Productivity to play role in JTC lease renewals
Source: Business Times
By: Felda Chay
Industrialists who want their leases at JTC-owned factories renewed will have to show that they are taking serious steps to raise productivity, said Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Trade and Industry.
It is an important criterion, said Mr Teo in an interview with The Business Times.
"Because moving forward, we have to maximise the value of certain space as well, and we want to strengthen SMEs, so we put in that productivity element to say that if you want to renew, no problem, but we also want you to strengthen your own business using the same space. . . We want to see you, for instance, automate certain parts so you are more productive."
The new productivity criteria will see firms submitting a proposal on how they intend to raise efficiency levels and set milestones, when they ask to renew their lease. The proposal will be reviewed by both JTC and Spring Singapore.
Majority owner buys Serangoon Plaza
$400m sale price for five-storey complex about 9-11% above indicative price
Source: Business Times
By: Kenneth Lim
THE majority owner of Serangoon Plaza has bought all of the five-storey Little India complex for $400 million through a collective sale process.
The final sale price, equivalent to $1,946 per sq ft, is about 9 to 11 per cent above the indicative price of $360 million to $368 million, or $1,751 to $1,790 psf. The building was put up for sale in September, and the tender closed on Oct 31.
Feature Development, an associate company of Tong Eng Group of Companies, already owns more than 90 per cent of Serangoon Plaza. Tong Eng recused itself from the sales committee once it decided to put in a bid itself, said Suzie Mok, senior director of investment sales at Savills Singapore, which brokered the deal.
Despair over disrepair
Source: The New Paper
By: Judith Tan
In 1997, Ms Bai had bought a condominium unit at Singapore Gardens in Anxi County, China, for her parents to retire in.
But her father died before the condominium project was finished, so she left it alone.
Years later, she was shocked to find it in a state of disrepair and with faeces everywhere.
Ms Bai said: "The flat was supposed to be locked yet in there, we found debris from renovations next door and human excrement everywhere."
The condominium buildings were in such a bad shape that the China authorities want to demolish them and are trying to locate Singaporean owners, who are being offered cash compensation or a flat-for-flat deal.
The Governor of Fengcheng Town in the Anxi County plans to rebuild the residential project.