Singapore's economy grew a dramatic 14.7 per cent for the whole of 2010, the best growth on record ever for the country. Economists say the last time Singapore saw anything close to this was from 1968 to 1970 when growth was around 14 per cent. Fourth quarter figures came in at 12.5 per cent year-on-year. In his New Year's Message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the growth as "a dramatic...
General
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) launched on Friday its Industrial Government Land Sales Programme for the first half of 2011. To meet the demand for industrial land, MTI said there would be four sites in the Confirmed List and seven sites in the Reserve List, with a total site area of 17.67 hectares. The four Confirmed List sites consist of two new sites at Fusionopolis Link and Irving Place, as...
Singapore's healthcare real estate investment trust First REIT on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of two Jakarta hospitals. The two new Indonesian healthcare properties include the Mochtar Riady Comprehensive Cancer Centre as well as Siloam Hospitals Lippo Cikarang, a six-storey hospital that began operations in 2002. With these acquisitions, First REIT said it has crossed a significant...
Faber-Rhine Properties, a unit of property giant City Developments (CDL), has acquired the 50 per cent stake owned by its venture partner AIG Marina Investment in Glengary for about S$9 million. Glengary is the developer of "The Sail @ Marina Bay", which was successfully launched in 2004. CDL said that the consideration was arrived at on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis, and it was settled in cash...
2010 has been an impressive year for the landed housing segment, with prices rising 23 per cent in the first three quarters, including a 7.7-per-cent increase in the third quarter from the second. Amid the outstanding overall results, the superlative in the landed housing segment - good-class bungalows (GCBs) - continued to shine. GCBs are essentially detached homes sitting on at least 1,400 sq m of land,...
Wishes for next year: More market transparency and independent views in the property sector When I was a student, I believed everything I read in the papers. If it appeared in print, it had to be true. When I did my stint as a reporter, I realised that not every bit of important information we gathered came out in print. Sometimes, alternative or opposing views just did not go well with the story...
The Marina Bay Financial Centre has received pre-commitment for over 66 per cent of the space in Tower 3, a year ahead of its completion, its manager Raffles Quay Asset Management said yesterday. The new lease agreements were inked with McGraw-Hill, as well as law firms Ashurst LLP and WongPartnership. DBS had previously signed for 700,000 sq ft as the anchor tenant of Tower 3. Tower 1 is fully leased to...
Australian real estate may present a good investment opportunity next year as a robust economy and a growing shortage of homes underpin prices that, according to analysts, have room to go up still further. Analysts say that foreigners will be drawn to the market, with Chinese, Singaporean and Malaysian buyers continuing to lead demand. Despite restrictions on foreign buyers of Australian properties, Asian...
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) is eyeing further investments in real estate, in particular shopping malls that will provide recurring income, its chief financial officer said. Cash-rich SPH has been investing in new areas, from outdoor advertising to property, to offset falling circulation at its main publications. SPH reported a 14-per-cent rise in advertising revenue growth in its last fiscal year,...
Chinatown Point's retail mall and office tower will undergo a major asset enhancement programme worth S$75 million. The renovation works were approved at an Annual General Meeting on Thursday following a unanimous vote by its subsidiary proprietors. The proposed plans include the relocation of car parks from Basement 1 and 2. This will free up retail space to give shoppers a more continuous shopping...