Singapore's economy, already in recession, shrank 4.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from a year earlier, with overall annual growth coming in at 1.1 per cent, the government said on Thursday. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said it was maintaining its 2009 forecast of a shrinkage in gross domestic product (GDP) of between 2.0 and 5.0 per cent. On a seasonally adjusted annualised...
2009
Singapore is the world leader in terms of innovation and competitiveness while South Korea ranks fifth and Japan ninth, according to a report released on Wednesday. Other countries in the top 10 of the study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) were Sweden (2), Luxembourg (3), Denmark (4), the United States (6), Finland (7), Britain (8) and the North American Free Trade Agreement...
Luxury resorts developer and operator Banyan Tree Holdings said its full year net profit fell 91 per cent to S$7 million. The bottomline was hit by the political turmoil in Thailand last year, which led to a week-long closure of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport and left more than 300,000 tourists stranded in November. The slowing global economy has also not helped. Revenue was flat, rising...
Some mortgage rates are rising; shop around before making a choice As global interest rates fall, you would expect more homeowners to be tempted into taking up mortgages pegged to the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) or Swap Offer Rate (SOR). After all, the three-month Sibor rate is currently around 0.68 per cent - just shy of its all-time low of 0.63 per cent. However, instead of resulting in...
The Thomson-Balestier area is transforming from a quiet mature locale to a rejuvenated community of trendy food establishments, interesting entertainment places and fresh living spaces. And soon to settle into this locale with just the right breath of contemporary living is CDL’s upcoming development – The Arte. A masterpiece of modern living, this 336-unit freehold development will inject an air of...
Real estate developer Ho Bee Investment has said its full-year net profit fell 66 per cent in 2008 to S$93 million. Ho Bee said the fall was due to lower turnover and the absence of fair value gains on its investment properties. The reversal of write down of properties also contributed to the decline. Ho Bee's share of loss of JV Entities of S$5.1 million also added to its profit decline. Full-year...
Property developer and construction firm Koh Brothers has said its full-year net profit fell 30 per cent in 2008 to S$27.7 million. The fall was mainly due to the absence of revaluation gains which it had booked in the previous financial year. Revenue for the 12 months ended December dropped 24 per cent to S$216 million. CEO Francis Koh said the company is in the midst of a challenging period and will...
Property developer UOL has booked an 81 per cent drop in full-year earnings to S$147.2 million in 2008. The decline was largely due to fair value losses and impairments. UOL said revenue climbed 27 per cent over the same period to hit S$899 million. It is expecting the environment for office space to become more difficult in the coming quarters. UOL said that at the operating level, profit grew by 21 per...
Mainboard listed property developer SC Global said its full-year profit rose 57 per cent on-year to S$44.5 million. The bottomline was lifted by the progressive recognition of sales from the group's development projects in Singapore and China. Revenue for the year was unchanged at S$129 million. SC Global booked a fair value gain of S$33 million for the year on its investment property called Newton...
Singapore's public housing estates could well be powered by sunlight in future, if a pilot project currently underway proves successful. Already, the Energy Save Programme - spearheaded by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the National Environment Agency and the Energy Market Authority - has shown positive results. The aim of the programme is to bring down energy consumption in all HDB estates by...