DBS

In the first transaction of an entire Singapore office building this year, DBS Group announced on Friday evening that it is selling PwC Building at 8 Cross Street to an indirect subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp. The deal values the 28-storey office block at S$747 million, which works out to S$2,100 per square foot based on its net lettable area of 355,704 sq ft. The property is on a site with a...

DBS Group on Monday announced plans to acquire a stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3 (MBFC), where the bank's headquarters is located. In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, the bank said it will pay S$1.035 billion for a 30 per cent share in Central Boulevard Development Pte Ltd - a joint venture of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. DBS also has an option to take up...

Leasing momentum in the office sector remains strong with an improving economy. Analysts said this has drastically cut the amount of so-called "shadow space" or vacant office space not on the market. In the first half of 2009, shadow space was 550,000 square feet. Now, it's just a tenth of it. Meanwhile, demand for new office space like the Marina Bay Financial Centre has eased concerns of a supply...

Two Singapore banks on Wednesday reported falls in first-quarter net profit as trading activities took a hit from global financial turmoil. DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said its net profit in the first quarter ended March 31 dipped 2.0 percent to S$603 million (US$446 million) compared with the previous year. Singapore's smallest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), reported a four...

Global ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, sees a more challenging operating environment for Singapore banks going forward. According to its latest report, Fitch expects the three local banks – DBS, OCBC and UOB – to see a slowdown in investment banking and capital market-related income over the next two years. Loans growth is seen to be moderating while loan-loss provisions are rising. But Fitch said it...

DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said on Friday its fourth quarter net profit fell 18 percent from the previous year as it set aside heavy provisions to cover its exposure to risky US mortgages. Net profit for the three months to December 2007 came in at S$491 million (US$347.15 million), down from S$596 million in the same period in 2006, the bank said in a statement. DBS set aside an...