News

Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.18%

The weakness on Wall Street could weigh on the local market today.

Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.53%

Wall Street's mixed performances won't provide much cues for the local market.

GLP bidders urged to submit proposals

Deadline for the proposals is on June 30. Shortlisted bidders for Global Logistic Properties will have to submit their proposals on or before June 30. The group formed a Special Committee that will thoroughly evaluate the proposals in consultation with the Company’s external advisers. "The Company reiterates that no binding proposals have been received to date, and wishes to emphasize that any firm proposals, if and when received, may remain non-binding, may be subject to relevant regulatory approvals or other conditions and may not be offers that are capable of acceptance," the group said. It added, "There is no certainty that any proposals will be received or that any definitive transaction will materialize from, or any offer will be made as a result of, any proposals received or the Strategic Review, and there also remains no certainty as to the terms of a transaction (if any). The Company will make an appropriate announcement in the event of any material developments."  

Landlords' yields on self storage facilities to hit 7%

Small living spaces in Singapore drive demand for self storage. Across Asia, self storage facilities are attracting investor interest due to its growth potential. According to a report by real estate consultancy firm JLL, landlords can expect yields of around two to four per cent in Hong Kong and Taiwan, five to seven per cent in Tokyo and Singapore, five to eight per cent for Australia, and up to eight per cent or above in China and India depending on location, access, quality, and building facilities. The self-storage sector is expected to take off as the notion of storing personal items outside the home is catching on due to the region’s dense population, increasing residential prices, growing affluence, and changing lifestyles. In Singapore, rising income and small living space drive demand for self storage. Average home sizes are at 77sqm whilst GDP is at US$51,718 per capita. “Globally, demand for self-storage, just like any other real estate class, is driven by economic and demographic forces,” says Bob Tan, Director of Alternatives, Asia Pacific Capital Markets at JLL. “Urbanisation is an important driver for self-storage. Growing urban populations mean smaller and increasingly expensive living spaces in cities, and creation of more renters who move around more frequently." For businesses, self storage also provides a flexible alternative with its relatively manageable leases and appropriately-sized space from a self storage provider instead of a large warehouse where much of the space may go unused. Businesses that use self storage space include large companies (for archival and document storage) as well as SMEs and start-ups that use them to store and sometimes even display merchandise. Here’s more from the JLL report:

Here's why StarHub lacks growth catalysts

The mobile outlook remains weak as competition intensifies. Whilst StarHub's recent acquisition of stakes in a cybersecurity firm makes sense, OCBC Investment Research believes it will still take time to build up its cyber security capabilities before it gains significant traction. More so, it noted that StarHub's medium term outlook is expected to be slow. OCBC outlines three reasons why the telco lacks catalysts. For one, the group's overall mobile outlook remains weak due to the intensifying competition with other telcos. Secondly, StarHub's PayTV woes are seen to persist, given the pressure from over-the-top (OTT) services and piracy, Lastly, the competition in broadband segment is set to increase as TPG enters the market.  

3 key areas affluent households will spend on

These will account for almost 40% of their spending by 2021. Singapore's affluent middle class supports high spending on non-essential goods and services such as personal, insurance & other, recreation and culture, and restaurants and hotels, according to BMI Research. Here’s more from BMI Research:

MAS eyes boosting fintech ties with ASBA members

Both parties can explore potential joint innovation projects.

OUE Hospitality Trust to benefit from Changi's expansion

Changi Airport is expected to handle 60 million passengers this year.

Singapore Business Review Awards 2017 honours 22 outstanding firms

Around 180 guests attended the awards dinner held on June 8. It is imperative for local and international companies in Singapore to innovate in order to stand out amidst the uncertainties in both the local and global markets. In an effort to recognise the companies that excelled despite the market challenges, Singapore Business Review held this year’s International Business Awards, National Business Awards, and Listed Companies Awards. The winning companies were honoured and presented to around 180 participants at a joint awards ceremony held on June 8, 2017, at the Conrad Centennial Singapore. Now on its fourth year, the International Business Awards lauds the most outstanding international firms operating in Singapore. The Listed Companies Awards, on the other hand, is now on its third year of recognising innovative publicly listed companies in the city-state. Meanwhile, homegrown Singaporean companies were honoured in the second National Business Awards. This year's nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Ng Jiak See, executive director and head of corporate finance advisory at Deloitte Singapore & Southeast Asia; Choo Eng Chuan, ASEAN markets leader and partner, international and corporate tax services at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP; Toh Kim Teck, assurance partner at Foo Kon Tan LLP; and Henry Tan, managing director at NEXIA TS. Below is the list of winners: Listed Companies Awards Geo Energy Resources Limited - Metals & Mining LHN Limited - Building Services & Facilities OUE Limited - Real Estate International Business Awards AIA Singapore - Life Insurance AirAsia - Airline Bordier & Cie (Singapore) - Banking LF Logistics Services Pte Ltd - Logistics Lionbridge - Business Services Pepperl+Fuchs Asia - Electronic Manufacturing SICK Product Center Asia Pte. Ltd. - Electronics Victory Hill Exhibitions Pte Ltd - Media & Entertainment Vygon Asia Pte Ltd - Pharmaceuticals Yerra Solutions - Compliance Consulting National Business Awards Agrivo International Limited - Agriculture Cityneon Holdings - Diversified Services ENOVAX PTE LTD - IT Services Fundnel Limited - Financial Technology Moove Media Pte Ltd - Advertising PSB Academy - Education RHT Holdings Pte. Ltd. - Compliance Consulting Richz Technology (S) Pte Ltd - Industrial Services Kloud-Soft Pte Ltd - Computer Software System Integration

Why Singapore consumers are tightening their purse strings

Consumer spending declined for two quarters in a row.

Daily Markets Briefing: STI up 0.2%

The UK election results may keep investors cautious.

Daily Briefing: Are shopping malls dying?; StarHub's PayTV continues to lose subscribers

And smart tech offers many perks for HDB estates.From Dollars And Sense via Yahoo!: In recent years, there have been plenty of discussion surrounding the topic about whether shopping malls in Singapore will undergo a gradual, permanent decline, given the increasing popularity of e-commerce. Rows of vacant shops at once popular malls seem to reinforce the notion that malls are dying. But is that really the case? Unbeknownst to most shoppers, many of the large shopping malls in Singapore are actually owned by real estate investment trusts (REITs) or property developers. These include mega malls such as VivoCity and Ion Orchard, which are owned and managed by MapleTree Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Mall respectively. In contrast, some of the smaller and older malls such as People’s Park Complex and Beauty World Centre are Strata-Titled, which means they are owned individually by multiple landlords.From the Motley Fool Singapore: Local telco StarHub Ltd lost 11,000 Pay TV subscribers in the first quarter of 2017 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. In the third quarter of 2016, StarHub’s Pay-TV segment also recorded a sequential loss of 11,000 subscribers. In the last quarter of 2016, the subscriber-loss had narrowed to 9,000. However, as we’ve just seen, the latest quarter saw those losses widen again to 11,000 subscribers.From PropertyGuru: Adopting smart technologies in HDB estates has many benefits, revealed the Housing Board’s CEO Cheong Koon Hean. For example, families can reduce their power usage for lights by 60 percent and slash potable water use by 66 percent, while the government could cut manpower needs by 70 percent. But as Singapore builds more smart towns and becomes more technologically advanced, it’s vital to create standards for developing such communities. Even if technologies change, if these protocols have been established, household devices can be conveniently incorporated into the system, she explained.