Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day message, has cut the 2008 GDP growth forecast to between 4 per cent and 5 per cent from an earlier estimate of between 4 per cent and 6 per cent. He also said the country faces a tough year ahead as it is beginning to feel the impact of a US slowdown. “For the whole year, we expect growth to be between 4 and 5 per cent,” Mr Lee said in his...
General
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has reported a 22.4 per cent decline in first-half earnings, due to slower growth in UK and New Zealand. Profit for the six months ended June came in at 45 million pounds or US$88 million. The bottomline was also weighed down by costs of refurbishing hotels in Boston and Chicago. M&C's revenue rose by 4.5 per cent to 338 million pounds. The group owns, manages and...
Analysts decipher clues from recent rental data EARLY investors in Sentosa Cove homes must have possessed a large appetite for risk. Although the idea of developing the 117-hectare Sentosa Cove into an idyllic waterfront enclave was mooted as early as the ’80s, the first land parcel was sold to the private sector for development only in 2003. As such, the rental market in Sentosa Cove was non-existent...
Former office tower takes on new lease of life as an Ascott serviced residence PREVIOUSLY the tallest tower in South-east Asia, the former Asia Insurance Building overlooking Marina Bay is now enjoying a new lease of life as a premium serviced residence. The national heritage building was gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in April and has been caringly restored by The Ascott Group through a...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said its latest survey showed that residents under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) were satisfied with their new and improved living environment. More than 1,000 households were interviewed in the 2007 survey. 96 per cent of the respondents said their present living arrangement was ideal because replacement sites were generally located close to...
The latest HDB survey of residents affected by the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) showed the scheme is still a popular one among residents. The majority of the 1,000 households polled said they were given enough time to prepare for the relocation and that they were relocated to a place within the same estate near their previous neighbours. This is in addition to having a better living...
Singapore’s third condominium-style public housing project, Park Central@AMK received over 2,300 applications at the end of a two-week sales period. That’s four times more than the total number of units available. The project will comprise 578 units of four and five-room flats, including 20 penthouse apartments. They cost an average S$500 per square foot. Its developer, United Engineers, said Park...
Market players said on Wednesday that the move to scrap guidelines on property agents’ fees by September 25 is unlikely to leave a deep impact on the real estate sector. But they warned against rogue agents who might try to cash in on the change in rules. The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) ruled on Tuesday that the fee guidelines adopted by the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) should be...
REAL estate agents claim a new five-story condominium in Little India has been “100 per cent sold within two hours of balloting”. The brisk sales for Urban Lofts has caught property analysts offguard, especially coming during the Hungry Ghost month, when superstitious buyers are traditionally scared away. It was also surprising given the current economic uncertainty, when sentiments for high-end...
Rising inflation, shrinking exports and flagging economic growth have dampened business confidence across Asia and slowed prime office rent growth. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said on Tuesday, in its second quarter office market report for the Asia-Pacific region, that top financial and professional services firms have begun to slow their expansion in the region. Potential corporate occupiers have become...