Lushhomemedia

Archive for April 24th, 2008

« Previous Entries

Singapore visitor arrivals rise 5.7% in March

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Singapore’s foreign visitor arrivals rose 5.7 per cent in March from a year ago, helped by a jump in tourists from Indonesia, China and Australia, the government said on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian city welcomed 908,000 visitors in March, a record high for March, the Singapore Tourism Board said in a statement.

The average length of stay increased at a faster pace, with visitor days rising 14.1 per cent from a year ago to 3.4 million days, and hotels reporting a 16.8 per cent increase in room revenue to $189 million (US$140 million).

The average hotel room rate rose 23.8 per cent in March from a year ago to hit $238 a night, the tourism authority added.

Singapore is an Asian business centre and receives many visiting executives and bankers every month. It is also trying to boost its services sector to offset a weakening manufacturing industry. — REUTERS

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Mapletree Logistics Trust posts S$21m in Q1 earnings, up 37% on-year

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Mapletree Logistics Trust has booked a distributable income of S$21 million for the first quarter, up 37 percent compared to a year ago.

Mapletree Logistics will distribute 1.90 Singapore cents per unit for the first quarter, up from 1.48 Singapore cents a year earlier.

Net property income rose 45 percent on-year to S$37.4 million, while gross revenue shot up by 48 percent on-year to S$42.6 million.

Mapletree Logistics is continuing to see strong demand for its logistics space. It renewed 50,000 square metres of space in the first quarter, with 94 percent coming from existing tenants. Rentals in the first quarter jumped by almost 29% over the same period last year.

“Going forward, we have about another 124,000 square metres of space that are coming up for renewals in two major countries – Hong Kong and Singapore. And with that, we are looking at something like about a 12 percent increase in terms of rental reversion,” said Chua Tiow Chye, CEO of Mapletree Logistics Trust.

But given the overall market conditions, the REIT is delaying plans for a rights issue.

“We will continue to monitor the situation, and at a right time, we will re-enter the market to raise fresh equity from new investors or existing investors. But for the time being, we have a strong, robust portfolio of existing assets, and from this we should be able to give our investors a good yield of DPU growth for the current year,” said Chua.

The REIT manager also dismissed market speculation that it may merge its logistics and industrial trusts.

Mapletree Logistics said it will continue to stay focused on the logistics real estate market in Asia. – CNA /ls

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, REITS | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

CapitaLand acquires site to build IT park, office complex in India

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

CapitaLand has acquired a prime 30-acre site to build its first IT park and a grade-A office complex in India.

The deal was done through its 49 percent-owned associate LOMA IT Park Developers.

The site was purchased at a price of S$79 million from Standard Industries, a company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.

It is located in the Trans Thana Creek industrial area in Thana district, Navi Mumbai.

CapitaLand said the development will comprise about 2.5 million square feet of built-up space, of which about half will be set aside for IT companies.

The development will be built over the next five years. Construction work is expected to start by the first quarter of 2009. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in Developer News, General, Overseas Property | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Yongnam, KTC secure S$81.4m contract for Marina Bay Sands IR

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Structural steel contractor and engineering solutions provider Yongnam Holdings will form a 70-30 percent joint venture with KTC Civil Engineering and Construction to work on a Marina Bay Sands project.

They have secured an S$81.4 million contract for temporary decking, steel waling and excavation works at the South Podium of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

The South Podium area will include convention and meeting facilities, a grand ballroom and retail space.

Yongnam, along with its partners, has won over S$170 million worth of contracts for the Marina Bay Sands development.

Yongnam will be in charge of overall site supervision and control.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in Construction, General, Marina Bay / CBD | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Ascott Residence Trust posts Q1 distributable income of S$14.2m

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Mainboard-listed Ascott Residence Trust (ART) has posted a first quarter distributable income of S$14.2 million, up 76 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

ART said it benefited from higher demand for accommodation from business travellers in the region.

It also attributed its strong financial performance in the first quarter to the improved operating performance of the properties and contribution from new acquisitions.

Going forward, it expects to see stable growth as it maintains a balance of properties in both developed and emerging markets in the Pan-Asian region.

For the first quarter ended 31 March, distribution per unit is 2.33 cents, up from 1.59 cents in the same period a year ago. – CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, REITS | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Resorts World completes $4 billion credit syndication

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) announced on Thursday that it has completed the syndication of $4 billion credit facilities for its integrated resort development, closing one of the largest loans ever successfully undertaken in Singapore.

The borrowings were made at an interest rate of 175 basis points above Singapore Swap Offer Rate. The tenure of the loan extends to 2015.

A total of 10 banks participated in the syndication, jointly underwritten and bookrun by five original mandated lead arrangers: DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The expanded mandated lead arrangers include Malayan Banking Berhad, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Singapore Branch, Bangkok Bank Public Company, Singapore Branch, CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore branch, BNPP Singapore branch, Calyon, Commerzbank AG, Singapore branch and National Australian Bank Limited, Singapore branch. The Singapore branches of DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A, joined as arrangers.

The credit facilities will fund two-thirds of the integrated resort’s $6 billion project cost, with the remaining to be paid through equity raised through a successful rights issue in 2007 by RWS’s parent company, Genting International Public Limited Company.

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, Sentosa Property | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Australia to give foreign firms more time to develop property

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Australia will ease restrictions on land ownership by foreign companies, giving them as long as five years to develop vacant commercial property.

The rules will replace the current one-year deadline for foreign companies to commence development, Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen said in a statement on his website yesterday. The 12-month limit was designed to prevent offshore investors engaging in land speculation.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, faced with inflation growing at the fastest pace in 16 years, wants to drive down prices by introducing more competition in the grocery market, where local operators Woolworths Ltd and Wesfarmers Ltd control more than three-quarters of supermarket sales.

‘This reform creates a more level playing field, and pulls down the barriers to entry to foster competition,’ Mr Bowen said in the statement. ‘The grocery industry is a classic example, where in Australia we have a highly concentrated sector, especially by international standards.’ The current rules discourage new competitors and prevent existing operators from expanding, Mr Bowen said.

Woolworths is the nation’s largest grocer, followed by the Coles unit of Wesfarmers and the IGA chain operated by Metcash Ltd. Aldi Group, Germany’s largest discount retailer, has more than 150 stores in Australia; Franklins, a unit of South Africa’s No 2 retailer Pick’n Pay Stores Ltd, operates an 80-outlet chain.

Costco Wholesale Corp, the largest US warehouse-club chain, is identifying sites around the country to build large format outlets in Australia, it said in October.

‘Twelve months is simply not enough time for completing all the statutory and commercial processes required to enable development to commence,’ Mr Bowen said. — Bloomberg

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, Overseas Property | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

London office market hit by credit crisis fallout

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

Rents, occupancy rates, sale prices may worsen if crisis continues: Moody’s

London’s office market faces ‘imminent stress’ as the fallout from the global credit crisis weakens demand for space in the city’s financial district, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Conditions in the City of London deteriorated faster than any other European market last year, Moody’s analysts wrote in a report on commercial mortgage-backed debt yesterday. Rents, occupancy rates and sale prices may worsen if the credit crisis continues and the supply of property increases, the New York-based ratings firm said.

Banks and securities firms may cut as many as 40,000 jobs in London in the coming months, according to forecasts by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

About 7.3 million square feet of office space is due to be completed in London this year with a further 8.3 million square feet available by 2010, CB Richard Ellis Group, the world’s largest realtor, said in a April 21 report.

‘We regard the growing supply pipeline to be an important threat to the European office occupation markets,’ wrote Moody’s analysts Rod Bowers and Jeroen Heijdeman in London.

‘In addition, occupier demand could be negatively affected if the financial turmoil in the global market continues for the next few quarters.’

Moody’s report scores cities out of 100 based on factors including vacancy rates, the demand for property and expected supply.

The analysis covers 24 European office markets including Paris, Munich and Barcelona. The average score fell to 61 from 64.

The City of London’s score dropped to 20 at the end of 2007 from 53 a year earlier. A level of 33 or below indicates markets under ‘imminent stress’ where supply is outstripping demand, usually coupled with rising vacancy rates, CBRE said.

Paris’ La Defense financial district, previously the highest-ranking market, fell to 67 from 88. Dublin scored worst at 15, though up from 0 a year earlier.

Conditions improved most in Edinburgh, which rose to 88 from 59, making it the highest-scoring market. Any city scoring above 67 is considered ‘basically sound,’ with demand for property typically outpacing the growth in supply, the analysts wrote. — Bloomberg

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, Overseas Property | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

China warns of housing price hikes in second quarter

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

China’s top economic planning agency has warned that a range of economic factors were likely to push up domestic property prices in the second quarter.

Going higher: The NDRC says upward pressure on housing prices is mounting again after a slight slowdown in the first three months of the year

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a quarterly report on China’s real estate sector released on Tuesday that upward pressure on housing prices was mounting again after a slight slowdown in the first three months.

‘Excessive liquidity and the appreciating yuan are driving asset prices including houses higher, while soaring costs of steel and labour are also pushing prices forward, especially in small and medium-sized cities,’ the report said.

‘Meanwhile, huge amounts of funding have fled equity markets after recent slumps . . . investors are likely to reinvest the money in property instead of bank deposits.’

The report stressed that the government must keep housing market prices stable, partly through increasing the amount of land available for residential development.

Since 2005, China has taken a number of measures, including interest rate hikes and imposing taxes, to curb rapidly rising real estate prices amid concerns of a dangerous bubble in the sector.

In the wake of those measures, soaring home prices did cool to a certain extent. Official data said earlier that property prices in 70 major cities across the country rose 10.7 per cent year-on-year in March, down 0.2 per cent from February.

China has been struggling to rein in galloping inflation, which saw consumer prices soar 8 per cent for the first quarter of the year, near a 12-year high. — AFP

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, Overseas Property | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

House prices may fall more than during 1930s: economist

Posted by luxuryasiahome on April 24, 2008

An influential economist who long predicted the housing market bubble cautioned on Tuesday that the slump in the US housing market could cause prices to fall more than they did in the Great Depression, and bailouts will be needed so millions don’t lose their homes.

Mr Shiller: ‘It seems we have developed a speculative culture about housing that never existed on a national basis before.’

Yale University economist Robert Shiller, pioneer of the widely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case- Shiller home price index, said there’s a good chance housing prices will fall further than the 30 per cent drop in the historic depression of the 1930s. US home prices have dropped 15 per cent already since their peak in 2006, he said.

‘I think there is a scenario that they could be down substantially more,’ he said during a speech at the New Haven Lawn Club.

Mr Shiller’s Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index is considered a strong measure of home prices because it examines price changes of the same property over time, instead of calculating a median price of homes sold during the month.

Mr Shiller, who admitted he has a reputation for being bearish, said real estate cycles typically take years to correct. Home prices rose about 85 per cent from 1997 to 2006 adjusted for inflation, the biggest national housing boom in US history, he said.

‘Basically we’re in uncharted territory,’ Mr Shiller said. ‘It seems we have developed a speculative culture about housing that never existed on a national basis before.’

Many people became convinced that housing prices would increase 10 per cent annually, a notion that Mr Shiller called crazy. — AP

Source : Business Times – 24 Apr 2008

Posted in General, Overseas Property | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Entries