Park Mall will be redeveloped into a commercial development comprising two office blocks with an ancillary retail component, the building's owner said on Monday (Jun 29). This follows the sale of the office and retail complex at Penang Road near the Orchard Road shopping belt for S$411.8 million, Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec REIT) said in a statement. The new buyer is a joint venture...

Fourteen sites were released for sale under the Industrial Government Land Sales Programme for the second half of 2015 on Monday (Jun 29) by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). According to MTI, there will be 10 sites in the Confirmed List and four sites in the Reserve List, with a total site area of 14.3 hectares. The Government will continue to release sufficient land through the programme to...

The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, which took effect on Jun 29, 2013, has been blamed for the slowdown in the private housing market, and the steady drop in prices over the past six quarters. For the whole of 2014, developers sold around 7,316 private residential units, just under half the 14,948 in 2013. The TSDR framework - which restricts monthly debt payments, including home and car...

On Friday (Jun 26), JTC Corporation (JTC) announced it has awarded the tender for an industrial site at Tampines Industrial Drive (Plot 4) to Sim Lian Construction Co at S$5,900,000. The tender for the site was launched on Mar 31 and closed on May 26. A total of three bids were submitted with Sim Lian Construction Co being the highest tenderer. Spanning 5,686.3 square metres, the land parcel has a...

The usage of Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) and Swap Offer Rate (SOR) data in valuation and pricing activities will be subject to a monthly fee of US$1,500 (S$2,000) each for subscribers from Oct 1. In a statement on Thursday (Jun 25), the ABS Benchmarks Administration (ABS Co) – a fully owned subsidiary of the Association of Banks in Singapore – said the decision was taken in line with...

On Jun 17, hotel chain Frasers Hospitality bought a British boutique hotel operator – the Malmaison Hotel du Vin group – for S$760 million. Its Chief Executive Choe Peng Sum said this purchase will not be a one-off affair. Channel NewsAsia sat down with Mr Choe to find out more. Q: The acquisition of the Malmaison Hotel du Vin group of boutique hotels is your company's largest to date. What sort...

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat will oversee a special taskforce formed to look into the complaints of residents living in the Centrale 8 Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) estate in Tampines. The move comes after a group of residents had sent a petition to Members of Parliament (MPs) from Tampines GRC about the recurring defects found in their homes. In an email to the residents by the chairman...

Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott REIT) on Thursday (Jun 25) announced it will acquire seven property assets in Australia and Japan for S$298.3 million. It will acquire the 380-unit Citadines on Bourke Melbourne from Ascott for A$158.5 million (S$167.6 million). It will also buy the remaining 40 per cent interest in Citadines Shinjuku Tokyo and Citadines Karasuma-Gojo Kyoto for about 3 billion yen (S$33.7...

A residential site near the Queenstown MRT drew a top bid of S$483.18 million at the close of a tender on Tuesday (Jun 23), indicating strong demand from developers for well-located sites in mature housing estates. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the 10,516.1 sqm, 99-year leasehold site at Dundee Road attracted a total of nine bids, with the highest bid coming from HY Realty, which works...

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is moving to bring studio apartments and two-room flats under a single scheme, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced on a Chinese radio talk show on MediaCorp's Capital 95.8 FM on Tuesday evening (Jun 23). The new scheme, called "2-room Flexi", is currently in its research phase. Under this new scheme, seniors, singles or low-income families will...