New eligibility criteria for preschool Anchor Operator Scheme announced
By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid and Monica Kotwani
POSTED: 27 Jun 2013 3:50 PM
Religious organisations which run preschool centres and commercial operators will now be able to qualify for the government's Anchor Operator Scheme, under new eligibility criteria revealed on Thursday.
SINGAPORE: Commercial preschool operators and religious organisations that run preschool centres will now be allowed to apply for the government's Anchor Operator Scheme, under new eligibility criteria revealed on Thursday.
Previously, only not-for-profit organisations could apply.
Getting anchor operator status will allow access to government funding.
Those applying will need to show that they are motivated by a strong social mission to provide good quality and affordable services.
The current two anchor operators, PCF and NTUC's My First Skool, are not only eligible for government subsidies, but they also get first dibs over the allocation of sites in HDB estates.
In turn, the two operators, which run some 330 centres, are required to provide good quality services that are accessible to most low- and middle-income families.
In calling for more anchor operators to come on board, Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing said the expansion of the scheme would give parents more options and help cater to the diverse learning needs of children.
Religious organisations that run preschools can now also apply to become anchor operators, but they have to ensure their programmes are secular and cater to children of all backgrounds.
Mr Chan said: "If they have good innovative practices that can drive the cost down and lower prices for our parents we welcome that, but at the same time, money-making cannot be their primary goal. The special mission must be their primary goal, when it comes to educating and laying the foundations for our youths."
Those interested to become anchor operators will have to meet strict criteria.
These include running at least ten centres or having an enrolment of 1,000 children, providing a financial guarantee of six months of operating costs or S$10 million (whichever is lower), and having a governing body with independent members.
Applicants will also need to cap their monthly fees for services.
For a full-day childcare programme, fees cannot exceed S$720.
Kindergarten fees will be capped at S$160 and infant care fees at S$1,275.
Operators said they understand the rationale behind the stringent criteria, but they are worried it may squeeze out smaller operators, which are already having a tough time with competition from bigger players.
Frances Ng is the founder of Carpe Diem Group, which oversees 26 centres.
He highlighted the criteria of showing six months of operating costs based on the total number of centres for that year.
He said: "That is still quite substantial... We don't have that many operators in Singapore with that kind of finances. If you look at the market, over the last few years, they are constantly being squeezed out with the newcomers, new commercial operators, and in the last three years, with more AOP centres coming out, they feel the squeeze further.
"Smaller operators will definitely have a tougher time ahead of them, but having said that, I think it's not impossible to do well, they just need to find their own niche."
Mr Ng said the way around this is to enter into a joint venture with other "like-minded" people. He said he is in talks with a few other potential partners.
Under changes to the scheme, anchor operators will now have to ensure all their teachers are diploma-trained, compared to 80 per cent of teachers before.
Some operators Channel NewsAsia spoke with have welcomed this move, saying it would generally add to the quality of teachers, but some are worried it would add to the severe manpower crunch that is already present.
Mr Ng said: "Five years ago, the number of new centres was about 40 centres. Three years ago, it... doubled to about 80-90 new centres a year for the last three years. With that increase in (number of) centres, we don't have enough teachers to accomodate the additional centres we have.
“With the new criteria of requiring all teachers in the AOP centres to be diploma holders, it's going to pose a huge challenge, not just for the new AOPs but across the board. Everybody will be fighting for the small cake that we have."
He added: "I'm not against increasing the number of centres to accommodate parents, but I think we need to manage the growth across the industry."
Interested operators have until 27 August to submit their proposals.
The Early Childhood Development Agency, which is overseeing this call for proposals, said only those who meet all criteria will be selected.
- CNA/fa/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Singapore's office rental market expected to go up
Singapore's office rental market expected to go up
By Toni Waterman
POSTED: 26 Jun 2013 11:24 PM
Singapore's office rental market is on the rebound after bottoming out in the last quarter of 2012, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's office rental market is on the rebound after bottoming out in the last quarter of 2012, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
In its quarterly office market report, the real estate firm said rents are on the rise and vacancies are drying up, though not all office buildings are sharing the comeback.
Cushman & Wakefield's latest office market report showed that the average rent in prime Grade A locations was up 4.2 per cent in the second quarter, from a quarter earlier, hitting S$9.03 a square foot per month.
That was up from S$8.99 per square foot per month in the first quarter of this year.
Sigrid Zialcita, managing director of research for the Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, said: "We are expecting rents to go up across the board on the back of very solid demand.
"We're not going to see the spikes we've seen in the 2007-2008 time frame, where rents went as high as S$18-S$19 a foot."
The report showed that all the CBD submarkets saw average rents appreciate, with Marina Bay and Shenton Way seeing a 9 per cent rise in rents. In the fringe area, Orchard Road's average rents moved up by around 4.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
The average rent in the suburban submarket rose slightly -- by 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter -- to S$5.64 psf per month.
Vacancy rates for Grade A office space is also improving -- dropping to 3.7 per cent in the second quarter from 5.0 per cent in the first quarter.
Vacancies at Marina Bay shrank to 3.6 per cent in Q2, from 5.6 per cent a quarter ago and 12.1 per cent a year ago. Raffles Place had an overall vacancy rate of 5.5 per cent, while Shenton Way's vacancy rate stood at 4.9 per cent.
Experts said diversity in the tenant pool has helped fill the office space.
"Long gone are purely financial institutions," said Desmond Sim, associate director of CBRE Research. "You have complimentary services like insurance, you've got legal all coming in to take up Grade A stock within Marina Bay and Raffles Place."
Also helping the office rental market is the limited new supply coming to the market.
Mr Sim said: "This year, we have the Asia Square Tower II coming on stream. Next year, we have CapitaGreen that will come on stream. Then we actually have a break of no Grade A product coming in 2015.
"So if someone is trying to take advantage of the current low Grade A rents, they might realize the Grade A stock coming online is quite limited."
One place where vacancies are not falling is in the suburbs, where vacancies are expected to rise to over 8 per cent through 2014.
The suburban vacancy rate was 2.7 per cent in 2012, and is expected to rise to 6.0 per cent this year and hit 8.2 per cent in 2014.
Sigrid Zialcita said: "In the suburbs, we're going to see some massive projects delivered and add space, but again we don't think it's a huge concern for the market because the take up we've seen has been brisk, and going forward we see very healthy leasing occurring in this properties."
There will be more options, but not necessarily better prices, as experts said despite rising vacancies, rental rates in the suburbs will remain stable at around S$5.50 per square foot this year to 2014.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Toni Waterman
POSTED: 26 Jun 2013 11:24 PM
Singapore's office rental market is on the rebound after bottoming out in the last quarter of 2012, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's office rental market is on the rebound after bottoming out in the last quarter of 2012, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
In its quarterly office market report, the real estate firm said rents are on the rise and vacancies are drying up, though not all office buildings are sharing the comeback.
Cushman & Wakefield's latest office market report showed that the average rent in prime Grade A locations was up 4.2 per cent in the second quarter, from a quarter earlier, hitting S$9.03 a square foot per month.
That was up from S$8.99 per square foot per month in the first quarter of this year.
Sigrid Zialcita, managing director of research for the Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, said: "We are expecting rents to go up across the board on the back of very solid demand.
"We're not going to see the spikes we've seen in the 2007-2008 time frame, where rents went as high as S$18-S$19 a foot."
The report showed that all the CBD submarkets saw average rents appreciate, with Marina Bay and Shenton Way seeing a 9 per cent rise in rents. In the fringe area, Orchard Road's average rents moved up by around 4.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
The average rent in the suburban submarket rose slightly -- by 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter -- to S$5.64 psf per month.
Vacancy rates for Grade A office space is also improving -- dropping to 3.7 per cent in the second quarter from 5.0 per cent in the first quarter.
Vacancies at Marina Bay shrank to 3.6 per cent in Q2, from 5.6 per cent a quarter ago and 12.1 per cent a year ago. Raffles Place had an overall vacancy rate of 5.5 per cent, while Shenton Way's vacancy rate stood at 4.9 per cent.
Experts said diversity in the tenant pool has helped fill the office space.
"Long gone are purely financial institutions," said Desmond Sim, associate director of CBRE Research. "You have complimentary services like insurance, you've got legal all coming in to take up Grade A stock within Marina Bay and Raffles Place."
Also helping the office rental market is the limited new supply coming to the market.
Mr Sim said: "This year, we have the Asia Square Tower II coming on stream. Next year, we have CapitaGreen that will come on stream. Then we actually have a break of no Grade A product coming in 2015.
"So if someone is trying to take advantage of the current low Grade A rents, they might realize the Grade A stock coming online is quite limited."
One place where vacancies are not falling is in the suburbs, where vacancies are expected to rise to over 8 per cent through 2014.
The suburban vacancy rate was 2.7 per cent in 2012, and is expected to rise to 6.0 per cent this year and hit 8.2 per cent in 2014.
Sigrid Zialcita said: "In the suburbs, we're going to see some massive projects delivered and add space, but again we don't think it's a huge concern for the market because the take up we've seen has been brisk, and going forward we see very healthy leasing occurring in this properties."
There will be more options, but not necessarily better prices, as experts said despite rising vacancies, rental rates in the suburbs will remain stable at around S$5.50 per square foot this year to 2014.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Hillview residential site up for sale by tender
Hillview residential site up for sale by tender
POSTED: 26 Jun 2013 10:45 PM
A freehold residential site in Hillview has been put for sale by tender.
SINGAPORE: A freehold residential site at 1 Jalan Remaja, off Hillview Avenue, has been put for sale by tender.
The site, which is located on elevated ground, has a land area of over 43,500 square feet.
According to its marketing agent DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, the site can be developed into a 10-storey condominium with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 83,600 square feet.
It added that the new development can accommodate about 110 units, if the average apartment size is about 70 square metres.
DTZ's head of investment advisory services and auction, Shaun Poh, said in a statement that "the regular configuration of the site allows the developer to maximise building efficiency and provides design flexibility for a boutique residential development".
The estimated development charge to develop the site for residential use would be approximately S$14.9 million.
As an indication of the potential value of new units on the site, DTZ pointed to recent projects in the area such as Natura@Hillview and The Hillier which have been sold at prices up to S$1,750 per square foot.
The tender will close on July 23 at 3pm.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
POSTED: 26 Jun 2013 10:45 PM
A freehold residential site in Hillview has been put for sale by tender.
SINGAPORE: A freehold residential site at 1 Jalan Remaja, off Hillview Avenue, has been put for sale by tender.
The site, which is located on elevated ground, has a land area of over 43,500 square feet.
According to its marketing agent DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, the site can be developed into a 10-storey condominium with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 83,600 square feet.
It added that the new development can accommodate about 110 units, if the average apartment size is about 70 square metres.
DTZ's head of investment advisory services and auction, Shaun Poh, said in a statement that "the regular configuration of the site allows the developer to maximise building efficiency and provides design flexibility for a boutique residential development".
The estimated development charge to develop the site for residential use would be approximately S$14.9 million.
As an indication of the potential value of new units on the site, DTZ pointed to recent projects in the area such as Natura@Hillview and The Hillier which have been sold at prices up to S$1,750 per square foot.
The tender will close on July 23 at 3pm.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
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