Genting International has said it is no longer in talks with the Singapore Sports Hub Consortium to build a hotel in the Singapore Sports Hub. In a statement to the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Genting said the Singapore Sports Council has decided not to have a hotel in the hub "at this point in time". Genting added that the subject matter of this announcement is not expected to have any material impact on...
A GROUP of 31 home-owners — most of them facing en bloc battles in condominium estates islandwide — have showed their support for one of their ilk, who was featured on the cover of Weekend Today. Yesterday, representatives of the group, who call themselves the "Stayers", delivered an envelope containing a letter and $520 to Today's newsroom, in a symbolic show of support for business consultant Ken...
Radac-accredited company refused to use the Radac Standard Contract About three weeks ago, I was sourcing for home renovation contractors. After performing some due diligence and referring to the Singapore National Registry of Accredited Renovators 2007 - a book given to purchasers by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on the day of the final sales transaction - I contacted a company that was a...
Property developer CapitaLand has completed the compulsory acquisition of the Ascott Group, a serviced-apartments operator. From 28 April, Ascott becomes an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. It will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange with effect from 29 April. CapitaLand said the privatised Ascott will enhance the company's competitive advantage of having a fully integrated real...
Hong Leong Asia's shares closed 1.9 percent higher at S$2.65 on Monday after the company agreed to sell its building materials business to Malaysian cement maker Tasek Corp for S$323.5m in an all-share deal. Tasek said in a filing to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange that it will issue 212.2 million shares at S$1.52 each to pay for the business. It also proposed to return to shareholders a special net...
A 30-year-old Malaysian worker died in an industrial accident on Pulau Ular, south of Singapore, on Saturday. The accident occurred at the Shell Eastern Petroleum's construction site for a petrochemical cracker which is part of a refinery. Police said they received a call at 11am on Saturday. On arrival, they found the body of the worker from Sarawak on the ground near a boom lift. The worker was...
Luxury resorts and spa operator, Banyan Tree, has announced aggressive plans to expand its global operations. The company believes that China-led growth will be a defining feature of global travel over the next few decades. So, it's expanding its operations in the Chinese mainland to 12 locations from the current four. To support the expansion, Banyan Tree said it's planning to launch a new US$400...
Global ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, sees a more challenging operating environment for Singapore banks going forward. According to its latest report, Fitch expects the three local banks – DBS, OCBC and UOB – to see a slowdown in investment banking and capital market-related income over the next two years. Loans growth is seen to be moderating while loan-loss provisions are rising. But Fitch said it...
You may be familiar with the 121-year-old grand dame that is Raffles Hotel, but some surprises are in store at her offshoots in far-flung corners of the world. what you might not know ... • The Raffles Beijing will host the International Olympics Committee come the Games in August. It is, of course, fully booked. • The historic Le Royal Monceau in Paris will be closed for restoration works in June...
Iconic hotel group aims for 30 properties worldwide by 2012 When it was bought over by American owners in 2005, controversy erupted: How could you sell what was a historical icon and quintessentially Singaporean brand name, asked some. Today, the Raffles Hotel brand is spreading like wildfire to some far-flung corners of the world. Indeed, within the first 10 months of its acquisition, the Raffles family...