The Asian Green City Index, a study commissioned by Siemens, has concluded that Singapore is Asia's greenest metropolis. The survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) analysed the aims and achievements of 22 major Asian cities with respect to environmental and climate protection. Singapore stands out in particular for its ambitious environmental targets and its efficient approach to...
General
Global Logistic Properties (GLP) reported a turnaround in the third quarter from a loss a year ago, posting a net profit of US$82.1 million. A subsidiary of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., which owns warehouses and other logistic assets mostly in China and Japan, it made a US$305.4 million loss in the corresponding quarter of last year. Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2010...
The launch of a residential project in Sembawang over the weekend has been met with strong response, confirming expectations that the property market will weather the recent round of government cooling measures. Analysts said more launches are likely over the next two months to make up for the lull during the Chinese New Year period and homebuyers will be spoilt for choice. They added that developers...
About 20 percent of properties sold in Singapore from 2000 to 2010 were acquired by foreign buyers, with Indians accounting for 12 percent, based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Today, even as the anti-speculative measures announced by the government have had some effect, Indians are still signing along the dotted line. For many Indians, having multiple properties, particularly...
It was their third time balloting for an HDB flat. So, the administrative executive and her fiance were overjoyed when they were given a queue number for the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise last August to select a flat in Punggol. Early last month, however, the couple still had not received a selection date for a flat and were getting worried. "We were frustrated because we were logging on every day...
The government will be redeveloping three blocks at Clementi Ave 5 that are more than 30 years old, under the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). They are blocks 321, 322 and 323 which comprise 374 flats. To rehouse the residents, the Housing Development Board (HDB) will build 500 units of new two- to five-room replacement flats at Clementi Avenue 3. The new flats are expected to be completed...
The Obama administration on Friday declared that the public-private housing finance model in place for the past four decades was dead but pledged to continue backing exisiting obligations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "The GSE model is dead," a White House official told reporters, referring to the government-sponsored enterprises Freddie and Fannie, as the United States Treasury Department released a...
With China raising lending rates yet again, analysts expect more Chinese investors to look at property markets in other Asian countries for better returns. Chinese policy makers recently increased their one-year lending rates to 6 per cent. Property developers in markets like Malaysia want to attract mainland Chinese buyers, who are finding mortgage loans in China harder to maintain. China hiked lending...
The Housing Board of Development (HDB) said its latest survey among HDB residents offered the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) revealed continued strong support for the scheme. Among the 949 households surveyed, close to 95 per cent expressed support for SERS. This is the highest level of support since HDB started the bi-annual survey in 2001. The survey showed that residents are happy that...
Mainboard-listed Ascendas REIT (A-REIT) said it will buy a commercial property in China for S$117.6 million from Hyday Holding. Located at the Jinqiao Export and Processing Zone in the Pudong New District of Shanghai, the almost 32 thousand square metre site is about 30 kilometres away from Pudong International Airport. A-REIT said Jinqiao is a preferred zone for many multi-national companies looking to...