Daily Archives: April 16, 2020 (33 Articles Found)

As OneService reports against safe distancing offenders increase, some frontliners get assaulted

AsiaOne

Coronavirus: Some homeowners will live in half-renovated flats amid renovation delays

Firms making essential items unlikely to be hit

Coronavirus: Hair salons, optical shops may fall into grey area of what’s considered essential

Lockdown sees less litter in public parks, but monsoon sweeps trash onto our northern shores

Coronavirus: Restaurants petition food delivery platforms to lower commissions

Industrial rents in Singapore to moderate in 2020

Why we should prepare ourselves for an extended CCB

99.Co

Covid-19 could cement Centurion’s lead among dorm players

The Business Times

MAS raises gearing limit to 50%, defers ICR implementation, MOF, IRAS extend timeline for tax transparency

PREH divests 30% stake in 111 Somerset for $155m ahead of a series of bonds maturing

Soilbuild REIT posts 26.3% drop in 1Q DPU to 0.883 cents

FLT and FCOT merger commences

Mapletree sets aside up to $13.7m for tenants

Here are the top office deals in Q1

Pig farmer’s sons become billionaire grocers in virus’s wake

Bloomberg

Keep all supermarkets open 24/7 to spread out the crowds during circuit breaker period

FairPrice imposes S$3.99 service fee for online orders, tweaks delivery charge amid surging demand

400 more cases of people fined for breaking safe distancing rules, 19 in hawker centres and markets

As COVID-19 hits F&B sector, calls emerge for delivery apps to lower commission fees

Contamination of recyclables, incorrect recycling among possible factors for Singapore’s low domestic recycling rate: Experts

Man seen in video throwing chairs off Yishun HDB block arrested

Commuters not wearing masks will be denied entry to public transport, taxis and private hire vehicles: LTA

The truth behind “declining” condo sales volume in March 2020

According to figures released by URA on 15 Apr 2020, a total of 660 new private homes were sold in Mar 2020. This is down 32.4% from the 976 condo units sold in Feb 2020, and down 37%…

99.Co

Covid-19: Record high of 728 new cases in Singapore, including 654 from foreign worker dorms

MOH on Thurs announced 728 more cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of infections here to 4,427. It is the highest single-day jump in infections here. MOH said that 654 of the 728 cases are work permit…

28-day circuit breaker may not be enough if S’poreans don’t play their part; nearly 50 people found not wearing masks in public: Masagos

The authorities will fine nearly 50 people who were caught without wearing a face mask in public places on Thurs, the first day of enforcement on the new rule, Mr Masagos Zulkifli said. The MEWR Minister said in…

As OneService reports against safe distancing offenders increase, some frontliners get assaulted

Snitching saves lives these days, we suppose, and the powers that be are more than happy that Singaporeans are playing their part in tattling on others who aren’t following the rules. In the days since the circuit breaker…

AsiaOne

Consider rental rebates in determining annual values

The circuit breaker measures necessary for breaking the chain of Covid-19 transmission came into effect on Apr 7. The unprecedented closure of workplaces and shops has, however, pushed many businesses into uncharted territory. The Government has moved swiftly…

Locked entrances pose risk in a fire

During this circuit breaker period, many shopping centres remain open. They have limited the number of shoppers as part of the additional safe distancing measures. I noticed that most shopping centres leave only one entrance open to control…

Closure of condo sports facilities minimises contact between households

We refer to Mr Ong Beng Chye’s letter (Review closure of condo pools, Apr 14). The closure of these facilities is to reduce movement and interactions in public spaces and minimise contact between individuals from different households, which…

Electric vehicle dream needs to be grounded in reality

With countries the world over implementing quarantine measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, air quality has improved. But as sure as the sun rises, things will revert to normal once the outbreak is under control or when we…

Coronavirus: Some homeowners will live in half-renovated flats amid renovation delays

When Madam Susie Koh moves into her new four-room BTO flat in Sengkang on May 8, it will be without a kitchen and bedroom wardrobes. The halt in construction works due to circuit breaker measures, which will remain…

Firms making essential items unlikely to be hit

Contract manufacturer Watson EP Industries is among companies which have been granted an exemption to continue operations amid circuit breaker measures that mandate all non-essential businesses to cease operations. The firm, which manufactures components for sectors such as…

Coronavirus: Hair salons, optical shops may fall into grey area of what’s considered essential

Hair salons, optical shops and even some food outlets like bubble tea shops may fall into the grey area between what is considered essential and what is not amid the coronavirus outbreak, observers said. This comes as MND…

Lockdown sees less litter in public parks, but monsoon sweeps trash onto our northern shores

The current northeast monsoon has brought with it its seasonal wave of debris washing up onto Singapore’s shores, with NEA more than tripling the cleaning frequency of recreational beaches along the northern coastline. In contrast, the parks and…

Coronavirus: Restaurants petition food delivery platforms to lower commissions

Restaurant owners have come together to petition food delivery platforms to lower the commissions they charge as F&B outlets here continue to bleed in the coronavirus pandemic. Enhanced safe distancing measures here mean restaurants can offer only takeaways…

Industrial rents in Singapore to moderate in 2020

Industrial rents for most micro markets in Singapore are projected to moderate in 2020, given the impact of Covid-19. The majority of firms have been observed to shelve plans to relocate and instead renew their current lease, pushing…

Why we should prepare ourselves for an extended CCB

We’re about 19 days away from May 4. It’s the day the Covid-19 Circuit Breaker (CCB) measures are supposed to end. Granted, the past 10 days of the CCB haven’t been all that pleasant. Even more so if…

99.Co

Covid-19 could cement Centurion’s lead among dorm players

Just three weeks ago, BT’s correspondent Angela Tan pointed out how the Covid-19 outbreak is testing public companies’ materiality thresholds for continuous disclosures. She named manufacturers, retailers, and oil and gas companies as among the plague-hit issuers. Now,…

The Business Times

MAS raises gearing limit to 50%, defers ICR implementation, MOF, IRAS extend timeline for tax transparency

On Apr 16, MOF, IRAS and MAS announced that MOF and IRAS will extend the timeline for S-REITs to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income from 3 months to 12 months after the end of their…

PREH divests 30% stake in 111 Somerset for $155m ahead of a series of bonds maturing

Perennial Real Estate Holdings (PREH) has divested its entire 30% stake in Perennial Somerset Investors (PSIPL) to its 70% shareholder, Simply Swift, for a total consideration of $155.1 million. PSIPL owns Triple 1 Somerset, a prime integrated development…

Soilbuild REIT posts 26.3% drop in 1Q DPU to 0.883 cents

The manager of Soilbuild Business Space REIT has declared DPU of 0.883 cents for 1QFY2020 ended Mar, a 26.3% drop from DPU of 1.198 cents a year ago. In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, the manager has deferred…

FLT and FCOT merger commences

The merger between Frasers Logistics Trust (FLT) and Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) took effect on 15 Apr, a local bourse filing revealed. They have notified MAS in writing of the grant of the court order sanctioning the trust…

Mapletree sets aside up to $13.7m for tenants

Mapletree Industrial Trust will set aside up to $13.7m in relief for tenants in Singapore. Under the package, rental rebates will be disbursed to tenants in a “targeted” manner across different trade sectors. Rental rebates of up to…

Here are the top office deals in Q1

This chart from Colliers Intl reveals that China Square Central recorded the biggest transaction price amongst office investments in Q1 at $648m. It is followed by Samsung Hub priced $50m, and two strata sales in Suntec Tower One…

Pig farmer’s sons become billionaire grocers in virus’s wake

Lim Hock Chee and his wife used to sell chilled pork at a rented stall in a grocery store. Now, after more than 35 years, his family operates 61 supermarkets across Singapore and has joined the ranks of…

Bloomberg

Keep all supermarkets open 24/7 to spread out the crowds during circuit breaker period

As most non-essential shops and businesses are closed during this circuit breaker period, Singaporeans are heading to supermarkets to buy groceries and other things they need. These may include small items they usually buy from hardware or stationery…

FairPrice imposes S$3.99 service fee for online orders, tweaks delivery charge amid surging demand

NTUC FairPrice is imposing a service fee of S$3.99 for all online orders from 8pm on Thurs in addition to a tweaked two-tiered delivery charge after it ramped up its capacity to make home deliveries by hiring 150…

400 more cases of people fined for breaking safe distancing rules, 19 in hawker centres and markets

The authorities are imposing more than 400 fines on people who failed to comply with safe distancing rules, for offences that took place on Tues and Wed. NEA said that since Mon, it has issued 19 fines to…

As COVID-19 hits F&B sector, calls emerge for delivery apps to lower commission fees

The “very high” commission fees charged by food delivery platforms are eating into the already-thin profits of F&B businesses, said an industry group as it called for these fees to be cut during the COVID-19 pandemic and in…

Contamination of recyclables, incorrect recycling among possible factors for Singapore’s low domestic recycling rate: Experts

A number of factors such as the contamination of recyclables and incorrect recycling could have possibly contributed to Singapore’s low recycling rate among households, experts told CNA. “They might engage in ‘wishful’ recycling, where they hope an item…

Man seen in video throwing chairs off Yishun HDB block arrested

A 49-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a case of rash act at Blk 102 Yishun Ave 5, the police said on Thurs. The authorities said they were alerted to the case at about 7.15am and…

Commuters not wearing masks will be denied entry to public transport, taxis and private hire vehicles: LTA

Commuters will be denied entry to buses, trains, taxis and private hire vehicles if they fail to wear a mask, said LTA. This rule will also apply when passengers are waiting at transport premises such as bus stops,…