SINGAPORE – Pent-up demand for new private homes in the suburbs fuelled a rebound in overall sales in July, and lifted the median prices of some new mass market condominiums to levels more commonly seen in prime and city fringe locations. Thanks to robust sales at AMO Residence in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 – […]
BEIJING (REUTERS) – Chinese developers in “survival mode” sharply cut property investment in July while new construction starts suffered their biggest fall in nearly a decade, suggesting the liquidity-challenged sector is not about to turn the corner anytime soon. China’s property market, accounting for about a quarter of the economy, has been trapped in a […]
BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) – The Thai economy grew at a slower pace than economists estimated in the last quarter as the fastest inflation in 14 years probably weighed on sentiment and offset gains from the return of foreign tourists. Gross domestic product rose 2.5 per cent in the April to June period from a year ago, […]
BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China’s central bank has unexpectedly cut its key interest rates as it ramps up support for an economy weighed by Covid-19 lockdowns and a deepening property downturn. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Monday (Aug 15) lowered the rate on its one-year policy loans by 10 basis points to 2.75 per cent […]
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Ascott Residence Trust (ART) on Monday (Aug 15) proposed the acquisition of nine properties from its sponsor, The Ascott Limited, at an estimated total capitalised cost of $318.3 million. The acquisition is expected to strengthen ART’s presence in its existing markets, the stapled hospitality group’s managers said in bourse filings […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan’s economy rebounded at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from a Covid-19-induced slump, data showed on Monday (Aug 15), highlighting uncertainty on whether consumption will grow enough to bolster a much-delayed, fragile recovery. While rising consumption propped up growth in the April to June period, the outlook has been clouded by […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan’s economy expanded for the third straight quarter on solid private consumption, data for April-June showed on Monday (Aug 15), a sign the country was finally staging a much-delayed recovery from a Covid-induced downturn. But the outlook remains uncertain due to a resurgence in Covid-19 infections, slowing global growth, supply constraints and […]
LONDON (BLOOMBERG) – Property asking prices in Britain fell at the sharpest pace in almost 2½ years as a traditional summer lull combined with increased caution about the outlook for the economy. The cost of new homes listed for sale fell 1.3 per cent in August, reducing the annual pace of growth to 8.2 per cent from […]
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Property and hospitality group UOL Group on Friday (Aug 12) posted earnings of $371 million for the first half-year ended June, up 306 per cent from $91.3 million in the year-ago period. The increase was spearheaded by fair-value gains of $190 million in the first half, compared with fair-value losses […]
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Casino and resort operator Genting Singapore reported a 4.3 per cent fall in net profit for the first half of the financial year from the year-ago period, the company said in a filing on Friday (Aug 12). Net profit for the six months ended June 30 came to $84.4 million, […]
NEW YORK (AFP) – Wall Street stocks concluded a positive week on a winning note, rising on Friday (Aug 12) on improving investor sentiment following better US inflation data earlier in the week. All three major indices finished firmly higher as markets rode the wave from consumer and producer price data that market optimists believe […]
LONDON (REUTERS) – Britain’s economy contracted by less than feared in June, when public holidays had been expected to exert a big drag, although sectors most exposed to a worsening cost-of-living crisis, such as retail and restaurants, struggled. Output for the second quarter as a whole still contracted, however, with Britain expected to enter a […]
TAIPEI (BLOOMBERG) – Apple has asked suppliers to build at least as many of its next-generation iPhones this year as in 2021, counting on an affluent clientele and dwindling competition to weather a global electronics downturn. The technology giant is telling its assemblers to make 90 million of its newest devices, on a par with […]
KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) – Malaysia’s economy grew at its fastest annual pace in a year in the second quarter, boosted by expansion in domestic demand and resilient exports, but a slowdown in global growth is expected to pose a risk to the outlook for the rest of 2022. Gross domestic product (GDP) in April-June surged 8.9 […]
SINGAPORE – Rental prices for Housing Board flats and private apartments continued to rise last month, with analysts noting that the trend will continue as completed housing projects are unable to catch up with demand. HDB rents climbed at a slower pace of 1.5 per cent in July, compared with June’s 2.3 per cent, with rents […]
SINGAPORE – Rental prices for Housing Board flats and private apartments continued to rise last month, with analysts noting that the trend will continue as completed housing projects are unable to catch up with demand. HDB rents climbed at a slower pace of 1.5 per cent in July compared with June’s 2.3 per cent, with […]
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Bus operator SBS Transit on Wednesday (Aug 10) announced earnings of $34.6 million for the first half-year ended June, down 5 per cent from $36.5 million in the year-ago period. The decline was attributed to a jump in tax expense for the period to $8.1 million, from $1.1 million a […]
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Property investment manager CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) posted a 38.3 per cent drop in profit for the first half year ended June 30, to $433 million, from $702 million last year due to “lower velocity in asset recycling activities”, particularly in China, it said in a regulatory filing on Thursday […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore has raised its full-year trade forecasts after its export performance in the second quarter of 2022 came in better than expected due to higher oil prices and electronics. Total merchandise trade is expected to grow by 15 to 16 per cent this year, up from the previous projection of 8 to 10 […]
SINGAPORE – The Government has narrowed its economic growth forecast range for 2022 in tandem with a worsening outlook for the global economy and stubbornly high inflation. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) narrowed its range for Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year to 3 to 4 per cent, from an earlier […]