Daily Briefing: Trade war woes dim outlook on Singapore's GDP; Sea tapped by Tencent to sell e-games

And Parc Esta divests 75% of 450 units released on its first-day sale.

From Reuters:

Singapore might see a slowdown for its Q3 gross domestic product (GDP) to just compared to earlier expected by analysts amidst the contraction in its manufacturing sector due to weakening global demand paired with the intensifying US-China trade wars, a Reuters poll found.

On a YoY basis, Q3 GDP growth was forecast at 2.4%, slightly below the 2.6% advanced estimates and lower than Q2’s 4.1% rise. It also marked the third successive quarter of softer annual growth.

“We see more slowing throughout 2019,” Steve Cochrane, Moody’s Chief Asia Pacific economist said, noting that the softening reflects cooling global growth.

“There’s been a shift in the pattern of exports this year. It used to be focused on electronics but now it has shifted to the non-electronics sector like pharmaceuticals,” he added.

Read more here. 

From Deal Street Asia:

Internet firm Sea’s entertainment unit Garena will tie up with Tencent to allow the Chinese internet giant publish and distribute mobile and PC games in Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The five-year arrangement will further strengthen the strategic partnership between Tencent and Garena, which already publishes some of the most successful games from Tencent’s portfolio including, Arena of Valor and League of Legends, in its core markets, Sea said in a statement. Sea counts Tencent as its biggest shareholder.

As part of the agreement, Sea and Tencent intend to work closely together to identify strategic opportunities to distribute and promote top titles from Tencent’s portfolio in the relevant markets, it added.

Read more here.

From iCompare Loan:

Parc Esta was able to sell 329 units or 75% of the 450 units it released on the first day of its sales on 17 November.

The most popular unit types were the one- and two-bedroom units which range in size from 420 to 624 sq ft and 581 to 1,023 sq ft respectively. Average price of units sold was $1,680 psf.

Prices for MCL Land’s Parc Esta started from about $698,000 for the smallest unit. Considering the prices at Park Place Residences (the last residential project to be launched in the area) which starts at $900,000, the prices are at Parc Esta are reasonable.

MCL Land’s Parc Esta will contain five shops and 1,399 residential units spread across nine 18-storey blocks. Buyers will have a choice of one- to five-bedroom units ranging from 420 sq ft to 1,604 sq ft.

Read more here.