REJUVENATING the Central Business District (CBD) can help entice more multinationals to set up their global headquarters here amid Asia’s economic rebound, according to the Ministry of National Development.

Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development, said yesterday: ‘We have planned for the development of Marina Bay and rejuvenation of the Central Business District to provide businesses with a diverse choice of top quality Grade A offices in state-of-the-art buildings.

‘This will help our aspiration to build Singapore into a leading financial and business centre in Asia that can serve as the ideal location for global headquarters functions of multinational corporations operating in Asia.’

Ms Fu was speaking at the topping-out ceremony for Ocean Financial Centre in Raffles Place Park.

The project is being developed by Keppel Land and will add about 850,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.

Grade A is a term generally used to describe offices found in prime, well-maintained buildings that have large, column-free floor plates and high ceilings.

Keppel Corp chief executive Choo Chiau Beng, who also chairs Keppel Land, announced that Australian bank ANZ plans to lease 209,000 sq ft while BNP Paribas Singapore has earmarked 58,000 sq ft.

Other future tenants include law firms Drew & Napier, which is now at Ocean Towers, and Stamford Law, currently at Republic Plaza.

Ocean Financial Centre is the fourth Ocean building development at the former Ocean Building site.

The first was built in 1864, with redevelopments taking place in 1923 and 1974.

The latest Ocean building is also the first high-rise office development in Singapore to achieve the Platinum Green Mark Award, with the platinum level the best category in the Green Mark Award given out by the Building and Construction Authority.

It will boast features such as solar panels, an energy-efficient hybrid chilled water system and paper recycling in all offices.

Keppel Land, a unit of Keppel Corp, said in a statement that the green features will achieve energy savings of 35 per cent and save 42 million litres of water and more than 10,000 trees a year.

The centre is 63 per cent pre-committed and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year.

Meanwhile, Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) announced that 88,000 sq ft of space has been pre-committed at 50 Collyer Quay, which is being developed on the site of the former Overseas Union House by OUE unit Clifford Development.

The space is about 22 per cent of the project’s net lettable area of 412,000 sq ft.

Source: Straits Times, 8 Jul 2010

Tampines flat dwellers’ ideas are included in first HDB design contest

A MAJOR spruce-up is on the cards for the 25-year-old Tampines Neighbourhood 9 (N9), with residents’ ideas being part of the estate’s final design.

The government-funded, $10 million project represents the first time that the Housing Board has called for entries from 30 architectural firms and implemented the winning design based on residents’ feedback and votes.

The project, which starts in the second quarter of next year, is also one of the largest public consultation exercises carried out for an HDB precinct.

The winning design for the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), which was announced last Thursday, needed at least 75 per cent of residents’ votes in order to go ahead.

When voting closed on Tuesday, 90.1 per cent had given their consent.

It will be carried out concurrently with the Lift Upgrading Programme and the Home Improvement Programme in the neighbourhood.

Key features of the winning design, which was done by Team Design Architects, include a green belt where residents can grow their own crops, new playground equipment with cross-trainers and stationary bikes, and a graffiti walk where aspiring artists can use chalk to express themselves.

A portion of Tampines Street 91 will also be converted into a weekend flea market at certain times.

Said Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Home Affairs and a Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC: ‘In the past, many people complained that they could choose only ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

‘But now the winning design is one which had the most votes. So this is not what I think residents like, but what they want.’

Mr Masagos added that since the budget for the NRP is allocated based on the number of households, Tampines N9 – which spans 38 blocks and has 3,352 dwellings – has a chance to be made impactful to its residents and become a model for other neighbourhoods to follow.

One resident who is excited about the proposed changes is Ms Julie Gan, who attended the initial selection process and voted for the winning design.

‘It’s a good move because this place is a bit run-down already. Soon our place will be beautified and the value of my home will also go up,’ said the 49-year-old clerk.

Another resident, housewife Ho Foong Kuan, 41, is also keen on the changes. She said: ‘The new upgrades mean more facilities for my family to use during outings. It’s impressive to have them in the neighbourhood.’

As of last month, 31 NRP projects have been announced, of which 13 have already polled residents for their favourite design.

The remaining 18 projects are either in the early design stage or in the first round of public consultation.

Source: Straits Times, 8 Jul 2010

(SINGAPORE) Districts 15 (which includes Katong, Telok Kurau, East Coast Road and Siglap) and 4 (which includes Sentosa Cove) have been the most popular among foreigners buying landed homes this year up to June 8. They are followed by Districts 19, 10 and 16. Singaporeans, on the other hand, have zoomed in on Districts 19, 15, 16, 28 and 10 – in that order.

Malaysians, the biggest group of foreign buyers of landed properties, purchased 38 landed homes. Their most sought-after location was District 16 (which includes Upper East Coast, Bedok and part of Upper Changi Road East) where they bought eight homes, followed by District 19 (including Serangoon Gardens, Lorong Chuan, Upper Paya Lebar, Upper Serangoon and Hougang). UK citizens were the second biggest foreign buyers of landed houses, with 21 purchases. Their top choice was District 10, which includes Tanglin and Holland roads and part of Bukit Timah.

Chinese nationals were third, with 17 purchases, the bulk (11 units) on Sentosa Cove. Australians bought 10 houses, mostly in districts 10, 15 and 19.

Reflecting their varying location preferences, the prices of landed homes bought by the various nationalities differed. The Chinese, who bought homes mostly on Sentosa Cove – where Singapore’s most expensive bungalows can be found – paid $5 million and above for the bulk of their landed purchases in H1 2010 (up to June 8).

For the other major nationalities (including Singaporeans, Malaysians, UK citizens, Australians, Indonesians and Indians), purchases were predominantly in the $1.5 million to $5 million range; there were also deals in the $1 million to $1.5 million price bracket.

While no foreigner picked up a landed property costing under $1 million in H1 2010, 58 Singaporeans did so – the bulk of them probably for terrace houses, CBRE said.

Source: Business Times, 8 Jul 2010

Big Walk and carnival to celebrate the area’s development so far

HOT on the heels of the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) resort’s opening last month, new additions have been springing up to add to the bay’s ‘necklace of attractions’.

Across the bay from the resort, the new 100-room Fullerton Bay Hotel will welcome its first guests today, while the refurbished Customs House was unveiled yesterday.

The latter has been turned into a complex that features four new restaurants, with a fifth to open soon. A new rooftop bar called Lantern will also open at the six-storey Fullerton Bay Hotel.

A measure of comfort has also been extended to visitors to the area. Several features such as solar-powered fan shelters and a mist-spraying sculpture have been completed along a 3.5km waterfront promenade which allows pedestrians to circle the bay on foot.

A timber boardwalk has also been built which lines the southeastern bank where MBS is situated. It includes seats by the water’s edge.

To celebrate the developments so far, a mass walk and carnival will be held next weekend, with a movie screening, dance and music performances, games, and food stalls. More than 80,000 people are expected to participate in the activities.

The New Paper Big Walk @ Marina Bay will be held on July 18 in conjunction with The Big Carnival @ Marina Bay. For the first time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will flag off The Big Walk at 7.30am at the Singapore Flyer. Tickets for the mass walk have all been snapped up.

More attractions will come to the area over time. By early next year, 50 Collyer Quay, a development comprising an 18-storey office block, an aerial tower and an overhead bridge linked to Hitachi Tower, will come up next to the Fullerton Bay Hotel.

The overhead bridge will be an attraction in itself, featuring eight to nine shops spread out over 2,800sqft of retail space, said developer Overseas Union Enterprise.

A rooftop restaurant will open at the office block, while the aerial tower will have one or two restaurants spread out over two levels at the top. Combined, these food and beverage outlets will take up 16,000sqft of space.

Just a stone’s throw away, the Marina Bay Financial Centre’s two office towers and a residential tower have swiftly taken shape as well. Tenants have begun moving in, and the buildings will be occupied by the fourth quarter of this year.

By the end of the year, the new Marina Bay Link Mall located underneath the development will open its doors. The underground mall will comprise shops, restaurants and a supermarket.

MBS expects to open more offerings by that time as well. These include the museum, shops along the boardwalk, and two glass pavilions.

In the coming months, visitors to the area will be able to take water taxis making stops along the bay and up the Singapore River, said an Urban Redevelopment Authority spokesman yesterday.

Source: Straits Times, 8 Jul 2010

Foreigners may be in the spotlight, but profile of landed property buyers sticks to trend

(SINGAPORE) Recent high-profile purchases of bungalows on Sentosa Cove by Chinese citizens may have given the impression that foreigners (including PRs) have been snapping up more landed homes of late, but numbers tell a different story.

Not only do Singaporeans remain the predominant buyers of landed homes here, but there has also been no rising trend in the share of foreigners (and PRs) picking up such properties. Over the past four years, their combined share of landed home purchases across Singapore averaged 6.2 per cent per quarter.

This share seems to rise a bit every time the market is hot and it drops when the markets cools.

For the first half of this year, Singaporeans remained the predominant buyers of landed homes across the island. However, on Sentosa Cove, foreigners including Singapore permanent residents acquired nearly the same number of houses as Singaporeans, shows an analysis by CB Richard Ellis.

Foreigners and PRs bought 16 landed homes on Sentosa Cove while Singaporeans have picked up 17 so far this year, based on CBRE’s analysis of URA Realis caveats data as of June 22. The study captured caveats lodged up to June 8.

Foreigners (including PRs) bought 129 landed residential properties this year, up to June 8. Of these, 115 were purchased by PRs.

Non-PR foreigners bought the other 14 landed houses – comprising 12 properties located on Sentosa Cove and two in district 5. The latter are likely to be strata landed houses in The Vision in the West Coast area, say market watchers. Foreigners can buy strata landed properties within developments with condominium status without seeking approval from Land Dealings (Approval) Unit.

Their purchases this year give foreigners a 6.8 per cent share of the total 1,905 landed homes transacted up to June 8. Singapore citizens had an 87.7 per cent share, with companies buying the other 5.5 per cent.

Foreigners (including PRs) typically tend to account for a bigger share of private homebuyers when the market is hot; their share ebbs when the market cools. For instance, their share of total landed home purchases in Singapore climbed to a high of 9.5 per cent in Q2 2006 and 8.7 per cent in Q1 2007 when the property market was on the ascent. The figure touched a low of 2.5 per cent in Q1 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It stood at 6.5 per cent in Q1 this year and 7.1 per cent for Q2 but this could change as more caveats for June stream in. It has generally hovered around the 6 per cent mark over the past four years.

Between Q1 2006 and Q1 2010, on a quarterly average basis, landed homes made up just 3.8 per cent of the total number of private homes bought by foreigners and PRs here. For H1 2010 (up to June 8), the figure was 3.4 per cent. Apartments and condos remain the mainstay of foreign buyers’ private residential purchases in Singapore.

CBRE’s executive director (residential) Joseph Tan expects 3,500-3,800 landed homes to be sold this year as the Singapore economy continues to strengthen – in line with the four-year (2006-2009) average demand of 3,713 units. ‘Since supply is relatively limited, prices of landed homes are expected to rise by 10-15 per cent in 2010. Sentosa Cove will continue to be popular with foreigners because of its resort status as well as the ease of obtaining government approval for purchase,’ he added.

DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah does not expect the foreign share of landed home purchases to change significantly. The restrictions that foreign buyers face in owning a landed home here mean demand will be for consumption and not investment, she says. Typically, they need a go-ahead from the LDAU, may own only one landed property and are not allowed to rent it out.

Source: Business Times, 8 Jul 2010

Keppel Land says two foreign banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and BNP Paribas Singapore, plan to lease prime office space at its Ocean Financial Centre.

Keppel Corporation Chairman Choo Chiau Beng announced this at the topping out of the Centre Wednesday.

He says ANZ plans to lease about 209 thousand square feet of office space, while BNP Paribas Singapore plans to lease some 58 thousand square feet of space.

Keppel Land says with the new tenants, Ocean Financial Centre is now about 63 per cent pre-committed, ahead of its completion in the second quarter of 2011.

Mr Choo says the strong pre-commitment levels reinforce the positive sentiments in the office market on the back of a brighter economic outlook.

He adds that Keppel land is well-poised to benefit from this upturn.

Together with its joint venture partners, Keppel Land develops and owns about 7.4 million square feet of office space, predominantly located in the Raffles Place and Marina Bay precincts.

When completed, Ocean Financial Centre will be one of the largest office developments in Raffles Place, providing about 850 thousand square feet of Grade A office space with environmentally responsible features.

Source: Channel News Asia, 7 Jul 2010