Stories By: The Business Times (2,470 Articles Found)

Low Keng Huat to sell Westgate Tower stake, buy 45% of Paya Lebar Square in shift to retail

F&B firms dismayed by latest delay for dining-in

Businesses welcome regular testing but are concerned about costs

A fresh face revamps 27-year-old Bugis landmark

New retailers sprouting in Singapore, but more shop spaces stand empty

Cost of pre-event testing a concern: live event organisers

Routine testing for workplaces could temporarily nudge up WFH adoption

HDB rents up 0.7% in May, condominium rents rise 0.3%: SRX

June 9, 2021

Knight Frank’s Tan Boon Leong and Ng Ee Kiat join JLL

HK buyers making steady investments in Singapore property

Fewer viewings drive 11.4% fall in condo resale volumes in May after four-month climb

Bukit Sembawang may offer Reit-like dividends as ‘land bank king’

Phoon Huat to open more stores this year; on the lookout for deals

Developers, contractors battle labour crunch, supply shortage to meet deadlines

Lian Beng aims to stay conservative as pandemic hits construction sector

Visible carbon price, harmonised laws needed to drive sustainable finance: panel

June 5, 2021

Despite boost from year-ago low base, retail rebound is still on shaky ground: Analysts

June 4, 2021

HDB resale prices climb for 11th straight month in May: SRX

Raising land supply may aggravate housing issues

Strong leasing interest for part of StanChart space in MBFC

International schools in Singapore feeling upbeat

June 2, 2021

JustCo signs agreement with Ho Bee Land to manage space at The Metropolis

Singapore’s Tiga Investments, KKR to acquire co-working office operator The Executive Centre

F&B, retail micro, small enterprises ‘coping better’ during heightened alert versus circuit breaker: DBS

Micro and small enterprises in Singapore’s F&B and retail sector are coping better during the Phase 2 Heightened Alert (HA) versus last year’s “circuit-breaker” period, DBS said on Mon. About 35 per cent of micro and small enterprises…

JustCo names CFO to helm finance, capital markets and M&A functions

Co-working operator JustCo has appointed Loke Huey Teng as its CFO to helm its finance, capital markets and M&A functions. As a business partner to JustCo CEO Kong Wan Sing, Ms Loke will also collaborate with the executive…

How much of a threat are EVs to oil giants and neighbourhood mechanics?

While the impending wave of EVs heralds opportunities for many sectors, it threatens to disrupt others – among them, the retail fuel industry and your neighbourhood car mechanic. In recent years, global retail fuel companies have been pivoting…

EV agenda draws various sectors vying for slice of the pie

Singapore’s push for EVs has lured companies from a myriad of sectors, from renewable energy to electronics and payments, eager to get a foot into the ecosystem. While EVs are widely seen as an environmental asset, their economic…

New private home sales take a hit in May on the back of heightened measures

Tighter restrictions to curb a resurgence in Covid-19 cases dampened new private home sales in May, although the impact wasn’t as severe as during the circuit breaker in the corresponding month last year. According to estimates from analysts…

June 12, 2021

Singapore property agents expect to benefit from relaxed Covid restrictions

Singapore property agents are optimistic about the effects of relaxed Covid-19 measures. Steven Tan, MD at OrangeTee & Tie, said the increased group size will be “significantly helpful” to sales. He noted that the current group size of…

Isetan appoints agent to assess buyer interest for Wisma Atria space

Isetan (Singapore) has appointed Savills as marketing agent to size up interest to purchase its space at the Wisma Atria shopping mall on Orchard Road, as well as to commence exploratory discussions with third parties on the matter.…

Low Keng Huat to sell Westgate Tower stake, buy 45% of Paya Lebar Square in shift to retail

Property player Low Keng Huat has entered agreements to sell its interests in Westgate Tower for S$97.1 million, while buying the remaining 45 per cent of Paya Lebar Square that it does not already own for S$90.5 million.…

F&B firms dismayed by latest delay for dining-in

F&B operators were disappointed by news on Thurs that after a month of surviving on delivery and takeaway operations, they will have to wait an additional week to resume dine-in operations. They told BT that they had known…

Businesses welcome regular testing but are concerned about costs

Regular fast and easy testing will soon become mandatory for businesses whose staff are involved in “higher-risk mask-off activities”, but some firms told BT they are hoping for more government support to defray costs if this is to…

A fresh face revamps 27-year-old Bugis landmark

Bugis Junction Towers is being refurbished so this 27-year-old office development can keep up with new projects coming up in the Beach Road/Rochor Road locale. And that job is now being done by a fresh-faced and homegrown property…

New retailers sprouting in Singapore, but more shop spaces stand empty

Many brick-and-mortar shops are likely to remain unoccupied even if the overall number of businesses in the sector continues to grow, with more retailers working from home and starting their ventures online. Going by data compiled by IREUS…

Cost of pre-event testing a concern: live event organisers

The introduction of extensive testing may mean that large-scale events like concerts and theatre can potentially resume, but “live” event organisers remain concerned over the cost of pre-event testing and the higher ticket prices it might mean for…

Routine testing for workplaces could temporarily nudge up WFH adoption

Frequent Covid-19 testing is being recommended as part of safety protocol in the workplace, and if made mandatory, could tip the scales for employers still reluctant to embrace work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. However, a shift to WFH solely to…

HDB rents up 0.7% in May, condominium rents rise 0.3%: SRX

Rents for HDB flats rose 0.7 per cent in May 2021 from the previous month, while that of condominiums increased 0.3 per cent in the same period. This marks the fifth and eleventh consecutive month of rising condo…

June 9, 2021

Knight Frank’s Tan Boon Leong and Ng Ee Kiat join JLL

JLL is welcoming Knight Frank’s Tan Boon Leong and Ng Ee Kiat to its logistics and industrial team with immediate effect, the real estate services firm announced on Tues. The pair will take on newly created roles focused…

HK buyers making steady investments in Singapore property

Hong Kong investors are expected to continue looking at Singapore property, though no spike in interest is expected, said analysts. The number of transactions have held steady, said Christine Sun, senior VP of research and analytics at OrangeTee…

Fewer viewings drive 11.4% fall in condo resale volumes in May after four-month climb

Fewer viewings resulting from tighter restrictions during Singapore’s heightened alert period saw condominium resale volumes slide 11.4 per cent m-o-m in May, property analysts noted on Tues. About 1,722 units changed hands in the month, compared with 1,944…

Bukit Sembawang may offer Reit-like dividends as ‘land bank king’

Bukit Sembawang Estates has enough inventory to sell for the next decade, with the land the developer controls still pegged at “extremely low” historical cost valuation, said a fresh DBS Research report. This pipeline could give Bukit Sembawang…

Phoon Huat to open more stores this year; on the lookout for deals

Phoon Huat is set to open more stores in Singapore this year, as it crosses a new milestone of US$100 million in revenue. It is also on the lookout for opportunities to acquire, said Shuichi Sato, CEO of…

Developers, contractors battle labour crunch, supply shortage to meet deadlines

As Singapore’s construction industry grapples with a shortage of foreign workers, amid other headaches, further disruption to project timelines cannot be ruled out, construction firms said. Already, some construction companies allege their workers have been poached by other…

Lian Beng aims to stay conservative as pandemic hits construction sector

Construction company Lian Beng Group has been in business for close to 50 years, and has weathered several storms – including the Asian financial crisis, the Sars epidemic and the Lehman Brothers collapse. But chairman and MD Ong…

Visible carbon price, harmonised laws needed to drive sustainable finance: panel

As the world charges towards the various goals and pledges that have been set to effect climate change, what’s sorely needed is harmonised regulation and commonly accepted market measures to make such efforts comparable and credible. These include…

June 5, 2021

Despite boost from year-ago low base, retail rebound is still on shaky ground: Analysts

Singapore retail sales are still below pre-pandemic levels, despite the low base effect from the year-ago circuit breaker, SingStat data on Fri showed. Economists are fretting over the retail recovery, especially with the stumbling block of tightened Covid-19…

June 4, 2021

HDB resale prices climb for 11th straight month in May: SRX

HDB resale prices rose 1.2 per cent in May 2021 from the previous month to remain on their upward trajectory for the eleventh straight month, according to flash data from SRX Property released Thurs. Y-o-y, the overall price…

Raising land supply may aggravate housing issues

Adjusting the ABSD remission deadline on GLS sites and allowing a change of use for hospitality properties may help reduce pressure on housing developers in the short run, amid the construction industry’s labour shortage. Those were the suggestions…

Strong leasing interest for part of StanChart space in MBFC

The asset manager of MBFC has received strong interest from potential tenants for about 200,000 sqft office space that it has been actively marketing in the development’s Tower 1. This is part of the roughly 400,000 sqft currently…

International schools in Singapore feeling upbeat

Cross-border travel remains restricted, but intl schools in Singapore are optimistic about their prospects for student enrolment and staff recruitment for the upcoming academic year starting Aug. Atul Temurnikar, chairman of Global Schools Foundation, which runs GIIS and…

June 2, 2021

JustCo signs agreement with Ho Bee Land to manage space at The Metropolis

JustCo has inked an agreement with Ho Bee Land to manage about 35,000 sqft of The Metropolis office space in Buona Vista. The JustCo-managed space, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2022, will occupy two floors…

Singapore’s Tiga Investments, KKR to acquire co-working office operator The Executive Centre

Singapore-based Tiga Investments has joined with private equity firm KKR to acquire a co-working office operator, The Executive Centre (TEC). The price was not disclosed. TEC is headquartered in Hong Kong. It is an office space provider operating…