd fell the most in more than four months, leading declines by Singapore developers after Credit Suisse Group AG said that rising construction costs and an inability to raise prices will erode profits.
City Developments, Singapore's second-largest developer, fell 58 cents, or 5.3 per cent, to $10.36 at the close of trade. CapitaLand Ltd, its closest domestic rival, dipped 21 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $5.60, its biggest decline in three weeks, and Keppel Land Ltd, the third-largest real estate firm, lost 6 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $4.65, its weakest since Sept 13, 2006.
Singapore private home prices rose at the slowest pace in almost four years in the second quarter on concerns that the global credit squeeze will dampen economic growth. Prices of so-called mass market homes, defined as those that cost between $1,000 and $1,200 per square foot, may change 'marginally' this year, said CapitaLand chief executive officer Liew Mun Leong in an interview on July 10.
Developers' profits may decline because of 'the risk of increasing construction costs', weaker confidence and lower 'pricing power, even for mass-market projects', Credit Suisse analyst Tricia Song wrote in a report yesterday.
Singapore's private home sales rose 82 per cent as slowing price increases attracted buyers. A total of 801 residential units were sold last month, compared with 441 in May, and 284 in April, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said on its website yesterday.
Still, a higher proportion of new homes available for sale was not sold in the month, said Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at Knight Frank in Singapore. 'This would result in a gradual increase in the number of unsold properties in the developers' inventory,' he said.
Singapore's biggest developers will start reporting second-quarter earnings at the end of this month. -- Bloomberg
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