Downtown Line 3 to open 21 Oct this year

The Downtown Line 3 (DTL3) will open on 21 October 2017, making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore, surpassing the 35.7km Circle Line (CCL).   The DTL3 Extension from Expo to Sungei Bedok, an additional 2.2km, will open in 2024.

Downtown Line

Downtown Line Alignment

DTL3

The 21-kilometre long DTL3 comprises 16 stations and is the longest stretch of the Downtown Line to be opened. DTL3 includes three interchange stations at MacPherson (link to CCL) , Tampines (EWL), and Expo (EWL).

1.      Fort Canning Station

Fort Canning station is located at the intersection of River Valley Road and Clemenceau Avenue. The station has two entrances and will serve developments in the area including Fort Canning Park, Liang Court, U.E Square, Park Hotel Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay Hotel, which were previously not connected to the rail network.

2.      Bencoolen Station

Bencoolen station is located at Bencoolen Street, near the junction with Bras Basah Road. It has three entrances and comprises six levels – concourse, upper mezzanine, lower mezzanine, platform and two service levels. To provide greater connectivity to the existing rail network, the station has an underground unpaid linkway connected to CCL Bras Basah station through the existing SMU basement. The NAFA Campus extension is integrated above one of the station’s entrances.

The station will serve students, office workers, businesses and tourists, with its close proximity to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore Management University (SMU), Manulife Centre, Sunshine Plaza, National Museum and hotels along Bencoolen Street. There are also several places of worship around the station such as the Kwan Im Temple, Sri Krishnan Temple, Maghain Aboth Synagogue and Masjid Bencoolen.

3.      Jalan Besar Station

Jalan Besar station is located at the junction of Jalan Besar and Weld Road. It has two entrances and comprises two levels – concourse and platform. The station will serve Sim Lim Tower, Stamford Primary School, residences and shophouses in the vicinity. The station is within five minutes’ walk of Rochor station (on the DTL) and Bugis station (on the EWL, DTL) allowing commuters to easily transfer between rail lines.

4.      Bendemeer Station

Bendemeer station is located at Kallang Bahru, near the junction with Kallang Avenue. The station has two entrances, one on each side of the road. The station will serve the commercial buildings, residences and shophouses in the vicinity. The station is within ten minutes’ walk of Lavender station (on the EWL) and Boon Keng station (on the NEL) allowing commuters to easily transfer between rail lines.

5.      Geylang Bahru Station

Geylang Bahru station is located along Kallang Bahru, at the junction with Geylang Bahru. The station has two entrances and comprises two levels – concourse and platform. The station will serve Kallang Basin ActiveSG Swimming Complex, Kallang Basin Industrial Estate and HDB estates in Geylang Bahru, providing greater connectivity for workers and residents.

6.      Mattar Station

Mattar station is located near the junction of Merpati Road and Mattar Road. The station has two entrances. One of the entrances leads to Merpati Road and will primarily serve Canossa Convent School, Macpherson Primary School, Masjid Sallim Mattar Mosque and those working in Kallang Pudding area. The other entrance leads to Mattar Road near the Circuit Road hawker centre (Blk 79 and 79A Circuit Road) and the Macpherson Community Club.

7.      MacPherson Station

MacPherson station is located along Circuit Link, near the junction with Circuit Road. It has two entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, mezzanine and platform. It will serve Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre, industrial buildings and residences in the vicinity.

The new station will allow commuters to conveniently transfer to the CCL as the DTL platforms are connected directly to the CCL platform though a short escalator ride. This could be done as the bottom-most level of the DTL station was constructed along with the CCL station, allowing the two lines to be built in close proximity.

8.      Ubi Station

Ubi station is located near the junction of Ubi Avenue 1 and Ubi Avenue 2. The station has two entrances, one of which is located close to the residential estate.  The station aims to serve the nearby high-rise light industrial buildings and also supports a dense HDB estate with schools in its vicinity such as Maha Bodhi School and Manjusri Secondary School. The station exterior is bronze in colour to depict the colour of Ubi (Malay for “tapioca”).

9.      Kaki Bukit Station

Kaki Bukit station is located along Kaki Bukit Avenue 1, near the junction with Jalan Damai. The station has two entrances and comprises three levels – intermediate, concourse and platform. Utilities found within the station footprint posed challenges during the construction of the station, and they had to be relocated during different phases of excavation. The station will serve Bedok North Secondary School, Kaki Bukit Tech Park, Kaki Bukit Tech View, as well as residences along Bedok Reservoir Road, Jalan Damai and Jalan Tenaga.

10.  Bedok North Station

Bedok North station is located at Bedok North Road, near the Pan-Island Expressway flyover. The station has three entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, mezzanine and platform.

The station will serve Damai Primary School, Bedok Town Park, HDB estates and industrial buildings nearby.

11.  Bedok Reservoir Station

Bedok Reservoir station is located at Bedok Town Park, beside Bedok North Avenue 3. The station has two entrances leading to the residential blocks in the vicinity and the Bedok Town Park.

The station will serve many schools, residences and parks such as Bedok Town Park, Bedok Reservoir Park, Damai Secondary School, Bedok Green Secondary School, Red Swastika School, Yu Neng Primary School and residences along Bedok Reservoir Road.

12.  Tampines West Station

Tampines West station is located at Tampines Avenue 4, near the junction with Tampines Avenue 1. It has two entrances leading to HDB blocks nearby. Both entrances are connected directly to taxi stands, drop-off points and bicycle parks. The last tunnel boring machine (TBM) on DTL3 broke through into the Tampines West station in June 2015, marking the completion of tunnelling works along the DTL3. The station will serve Temasek Polytechnic, Junyuan Primary School, East View Primary School, Tampines Polyview and Tampines Palmspring HDB estates.

13.  Tampines Station

Tampines station is located along Tampines Central 1. The station has three entrances and comprises three levels – subway (retail level), concourse and platform.  The station is connected to the Tampines Bus Interchange and the EWL and will service commuters travelling to offices and shopping areas around the Tampines town centre. The station will also serve commercial buildings such as OCBC Tampines Centre One, AIA, Telepark, Our Tampines Hub and residences in Tampines.

14.  Tampines East Station

Tampines East station is located along Tampines Avenue 7, near the junction with Tampines Avenue 2. It has four entrances leading to the current site of Tampines Junior College and HDB blocks in the vicinity. The station will serve Tampines Junior College, Ngee Ann Secondary School, Tampines North Park and residences nearby.

15.  Upper Changi Station

Upper Changi station is located at Upper Changi Road East. At 205m, the station is the longest on the DTL3. It has four entrances and comprises three levels – concourse, intermediate, and platform. Two of the entrances are connected directly to bus stops, taxi stands, drop – off points and the bicycle park. The station will serve the Singapore University of Technology and Design and residential estates in the vicinity. For the convenience of movement between the station and SUTD, there will be an underground linkway between them.

16.  Expo Station

Expo station is located along Changi South Avenue 1, 25 metres below ground level. It has four entrances and comprises three levels. The station will primarily serve Singapore Expo and a major business hub, the Changi Business Park. As Expo connects to Changi Airport on the EWL, commuters will have an additional travel option when going to the airport.

https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=5c4e424c-1a46-44cb-92d0-212e37a2b6df

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JLL: investment sales set for bull run in 2017

According to consultancy JLL in a new report, property investment sales are set for a bull run after a spectacular start to the year. The positive outlook is being driven by the office, and possibly the retail and residential sectors.

The overall value of real estate investment deals soared 67 % in the first quarter to $4.99 B – of which $4.47 B was from the private sector.

Private investment sales of office property accounted for $2.12 B – the sector’s strongest first-quarter showing for the past 9 years. The $2.12 B figure was a 60.6 % rise from the fourth quarter, and more than treble that of a year ago. Last year’s private-sector investment sales stood at $19.06 B.

The top two office deals in the first quarter were entity sales. One was the sale of the entire interest in the holding company of PwC Building in Cross Street to an indirect unit of Manulife Financial Corporation for $760.6 M. The other was the divestment of the entire interest in Plaza Ventures – the owner and developer of GSH Plaza in Cecil Street – to Hong Kong-listed Fullshare Holdings for $725.21 M.

JLL noted the potential for the full-year sales of private office assets to surpass the $6.49 B recorded last year, considering the recent deal for One George Street and sizeable assets available in the market, including Asia Square Tower 2 in Marina Bay.

The residential segment, registered $1.69 B in private investment sales for properties valued at $5 M and above in the first quarter.
For retail and industrial sectors, private investment sales more than doubled that from the previous year in the first quarter: $280 M for retail and $390 M for industrial.

JLL predicts a bright investment sale outlook for the year, driven by the recent sale of the $2.2 B Jurong Point mall and upbeat sentiment in the private residential market. A growing appetite for collective sale sites by developers facing depleting land banks and limited supply of sites from the Government could also lend support to investment sales.

Ubi business space at only $575K

An Office-Like space /B1 business space in Paya Lebar area. Located at Ubi Centre #03, this business space is also available for rent for 2 years at $2.4K. Size is 1152 sqft of renovated fitted space ready for business. For sale at $575K. Call David King for more details.

http://www.sgbayhomes.com/18096777

Government support for business costs

THE government will continue to keep a close eye on business costs, even as it took the stance of letting market forces set the price of rentals. But where there are possible market failures, such as when it is not commercially-viable to provide space for startups, the government will step in – and has indeed done so.

In the retail and the F&B (food and beverage) sectors, rental costs as a share of business costs is around 30 per cent. Rental costs make up between 0.7 and 4.8 per cent of total business costs in the manufacturing sector, and constitute about 5 per cent of business costs in most services sector.

Rentals across all sectors – industrial, commercial, retail and office spaces – have been declining for the past 3 years– thus the rental problem has not been so severe.

JTC has set up LaunchPad@one-north 2 years ago and future plans include building a network of LaunchPads around Singapore — the next one to be completed in the Jurong Innovation District in 2017.

The government has ways to support businesses, such as the Capability Development Grant (CDG), the SME Working Capital Loan and Automation Support Package (ASP). CPG defrays up to 70 per cent of qualifying project costs and thus encourages businesses to build business capabilities. SME Working Capital Loan has catalysed over S$700 million and 4,800 loans as of Dec 31, 2016, to the benefit of about 4,300 SMEs. Under the initiative, SMEs can access unsecured working capital of up to S$300,000 to help them address cash flow concerns and growth financing needs. The CDG and ASP schemes, which help companies achieve productivity improvements through automation, collectively supported 226 automation projects in 2016.

The government also introduced Bridging Loan for Marine & Offshore Engineering (M&OE) companies in November 2016 and enhanced the Internationalisation Finance Scheme for M&OE.

Both schemes aim to facilitate the access of these M&OE companies to working capital and financing to stabilise the sector as it copes with prolonged weaknesses in oil prices. Applications for loans amounting to over S$90 million have been approved as of February 2017. These support measures are expected to catalyse about S$1.6 billion in loans over one year.

The government continues to monitor the sector closely by tracking indicators such as order books and output levels, and evaluating feedback from industry players.

P&G investing US$100m into innovation centre in Singapore

Global consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to invest US$100 million (S$140 million) over the next five years to set up its first digital innovation centre in Singapore. Up to 50 new staff could be hired.

Called an E-Centre, the project was officially launched yesterday in partnership with the Economic Development Board. As it does not have a single, fixed location, staff involved in its activities will work either in P&G’s Singapore Innovation Centre in Biopolis Street or its offices at The Metropolis.

This E-Centre will develop digital solutions for Asia-Pacific operations, synchronising the supply chain to increase revenues and lower inventory while serving emerging retail channels more efficiently.

Some projects in the pipeline include machine learning, where algorithms allow machines to predict parameters within the supply chain for better accuracy, as well as process automation, which uses robotics to eliminate repetitive tasks.

The centre will also use data analytics to optimise product distribution and marketing strategies across the region. For example, by analysing an area’s demographics data, P&G will be able to determine the potential sales growth and prioritise store distribution accordingly.

Panasonic moves compressor HQ business to Singapore

Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say announced the company’s first such relocation outside of Japan in recent decades yesterday at the official opening of Panasonic’s refrigeration compressor business unit (RCBU) in Singapore.

It is a first for Japanese electronics giant Panasonic to moved the global headquarters for its refrigeration compressor business to Singapore.

The manufacturing plant here, which makes refrigeration compressors, will also be transformed from a traditional manufacturing plant into a “smart factory”, which will make use of big data and make processes more automated.

At a press conference yesterday, the company’s top management pledged to keep the jobs of its 650-strong Singapore workforce, even as it turns its operations in Bedok South into a smart factory.

The transfer of the headquarters to Singapore from Kusatsu city, Shiga Prefecture, will result in an increase in staff numbers in the RCBU unit. It could double the size of its research and development team to about 120 engineers in five years. The company’s phasing out of manual jobs will mainly affect its foreign workforce of about 350 workers, mostly from China.

Panasonic wants to cut this workforce by 200 workers in the next three to five years.

Investment property sales drop in Q1

FROM a high base in the fourth quarter of last year, big-ticket property transactions of at least S$10 million declined substantially in the first quarter.

However, the mood in the market is decidedly positive – with much anticipation of the imminent mega transactions of Jurong Point mall, and Asia Square Tower 2 in the CBD.

“Investment market sentiment is positive and the price gap has mostly disappeared except for hotels,” said CBRE executive director, capital markets, Jeremy Lake.

In particular, the tone of investors towards the office sector seems to have reversed dramatically. “The oversupply in the Singapore office market is yesterday’s story, and today’s story is all about the recovery and rental growth,” said Mr Lake.

Figures compiled by Savills Singapore showed that S$5.2 billion of investment sales of property, as these big deals are known, were sealed in Q1, down 34.8 per cent from S$8 billion in Q4 last year. However, the Q1 number is double the S$2.5 billion in the same year-ago period.
Photo: The Business Times
Photo: The Business Times

Both Savills and Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) estimate that some S$2.7-2.8 billion of deals in the commercial property segment were transacted in January to March this year – giving it a share of slightly over 50 per cent of total investment sales.

Major transactions include the S$881 million sale of a 70 per cent stake in TripleOne Somerset by a consortium led by Perennial Real Estate Holdings to Stanley Ho’s Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings, and Manulife’s S$747 million purchase of PwC Building at 8, Cross Street, from DBS.

Savills said the S$2.8 billion of commercial property investment sales in Q1 was a 41.9 per cent increase from the nearly S$2 billion in the previous quarter.

The residential sector saw S$2.1 billion of big-ticket sales in the first quarter, giving it a 40.2 per cent share. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, the Q1 tally was down almost 12 per cent, according to Savills.

C&W Singapore research head Christine Li highlighted the flurry of bulk residential sales in Q1 as some foreign housing developers sought to offload their remaining unsold units ahead of regulatory sales deadlines imposed on them under the government’s Qualifying Certificate rules – to avoid paying hefty penalties.

A string of last-minute deals were also inked on the night of March 10 – including TwentyOne Angullia Park, The Line @ Tanjong Rhu, Robin Residences and The Lumos – before the new Additional Conveyance Duties (ACD) took effect the next day.

The ACD plugged a loophole that some bulk buyers in Singapore residential projects had been using to enjoy significant savings in stamp duties.

Savills Singapore managing director Steven Ming said: “Unless annual residential prices are expected to rise significantly in the coming years, it is unlikely that institutions will return to the bulk residential sales market as the hefty 18 per cent stamp duty cuts deep into their required rates of return.”

The effect of this would be the shift of interest by institutional investors to other sectors of the real estate market here, he added.

Industrial properties posted S$344.2 million of investment sales in the first quarter, down 67.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

CBRE and Savills expect the total investment sales for 2017 to be in the S$18-20 billion region – down from around S$23 billion last year. C&W expects the number to remain in the S$20 billion range.

Mr Ming of Savills commented that with institutional investor interest expected to be diverted from residential towards the office, retail and hospitality sectors here, investment sales are expected to continue despite yield compression.

“As both private equity funds and ultra high net worth individuals have either raised new money or have a need to diversify to reduce concentration risk, yields have potential to remain low and go lower as prices will either hold firm or even edge up,” he reasoned.

Ms Li of C&W noted office asset prices are already starting to trend upwards, with rents expected to bottom this year.

In similar vein, CBRE Research’s head of Singapore and South-East Asia, Desmond Sim, argued that as the office recovery story gets more real in terms of rising commitment rates for new projects such as Marina One, this will push more institutional investors to be ready to commit.

CBRE predicts that by the end of the year, seven out of 10 institutional investors who are looking at the Singapore office sector will be ready to buy – up from five out of 10 investors now, which in turn is a higher ratio than just one out of 10 investors a year ago.

Regina Lim, JLL’s head of capital markets research, South-east Asia, observed that in the past four years, Singapore has seen a gradual decline in office demand, retail sales, food and beverage receipts, and gross domestic product growth.

As a result, the republic’s attractiveness to overseas institutional investors has waned, and they have gravitated to Australia, Japan and China commercial property, which have stronger growth stories.

“However, capitalisation rates in these markets have compressed and now Singapore looks less expensive in comparison to these markets.”

Mr Sim of CBRE said that on the residential sector front, while bulk purchases of units from developers have now become harder to do, there may be a bright spot in collective sales. “We should see more interest in en bloc sales from land-hungry developers, especially in the face of limited supply through the Government Land Sales Programme.”
– See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/business/investment-property-sales-drop-q1#sthash.8H86fsyp.dpuf

CFE calls for government to review land use and planning guidelines

The Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) calls for greater land-use flexibility by allowing complementary activities to be located near each other–  value chains and industries can be integrated and synergies enabled among developments in a precinct.

Given the blurring line between services and manufacturing, the CFE also proposed that flexibility of land use be allowed in industrial areas as this will open the way for businesses of different sectors and functions to co-locate, find synergies and catalyse innovation.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is working with state industrial landlord JTC and the Economic Development Board (EDB) under Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Industry players say Singapore may need to create more zoning categories or expand existing definitions of use for industrial space.

Another planning guideline – that of the “60-40 rule”, which requires at least 60 per cent of gross space in a building or strata unit to be used for industrial activities, with at most 40 per cent left for ancillary purposes – is another restrictive policy that needs review.

The government has, in the past, rolled out “white” sites and business park white zones in the Master Plan to offer developers some autonomy in deciding the most appropriate mix of uses for each site. However, it has remained prescriptive in listing permissible uses and planning specifications for these sites.

The US practises what is called “performance zoning”, under which land development and use are circumscribed by performance standards; for example, these standards can limit the intensity of development by stipulating the maximum level of noise or strain on the transportation system.

 

Is Singapore’s Reit story sustainable?

Singapore’s real estate investment trusts became popular because they had the things local investors love — steady income, high yields and property. With most annual reports in, the picture for the industry isn’t inspiring. Indicated dividend yields have continued untouched even as return on assets has plunged.

As interest rates rise, investors will demand even higher dividend yields. At the same time, because the REITs owe more, they’re more impacted by higher interest payments.

Meanwhile, property prices have plunged. Last week it was reported that six industrial-property REITs recognized a collective drop in the value of their assets of S$296.3 million ($208.5 million) in 2016, enough to wipe out all the gains they booked since 2012.

 The URA index shows that rents for shops in the central region of Singapore has fallen 11 % in the past two years – back at the level it was a decade ago.

Currently, some 20 listed REITs’ shares are trading below 70 % of net asset value. Some, like Saizen REIT, are trading at deep discounts to net asset value because they have already agreed to sell their property holdings. Others, like Sabana Shariah Compliant REIT, are studying similar options.

This confirms the worst fear: that the current population of publicly traded REITs in Singapore is unsustainable.

 

All HDB industrial properties to JTC by 2018

By the first quarter of 2018, all 10,700 industrial units and 540 land leases under the Housing & Development Board (HDB) will be consolidated under JTC, a single agency offering one-stop access to a full range of Singapore’s public-sector industrial facilities.

The properties will be transferred from HDB’s portfolio to JTC’s at net book value.

Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang said this will better support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their business growth.

The government will be able to undertake more comprehensive master-planning of industrial estates across Singapore; the move will also facilitate more efficient clustering of complementary activities and integration of activities along the value chain.

JTC wants to bring HDB tenants under its fold to offer them the same support that JTC tenants under the parentage of the Ministry of Trade and Industry enjoy, and to enhance their productivity and transform them into more competitive enterprises. (HDB falls under the Ministry of National Development.

One common problem HDB industrial tenants face lies in finding adjacent space into which to expand; many end up taking space in multiple venues, sometimes across the island. What JTC can offer SMEs is contiguous large floor plates in its own facilities.

It can also help SMEs plan ahead, by charting their growth trajectories and anticipating their future needs. JTC can provide, not just bigger spaces, but also land for expansion.

Guoxin Manufacturing is one example of an HDB tenant that is moving into a 1,180 sq m space at JTC Space @ Tampines North; this is twice the amount of space it used to occupy over five different units in Tuas and Ubi.

All HDB tenants and lessees affected by the consolidation will continue to be served by the same team of 160 HDB officers, who will be transferred to JTC. JTC also gave the assurance that the contracted terms and conditions of their tenancies and leases with HDB will remain.