A 30-storey hotel is set to be built on a reserve site at Gopeng Street/Peck Seah Street, the Urban Redevelopment Authority revealed on Thursday. The land parcel, which spans just over 2,300 square metres, is one of the two new hotel sites being released under the government land sales programme for the first half of 2008. The 99-year leasehold site can generate a maximum permissible gross floor area of...

Parkway Holdings says its upcoming hospital in Novena will be ready by 2011. The hospital, to be built at the junction of Novena Terrace and Irrawaddy Road, aims to meet the expected increase in demand for hospital beds. The Parkway Group expects the Singapore market to have a shortfall of as many as 2,000 private patient beds by 2012. Unveiling detailed plans for its fourth hospital in Singapore,...

The 17-storey Singapore Power Building on Somerset Road has been sold. Pacific Star Group did not disclose the price it paid but it is believed to be close to S$1 billion. The property group described the transaction as a landmark deal and one of the largest commercial real estate deals transacted in Singapore to date. It is planning a makeover of the 30-year-old property. Part of the plans will be to...

Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said Thursday its fourth quarter net profit fell 16 percent from a year ago in the absence of one-time gains and higher expenses offsetting strong revenues. Net profit was S$428 million compared with S$510 million a year ago when it was bloated by divestment gains. Revenue totalled S$1.08 billion, up 19 percent from the same period last year, the bank said...

Property developer United Overseas Land (UOL) has more than doubled its profit for 2007, helped by a S$590.5 million gain from investment properties. Net earnings jumped 134 percent to a record S$759 million, boosted by higher income from property development, quoted investments, property investments and hotel operations. Revenue rose 18 percent to S$709 million. The group benefited from the progressive...

Capitaland is suing the owners of four units of Gillman Heights condominium for breach of contract. It is also seeking unspecified damages. The owners, who belonged to a majority group, had agreed to sell their units in a collective sale agreement with CapitaLand in February last year. CapitaLand is paying S$548 million for the 607-unit estate and the deal has also received the approval of the Strata...

The civil works contract (C901) for the Circle Line Marina Bay Station has been awarded to Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure (Pte Ltd). The S$348.4 million contract is for the construction and completion of the Circle Line Marina Bay Station and tunnels. It includes alteration and addition works to the current North South Line (NSL) Marina Bay station, diversions of the East Coast Parkway and demolition of a...

Asia will continue to attract strong investments this year despite the uncertain global economic outlook, according to some participants at the 9th Annual Investment Management Association Singapore Conference on Tuesday. They expect investment vehicles such as venture funds and private equity to pick up in 2008. Asia has seen a sharp change - from a positive global economic outlook in 2007 to one of...

There has been a number of unsolicited offers for Macquarie MEAG Prime (MMP) REIT, and one of them involves buying 100 percent of MMP REIT units and taking the trust private. The trust's manager, Macquarie Pacific Star, says it will now conduct a strategic review of the trust to maximise value for its unit-holders. MMP REIT has been trading at a substantial discount to its net asset value of S$1.61 a...

A last-ditch attempt by Dynamic Investments to thwart the Holland Hills Mansion en bloc sale was over in less than 20 minutes yesterday. In a Court of Appeal hearing, three judges, including Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, upheld last October’s High Court ruling that the Strata Titles Board had approved the $292-million sale in good faith. The issue in contention was the board’s approval of the sale...