Wilson Ang leaves Cambridge Industrial Trust Management

VETERAN industrial property consultant and former CEO of Cambridge Industrial Trust Management Wilson Ang has returned to Colliers International.

He has been appointed consultant for industrial property investment in Asia. Based in Singapore, he will be part of the Asia Industrial Services team.

His immediate focus is Greater China and India, advising building owners, private investors and funds and institutions on their real estate portfolios and helping meet their requirements across Asia, Colliers said yesterday.

Mr Ang was with Colliers for 13 years and was executive director and head of the industrial sales and leasing division when he left in 2005. During those years he was responsible for more than $1 billion of industrial investment sales.

He went on to co-found Cambridge Industrial Trust and put together a portfolio of industrial properties for its listing.

He also took the trust through the listing process and managed it post-float.

He left as Cambridge’s manager last year.

Dennis Yeo, managing director of Colliers International Asia Industrial Services and Colliers International Singapore, says: ‘Given Wilson’s wealth of experience and strong track record in the industrial market, he will further strengthen Colliers’ position … and grow our industrial investment business.’

Mr Yeo said Mr Ang’s experience as an industrial property broker, advising owners and real estate investment trusts, coupled with his experience at Cambridge, mean his services will be sought after in Greater China and India, where the Reit industry is still in its infancy.

Mr Ang, 45, has a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in estate management from National University of Singapore.

The former Catholic High School student lists playing golf, swimming and working out at the gym and spending time with his family as his hobbies.

Source: Business Times, 8 Jun 2010

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has made a 30-year leasehold industrial site at Pioneer Road North / Soon Lee Street available for sale.

The land parcel is on the reserve list, and interested developers can ask URA to put it up for tender.

The site spans 155,427 sq ft and has a maximum gross plot ratio of 2.0. It is zoned for Business 2 use, making it suitable for clean industries and other activities such as vehicle repair and furniture production.

The land parcel is near Pioneer MRT station. It is also right next to a site which URA sold in December last year. KNG Realty beat stiff competition from seven other developers to win that site then, with a bid of $19.4 million or $48 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Demand for industrial sites in the last few months has been strong as the economy picked up. In April, the tender of a larger 60-year site at Woodlands Avenue 12 drew six bids, with the highest one at $65.2 million or $75 psf ppr.

Colliers International said this month that demand could grow further, as manufacturers expand their operations and institutional funds return to scout for investments. Already, the average monthly gross rent at single-user factories in the central part of Singapore has increased by 3.8 per cent to $1.35 psf between October last year and March this year. Capital values of such properties have also risen.

Source: Business Times, 28 May 2010

(SINGAPORE) Rents, land values and capital values of conventional industrial space in Singapore could rise 10 per cent in the next 12 months, as the economy improves and institutional investors return, said Colliers International yesterday.

The consultancy found that the market for factories and warehouses has already picked up in the six months from October last year to March this year.

During the period, the average monthly gross rent for single-user factories in central Singapore increased by about 3.8 per cent to $1.35 per sq ft. Capital values for this type of property also inched up 3.6 per cent to $145 psf.

Separately, warehouses in the eastern part of the island saw their average monthly gross rent rise 6.7 per cent to $1.28 psf. Their capital values also went up 6.2 per cent to $138 psf.

Conditions were not as rosy for high-specification industrial developments – rents for this type of space continued to fall, albeit at a slower rate. Over the six-month period, the average monthly gross rent for high-spec space dropped 5.1 per cent to $2.78 psf.

The silver lining is that the occupancy rate for high-spec space has been stable. Colliers attributed this to firmer office rents in a recovering commercial market – this has discouraged tenants occupying high-spec space from moving back to offices.

Colliers expects the overall industrial property market here to do better as the economy continues to pick up. ‘The recovery in the exports and manufacturing sector should support an expansion in demand from manufacturers,’ its research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying said.

‘Coupled with the return of institutional funds to the industrial market, rents, land and capital values of single-user factories and warehouses are expected to increase up to 10 per cent in the next 12 months.’ Ms Tay also expects rents of high-spec space to bottom out this year.

Besides Singapore, most Asia-Pacific cities have seen their industrial property markets stabilise, Colliers noted. For instance, industrial rents in Delhi, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong have hit the trough.

Source: Business Times, 14 May 2010

Property consultant Colliers International says the industrial property market here has stabilised, with rents having bottomed out.

In its latest bi-annual survey on industrial real estate costs across Asia Pacific, the firm says the stabilisation was on the back of a turnaround in the US and Euro-zone.

In particular, export-oriented cities, like those in Singapore and China, posted strong double-digit year-on-year gains in manufacturing output in the first quarter this year.

This, Colliers says, contributed to a healthy demand for industrial properties across the region.

The firm’s director of research and advisory, Tay Huey Ying, notes that the average monthly gross rents of single-user factories in central Singapore has edged up.

From October to March, the rent was up by an average of 3.8 per cent to about S$1.35 per square foot.

Colliers also says institutional investors are returning to the industrial investment market here.

For example, Singapore saw the sale of six logistics facilities worth some S$713.2 million to Cache Logistics Trust for its listing in April 2010.

Going forward, Ms Tay says Singapore’s exceptionally-strong growth seen so far this year for the manufacturing sector, has raised confidence for the industrial property market.

As a result, rents, land and capital values of industrial properties are expected to see a steady increase in the next 12 months.

Source: Channel News Asia, 13 May 2010

To be completed in 2013, expansion will add 46,000 sq m to total 310,000 sq m

BIOMEDICAL research and development hub The Biopolis will undergo a $140 million expansion which will boost its total R&D space to some 310,000 square metres – a move aimed at meeting the increased demand for biomedical R&D space.

According to developer JTC Corporation, the expansion plans will add about 46,000 sq m to The Biopolis and is slated for completion in 2013.

The expanded Biopolis will also incorporate energy-efficient laboratory designs, which will translate to reduced energy consumption as well as higher savings for tenants where operational costs are concerned. Some of the measures that JTC will implement include more accurate sizing of laboratory equipment to reduce energy wastage, solar control and glazing for laboratory spaces to reduce heat gain, better lighting selection to reduce maintenance and running costs as well as the incorporation of natural ventilated spaces to reduce the building’s cooling load.

‘In the upcoming expansion of The Biopolis, sustainability will be taken a step further with . . . energy-efficient lab design. Some of the sustainable lab design strategies . . . will be more practical and cost- effective in nature,’ JTC said. The Biopolis has been purpose-built for public and private biomedical research institutes and organisations.

In 2009, Singapore’s biomedical sciences manufacturing output rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to $20.7 billion, while total employment climbed 7.2 per cent to 13,174. Singapore aims for the sector to hit a manufacturing output of $25 billion by 2015.

Meanwhile, total business spending stood at $700 million last year while fixed asset investments (FAI) were $1.2 billion.

Located at one-north, The Biopolis is currently in Phase 3 of its development. By end-2010, Phase 3 will add 41,500 sq m of space to the biomedical hub for R&D laboratories and supporting offices.

Phase 1 of The Biopolis (a 185,000 sq m seven- building development) is fully occupied, as is Phase 2, which comprises a cluster of two buildings spanning 37,000 sq m.

Source: Business Times, 6 May 2010

BOON Keng Development made the top bid of $65.2 million for an industrial site at Woodlands Avenue 12 in a government tender which closed yesterday.

Boon Keng’s bid, which works out to $75 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), is 29 per cent higher than the second highest bid of $50.6 million ($58 psf ppr) submitted by TGFB Pte Ltd and more than twice the application bid which triggered the tender. There were six bids in all for the site from developers including Soilbuild Group and Wee Hur Holdings

The 60-year leasehold site was launched after an unnamed party committed to bid at least $25.0 million ($29 psf ppr) for it last month. The site has a maximum gross floor area of 868,628 sq ft.

‘The strong GDP growth of 13.1 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2010, driven by a 30 per cent year-on-year surge in the manufacturing, has resulted in demand for new industrial space as evidenced by the six bids received by the Urban Redevelopment Authority,’ said executive director of CBRE Research Li Hiaw Ho.

The top bid is also more than twice the winning bid for industrial sites in Woodlands in the past two years.

A 60-year leasehold industrial site at the junction of Woodlands Industrial Park E5/Avenue 4 was awarded to Wee Hur in July last year for $22.9 million, or $34 psf ppr. And before that, a 60-year leasehold site along Woodlands Industrial Park E5 was awarded to Soilbuild Group in July 2008 for $13.6 million, or $30 psf ppr.

Mr Li estimates that the breakeven cost for this development is estimated to be about $240 psf to $260 psf. In the first four months of 2010, strata-titled units in Admiralty Industrial Park, located along Woodlands Industrial Park E1, went for between $163 psf and $249 psf, CBRE’s data shows.

Source: Business Times, 22 Apr 2010

Property developer Soilbuild Group has been awarded the tender for an industrial site at Yishun Avenue 6 with a bid of some S$29.3 million.

The 153,485-square foot site has a maximum gross floor area of nearly 384,000 square feet.

The 60-year leasehold site can be used for clean and light industries and warehouses.

Soilbuild estimates the total development cost including land at about S$75 million to S$80 million.

Development of the site is expected to take up to two years.

The business space for sale is targeted at small and medium-size enterprises and supporting businesses of multi-national companies operating in northern Singapore.

It is due to be completed by 2012.

With this award, Soilbuild will have a total of 12 business space developments in its portfolio totalling 4.9 million square feet.

The purchase will be funded by the group’s internal resources and bank borrowings.

Source: Channel News Asia, 16 Apr 2010

SOILBUILD Group Holdings submitted the highest bid for an industrial site at Yishun Avenue 6 in a government tender, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.

There were five bids for the 1.43 hectare plot, which was offered for sale on a 60-year lease.

Soilbuild’s $29.29 million bid, which works out to $76 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), was 4 per cent higher than the second highest bid, by KNG Land, which offered $28.28 million, or $74 psf ppr.

The other bidders were Ho Lee Group, OKH Management and Whye Wah Group.

The site, which is on the government’s reserve list, has been available since November 2007. It is zoned for Business 1 use, with a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.5.

It was triggered in February after an un-named developer committed to pay at least $11.5 million, or about $30 psf ppr. It was launched for public tender on March 15.

Analysts said then that interest in the parcel – which is across the road from ITE East (Yishun) and near Yishun Industrial Park – would be healthy because industrial space end-users have been looking for land in the north of the island.

In a recent report, CB Richard Ellis said the industrial property market showed signs of improvement in the first quarter. Tenders for four industrial sites were launched. And several industrial Reit players made a few purchases.

Source: Business Times, 14 Apr 2010

DEVELOPERS have bid aggressively for a 60-year leasehold industrial site at Yishun Avenue 6 (Parcel 1).

Seven parties had expressed interest by the time the tender closed yesterday. OKH Management put in a top bid of $27.2 million, or $71 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The is 2.4 times the trigger price of $11.5 million, or $30 psf ppr, that an unnamed developer had committed to pay in February, prompting the Urban Redevelopment Authority to put the site up for tender.

The second-highest bid, from Soilbuild Group, is not far below the front runner. Soilbuild has offered $25.12 million, or $66 psf ppr.

In fact, five of the seven bids are above $20 million. The other three above this level are from Whye Wah Group, KNG Land and Ho Lee Group.

The bids are ‘unexpectedly high’ and show that developers are bullish, said Knight Frank’s head of industrial business space Lim Kien Kim. ‘The economy is trending upwards, and there is demand for (industrial) space.’

The Purchasing Managers’ Index for March showed that the manufacturing sector expanded for an 11th straight month.

According to a CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) report yesterday, the industrial property market improved in the first quarter. Demand for factory and warehouse space is growing and rents could rise towards the end of the year, CBRE said.

The company’s research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that the high bids for Yishun Parcel 1 could be due to a lack of industrial sites in the area. ‘No sites in Yishun were awarded under the government land sales programme in the past 10 years,’ he said.

He projects a breakeven cost of about $250-270 psf for development on the site.

Next to Parcel 1 is Parcel 8, the tender for which is ongoing. Mr Lim expects developers bidding for Parcel 1 to bid for Parcel 8 too. A developer could reap economies of scale by getting both plots, he said.

Parcel 1 is zoned ‘Business 1′ and is 152,770 sq ft, with a maximum gross plot ratio of 2.5.

Source: Business Times, 7 Apr 2010

THE industrial market showed signs of improvement in the first quarter of the year, according to two new reports published today.

In its latest market analysis, CBRE points out that demand for factory and warehouse space here is steadily growing, despite rents showing no signs of rising yet.

In the second report, DTZ points out that the industrial sector has overtaken the residential segment as the dominant sector for investment deals, though it’s thanks largely to one buyer.

In the first quarter of the year, the largest investment deal was the sale of the $323 million CWT Commodity Hub to Cache Logistics Trust, said CBRE.

In all, Cache made six sale-and-leaseback deals amounting to $713.2 million, helping to catapult first-quarter industrial investment sales to $1.02 billion, or 38.5 per cent of total transacted value, noted DTZ.

Residential investments amounted to $879.2 million, with the bulk coming from the sale of government sites.

Private residential investment sales accounted for just 6.3 per cent of total residential deals.

It reports that while investment by local firms continued to dominate due to purchases by local developers and real estate investment trusts (Reits), more foreign buyers could be on the way.

Also, Reit acquisitions are restarting, and more office buildings are expected to be transacted for redevelopment into residential use, it said.

Mr Bernard Goh, CBRE’s director of industrial and logistics services, said: ‘The (industrial) market appears to have turned around from the past year. We are seeing an improved demand for industrial space and a rise in rents can be expected towards the tail end of the year.’

Currently, factory and warehouse rents have not risen since the first quarter of 2008, when they first dipped in the current cycle, said CBRE.

For instance, in the first quarter of this year, average monthly rents for factory units held firm at $1.40 per sq ft (psf) for ground floor space, it said.

Meanwhile, an industrial site in Yishun Avenue 6 has attracted seven bids. OKH Holdings topped the tender with a bid of $27.2 million or $71 psf/plot ratio.

The bid is 8.3 per cent above the second bid from Soilbuild Group Holdings and more than twice the application bid.

CBRE estimates the breakeven cost for this development at between $250 psf and $270 psf.

It said the healthy interest could be due to the lack of industrial sites in Yishun. A more positive business sentiment could have also played a part in the robust response to the tender, it added.

Source: Straits Times, 7 Apr 2010