In Focus

Expat living is cheaper in Singapore than Hong Kong: study

Expat living is cheaper in Singapore than Hong Kong: study

A cup of coffee in Singapore costs about $6.77, compared to a $9.48 cup of coffee in Hong Kong. Although Singapore moved one notch in the world's costliest cities for expats, the city still trails behind Hong Kong which holds the distinction as the world's priciest, according to Mercer's annual cost of living survey. Singapore also trails behind Tokyo which occupies second place. The high cost of living in Singapore was fueled by sustained demand for quality housing and rising affluence.

In Focus

CBD Grade A supply hit 25.1 million sqft in Q1

There were 8.7 million sqft of supply in Raffles Place/New Downtown.

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Will virtual banks threaten Singapore's big three?

Newcomers still have to create significantly large funding and capital bases to contend with incumbents.

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Singapore trails behind China and Saudi Arabia in AI healthcare adoption

Less than a third of Singaporeans have access to their digital health records.

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One in 10 firms forecast 0-5% revenue declines in 2019

Only 37% of businesses expect moderate growth between 5-15%.

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Singapore overtakes Hong Kong in cross-border commercial property investments in Q1

Investment from the city rose 23% to US$21.8b in the 12 months to Q1 2019.

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Luxury homes buck residential sales decline in May

Sales have come to a relative standstill, with the exception of homes priced above $2,000 psf.

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Industrial property sales jumped 27.6% to $1.3b in Q1

Major transactions include factories in Tuas South Avenue and Banyan Drive being sold for $585m and $227.5m, respectively.

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Singapore's 2019 GDP growth forecast cut to 2.1%: MAS survey

The manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail trade sectors are tipped to contract 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.

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Businesses still bearish for Q3 2019

The business optimism index fell from +10.58ppt to +6.91ppt over a year.

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Singapore trails Hong Kong, Japan in ease of doing business

It ranks sixth in Asia as the burden of additional compliance requirements pull Singapore down.

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Singapore beats Hong Kong as Asia's top treasury location

More multinationals still prefer the Lion City with 4,200 regional headquarters based in Singapore, the largest in APAC.

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Residential unit sales up 0.1% in Q1 as luxury home transactions drive gains

Market launches in the core central region hit a five-year high at 363 units.

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Food factories are eating up Singapore's industrial space

Over 630,000 sqft of food factory space came on-stream in 2019 YTD.

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Dividend yields of companies linked to Asia's wealthiest family empires outpace benchmark STI

Their dividend yields hover between 7.1-7.7% compared to 4% for the STI.

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LTA mulls rail link between north and northeast Singapore

The Land Transport Master Plan 2040 also unveils plans to extend the Downtown and Thomson-East Coast Lines.

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How is Singapore bringing life back into dying industrial buildings?

habitat by honestbee which incorporates retail operations in an industrial setting is a key example.

In Focus