GIC Real Estate has bought a 40 per cent stake in Finland’s fifth largest modern shopping centre, Iso Omena, for 132 million euros or about S$270 million. The seller, Citycon, will continue to own the remaining 60 per cent of the mall. Citycon will also continue to manage the shopping centre in Helsinki. Iso Omena has a total lettable area of over 61,000 square metres. Both Citycon and GIC RE have...
Singapore has moved up 10 spots to become the world’s seventh most expensive office location. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s global ranking, prime office rents shot up 78 percent in Singapore last year. The property consultancy expects demand for office space from companies across most industry sectors to remain strong this year against a tight supply till 2010. Cushman is predicting that...
Construction of the Downtown Line began on February 12 and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it will decide where to build future stations for the new line after looking at commuter traffic. Besides the Chinatown Station, the first phase will consist of another five stations. But for the other 27 stations, which fall under phases two and three, the LTA has yet to finalise their locations on the...
Standard Chartered Bank is investing S$206m in a new office building in Changi Business Park in Singapore. The new building will house the bank's back-end operations and a global learning centre, and will be completed in 2010. This makes Standard Chartered the latest financial institution to relocate part of its operations to Changi. DBS, Citibank and Credit Suisse have made similar announcements. The...
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew believed Asia will not go into recession, citing not only strong growth in China and India, but also the strength of commodity prices boosting growth in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Speaking to some 1,200 people at the Tanjong Pagar Lunar New Year dinner on Monday night, Mr Lee said Singapore is at the centre of the world's highest growth region, and is in a period of...
Resorts World at Sentosa has secured S$4 billion in credit facilities for its integrated resort development. The credit facilities would fund two-thirds of the company's projected cost of S$6 billion. The rest of the funds will come through a rights issue by Genting International, the parent of Resorts World. DBS and OCBC are among five local and international banks which will underwrite, bookrun and...
With global interest rates trending downwards, some Singapore homeowners are hoping to see a similar move in mortgage rates. This is especially after the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) hit its lowest level in almost four years in late December - at 1.5 percent. However, some analysts have said that the banks may not be willing to lower rates, in light of the current volatility in global...
Singapore is an increasingly popular choice for Korean students. It's not just the local education system that's attracting them here. There has been a small but growing number of students who are coming to Singapore, specifically to enroll in international schools. Students at the Singapore Korean School Weekend classes at the Singapore Korean School have become the only time where many of the...
A former primary school building has been revamped into a hotel. The 12-storey building at Pearl’s Hill used to be the tallest school in Singapore. The school closed in 2001 and the Urban Redevelopment Authority called for tenders to lease it out. Vita Holdings won the bid and spent S$13 million to transform the school into a hotel with 140 rooms. The initial budget was S$6 million but Vita Holdings...
Welcome to Sixth Avenue Residences, your exclusive sanctuary in the heart of district 10. Even as you unwind away in your private haven, the bright lights of the CBD and Orchard Road are not too far away. With a wide selection of shops, restaurants, supremarkets and Holland Village nearby. The Sixth Avenue Residences is also close to some of Singapore’s finest schools, including Henry Park, Raffles...