Don't sell your Toa Payoh flats: Ng Eng Hen
By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid
POSTED: 11 Aug 2013 9:44 PM
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has urged residents of Toa Payoh Central not to sell their flats unless they have to.
SINGAPORE: Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has urged residents of Toa Payoh Central not to sell their flats unless they have to.
Dr Ng, who is also MP for the area, said homes there may fetch a high selling price, but it will be hard to find a replacement, given its central location and accessibility.
Dr Ng was speaking at a National Day dinner celebration.
He said: "One is, if you sell your home from Toa Payoh, I worry that you are going to find it hard to find a replacement home that's better than Toa Payoh with the same amount of money.
"Second, I think that more likely than not, the prices of homes in Toa Payoh will go up. Why? Because if you look at the map, Toa Payoh is in the centre.
"North, south, east, west, whatever you build - roads and MRT - sooner or later they will have to cross Toa Payoh. That is why transportation is so easy here."
Dr Ng also said education is the best way to raise the standard of living of families.
He pledged to help children who may face difficulties.
One way is through fund-raising efforts, such as a marathon held in February where money raised helped children attend enrichment classes.
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
Monday, August 12, 2013
Singapore's economy grows 3.8% on-year in Q2
Singapore's economy grows 3.8% on-year in Q2
By Linette Lim
POSTED: 12 Aug 2013 8:01 AM
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the economy grew by 3.8 per cent on-year in the second quarter, its strongest growth in three years.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy posted strong growth in the second quarter on the back of a robust performance from the manufacturing sector.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.8 per cent on-year in the second quarter, higher than early estimates of a 3.7 per cent rise.
It is the strongest growth in three years and a hefty improvement from the 0.2 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew 15.5 per cent, significantly higher than the 1.7 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.
Following the strong performance, the ministry upgraded the GDP growth forecast for 2013 to 2.5-3.5 per cent, better than the previous prediction of a 1-3 per cent growth.
The upward revision of Singapore's growth outlook came as no surprise.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had disclosed the more optimistic GDP forecast in his National Day message last week.
And at a news briefing on Monday, MTI said the revision was due to better-than-expected economic growth in the first half, particularly from non-trade related sectors like finance.
But there are downside risks to growth.
Ow Foong Pheng, Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry, said: "Our expectations and our forecast for growth for the second half of 2013 are based on a central scenario of 7.5% growth for China. We do not expect a hard landing, but of course these things depend on whether there are unexpected consequences to some policy moves that (the) Chinese government makes."
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the manufacturing sector soared 32.1 per cent in Q2, a sharp rebound from the 12.1 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.
The construction sector jumped 11.2 per cent, faster than the 10.3 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.
In the services producing industries, the wholesale & retail trade sector expanded by 22.1 per cent, in contrast to the 2.6 per cent contraction in the first quarter.
The transportation and storage sector grew by 19.6 per cent. The finance and insurance sector expanded by 9.2 per cent following a surge of 51.2 per cent in the preceding quarter.
As Singapore's economic growth forecast was upgraded, export growth for the year was revised down.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) is now expected to be flat or grow 1 per cent.
The full-year trade forecast was also downgraded to between 2 and 3 per cent.
Trade agency IE Singapore said domestic exports fell 4.9 per cent on-year in Q2 while non-oil re-exports (NORX) jumped 12.2 per cent.
UOB economist Francis Tan said: "We see a discrepancy between the re-exports and the domestic exports. That could be due to two reasons - number one, it could be due to cost competitiveness, so products that are coming in to Singapore are getting re-exported, rather than being value-added in Singapore and getting re-exported as domestic exports. On the second front, it could really be due to the product mix that Singapore is producing for the domestic exports."
With the full-year GDP growth expected to come in at between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent, UOB Economic-Treasury Research says this implies the economy will grow between 3.1 and 5 per cent in the second half of the year.
- CNA/fa/ir
- wong chee tat :)
By Linette Lim
POSTED: 12 Aug 2013 8:01 AM
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the economy grew by 3.8 per cent on-year in the second quarter, its strongest growth in three years.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy posted strong growth in the second quarter on the back of a robust performance from the manufacturing sector.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.8 per cent on-year in the second quarter, higher than early estimates of a 3.7 per cent rise.
It is the strongest growth in three years and a hefty improvement from the 0.2 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew 15.5 per cent, significantly higher than the 1.7 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.
Following the strong performance, the ministry upgraded the GDP growth forecast for 2013 to 2.5-3.5 per cent, better than the previous prediction of a 1-3 per cent growth.
The upward revision of Singapore's growth outlook came as no surprise.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had disclosed the more optimistic GDP forecast in his National Day message last week.
And at a news briefing on Monday, MTI said the revision was due to better-than-expected economic growth in the first half, particularly from non-trade related sectors like finance.
But there are downside risks to growth.
Ow Foong Pheng, Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry, said: "Our expectations and our forecast for growth for the second half of 2013 are based on a central scenario of 7.5% growth for China. We do not expect a hard landing, but of course these things depend on whether there are unexpected consequences to some policy moves that (the) Chinese government makes."
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the manufacturing sector soared 32.1 per cent in Q2, a sharp rebound from the 12.1 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.
The construction sector jumped 11.2 per cent, faster than the 10.3 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.
In the services producing industries, the wholesale & retail trade sector expanded by 22.1 per cent, in contrast to the 2.6 per cent contraction in the first quarter.
The transportation and storage sector grew by 19.6 per cent. The finance and insurance sector expanded by 9.2 per cent following a surge of 51.2 per cent in the preceding quarter.
As Singapore's economic growth forecast was upgraded, export growth for the year was revised down.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) is now expected to be flat or grow 1 per cent.
The full-year trade forecast was also downgraded to between 2 and 3 per cent.
Trade agency IE Singapore said domestic exports fell 4.9 per cent on-year in Q2 while non-oil re-exports (NORX) jumped 12.2 per cent.
UOB economist Francis Tan said: "We see a discrepancy between the re-exports and the domestic exports. That could be due to two reasons - number one, it could be due to cost competitiveness, so products that are coming in to Singapore are getting re-exported, rather than being value-added in Singapore and getting re-exported as domestic exports. On the second front, it could really be due to the product mix that Singapore is producing for the domestic exports."
With the full-year GDP growth expected to come in at between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent, UOB Economic-Treasury Research says this implies the economy will grow between 3.1 and 5 per cent in the second half of the year.
- CNA/fa/ir
- wong chee tat :)
EC sites command higher bids
EC sites command higher bids
By Wong Siew Ying
POSTED: 12 Aug 2013 5:25 PM
Land prices of executive condominium (EC) sites grew at a faster pace compared with other private residential developments in the last three years.
SINGAPORE: Land prices of executive condominium (EC) sites grew at a faster pace compared with other private residential developments in the last three years.
SLP International Property Consultants says its research showed that land prices of 99-year leasehold mass-market condos rose 40 percent in the past three years.
That's lower than the 50 percent rise in land prices for EC sites sold by the government over the same period.
Recently, an EC plot at Yuan Ching Road in Jurong drew a record bid of S$272.8m due to its attractive location.
That works out to about S$419 per square foot per plot ratio.
Moving forward, analysts expect developers to be more careful with their bids as demand for new homes has slowed after the implementation of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework on 29 June.
Land bids for EC sites could also moderate, say analysts.
SLP International Property Consultants' executive director Nicholas Mak said: "For EC land prices, I don't expect them to trend upwards from its current level.
"S$400 per square foot per plot ratio for quite some time has been a ceiling for EC land prices. As long as the government doesn't increase the household income (ceiling) of potential buyers of ECs, it will in effect curb the purchasing power of buyers.
"So, developers will probably be more cautious and moderate in the bids for the five EC plots that are on the Government Land Sales programme for the second half of this year.
"They are in a more average kind of location and so the bids that they will attract will also probably be below S$400 per square foot."
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
By Wong Siew Ying
POSTED: 12 Aug 2013 5:25 PM
Land prices of executive condominium (EC) sites grew at a faster pace compared with other private residential developments in the last three years.
SINGAPORE: Land prices of executive condominium (EC) sites grew at a faster pace compared with other private residential developments in the last three years.
SLP International Property Consultants says its research showed that land prices of 99-year leasehold mass-market condos rose 40 percent in the past three years.
That's lower than the 50 percent rise in land prices for EC sites sold by the government over the same period.
Recently, an EC plot at Yuan Ching Road in Jurong drew a record bid of S$272.8m due to its attractive location.
That works out to about S$419 per square foot per plot ratio.
Moving forward, analysts expect developers to be more careful with their bids as demand for new homes has slowed after the implementation of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework on 29 June.
Land bids for EC sites could also moderate, say analysts.
SLP International Property Consultants' executive director Nicholas Mak said: "For EC land prices, I don't expect them to trend upwards from its current level.
"S$400 per square foot per plot ratio for quite some time has been a ceiling for EC land prices. As long as the government doesn't increase the household income (ceiling) of potential buyers of ECs, it will in effect curb the purchasing power of buyers.
"So, developers will probably be more cautious and moderate in the bids for the five EC plots that are on the Government Land Sales programme for the second half of this year.
"They are in a more average kind of location and so the bids that they will attract will also probably be below S$400 per square foot."
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
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