The proportion of foreign buyers for the the residential units at the Business and Financial Centre is expected to be higher than the 30 percent recorded at The Sail at Marina.This is according to marketing agent of the project, CB Richard Ellis.The property consultant says foreign buying has now trickled down to the mid-end segment of the market. The residential component of the Business and Financial...

As the Government embarks on its drive to attract more new immigrants, the signs look promising as an increased number of foreigners are already buying houses here to make Singapore their home. Foreigners can apply to buy one landed property in Singapore for owner occupation, subject to approval from the Ministry of Law's Land Dealings Unit before purchase. In a five-year record surge, 119 Permanent...

The IMF is warning Singapore may be headed for slower growth next year, but its chief economist reckons this will only be temporary and says that it does not mean Singapore's economy is on a downtrend. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF has raised Singapore's 2006 growth forecast to 6.9%, from 5.5% previously, but it has also projected a slower growth of 4.5% next year (2007) due to the...

Singaporeans have been buying more goods and services in July.The Retail Sales Index gained 2.7 percent in July from a year ago to S$2.4b. Excluding big ticket motor vehicles, retail sales increased by 4.6 percent. Adjusted for inflation, the increase is a bigger 7.6 percent.According to the Department of Statistics, most retail sectors registered higher sales. These included provision and sundry shops...

Sentosa Cove has awarded its Lakefront Collection to YTL Corporation for $50.2m or $378 per square foot.The Lakefront Collection is an en bloc sale of 15 bungalow land parcels. YTL will develop 12 luxury villas on the site with another Malaysian township and residential developer, LP World. This will be YTL's first venture in property development in Singapore, and the second Malaysian real estate company...

Experts say Singapore can expect $200 million in revenue from its hosting of the IMF/World Bank meetings. And that is just the tip of the iceberg as there is still the multiplier effect.The long-term gains from hosting the 10-day IMF/World Bank meet will far surpass the estimated $200 million that Singapore is supposed to garner from hosting the event. Industry watchers say trade, tourism, investments,...

The number of visitors to Singapore hit a record high in July.Visitor arrivals jumped by 4% compared to a year ago to hit 913,000 - the first time it has breached the 900,000 barrier. It is also highest visitor arrival figure ever recorded in a single month.Visitors from Indonesia led the pack with 192,000, followed by China (113,000), Australia (66,000), India (53,000) and Japan (52,000). They account...

Sentosa Cove will be showcasing 10 exclusive villa sites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this weekend, following the successful launch of its South Cove collection here last month.Already, 16 of Sentosa Cove's 78 foreign owners are Malaysians. There are 17 foreign nationalities among those who have purchased the multi-million-dollar plots, from countries such as Austria, Australia, New Zealand, the United...

Singapore has been ranked among the top five of most corrupt-free countries in the world. According to civic organisation Transparency International, Singapore ranks 5th out of 159 countries in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Despite the high regard, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) is reviewing the Code of Ethics for accountants to incorporate the latest best...

The common methods used are: Share value: the apportionment for each unit is proportionate to a unit's share value in relation to the total share value for the whole apartment Average of the strata floor area and share value: the apportionment is according to the unit's strata floor area in relation to the total strata floor area. The figures derived from the share value method and floor area method are...