LTA To Look Into Impact Of ERP Gantries On Chinatown

Source : The Business Times, August 19, 2008

THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) will bring forward its ERP review of the Singapore River Line gantries from November to October, after feedback from the Chinatown Business Association that ERP charges may be having a negative impact on business.

As the ERP was implemented in July, this still gives LTA three months for its customary review and provides sufficient time for vehicle travel patterns to stabilise.

Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Lim Hwee Hua said: 'If the traffic situation warrants it, LTA would adjust the ERP charges to be effective from early October instead.' Review results will be announced in late September.

The gantries were introduced to ensure that businesses in the area benefit from smooth-flowing traffic in the long run.

At a meeting yesterday, Chinatown retail and business stakeholders gave LTA feedback on business operating hours, as well as where gantries could be located to control traffic.

Mrs Lim said LTA aims to ensure that ERP rates are pegged at levels that do not discourage users from entering the area simply due to congestion.

'Some of the businesses have been experiencing some slowdown either because of consumer changes or economic conditions. Changes to the ERP rates will not be able to address (this),' she said. 'There are also some issues with regard to public education. A lot of people thought that the ERP hours were operational on Saturdays as well, which is not the case.'

Adjustments to ERP charges in the area will be determined by speeds over different time segments, as well as traffic volume. In addition, LTA will study car park occupancy rates and retail sales figures to 'refine the scheme'.

SLA Sees Good Interest For Infill Sites Ahead Of Auction

Source : The Business Times, August 19, 2008

THE Singapore Land Authority (SLA) yesterday said that it has received about 100 enquiries for the eight infill sites it launched for residential use on June 26. The sites will be auctioned off on Aug 21.

'There has been especially strong interest in the good class bungalow site at Ridout Road and sites in the eastern region of Upper East Coast Road and Tanah Merah Kechil Road,' SLA said. 'These sites received the most number of enquiries.'

Other sites include bungalow plots in Namly Avenue, Braddell Road and Glasgow Road.

Over 30 auction packets were sold for these sites, with quite a number downloaded from SLA's website. Interested parties include individuals, niche developers, architects and contractors, SLA said. This is the second time that SLA is offering such sites for sale through public auction.

In November 2007, six infill sites were sold for some $30.6 million in all. Then, some of the 99-year leasehold residential land parcels went for bargain prices.

A 16,690 sq ft good class bungalow (GCB) site at Eng Neo Avenue was picked up by a buyer at the starting auction price of $6 million - which works out to $360 per square foot (psf).

And another GCB plot, also on Eng Neo Avenue, was sold for $12.1 million - significantly above the starting price of $9.5 million. But the 29,200 sq ft site was still considered a good buy as it went for $414 psf.

UK Biz Body Warns Of Recession Risk

Source : The Business Times, August 19, 2008

(LONDON) An influential body which represents British business says there is a 'distinct possibility' of the country facing recession in the next six or nine months, according to a report published on Sunday.

In its quarterly economic forecast, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that while a major downturn was unlikely, a cut in interest rates was necessary to counter the threat of serious problems.

Its comments came the week after Bank of England governor Mervyn King said Britain faced an increased risk of recession, with economic growth set to slow further and inflation expected to spike.

'Our quarterly economic forecast highlights a significant worsening in UK economic prospects,' said David Kern, the BCC's economic adviser. 'There is now a distinct possibility of technical recession.' He added that unemployment would climb by up to 300,000 in the next 2-3 years. It would 'likely' reach nearly two million, he said, not ruling out a rise above that.

'Our view is that the threats to growth are more serious and more immediate than the risks of higher inflation,' Mr Kern added. 'The UK economy urgently needs an interest rate cut to counter threats of recession.' - AFP

Fear Of Technical Recession Looms As July Exports Fall

Source : The Business Times, August 19, 2008

Global slowdown does not augur well for sputtering electronics exports

Continuing their downward trend, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) shrank by 5.7 per cent in July as the shipment of electronic goods continued to fall.

This followed a 10.5 per cent fall in May and an 11 per cent tumble in June, and some economists are predicting a technical recession after the economy grew just 2.1 per cent in Q2 - the slowest growth in five quarters, and following a revised 6.9 per cent pace in Q1.

'The fall (in non-oil domestic exports) will translate into weaker manufacturing activity, at least for the third quarter, raising the likelihood of a technical recession in 2008,' said Alvin Liew at Standard Chartered.

Said David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics in Singapore: 'The global outlook is looking darker with Japan and Europe probably slipping into recession, and the US still sputtering. It doesn't bode well for demand for Singapore's exports.' A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

Non-oil retained imports of intermediate goods (NORI) also fell 5 per cent in the month - worse than the 2.8 per cent drop in June, mainly due to lower NORI of consumer electronics, parts of PCs, diodes and transistors and integrated circuits.

Total trade jumped 21 per cent to $88 billion last month.

Minus oil, domestic exports put on a dismal show in July. For example, electronics shipments contracted 14 per cent over the same month last year.

'The contraction in electronic domestic exports was largely due to weaker domestic exports of parts of PCs, consumer electronics, disk drives and ICs,' International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said.

Non-electronic exports posted a slight improvement of 0.3 per cent - reversing its drop of 7.9 per cent drop in the previous month.

'The turnaround in non-electronic NODX was largely led by higher domestic exports of ships and boats, petrochemicals and non-monetary gold,' IE Singapore said.

Except for Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and South Korea, domestic exports to the rest of Singapore's top 10 markets declined in July. According to IE, the United States, the European Union and Thailand were the top contributors to the NODX's fall last month.

NODX shipments to the US were down 33 per cent year-on-year following a 24 per cent drop in June.

Domestic exports to the EU sank 27 per cent, against a 16 per cent decline in the previous month. Shipments to Thailand, which dipped 8.4 per cent in June, tumbled 22 per cent.

Exports to China grew 8.6 per cent last month, bouncing back from a 12 per cent contraction in June. Shipments to Hong Kong, which dipped 0.5 per cent in the previous month, crept up a paltry one per cent.

Exports to Indonesia jumped 29 per cent in July, recovering from a 7 per cent decline in June.

Frasers Targets 'Road Warriors'

Source : The Straits Times, August 19, 2008

FRASERS Hospitality is cashing in on a newly emerging class of business traveller, known as 'road warriors', with the launch of a new, lower-tiered brand of serviced apartments early next year.

The new apartments, to be branded Modena, will cater to business travellers who are on the road so often that high-end accommodation is unrealistic.

Frasers Hospitality currently operates only the Frasers brand, which is a high-end or five-star brand. The first Modena apartments will be in China.

'There's a market for road warriors. It's not necessarily budget,' said Frasers Hospitality chief executive officer Choe Peng Sum of its Modena brand. Frasers Hospitality is the serviced apartment arm of conglomerate Fraser & Neave.

'It's for the people who are travelling so much...If they start staying in Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, they would bust their budget.'

It's a huge and growing market. Mr Choe said the firm sees a market in China, India, Europe and South-east Asia.

'I would even say it's for the Generation Y road warriors,' he said. The Modena brand will be easier to expand because the market is not as well covered and there is a huge market especially in emerging markets, he said.

Modena can also be sited in areas just outside the central business district and rooms will be smaller than the Fraser brand properties.

In a separate development, the company also told The Straits Times that it will launch its third serviced apartment property in Singapore later this year at Fusionopolis in one-north. Called Fraser Place Fusionopolis, it will be launched in October and opened in November.

It will be a fairly small property with 50 loft units based on the 'work, live and play' concept promoted at one-north. Frasers Hospitality will manage the property - owned by JTC Corp - under a 10-year contract. The other two properties are Fraser Suites in River Valley and Fraser Place in Robertson Quay.

The firm remains optimistic on the business outlook, though the global financial turmoil triggered by the sub-prime problems in the United States has hit the hospitality industry in the region to some extent.

Mr Choe said the banking and financial industries have been affected somewhat but they are prepared for it. 'We have seen this coming and, therefore, we have shifted very heavily into the shipping, petrochemical industries.'

At present, bookings for Frasers apartments boast a three-month waiting list in Singapore, he said.

The Ascott group is adding two more properties in Singapore under its Ascott and Citadines brands. But the serviced apartment market in Singapore still has a limited supply of branded serviced apartments, said Mr Choe.