Property developer CapitaLand is selling its Capital Tower Beijing office tower for US$352 million. It declined to name the buyer, except to say it is a Fortune 500 company, which is looking to set up a corporate headquarters in Beijing. CapitaLand intends to use the funds to reinvest in other opportunities in China. It will also recognise a gain of about US$115 million. The developer said it received...
General
Residents are used to the food-lovers who invade the area’s eateries on weekends. But of late, there’s been a buzz of consternation, and a petition, going around Serangoon Gardens - following rumours of intrusion of another kind. The talk, which surfaced last week, is about how an empty school compound in the middle of the private estate could be turned into a temporary dormitory to house 1,500...
Auction sales of properties in Singapore hit a record high in August at S$22.7 million, 37 per cent higher compared to a year ago. The increase was mainly due to the sale of four residential infill land sites by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), despite taboos associated with property purchase during the Hungry Ghost month. The report by Collier's International said this confirms that investors are...
The construction sector has been a pillar of Singapore's economy over the past two years, supporting it with on-year growth of close to 20 per cent every quarter. But the sector's pace of growth has slowed from the 24 per cent rate seen in the fourth quarter of last year to below the 20 per cent mark for the first three months of 2008. Analysts said they expect the sector to continue slowing over the...
Mainboard-listed construction firm Chip Eng Seng has won a S$156 million contract to design and build residential units in Punggol West for the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The deal includes the construction of a car park and community facilities. Construction is expected to begin in April next year, pending HDB approval, and is estimated to take 30 months to complete. This is the third...
Residents of Serangoon Gardens are upset over news that a workers' dormitory may be built at Burghley Drive where Serangoon Garden Technical School used to be located. Residents' concerns include noise pollution, traffic congestion and the safety of residents – many of whom are retirees. Over 500 people have signed a petition against the construction, with the intention of presenting it to their MPs at...
Touted as the Singapore labour movement's first high-end resort for the working class, the S$45-million Palawan Beach Resort has been facing major delays. The proposed 200-room resort, announced 3 years ago by then NTUC Secretary-General Lim Boon Heng, was to have been built on a 3-hectare plot of land, next to Palawan Beach at Sentosa, and to have opened its doors by March this year. According to the...
VIVA, developed by Allgreen Properties Pte Ltd, is located right at the door step on United Square Shopping Mall. VIVA is build on one of the largest remaining parcel of freehold land in District 11. In it's vicinity, VIVA, is within minutes from the Novena MRT, Goldhill Square, Square 2, Velocity @ Novena Square. Orchard Road is just 2 MRT stops away. Within 1 KM of VIVA, you have top primary schools...
A sprawling 700,000 square foot mall will open in Little India by the end of next year. City Square Mall's launch will coincide with that of other major retail shopping centres along Orchard Road like 313@Somerset. However, its developers remain confident that the new malls will not pose a threat. Going by the numbers, it seems retailers agree. They have already committed to about 70 per cent of City...
The government is doing away with the building premium it charges on all buildings when granting lease extensions. The government currently charges both a land premium and a building premium when extending a state lease. The charging of these premiums was based on the Common Law principle that both land and buildings would revert to the landlord at the end of the lease. The waiver of the building...