En bloc firm offers Leedon Heights residents leaseback deal RESIDENTS of Leedon Heights came home to a pleasant surprise last week — the chance to stay on in their apartments until the end of January next year, instead of having to move out by June. Following appeals from residents and home-owners, the buyer of the en bloc site, GuocoLand, extended a leaseback deal to them. In a notice dated April 10,...
General
Two years after the tales were last heard of a possible Disney adventure in the region, there are prospects anew that Mickey could yet hold fort in a theme park here. The operator of Tokyo Disneyland said yesterday — as fans flocked to the theme park on its 25th anniversary — that it was considering opening a new facility in South-east Asia. Oriental Land chairman Toshio Kagami said the company wanted...
THE DOMESTIC property market is expected to remain cautious even after an increase in sales and launches last month. Some 322 private residential units were sold in March, a 70-per-cent increase from the 189 in February, according to data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. A total of 642 new units were offered for sale by developers last month, up 87.17 per cent from 343 in...
Consumer prices may rise more than 6.5 per cent in the first half of the year. But, according to Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, the inflation rate is expected to go down in the second half of 2008. Singapore's inflation rate has been hovering at its highest level in 26 years. This has been fuelled by a rise in prices of food and raw materials. Last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore...
Singapore's latest iconic attraction was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday evening. The launch of the Singapore Flyer was marked by an open-air extravaganza that included performances and fireworks. The laser and pyro displays were choreographed to a music composition which was specially arranged by well-known local composer Iskandar Ismail. The S$240-million Singapore Flyer...
There are signs the property market in Singapore might be making an about-turn following its muted start to the year. Figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show that the number of private homes sold in March leapt 80 per cent from the month before, signalling improved buyer sentiment. And developers were even more positive. They launched more than 600 units for sale in March - about...
Real estate agents may be accredited under a new scheme, if the Ministry of Finance (MOF) gives the go-ahead. Two industry watchdogs - the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) and Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) - are joining hands to start a new accreditation scheme and they plan to submit a proposal to MOF in the middle of the year. They believe compulsory guidelines will help improve the...
Singapore investors have been snapping up the properties within the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in the Malaysian state of Johor, according to Malaysian property firm UEM Land. UEM said Singapore investors have so far accounted for 95% of the industrial properties sold on the 24,000-acre plot of land in Nusajaya. The developer said the majority of industrial property interest has come from small and...
The government will be calling S$8 billion worth of tenders in its financial year 2008. Of these, about S$5.8 billion will involve building and construction projects which are proceeding as planned. These include projects to improve traffic on the Central Expressway as well as the Gardens by the Bay projects which will keep the Marina Bay area development on schedule. Other projects valued at S$3 billion...
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Sunday said Singapore has to be on its guard against inflation, or the country's growth could be undermined. Responding to questions about the recent monetary adjustments made by Singapore's central bank, Mr Tharman said the adjustments were not made in response to short-term inflationary pressures. "If you don't continuously focus on the mid-term, we'll also...