As retail players in the Republic recalibrate their strategies to stay afloat amid turbulent times, more clarity from the Government over property cooling measures is needed, said Mr Terry O’Connor, CEO of mainboard-listed electrical, IT and furniture retailer Courts Asia. “We need some certainty in terms of what the policies are going to be and hope to see some long-term direction in the...
Office / Retail Space
AVERAGE prime retail rents on Orchard Road fell for the sixth consecutive quarter in the second quarter of this year, CBRE Research said on Thursday. Prime Orchard Road rents stood at S$32.50 per square foot per month (psf/month), on average, in the second quarter, down 1.1 per cent from the first quarter of 2016. The prime suburban retail rents fell less sharply, with the average prime rent in that...
STARHILL Global Reit on Wednesday announced the new base rents for its Toshin master lease, which is 5.5 per cent higher than the existing rate, and is effective for three years starting June 8, 2016. The rate is based on the average of three market rental valuations done by independent licensed valuers. The Toshin master lease accounted for about a fifth of the Reit's portfolio gross rent in March...
BlackRock has agreed to sell a 43-storey office building in Singapore to Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, for S$3.4 billion, in what the US firm said was the largest-ever single-tower real estate deal in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia Square Tower 1, located along Marina View at Marina Bay, has more than 1.25 million square feet of net lettable area and has Citigroup as its anchor...
Funan DigitaLife Mall closes for renovations this month, and while some retailers at the IT and electronics hub have indicated they are moving operations online, at least two players said they are sticking with brick-and-mortar stores. One of them is AddOn Systems, which has been at Funan for as long as the mall has existed. This connection will come to an end when AddOn moves to Bugis Junction after...
FRESH from selling Asia Square Tower 1 for S$3.4 billion, or around S$2,700 per square foot (psf) on net lettable area (NLA), to Qatar Investment Authority, BlackRock says it is looking at Singapore for other potential property investment opportunities. "We are looking predominantly at office and retail at the moment. Residential probably has a little bit further to fall because of the taxes (such as...
QATAR Investment Authority (QIA) said on Monday it has reached an agreement with a subsidiary of a fund advised by BlackRock to acquire Asia Square Tower 1 in Singapore at about S$3.4 billion. This marks the largest single-tower real estate transaction in Asia-Pacific to date, and the second largest single-tower real estate transaction globally. Asia Square Tower 1, an award-winning landmark office...
A new per square foot record price for an entire Singapore office building could be set if a deal that is brewing for Straits Trading Building on Battery Road materialises. Indonesian tycoon and philanthropist Tahir is said to be in exclusive due diligence with a view to purchase the 28-storey, 999-year leasehold building for S$560 million. This translates to slightly more than S$3,520 psf based on the...
City Developments Ltd, Singapore's second-largest developer, may seek to buy offices this year as rising interest rates makes such assets cheaper worldwide. "We are coming into a very good time for acquisitions," Grant Kelley, chief executive officer of City Developments, said in an interview in Singapore. "The long-term trend line for assets for the next 12 to 24 months could be deflationary because...
A more differentiated and customised shopping experience, as well as greater prominence for Singaporean craft and design could be in the works to strengthen Orchard Road’s appeal. A proposal for a “special precinct” called Upper Orchard, comprising the area stretching from Tanglin Road to Scotts Road, has also been put forward by City Developments (CDL). The district will have a “unique...