Hong Leong unveils lowest HDB loan rates
Dec 22, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
Hong Leong Finance unveiled a new HDB loan package with the lowest rates in town.
The latest offering by the finance company is aimed at one of the hottest segments in the market, with extreme interest in projects like the new flats to be constructed at Queenstown’s Dawson estate.
Last week it unveiled a loan package for the good class bungalow market – the other end of the spectrum.
It now offers HDB buyers with variable rates for loans of $100,000 and above, with financing up to 80 percent, at 1.33 percent for the first year, 2.03 percent for the second, and 2.63 percent for the third.
This package is another step down in rates from last month’s offer of the company, with equivalent loan rates of 2.13 percent for the second year and 2.83 percent for the third.
Hong Leong now provides a borrower looking for a two-year fixed rate loan with a rate of 2.13 percent in the second year, down from 2.63 percent.
By comparison, DBS Bank is offering a two-year fixed rate of 2.9 percent for loans intended for owner-occupied homes that have been completed, with up to 60 percent financing.
According to Hong Leong, the intensifying activity in the HDB market led to more inquiries for loans of HDB homes.
“We anticipate continued growth of our HDB home loans portfolio in 2010, which will be boosted in part by HDB's plans to launch at least one build-to-order project per month to meet the housing demand here,” said President Ian Macdonald.
The company also offers its customers an added sweetener of a $20 Millenium and Copthorne hotels gift voucher for every $100,000 loan.
Customers with small loans have not been left out. Those with loans less than $100,000, and up to 80 percent financing will now be offered a variable rate of 1.93 percent for the first year, and fixed rates from 2.33 percent for over two years.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Opening of Marina Bay IR delayed
Opening of Marina Bay IR delayed
Dec 22, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
The Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort will open its first phase of operation by mid-April 2010, instead of February, as earlier announced.
About half of the integrated resort, including the casino and most of the restaurant units, will open by the end of March. The entire $5.5 billion IR project is expected to be completed by the end of next year, said Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands.
Job training for newly hired staff will only begin in January, he said. About 12,000 to 14,000 people are needed to run the entire IR. 85 percent of hired employees are Singaporeans.
The Marina Bay Sands, one of two casinos being constructed in Singapore, was scheduled to start operating this month. However, Mr. Adelson said in July that the opening of the casino would be postponed until February next year. But, heavy rains and bankruptcy of some of its sub-contractors have further pushed back its opening, said Mr. Adelson.
Mr. Adelson told reporters on Monday that it was only a “minor delay”. “We are in this not for a day or a week, but for decades. So the delay of a day or a week is nothing. If we are going to do it, we are going to do it right.”
The other casino project, Resorts World at Sentosa, is expected to open its first phase by Q1 of next year, said a spokesman from project developer Genting International. When asked about the profit projection for the said project, Mr. Adelson said the company expects around US$1 billion annually before deducting taxes, interest, amortisations and depreciation expenses.
Dec 22, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
The Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort will open its first phase of operation by mid-April 2010, instead of February, as earlier announced.
About half of the integrated resort, including the casino and most of the restaurant units, will open by the end of March. The entire $5.5 billion IR project is expected to be completed by the end of next year, said Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands.
Job training for newly hired staff will only begin in January, he said. About 12,000 to 14,000 people are needed to run the entire IR. 85 percent of hired employees are Singaporeans.
The Marina Bay Sands, one of two casinos being constructed in Singapore, was scheduled to start operating this month. However, Mr. Adelson said in July that the opening of the casino would be postponed until February next year. But, heavy rains and bankruptcy of some of its sub-contractors have further pushed back its opening, said Mr. Adelson.
Mr. Adelson told reporters on Monday that it was only a “minor delay”. “We are in this not for a day or a week, but for decades. So the delay of a day or a week is nothing. If we are going to do it, we are going to do it right.”
The other casino project, Resorts World at Sentosa, is expected to open its first phase by Q1 of next year, said a spokesman from project developer Genting International. When asked about the profit projection for the said project, Mr. Adelson said the company expects around US$1 billion annually before deducting taxes, interest, amortisations and depreciation expenses.
Asian stocks closed mixed and HK property market hit
Asian stocks closed mixed and HK property market hit
Dec 22, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
Asian markets ended Monday on a mixed note with major indexes posting reasonable moves in pre-holiday trade, as concerns over the cooling measures of the property market weighed on Hong Kong.
"We would expect the remainder of the week to see similar, small moves in Asian markets," said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist from Global Hunter Securities.
HK’s Hang Seng Index ended 1.1 percent lower; South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0. 2 percent; New Zealand's NZX-50 closed 0.1 percent lower; and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent. But Taiwan's main index and Japan's Nikkei 225 both added 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent.
Among the regional markets, India's Sensex lost 0.3 percent, Philippine shares ended up 0.1 percent and Singapore's Straits Times Index closed with 0.4 percent.
Hong Kong shares slipped as concerns over the government’s cooling measures on the property market continued to weigh on real estate developers and banking sectors. This followed China’s announcement of a new rule, requiring a 50 percent down payment for land purchases by all property developers.
Asian markets weakened last week amid rising concerns over property-cooling measures in Beijing, and due to "renewed global crisis fears prompted by the sovereign downgrade of Greece and warnings about potential future downgrades of Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.," said Martin Hennecke, the associate director of Tyche Group Ltd. in Hong Kong. "This sovereign debt crisis is ... only getting started and this clearly warrants caution for all investors, in all markets."
Even so, the stock market in Asia "may not be the worst place to have exposure to", particularly China’s undervaluation of the yuan, the low budget deficit and low sovereign debt of the country, and the economic recovery, said Hennecke.
In Australia, the stock market closed lower after finding support from strength in the resource stocks. Traders "seemed happy to push the market a bit higher on the back of reasonable leads from the U.S. session, but momentum waned in the afternoon and sellers took control" ahead of the holiday season, said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst from IG Markets in Melbourne.
Dec 22, 2009 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
Asian markets ended Monday on a mixed note with major indexes posting reasonable moves in pre-holiday trade, as concerns over the cooling measures of the property market weighed on Hong Kong.
"We would expect the remainder of the week to see similar, small moves in Asian markets," said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist from Global Hunter Securities.
HK’s Hang Seng Index ended 1.1 percent lower; South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0. 2 percent; New Zealand's NZX-50 closed 0.1 percent lower; and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent. But Taiwan's main index and Japan's Nikkei 225 both added 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent.
Among the regional markets, India's Sensex lost 0.3 percent, Philippine shares ended up 0.1 percent and Singapore's Straits Times Index closed with 0.4 percent.
Hong Kong shares slipped as concerns over the government’s cooling measures on the property market continued to weigh on real estate developers and banking sectors. This followed China’s announcement of a new rule, requiring a 50 percent down payment for land purchases by all property developers.
Asian markets weakened last week amid rising concerns over property-cooling measures in Beijing, and due to "renewed global crisis fears prompted by the sovereign downgrade of Greece and warnings about potential future downgrades of Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.," said Martin Hennecke, the associate director of Tyche Group Ltd. in Hong Kong. "This sovereign debt crisis is ... only getting started and this clearly warrants caution for all investors, in all markets."
Even so, the stock market in Asia "may not be the worst place to have exposure to", particularly China’s undervaluation of the yuan, the low budget deficit and low sovereign debt of the country, and the economic recovery, said Hennecke.
In Australia, the stock market closed lower after finding support from strength in the resource stocks. Traders "seemed happy to push the market a bit higher on the back of reasonable leads from the U.S. session, but momentum waned in the afternoon and sellers took control" ahead of the holiday season, said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst from IG Markets in Melbourne.
ST : Rents end year-long fall
Dec 22, 2009
Rents end year-long fall
Most retail property watchers bullish about next year as economy improves
By Esther Teo
Leasing activity has increased as retailers gain more confidence along with the economic recovery. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
IN KEEPING with the festive decorations lighting up the prime Orchard retail belt, landlords on the famous strip have just received news bound to brighten the gloomy mood cast by the downturn.
After four straight quarters of decline, rents for first-storey Orchard Road and Scotts Road retail space inched up 1 per cent to $39.70 per sq ft (psf), a month after falling 7.3 per cent since the third quarter of last year.
Rents in suburban areas seem to be stabilising as well, buoyed by the upswing in the economy, property reports suggest.
The report, from DTZ Research, also said prime first-storey gross rents in suburban areas rose 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $33.50 psf per month.
However, rents in fringe city areas such as Great World City and Bugis Junction continued to fall. These malls miss out on local residents, who patronise suburban malls, and the tourist crowd that heads to Orchard, said DTZ South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.
She added that leasing activity has increased as retailers gain more confidence along with the economic recovery: 'There is strong demand for prime first-storey space, evident from the little availability and speed at which they are taken up, despite the amount of new space that has come up along Orchard Road.'
Rents end year-long fall
Most retail property watchers bullish about next year as economy improves
By Esther Teo
Leasing activity has increased as retailers gain more confidence along with the economic recovery. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
IN KEEPING with the festive decorations lighting up the prime Orchard retail belt, landlords on the famous strip have just received news bound to brighten the gloomy mood cast by the downturn.
After four straight quarters of decline, rents for first-storey Orchard Road and Scotts Road retail space inched up 1 per cent to $39.70 per sq ft (psf), a month after falling 7.3 per cent since the third quarter of last year.
Rents in suburban areas seem to be stabilising as well, buoyed by the upswing in the economy, property reports suggest.
The report, from DTZ Research, also said prime first-storey gross rents in suburban areas rose 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $33.50 psf per month.
However, rents in fringe city areas such as Great World City and Bugis Junction continued to fall. These malls miss out on local residents, who patronise suburban malls, and the tourist crowd that heads to Orchard, said DTZ South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.
She added that leasing activity has increased as retailers gain more confidence along with the economic recovery: 'There is strong demand for prime first-storey space, evident from the little availability and speed at which they are taken up, despite the amount of new space that has come up along Orchard Road.'
ST : What's opening
Dec 22, 2009
What's opening
By mid-April: About 1,000 hotel rooms, parts of the convention centre and shopping area, restaurants (including three celebrity chef eateries) and casino
By mid-June (60 days later): The rest of the resort, including the Sands Sky Park, with the exception of the Art Science Museum and the two theatres
By September: One theatre
By end-2010: The Art Science Museum and remaining theatre
What's opening
By mid-April: About 1,000 hotel rooms, parts of the convention centre and shopping area, restaurants (including three celebrity chef eateries) and casino
By mid-June (60 days later): The rest of the resort, including the Sands Sky Park, with the exception of the Art Science Museum and the two theatres
By September: One theatre
By end-2010: The Art Science Museum and remaining theatre
ST : Marina Sands IR up by Apr
Dec 22, 2009
Marina Sands IR up by Apr
By Jessica Lim
Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson at a meeting with the media yesterday to give an update on the progress of the integrated resort. He was in combative mood at the hour-long session, half of which was dominated by the delay in its opening. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
THE first guests at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (IR) will be able to check in, have a meal, attend a convention and gamble by the middle of April next year, at the latest.
That was the new deadline revealed by Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson on Monday.
That means about 1,000 hotel rooms, several eateries (including three of its six celebrity-chef restaurants), part of the convention facilities and the casino floor will have to be ready by then, or the operator risks failing to secure its casino licence.
The rest of the project will open in phases before the end of next year.
Sands training 'early next year'
Mr Adelson also had an update for new employees, some of whom were in the news last week waiting to hear when training for their new jobs as dealers and croupiers would start.
Marina Sands IR up by Apr
By Jessica Lim
Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson at a meeting with the media yesterday to give an update on the progress of the integrated resort. He was in combative mood at the hour-long session, half of which was dominated by the delay in its opening. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
THE first guests at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (IR) will be able to check in, have a meal, attend a convention and gamble by the middle of April next year, at the latest.
That was the new deadline revealed by Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson on Monday.
That means about 1,000 hotel rooms, several eateries (including three of its six celebrity-chef restaurants), part of the convention facilities and the casino floor will have to be ready by then, or the operator risks failing to secure its casino licence.
The rest of the project will open in phases before the end of next year.
Sands training 'early next year'
Mr Adelson also had an update for new employees, some of whom were in the news last week waiting to hear when training for their new jobs as dealers and croupiers would start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
