A S$1.58 billion merger between Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) and Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) has been proposed by the managers of both real estate investment trusts (Reits). The proposed deal will be by way of a trust scheme of arrangement, which will see FLT acquiring all units of FCOT for about S$1.54 billion, the managers said on Monday in a bourse filing. FLT will pay the scheme...

Cosmetics retailer Sasa International announced on Monday (Dec 2) that it will close all 22 stores in Singapore. About 170 employees will be affected by the decision, the company said in its statement, adding that they will be "fully compensated" according to local employment laws and regulations. "The Group's performance in Singapore has been less than satisfactory for many years, and has recorded...

Ten people - including property agents, sellers and a lawyer - will be charged in court on Tuesday (Dec 3) for their alleged involvement in a housing loan cashback scam involving S$11.4 million. Investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department unravelled a scheme where the suspects reportedly inflated the selling price of three properties and forged income documents, tricking one bank into disbursing...

The government is keeping the supply of private residential units mostly unchanged for the first-half 2020 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said on Tuesday morning. This comes as the government has decided to keep the supply of private residential units on the confirmed list for the H1 2020 GLS "broadly similar" to that for the H2 2019 GLS programme....

JTC on Monday said it has accepted an application to put up an industrial site at Tuas Avenue 6 for sale by public tender. The land parcel is on the reserve list under the second half 2019 Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) Programme. The site with a 20-year tenure has an area of 0.55 hectare and a gross plot ratio of 1.4. It is zoned B2 for industrial purposes. JTC said it had received an...

The risk that Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) will face significant price corrections in the coming year is limited as long as global borrowing rates stay low, Credit Suisse said at an investment outlook for 2020 on Monday. Strategists at the Swiss wealth manager noted unit prices for S-Reits remain supported even though the near-term upside could be more constrained after the asset...

Underpinned by a global hunt for yield, Singapore's real estate investment trusts are having a bumper year in deal-making as well as fundraising. The mantra that bigger is better will continue to drive capital market activity in the sector, analysts say. Singapore-listed Reits have forked out US$16.9 billion to purchase assets this year, already triple the previous peak reached in 2014. The sector has...

A consortium comprising Far East Organization, Sekisui House and Sino Group has sold 92 units at One Holland Village Residences. These units were sold between Nov 21, when preview sales at the 296-unit project began, and 6 pm on Dec 1. The District 10 project's official launch was held on Saturday, Nov 30. The sales outcome is seen as positive, given the relatively high price points. As part of a...

Far East Consortium International, the Hong Kong developer, is considering a real estate investment trust (Reit) listing in Singapore that could raise as much as S$500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said. Hong Kong-based Far East Consortium is working with advisers on the potential sale of trust units backed mainly by hotels under the Dorsett brand, the people said. The initial public...

Singapore’s private residential prices appear to have decoupled since 2013 from the global chase for yields, a fresh study by the IMF showed. This is as macroprudential measures undertaken by the Singapore regulators in recent years targeted foreign buyers and speculators - the pacemakers behind the asset chase on Singapore properties, said the study, which was released within the annual Financial...