The open space above the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station will be Singapore's latest venue for community activities and performances. This is all part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)'s plan to increase the number of public spaces along the Orchard Road area. By July next year, the plot of land at Dhoby Ghaut will be transformed into a new space that will host community events and performances. Open...
General
With Singapore hotel rates keeping up a string of record-setting months, some may be wondering: How long can the hospitality bullrun last and at what point will the Republic's attractiveness as a destination become a casualty? Latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) showed the Average Room Rate (ARR) in February at an all-time high of S$256. This was an astronomical year-on-year hike of...
The Housing and Development Board is releasing two parcels of land for condominium housing under the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales programme.One of them, at Jurong West Street 42, is for executive condominium housing, while the other at Chestnut Avenue is for private apartments. Among the two sites, the one at Chestnut Avenue is expected to get more attention from developers. Analysts said this...
The number of deaths at the workplace went down by 22 per cent in 2007, compared to the previous year. This is according to a report released by the Workplace Safety and Health Advisory Committee. Despite the drop, industry players caution that the boom in the construction industry may mean more workplace-related accidents. When the crane tower collapsed at the National University of Singapore last month,...
Real estate investment house Pacific Star has formed a joint venture in Munich which will help investors park their funds in prime Asian and European properties. Under the deal, Pacific Star Europe also launched its Asian funds distribution business with targeted assets under management of over US$2 billion. These will focus on real estate in India, China, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Pacific Star...
GIC Real Estate has formed a joint venture with New York Stock Exchange-listed Host Hotels & Resorts to explore investment opportunities in Asia and Australia. The partners have agreed to invest a maximum of US$600 million of equity in the joint venture. Combined with the anticipated leverage, they will have a potential investment war chest of up to US$2 billion. GIC will own 75 percent of the joint...
From May, agents must apprise buyers, sellers of HDB policies MORE transparency and fewer disputes - these are the twin aims of a new checklist that housing agents will have to go through with buyers and sellers before a HDB resale flat transaction can be completed. Similar to what insurance agents have to do with their clients before sealing a policy, property agents will have to cover the key items of...
Industry watchers expect more home owners to consider refinancing their mortgage loans as interest rates look set to dip further. In fact, mortgage and financial planning firm SingCapital has seen a three-fold jump in enquiries in the last two months. Property agents are also getting a crash course in mortgage planning, including answering questions about refinancing of home loans. This occurs when...
The Singapore Interbank Offered Rate or SIBOR is expected to dip a further 0.5 percentage point over the next six months. Industry watchers said this will present an opportunity for homeowners and companies to refinance loans on their properties. The US Federal Reserve recently cut its benchmark interest rate to 2.25 per cent in a bid to prop up the American economy. And this has indirectly put a drag...
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) on Monday bought a light industrial property at Loyang Way for S$25 million. It signed a put and call option agreement with Seow Khim Polythelene, a manufacturer of consumer plastic products. Seow Khim will lease back the property for 12 years with stepped increases in rentals. It also has an option to renew the lease for another three years. A-REIT said the...