Some were lured into buying an overseas property with promises of high returns but have since lost contact with the property investment company. One buyer had believed that his property was sited in a prime area but found out later this was not true. In the light of some consumers losing more than S$100,000, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) is urging the authorities to review how foreign...
Overseas Property
Investing in an unfamiliar foreign market holds high risks, such as foreign currency fluctuations, property market trends, sovereign risks and interest rate risks, warned the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) in a media release on Monday (May 4). The association said that it received 13 complaints from consumers regarding their investment in foreign properties 2013 and 2014. It stated that most...
The property oversupply situation in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, is "likely to get worse before it gets better", said Maybank Investment Bank's research wing in a report, with property values in an increasingly crowded development space possibly declining over the medium term. In a research note issued by the Malaysian bank on Tuesday (Apr 14) urged investors to be cautious about the region, noting...
Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited (PREH) announced on Tuesday (Apr 21) that it has entered into a joint venture to acquire a freehold waterfront site in Penang, Malaysia to be developed into a large-scale integrated mixed-use development. The 50-50 joint venture between the group’s Singapore-incorporated subsidiary Perennial Penang Pte Ltd and IJM Land Berhad will turn the site into what it...
Overseas investments by Singapore-based property investors rose to US$11.9 billion last year from US$9.4 billion in 2013, according to estimates by CBRE, making the city-state Asia's largest source of outbound real estate investments for a second year. CBRE, a real estate services firm, also said Asian outbound real estate investment had a record year in 2014 - reaching US$40 billion, an increase of 23...
Australia is planning to introduce fees for foreigners who buy residential properties there. But some property watchers say the impact on Singaporean buyers is unlikely to be significant. Buying properties Down Under may soon cost you more if proposals to charge extra fees on foreign buyers are approved. Among the suggestions are: For properties below A$1 million, foreign buyers will be charged...
Rowsley, a real estate, architectural and engineering consultancy firm part-owned by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, is making its foray in Myanmar by investing US$275 million (S$274.5 million) in a property project in Yangon. Under a heads of terms agreement signed on Thursday (Feb 12), Rowsley will take a 50 per cent stake in a company that wholly owns HAGL Myanmar Centre - one of the country's...
Keppel Land on Monday (Feb 9) has entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Aberdeen Property Trust for a freehold nine-storey office building in the City of London for £91 million (S$186 million), it announced in a press release. The property, located at 75 King William Street, is said to be in close proximity to Bank Junction, London's historic and financial centre. Keppel said the investment...
Qatar looked to have won a drawn-out bid to buy London's Canary Wharf on Wednesday (Jan 28) after the owner of the landmark office quarter said its main shareholders favoured a sale. The board of Songbird, which controls 69 per cent of Canary Wharf Group, appeared to concede defeat despite stressing that the offer worth £2.6 billion (US$4.0 billion) remained undervalued. "It is now the board's...
Keppel Land is expanding its Indonesian portfolio with the acquisition of a 4.6-hectare site in West Jakarta for S$40.2 million. It plans to develop the site as a residential project for middle-income earners. Expected to be launched in phases from 2017, Keppel Land's upcoming development will comprise more than 4,000 apartment units ranging from studio apartments to three-bedroom units as well as...