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Business Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (May 5)
Stories you might have missed Singapore retail sales rebound in March, up 1.1% after prior dip [SINGAPORE] The Republic's retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in March, reversing February's 3.5 per cent decline, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Monday (May 5). Far East Organization puts Tuas asset with big redevelopment potential on the market [SINGAPORE] Far East Organization has put on the market a sizeable industrial property in Tuas with substantial redevelopment potential. Singapore dollar surges against US dollar as Asia currencies rally on trade hopes BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Asian currencies rallied on Monday on hopes of a thaw in the US-China trade war and regional tariff deals with the Trump administration. As T-bill, SSB yields fall, here's where to invest for higher yields: analysts [SINGAPORE] Yields are steadily declining, which is bad news for investors looking for a safe corner to park their cash. Gates Foundation to open office in Singapore – its 12th worldwide [SINGAPORE] The Gates Foundation – one of the world's largest private philanthropic organisations – will be opening an office in Singapore, said Bill Gates on Monday. Grab appoints Alejandro Osorio as new managing director for Singapore [SINGAPORE] Ride-hail and delivery giant Grab announced on Monday that Alejandro Osorio has been appointed as managing director of Grab Singapore.
Business Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Far East Organization puts Tuas asset with big redevelopment potential on the market
[SINGAPORE] Far East Organization has put on the market a sizeable industrial property in Tuas with substantial redevelopment potential. Located at 51 Tuas View Link, the property has a site area of 456,810 square feet (sq ft) and 60 year-leasehold tenure from July 1996, leaving a balance term of about 31 years. On the site are two blocks of single-storey warehouses with mezzanine levels. The indicative guide price is about S$138 million. Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) latest Master Plan, the site is zoned for Business 2 use and has a 2.5 plot ratio, which means it can be developed to a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 1.14 million sq ft – or 3.5 times the existing 323,831 sq ft GFA of the two warehouse blocks that are on the site. The indicative price works out to about S$120 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) based on the maximum GFA allowed for the site. The pair of warehouses are fully leased to eight tenants in trades such as logistics and packaging, hardware, and oil and gas and who use the premises for storage, repair and servicing, said Tan Boon Leong, executive director and co-head of investment services for Singapore at Colliers. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up The property consulting group is conducting an expression of interest exercise to find a buyer for the property. Interested parties have up to 3 pm on Jun 10 to submit their offers. Tan declined to confirm or comment on the property's ownership. The site is understood to have been part of a bigger land parcel of about 969,700 sq ft, which Far East clinched at a URA tender that closed in 1996. The group developed the remaining land into the Tradelink Place project, which is fully sold. Observers said it makes sense for Far East to sell 51 Tuas View Link, which is a non-core asset, and recycle capital. Tan noted that the site area of 51 Tuas View Link, at 4.2 hectares (ha), is larger than any site available on the current first-half 2025 Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme. The biggest site on the confirmed list of the IGLS programme, 2.8 ha, is in a location formerly known as Tuas Avenue 11 and renamed Pioneer Road. The 51 Tuas View Link property's Business 2 zoning makes it suitable for both light and heavy industrial activities, and warehousing. 'An incoming buyer may also explore the possibility of building a dormitory or a food-production and storage facility, subject to approval by the relevant authorities. This asset caters to a broad range of occupiers,' said Tan. A major selling point of the asset is that the site's lease was not issued by JTC and hence not restricted by the agency's policies on assignment of lease and subletting, he highlighted. 'This makes the asset attractive to owner occupiers, developers and investors alike.' He added that the 31-year balance lease term on the site is comparable to that for new IGLS sites. 'On the whole, 51 Tuas View Link represents a unique opportunity for industrial users, developers, institutional investors and family offices, whether as a near-term redevelopment opportunity or to keep the existing two warehouse blocks on the site for rental income while deciding on the best use of the site.' Potential buyers can look at redeveloping the site into a mix of different industrial spaces such as landed factory/warehouse and a ramp-up strata development, Colliers said.
Straits Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Property tycoon Robert Ng and 3 children designated politically significant persons under Fica
(Clockwise from top left) Singaporean property tycoon Robert Ng and three of his children – Mr Daryl Ng, Mr David Ng and Ms Nikki Ng – have been designated 'politically significant persons'. PHOTOS: BLOOMBERG, YEO HIAP SENG, DAVID NG/LINKEDIN, PBCFORUM SINGAPORE – Singaporean property tycoon Robert Ng Chee Siong and three of his children have been designated as 'politically significant persons' under the nation's foreign interference law designed to guard against the risks of foreign influence in domestic politics. Under Singapore's Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica), they must declare political donations of $10,000 or more, among other precautionary oversight measures, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement on April 22. The measures, under Section 48(1) of Fica, will apply to Mr Robert Ng – chairman of Hong Kong-listed Sino Group, the sister company of Singapore's Far East Organization – whose affiliations with major Communist Party of China committees have put him under scrutiny of the Singapore authorities. The Fica measures also apply to his sons, Mr Daryl Ng Win Kong and Mr David Ng Win Loong, and his daughter, Ms Nikki Ng Mien Hua, with effect from April 22. According to publicly available records, the four are members of committees of China's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – an advisory group within the Communist Party of China's political system. MHA said in a statement on April 22 that the four were formally informed on April 7 that they would be designated as politically significant persons (PSPs). They did not object to the decision, it added. 'The designations of the four individuals are not because they have engaged in any egregious activity,' said the ministry. The family members had declared to the Registry of Foreign and Political Disclosures in 2024 that they are members of a foreign legislature or foreign political organisation, MHA said in an earlier statement on April 7. The declarations are mandatory for Singaporeans who are members of such foreign organisations, under Section 79 of Fica. Under Fica, the four will be required to make annual disclosures to the registrar on political donations of $10,000 or more that they receive and accept, as well as on their foreign affiliations and migration benefits such as honorary citizenship or permanent residency. Mr Robert Ng's family has a significant public profile in Singapore, with Far East Organization and Sino Group among the largest property developers in the country. The groups are linked to major property developments here, including the Fullerton Heritage project and the redevelopment of Golden Mile Complex. Sino Group's philanthropic arm, Hong Kong-based Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, has also made donations to several charitable causes and given substantial amounts to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in Jurong, as well as supporting the National Gallery Singapore. Mr Robert Ng has been increasingly linked to significant roles in the Chinese political sphere, including as the National Committee's deputy director of the committee for economic affairs and the vice-chairman of the China Overseas Friendship Association, a foreign affairs organisation under the Chinese government. His children, Mr Daryl Ng, 46; Ms Ng, 44; and Mr David Ng, 36, are members of the CPPCC's local committees, among other political affiliations. They are the deputy chairman, non-executive director and group associate director at Sino Group, respectively. Mr Daryl Ng is a standing committee member of the 14th Beijing Municipal Committee, and was a member of the 12th and 13th Beijing Municipal Committee. He is also the president of the Hong Kong United Youth Association and the chairman of the Hong Kong-Asean Foundation. Ms Ng is a member of the 14th Shanghai Municipal Committee, and had also been a member of the 12th to 13th committees, and Mr David Ng is a member of the 13th Fujian Provincial Committee, and had also been a member of the 12th committee. Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam had said in 2024 that Singapore citizens and permanent residents were allowed to be members of such foreign entities but, under Fica, they had to declare such memberships. Singaporeans who join such bodies would need to be discerning as to whether their participation could potentially go against Singapore's interests, Mr Shanmugam said then. Introduced in 2021, Fica arms the Singapore authorities to deal with covert attempts by hostile foreign actors to meddle with domestic politics, such as artificially amplifying certain views to manipulate public opinion on hot-button issues, instilling unrest or undermining confidence in institutions. The law was introduced by MHA amid an increasing prevalence of disinformation campaigns led by state actors and other organisations against targeted countries. Under Fica, PSPs can include political office-holders, MPs, and election candidates and their election agents. Other individuals or groups may also be designated politically significant if the authorities assess that their activities are directed towards a political end, and that it is in the public interest that countermeasures against foreign interference be applied. The law does not target Singaporeans or other local entities that express their views, unless they are being used by foreign entities as proxies for interference. Human rights group Maruah and non-governmental organisation Think Centre – both gazetted as political associations – were designated as PSPs in December 2023 when Fica's provisions against interference via local proxies came into force. Singaporean businessman Philip Chan Man Ping was also designated a politically significant person in February 2024. The National Trades Union Congress was designated a PSP in July 2024. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Reuters
07-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore invokes foreign interference law against property tycoon's family
SINGAPORE, April 7 (Reuters) - Singapore will designate four members of the family behind Hong Kong property developer Sino Group ( opens new tab as "politically significant persons" over their ties to a Chinese parliamentary advisory body, its home affairs ministry said on Monday. It marked only the second time a law passed three years ago to counter foreign interference in the island nation has been invoked against individuals. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. The four people are Robert Ng, the chair of the Hong Kong-listed property developer, and his three children - deputy chair Daryl Ng Win Kong, non-executive director Nikki Ng Mien Hua and David Ng Win Loong. David Ng does not appear on the Sino Group website, but his LinkedIn profile states he is a group associate director with the company. The four Singaporean citizens declared to authorities that they were members of a foreign legislature or foreign political organisation, the home affairs ministry said in a statement. It added that they had not engaged in what the ministry called "egregious activity" but were instead designated based on their own declarations. Three of the four are members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a largely ceremonial advisory body of China's parliament, according to Sino Group's website. As "politically significant persons", they are now required to disclose foreign affiliations and migration benefits as well as annual political donations over S$10,000 ($7,426) that they accept. Sino Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Far East Organization, a company affiliated with Sino Group, is a large property developer in Singapore. Robert Ng and his brother Phillip, who is Far East Organization's chief executive, have a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to Forbes. Businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, who also had links to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, became the first individual designated as politically significant under the anti-interference law. It was also invoked against five social media platforms last year to block 95 accounts from being accessible to users. ($1 = 1.3467 Singapore dollars)
Associated Press
11-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Apex Signages Unveils Cutting-Edge Transparent LED Panels
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 11 March 2025 - Apex Signages, a provider of signage solutions in Singapore, has announced the launch of its latest innovation: transparent light-emitting diode (LED) panels. These state-of-the-art display solutions combine striking visuals with seamless transparency, making them ideal for applications in retail, hospitality, and corporate settings. The transparent LED panels are designed to allow light to pass through while displaying vibrant images, videos, and animations. With transparency levels ranging from 60% to 90%, they maintain the openness of a space, allowing them to integrate with glass facades or windows without obstructing natural light or visibility. These panels provide a unique opportunity for businesses to increase advertising space without compromising on natural light or architectural aesthetics. Additionally, the panels are energy-efficient and versatile, making them suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Apex Signages has already earned recognition for its digital signage offerings having worked with nine hotels under the Far East Organization and delivering building signage solutions for prominent projects such as the Yeo Eng Koon (YEK) Building. Beyond transparent LED panels, Apex Signages offers a range of products, including indoor and outdoor LED displays (featuring chip on board (COB), surface-mount device (SMD), and glue on board (GOB) technology), neon signage with no visible joint lines, and comprehensive office signage in Singapore. Despite the high-end nature of transparent LED panels, with prices starting at $1,200 per square metre, Apex Signages aims to work towards implementing a 100% transparent pricing model on its website. The end goal is to make the purchasing process straightforward and stress-free by addressing the challenges of cost ambiguity and complexity in ordering. With a robust portfolio and a commitment to innovation, Apex Signages continues to deliver cutting-edge signage in Singapore. Its dedication to transparency, customisation, and quality makes it a trusted partner for businesses looking to elevate their brand presence through modern signage solutions. .
