Singapore Property Frontiers

Leftover units offer immediate occupation, but buyers should take note of some things

With property developers holding back major launches as they wait out the gloomy market sentiment, eager buyers have had to turn to other avenues for a home.

Some with urgent housing needs are looking at older ‘brand-new’ condominiums - developments that have been completed for a number of years but still have unsold units.

At several of these condos, which have had unsold stock for a few years, all the remaining units have been taken up in recent months.

Far East Organization, for instance, held an open house last month for the leftover units at its four-year-old Water Place in Tanjong Rhu. The 437-unit development is now fully sold.

The company’s Tanglin View has about 20 unsold units, going for $1,400 per sq ft (psf).

But do such properties make good buys?

Some of the condos might have been priced above the market at the time they were launched, which is why there are still unsold units, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of business development and marketing at Savills Singapore.

But now that their surrounding projects are mostly sold out, it might be worth paying a premium for immediate occupation or immediate rental income at these completed units, he added.

Another advantage is that buyers get to see the actual unit they are buying - the views, fittings, defects and so on, said consultants.

‘What you see is what you get, so there is less scope for misunderstandings,’ said Mr Colin Tan, the head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International.

What to look out for

Apart from the standard considerations - location, price and design - completed condos come with a few more checkboxes for you to tick off before you sign that contract.

Buyers should ask what the developers have done with the unsold condos since they were completed.

In some cases, the developers have left the units empty, which is what GuocoLand has done with Le Crescendo in Paya Lebar, where would-be buyers can see the actual units that are on sale.

Other developers rent out the unsold homes for interim income, but are willing to sell them with the tenancies.

At The Equatorial, developer City Developments is selling one last two-bedroom unit, tenanted, for $2.1 million.

If the unit has been rented out for five years or more, buyers should check the electrical wiring and plumbing to see whether they need to be changed, said Mr Tan.

‘The danger is that, on the surface, everything looks new and you think the same goes for services that cannot be seen,’ he noted, adding that ‘false ceilings can hide a lot of internal problems’.

While new condos come with a 12-month liability period for defects, this might not apply to condos that have been completed for some time, especially if they have been rented out in the meantime.

Consultants recommend that buyers check with the developers to see if they are willing to make good any defects found within a reasonable period.

For 99-year leasehold condos, it is also important to find out when the clock started ticking on the lease. ‘The buyer needs to check on the remaining lease period as these condos may be marketed as being new,’ said Mr Tan.

Orchard Scotts in Scotts Road, for instance, was completed last year, but its 99-year leasehold tenure started ticking in 2001.

Similarly, River Place in Havelock Road was completed in 2000 but the 99-year lease took effect in 1995.

Can you get a discount?

Some developers, such as Far East Organization, occasionally hold promotions for their completed projects in order to offload the units.

In the past few months, it has offered discounts on completed condos such as Icon in Tanjong Pagar, The Lakeshore in Jurong West and Hillview Regency in Bukit Batok.

Last week, it is understood to have offered stamp duty reimbursements for Hillview Regency units.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s executive director, Ms Margaret Thean, said whether you can get a discount is ’subject to location’.

‘If a project is situated in a prime location, it is unlikely you will get a bargain. But if it’s a mass market project and on the outskirts, you’re likely to have more room to negotiate,’ she said.

Source : Sunday Times - 11 May 2008

Q My uncle and brother bought an HDB flat together as joint tenants. They paid the mortgage in full. My uncle died a few years ago, so my brother automatically became the sole owner of the flat. He married a Chinese national last year.

What can my brother do to prevent his wife from getting the flat should he suffer any mishap? He feels that she does not deserve to get the flat as she has not contributed a single cent to the household.

A It would be advisable for your brother to make a will in which he wills away his assets, including the flat, to specified beneficiaries other than his wife. It would also be advisable not to register her officially as a permitted occupier of the flat, as this could give rise to complications over her continued right of occupancy and, ultimately, the disposal of the flat after his death.

That said, as his wife, she is his dependant and would have played some sort of spousal role. Thus, it might not be fair or conscionable for him not to leave anything at all to her after his demise.

It might, therefore, be prudent to bequeath to her some part of his assets, whether in cash or other forms. If he wants to bequeath Central Provident Fund monies, he must make a specific nomination. Otherwise, these will be divided according to intestacy laws, under which his wife would have a share of his CPF.

If your brother fails to provide for her (or for any lawful children from their marriage), she is entitled as his dependant, under Chapter 138 of the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act, to apply to the courts for reasonable maintenance to be paid out of his net estate.

The court will assess her claims and other relevant factors - such as her income-earning ability, present or future sources of capital or income, and conduct towards your brother. If the court deems it appropriate, it will make provision for her reasonable maintenance from your brother’s net estate.

If your brother does not wish to bequeath to her any part of his estate and his reasons are sound - for example, he has more than adequately provided for her in his lifetime (by, say, putting some cash, assets or savings under her name), or if her conduct towards him or the marriage justifies his actions in leaving her out of the will - he should make this clear in his will.

The court will then assess the case in the light of the reasons provided in his will.

Lim Choi Ming
Partner, KhattarWong

Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive professional advice

Source : Sunday Times - 11 May 2008

Every fortnight, Mr Shahul Hameed, 50, packs his wife and three daughters into the car and drives across the Causeway.

The family’s retreat is a 2,400 sq ft, two-storey semi-detached house in Gelang Patah, Johor. It is part of a gated community called Leisure Farm Resort Residences, located 30 minutes from Singapore.

Their home away from home is where they can indulge in fishing, cycling and take the occasional boat trip to the nearby island of Tioman.

Mr Shahul, a financial planner with NTUC Income, bought the Balinese-style property, which features dark wood finishes and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, about four years ago for RM537,000.

In Singapore, he owns a 1,600 sq ft condominium apartment in Sims Avenue, which cost him $732,000.

He says: ‘When you have money just sitting in your bank, you tend to spend it. So I thought why not buy a second home nearby?’

The family has benefited from the regular weekend getaways, he claims. Since buying the house, he has consistently exceeded sales targets at work. His three daughters, whose ages range between five and 19, have performed better in their studies.

He adds: ‘I believe a change of environment now and then helps you lead your life in Singapore better.’

Owning a holiday home overseas may no longer be a luxury afforded only by Singapore’s super-rich, as more regular folk like Mr Shahul invest in overseas properties too.

Others discovered by LifeStyle include a teacher, an owner of a small business and a marketing consultant, though not all agreed to be interviewed.

Retired teacher Natahar Bava, 62, and his family own a semi-detached house at Sunset Way. But they spend holidays at their second home at the Kennedy Bay Resort in Perth, where their beach-facing, two-storey villa boasts an unobstructed view of the Indian Ocean.

Mr Bava, who has three daughters aged between 20 and 37, bought the house in 1997 for A$400,000 for his second daughter when she enrolled at a university there.

But the girl chose to live in the university hostel instead, so the property became the family’s holiday accommodation.

They visit as often as three times a year to rejuvenate, often paddling out to sea in a pair of kayaks they own.

‘It was a good turn of events that fulfilled an original dream I had,’ says Mr Bava. In 1982, he had taken a group of students to Perth on a school field trip. Smitten by the tranquillity of the place, he swore to one day own a home there.

‘WA (which stands for Western Australia, the territory Perth is located in) also means ‘wait a while’,’ he says in reference to the slower pace of life there.

Being an ‘average Singapore citizen’, he was only able to afford a place 15 years later, he adds.

There are no exact figures to the trend, but in general, developers and property companies who market overseas projects here point to a growing interest among Singaporeans to put their money in homes offshore.

At Colliers International, which has launched recent projects in places like Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand, business in the overseas sector grew four to five times from 2004 to 2007, says its associate director of international projects Michael Tan.

Executive director of DTZ South-east Asia, Mr Heng Hua Thong, adds that the number of overseas property launches in Singapore has also increased.

‘At least every month you have one project launched in Singapore. That’s definitely more compared to one or two years ago,’ he says.

With the local property market only just settling after a spate of sky-high property prices, it makes sense for some to look elsewhere where risks are not so great, says managing director of Orange Tee Global Properties Dave Loo.

The agency markets developments in places like Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Thailand’s market, for instance, has undergone several tax revisions recently to entice foreign investors. An apartment in a place like Phuket can go for as low as $100,000, adds Mr Loo.

While it is still more common for Singaporeans to buy for investment, he estimates that between 30 and 35 per cent of his customers buy properties to use as holiday homes or for their children who are studying overseas.

For the former purpose, resort destinations like Phuket or Bali are naturally more popular than city locales, he adds.

Prominent National University of Singapore lecturer K. K. Seet, for instance, bought a 2,000 sq ft, Thai-Balinese house in Pattaya for $300,000 in September 2006.

Says the 40-something bachelor: ‘I’ve always wanted a house near the sea, which would be impossible to achieve in Singapore, unless one is prepared to fork out millions for Sentosa Cove.’

He bought the house somewhat unexpectedly while on holiday in Pattaya, and now visits about three to four times a year.

Dr Seet says he was attracted to the city’s contrasting flavours, such as the sight of a high school band performing on a pedestrian boulevard, ‘while go-go girls were twirling around poles in a nearby bar even as busloads of tourists were tucking into a seafood buffet in an adjoining restaurant’.

‘It’s this heady mixture where everything is ‘live and let live’ that is fascinating,’ he adds.

Industry players like Mr Peter Thng, executive director of Reapfield Property Consultants, agree that the demographics of overseas home buyers have diversified to include middle-income earners. The agency has sold properties in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Malaysia.

He says: ‘This is not surprising given the affluence of the society and also the fact that many have either lived, studied or worked overseas.’

In the 1990s, middle-aged businessmen formed his main group of customers. Today, apart from professionals, ‘civil servants such as teachers and military personnel form the bulk of our client base’, he says.

For Singaporeans scouting for holiday homes, proximity is perhaps the biggest selling point. Properties in the region, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Australia are favoured, though countries like Malaysia - which offer advantageous exchange rates - have extra appeal.

In a recent survey carried out by Malaysia’s Real Estate and Housing Developers Association, Singapore was identified as its top foreign market. Malaysia has a My Second Home programme, which allows foreigners with a certain amount of capital to buy houses there.

At Johor’s Leisure Farm development, 49 per cent of buyers are Singaporeans or expats based here, says its sales manager Peter Lim. ‘Their profiles include professionals, businessmen, people looking for a shortcut to their dream home.’

Indeed, with holiday homes becoming a prized asset, few owners are willing to rent out their place to vacationers to cover costs. Says Dr Seet: ‘I’m not interested. What if they wreck the place?’

Still, those interviewed by LifeStyle say the returns on their investments have been far from poor. Mr Bava, for instance, reckons his Perth abode is now worth more than twice the A$400,000 he paid.

Mr Shahul is even planning to buy a third home at Leisure Farm, a bungalow 21/2 times the size of his current semi-detached house.

If he cannot find a suitable buyer for his existing Johor property, he will still keep it, ‘as a present for my children’, he says with a smile.

‘When you have money just sitting in your bank, you tend to spend it. So I thought why not buy a second home nearby? I believe a change of environment now and then will help you lead your life in Singapore better.’ - SHAHUL HAMEED, a financial planner, who bought his house in Gelang Patah, Johor, which he visits every fortnight with his family, daughter Nur Istiqamah, eight, wife Nur Asyiqin Abdullah, 35, and daughters Nur Diyanah, five, and Zaakira Mahreen, 19

‘It was a good turn of events that fulfilled an original dream I had.’ - NATAHAR BAVA, who bought a house in Kennedy Bay Resort in Perth, in 1997

‘I’ve always wanted a house near the sea, which would be impossible to achieve in Singapore, unless one is prepared to fork out millions for Sentosa Cove.’ - DR K. K. SEET, NUS lecturer, who has a 2,000 sq ft Thai-Balinese house in Pattaya

Source : Sunday Times - 11 May 2008

The wet morning yesterday did not dampen the excitement of Telok Blangah resident Habib Ismail.

He was among 500 residents who watched Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially open two pedestrian bridges - Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch.

With these bridges, Telok Blangah Hill Park is now linked to Mount Faber on one side and Kent Ridge Park on the other.

An avid walker, Mr Habib, 44, a father of two, joined Mr Lee and the other residents on a tour of the bridges.

The bridges complete a 9km chain of greenery in the Southern Ridges, which consist primarily of three large hill parks - Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

Henderson Waves, at a height of 36m, is Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge. A wave-shaped, steel-and-timber structure, it spans 274m across Henderson Road. The other bridge, Alexandra Arch, spans 80m across Alexandra Road.

The parks were previously separated by roads and wooded vegetation. Now, one can walk ridge-to-ridge, starting from HarbourFront MRT and ending at West Coast Park.

In 2002, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it would link up parks in the Southern Ridges as part of the Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plans.

The project, which took two years to complete, cost $25.5 million.

Apart from the two bridges, the Southern Ridges now also boast the Forest Walk, a 1.3km-long elevated walkway that cuts through secondary forest at Telok Blangah Hill Park; and Marang Trail, which links HarbourFront MRT to Mount Faber.

Mr Lee also officiated the opening of the $13 million Horticulture Park - or HortPark for short.

With 20 theme gardens, HortPark is South-east Asia’s first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub.

The 23ha park, which has been open since December last year, took two years to build and also serves as a park connector between Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

In his speech, Mr Lee noted that such projects ‘provide a first-class living environment for all Singaporeans’.

He also announced upcoming plans to link the Southern Ridges to the Keppel Waterfront as part of a broader plan to develop a recreational and leisure hub in the south.

This includes having a park connector from Alexandra Arch to Labrador Park, building a mangrove boardwalk at Berlayer Creek and having a waterfront boardwalk that connects Bukit Chermin to VivoCity, with waterfront views along the entire stretch of Keppel Bay.

Details of these plans will be released soon, the URA said.

About 1 million visitors to the Southern Ridges are expected annually, and with the bridges open 24 hours a day, lovebirds might be expected to make a beeline for them after dark, especially as Henderson Waves offers panoramic views of the city and southern islands.

Mr Habib, a senior research supervisor, had stopped his daily jogs at Telok Blangah Hill Park due to work commitments. He is digging out his sneakers again.

‘I’m making plans to walk along the new walk with friends,’ he said with a smile.

Source : Sunday Times - 11 May 2008 

Preview by appointment…

Address: 532 Joo Chiat Road
Tenure: Freehold
Expected Completion: Mar 2012
Site Area: 58,750 sqft
Description: 20 storey in one tower block
Total Units: 94

• Excellent transportation linkages like PIE, ECP (10-15 mins to CDB, Marina Bay Integrated Resort, Suntec Shopping belt, Raffles City, Changi Airport)
• Easy access to abundant of amenities, i.e. supermarts, wet markets, banks, food centres
• Close proximity to excellent schools like CHIJ (Katong) Primary, Tanjong Katong Primary, Chatsworth Intl Sch, Victoria Jr College, Ngee Ann Pri School, St Patrick School
• Excellent recreational facilities (East Coast Park, Chinese Swimming Club, Parkland Golf Driving range, Marina Bay Driving Rang & Golf Course)

Can Jurong with its uncool industrial image be transformed into a romantic lake district that is also rich in jobs? Lee Siew Hua meets the zestful planners behind the new Jurong Lake District and looks at the prospects of success for Singapore’s next mini-metropolis

THE Jurong Lake District planners were lamenting to each other that the lakefront appeared so near, yet is so far.

Jurong Lake was integral to their radical plan to transform Jurong, with its colourless factory-town image, into Singapore’s only lush lakeside destination for business and leisure.

But it was a plodding 750m away from the heart of activity.

Four words, however, got around the problem.

‘Bring the lake closer’, architect Fun Siew Leng said in an SMS to her team members.

The intriguing words were to spark an idea that has become a much talked-about feature in Singapore’s newest plan to redevelop and rebrand Jurong, an icon in the country’s post-independent history.

Jurong, a swampland turned into industrial town, is to be given a new sinuous waterway, carved to wrap around a to-be-built Lakeside Village that will be dotted with boutique hotels and cafes.

This think-out-of-the-box episode is just one of several sparkling instances that lit the one-year journey taken by a dozen planners and architects at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to bring fresh life and vibrancy to a sleepy hollow.

But at the heart of their plan is the lake, reflected in its brand new name: Jurong Lake District.

Unveiled early last month by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, the vision will evolve over 10 to 15 years to a mini-metropolis for Singaporeans to live, work and play.

But as it evolves, what are the constraints and assets of the district that the planners have to deal with? What are its chances of success?

Will Jurong be a showpiece or will residents enjoy tangible benefits?

And no less intriguing is the behind-the-scenes work: how did the planners channel their labour and imagination?

Early triumphs

WHATEVER the future, the present, at least, is promising - the project began on a strong note.

One, the URA convinced the Singapore Science Centre to stay. A well-known landmark, the centre was planning to pull up its roots and move elsewhere.

It will now get a new home on the waterfront, and be within easy reach of the Chinese Garden MRT station. Its learning activities can also be taken outdoors to the lakeside.

‘We had to hardsell the idea,” Mrs Koh-Lim Wen Gin tells Insight. Leader of the team responsible for the big picture and the vision, she is the URA’s chief planner and deputy chief executive officer (physical planning and conservation and urban design).

The centre was vital as the team had envisioned it anchoring a cluster of four or five edutainment centres.

‘Many Singaporeans also grew up with the Science Centre when young,” points out Ms Fun, the spirited director of urban planning and design who sent out the SMS.

Second, as the URA team tells it, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was looking for the next big thing after the Integrated Resorts (IRs).

Says Mrs Koh-Lim: ‘We helped identify Jurong Lake as a major tourism cluster that will support edutainment uses for the family.”

Third triumph: The Land Transport Authority plans to improve the Jurong East MRT station and bus interchange to serve a growing population.

The future science centre, the quest for a new buzz after the IRs and the uplifting of transport created a ‘confluence of opportunity”, says Mrs Koh-Lim.

To make the most of these possibilities, the team went onsite to size up the strengths and weaknesses of Jurong.

They tramped all over the 360ha site on foot, sometimes taking their families, and at different hours of the day to observe the changing light.

Up the Chinese Garden pagoda they went for a higher perspective. And aerial pictures were snapped from a helicopter.

Facing constraints

AS THEY worked and consulted with 100 developers, professionals and advisers, two big constraints became evident: image and distance.

Indeed, the image was so ulu that the team wondered if the name ‘Jurong’ should be abandoned.

But feedback from their consultations was a clear ‘no’.

‘Jurong is a brand known locally and internationally,” says Mrs Koh-Lim.

Foreign executives knew Jurong and companies across the world had set up shop since the early days of industrialisation in the 60s. Homely factories churned out hair cream and joss-sticks then. But now, electronics and high-tech industries prevail.

Since Jurong had an identity, its image needed a strategic tweak, not dumping.

For that, the planners roamed the world, figuratively. They loved England’s scenic Lake District, which is linked with the poetry of William Wordsworth.

Inspiring too was Hangzhou’s West Lake, whose beauty is celebrated in Chinese classics, poetry and paintings. Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo once compared the West Lake to Xi Zi, a famous beauty in ancient China.

And, of course, Jurong too is in the west of Singapore.

In the buzz of brainstorming, the team cleverly tied the ‘lake district’ concept to Jurong.

Settling on the new name was one breakthrough for the image exercise.

The perception that Jurong is far and isolated, the team felt, was wrong. They tried taking the train and car into Jurong from the city - and zoomed in within 20 to 25 minutes, a swift pace that surprised even themselves.

In future, attractions like the future Singapore Science Centre will be clustered closer to the water or to the three MRT stations that serve the area.

Besides image and distance, is air quality an issue?

Mr Lim Eng Hwee, URA director (physical planning), says the lake district is encircled by homes.

Although there are some industries about 600m northeast of the district, in Toh Guan and Bukit Batok, they are ‘mainly clean and light industries”, he adds.

Heavier industries are more than 5km away in Jurong Island, and in Tuas which is more than 10km away.

The air quality in the western part of Singapore is safe, he says, based on monitoring by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Meanwhile, the failed Tang Dynasty Village theme park and dispirited landmarks like the Chinese Garden are reminders that success is not always easy in Jurong.

The $100-million Tang Dynasty Village was built in 1991. It was shuttered in 1999 when it failed to attract enough visitors.

The 12ha attraction will be torn down by next year.

What’s next?

Mr Lim, the director of physical planning, says: ‘The site will be reconfigured and released for a new development concept.” Investors will have flexible use of the waterfront site.

Chances of success

ON THE probability of success, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, president of the Jurong Country Club and former MP for Ayer Rajah says: ‘Jurong is no longer boring and ulu.”

More importantly, the lake district and its west coast environs has a population base of one million people, he notes. The critical mass is there, and improved transport will bring in visitors.

He knows Jurong intimately and is near-poetic as he thinks about its underplayed appeal. ‘It’s a beautiful town, especially around Jurong Lake. It’s a jewel,” he says.

‘Jurong Island is like a Cinderella City, all lit up at night. The new Lakeside Village will be like Clarke Quay.”

So optimistic is Dr Tan that even before he knew of the Jurong Lake District blueprint, he was planning to build a hotel within the golf club.

It will possibly be a four-star hotel of 200 to 300 rooms, for foreign executives who fly in to work in the industries or petrochemical complex on Jurong Island.

The hotel idea was prompted by visitors frequently dropping in at the club to ask if it has rooms, says Dr Tan.

The URA and MPs interviewed say that what is new this time is that the area has been planned ‘holistically”.

Says Mr Lim, the URA director: ‘It merges the strengths of a new regional centre comprising some 750,000 sq m of commercial space, with the beautiful greenery of Jurong Lake.’

Also, Singapore needs to introduce new tourist attractions to build on the momentum of the IRs, Singapore Flyer and new events like the Formula One race, he adds.

The lake district is a candidate with its buzz and brand-new image, he reckons

Jurong GRC MP Grace Fu says her residents are excited about the overhaul. ‘The commercial development around Jurong East MRT will bring more jobs and economic opportunities to the area.’

Adds Mrs Fu, also the Senior Minister of State for National Development: ‘The hotels and family resorts will also give that added touch of vibrancy and glamour.”

Desirable homes

HER fellow MP in Jurong, Dr Ong Chit Chung, also cites jobs and adds: ‘Residents can easily access attractions from their doorstep. People from neighbouring areas such as Hong Kah, Bukit Batok and Jurong West will visit by MRT.

‘Housing along the lake will be very desirable.”

The plan to transform Jurong is anchored in the bigger story of the URA’s drive to spread business and jobs beyond the city, and to grow the national economy.

At another level of detail, the plans for Jurong mesh with URA ideals to deepen identity and to proliferate parks and water features island-wide.

This future Jurong is a world apart from the days when the swampland was dubbed ‘Goh’s Folly”.

In the early 1960s, Dr Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s economic architect, flagged his idea of creating a prime industrial estate there.

Mr Ngiam Tong Dow observes with a smile: ‘Goh’s Folly is now Goh’s Blessing.’ The pioneer policymaker was designated the Estate Officer for Jurong in the 1960s, when he worked at the Economic Development Board.

In a sense, the lake district is a fulfilment - and refinement - of Dr Goh’s vision.

Its eco-city aspects, lush greenery and natural beauty now and in future have their roots in Dr Goh’s concepts.

Mr Ngiam says even in those austere days, Dr Goh had an eye for the environment. ‘He said Jurong is an industrial city and the skies will be grey all day long. He said we ought to have a spot or little oasis where the workers can go out and look at the birds.

‘And that’s how the Jurong Bird Park started.’

So Jurong has its charms too.

Mrs Fu says residents have an affection for ‘Yuhua’ - the name of the Chinese Garden in Mandarin and also the name of her Yuhua ward.

It is the ’softer appeal’ of Jurong that moves her. She highlights her friendly, down-to-earth residents, and the hours she spent ice-skating at Fuji Ice Palace with her children.

The hope is that a thousand such little, familiar emblems of Old Jurong will not change too much during the revamp.

Place to live, work, play

The plan is to make the Jurong Lake District a desirable address, a global workplace rich in jobs, and a new playground in the west.

It will be a place to live, work and play.

The new appeal will be anchored in a bundle of ideas, such as:

Maximising Jurong Lake: A new waterway will be carved out, bringing the serene water closer to the future Jurong Gateway, the commercial heart.

A third garden-island will be created. It will house an intimate ‘village’ of boutique hotels and places to chill out.

New Singapore Science Centre and family fun: The Science Centre will move to the lakefront, expand and bring learning outdoors. It anchors other edutainment centres for families.

Jurong Gateway jobs and more: Singapore’s biggest commercial hub outside the city will bring jobs to the doorsteps of residents. Located around the Jurong East MRT station - which has open land - it will have a mix of office, retail, residential, hotel, entertainment, and food and beverage uses.

Lush greenery: The sense of being close to nature will be heightened with landscaped gardens, park connectors, green elevated walkways and sky-gardens on buildings. It is an eco-city in itself.

Image overhaul: It is a move from grey to gracious. The area will morph from being the birthplace of Singapore’s industrialisation and a symbol of survival to a distinctive place with global and local appeal.

More appeal is ahead. An Urban Redevelopment Authority official says the lake district will also be a test-bed for ‘fun technology’ but was not ready to disclose details.

Source : Straits Times - 10 May 2008

Tenants of existing block given till end of this month to vacate premises

THE fitness chain True Yoga will have to find a new position to assume in the business district after one of its outlets got its marching orders, but it might be a bit of a stretch given the shortage of office space.

True Yoga and other tenants, including chemist Watsons and the Denise wine shop, must leave the retail block at the OUB Centre at Raffles Place to make way for a $530 million office tower.

RISING SOON: The OUB Centre Tower 2, seen here in an artist’s impression, is expected to fetch rental rates of $15 psf to $16 psf. — PHOTO: OUE

The yoga and fitness centre, which takes up more than 30,000 sq ft across four floors of the low-rise retail podium, will close at midnight next Thursday.

The other tenants must leave by the end of this month.

True Yoga has not yet secured another site, but its clients can use the group’s other two outlets at Pacific Plaza and Ocean Towers in Raffles Place. It has also arranged for its fitness clients to use facilities at Planet Fitness for six months and further extended membership packages for another six months.

Property firm Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) will start to redevelop the retail podium site from June 1.

The podium sits next to the 60-storey OUB Centre office tower, which will not be affected by the redevelopment.

OUE received provisional permission to redevelop the podium in August last year.

True Yoga said yesterday that it was first told of the landlord’s plans on Jan 31 and given three months’ notice.

It was then granted extensions on a month-to-month basis as there had been a chance the development plans might be delayed. OUE then confirmed on April 4 that there would be no further extensions, as construction would start next month.

‘We have been actively looking for alternative locations,’ a True Yoga spokesman said last night.

‘It is not easy to locate a site of this magnitude within such a short time since the final notification on April 4.’

Some True Yoga clients were upset with the late notice of the closure.

Although the new office block will be ready only in three years, OUE has already started leasing talks with potential office tenants.

Such forward leasing action is common these days, given rising supply looming in the next 12 months and beyond.

A significant portion of OUE’s $530 million outlay will go to the Government for increasing the site’s allowable gross floor area and topping up the site’s lease from 75 years to 99 years.

Three floors in the new tower will be devoted to retail and the rest to offices. The entire block will have a total gross floor area of 45,158 sq m.

The development comes amid a boom time for office development, particularly in the business district, though there are concerns of an oversupply after 2010.

Rents have surged in the past year, with prime Grade A rents now hovering between $17 per sq ft (psf) and $18 psf.

‘There are now two market rates at work, depending on the occupation period,’ said Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield.

Rents at OUB Centre Tower 2, if already ready, could be about $18 psf. Forward rental rates for the same building, however, would be lower - possibly $15 psf to $16 psf - considering rising supply, he said.

True Yoga was in the headlines last month when sovereign wealth fund Dubai International Capital snapped up a key stake in the firm.

RELOCATION BLUES

‘It is not easy to locate a site of this magnitude within such a short time.’ - A TRUE YOGA SPOKESMAN, on the fitness centre having to find another location after being told to leave its 30,000 sq ft outlet at OUB Centre

Source : Straits Times - 10 May 2008

THESE are not the best of times for banks, but DBS Group Holdings can at least claim that it has emerged as the most resilient of the three local players this week.

On many criteria - from share price to valuation - it held up best when all three filed their first-quarter results.

While they all delivered numbers largely in line with forecasts, their shares, which had enjoyed a fortnight of relative calm, were bruised after a rally ended on Tuesday.

Investors, unnerved over how banks would fare amid a period of slow economic growth, pocketed profits.

While DBS shares fell 1.28 per cent for the week, they came off relatively lightly compared with OCBC Bank - down 1.89 per cent - and United Overseas Bank (UOB), which retreated 3.47 per cent.

DBS, which posted a smaller-than-expected 2 per cent drop in earnings to $603 million, closed unchanged yesterday at $19.98.

Two analysts singled out the bank for a thumbs up, with research reports maintaining ‘buy’ calls, while downgrading UOB and OCBC to a ‘neutral’ from a ‘buy’ on concerns over easing loan demand.

‘We believe the market has been cautious towards DBS, as it is the prime casualty of falling rates and also because of concerns over the performance of its large Treasury division in these tough markets,’ said UBS analyst Jaj Singh in a report yesterday.

‘We believe the lower rates are fully priced in, and that there is scope for improvement with loan spreads widening, while an improvement in capital markets in recent weeks suggests the worst is over for Treasury earnings.’ 

Citigroup analyst Robert Kong also tipped DBS as the most promising of the banks. He said that while last year’s 25 per cent loan growth was unlikely to happen again, there were indications that double-digit loan growth would be achieved this year, and there was still room to improve margins.

Valuations of DBS also seem more attractive. According to UBS, DBS is trading at 12.5 times its 2008 earnings. This is low compared with 14.7 for UOB and 15.3 for OCBC.

Its share price is down 3.96 per cent this year, while OCBC is up 6.39 per cent and UOB has gained 2.31 per cent.

This indicated an upside potential for DBS, but UBS cautioned that such a potential for banking stocks was limited.

It said a higher valuation premium would require earnings forecast upgrades or a dramatic improvement in the global economy, neither of which was likely to happen in the near term.

Source : Straits Times - 10 May 2008

ASIA’S economic prospects look positive despite the financial turmoil in the United States, says Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, and Singapore is also expected to keep its economy competitive with a four-pronged game plan.

Speaking at the European Chamber of Commerce Europe Day Lunch yesterday, Mr Lim identified the four key areas that Singapore is focusing on such as strengthening growth in the manufacturing sector - the aerospace industry and biomedical sciences, in particular - and exploring new growth areas such as clean energy.

As clean energy is a cluster that presents economic opportunities and has the potential to grow, Singapore is striving for new collaborative projects in this sector with European companies.

Greater focus on innovation and R&D is also part of the strategy, especially in fields such as environmental and water technologies, interactive and digital media, as well as life sciences.

Mr Lim also urged companies to push for an EU-Singapore free trade agreement (FTA) within the framework of the regional Asean-EU FTA so as to foster ‘deeper bilateral trade liberalisation’. An EU-Singapore FTA would produce benefits such as tariff concessions, faster market entry for EU companies as well as intellectual property (IP) protection.

While Singapore’s bank secrecy laws could prove a sticking point in establishing such an FTA, Mr Lim pointed out that Singapore had managed to draft FTAs with both the US and Japan, and that the same could be done with the European Union.

The EU, which is Singapore’s second largest trading partner after Malaysia, chalked up a record $97.5 billion in bilateral trade with Singapore last year, 6.3 per cent higher than in 2006. Europe is also the largest source of foreign investment - over a third of incoming foreign direct investment (FDI) - in Singapore. Over 7,000 European companies have established a presence in Singapore.

‘One area that deserves to be improved is trade in agricultural and processed agricultural products,’ said Ambassador Holger Standertskjold, who is head of the European Commission’s Delegation in Singapore.

Goods from Europe currently account for about 11 per cent of the total agricultural and processed agricultural products in Singapore, but it is hoped that the figure will eventually double.

Source : Business Times - 10 May 2008

ASCENDAS Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) has emerged as the buyer of Creative Technology’s headquarters building at 31 International Business Park in Jurong East. The price will be $246.8 million.

Creative said in March that it had agreed to sell and lease back the property but did not disclose the buyer’s identity. The deal is subject to approval by Creative shareholders and JTC Corp.

On completion of the sale, a Creative subsidiary will lease the property for five years, with options to renew for a further three plus two years.

A-Reit’s manager said the average yield for the initial five-year lease will be 6.24 per cent. Additional rent is payable in the third and fifth years of the lease if the cumulative increase in Singapore’s Consumer Price Index exceeds 5 per cent.

Had A-Reit bought, held and operated the property since the start of the current financial year, the proposed acquisition would have boosted its distributable income per unit by 0.07 cent.

A-Reit’s manager will receive a $2.5 million acquisition fee. Other transaction costs are estimated at $3.7 million.

The property, valued by CB Richard Ellis at $246.8 million, is a part five-storey, part seven-storey and part eight-storey tower with basement parking.

It has an auditorium and a 2,000-capacity outdoor amphitheatre and is on a 265,739-sq-ft site with 30 + 30 year leasehold tenure from Dec 16, 1994.

A-Reit plans to fund the acquisition by debt and/or equity. On the stock market yesterday, the counter ended 14 cents lower at $2.50.

Source : Business Times - 10 May 2008