EXPATRIATES in Singapore feel fairly secure about staying here despite the global economic downturn. A recent global survey by HSBC has shown that 91 per cent of 192 expatriates living in Singapore said that they have not considered returning home despite the downturn. This is higher than the global average of 85 per cent, said HSBC in its annual "Expat Explorer" survey released yesterday. More than...

Mainboard-listed Fragrance Group said one of its subsidiaries has bought a property at Eastwood Road for S$15 million. The free hold site has a total land area of some 28,000 square feet. It is zoned for residential development and has a maximum plot ratio of 1.4. Fragrance said it plans to develop the land parcel into a residential apartment building. It will fund the acquisition and the development...

Cove Development, which owns the Grangeford condominium off Orchard Road, has asked the Ministry of National Development to extend the deadline to remove all illegal partitions that had been erected at the property. Demolition works were supposed to be completed by Monday (27 July). But Cove only managed to recover all 171 apartment units on Saturday (25 July) after it obtained a Writ of Possession for...

CapitaLand said on Monday it would spend about S$330 million to fully subscribe to its entitlement in Australian unit, AustraLand's rights issue. AustraLand had announced a 7 for 10 rights issue at an issue price of 40 Aussie cents or about 47 Singapore cents. This is a 20 per cent discount from the firm's last trading price of 50 Aussie cents a share. CapitaLand owns about 59 per cent of AustraLand and...

Mainboard-listed Cambridge Industrial Trust (CIT) said on Monday it plans to raise up to S$28 million through a private placement of new units. It will issue the new units at a price of 39.2 cents each. The price represents a 5.5 per cent discount to CIT's last closing price of 41.5 cents. CIT said the number of units to be placed out has yet to be determined. Proceeds from the exercise will be used for...

A new S$1 million training centre for Singapore's retail industry has opened in the heart of the Orchard Road shopping belt. The 313@Somerset Training and Career Centre is run by Australian property firm Lend Lease with SPRING Singapore and the Workforce Development Council. The new Training and Career Centre is located across the road from the 313@Somerset retail mall and it aims to raise service...

Real estate developers in India think the worst may be over as property prices stabilise. Buyers are also returning, encouraged by the government's decision to provide cheaper home loans. India's real estate sector is showing its first signs of stability after a free fall that started last year. A series of interest rate cuts on home loans and a revival in optimism have encouraged developers to start new...

Fragrance Ventures, a unit of Fragrance hotel and property group, has acquired 14 two-storey shop houses located at Pasir Panjang Road for $23 million. The row of shop houses sits on a freehold land with a total area of 2,055.9 sq m. The land is zoned “Commercial & Residential” with a maximum plot ratio of 3. Fragrance Group says the acquisition will be funded by internal funds and bank...

IN WHAT appears to be confidence that the green shoots of the economic recovery are slowly bearing fruit, prices of resale Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats have hit a record high in the second quarter, and property agents say this is leading to a renewed climb in the cash-over-valuation (COV) for the secondary market transactions. The HDB reported on Friday that its resale price index rose 1.4...

Over 70 per cent or 180 units at the Meadows@Peirce condominium were sold at a private preview on Friday before the official launch next week. In a statement, property developer UOL Group said a total of 250 units were offered at the preview. The developer had initially planned to release 150 units, but it added 100 more due to overwhelming response. UOL said it will also bring forward its official...