Singapore developers struggling to sell apartments in their home market are buying property overseas, turning the island-state into the largest foreign investor from the region this year.
Companies including City Developments and Keppel Land pumped US$2.32 billion into overseas markets in the nine months through September, a three-fold increase from the same period last year and the most in at least eight years, according to data from Real Capital Analytics, a research firm that specialises in investments in commercial property.
The Singapore developers are looking abroad as government measures to rein in property values have caused residential prices to fall for four straight quarters, the longest period of declines since 2009.
“Many Asian countries such as Singapore are facing property cooling measures at home, so they are venturing to western markets where they can find returns and are seeing a strong recovery,” said Terence Tang, the managing director of capital markets and investment services for Asia at Colliers International, a real estate broker.
City Developments, Singapore’s second-largest developer by market value, said in September that it invested in a plot of land in Tokyo valued at S$356 million (Dh1bn). Keppel Land, Singapore’s third-biggest developer, in July said it made its maiden investment in the United States with a prime residential development in New York City. The project, which it said at the time was valued at about $70 million, is on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and will be developed by Macklowe Properties.
At the same time, the developers have become increasingly vocal about the difficulties they face in Singapore, where their margins have been squeezed by falling property prices. Government measures to stem growth in the market and prevent a speculative bubble have brought residential prices down about 4 per cent from the peak in September 2013.
“In Singapore, the residential market is virtually dead,” said Desmond Woon, the executive director at the luxury home developer Ho Bee Land. “With the government measures in place, it has become very hard to do development of residential properties.”
The government’s curbs have included a cap on debt at 60 per cent of a borrower’s income and higher stamp duties on home purchases. Additional taxes for foreigners buying residential property were raised to 15 per cent in 2013 from 10 per cent, on top of the basic buyer’s stamp duty rate of about 3 per cent. All home sellers need to pay 16 per cent in levies if they sell within the first year.
City Developments warned last month that Singapore’s housing market may face “fire sales” and mortgage defaults as sales and prices fall.
The overseas investments by developers have helped to catapult Singapore into the top place among Asian countries investing in overseas real estate so far this year, according to figures from the New York-based RCA.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, has been a major buyer of overseas real estate, although its 20-year investment horizon gives it a different profile from the listed Singapore developers. In total, Singapore entities invested $9.8bn in overseas commercial property in the nine months to September, overtaking China with $8.4bn of overseas investments, and Hong Kong with $7.3 bn, RCA said.
Ho Bee, which has invested in office towers in London and is developing homes in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast in Australia, is scouting for more buying opportunities in Sydney and London, Mr Woon said.
The flip side of the developers’ growing interest in overseas real estate has been a drop in bidding at Singapore land auctions as the market cooled. Results of a land auction announced in August showed only three bids were submitted, the fewest in 18 months, and well below 2009 when there were about 16 bids at the auctions, according to Nicholas Mak, the executive director at SLP International Property Consultants.
Developers are willing to take on the additional risks associated with overseas investments, Mr Tang at Colliers said.
“Mainland Chinese and Singapore developers are going to New York, Australia and the UK,” Mr Tang said. “They are ready to take a development risk, which is the highest point of the risk curve, as they need higher returns and because they are seeing these markets showing signs of a recovery.”
They are also finding higher yields. Profit margins for developing homes in Singapore are between 5 and 10 per cent, while margins in Australia are between 10 per cent and 20 per cent, Ho Bee’s Mr Woon said.
Office properties in London can yield between 4 per cent and 6 per cent, while Singapore office yields are about 4 per cent, he said. Shares of City Developments fell 1 per cent to S$9.96 in Singapore, while Keppel Land declined 1.5 per cent to S$3.32. Ho Bee lost 0.8 per cent to S$1.97.
“The Singapore residential real estate market will need to battle headwinds as sentiments remain subdued with little signs of property curbs being tweaked or removed in the near-term,” City Developments said in an emailed response, citing its earnings statement. The company is “actively pursuing opportunities in the US, UK, Australia, China and Japan”, it said.
The government said in October that home prices need to fall further.
Other developers going overseas include Pontiac Land Group, owner of the Singapore Ritz-Carlton, which invested $200m in reviving a 72-storey residential tower project adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art in midtown Manhattan last year. OUE, the owner of Singapore’s Mandarin Gallery shopping mall, agreed to buy US Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California’s tallest building, for $367.5m in March 2013.
Singapore developers are acquiring mostly offices in London and hotels and commercial properties in Sydney, Colliers said.
“Developers are searching for higher yields and returns,” said Sigrid Zialcita, the managing director for Asia- Pacific research at the real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield. “Singapore with its cooling measures is quite restrictive in terms of investments. We don’t see a dramatic reversal of policies over the next year so the trend of developers going overseas will continue.”
The city-state has fallen out of a ranking of the top 20 cities for property investment, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. Singapore, along with Toronto, Moscow and Seoul, was knocked out by Beijing, Shanghai, Miami and Stockholm, the report showed.
“The risk appetite is getting larger and larger with the profile of investors and the structure of deals changing,” Tang said. “The real estate market has slowed down a fair bit in Asia so developers need to find other alternatives to generate profit so they are going to markets outside Asia where they can see growth potential and a strong recovery.”
* Bloomberg News
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
More on Quran memorisation:
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Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
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RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Roll of honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia Premiership season?
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Cup - Winners: Bahrain; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy - Winners: Dubai Hurricanes; Runners up: DSC Eagles
Final West Asia Premiership standings - 1. Jebel Ali Dragons; 2. Abu Dhabi Harlequins; 3. Bahrain; 4. Dubai Exiles; 5. Dubai Hurricanes; 6. DSC Eagles; 7. Abu Dhabi Saracens
Fixture (UAE Premiership final) - Friday, April 13, Al Ain – Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
