A SINGAPORE company is poised to start construction of a giant coastal resort in China.

The Sun Bay Tourist Resort in Zhejiang province will cost 14.5 billion yuan (S$2.95 billion) to construct, and covers an area of 21.7 sq km – more than four times Sentosa’s 5 sq km.

Located in the city of Fenghua, the high-end vacation resort will be completed in 2018 and, according to Chinese media, is likely to be the costliest project of its kind in China.

Sun & Sun Capital Holdings, part of Singapore’s Sun & Sun Group, founded in 1980 by current group chairman David Wang Xin, has been appointed the master developer of the resort.

It is looking for additional investors to share in the development of the project, Mr Wang told The Straits Times yesterday, and will manage the steep costs involved by completing the resort in four phases.

The first phase, financed with internal funds and money from other investors, will include the construction of bungalows and other residences that will be sold to release funds to finance the next phase of the project.

The company will also farm out the development of 30 to 40 sub-projects, including hotels, to companies from China and Singapore.

‘There is a huge demand for this sort of resort in China,’ Mr Wang said in a telephone interview from China.

He said the Sun Bay resort will be the largest seaside resort in the Yangtze delta area, which takes in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

‘We have been looking for a location for this resort for six years,’ added China-born Mr Wang, who is now a Singapore permanent resident.

‘In Shanghai, there is no space for a resort of this magnitude. Jiangsu is also not so suitable for this resort. Only this particular area is a suitable environment.’

Sun & Sun signed a formal agreement with local government to build the resort in July 2008, and carried out the ground-breaking earlier this month.

According to the website of the China International Investment Promotion Platform, the Sun Bay project is designed to be a leisure and recreational base of international standing.

It will make use of the area’s natural resources – islands, ecological coasts, wetlands, mountains and seascapes – to create a destination for tourism, entertainment, conferences and exhibitions.

Mr Wang said the integrated resort will offer a range of facilities to visitors such as golf courses, marinas, horse racing tracks, residences and hotels.

Sun & Sun Group is an investment group with 20 subsidiaries and associate companies around the world. Although it is headquartered in Singapore, most of its investments are in China.

The group is involved in various industries, including infrastructure, media, property development and mining, and provides financial management and business consultation services.

Source: Straits Times, 19 Jan 2010

THE downturn failed to take much wind out of the sails of Ascendas Reit (A-Reit), with the property firm racking up a robust third-quarter performance.

Its manager, Ascendas Funds Management, reported a distributable income of $61.2 million for the three months to Dec 31, up 13.4 per cent from the $54 million a year earlier. That translates into a distribution per unit of 3.27 cents, up from the 2.88 cents for the same period a year ago.

The higher net income was mainly due to additional income from properties completed after December 2008 and lower property expenses.

Ascendas Funds Management’s chief executive and executive director, Mr Tan Ser Ping, also noted in a statement yesterday the ‘healthy occupancy rate of 96.5 per cent for A-Reit’s portfolio despite the challenging economic climate’.

A-Reit had total assets of $4.8 billion as of Dec 31, with a diversified portfolio of 91 properties here and a tenant base of about 900 international and local firms.

Occupancy for the various sectors has stayed higher than the market average. Mr Tan attributed this to ‘the quality and resilience of the properties as well as the diversified nature of the portfolio’.

A-Reit continued to reap good rental returns for its properties in high-tech industrial, logistics and distribution centres as well as business and science parks.

‘This growth can be attributed to the fact that the in-place rent of the leases which have been renewed was lower than current market rentals,’ said Mr Tan.

The firm is also diversified in terms of long-term leases. No single property accounts for more than 4.5 per cent of A-Reit’s monthly gross revenue and it has a weighted average lease term to expiry of about 4.8 years.

A-Reit units closed two cents down at $2.02 yesterday.

Source: Straits Times, 19 Jan 2010

Allgreen expected to launch sales next week at 83-unit Holland Residences

CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) is expected to begin previewing its Cube 8 condo on Thomson Road this week; the average price is tipped to be at about $1,250 per square foot.

Next week, Allgreen Properties is expected to start sales at the 83-unit Holland Residences, a five-storey condo at Taman Warna. The average price could be around $1,600 psf, some market watchers suggest. Both projects are freehold.

Meanwhile, Frasers Centrepoint has sold 42 of the total 81 units at its Residences Botanique, a five-storey freehold condo at Yio Chu Kang/Sirat roads opposite Serangoon Stadium. The average price is about $1,000 psf. The developer held a one-day private preview in early December and began its ‘official preview’ on Jan 9.

‘Units were sold at prices ranging from $844 psf to $1,262 psf. The buyers were mostly Singaporeans and PRs. About half of the buyers had HDB addresses, with the other half residing in landed properties and condos in a catchment area stretching from Serangoon Gardens to Kovan,’ said Frasers Centrepoint chief operating officer Cheang Kok Kheong.

Units range from one-bedroom-with-study to four-bedroom duplex apartments. The one and two-bedders were the most popular although the developer has started to sell the bigger units as well, Mr Cheang added.

At Thomson Road, on the site of the former The Albany and Thomson Mansion, CDL will develop Cube 8, a 36-storey condo comprising 177 units. The project is next to the group’s earlier project, The Arte at Thomson, which it began selling in March last year at an average price of about $880 psf; by May, CDL had revised the pricing to about $900 psf on average. Six units are still available in the 336-unit project, according to government data on developers’ December sales.

While the two projects are next to each other, The Arte is in District 12 while Cube 8 is in District 11 – one of Singapore’s three traditional prime districts. A property consultant who is not involved with marketing Cube 8 described the $1,250 psf reported average price for the development as ‘aggressive but achievable’. He noted that in the secondary market, owners of upper floor units in Sky @ Eleven – a 43-storey development which offers better views of the Singapore Polo Club and surrounding greenery – are asking $1,400 psf and above.

Cube 8 includes 39 one-bedroom units, 68 two-bedders, 57 three-bedders, nine four-bedroom apartments and four penthouses or sky villas. Prices of one bedroom units, which will have an area of about 560 sq ft, are expected to start from about $730,000. Three bedders, which will be 1,335 to 1,475 sq ft, will cost $1.6 million to $1.9 million. The sky villas will likely be priced above $3.5 million apiece.

Holland Residences comprises mostly three- and two-bedroom apartments, although there are also 17 penthouse units.

Source: Business Times, 19 Jan 2010

LAW Minister K. Shanmugam’s remarks in yesterday’s report about the impact of foreigners on public housing (‘Wrong to accuse them of driving up costs: Shanmugam’) did not address the consequences on single Singaporeans or offer more effective ways to help all citizens.

In dismissing the perceived impact of foreigners, Mr Shanmugam noted that foreigners cannot buy HDB flats and that there are too few permanent residents (PRs) to affect prices.

He also noted that the Government gives Singaporeans a leg up with concessionary loans and housing grants, and is ready to launch up to 12,000 build-to-order (BTO) units to meet demand.

But concessionary loans and housing grants are not enough to offset rising flat prices, and single Singaporeans cannot buy BTO units.

If the Government will not regulate rising HDB flat resale prices, the HDB should build more two- and three-room flats and let single citizens buy them.

PRs should also be banned from renting out their flats or putting them up for resale at a profit. The price at which PRs resell their flats should not be higher than what they paid for them.

Such a rule will prevent PRs who do not intend to take up citizenship from reaping a windfall when they return home after a few years

 
Source, Straits Times 19 January 2010

BUYERS have rushed to the HDB’s first build-to-order (BTO) projects launched this year, with one category of flats attracting 14 times more applications than homes available.

The intense interest in the developments at Choa Chu Kang and Hougang mirrors the flood of applications for two similar BTO projects at Dawson in Queenstown just before the new year.

The new estates – both in well-established areas – had attracted a total of 6,848 applications for 1,291 units ranging from studios to four-room units by 5pm yesterday.

Mr Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia-Pacific, told The Straits Times: ‘For a long time, HDB programmes have been in areas like Punggol and Sengkang. It is now offering more choices for people.

It is a welcome move as far as buyers are concerned.’

Limbang Green estate at Choa Chu Kang was the star attraction when applications opened on Jan 5.
Its 188 four-room flats have pulled in 2,681 applications – a take-up rate of about 14 times – while the 128 three-room units had reaped 402 bidders.

Things were a little less intense at Buangkok Vale in Hougang, but home seekers were still out in force with 2,608 hopefuls chasing 458 four-room units.

The estate also attracted 480 applicants keen to buy from a pool of 113 three-room apartments.
Studios had their fans as well, with 521 applications for the 276 units offered in Limbang Green, although two-room flats, while over-subscribed, received a relatively modest response.

Choa Chu Kang prices range from $64,000 for a studio unit to $278,000 for a four-room flat, while Hougang’s two-room units start at $88,000 to about $288,000 for a four-room apartment.
The final tally of applications will be posted on the HDB website at 2pm today.

Mr Lim pointed out that both projects are in areas with good infrastructure and older estates, but price is also a factor.

BTO flats – only built once a certain sales level has been achieved – are becoming more attractive given the rising prices of resale HDB units.

‘Using the Choa Chu Kang flats as a guide, selling price is $100,000 cheaper than what you can get from the resale market,’ Mr Lim said.

The new launches are likely to be the first of many, with the HDB stating earlier this month that it will offer 12,000 new BTO flats this year if demand stays robust.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said the Government might have to provide more large- sized flats to meet demand.

He said: ‘The HDB might have to run this kind of exercise every month and after every quarter or so to see if the 12,000 figure is enough for this year.’

Supply can reduce when over-subscription falls, he said.

While thousands of buyers were making a beeline for BTO flats, some tried a different tack after finding the overwhelming number of applicants daunting.

Marketing representative Wan’er Chong, 26, and her partner opted for a Bishan apartment in the HDB’s design, build and sell scheme instead.

‘We were allowed to choose our unit, and there was no balloting. It was possible to buy the flat on the same day, no wait required,’ she said.

Another advantage was that the flat would come fully furnished, eliminating renovation costs, she added.

Source, Straits Times 19 January 2010