Crystal Tower up for en bloc sale
By Stella Lee | Posted: 05 July 2011 2127 hrs
SINGAPORE : Crystal Tower, located at Ewe Boon Road, has been put up for collective sale by tender at an indicative price of S$155 million.
It is a 28 unit, 11-storey residential development.
The 60,482 square foot residential freehold site has a gross plot ratio of 1.6.
Its elevated site enjoys an unobstructed view of the Bukit Timah residential district.
Its marketing agent Colliers International said the compound can be re-developed into a 12-storey residential development comprising 81 units of 1,200 sq feet each.
The breakeven price for Crystal Tower is estimated to be in the region of S$2,200 to S$2,300 per sq foot.
The development charge might not be payable.
A development baseline enquiry has been submitted to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for confirmation.
Tang Wei Leng, Executive Director for Investment Services at Colliers International, said the indicative pricing is competitive with an approximate S$1,600 per sq foot per plot ratio.
She cited that the recent collective sale of Balmoral Condominium was sold for S$1,543 per sq foot per plot ratio.
Current owners at Crystal Tower can expect to receive between S$5 million to S$10 million from the sale proceeds.
Recent transacted prices of residential projects in the Bukit Timah area, such as Cyan, are in the region of S$2,400-S$2,500 per sq foot.
The tender will close on August 4 at noon.
- CNA /ls
- wong chee tat :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
More demanding job for today's CFO
More demanding job for today's CFO
By Lois Calderon | Posted: 05 July 2011 2239 hrs
SINGAPORE : The rapidly changing business environment has given the chief financial officer (CFO) a greater role in an organisation.
CFOs do more than just keeping the books and manage company finances; rather they've become the alter-ego of a company's chief executive officer (CEO), according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Industry officials said the CFO is now a strategist and has a bigger voice in running the organisation together with the CEO.
Gautam Banerjee, Executive Chairman of PwC Singapore, said: "It is quite a multifaceted role that the CFO has to perform. He or she obviously has to be on top of financial and accounting issues, and also to provide insight to the CEO about how the business should be ran, about managing and motivating a whole team of people in the finance department, as well as working in partnership with other business unit leaders - with the sales and marketing, with mergers and acquisitions, with operations."
Industry players said that means the job would require not only technical skills, but also so-called soft skills such as being able to communicate, in addition to understanding what drives business.
Risk management and corporate governance are also on the CFO's job description list.
"A CFO, if he wants to become a successful member of the management team, dealing with both his financial counterparts and more importantly with general management people, line managers, it's important that he has good communication skills, PR skills, the ability to be able to press his point of view, and have mutual respect with his colleagues," said Shanker Iyer, chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.
"So the ability to get on with people, see the bigger picture is very much an intricate part of today's modern day CFO," he added.
The ACCA has been conducting quarterly roundtable discussions as it prepares accounting professionals for the wider role.
But accounting experts said that there is an even bigger challenge as there exists a significant talent crunch in the industry.
An ACCA survey of accounting firms in the Asia Pacific region conducted late last year showed 81 per cent of those polled in Singapore believed a skills shortage in finance and accounting exists.
Singapore and Hong Kong ranked highest in describing the talent crunch as "chronic".
- CNA /ls
- wong chee tat :)
By Lois Calderon | Posted: 05 July 2011 2239 hrs
SINGAPORE : The rapidly changing business environment has given the chief financial officer (CFO) a greater role in an organisation.
CFOs do more than just keeping the books and manage company finances; rather they've become the alter-ego of a company's chief executive officer (CEO), according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Industry officials said the CFO is now a strategist and has a bigger voice in running the organisation together with the CEO.
Gautam Banerjee, Executive Chairman of PwC Singapore, said: "It is quite a multifaceted role that the CFO has to perform. He or she obviously has to be on top of financial and accounting issues, and also to provide insight to the CEO about how the business should be ran, about managing and motivating a whole team of people in the finance department, as well as working in partnership with other business unit leaders - with the sales and marketing, with mergers and acquisitions, with operations."
Industry players said that means the job would require not only technical skills, but also so-called soft skills such as being able to communicate, in addition to understanding what drives business.
Risk management and corporate governance are also on the CFO's job description list.
"A CFO, if he wants to become a successful member of the management team, dealing with both his financial counterparts and more importantly with general management people, line managers, it's important that he has good communication skills, PR skills, the ability to be able to press his point of view, and have mutual respect with his colleagues," said Shanker Iyer, chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.
"So the ability to get on with people, see the bigger picture is very much an intricate part of today's modern day CFO," he added.
The ACCA has been conducting quarterly roundtable discussions as it prepares accounting professionals for the wider role.
But accounting experts said that there is an even bigger challenge as there exists a significant talent crunch in the industry.
An ACCA survey of accounting firms in the Asia Pacific region conducted late last year showed 81 per cent of those polled in Singapore believed a skills shortage in finance and accounting exists.
Singapore and Hong Kong ranked highest in describing the talent crunch as "chronic".
- CNA /ls
- wong chee tat :)
Age of parents-to-be a factor in miscarriage risk
Age of parents-to-be a factor in miscarriage risk
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 11 July 2011 1538 hrs
SINGAPORE: A woman who experienced bleeding in early pregnancy is at risk of having a miscarriage. But that risk goes up if she's older, has a previous history of miscarriage and a low blood progesterone (hormonal) level during pregnancy.
These findings were culled from the first of its kind study to be conducted among pregnant women in Singapore.
The study was jointly carried out by KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS).
In this study, early pregnancy bleeding resulted in complete miscarriage in about one in four women.
And the age of the father-to-be is also a factor.
Men aged above 40 added an eight-fold risk of miscarriage, and a mother older than 34 years was two-fold more likely to miscarry.
One of the prinicipal investigators for this study, Assistant Professor Tan Thiam Chye, said that from this, it can be inferred that the biological clock ticks not only in the woman, but also in the father-to-be.
The study was conducted among KKH patients from November 2010 to March 2011.
The findings of this study will be presented at the 6th KKH Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) this Friday.
Assistant Professor Tan underscored the need for a larger study to validate the risk levels revealed by these preliminary findings.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 11 July 2011 1538 hrs
SINGAPORE: A woman who experienced bleeding in early pregnancy is at risk of having a miscarriage. But that risk goes up if she's older, has a previous history of miscarriage and a low blood progesterone (hormonal) level during pregnancy.
These findings were culled from the first of its kind study to be conducted among pregnant women in Singapore.
The study was jointly carried out by KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS).
In this study, early pregnancy bleeding resulted in complete miscarriage in about one in four women.
And the age of the father-to-be is also a factor.
Men aged above 40 added an eight-fold risk of miscarriage, and a mother older than 34 years was two-fold more likely to miscarry.
One of the prinicipal investigators for this study, Assistant Professor Tan Thiam Chye, said that from this, it can be inferred that the biological clock ticks not only in the woman, but also in the father-to-be.
The study was conducted among KKH patients from November 2010 to March 2011.
The findings of this study will be presented at the 6th KKH Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) this Friday.
Assistant Professor Tan underscored the need for a larger study to validate the risk levels revealed by these preliminary findings.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
More than just plants
More than just plants
By Valerie Tan | Posted: 11 July 2011 1915 hrs
SINGAPORE: Rain water usually goes to the drain first after a downpour, but not along a stretch of road at the Dawson housing estate in Singapore.
Under a lush landscape of plants are what engineers call bio-retention basins, built earlier this year, to collect, and more importantly, clean rainwater.
Tay Bee Choo, Head of the Landscape Unit with the Housing & Development Board (HDB), said: "As the water runs towards these plants, these plants, have some fur, hairiness to it. It helps to trap silt. Then as the water settles into the pit, the roots in this pit will absorb the nutrients that is dissolved in the water."
What is then left is clean rainwater, which is collected and directed into the main drain.
Ms Tay added: "If we have more than an hour of rain, and the basin is full, the excess rain water will have a chance to flow into sumps. It's designed such that it is just below the level of the road and the footpath."
Even though man-made, these systems are essentially letting nature do its job by having the plants clean the water. The idea is not new and unique to Singapore, as it has been implemented in countries like Costa Rica, America and Australia.
But it is now adapted to Southeast Asia's tropical climate, with different soil and plants like the purple fountain grass.
Ms Tay said: "We barely need maintenance because if we choose the right type of plants, the only time you need to come in is when the plants overgrow, then you may need to trim it down."
There are now plans to build more of these basins in other parts of Singapore, starting with new roads and towns like for example, Choa Chu Kang.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Valerie Tan | Posted: 11 July 2011 1915 hrs
SINGAPORE: Rain water usually goes to the drain first after a downpour, but not along a stretch of road at the Dawson housing estate in Singapore.
Under a lush landscape of plants are what engineers call bio-retention basins, built earlier this year, to collect, and more importantly, clean rainwater.
Tay Bee Choo, Head of the Landscape Unit with the Housing & Development Board (HDB), said: "As the water runs towards these plants, these plants, have some fur, hairiness to it. It helps to trap silt. Then as the water settles into the pit, the roots in this pit will absorb the nutrients that is dissolved in the water."
What is then left is clean rainwater, which is collected and directed into the main drain.
Ms Tay added: "If we have more than an hour of rain, and the basin is full, the excess rain water will have a chance to flow into sumps. It's designed such that it is just below the level of the road and the footpath."
Even though man-made, these systems are essentially letting nature do its job by having the plants clean the water. The idea is not new and unique to Singapore, as it has been implemented in countries like Costa Rica, America and Australia.
But it is now adapted to Southeast Asia's tropical climate, with different soil and plants like the purple fountain grass.
Ms Tay said: "We barely need maintenance because if we choose the right type of plants, the only time you need to come in is when the plants overgrow, then you may need to trim it down."
There are now plans to build more of these basins in other parts of Singapore, starting with new roads and towns like for example, Choa Chu Kang.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
Hair loss among youths on the rise
Hair loss among youths on the rise
By Ng Puay Leng and Sharon See | Posted: 11 July 2011 2114 hrs
SINGAPORE : It seems the problem of hair loss is no longer only confined to middle-aged men.
Dermatologists said teenagers are also facing such problems and the numbers are rising - from an average of one to two cases a month, to weekly.
And the youngest patient is reportedly only six.
Stress is said to be a major cause.
Dermatologists said environmental factors could be a cause too, such as smoking or dieting, or even inappropriate hair care habits.
Hair loss treatment for teens is different from that for adults.
Doctors rarely use medicine; instead, they use counselling to help patients understand the importance of good health.
For more severe cases, doctors may work with psychiatrists to help patients overcome their obsessive compulsive disorders.
Doctors in Singapore are considering a new form of treatment that is based on embryonic stem cells.
A solution is injected directly into the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
According to Dr Eileen Tan from Eileen Tan Skin, Laser and Hair Transplant Clinic, the benefit of such treatment is that there is no need to ingest or apply any medicine every day.
Industry players are working with the National Skin Centre to conduct tests. If the results are favourable, they may import this technology.
- CNA /ls
- wong chee tat :)
By Ng Puay Leng and Sharon See | Posted: 11 July 2011 2114 hrs
SINGAPORE : It seems the problem of hair loss is no longer only confined to middle-aged men.
Dermatologists said teenagers are also facing such problems and the numbers are rising - from an average of one to two cases a month, to weekly.
And the youngest patient is reportedly only six.
Stress is said to be a major cause.
Dermatologists said environmental factors could be a cause too, such as smoking or dieting, or even inappropriate hair care habits.
Hair loss treatment for teens is different from that for adults.
Doctors rarely use medicine; instead, they use counselling to help patients understand the importance of good health.
For more severe cases, doctors may work with psychiatrists to help patients overcome their obsessive compulsive disorders.
Doctors in Singapore are considering a new form of treatment that is based on embryonic stem cells.
A solution is injected directly into the scalp to stimulate hair growth.
According to Dr Eileen Tan from Eileen Tan Skin, Laser and Hair Transplant Clinic, the benefit of such treatment is that there is no need to ingest or apply any medicine every day.
Industry players are working with the National Skin Centre to conduct tests. If the results are favourable, they may import this technology.
- CNA /ls
- wong chee tat :)
Apple software update thwarts iPhone-iPad hack
Apple software update thwarts iPhone-iPad hack
July 16, 2011
Apple on Friday released a software update to patch a vulnerability that hackers could use to break into the company's popular iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch gadgets.
The flaw made it possible for hackers to infiltrate Apple mobile devices by duping users into opening PDF document files booby-trapped with malicious computer code.
Although no attacks have been observed, it was feared that hackers would exploit the weakness.
The update to iOS software running Apple mobile gadgets fortified defenses. The update was available free at Apple's online iTunes shop.
(c) 2011 AFP
- wong chee tat :)
July 16, 2011
Apple on Friday released a software update to patch a vulnerability that hackers could use to break into the company's popular iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch gadgets.
The flaw made it possible for hackers to infiltrate Apple mobile devices by duping users into opening PDF document files booby-trapped with malicious computer code.
Although no attacks have been observed, it was feared that hackers would exploit the weakness.
The update to iOS software running Apple mobile gadgets fortified defenses. The update was available free at Apple's online iTunes shop.
(c) 2011 AFP
- wong chee tat :)
Commercial redevelopment site at Sophia Rd up for en bloc sale
Commercial redevelopment site at Sophia Rd up for en bloc sale
By Travis Teo | Posted: 11 July 2011 2220 hrs
SINGAPORE : A commercial redevelopment site which Peace Centre and Peace Mansion sit on is up for en bloc sale.
Marketing manager Savills Singapore said the site at 1 Sophia Road is over 7,100 square metres and has a guide price of S$675 million.
This works out to S$1,306 per square foot per plot ratio, and includes an estimated upgrading premium of S$145 million to top up the existing lease to a 99-year tenure.
Savills said the site currently comprises a commercial and residential tower and can be redeveloped into a commercial development with a gross floor area of over 58,300 square metres.
This exceeds the permissible plot ratio of 4.2 as indicated in the Master Plan.
Savills said the new development will be the largest amongst those located along the streetscape comprising namely PoMo, Parklane Shopping Centre and Wilkie Edge.
It added that the site offers an attractive opportunity for a mixed-used development comprising retail, entertainment, office, medical suites, SOHO or even service apartments
The tender will close at 3pm on August 3.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Travis Teo | Posted: 11 July 2011 2220 hrs
SINGAPORE : A commercial redevelopment site which Peace Centre and Peace Mansion sit on is up for en bloc sale.
Marketing manager Savills Singapore said the site at 1 Sophia Road is over 7,100 square metres and has a guide price of S$675 million.
This works out to S$1,306 per square foot per plot ratio, and includes an estimated upgrading premium of S$145 million to top up the existing lease to a 99-year tenure.
Savills said the site currently comprises a commercial and residential tower and can be redeveloped into a commercial development with a gross floor area of over 58,300 square metres.
This exceeds the permissible plot ratio of 4.2 as indicated in the Master Plan.
Savills said the new development will be the largest amongst those located along the streetscape comprising namely PoMo, Parklane Shopping Centre and Wilkie Edge.
It added that the site offers an attractive opportunity for a mixed-used development comprising retail, entertainment, office, medical suites, SOHO or even service apartments
The tender will close at 3pm on August 3.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
System Updates
Updates:
1. Made changes to electrical wriring, network wiring.
2. Older systems are not longer in network.
3. Rerouted and optimized some of the network systems.
Downtime: 3hrs
- wong chee tat :)
1. Made changes to electrical wriring, network wiring.
2. Older systems are not longer in network.
3. Rerouted and optimized some of the network systems.
Downtime: 3hrs
- wong chee tat :)
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