Marina Bay: The place to be next year
05:55 AM Dec 05, 2009
SINGAPORE - Late next year, Marina Bay will become a spectacular canvas of colours and lights - when it plays host to a low energy-consumption urban light festival, involving light art sculptures by international and local designers.
The sculptures will form a Light Walk along the promenade, where the public can stroll and soak in the waterfront atmosphere.
This is just one of the series of events lined up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for next year, to mark the opening of several key developments at Marina Bay.
This New Year's Eve, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown will see the area come aglow with 20,000 wishing spheres, double last year's number, bearing the New Year wishes of Singaporeans and visitors.
In the first quarter of next year, the world's first double helix pedestrian bridge, which links the Bayfront area to Marina Centre, should open. Visitors can also stroll through Singapore's first Art Park, next to the seating gallery of The Float@Marina Bay.
In mid-2010, to mark the opening of the 3.5km long waterfront promenade, a mass walkathon taking in the new attractions - which include a "Mist Walk" - and a family carnival will be held.
In August, Marina Bay will draw international attention with the opening and closing ceremonies of the first Youth Olympic Games.
The year will be rounded off with another countdown party.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
TODAY Online : The risks of investing
The risks of investing
Factors that may damp your return
05:55 AM Dec 05, 2009
by Tan Hui Leng
SINGAPORE - Tangible, stable and a hedge against inflation - the appeal of residential property investment is undeniable, particularly in Singapore. Its downside, however, is less often discussed.
In a world survey of 2,000 high-net-worth individuals commissioned by Barclays Wealth and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in August and September this year, property is indeed an investment of choice, but the risks are apparent even among the rich in Singapore.
Of the 125 polled here, the cost of upkeep is the top disadvantage in holding a residential property, with 44 per cent of respondents giving the factor the thumbs down. In second place, with 35 per cent of the votes, are high transaction costs. Third place goes to the volatility of property prices, emotions getting in the way and volatility of tenant demand with each factor getting 26 per cent of votes.
While potential for rental income and capital gains are the top two reasons for investing in residential property, Barclays Wealth cautioned against being too bullish on the sector.
Barclays Wealth said this is because although residential property does offer some diversification possibilities, investors do not always think about this characteristic as systematically as they might with other assets - some investors, for example, would have a concentration of their portfolio in just one or two prestige properties.
The disposal and exit strategy for residential property is also more difficult.
"Residential property has a special place in private investors' hearts, as well as their portfolios," said Barclays Wealth in its report. "For a wealthy investor, residential property is seldom treated simply as an asset."
Savills research director Yolande Barnes, whom the Economist Intelligence Unit interviewed, said: "Clearly, it is an investment asset. And there is an element of utility as people live in these properties. But there are also elements of lifestyle, luxury and fashion that play a role in the decision. Buyers tend to have a strong, often intense, emotional connection with their houses, even if it is not their principal residence."
This means buyers may over-pay or fail to sell when there is a potentially-attractive return being offered in a sale.
"Vanity is a huge factor in the purchase of residential property, although buyer are reluctant to admit this," said Capricorn Investment Group partner Basil Demeroutis, who was quoted in the report.
"There are clearly so many other reasons that people buy property besides as an investment, although they may say that it is an investment."
Head of the Rey/Nouvion family office in Monaco, Laurent Nouvion, highlights the importance of getting appropriate advice, and taking the opinions with a pinch of salt. "You often find when your property is being sold that the agent tells you that the property is a mediocre one, but if you are on the buyer side, it's suddenly the world's best," he added in the report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why they won't
According to a survey of 125 high-net-worth Singaporeans:
05:55 AM Dec 05, 2009
by Tan Hui Leng
44% Cost of upkeep
35% High transaction costs
26% Volatility of property prices
26% Emotions get in the way
26% Volatility of tenant demand
24% Asset is relatively illiquid
Factors that may damp your return
05:55 AM Dec 05, 2009
by Tan Hui Leng
SINGAPORE - Tangible, stable and a hedge against inflation - the appeal of residential property investment is undeniable, particularly in Singapore. Its downside, however, is less often discussed.
In a world survey of 2,000 high-net-worth individuals commissioned by Barclays Wealth and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in August and September this year, property is indeed an investment of choice, but the risks are apparent even among the rich in Singapore.
Of the 125 polled here, the cost of upkeep is the top disadvantage in holding a residential property, with 44 per cent of respondents giving the factor the thumbs down. In second place, with 35 per cent of the votes, are high transaction costs. Third place goes to the volatility of property prices, emotions getting in the way and volatility of tenant demand with each factor getting 26 per cent of votes.
While potential for rental income and capital gains are the top two reasons for investing in residential property, Barclays Wealth cautioned against being too bullish on the sector.
Barclays Wealth said this is because although residential property does offer some diversification possibilities, investors do not always think about this characteristic as systematically as they might with other assets - some investors, for example, would have a concentration of their portfolio in just one or two prestige properties.
The disposal and exit strategy for residential property is also more difficult.
"Residential property has a special place in private investors' hearts, as well as their portfolios," said Barclays Wealth in its report. "For a wealthy investor, residential property is seldom treated simply as an asset."
Savills research director Yolande Barnes, whom the Economist Intelligence Unit interviewed, said: "Clearly, it is an investment asset. And there is an element of utility as people live in these properties. But there are also elements of lifestyle, luxury and fashion that play a role in the decision. Buyers tend to have a strong, often intense, emotional connection with their houses, even if it is not their principal residence."
This means buyers may over-pay or fail to sell when there is a potentially-attractive return being offered in a sale.
"Vanity is a huge factor in the purchase of residential property, although buyer are reluctant to admit this," said Capricorn Investment Group partner Basil Demeroutis, who was quoted in the report.
"There are clearly so many other reasons that people buy property besides as an investment, although they may say that it is an investment."
Head of the Rey/Nouvion family office in Monaco, Laurent Nouvion, highlights the importance of getting appropriate advice, and taking the opinions with a pinch of salt. "You often find when your property is being sold that the agent tells you that the property is a mediocre one, but if you are on the buyer side, it's suddenly the world's best," he added in the report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why they won't
According to a survey of 125 high-net-worth Singaporeans:
05:55 AM Dec 05, 2009
by Tan Hui Leng
44% Cost of upkeep
35% High transaction costs
26% Volatility of property prices
26% Emotions get in the way
26% Volatility of tenant demand
24% Asset is relatively illiquid
ST Forum : Let property assessment be more transparent
Dec 5, 2009
Let property assessment be more transparent
THE system of property taxation in Singapore, apart from hotels, relies on an assessment of the 'market rent' of a property called the annual value (AV). A rate (currently 10 per cent) is then fixed to the AV to arrive at the annual tax payable.
While this system has an obvious benefit of giving the taxman the upper hand to fix the level of property tax, despite market movements, it lacks transparency. The law stipulates that the property owner must pay the tax first, regardless of whether the AV was fixed correctly or not. If he disagrees with the assessment, he can object to it, and eventually go to the Valuation Review Board (VRB) for arbitration.
The channel for objection and appeal seems to provide a fair means to examine the assessment by the authorities, but it suffers two deficiencies.
· First, it is time-consuming and an objection can stretch for years and still not be attended to.
· Second, it is costly to start an appeal to the VRB because each case costs $200. So if a building has 100 units for appeal, it will cost $20,000.
As a start, perhaps the authorities can publish on their website the level of assessment of each year's review so property owners can know how these assessments compare with market rents.
In the long run, the Government should look into taxing property owners for the actual rents they fetch, with a right to review them if they should appear low compared with market rents.
Patrick Sio
Let property assessment be more transparent
THE system of property taxation in Singapore, apart from hotels, relies on an assessment of the 'market rent' of a property called the annual value (AV). A rate (currently 10 per cent) is then fixed to the AV to arrive at the annual tax payable.
While this system has an obvious benefit of giving the taxman the upper hand to fix the level of property tax, despite market movements, it lacks transparency. The law stipulates that the property owner must pay the tax first, regardless of whether the AV was fixed correctly or not. If he disagrees with the assessment, he can object to it, and eventually go to the Valuation Review Board (VRB) for arbitration.
The channel for objection and appeal seems to provide a fair means to examine the assessment by the authorities, but it suffers two deficiencies.
· First, it is time-consuming and an objection can stretch for years and still not be attended to.
· Second, it is costly to start an appeal to the VRB because each case costs $200. So if a building has 100 units for appeal, it will cost $20,000.
As a start, perhaps the authorities can publish on their website the level of assessment of each year's review so property owners can know how these assessments compare with market rents.
In the long run, the Government should look into taxing property owners for the actual rents they fetch, with a right to review them if they should appear low compared with market rents.
Patrick Sio
ST : Mandarin's glass act
Dec 5, 2009
Mandarin's glass act
The stunning wavy, glass facade along Orchard Road now belongs wholly to its mall
By tay suan chiang
Changes at the Meritus Mandarin hotel include a new driveway (left) and moving the lobby to the fifth floor (above). -- PHOTOS: MERITUS MANDARIN SINGAPORE
Gone is its dated granite and stone facade. In its place is a swanky 152m-long wavy facade and 10m-high glass walls.
The new Mandarin Gallery, open since last Friday, now sports a more modern look, in keeping with its neighbours.
'The facade takes on an inviting look and is more trendy. It has architectural design and yet still looks like a mall,' says Mrs Patrina Tan, senior vice-president of retail, marketing and leasing at Overseas Union Enterprise, which owns Mandarin Gallery and the adjoining Meritus Mandarin hotel.
Mr Ti Lian Seng, director at DP Architects who designed the new mall, says: 'We wanted to create a visually impactful facade along Orchard Road to announce the arrival of Mandarin Gallery as the new kid on the block.'
The new look comes after an 18-month, $200-million facelift for the four-storey shopping mall and the 39-storey hotel, which was also transformed by DP Architects.
One major decision was to separate the entrances of the mall and the hotel. Previously, both faced Orchard Road, with the mall's being less prominent compared to the hotel's.
The Orchard Road frontage now belongs to the mall, while hotel guests enter from the side road of Orchard Link.
'It was more logical and functional for the mall to have the Orchard Road frontage,' says Mrs Tan.
About 50 of the 103 tenants in Mandarin Gallery will open before Christmas, ahead of the mall's official opening next month.
Mrs Tan says 'construction of the mall began only this year after the hotel's new lobby was operational'.
Enter hotel at Orchard Link
The 35-year-old mall now has double the retail space at about 126,000 sq ft and twice as many stores as before.
All its tenants are new, including new names to Singapore such as fashion labels Bathing Ape and Y-3 and food outlets Ippudo and Thai Thai - Royal Thai Cuisine.
The new mall also has five duplexes dominating the facade. One duplex houses the multi-label boutique Bread And Butter, which is already open.
The other four, whose tenants are Emporio Armani, D&G, Montblanc and Marc by Marc Jacobs, will open by the end of next month.
The 1,051-room Meritus Mandarin also got a new look.
The double-volume lobby was previously on the ground floor, with a driveway facing Orchard Road.
It is now on the fifth floor, which was previously occupied by the Triple Three restaurant, the swimming pool and a function hall.
The hotel's driveway is now along Orchard Link, facing Ngee Ann City.
Ms Lim Ee Jin, assistant vice-president of marketing communications and public relations for Meritus Hotels & Resorts, says 'the hotel had to undergo refurbishment works to stay innovative and maintain its lead at the forefront of the hospitality industry'.
She adds that it maintained a 'healthy occupancy rate' throughout the refurbishment.
Floors that were under renovation were kept closed. 'We blocked out the lower floors of the hotel so that guests would be housed as far away from the renovation works as possible,' she says.
During the refurbishment, guests could use the pool at sister hotel Marina Mandarin and meeting rooms were converted into a temporary fitness centre.
Meanwhile, the mall's new look is already receiving compliments.
Financial planner Michelle Lee, who works in the area, says: 'It looks fantastic even though it is not fully complete. I can't wait to see it when it is done.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old vs new
Number of floors
Old Mandarin Gallery: Four
New Mandarin Gallery: Four
Size of retail space
Old Mandarin Gallery: 61,805 sq ft
New Mandarin Gallery: 126,211 sq ft
Number of shops
Old Mandarin Gallery: About 50
New Mandarin Gallery: 103
Mandarin's glass act
The stunning wavy, glass facade along Orchard Road now belongs wholly to its mall
By tay suan chiang
Changes at the Meritus Mandarin hotel include a new driveway (left) and moving the lobby to the fifth floor (above). -- PHOTOS: MERITUS MANDARIN SINGAPORE
Gone is its dated granite and stone facade. In its place is a swanky 152m-long wavy facade and 10m-high glass walls.
The new Mandarin Gallery, open since last Friday, now sports a more modern look, in keeping with its neighbours.
'The facade takes on an inviting look and is more trendy. It has architectural design and yet still looks like a mall,' says Mrs Patrina Tan, senior vice-president of retail, marketing and leasing at Overseas Union Enterprise, which owns Mandarin Gallery and the adjoining Meritus Mandarin hotel.
Mr Ti Lian Seng, director at DP Architects who designed the new mall, says: 'We wanted to create a visually impactful facade along Orchard Road to announce the arrival of Mandarin Gallery as the new kid on the block.'
The new look comes after an 18-month, $200-million facelift for the four-storey shopping mall and the 39-storey hotel, which was also transformed by DP Architects.
One major decision was to separate the entrances of the mall and the hotel. Previously, both faced Orchard Road, with the mall's being less prominent compared to the hotel's.
The Orchard Road frontage now belongs to the mall, while hotel guests enter from the side road of Orchard Link.
'It was more logical and functional for the mall to have the Orchard Road frontage,' says Mrs Tan.
About 50 of the 103 tenants in Mandarin Gallery will open before Christmas, ahead of the mall's official opening next month.
Mrs Tan says 'construction of the mall began only this year after the hotel's new lobby was operational'.
Enter hotel at Orchard Link
The 35-year-old mall now has double the retail space at about 126,000 sq ft and twice as many stores as before.
All its tenants are new, including new names to Singapore such as fashion labels Bathing Ape and Y-3 and food outlets Ippudo and Thai Thai - Royal Thai Cuisine.
The new mall also has five duplexes dominating the facade. One duplex houses the multi-label boutique Bread And Butter, which is already open.
The other four, whose tenants are Emporio Armani, D&G, Montblanc and Marc by Marc Jacobs, will open by the end of next month.
The 1,051-room Meritus Mandarin also got a new look.
The double-volume lobby was previously on the ground floor, with a driveway facing Orchard Road.
It is now on the fifth floor, which was previously occupied by the Triple Three restaurant, the swimming pool and a function hall.
The hotel's driveway is now along Orchard Link, facing Ngee Ann City.
Ms Lim Ee Jin, assistant vice-president of marketing communications and public relations for Meritus Hotels & Resorts, says 'the hotel had to undergo refurbishment works to stay innovative and maintain its lead at the forefront of the hospitality industry'.
She adds that it maintained a 'healthy occupancy rate' throughout the refurbishment.
Floors that were under renovation were kept closed. 'We blocked out the lower floors of the hotel so that guests would be housed as far away from the renovation works as possible,' she says.
During the refurbishment, guests could use the pool at sister hotel Marina Mandarin and meeting rooms were converted into a temporary fitness centre.
Meanwhile, the mall's new look is already receiving compliments.
Financial planner Michelle Lee, who works in the area, says: 'It looks fantastic even though it is not fully complete. I can't wait to see it when it is done.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old vs new
Number of floors
Old Mandarin Gallery: Four
New Mandarin Gallery: Four
Size of retail space
Old Mandarin Gallery: 61,805 sq ft
New Mandarin Gallery: 126,211 sq ft
Number of shops
Old Mandarin Gallery: About 50
New Mandarin Gallery: 103
ST : Mark of a winner
Dec 5, 2009
Mark of a winner
Features such as motion lighting sensors, solar panels and water-efficient loos have helped three new malls bag a green award
By tay suan chiang
A new breed of malls is more than a stylish place to enjoy endless shops and restaurants - the shopping adventure has been made more earth-friendly, too.
Recently opened malls such as City Square Mall in Kitchener Road as well as 313@Somerset and Ion Orchard, both along Orchard Road, have been given the green thumbs-up by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
They are winners of the BCA Green Mark award, which honours developers of buildings that are environment-friendly. The awards were first handed out in 2005.
Eco features that grabbed the eye of judges include the use of an efficient air-conditioning system, waterless urinals and carpark lighting sensors, all of which help the malls save energy.
City Square Mall, which opened in September, is the first mall to win the Platinum award, the highest accolade of the Green Mark award. It won the award in 2007.
How green the buildings are is judged based on their design concepts and energy models to show the estimated energy savings. Buildings need not be completed to be awarded.
The 11-storey mall was developed by City Developments Ltd (CDL) and designed by property group Lend Lease, which is also its leasing agent.
CDL declined to reveal construction costs for the mall but Mr Felix Lim, principal architect at Lend Lease, says by incorporating green features into the mall, 'it costs 5 to 6 per cent more to build, but the mall is expected to save $2million in annual energy bills'.
On the decision to go green, CDL's assistant general manager, projects division, Mr Allen Ang, says: 'We believe that a shopping mall is a strategic platform to reach out to shoppers and the community-at-large to raise their eco-consciousness.
'By offering a positive and vibrant shopping environment, City Square Mall shows that going green can be fun and easily a part of everyday life.'
The mall's green features include a skylight, 'so it will be lit by natural light, rather than depend solely on artificial lighting', says Mr Lim.
At night and on cloudy days, the mall remains bright. There are sensors around the complex that detect the amount of natural light entering and adjust the intensity of the artificial light as needed.
In the basement carparks, the lights darken and brighten automatically.
No, it is not because they are defective nor should shoppers wonder if they are in a horror movie. Rather, there are motion lighting sensors in place to control the lighting.
Mr Lim points out that with the various energy-saving features around the mall, the projected total electricity savings is about 11.4 million kWH a year, or 'the equivalent to the total electrical consumption of 2,380 units of HDB four-room flats'.
It is not only about saving electricity. He designed the mall for water efficiency, too, such as harvesting rainwater to hydrate the plants.
In addition, the men's toilets feature waterless urinals. These use an eco-friendly biotechnology cleansing system - where cultured bacteria eradicates the stench from waste liquids - and do away with the need to use water for flushing.
The estimated cost of savings is another $48,000 annually.
While some of the green features in the mall are not visible to shoppers, it has taken further steps to drive the recycling message home: It has six interactive panels that let shoppers learn about its green features as well as to pick up recycling tips.
Save water, electricity and money
The interactive panels get the nod of approval from housewife Mary Tan, 34, who was out shopping with her son, Bryan, five. 'It is never too early for him to learn about recycling,' she says.
The mall is also playing host to a BCA exhibition next Thursday to Sunday on how homes can be more environmentally friendly.
Over at Orchard Road's newest mall, 313@Somerset, which opened on Thursday, shoppers may be hard-pressed to find its green features, but they are in place. The mall is a Platinum Green Mark award winner last year.
Among its environment-friendly features are solar panels to power the mall, Newater for its sprinklers, a system that collects and channels rainwater to flush toilets and water the plants as well as lighting sensors in the atrium and upper-level carparks to help save energy during the day.
Putting in these green features allows the mall to enjoy energy savings of 6.3 million kWh a year and water savings of 22,500 cubic metres annually, says the mall's developer, who is also Lend Lease.
This is equivalent to the total electrical consumption of 1,277 HDB four-room flats, and water usage for 96 HDB four-room flats respectively.
It is also encouraging its tenants to go green. It has worked out the power and lighting requirements of the tenants, and should the energy consumption be high, recommendations to reduce the energy usage will be provided.
Shoppers headed to Ion Orchard will notice a green wall at the mall on the side facing Wheelock Place. This one-storey-high vertical wall that has been covered with plants is one of the green features that helped the mall win a BCA Green Mark Gold award in 2007.
The shopping centre also has photocell sensors around the building which reduce lighting levels by dimmers in response to the amount of available daylight. The mall is expected to save $470,000 annually in its energy bill.
Shopper Tan Jin Jin, 28, who practises recycling at home, says: 'Even though the energy savings are not passed on to shoppers, it's heartening to know malls are also becoming eco-conscious.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
Mark of a winner
Features such as motion lighting sensors, solar panels and water-efficient loos have helped three new malls bag a green award
By tay suan chiang
A new breed of malls is more than a stylish place to enjoy endless shops and restaurants - the shopping adventure has been made more earth-friendly, too.
Recently opened malls such as City Square Mall in Kitchener Road as well as 313@Somerset and Ion Orchard, both along Orchard Road, have been given the green thumbs-up by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
They are winners of the BCA Green Mark award, which honours developers of buildings that are environment-friendly. The awards were first handed out in 2005.
Eco features that grabbed the eye of judges include the use of an efficient air-conditioning system, waterless urinals and carpark lighting sensors, all of which help the malls save energy.
City Square Mall, which opened in September, is the first mall to win the Platinum award, the highest accolade of the Green Mark award. It won the award in 2007.
How green the buildings are is judged based on their design concepts and energy models to show the estimated energy savings. Buildings need not be completed to be awarded.
The 11-storey mall was developed by City Developments Ltd (CDL) and designed by property group Lend Lease, which is also its leasing agent.
CDL declined to reveal construction costs for the mall but Mr Felix Lim, principal architect at Lend Lease, says by incorporating green features into the mall, 'it costs 5 to 6 per cent more to build, but the mall is expected to save $2million in annual energy bills'.
On the decision to go green, CDL's assistant general manager, projects division, Mr Allen Ang, says: 'We believe that a shopping mall is a strategic platform to reach out to shoppers and the community-at-large to raise their eco-consciousness.
'By offering a positive and vibrant shopping environment, City Square Mall shows that going green can be fun and easily a part of everyday life.'
The mall's green features include a skylight, 'so it will be lit by natural light, rather than depend solely on artificial lighting', says Mr Lim.
At night and on cloudy days, the mall remains bright. There are sensors around the complex that detect the amount of natural light entering and adjust the intensity of the artificial light as needed.
In the basement carparks, the lights darken and brighten automatically.
No, it is not because they are defective nor should shoppers wonder if they are in a horror movie. Rather, there are motion lighting sensors in place to control the lighting.
Mr Lim points out that with the various energy-saving features around the mall, the projected total electricity savings is about 11.4 million kWH a year, or 'the equivalent to the total electrical consumption of 2,380 units of HDB four-room flats'.
It is not only about saving electricity. He designed the mall for water efficiency, too, such as harvesting rainwater to hydrate the plants.
In addition, the men's toilets feature waterless urinals. These use an eco-friendly biotechnology cleansing system - where cultured bacteria eradicates the stench from waste liquids - and do away with the need to use water for flushing.
The estimated cost of savings is another $48,000 annually.
While some of the green features in the mall are not visible to shoppers, it has taken further steps to drive the recycling message home: It has six interactive panels that let shoppers learn about its green features as well as to pick up recycling tips.
Save water, electricity and money
The interactive panels get the nod of approval from housewife Mary Tan, 34, who was out shopping with her son, Bryan, five. 'It is never too early for him to learn about recycling,' she says.
The mall is also playing host to a BCA exhibition next Thursday to Sunday on how homes can be more environmentally friendly.
Over at Orchard Road's newest mall, 313@Somerset, which opened on Thursday, shoppers may be hard-pressed to find its green features, but they are in place. The mall is a Platinum Green Mark award winner last year.
Among its environment-friendly features are solar panels to power the mall, Newater for its sprinklers, a system that collects and channels rainwater to flush toilets and water the plants as well as lighting sensors in the atrium and upper-level carparks to help save energy during the day.
Putting in these green features allows the mall to enjoy energy savings of 6.3 million kWh a year and water savings of 22,500 cubic metres annually, says the mall's developer, who is also Lend Lease.
This is equivalent to the total electrical consumption of 1,277 HDB four-room flats, and water usage for 96 HDB four-room flats respectively.
It is also encouraging its tenants to go green. It has worked out the power and lighting requirements of the tenants, and should the energy consumption be high, recommendations to reduce the energy usage will be provided.
Shoppers headed to Ion Orchard will notice a green wall at the mall on the side facing Wheelock Place. This one-storey-high vertical wall that has been covered with plants is one of the green features that helped the mall win a BCA Green Mark Gold award in 2007.
The shopping centre also has photocell sensors around the building which reduce lighting levels by dimmers in response to the amount of available daylight. The mall is expected to save $470,000 annually in its energy bill.
Shopper Tan Jin Jin, 28, who practises recycling at home, says: 'Even though the energy savings are not passed on to shoppers, it's heartening to know malls are also becoming eco-conscious.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
ST : SPH's property earnings serve as 'buffer'
Dec 5, 2009
SPH's property earnings serve as 'buffer'
Real estate and other interests guard against ups and downs of media business, says CEO
By Fiona Chan
MEDIA group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will continue to pursue opportunities in real estate as a way to guard against the ups and downs of the media business.
Chief executive Alan Chan yesterday defended SPH's property investments at the company's annual general meeting.
He was responding to questions from shareholders about why SPH, which derives 85 per cent of its profits from its print business, is dabbling in property.
The company owns the upmarket Paragon mall in Orchard Road and is developing the Sky@Eleven condominium in Thomson Road, which is expected to be completed next year. Last month, SPH also teamed up with NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Income to buy Clementi Mall.
'We are looking at all kinds of businesses to buffer any ups and downs of the media business,' Mr Chan told about 500 shareholders at the SPH News Centre auditorium yesterday morning.
'We want to bill ourselves as a company with as many advertising platforms as possible, and we will also be harnessing our skills in property to enhance shareholder value.'
Hit by the downturn this year, SPH's core newspaper and magazines business lost 12 per cent in revenues for the year ended Aug 31. But a surge in property revenues from the Sky@Eleven condominium this year meant that overall revenue held steady.
'Sky@Eleven's contribution helped us maintain our profitability, and therefore our ability to pay 25 cents to the shareholders,' Mr Chan said, referring to SPH's full-year dividend this year of 25 cents per share.
Similarly, profits from Paragon have helped to offset losses on the print side of things, he said. SPH's property segment turned in $242 million in pre-tax profits this year, a jump from last year's $162.8 million.
Mr Chan recalled that when he joined SPH in 2002, 'everyone was pushing me to sell Paragon'. Back then, the mall was valued at $1 billion; today, that figure has risen to $1.95 billion.
'If I had sold Paragon in 2003 as per the wishes of certain shareholders, I don't think we would be seeing that 25-cent dividend today.'
SPH chairman Tony Tan reassured shareholders that the company's property investments would be selected with great care.
'We see the property segment as being a very valuable part of SPH in the coming years, but we have to develop our property interests carefully, without straining our balance sheet,' he said.
'That's why we've been very careful not to over-extend ourselves and to embark on initiatives only when we are confident that we have financing and where it will add substantially, in due course, to SPH's revenue and profits.'
Shareholders also queried SPH's bullish bid of $541.9 million for Clementi Mall, which was about 42 per cent above the next highest offer. One shareholder commented that the bid reflected SPH's 'eagerness and lack of experience'.
In response, Mr Chan said that the bid price was a 'combined decision' by all three partners. SPH owns 60 per cent of the mall, with the rest held by NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Income, which have more extensive property and investment experience, he added.
SPH is also continuing to invest in its print business, said Dr Tan. Despite the financial meltdown this year, the company revamped several products, including the website straitstimes.com and Her World magazine, and launched new products such as bilingual monthly ZbBz.
Next year, SPH is hoping to tap the advertising potential of the upcoming integrated resorts and the resulting buzz in the country, Mr Chan said.
On the flip side, he said, newsprint costs may rise as newsprint mills shut down, given that many newspaper companies in America and Europe have folded. But the weak United States dollar may help to offset some of these rising costs as the price of newsprint is denominated in US dollars.
fiochan@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENHANCING SHAREHOLDER VALUE
'We want to bill ourselves as a company with as many advertising platforms as possible, and we will also be harnessing our skills in property to enhance shareholder value.'
SPH chief executive Alan Chan
CAREFUL IN SELECTING INVESTMENTS
'We've been very careful not to over-extend ourselves and to embark on initiatives only when we are confident that we have financing and where it will add substantially, in due course, to SPH's revenue and profits.'
SPH chairman Tony Tan
SPH's property earnings serve as 'buffer'
Real estate and other interests guard against ups and downs of media business, says CEO
By Fiona Chan
MEDIA group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will continue to pursue opportunities in real estate as a way to guard against the ups and downs of the media business.
Chief executive Alan Chan yesterday defended SPH's property investments at the company's annual general meeting.
He was responding to questions from shareholders about why SPH, which derives 85 per cent of its profits from its print business, is dabbling in property.
The company owns the upmarket Paragon mall in Orchard Road and is developing the Sky@Eleven condominium in Thomson Road, which is expected to be completed next year. Last month, SPH also teamed up with NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Income to buy Clementi Mall.
'We are looking at all kinds of businesses to buffer any ups and downs of the media business,' Mr Chan told about 500 shareholders at the SPH News Centre auditorium yesterday morning.
'We want to bill ourselves as a company with as many advertising platforms as possible, and we will also be harnessing our skills in property to enhance shareholder value.'
Hit by the downturn this year, SPH's core newspaper and magazines business lost 12 per cent in revenues for the year ended Aug 31. But a surge in property revenues from the Sky@Eleven condominium this year meant that overall revenue held steady.
'Sky@Eleven's contribution helped us maintain our profitability, and therefore our ability to pay 25 cents to the shareholders,' Mr Chan said, referring to SPH's full-year dividend this year of 25 cents per share.
Similarly, profits from Paragon have helped to offset losses on the print side of things, he said. SPH's property segment turned in $242 million in pre-tax profits this year, a jump from last year's $162.8 million.
Mr Chan recalled that when he joined SPH in 2002, 'everyone was pushing me to sell Paragon'. Back then, the mall was valued at $1 billion; today, that figure has risen to $1.95 billion.
'If I had sold Paragon in 2003 as per the wishes of certain shareholders, I don't think we would be seeing that 25-cent dividend today.'
SPH chairman Tony Tan reassured shareholders that the company's property investments would be selected with great care.
'We see the property segment as being a very valuable part of SPH in the coming years, but we have to develop our property interests carefully, without straining our balance sheet,' he said.
'That's why we've been very careful not to over-extend ourselves and to embark on initiatives only when we are confident that we have financing and where it will add substantially, in due course, to SPH's revenue and profits.'
Shareholders also queried SPH's bullish bid of $541.9 million for Clementi Mall, which was about 42 per cent above the next highest offer. One shareholder commented that the bid reflected SPH's 'eagerness and lack of experience'.
In response, Mr Chan said that the bid price was a 'combined decision' by all three partners. SPH owns 60 per cent of the mall, with the rest held by NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Income, which have more extensive property and investment experience, he added.
SPH is also continuing to invest in its print business, said Dr Tan. Despite the financial meltdown this year, the company revamped several products, including the website straitstimes.com and Her World magazine, and launched new products such as bilingual monthly ZbBz.
Next year, SPH is hoping to tap the advertising potential of the upcoming integrated resorts and the resulting buzz in the country, Mr Chan said.
On the flip side, he said, newsprint costs may rise as newsprint mills shut down, given that many newspaper companies in America and Europe have folded. But the weak United States dollar may help to offset some of these rising costs as the price of newsprint is denominated in US dollars.
fiochan@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENHANCING SHAREHOLDER VALUE
'We want to bill ourselves as a company with as many advertising platforms as possible, and we will also be harnessing our skills in property to enhance shareholder value.'
SPH chief executive Alan Chan
CAREFUL IN SELECTING INVESTMENTS
'We've been very careful not to over-extend ourselves and to embark on initiatives only when we are confident that we have financing and where it will add substantially, in due course, to SPH's revenue and profits.'
SPH chairman Tony Tan
ST : Watch out for asset bubbles amid rebound, warns OCBC
Dec 5, 2009
Watch out for asset bubbles amid rebound, warns OCBC
By Dickson Li
WARNINGS abound that asset bubbles may be forming amid the rapid rebound - especially on the stock market, for example, and, recently, in the property sector.
But OCBC's head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling says policymakers have a powerful tool to stave this off this time around: the benefit of hindsight.
She was taking part in a presentation at OCBC Centre given this week by the bank's in-house experts on the outlook for the Singapore economy for next year.
'These days, policymakers are more forward-looking. Even though they don't think the world economy is (fully recovered) yet, they are already worrying about potential asset bubbles brewing.'
Central bankers are expected to remove the punch bowl as the party gets going, she said, using a heady alcoholic drink to represent cheap credit.
Ms Ling lamented that former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan had made the error of 'supplying the champagne until the party burst'.
Things could be different this time. Ms Ling cited an unprecedented move by the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift the cash rate three times in three months, most recently this week. The Reserve Bank of India has also raised rates.
She emphasised that this was despite G-20 leaders agreeing not to prematurely withdraw stimulus measures.
Ms Carmen Lee, head of research at OCBC Investment Research, is slightly more wary, saying that the recovery has been 'too fast, too rapid'.
She was concerned that asset prices had risen 'too sharply', and expressed doubts that corporate earnings could match that rate of increase.
As at Nov 24, the Straits Times Index's (STI) price-earnings ratio stands at slightly under 18 - one of the lowest in the region, behind the Hang Seng and the S&P500. The lower that ratio, the better value the shares are. She said a valuation of 18 times is the STI's historic average.
She recommends buying telcos, commodity firms and infrastructure stocks.
OCBC rates the telcos, offshore support firm Ezra Holdings, shipbuilder SembCorp Marine, commodities firms Noble Group and Olam International, manufacturer Midas Holdings, oil and gas engineering firm Rotary Engineering and crane giant Tat Hong as 'buy' stocks.
OCBC is neutral on the banking sector. With the recent rally in banking stocks, it says both DBS Group Holdings and United Overseas Bank are fully valued.
As for property stocks: 'While the residential property market is positive...do keep in mind that the office sector is still weak,' she warned.
OCBC expects the main growth engines here in the year ahead to be manufacturing, financial services and tourism.
Watch out for asset bubbles amid rebound, warns OCBC
By Dickson Li
WARNINGS abound that asset bubbles may be forming amid the rapid rebound - especially on the stock market, for example, and, recently, in the property sector.
But OCBC's head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling says policymakers have a powerful tool to stave this off this time around: the benefit of hindsight.
She was taking part in a presentation at OCBC Centre given this week by the bank's in-house experts on the outlook for the Singapore economy for next year.
'These days, policymakers are more forward-looking. Even though they don't think the world economy is (fully recovered) yet, they are already worrying about potential asset bubbles brewing.'
Central bankers are expected to remove the punch bowl as the party gets going, she said, using a heady alcoholic drink to represent cheap credit.
Ms Ling lamented that former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan had made the error of 'supplying the champagne until the party burst'.
Things could be different this time. Ms Ling cited an unprecedented move by the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift the cash rate three times in three months, most recently this week. The Reserve Bank of India has also raised rates.
She emphasised that this was despite G-20 leaders agreeing not to prematurely withdraw stimulus measures.
Ms Carmen Lee, head of research at OCBC Investment Research, is slightly more wary, saying that the recovery has been 'too fast, too rapid'.
She was concerned that asset prices had risen 'too sharply', and expressed doubts that corporate earnings could match that rate of increase.
As at Nov 24, the Straits Times Index's (STI) price-earnings ratio stands at slightly under 18 - one of the lowest in the region, behind the Hang Seng and the S&P500. The lower that ratio, the better value the shares are. She said a valuation of 18 times is the STI's historic average.
She recommends buying telcos, commodity firms and infrastructure stocks.
OCBC rates the telcos, offshore support firm Ezra Holdings, shipbuilder SembCorp Marine, commodities firms Noble Group and Olam International, manufacturer Midas Holdings, oil and gas engineering firm Rotary Engineering and crane giant Tat Hong as 'buy' stocks.
OCBC is neutral on the banking sector. With the recent rally in banking stocks, it says both DBS Group Holdings and United Overseas Bank are fully valued.
As for property stocks: 'While the residential property market is positive...do keep in mind that the office sector is still weak,' she warned.
OCBC expects the main growth engines here in the year ahead to be manufacturing, financial services and tourism.
BT : SPH explains property move; shareholders praise FY2009 results
Business Times - 05 Dec 2009
SPH explains property move; shareholders praise FY2009 results
SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) shareholders yesterday praised the media group for the creditable FY2009 financial results and the 25-cents-a-share dividend payment. They also sought further assurance from the company on its property foray.
At the SPH annual general meeting, shareholder Vincent Chen was concerned that the company's share price could be hurt should the market view it as a conglomerate with interests in many areas beyond its core newspaper business. He suggested that SPH focus on its core business and return cash to shareholders to invest in pure-play property counters.
SPH publishes 17 newspapers, including The Business Times, and more than 100 magazine titles. Beyond its media business, it also owns Paragon shopping mall in Orchard Road. A condominium project at Thomson Road is due to be completed in the middle of next year. And an SPH-led consortium recently won a bid for a prime mall building in Clementi.
Chief executive officer Alan Chan said that the mall project will buffer the company from the ups and downs of the media business. And chairman Tony Tan said that the bid is 'testament to SPH's willingness to seek new opportunities to increase shareholder value'.
In the fiscal year ended August 2009, SPH's newspaper and magazine sales dropped 12 per cent, but net profit of $422 million was just 3 per cent down, helped by higher contributions from property and pre-emptive measures to cut costs.
Mr Chan said that 50 cents of every dollar spent on advertising in Singapore goes to SPH, but the industry - especially in developed countries - is under great stress.
'Print (media) is something very close to our hearts and we will invest as much as possible to maintain that,' he said. But it is a 'very challenging' industry now, and the company will have to prepare for a time when the media business will no longer be as profitable. New property ventures give the company an opportunity to expand its areas of expertise, Mr Chan said.
Shareholders praised SPH management for guiding the company through a difficult year with profit more or less intact.
Dr Tan acknowledged the contributions of management and staff, who took pay cuts and stayed loyal to the company through the past year.
One shareholder asked the board on the absence of women in its ranks. 'Women bring a fresh perspective to things,' she said, noting that a woman on the board would not have supported the running of sexist advertisements. Dr Tan said that the board will consider the issue at its next meeting.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
SPH explains property move; shareholders praise FY2009 results
SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) shareholders yesterday praised the media group for the creditable FY2009 financial results and the 25-cents-a-share dividend payment. They also sought further assurance from the company on its property foray.
At the SPH annual general meeting, shareholder Vincent Chen was concerned that the company's share price could be hurt should the market view it as a conglomerate with interests in many areas beyond its core newspaper business. He suggested that SPH focus on its core business and return cash to shareholders to invest in pure-play property counters.
SPH publishes 17 newspapers, including The Business Times, and more than 100 magazine titles. Beyond its media business, it also owns Paragon shopping mall in Orchard Road. A condominium project at Thomson Road is due to be completed in the middle of next year. And an SPH-led consortium recently won a bid for a prime mall building in Clementi.
Chief executive officer Alan Chan said that the mall project will buffer the company from the ups and downs of the media business. And chairman Tony Tan said that the bid is 'testament to SPH's willingness to seek new opportunities to increase shareholder value'.
In the fiscal year ended August 2009, SPH's newspaper and magazine sales dropped 12 per cent, but net profit of $422 million was just 3 per cent down, helped by higher contributions from property and pre-emptive measures to cut costs.
Mr Chan said that 50 cents of every dollar spent on advertising in Singapore goes to SPH, but the industry - especially in developed countries - is under great stress.
'Print (media) is something very close to our hearts and we will invest as much as possible to maintain that,' he said. But it is a 'very challenging' industry now, and the company will have to prepare for a time when the media business will no longer be as profitable. New property ventures give the company an opportunity to expand its areas of expertise, Mr Chan said.
Shareholders praised SPH management for guiding the company through a difficult year with profit more or less intact.
Dr Tan acknowledged the contributions of management and staff, who took pay cuts and stayed loyal to the company through the past year.
One shareholder asked the board on the absence of women in its ranks. 'Women bring a fresh perspective to things,' she said, noting that a woman on the board would not have supported the running of sexist advertisements. Dr Tan said that the board will consider the issue at its next meeting.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
BT : Milestone year for Marina Bay
Business Times - 05 Dec 2009
Milestone year for Marina Bay
URA plans slew of activities to draw locals, visitors in 2010
By FELDA CHAY
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority has planned a string of activities next year to attract local and foreign visitors to Marina Bay.
With most of the key features in the area set to be completed during the year, the development agency aims to attract visitors through a series of events dubbed 'Marina Bay Invitations 2010'.
Kick-starting the series is the Marina Bay Countdown into 2010 on the last day of the year. This will be followed by the opening of the double helix pedestrian bridge and Singapore's first Art Park, next to the seating gallery of The Float @ Marina Bay, both of which will open by March next year.
Members of the community will be invited to the official opening - to be among the first to cross the bridge and enjoy the panoramic views of the city, URA said.
In mid-2010, URA will hold a mass walkathon and carnival to mark the opening of the 3.5 kilometre waterfront promenade, which will feature a continuous waterfront loop and dancing water jets.
This will be followed by an urban light festival in the concluding months of the year. And coming full circle - the series will end with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2010/2011.
URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said: '2010 is a milestone year for Marina Bay and Singapore. It is the time when most of the developments around the bay are completed, and the dawn of a new skyline for Singapore. We want to extend an invitation to every Singaporean and visitor to come to Marina Bay to join in the calendar of exciting events in 2010.'
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kick-starting the series is the Marina Bay Countdown into 2010 on the last day of the year; in mid-2010, URA will hold a mass walkathon and carnival to mark the opening of the 3.5 kilometre waterfront promenade
Milestone year for Marina Bay
URA plans slew of activities to draw locals, visitors in 2010
By FELDA CHAY
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority has planned a string of activities next year to attract local and foreign visitors to Marina Bay.
With most of the key features in the area set to be completed during the year, the development agency aims to attract visitors through a series of events dubbed 'Marina Bay Invitations 2010'.
Kick-starting the series is the Marina Bay Countdown into 2010 on the last day of the year. This will be followed by the opening of the double helix pedestrian bridge and Singapore's first Art Park, next to the seating gallery of The Float @ Marina Bay, both of which will open by March next year.
Members of the community will be invited to the official opening - to be among the first to cross the bridge and enjoy the panoramic views of the city, URA said.
In mid-2010, URA will hold a mass walkathon and carnival to mark the opening of the 3.5 kilometre waterfront promenade, which will feature a continuous waterfront loop and dancing water jets.
This will be followed by an urban light festival in the concluding months of the year. And coming full circle - the series will end with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2010/2011.
URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said: '2010 is a milestone year for Marina Bay and Singapore. It is the time when most of the developments around the bay are completed, and the dawn of a new skyline for Singapore. We want to extend an invitation to every Singaporean and visitor to come to Marina Bay to join in the calendar of exciting events in 2010.'
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kick-starting the series is the Marina Bay Countdown into 2010 on the last day of the year; in mid-2010, URA will hold a mass walkathon and carnival to mark the opening of the 3.5 kilometre waterfront promenade
BT : World's tallest tower marks end of era
Business Times - 05 Dec 2009
World's tallest tower marks end of era
The Burj Dubai tower opens on Jan 4 even as hundreds of other building projects in the emirate are mothballed
(Dubai)
NEXT month's opening of the Burj Dubai tower, the world's tallest building, will bring Dubai's era of exuberant expansion to a shuddering halt as hundreds of other building projects are already mothballed.
Plunging property prices and weak demand had already put a dampener on new schemes even before last week's shock announcement by state-owned giant Dubai World that it wants to halt debt payments for six months.
'It's not exactly going to improve investor confidence,' said Matthew Green, associate director at property agency CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), which has reported a 55 per cent year-on-year drop in downtown Dubai commercial rental rates and a 67 per cent fall outside the centre.
The 800m tall skyscraper is the centrepiece of a US$20 billion new shopping district, Downtown Burj Dubai, which also includes 30,000 apartments and the Dubai Mall, which claims that its space for 1,200 shops makes it the world's biggest indoor shopping centre.
The tower, whose needle-shaped upper section is visible from 15 km away, stands on one side of a popular piazza, thronged with strollers in the evenings, when a fountain gushes in the central lake.
Developer Emaar has officially announced that Burj Dubai tower will open on Jan 4, the fourth anniversary of Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum's accession to power in Dubai.
Under construction since 2004, the opening of the steel-and-glass landmark has unofficially been put back from late 2008, but no further delay is likely for fear of loss of face by Emaar, which has not escaped the impact of the global property downturn.
It is keeping quiet about how many tenants it has found for the 160-storey building, and the company's plan announced in June to merge with state-owned Dubai Holding gave the impression that stockmarket-listed Emaar was not in the healthiest financial condition.
That impression was reinforced on Thursday by ratings agency Standard and Poor's Corp, which included both Emaar and Dubai Holding among six state-linked companies that it downgraded to junk bond status.
Despite the debt crisis that unfolded last week, Dubai remains a bustling city full of eye-catching sights.
The city state's iconic national symbol is the three km long Palm Jumeirah artificial island, full of luxury villas whose owners are said to include David Beckham and Brad Pitt.
Immigrant workers were still busy yesterday beavering away on a dozen new housing projects on the island, but Palm Jumeirah's developer Nakheel had halted plans for two more islands even before its credit woes were broadcast around the world last week.
Nakheel's US$3.5 billion Islamic bond programme, due for repayment on Dec 14, is the main deal immediately affected by parent company Dubai World's debt standstill.
All over Dubai, work was still in progress yesterday on dozens of more modest projects, although most are buildings near completion, with the scaffolding only remaining around the upper storeys.
Grand schemes such as the Burj Dubai and Palm Jumeirah are a thing of the past.
The World, an enormous project for artificial islands shaped like the continents, is now no more than a group of sandbanks, and no-one expects Nakheel to go ahead with a one km tall tower announced a year ago.
Market research company Proleads has estimated that projects worth US$582 billion or 45 per cent of the value of all developments, have been put on hold in Dubai or the other members of the United Arab Emirates.
The turning point in Dubai's seemingly relentless ballooning growth came exactly a year ago, on Dec 4, 2008, when state-owned Meeras suspended plans that it had announced only two months previously for a US$95 billion city within a city called Jumeirah Gardens.
Now the question under discussion is not whether Dubai will go on growing but whether Sheikh Mohammed can stop the city going into sharp decline.
'Lease rates are below those of 1996, a reflection of the true extent of the downturn,' CBRE said in its third-quarter report on the commercial leasing market, written before Dubai World suspended its debt payments.
Rents for homes are down by as much as 48 per cent, and CBRE noted: 'Newer areas are faring comparatively badly in the downturn when compared to more established communities.'
CBRE's Mr Green said that his company is not seeing many newcomers to Dubai looking for apartments, as 'there is not a lot of hiring going on'.
'We have witnessed a rise in movements either to larger apartments which were previously too expensive, or to the lower end of the market where terms are more flexible and rates lower, due to continued fear of job security,' he said.
But those are people who already live within the Emirates transferring to a different neighbourhood, Mr Green said.
Even if there was continuing demand for new homes and offices, Dubai's debt crisis means that investors would be likely to think three times about putting up the money, especially to any state-linked company.
'Although the authorities are at pains to say this is corporate default and not sovereign, it undoes all the implied security of ever wanting to do business with any state entity in Dubai this side of 2020,' said Manny Cranus, an analyst with London's MF Global.
'Trust is a very expensive commodity and can be very quickly squandered,' he said. -- AFP
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
IVORY TOWER Under construction since 2004, the opening of the steel-and-glass landmark has unofficially been put back from late 2008, but no further delay is likely for fear of loss of face
World's tallest tower marks end of era
The Burj Dubai tower opens on Jan 4 even as hundreds of other building projects in the emirate are mothballed
(Dubai)
NEXT month's opening of the Burj Dubai tower, the world's tallest building, will bring Dubai's era of exuberant expansion to a shuddering halt as hundreds of other building projects are already mothballed.
Plunging property prices and weak demand had already put a dampener on new schemes even before last week's shock announcement by state-owned giant Dubai World that it wants to halt debt payments for six months.
'It's not exactly going to improve investor confidence,' said Matthew Green, associate director at property agency CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), which has reported a 55 per cent year-on-year drop in downtown Dubai commercial rental rates and a 67 per cent fall outside the centre.
The 800m tall skyscraper is the centrepiece of a US$20 billion new shopping district, Downtown Burj Dubai, which also includes 30,000 apartments and the Dubai Mall, which claims that its space for 1,200 shops makes it the world's biggest indoor shopping centre.
The tower, whose needle-shaped upper section is visible from 15 km away, stands on one side of a popular piazza, thronged with strollers in the evenings, when a fountain gushes in the central lake.
Developer Emaar has officially announced that Burj Dubai tower will open on Jan 4, the fourth anniversary of Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum's accession to power in Dubai.
Under construction since 2004, the opening of the steel-and-glass landmark has unofficially been put back from late 2008, but no further delay is likely for fear of loss of face by Emaar, which has not escaped the impact of the global property downturn.
It is keeping quiet about how many tenants it has found for the 160-storey building, and the company's plan announced in June to merge with state-owned Dubai Holding gave the impression that stockmarket-listed Emaar was not in the healthiest financial condition.
That impression was reinforced on Thursday by ratings agency Standard and Poor's Corp, which included both Emaar and Dubai Holding among six state-linked companies that it downgraded to junk bond status.
Despite the debt crisis that unfolded last week, Dubai remains a bustling city full of eye-catching sights.
The city state's iconic national symbol is the three km long Palm Jumeirah artificial island, full of luxury villas whose owners are said to include David Beckham and Brad Pitt.
Immigrant workers were still busy yesterday beavering away on a dozen new housing projects on the island, but Palm Jumeirah's developer Nakheel had halted plans for two more islands even before its credit woes were broadcast around the world last week.
Nakheel's US$3.5 billion Islamic bond programme, due for repayment on Dec 14, is the main deal immediately affected by parent company Dubai World's debt standstill.
All over Dubai, work was still in progress yesterday on dozens of more modest projects, although most are buildings near completion, with the scaffolding only remaining around the upper storeys.
Grand schemes such as the Burj Dubai and Palm Jumeirah are a thing of the past.
The World, an enormous project for artificial islands shaped like the continents, is now no more than a group of sandbanks, and no-one expects Nakheel to go ahead with a one km tall tower announced a year ago.
Market research company Proleads has estimated that projects worth US$582 billion or 45 per cent of the value of all developments, have been put on hold in Dubai or the other members of the United Arab Emirates.
The turning point in Dubai's seemingly relentless ballooning growth came exactly a year ago, on Dec 4, 2008, when state-owned Meeras suspended plans that it had announced only two months previously for a US$95 billion city within a city called Jumeirah Gardens.
Now the question under discussion is not whether Dubai will go on growing but whether Sheikh Mohammed can stop the city going into sharp decline.
'Lease rates are below those of 1996, a reflection of the true extent of the downturn,' CBRE said in its third-quarter report on the commercial leasing market, written before Dubai World suspended its debt payments.
Rents for homes are down by as much as 48 per cent, and CBRE noted: 'Newer areas are faring comparatively badly in the downturn when compared to more established communities.'
CBRE's Mr Green said that his company is not seeing many newcomers to Dubai looking for apartments, as 'there is not a lot of hiring going on'.
'We have witnessed a rise in movements either to larger apartments which were previously too expensive, or to the lower end of the market where terms are more flexible and rates lower, due to continued fear of job security,' he said.
But those are people who already live within the Emirates transferring to a different neighbourhood, Mr Green said.
Even if there was continuing demand for new homes and offices, Dubai's debt crisis means that investors would be likely to think three times about putting up the money, especially to any state-linked company.
'Although the authorities are at pains to say this is corporate default and not sovereign, it undoes all the implied security of ever wanting to do business with any state entity in Dubai this side of 2020,' said Manny Cranus, an analyst with London's MF Global.
'Trust is a very expensive commodity and can be very quickly squandered,' he said. -- AFP
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
IVORY TOWER Under construction since 2004, the opening of the steel-and-glass landmark has unofficially been put back from late 2008, but no further delay is likely for fear of loss of face
BT : $357.5m extension of North-South line to Marina South
Business Times - 05 Dec 2009
$357.5m extension of North-South line to Marina South
Contract awarded to Samsung C&T Corp
THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that it has awarded a $357.5 million contract to Samsung C&T Corporation for North-South Line extension civil works.
The contract covers the design and construction of an additional station and associated tunnels at Marina South.
Construction is scheduled to start this month and is slated for completion by 2014.
LTA said that the one km underground extension is an extension of the existing North-South Line that runs south from the overrun tunnels after Marina Bay station into the Marina South area.
When completed, the extension will provide an additional transport choice to Marina South Pier and upcoming developments in the area, such as the new cruise terminal and Gardens by the Bay.
Samsung C&T Corporation is a South Korean company with extensive construction experience in Singapore. It is involved in the design and construction of Cross Street Station as part of the Downtown Line Stage 1 and the design and construction of a section of the Marina Coastal Expressway.
The Marina Coastal Expressway, scheduled for completion in 2013, is expected to be Singapore's most expensive expressway. So far, the LTA has awarded $4 billion worth of contracts for the project, which involves undersea construction.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
LONG STRETCH
The Marina Coastal Expressway is scheduled for completion in 2013
$357.5m extension of North-South line to Marina South
Contract awarded to Samsung C&T Corp
THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that it has awarded a $357.5 million contract to Samsung C&T Corporation for North-South Line extension civil works.
The contract covers the design and construction of an additional station and associated tunnels at Marina South.
Construction is scheduled to start this month and is slated for completion by 2014.
LTA said that the one km underground extension is an extension of the existing North-South Line that runs south from the overrun tunnels after Marina Bay station into the Marina South area.
When completed, the extension will provide an additional transport choice to Marina South Pier and upcoming developments in the area, such as the new cruise terminal and Gardens by the Bay.
Samsung C&T Corporation is a South Korean company with extensive construction experience in Singapore. It is involved in the design and construction of Cross Street Station as part of the Downtown Line Stage 1 and the design and construction of a section of the Marina Coastal Expressway.
The Marina Coastal Expressway, scheduled for completion in 2013, is expected to be Singapore's most expensive expressway. So far, the LTA has awarded $4 billion worth of contracts for the project, which involves undersea construction.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
LONG STRETCH
The Marina Coastal Expressway is scheduled for completion in 2013
CNA : Private home prices may hit new high in 2010
Private home prices may hit new high in 2010
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 04 December 2009 2123 hrs
SINGAPORE: Private home prices here are expected to hit a new high in 2010 and perhaps rise even further after that, should the economy continue to grow.
But analysts said on Friday that sales volumes in 2010 are likely to fall back to sub-10,000 levels seen in previous years.
Observers are projecting that 15,000 to 16,000 units will be sold in the primary market in 2009 – the highest on record.
The launch of a mass market project in Jurong West – Caspian – broke the dam for new home sales in Singapore earlier in 2009.
Some 10 months later, home sales during the economic downturn are projected to exceed even July 2007's record of 14,811 homes. Data already shows that about 13,905 units have been sold from January to September this year.
Analysts said this performance is driven by pent-up demand, and is unlikely to be repeated in the years ahead.
Donald Han, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield, said: "This has been a spectacular year by virtue of pent-up demand. The second and third quarter probably produced about 60 to 70 per cent of total demand for 2009.
"In the third quarter alone, we sold something like 5,700 new home units. We sold more in the third quarter than in 2008. That kind of demand is not sustainable.
"The fact is that the government put on the brakes by discontinuing the interest absorption scheme. Also, they are making promises to ensure enough supply in the marketplace by introducing more government land sales programmes in 2010."
Mr Han said sales are likely to average around 800 new homes a month, or some 9,000 to 10,000 units for the whole of 2010. However, some analysts said prices will not be falling in tandem with lower sales.
That is because the strong economy and fundamentals of the country will support prices, and may even drive them higher.
Nicholas Mak, real estate lecturer, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said: "Going forward, average home prices still have some way to grow. They could still expand conservatively at about 10 per cent, while in some segments they could go as high as 20 per cent."
Units in the mid- to high-end segments will see prices rise higher than those in the mass market.
Analysts said this is mainly because prices in the mass market, which accounts for about 45 per cent of all private homes sold to date, started heading upwards earlier, and are close to their peak.
But they are not ruling out factors that could temper price growth such as government measures to cool the market, should speculation get out of hand.
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 04 December 2009 2123 hrs
SINGAPORE: Private home prices here are expected to hit a new high in 2010 and perhaps rise even further after that, should the economy continue to grow.
But analysts said on Friday that sales volumes in 2010 are likely to fall back to sub-10,000 levels seen in previous years.
Observers are projecting that 15,000 to 16,000 units will be sold in the primary market in 2009 – the highest on record.
The launch of a mass market project in Jurong West – Caspian – broke the dam for new home sales in Singapore earlier in 2009.
Some 10 months later, home sales during the economic downturn are projected to exceed even July 2007's record of 14,811 homes. Data already shows that about 13,905 units have been sold from January to September this year.
Analysts said this performance is driven by pent-up demand, and is unlikely to be repeated in the years ahead.
Donald Han, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield, said: "This has been a spectacular year by virtue of pent-up demand. The second and third quarter probably produced about 60 to 70 per cent of total demand for 2009.
"In the third quarter alone, we sold something like 5,700 new home units. We sold more in the third quarter than in 2008. That kind of demand is not sustainable.
"The fact is that the government put on the brakes by discontinuing the interest absorption scheme. Also, they are making promises to ensure enough supply in the marketplace by introducing more government land sales programmes in 2010."
Mr Han said sales are likely to average around 800 new homes a month, or some 9,000 to 10,000 units for the whole of 2010. However, some analysts said prices will not be falling in tandem with lower sales.
That is because the strong economy and fundamentals of the country will support prices, and may even drive them higher.
Nicholas Mak, real estate lecturer, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said: "Going forward, average home prices still have some way to grow. They could still expand conservatively at about 10 per cent, while in some segments they could go as high as 20 per cent."
Units in the mid- to high-end segments will see prices rise higher than those in the mass market.
Analysts said this is mainly because prices in the mass market, which accounts for about 45 per cent of all private homes sold to date, started heading upwards earlier, and are close to their peak.
But they are not ruling out factors that could temper price growth such as government measures to cool the market, should speculation get out of hand.
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