Business Times - 16 May 2008
PROPERTY
Leng Beng says S'pore real estate market sustainable
CityDev boss sees further investment opportunities ahead
By EMILYN YAP
HOTEL and property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng believes Singapore's real estate market is sustainable and further investment opportunities lie ahead.
'I am also waiting for the opportunity ... to go in and buy at the right time,' he said at a property conference yesterday.
The executive chairman of City Developments said growth in Macau's gaming industry had driven up residential property prices there sharply. And with two integrated resorts and big events such as the Youth Olympics in the next few years, Mr Kwek reckons the future is bright for Singapore real estate.
According to country head of Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore Christopher Fossick, the current slowdown in property demand is largely sentiment-driven, and many investors are probably waiting to purchase at better prices.
In terms of office space, Mr Kwek said: 'There has been a lot of talk that by 2010 and 2011 there will be a lot of oversupply. I do not believe so because in the first place, construction is a problem here.'
He cited rising construction costs as a reason for this view.
While office rents have been rising, Mr Fossick does not see this as a major business concern. Sharing feedback from multinational companies, he said wages are a much larger component of the cost of doing business, compared with rents.
Mr Kwek is also positive on the outlook for the hospitality real estate market. He believes the shortage of hotel rooms in Singapore and the rise in intra-regional travel will keep room rates on an uptrend.
Although Mr Kwek is generally upbeat on prospects for local real estate, he did express one concern. While investments from institutional funds have helped steady the market, 'funds have a duration of life and will get out', he said.
On the other hand, 'for the retail buyers, when they get out, they don't get out all at the same time'.
Mr Kwek asked in a panel discussion why the recent boom in Singapore's property market did not attract many individual investors from the West, while funds showed huge interest. The director of property at Henderson Global Investors Asia, Chris Reilly, said this could be due to the lack of familiarity with Asian real estate among retail buyers in the West.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Interest in Asian property seen growing
Business Times - 16 May 2008
Interest in Asian property seen growing
GIC Real Estate says weaker market favours those taking strategic position
By EMILYN YAP
(SINGAPORE) The sub-prime crisis may have affected Asian property markets, but interest in the sector is likely to grow. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp's (GIC) real estate arm is also confident about investment opportunities going forward.
'There is plenty to go around - we will all have fun competing,' said president of GIC Real Estate Seek Ngee Huat at a property conference yesterday.
Going by the pace at which real estate projects are emerging in Asian cities, Dr Seek believed that there would be a continuous supply to meet different risk-return appetites.
Dr Seek recognised that the sub-prime crisis has weakened Asian markets, particularly Japan and Australia. 'The contagion effects of the sub-prime crisis . . . can potentially accelerate the downward spin of the current cycle,' he said.
Nevertheless, the outlook for the property market was not entirely bleak. 'Weak markets favour those who have capacity to take a strategic position,' Dr Seek said. 'The sub-prime meltdown presents threats but there are also opportunities.'
And many around the world are likely to see investment opportunities in Asian property markets as well. 'Massive build-up of investment funds in the world, coupled with the attraction of Asia as a growth region of the future, will ensure continuous global interest in Asian real estate,' said Dr Seek. He pointed out that this will inevitably lead to greater competition.
Dr Seek said that GIC Real Estate had focused mainly on developed markets in its first 10 years, and only started investing in Asia in the 1990s. Even then, it was 'way ahead' of other institutional investors.
GIC Real Estate ranks among the world's top 10 real estate investment firms, according to its website. The unit has over 200 investments across more than 30 countries, culminating in a multi-billion US dollar portfolio.
GIC Real Estate had in March, through its affiliate Reco Hotels JV Private Ltd, entered into a joint venture with Host Hotels & Resorts Inc to explore investment opportunities in Asia and Australia. The real estate unit also bought the Westin Tokyo hotel for about 80 billion yen (S$1.05 billion) in February.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
Interest in Asian property seen growing
GIC Real Estate says weaker market favours those taking strategic position
By EMILYN YAP
(SINGAPORE) The sub-prime crisis may have affected Asian property markets, but interest in the sector is likely to grow. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp's (GIC) real estate arm is also confident about investment opportunities going forward.
'There is plenty to go around - we will all have fun competing,' said president of GIC Real Estate Seek Ngee Huat at a property conference yesterday.
Going by the pace at which real estate projects are emerging in Asian cities, Dr Seek believed that there would be a continuous supply to meet different risk-return appetites.
Dr Seek recognised that the sub-prime crisis has weakened Asian markets, particularly Japan and Australia. 'The contagion effects of the sub-prime crisis . . . can potentially accelerate the downward spin of the current cycle,' he said.
Nevertheless, the outlook for the property market was not entirely bleak. 'Weak markets favour those who have capacity to take a strategic position,' Dr Seek said. 'The sub-prime meltdown presents threats but there are also opportunities.'
And many around the world are likely to see investment opportunities in Asian property markets as well. 'Massive build-up of investment funds in the world, coupled with the attraction of Asia as a growth region of the future, will ensure continuous global interest in Asian real estate,' said Dr Seek. He pointed out that this will inevitably lead to greater competition.
Dr Seek said that GIC Real Estate had focused mainly on developed markets in its first 10 years, and only started investing in Asia in the 1990s. Even then, it was 'way ahead' of other institutional investors.
GIC Real Estate ranks among the world's top 10 real estate investment firms, according to its website. The unit has over 200 investments across more than 30 countries, culminating in a multi-billion US dollar portfolio.
GIC Real Estate had in March, through its affiliate Reco Hotels JV Private Ltd, entered into a joint venture with Host Hotels & Resorts Inc to explore investment opportunities in Asia and Australia. The real estate unit also bought the Westin Tokyo hotel for about 80 billion yen (S$1.05 billion) in February.
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
NTUC Income to sell Beach Rd property
Business Times - 16 May 2008
NTUC Income to sell Beach Rd property
AMID a quiet property market, NTUC Income is selling a small commercial property in Beach Road that could fetch around $24 million to $26 million.
Beach Junction, at 67 Beach Road, is a 999-year leasehold building opposite Shaw Towers. It sits at the junction of Beach Road and Middle Road.
The six-storey development has a net lettable area of about 19,000 sq ft and is fully tenanted.
More than half of the leases expire this year, which means there is potential for near-term rental appreciation, according to marketing agent CB Richard Ellis.
'This is also a unique opportunity for owner-occupiers looking for their own building in a very accessible location,' it said.
The property is served by City Hall and Bugis MRT stations. Accessibility will be enhanced by the completion of Esplanade station on the Circle Line by 2010.
New investors or owner-occupiers will also be able to give the building a new name.
An industry source told BT that the site is worth about $1,300-$1,400 psf.
Besides being close to the huge, eco-friendly South Beach mixed project by a City Developments-led consortium, Beach Junction is expected to benefit from plans for the nearby Ophir Road/Rochor Road corridor, which will be transformed into a commercial node with offices, hotels and supporting uses.
Expression of interest for Beach Junction closes at 3pm on June 5.
Beach Junction: The 999-year leasehold building opposite Shaw Towers may fetch $24m to $26m
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
NTUC Income to sell Beach Rd property
AMID a quiet property market, NTUC Income is selling a small commercial property in Beach Road that could fetch around $24 million to $26 million.
Beach Junction, at 67 Beach Road, is a 999-year leasehold building opposite Shaw Towers. It sits at the junction of Beach Road and Middle Road.
The six-storey development has a net lettable area of about 19,000 sq ft and is fully tenanted.
More than half of the leases expire this year, which means there is potential for near-term rental appreciation, according to marketing agent CB Richard Ellis.
'This is also a unique opportunity for owner-occupiers looking for their own building in a very accessible location,' it said.
The property is served by City Hall and Bugis MRT stations. Accessibility will be enhanced by the completion of Esplanade station on the Circle Line by 2010.
New investors or owner-occupiers will also be able to give the building a new name.
An industry source told BT that the site is worth about $1,300-$1,400 psf.
Besides being close to the huge, eco-friendly South Beach mixed project by a City Developments-led consortium, Beach Junction is expected to benefit from plans for the nearby Ophir Road/Rochor Road corridor, which will be transformed into a commercial node with offices, hotels and supporting uses.
Expression of interest for Beach Junction closes at 3pm on June 5.
Beach Junction: The 999-year leasehold building opposite Shaw Towers may fetch $24m to $26m
Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
BATTLE OVER LATE TYCOON'S $7M ESTATE
BATTLE OVER LATE TYCOON'S $7M ESTATE
Judge: Will is absurd, unusual
· Man appoints son as trustee in will
· Leaves entire estate on 'trust to be distributed' to same son
· Family sue son, who was found not 'entirely truthful' by court
A BUSINESSMAN's strange will, over which his family is feuding, has raised the eyebrows of judges in Singapore's highest court.
By Karen Wong
16 May 2008
A BUSINESSMAN's strange will, over which his family is feuding, has raised the eyebrows of judges in Singapore's highest court.
Judge of Appeal V K Rajah said of the late Mr Ng Teow Yhee's last testament: 'In my years in (law) practice, I have never seen a will of this sort.
'It is a highly unusual will where the beneficiary is also the sole trustee.'
Later on in the hearing, he again commented: 'It has a highly unusual form. There are aspects of it that border on the ridiculous. How can someone be the trustee for himself? It's absurd!'
Mr Ng had built up his fortune in the stevedoring and shipping business.
He died in April 2001 at the age of80.
And his will, made on 27 Nov 2000, left everything to his 'favourite' son, Mr Sebastian Ng Hock Guan, 51.
This has led to a bitter division in the family, with the late Mr Ng's wife, Madam Low Ah Cheow, 82, two of her eight children and two grandchildren in one camp. They sued Mr Sebastian Ng for a share of the estate.
They argued that Mr Sebastian Ng was supposed to hold part of the money given to him by the late Mr Ng in 'secret trust' for them.
His estate, which includes an East Coast bungalow on Wiltshire Road, and shares in his company, is estimated to be worth more than $7 million.
35-DAY TRIAL
After a 35-day trial in the High Court last year, Justice Woo Bih Li said Mr Sebastian Ng had not been 'entirely truthful', but that the other side's evidence was also fraught with inconsistencies and was unreliable.
He ruled that Mr Ng had given his entire estate to his son Sebastian, in the expectation that he would do right by his family.
Mr Sebastian Ng, he said, would have to be dictated by his conscience, though there was no legal obligation.
Madam Low's group, who subsequently changed lawyers, appealed against the decision.
Yesterday, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Judges of Appeal V K Rajah and Andrew Phang expressed their doubts over the way the will was worded, and the lack of witnesses to how it had been interpreted by the lawyer to the Hokkien-speaking Mr Ng before he put his thumbprint on it.
The questionable part of the will was that Mr Sebastian Ng would hold 'on trust' the late Mr Ng's residuary estate (after paying all debts and expenses), to be distributed to himself.
Of this, Justice Rajah said: 'You don't distribute to one person. If it's going to one person, why use the word distribute?'
CJ Chan added: 'In a normal will, when you want to give everything to a beneficiary, you simply appoint an executor, give everything to (the beneficiary) absolutely.
'There's nothing to hold on trust.'
The judges also questioned how the will had been interpreted to the late Mr Ng.
Justice Rajah said: 'What troubles me is that there's no line-by-line interpretation (by lawyer Alan Lee to Mr Ng).'
As it also turned out, Mr Lee has been handling matters for Mr Sebastian Ng and his wife for a long time.
CJ Chan pointed out about the will: 'The draft was never produced, the associate who drafted it never gave evidence. We don't know what was interpreted.'
To which, Mr Sebastian Ng's lawyer, Mr Ling Tien Wah, replied that this was because the associate had suffered a stroke and gone into a coma, so could not be called as a witness.
Justice Phang also noted that Mr Ng leaving everything to his son Sebastian, thus cutting the rest of his family off, would result in a 'disconnect' with the way he treated them when he was alive.
They were drawing salaries from the company's subsidiary and a couple of them even lived with him in the same house.
Justice Rajah said the judges had many unresolved questions about the case, in which 'there are no angels'.
CJ Chan said: 'There are many question marks, can you assist us?'
The judges also pointed out to the lawyer for Madam Low's camp, Mr Lim Joo Toon, to consider the possibility of a 'failed trust' and asked him to address that point.
SPLIT EQUALLY
A 'failed trust' would mean that the intestate succession law will kick in, which could result in half the money going to Madam Low, with the remainder split equally among the late Mr Ng's eight children.
In which case, Mr Sebastian Ng might end up worse off.
That's one way in which the appeal court may decide, said Justice Rajah.
But, said CJ Chan: 'This case need not necessarily be decided on an all or nothing basis.'
Justice Rajah told Mr Ling: 'Do you get what we are saying? That your client may be better off trying to resolve this amicably.'
He added: 'We were trying to be delicate. Let me be more direct.
'Now that everything is so stark, it could be all or nothing.'
Mr Ling then asked the court to adjourn the case, so that he could speak to his clients and the lawyers for the other side on how to proceed.
When The New Paper checked last night, the parties had yet to settle the case.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.
Privacy Statement and Conditions of Access
Judge: Will is absurd, unusual
· Man appoints son as trustee in will
· Leaves entire estate on 'trust to be distributed' to same son
· Family sue son, who was found not 'entirely truthful' by court
A BUSINESSMAN's strange will, over which his family is feuding, has raised the eyebrows of judges in Singapore's highest court.
By Karen Wong
16 May 2008
A BUSINESSMAN's strange will, over which his family is feuding, has raised the eyebrows of judges in Singapore's highest court.
Judge of Appeal V K Rajah said of the late Mr Ng Teow Yhee's last testament: 'In my years in (law) practice, I have never seen a will of this sort.
'It is a highly unusual will where the beneficiary is also the sole trustee.'
Later on in the hearing, he again commented: 'It has a highly unusual form. There are aspects of it that border on the ridiculous. How can someone be the trustee for himself? It's absurd!'
Mr Ng had built up his fortune in the stevedoring and shipping business.
He died in April 2001 at the age of80.
And his will, made on 27 Nov 2000, left everything to his 'favourite' son, Mr Sebastian Ng Hock Guan, 51.
This has led to a bitter division in the family, with the late Mr Ng's wife, Madam Low Ah Cheow, 82, two of her eight children and two grandchildren in one camp. They sued Mr Sebastian Ng for a share of the estate.
They argued that Mr Sebastian Ng was supposed to hold part of the money given to him by the late Mr Ng in 'secret trust' for them.
His estate, which includes an East Coast bungalow on Wiltshire Road, and shares in his company, is estimated to be worth more than $7 million.
35-DAY TRIAL
After a 35-day trial in the High Court last year, Justice Woo Bih Li said Mr Sebastian Ng had not been 'entirely truthful', but that the other side's evidence was also fraught with inconsistencies and was unreliable.
He ruled that Mr Ng had given his entire estate to his son Sebastian, in the expectation that he would do right by his family.
Mr Sebastian Ng, he said, would have to be dictated by his conscience, though there was no legal obligation.
Madam Low's group, who subsequently changed lawyers, appealed against the decision.
Yesterday, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Judges of Appeal V K Rajah and Andrew Phang expressed their doubts over the way the will was worded, and the lack of witnesses to how it had been interpreted by the lawyer to the Hokkien-speaking Mr Ng before he put his thumbprint on it.
The questionable part of the will was that Mr Sebastian Ng would hold 'on trust' the late Mr Ng's residuary estate (after paying all debts and expenses), to be distributed to himself.
Of this, Justice Rajah said: 'You don't distribute to one person. If it's going to one person, why use the word distribute?'
CJ Chan added: 'In a normal will, when you want to give everything to a beneficiary, you simply appoint an executor, give everything to (the beneficiary) absolutely.
'There's nothing to hold on trust.'
The judges also questioned how the will had been interpreted to the late Mr Ng.
Justice Rajah said: 'What troubles me is that there's no line-by-line interpretation (by lawyer Alan Lee to Mr Ng).'
As it also turned out, Mr Lee has been handling matters for Mr Sebastian Ng and his wife for a long time.
CJ Chan pointed out about the will: 'The draft was never produced, the associate who drafted it never gave evidence. We don't know what was interpreted.'
To which, Mr Sebastian Ng's lawyer, Mr Ling Tien Wah, replied that this was because the associate had suffered a stroke and gone into a coma, so could not be called as a witness.
Justice Phang also noted that Mr Ng leaving everything to his son Sebastian, thus cutting the rest of his family off, would result in a 'disconnect' with the way he treated them when he was alive.
They were drawing salaries from the company's subsidiary and a couple of them even lived with him in the same house.
Justice Rajah said the judges had many unresolved questions about the case, in which 'there are no angels'.
CJ Chan said: 'There are many question marks, can you assist us?'
The judges also pointed out to the lawyer for Madam Low's camp, Mr Lim Joo Toon, to consider the possibility of a 'failed trust' and asked him to address that point.
SPLIT EQUALLY
A 'failed trust' would mean that the intestate succession law will kick in, which could result in half the money going to Madam Low, with the remainder split equally among the late Mr Ng's eight children.
In which case, Mr Sebastian Ng might end up worse off.
That's one way in which the appeal court may decide, said Justice Rajah.
But, said CJ Chan: 'This case need not necessarily be decided on an all or nothing basis.'
Justice Rajah told Mr Ling: 'Do you get what we are saying? That your client may be better off trying to resolve this amicably.'
He added: 'We were trying to be delicate. Let me be more direct.
'Now that everything is so stark, it could be all or nothing.'
Mr Ling then asked the court to adjourn the case, so that he could speak to his clients and the lawyers for the other side on how to proceed.
When The New Paper checked last night, the parties had yet to settle the case.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.
Privacy Statement and Conditions of Access
Sales in private residential market dip in April
Sales in private residential market dip in April
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 2136 hrs
SINGAPORE: Sales in the private residential market have dipped in April after a mild recovery in March.
According to the numbers of private home sales released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), only 274 units were sold last month – down from 301 units in March.
Developers were also holding back, with only 271 units launched in April – the lowest number of units since market weakness surfaced in September last year.
Analysts said they expect the market to continue moving gingerly.
Homebuyers in the mass market are keeping the numbers moving along as nine out of every 10 units sold in April were in the suburban areas. This belies the overall cautious stance that homebuyers are taking.
Chua Chor Hoon, Senior Director of Research, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, said: "Speculation is almost nil. Most buyers we see in the market are probably those buying for owner occupation, with needs for accommodation."
With buying and selling almost at a standstill, analysts said the ball is now in the developers' court.
Colin Tan, Director of Research & Consultancy, Chesterton International, said: "Looking forward, you can see that in order to raise their sales, developers will need to price their units more realistically. As you can see from the April figures, those that have done so are being rewarded with higher sales."
But the URA figures also show that prices remain firm for high-end units and developers for those units are choosing to wait out.
"Developers are still holding back launches, especially for bigger projects and those at higher end range. What we see are mostly launches in suburban areas with units priced below S$1,000 psf," Mr Chua said.
While the latest data may seem to provide more evidence of a weak housing market, analysts said numbers are very thin and have cautioned against reading too deeply into them as they could be potentially misleading.
- CNA/so
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 2136 hrs
SINGAPORE: Sales in the private residential market have dipped in April after a mild recovery in March.
According to the numbers of private home sales released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), only 274 units were sold last month – down from 301 units in March.
Developers were also holding back, with only 271 units launched in April – the lowest number of units since market weakness surfaced in September last year.
Analysts said they expect the market to continue moving gingerly.
Homebuyers in the mass market are keeping the numbers moving along as nine out of every 10 units sold in April were in the suburban areas. This belies the overall cautious stance that homebuyers are taking.
Chua Chor Hoon, Senior Director of Research, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, said: "Speculation is almost nil. Most buyers we see in the market are probably those buying for owner occupation, with needs for accommodation."
With buying and selling almost at a standstill, analysts said the ball is now in the developers' court.
Colin Tan, Director of Research & Consultancy, Chesterton International, said: "Looking forward, you can see that in order to raise their sales, developers will need to price their units more realistically. As you can see from the April figures, those that have done so are being rewarded with higher sales."
But the URA figures also show that prices remain firm for high-end units and developers for those units are choosing to wait out.
"Developers are still holding back launches, especially for bigger projects and those at higher end range. What we see are mostly launches in suburban areas with units priced below S$1,000 psf," Mr Chua said.
While the latest data may seem to provide more evidence of a weak housing market, analysts said numbers are very thin and have cautioned against reading too deeply into them as they could be potentially misleading.
- CNA/so
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